i 8 o 8- i 822."| 
WORK IN OXFORD. 
2 7 
absorbing his interests. Every project for improving or 
advancing the condition of the University and the City 
of Oxford as a place of residence received his careful 
attention. In 1818, in the face of strong opposition, he 
succeeded, with the aid of several influential men, in 
lighting Oxford with gas, and was for many years chair¬ 
man of the Company. He also did good service to the 
city by promoting plans for the improvement of the 
sewerage and of the water supply. His labours as a 
sanitary reformer were indeed unremitting, and the experi¬ 
ence thus gained by the Professor at Oxford was, as will 
be seen later on, turned to excellent account by him as 
Dean of Westminster. 
It is always the busiest men who know how to find 
leisure, and Buck-land’s advice and active assistance were 
asked for a variety of good deeds, and never asked in vain. 
His power of work and his willingness to help were indeed 
well-nigh inexhaustible. If his ardour sometimes made 
him a little impatient, his genuine kindness of heart, com¬ 
bined with a keen sense of humour, speedily corrected 
the momentary impulse. However strong his convictions, 
he was never so wedded to his own judgment as to shrink 
from opposition. 
As Professor his classes at Oxford were always well 
attended, and his genial good-humour and apt description 
of things around him made every one happy, and therefore 
in a humour to listen, learn, and recollect. 
Outside the University his gifts as a lecturer were also 
warmly appreciated. Miss C. Fox records in her journals 
that Buckland says “ he feels very nervous in addressing 
