184 A VISIT 



natural and most agreeable canopy all the summer, 

 and its yellow leaves in autumn, give the greatest 

 charm to forest scenery. Our ancestors made much 

 more use of beech than we do at present 



Beech made their chests, their bed*, and the joint-stools ; 

 ' Beech made the board, the platters, and the bowls.' 



The entrance into Oxford is peculiarly striking, 

 and it is impossible to see the walls of Magdalen 

 College, without recollecting that James the Second 

 knocked his head against them : a hint to those 

 who are endeavouring to subvert the venerable 

 institutions of that place. I never enter Oxford, 

 without calling to mind what old Camden says of it. 

 He calls it our most noble Athens, the seat of the 



* English muses, the prop and pillar, nay the sun, 

 the eye, the very soul of the nation ; the most 



* celebrated fountain of wisdom and learning, from 



* whence religion, letters, and good manners, are 

 ' diffused through the whole kingdom.' 



Having taken up my quarters at that good and 

 old-fashioned inn, the King's Arms, from the win- 

 dows of which so many fine and venerable build- 

 ings may be seen, I changed my travelling dress, 

 and was just in time to join the fellows' table in the 

 hall. I need not describe the hospitality which 

 is exercised in New College, except to notice, 

 with all due praise, the puddings to which it has 

 given its name, and which are quite deserving of 



