ons on leaving Eton--A University Whip--Sketches on
the Road--The Joneses of Jesus--Picturesque Appearance of
Oxford from the Distance--The Arrival--Welcome of an Old
Etonian--Visit to Dr. Dingyman--A University Don--
Presentation to the Big Wig--Ceremony of Matriculation.

"Yes; if there be one sacred scene of ease,
Where reason yet may dawn, and virtue please;
Where ancient science bursts again to view
With mightier truths, which Athens never knew,
One spot to order, peace, religion dear;
Rise, honest pride, nor blush to claim it here."

Who shall attempt to describe the sensations of a young and ardent mind
just bursting from the trammels of scholastic discipline to breathe the
purer air of classic freedom--to leap at once from ~114~~ boyhood and
subjection into maturity and unrestricted liberty of conduct; or who can
paint the heart's agitation, the conflicting passions which prevail when
the important moment arrives that is to separate him from the associates
of his infancy; from the endearing friendships of his earliest years;
from his schoolboy sports and pastimes (often the most grateful
recollections of a riper period); or from those ancient spires and
familiar scenes to which his heart is wedded in its purest and earliest
love.

Reader, if you have ever tasted of the delightful cup of youthful
friendship, and pressed with all the glow of early and sincere
attachment the venerable hand of a kind instructor, or met the wistful
eye and hearty grasp of parting schoolfellows, and ancient dames, and
obliging servants, you will easily discover how embarrassing a task
it must be to depict in words the agitating sensations which at such a
moment spread their varied influence over the mind. I had taken care to
secure the box seat of the old Oxford, that on my approach I might enjoy
an uninterrupted view of the classic turrets and lofty spires of sacred
{Academus}. Contemplation had fixed his seal upon my young lips for the
first ten miles of my journey. Abstracted and thoughtful, I had scarce
turned my eye to admire the beauties of the surrounding scenery, or lent
my ear to the busy hum of my fellow passengers' conversation, when a
sudden action of the coach, which produced a sensation of alarm, first
broke the gloomy mist that had encompassed me. After my fears had
subsided, I inquired of the coachman what was the name of the place we