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THE 
 
 LORD MAYOR'S 
 VISIT TO OXFORD, 
 
 MONTH OF JULY, 1826. 
 
 WRITTEN AT THE JDFSIRE OF THE PARTY, BY 
 
 €f)t €§KpXxiii to tf)e JHagoraltj?, 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 LONGMAN, REES, ORME, BROWNE, AND GREEN, 
 PATERNOSTER ROW. 
 
 M.DCCCXXV1. 
 
PIUN1ILD BY J. AND C. ADLARD, 
 BARTHOLOMEW CLOSE. 
 
 
TO THE 
 RIGHT HONOURABLE 
 
 WILLIAM VENABLES, 
 
 THE WORSHIPFUL THE ALDERMEN, 
 
 SIR CLAUDIUS STEPHEN HUNTER, BART. 
 
 SAMUEL BIRCH, ESQ. 
 
 JOHN ATKINS, ESQ. M. P. 
 
 WILLIAM HEYGATE, ESQ. 
 
 ROBERT WAITHMAN, ESQ. M.P. 
 
 MATTHIAS PRIME LUCAS, ESQ. 
 
 SIR PETER LAURIE, 
 
 AND OTHERS OF THE PARTY; 
 
 THIS NARRATIVE, 
 Written at ti&eir oegire, 
 
 Is respectfully inscribed, 
 
 By their obliged and obedient Servant, 
 THE CHAPLAIN TO THE MAYORALTY. 
 
 Mansion House 
 Oct. 31, 1826. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 It was not the original purpose of the writer of 
 this narrative to prefix a Preface. It occurred 
 to him, however, on more mature consideration, 
 that as it is a species of writing not altogether in 
 accordance with the sacred profession of which 
 the writer is theunworthiest member,— although 
 he trusts that not any thing will be found in 
 this little work at all injurious to the interests 
 of piety, — it might be well to say a word or two 
 explanatory of its publication. 
 
 It was undertaken expressly at the desire of 
 the late Lord Mayor. And, as at the time to 
 which the Narrative refers, the writer held the 
 office of Chaplain to the Mayoralty, — he felt 
 
 ¥$ 
 
VI. PREFACE. 
 
 the communication of a wish, to be a command, 
 on the part of the distinguished individual, to 
 whom he owed the honour of the appointment. 
 
 He conceives, therefore, that the publication, 
 though it seemed to require explanation, stands 
 in no need of apology; whatever censures may 
 fall on the performance. 
 
 Dec. 9, 1826. 
 
THE 
 
 &orfl Jttaaor^ Visit, 
 
 Although the jurisdiction of the Lord Mayor 
 of London, as Conservator of the River Thames, 
 has extended, time immemorial, from Yantlet, 
 about fifty miles below London Bridge, on the 
 east; to the London Mark Stone, about thirty- 
 six miles, on the west : it has yet but rarely 
 happened that the Court of Aldermen have 
 thought proper, by any formality of proceeding, 
 publicly to renew their claim to this jurisdiction 
 over those districts of the river lying west of 
 Richmond. 
 
2 THE LORD MAYOR'S 
 
 In the course of every Mayoralty, indeed, 
 "Courts of Conservancy of the River of Thames" 
 are held by the Chief Magistrate, at Stratford 
 and Greenwich, for the Counties of Essex and 
 Kent ; and at Richmond, for those of Surrey 
 and Middlesex : and these days are some of 
 the pleasantest, as well as the most useful, in 
 the course of the civic year. But the jurisdic- 
 tion of the Lord Mayor over the river as far as 
 the town of Staines, in the county of Middlesex, 
 has, of late years, only been claimed, once in 
 the mayoralty of Sir Watkin Lewes, in the year 
 1781 ; afterwards, in the mayoralty of Sir 
 Claudius Stephen Hunter, Baronet, in 1812 ; 
 and lastly, in the Mayoralty of the Right 
 Honourable William Venables, in 1826 : the 
 occasion to which this brief narrative more par- 
 ticularly refers. 
 
 Early in the present year (1826), it was pro- 
 posed to the Lord Mayor, by some of the 
 aldermen, and others connected with the navi- 
 gation of the river Thames, to consider the pro- 
 priety of again asserting the civic prerogative 
 over that part of the river, at the City Stone, 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. O 
 
 near Staines, in the course of the summer. It 
 was also proposed to connect with the excursion 
 a visit to Oxford. 
 
