The Charm of Oxford

'Home of lost causes'—this is Oxford's blame; 'Mother of movements'—this, too, boasteth she; In the same walls, the same yet not the same, She welcomes those who lead the age-to-be.
Much have ye suffered from time's gnawing tooth, Yet, O ye spires of Oxford domes and towers, Gardens and groves, your presence overpowers The soberness of reason. WORDSWORTH.

There are many books on Oxford; the justification for this new one is Mr. Blackall's drawings. They will serve by their grace and charm pleasantly to recall to those who know Oxford the scenes they love; they will incite those who do not know Oxford to remedy that defect in their lives.
My own letterpress is only written to accompany the drawings. It is intended to remind Oxford men of the things they know or ought to know; it is intended still more to help those who have not visited Oxford to understand the drawings and to appreciate some of the historical associations of the scenes represented.
I have written quite freely, as this seemed the best way to create the impression wished. I have to acknowledge some obligations to Messrs. Seccombe & Scott's Praise of Oxford, a book the pages of which an Oxford man can always turn over with pleasure, and to Mr. J. B. Firth's Minstrelsy of Isis; it is not his fault that the poetic merit of so much of his collection is poor. Oxford has not on the whole been fortunate in her poets. My own quotations are more often chosen for their local colour than for their poetic merit.
I have unavoidably had to borrow a good deal from my own Oxford and its Colleges, but the aim of the two books is very different.
In what does the charm of Oxford consist? Why does she stand out among the cities of the world as one of those most deserving a visit? It can hardly be said to be for the beauty of her natural surroundings. In spite of the charm of her
Rivers twain of gentle foot that pass Through the rich meadow-land of long green grass,
in spite of her trees and gardens, which attract a visitor, especially one from the more barren north, Oxford must yield the palm of natural beauty to many English towns, not to mention those more remote.