ern building of stone and red brick. It contains not only a library of choice books written about the poet, but also many valuable paintings, busts and casts. One of the bronze busts was taken from a death mask of Shakespeare which was found in a London rag-shop. There are also statues, which are said to represent respectively Tragedy, History, Comedy, and Philosophy, as well as certain characters portrayed in the plays of Shakespeare. In this Memorial Building there is a theatre, and every spring memorial performances of the plays are given in it.

About a mile from Shakespeare's house is Anne Hathaway's cottage. The path used by the poet, on his visits there as a young man, is still pointed out. The quaint cottage, almost covered by vines and shrubbery, is a type of the old English house. There are those who say that Anne Hathaway became a scold some time after she and Shakespeare were married, but no one seems to know very much concerning her except that she was Mrs. William Shakespeare.

We do not leave Stratford without having a ride, in one of the tiny gondolas, on the little River Avon, which flows into the Bristol Channel; nor without standing awhile on the bridge to feed the graceful, long-necked, black swans swimming on the water, without any fear of the visitors.

Having visited the places of chief importance in this interesting county of Warwickshire, we take the train. the following day for the city of Oxford, located on the river Thames. It is the county seat of Oxfordshire, and the seat also of the ancient and world-famous University of Oxford.

Upon our arrival, we at once enter a car, or "tram, which will take us to the university. Near the station is

a high mound, said to have been made by King Alfred. Many also believe that Oxford University was founded by him, in 972. Even as far back as the thirteenth century there were three thousand students in attendance at Oxford, and in the early days there were many serious riots between the people of the town and the students. In one of these fights between the "town" and the "gown," fifty students were killed. All is changed now, and the thirty-six hundred students at Oxford have nothing to fear from the people of the city. Indeed, Oxford is very proud of its ancient university.

The university is composed of twenty-two different colleges or "halls," every one of which is largely independent of the others. Each college has its own governing body, and its own master, principal, or president, different titles being used in the various colleges. The governing body of the combined colleges is called the senate, and is composed of representatives of all the graduates of the different colleges.

Nearly all the students live in the college buildings. After dark, and also when they go to chapel, or to lectures, or to dinner, they wear a dark blue or a black gown, and instead of a hat they wear a flat square cap which is called a "mortar-board." The sight of hundreds of young men in this garb on the streets is strange and interesting.

The most popular time of the year is the week at the end of the summer term, when there are thousands of visitors present to see the degrees given and to watch the students in their sports. Another exciting time is "Eightsweek," in the middle of the same term. This is the week when the boat-race and the cricket-match occur. The race is rowed on the Thames, over a course of four miles. Hundreds of houseboats, little steamers, and smaller boats of various kinds are at that time filled with people, and

the banks are lined all the way with thousands who have come to see the college boys race.

The names of some of the colleges are strange to us. Christ Church is one of the largest, yet it never has more than three hundred students. It is called the most fashionable of all, but when we go into the dining-hall, we are surprised to see how simple everything is. The long tables are made of plain boards, and there are no chairs, for long wooden benches provide the only seats. On the walls are hanging the portraits of some of the famous graduates; among them we see those of Cardinal Wolsey, Gladstone, and Lewis Carroll, who wrote "Alice in Wonderland."

The rooms in which the students live, however, are many of them beautifully furnished, and it is the custom to have breakfast served in them. The great bell in the tower over the entrance gate is called " Great Tom"; every night, at five minutes past nine, it rings IOI Strokes just as it has done for hundreds of years. This is the

curfew, and the college gate is closed five minutes after

the bell stops.

There are many beau

tiful quadrangles

or

squares among the dif

ferent colleges, colleges,

and

most of the buildings look, just as they are, very old. The vividly green "meadows" where cricket, football, and tennis are played, the beautiful stained glass windows of the buildings, the massive square towers, the ivy clad walls, the broad walks among the trees, the quaint cloisters, where years ago the monks took their daily walks, all remind us of bygone times. Even the course of study and the customs are all eloquent of the past. Compared with any college or university in America, Oxford seems very old.

In Oxford, also, we have the new as well as the old. The six "halls" for women students were but recently

TOM TOWER

NEW COLLEGE CLOISTERS, BELL TOWER, AND CHAPEL

built, and the privilege for women students to attend the classes or lectures of the university professors, and to take the honors examinations with the men, is also new; but Oxford does not grant degrees to women, no matter how high their standing has been. In this respect the university clings to its old custom.

QUESTIONS

What and where are the Midlands of England?
What is a shire or county? How many has England?

For what is Kenilworth famous?

Where was Shakespeare's home? Mention three of his plays. Where is Oxford? What is a university?

How can American boys, if they desire, study at Oxford?

SUGGESTIONS FOR WRITTEN WORK

Describe a visit to Warwick Castle.

Describe a tournament in Queen Elizabeth's time.

Describe a ride on the Avon from Stratford to Bristol.