 Conversation on the subject was resumed on 
 Midsummer-day, in the chamber of the Guild- 
 hall; whither the Lord Mayor, after having 
 opened a Common Hall, had retired, with the 
 aldermen, to allow the Livery of London, there 
 assembled, the free and unbiassed exercise of 
 one of their undoubted rights — the election of 
 Sheriffs of London and Middlesex for the 
 ensuing year : and the last week in July was 
 ultimately and unanimously fixed upon for the 
 excursion. 
 
 Instructions were, accordingly, agreed to be 
 given to the Town Clerk, to secure such accom- 
 modation at an inn in Oxford, Reading, and 
 Windsor, as might be adequate for the civic 
 party ; and to make every other necessary 
 arrangement. 
 
 The plan originally designed by theLord Mayor 
 was,to invite the Heads of Houses, and such other 
 distinguished members of the University as might 
 be in residence at the time, — for it was foreseen 
 
 b2 
 
4 THE LORD MAYORS 
 
 that this visit would fall in the Long Vacation, 
 —together with the Mayor, and Magistrates of 
 the City, to honour his Lordship and friends 
 with their company at dinner, in Oxford, on 
 Wednesday, the 26th of July ; to leave Oxford 
 on the morning of the 27th ; and so to arrive in 
 London on the Saturday evening following. 
 
 If it were not notorious how soon the rumour 
 of any measure is propagated, even before it is 
 fully matured, it would be almost incredible that 
 this excursion should have scarcely been deter- 
 mined upon in London before it was known at 
 Oxford : and a letter, written with all the kind- 
 ness that the most polite hospitality could dic- 
 tate, was, in a few days, received from the 
 Mayor and Magistrates of Oxford. It was in 
 the hand-writing of the Town-Clerk of Oxford ; 
 was addressed to the Lord Mayor ; and read as 
 follows : 
 
 "Oxford, July 13, 1826. 
 "My Lord, 
 " The Mayor and Magistrates of this City, 
 having learned that it is the intention of your 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 6 
 
 Lordship to visit Oxford on the 26th instant, 
 
 have desired me to request the honour of seeing 
 
 your Lordship and suite at dinner, in their 
 
 Council Chamber, on that day, at the hour of six. 
 
 I have the honour to be, 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 Your Lordship's most Obedient Servant, 
 
 THO. ROBERSON, 
 Town Clerk. 
 
 To the Right Honourable 
 the Lord Mayor, fyc. fyc. <^c." 
 
 This letter, at once so unexpected and so 
 welcome, gave occasion to a very pleasing sort 
 of embarrassment, on the part of the Lord Mayor 
 and Aldermen of London. They felt it would 
 be unkind, if not improper, to decline the invi- 
 tation so handsomely given by the Mayor and 
 Magistrates of that ancient and most loyal city ; 
 and yet, as they had not intended to prolong 
 their stay in Oxford beyond a single day, and 
 had, moreover, fixed to entertain at dinner the 
 chief members of the University and the City, 
 they knew not how they could accept it. 
 
6 THE LORD MAYOR'S 
 
 From this difficulty they were happily 
 released by the question, "Could not your Lord- 
 ship go a day sooner to Oxford V It was im- 
 mediately seen that this slight alteration of the 
 plan first intended would obviate every difficulty: 
 it would allow them the opportunity of showing 
 their respect to the Mayor and Magistrates of 
 Oxford, by dining with them on the Tuesday ; 
 and would also give them the honour of having 
 the University and City to dinner on the Wed- 
 nesday. 
 
 The following letter was, accordingly, directed 
 to be sent forthwith, addressed to the Worship- 
 ful the Mayor of Oxford : 
 
 "Guildhall, London; 
 15 July, 1826. 
 "Sir, 
 
 " The Lord Mayor having communicated to 
 me the invitation of yourself and Magistrates 
 of the city of Oxford, through your Town Clerk, 
 to his Lordship and suite, to dine in your 
 Council Chamber on the 26th instant, on the 
 occasion of his Lordship's visit to Oxford, I am 
 desired by the Lord Mayor to express the high 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 7 
 
 sense which his Lordship entertains of your kind 
 attention and politeness, and regrets that, under 
 the arrangements which have been made, and 
 which it would be now difficult to alter, he 
 cannot avail himself of it for that day. At the 
 same time, his Lordship, feeling the evident in- 
 tention of your object to avail yourself of his 
 proposed visit to your city to pay a marked 
 compliment to the city of London, in his person, 
 has directed me to say, that if it would not in- 
 terfere with the convenience of yourself and the 
 Magistrates of the city of Oxford to make it 
 Tuesday, the 25th instant, his Lordship would 
 leave London sooner than he had intended, and 
 would be most happy to attend them, in the 
 hope that they would kindly accept his invita- 
 tion to dine with him at the Star Inn, on the 
 26th. 
 
 I have the honour to be, 
 
 &c. &c. &c. 
 H. WOOBTHORPE, 
 Town-Clerk of London. 
 To the Worshipful 
 the Mayor of Oxford, 
 
8 THE LORD MAYOR'S 
 
 In this proposal, the Mayor and Magistrates 
 of Oxford most readily expressed their acqui- 
 escence, by a letter received from the Town- 
 Clerk on the 18th, of which the following is a 
 copy: 
 
 "Oxford, July 17, 1826. 
 "Sir, 
 
 " I am directed by the Mayor and Magis- 
 trates of this city to acknowledge the receipt of 
 your letter of the 15th instant, and to request 
 the favour of you to inform the Lord Mayor 
 that they have great pleasure and satisfaction 
 in being able to suit the convenience of his 
 Lordship, by fixing their dinner for Tuesday, 
 the 25th of this month. The Mayor and Ma- 
 gistrates desire me to add, that they feel highly 
 sensible of the compliment shown to the city of 
 Oxford by his Lordship's acceptance of their 
 own invitation ; and not less so by the invitation 
 to his Lordship's dinner on the 26th, which 
 they will do themselves the honor to accept. 
 I am, Sir, 
 Your most obedient humble Servant, 
 THO. ROBERSON. 
 Henry Woodthorpe, Esq." 
 
 

 VISIT TO OXFORD. 9 
 
 Every preliminary arrangement being com- 
 pleted, and ample accommodation having been 
 secured at the Star Inn, Oxford, for his Lord- 
 ship and suite, to the number of about thirty 
 persons, the civic party began to lay their plans 
 for the journey. 
 
 It had been previously understood that while 
 his Lordship and friends should return together, 
 in the city state barge, they should yet go to 
 Oxford in such a way, and at such a time, as 
 best comported with their own convenience. 
 Mr. Alderman Atkins, accompanied by two of 
 his daughters, Miss Atkins and Miss Sarah 
 Jane, left his seat, Halstead Place, in Kent, on 
 Monday, the 24th of July, and set out from 
 London for Oxford in the cool of the following 
 morning. On the same day, Mr. Alderman 
 and Mrs. Lucas, with their daughters, Miss 
 Charlotte and Miss Catharine, left their house, 
 at Lea, in Kent, and went by land as far as 
 Boulter's Lock, near Maidenhead, where they 
 embarked on-board the Navigation shallop, and 
 proceeded by water to Reading; thus selecting 
 some of the finest views on the river. From 
 
10 THE LORD MAYOR'S 
 
 Reading their carriage brought them to Oxford 
 before three o'clock on Tuesday. 
 
 In the mean time, the city state barge, which 
 had recently undergone complete repair, was 
 making its way to Oxford, under the direction 
 of Mr. Saunders, the water-bailiff; and ex- 
 pended five days in its passage thither. 
 
 The Lord Mayor had been careful to make 
 every provision for his absence from London; 
 and having found, in Alderman Sir James Shaw, 
 Baronet, — who had kindly undertaken to pre- 
 side at the Mansion-House while his Lordship 
 was away, — a gentleman to whose mature judg- 
 ment and discretion might be safely left the con 
 sideration of even weightier matters than those to 
 which the attention of the Chief Magistrate of 
 London is every day called, — his Lordship felt 
 that the period of this excursion would pass less 
 anxiously away than if he had not been so for- 
 tunate as to make an arrangement in every way 
 so satisfactory. 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 11 
 
 TUESDAY, 
 
 On the morning of the 25th, the Lord Mayor, 
 accompanied by the Lady Mayoress, and 
 attended by the Chaplain, left the Mansion- 
 House soon after eight o'clock. 
 
 The private state-carriage, drawn by four 
 beautiful bays, had driven to the door at half- 
 past seven. The coachman's countenance was 
 reserved and thoughtful ; indicating full con- 
 sciousness of the test by which his equestrian 
 skill would this day be tried, in having the un- 
 divided charge of four high-spirited and stately 
 horses,— a circumstance somewhat unusual ; 
 for, in the Lord Mayor's carriage, a postilion 
 usually guides the first pair of horses. These 
 fine animals were in admirable condition for the 
 journey. Having been allowed a previous day of 
 unbroken rest, they were quite impatient of 
 
12 THE LORD MAYOR'S 
 
 delay; and chafed and champed exceedingly 
 on the bits by which their impetuosity was 
 restrained. 
 
 The murmur of expectation, which had lasted 
 for more than half an hour, amongst the crowd who 
 had gathered around the carriage, was at length 
 hushed by the opening of the hall-door. The 
 Lord Mayor had been filling up this interval 
 with instructions to the femme de menage, and 
 other household officers, who were to be left in 
 residence, to attend, with their wonted fidelity 
 and diligence, to their respective departments 
 of service during his absence, and now appeared 
 at the door. His Lordship was accompanied by 
 the Lady Mayoress, and followed by the Chaplain. 
 
 As soon as the female attendant of the Lady 
 Mayoress had taken her seat, dressed with be- 
 coming neatness, at the side of the well-looking 
 coachman, the carriage drove away ; not, how- 
 ever, with that violent and extreme rapidity, 
 which rather astounds than gratifies the 
 beholders ; but at that steady and majestic pace, 
 which is always an indication of real greatness. 
 
 Passing along Cheapside and Fleet Street, — 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 13 
 
 those arteries, as Dr. Johnson somewhere styles 
 them, through which pours the full tide of 
 London population, — and then along the Strand 
 and Piccadilly, the carriage took the Henley 
 road to Oxford. 
 
 The weather was delightful : the sun, as 
 though it had been refreshed by the copious and 
 seasonable showers that had fallen very recent- 
 ly, seemed to rise more bright and clear than 
 usual, and streamed in full glory all around. 
 The dust of almost a whole summer had been 
 laid by the rain ; the roads were, of consequence, 
 in excellent order; and the whole face of 
 creation gleamed with joy. 
 
 On approaching Hounslow, there was seen at 
 some distance a huge volume of dark smoke, 
 floating high in the clear blue atmosphere. It 
 was thought, at first sight, to be a cloud of un- 
 usual form ; and yet the unbroken clearness of 
 the surrounding sky made it difficult to account 
 for this solitary and singular appearance of a 
 cloud. 
 
 Conjecture was at length set at rest by the 
 arrival of the carriage at Cranford Bridge, 
 
14 THE LORD MAYOR'S 
 
 about three miles beyond Hounslow. This 
 columnar smoke was then found, on inquiry, to 
 have been the effect of an explosion, loud and 
 tremendous, of a powder-mill on Hounslow 
 Heath, about three quarters of a mile to the 
 south of the road leading to Staines. Seven 
 barrels of gunpowder are said to have been in 
 the mill at the time. Of the two men who were 
 at work when the accident happened, — and, 
 happily, there were only two, — one, a widower, 
 has left five children : the other has left a widow 
 and three children. Their bodies were blown 
 three hundred yards from the mill, and were 
 dreadfully mutilated and scorched. An arm, 
 belonging to one of the sufferers, was afterwards 
 found in a field of oats, at a considerable dis- 
 tance from the fatal spot. The noise is reported 
 to have been appalling, and accompanied with 
 a perceptible vibratory motion of the earth. 
 
 As every proper precaution was known to be 
 exercised by the proprietor of the mill, in having 
 the machinery kept perfectly clean and free 
 from grit, and always with the precaution of 
 affixing pieces of brass to the soles of the shoes, 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 15 
 
 into which no iron nails were ever allowed to be 
 driven ; and, as the only persons on the spot 
 were the two sufferers, there is no way whatever 
 of accounting for this dreadful accident. 
 
 The reflections to which such terrible disas- 
 ters give rise in the mind, are always of a deeply 
 interesting nature. The thoughts are at once 
 forced upon that scene of poignant misery 
 which desolates the heart of the surviving 
 families, by the sudden bereavement of those in 
 whose affections they confided, and by whose 
 industry they were supported. Such calami- 
 tous occurrences, however, although they may 
 for a moment or two intercept the current of 
 that cheerful gaiety with which we always like 
 to have our pleasure travels associated, will not 
 yet be without a salutary moral use, if the 
 sympathy which they awaken shall settle down 
 into a permanent christian principle of action ; 
 teaching us to have not only hearts to feel for, 
 but hands to relieve, the distresses of our fellow- 
 creatures. 
 
 At Cranford-bridge, which is about thirteen 
 miles from Hyde-Park Corner, the Lord Mayor 
 
 I 
 
16 THE LORD MAYOR'S 
 
 staid only long enough to change horses. For, 
 his lordship intending to travel post from 
 Cranford-bridge to Oxford, his own line horses 
 were, after a proper interval of rest, to return 
 to town under the coachman's care. 
 
 These noble animals, however, seemed scarcely 
 to need the rest which their master's kindness 
 now allotted them. For, though they had drawn 
 a somewhat heavy carriage a distance of nearly 
 seventeen miles, they yet appeared as full of life 
 as ever : arching their stately necks, and dash- 
 ing in all directions the white foam from their 
 mouths, as if they were displeased that they 
 were to go no farther. 
 
 Just as the carriage was about to drive away, 
 Mr. Alderman Magnay, accompanied by his 
 lady and daughter, arrived in a post-chaise. 
 After an interchange of salutations, the Lady 
 Mayoress, — observing that they must be some- 
 what crowded in the chaise, — invited Miss 
 Magnay to take the fourth seat, which had yet 
 been vacant, in the carriage. As the day was 
 beginning to be warm, this courteous offer of 
 her ladyship was readily accepted. 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 17 
 
 The remainder of the journey was made with 
 a degree of speed, which betokened a desire on 
 the part of the postilions, that the Lord Mayor 
 of London should have no cause to complain 
 either of horses or drivers on the Henley road. 
 Relays of horses having been previously secured 
 at Maidenhead, Henley, and Benson, they 
 paused only while they changed them; and, at 
 a quarter after three, the Lord Mayor arrived 
 in Oxford. 
 
 There is always something peculiarly impo- 
 sing in the entrance, particularly the Eastern 
 entrance, to this magnificent city. The broad 
 walk, bounded by lofty elms along the river, 
 which attracts the eye, on the right, in passing 
 over the bridge, and then the grey walls and 
 lofty tower of MagdalenCollege, — viewed in con- 
 nexion with the arched entrance to the Bota- 
 nical Garden, and the beautiful walk belonging 
 to Christ Church on the left, — form unitedly a 
 scene of such unrivalled classic beauty, as 
 rarely fails powerfully to impress the imagina- 
 tion. You feel, — the moment you have crossed 
 the stone bridge, and are passing by the row of 
 
18 
 
 rugged elms that overshadow the pathway in 
 front of Magdalen tower, — that you are now more 
 exclusively within the solemn realm of literature ; 
 where learning, which in other places is con- 
 tented to lodge in cottages, or to be closetted in 
 garrets, dwells here in palaces, and puts on 
 all the pomp and circumstance of majesty. 
 And if within the precincts of this most august 
 of cities, it shall have been your privilege to 
 receive your education, — an education, which, — 
 if its advantages have been closely followed out, 
 and you have been careful, by subsequent at- 
 tention and diligence, to ripen into fruit those 
 blossoms of instruction which were here first 
 raised in your mind, — may perchance have fitted 
 you to fill some commanding station in society, 
 and have even given you a claim to eminence in 
 the learned world ; — every renewed visit will but 
 serve to waken up fresh feelings of filial grati- 
 tude, and classic veneration. 
 
 The carriage drove at once to the Star Inn ; 
 where one of the Pro-Vice-Chancellors, and 
 the Worshipful the Mayor, T. Ensworth, Esq., 
 and other Magistrates of Oxford, together 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 19 
 
 with the Town Clerk, G. R. Roberson, Esq., 
 welcomed the Lord Mayor's arrival : to all of 
 whom His Lordship was formally presented, and 
 by all most respectfully received . 
 
 As soon as the courtesies of the first reception 
 were over, the Mayor and Magistrates with- 
 drew ; congratulating themselves, they said, that 
 only another hour lay between them and the 
 honour of seeing at dinner, in their Council 
 Chamber, the Chief Magistrate, and other 
 Aldermen, of London. 
 
 The Lord Mayor and his friends now retired 
 to the apartments which had been previously 
 engaged for them by Mr. Firth, first clerk of 
 the Town Clerk ; to whose active and consi- 
 derate attentions, the whole party had frequent 
 reason to feel themselves particularly indebted. 
 
 It must here be mentioned, that the Lady 
 Mayoress, and other ladies of the party, to the 
 number of eight, ordered dinner at the Star, 
 and spent the evening in their own society. 
 
 When the hour of six had arrived, the Lord 
 Mayor, attended by Aldermen Atkins, Magnay, 
 
 c 2 
 
20 THE LORD MAYOR'S 
 
 and Lucas ; the Chamberlain of London, Richard 
 Clark, Esq. ; the Town Clerk, H. Woodthorpe, 
 Esq. ; the City Solicitor, W. L. Newman, 
 Esq., and the Chaplain, with other officers of 
 the City of London, together with Charles 
 Venables, Esq., the Lord Mayor's brother, 
 walked from the Star in companies of two 
 and three. They passed Carfax, the city 
 church, at which the Mayor and Corporation 
 attend divine service in the morning and after- 
 noon of every Sunday ; and, crossing the street, 
 were soon at the Town Hall, a chaste and lofty 
 building. 
 
 At the bottom of the broad oaken stairs, 
 which lead to the great hall, the Lord Mayor 
 was met by two officers of his suite, the City 
 Marshal, Mr. Cope, and the Mace Bearer, Mr. 
 Beddome, who acted on this excursion in behalf 
 of the Sword Bearer, Mr. Smith, whose indis- 
 position prevented his attending. They were 
 not in their dress of office, nor did they bear 
 its insignia ; but preceded the Lord Mayor into 
 the Hall, where the Mayor and other Magis- 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 21 
 
 trates, together with the Members of Parliament 
 for the city of Oxford were waiting, to welcome, 
 with every demonstration of cordiality, His 
 Lordship's whole party. 
 
 At one end of this oblong hall, — which was 
 used on this occasion as a withdrawing apart- 
 ment, and is so spacious (its dimensions are 
 one hundred and thirty-five feet, by thirty-one 
 and a half,) as to admit of the session of 
 two judicial courts at once, without either inter- 
 fering with the other, — opened a small anti- 
 chamber, the landing-place of which was occu- 
 pied by the musicians, who had been summoned 
 to increase the festivity of the evening. Through 
 this room access was given to the Council 
 Chamber, where preparations had been made 
 for dinner on a scale of the most profuse mag- 
 nificence. This commodious room was beau- 
 tifully wainscotted with oak, the dark colour 
 of which was relieved, when evening had fallen, 
 by the number of lights in sconces which hung 
 against the walls ; and by a large chandelier 
 which over-hung the centre of the dining-table, 
 burning with gas of peculiar brilliancy. 
 
22 
 
 THE LORD MAYOR S 
 
 In the centre of the upper part of the room 
 was a full-length portrait of Queen Ann, by Sir 
 Godfrey Kneller ; in the centre of the lower part 
 of the room was a full-length portrait of the 
 late Duke of Marlborough, by Gainsborough. 
 The walls were also ornamented by large and 
 gilt-framed portraits of M. Zach. Bogan, Earl 
 of Abingdon— Sir Thomas White— Sir D. Webb 
 — John Churchill, first Duke of Marlborough 
 — Sir William Walker — Dr. Wall — Thomas 
 Romney, Esq. M-P. for the city of Oxford, in 
 the reign of William the Third, and Ann. — 
 Thomas Romney, junior, Esq., M. P. for the 
 city, in the reign of George the First, and 
 George the Second — Philip Herbert, Esq., M.P. 
 for the city, in the reign of George the Second — 
 Aldermen Harris, Hawkins, Nixon, and others. 
 At the upper end of the room was a shelving 
 table, on which were displayed several beautiful 
 and richly wrought pieces of plate, — cups, 
 tankards, and flaggons, — presented to the Mayor 
 of Oxford at the coronation of Charles the Se- 
 cond, and George the Third, and one that was 
 presented at the coronation of his present most 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 23 
 
 gracious majesty, George the Fourth, whom God 
 preserve! — some one, some two, feet high, 
 interspersed with leaves of laurel, and sur- 
 mounted by a massive silver-gilt Mace, — that 
 usual ensign of magisterial authority. 
 
 The windows of the chamber, which extended 
 the whole length on one side of the room, were 
 crowded with pots of the most delicate and 
 fragrant flowers. As soon as the Town-Clerk, 
 who occupied the lower end of the table, oppo- 
 site the Mayor, had said grace, the covers were 
 lifted from the dishes ; and the company, to 
 the number of about twenty-five, sat down at a 
 quarter before seven o'clock, to a banquet of 
 such a grand and costly nature, as seemed to 
 indicate that the whole neighbouring country 
 had been put in requisition. 
 
 Just before the dinner was removed, the 
 Mayor, rising from his seat, and requesting the 
 Lord Mayor, who sat on his right, and Mr. 
 Alderman Atkins, who sat on his left, to do the 
 same, His Worship received at the hands of the 
 butler, who stood near him, a cup and cover of 
 solid gold, called the grace cup, of a singular 
 
24 
 
 THE LORD MAYOR'S 
 
 and antique appearance, presented to the city 
 of Oxford, by Queen Elizabeth, always used 
 upon seasons of high festival, filled with wine, 
 and exclusively devoted to the toast of " Church 
 and King." When the Mayor had tasted this 
 cup, he handed it to the Lord Mayor ; who, at 
 the same time, gave into the hand of Mr. Al- 
 derman Atkins, the gold cover which His Lord- 
 ship had, previously to the Mayor's drinking 
 the toast, lifted off. Mr. Alderman Atkins then 
 replaced the cover, which, when he had received 
 the cup from the Lord Mayor, was taken off by 
 the gentleman next in succession at the table : 
 and in this way, three persons standing to do 
 honour to this toast at the same time, — such is 
 the custom, — the cup circulated round the 
 company. 
 
 Wines of the most expensive and rarest 
 kind, and as cold as the most refined bon 
 vivant could have wished them, with fruit, were 
 then placed in profusion on the table; and, 
 when the usual toasts of loyalty, — "the King,' 7 
 — " the Duke of York and the Army,"—" the 
 Duke of Clarence and the Navy," — " the Duke 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 25 
 
 of Sussex, and the rest of the Royal Family/' 
 had been given, and drunk with becoming en- 
 thusiasm, — 
 
 The Mayor of Oxford rose, and expressed 
 the high gratification which he felt in having 
 the honour to entertain the Chief Magistrate 
 and members of the most ancient and powerful 
 corporation in the kingdom ; and proposed the 
 health of their distinguished visitor, " the Lord 
 Mayor of London." 
 
 The Lord Mayor, in returning thanks, said 
 he felt it difficult to express the gratification 
 which was felt by himself, and his fellow-members 
 of the corporation of the city of London, for the 
 honour now conferred upon them, in a city 
 which brought so many pleasing associations to 
 the mind. He hoped that the most friendly 
 intercourse would always subsist between the 
 two corporations, and concluded by proposing 
 the health of " the Mayor of Oxford/' which was 
 drunk in the warmest manner. 
 
 The health of " the Members of Parliament 
 for the City of Oxford" was then proposed. 
 
26 THE LORD MAYOR'S 
 
 Mr. Lock hart, in acknowledging the honour 
 done them, said it gave him great pleasure to 
 meet the Lord Mayor, and other magistrates of 
 the city of London ; who, by their example, 
 gave a tone to the whole city and empire. He 
 was sure, from what he had seen and heard of 
 the present Lord Mayor and Magistrates, that 
 that tone and example would be of the best 
 kind. He concluded by proposing the health 
 of Mr. Alderman Atkins, with whom he had 
 long acted in Parliament. He entertained the 
 highest respect for the worthy Alderman, and 
 rejoiced at the prospect of meeting him again 
 in the House of Commons. 
 
 Mr. Alderman Atkins, in returning thanks 
 for the kind manner in which the toast to his 
 health had been given and received, said, that 
 although he had happened frequently to differ 
 from his honourable friend on various political 
 questions, he had yet always regarded him.with 
 the truest respect and esteem. 
 
 These toasts were succeeded by others to the 
 health of the Aldermen and Sheriffs of London, 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 27 
 
 the Vice - Chancellor of the University, and 
 the Magistrates of the city of Oxford. 
 
 Mr. Lock hart again rose, and proposed the 
 health of"thevenerableChamberlain of London," 
 who was present, in excellent health, though he 
 was in his eighty-seventh year. The honourable 
 member spoke of him as a model of the elegant 
 manners, literary taste, and kind dispositions 
 of the generation that was past; and was happy 
 to see, that he who had been the companion of 
 so many men, whose names were enrolled in our 
 history, was still in health, and had lost none of 
 his vivacity. 
 
 The Chamberlain returned thanks, and 
 said, that though it would be admitted that he 
 had arrived at that time of life when a writ of 
 ease might be fairly claimed, yet he should be 
 the most ungrateful man alive, were he to do so 
 now, after his health had been so proposed and 
 received. 
 
 The Town Clerk of Oxford, in returning 
 thanks for the honour which the company had 
 done him in drinking his health, said, that if it 
 ever fell to his province to write a history of the 
 
28 the lord -Mayor's 
 
 city of Oxford, he should record the occurrence 
 of this day as an epoch in its annals. 
 
 The health of Mr. Alderman Lucas was 
 then drank ; and in acknowledging the honour, 
 he hoped that the city of London would always 
 be ready to do suit and service, whenever it was 
 required, in token of the sense which ought 
 ever to be entertained of the sumptuous nature 
 of this day's entertainment. For his part he 
 would say, that he should be always ready to 
 promote the harmony which now existed between 
 the two corporations, and to return the hospi- 
 tality and kindness with which they had been 
 treated. 
 
 Toasts to the health of the Town Clerk of 
 London, the City Solicitor, and others, were 
 subsequently proposed, and honoured with 
 respectful attention. 
 
 The conversation at this banquet, in the 
 intervals of the several toasts, though naturally 
 of a desultory and general nature, was yet such 
 as to shew that, good taste, good feeling, and 
 good sense, are by no means limited to the 
 citizens of the metropolis. 
 
 1 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 29 
 
 The clock had nearly sounded within an hour 
 of midnight, when the Lord Mayor rose from 
 table, and was followed by the rest of the 
 company. * Coffee was handed round in the 
 withdrawing room. The party soon afterwards 
 retired ; and the Lord Mayor, accompanied by 
 his friends, returned to the inn, where they 
 separated to their respective apartments of 
 repose. 
 
 There was something particularly gratifying 
 in every part of the elegant entertainment with 
 which the Lord Mayor and his friends had this 
 day been honoured. It reminded one of what 
 is told of the good olden times of England, to 
 see the Chief Magistrate of Oxford receiving, 
 in the Council Chamber of the classic city, the 
 Chief Magistrate of London, not only in a style 
 of such extreme generosity, as could scarcely 
 have been exceeded if Majesty itself had been 
 invited to the banquet ; but with all that easy 
 politeness, which, in an instant, supersedes the 
 preliminaries of previous acquaintance, and 
 seems scarcely to require intercourse to 
 strengthen, or time to improve it. 
 
30 
 
 WEDNESDAY.' 
 
 Some addition was next morning made to the 
 number of the civic party, by the arrival of 
 Mr. Alderman Heygate and his lady, who 
 had travelled late the preceding evening, 
 accompanied by Miss M c . Murdo, Mrs.Heygate's 
 sister. 
 
 As soon as the first greetings of the day had 
 passed, an ample breakfast was provided in a 
 large room, on the first floor, overlooking the 
 street called the Com -Market. The table, 
 which extended through the whole length of 
 the room, was covered with as elegant linen as 
 the wardrobe of the inn could furnish, and was 
 loaded with a magnificent breakfast. The tea 
 and coffee were accompanied not only with bread, 
 warm and cold, in the shape of loaves, cakes, 
 and biscuits, with other varieties, and butter ; 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 31 
 
 but with every delicacy with which the morning 
 meal, when sumptuously provided, is usually 
 furnished. 
 
 When breakfast was over, the Reverend Dr. 
 George William Hall, Master of Pembroke 
 College, and one of the Pro-Vice-Chancellors, 
 offered, with much politeness, to conduct His 
 Lordship and friends over such parts of the 
 University and City, as they might wish to see. 
 The kindness of this offer was at once most 
 gratefully acknowledged ; and was accepted, 
 as soon as those of the party, who had not 
 awakened from their repose before the morning 
 was somewhat advanced, and who were still 
 lingering at the breakfast table, announced 
 themselves in readiness to attend his lordship. 
 
 At ten o'clock the whole party left the inn, 
 some in carriages, and some on foot, and first 
 proceeded to the Theatre — certainly one of the 
 principal ornaments in Oxford ; for which it is 
 indebted to that unequalled architect, Sir 
 Christopher Wren. Being under repairs, it was 
 seen to some disadvantage. Enough, however, 
 was yet visible of this elegant edifice to raise 
 
32 THE LORD MAYOR'S 
 
 admiration. The party were astonished to hear, 
 that although its interior is only eighty feet by 
 seventy, it is yet made, by consummate contri- 
 vance and geometrical arrangement, to receive, 
 with convenience, upwards of three thousand 
 persons. In imitation of the ancient theatres, 
 the walls of which were too widely expanded to 
 admit of a roof, the ceiling has the appearance 
 of canvass, painted allegorically, and strained 
 over gilt cordage. 
 
 After visiting the Clarendon Printing Office, 
 and crossing the fine quadrangle of the Schools, 
 the next object of attraction was the public 
 library of the University ; commonly called the 
 Bodleian, from the name of its first and principal 
 founder, Sir Thomas Bodley, who lived in 
 Elizabeth's distinguished reign — that favourite 
 period of English literature and greatness ; when 
 learning was prosecuted with an eagerness and 
 perseverance, which, in the present age of 
 indifference and dissipation, it is not easy to 
 conceive. 
 
 In this magnificent repository of knowledge, 
 they were received by the Rev. Dr. Bliss, of 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 33 
 
 St. John's College, the Registrar of the Univer- 
 sity, to whom Mr. Alderman Atkins had letters 
 of introduction, and to whose kindness the 
 party were indebted for seeing many of the 
 antiquities in the library : among these was a 
 Latin exercise book — an autograph — of Queen 
 Elizabeth ; — for it will be remembered, that in 
 those days, it was the fashion among great 
 ladies, quite as much as it is now, to study the 
 ancient languages. On the outside of the 
 cover of this book was the name of " Edward" 
 written, the name of her royal brother, our 
 sixth Edward, which, in the playfulness of early 
 life, the princess Elizabeth had written here and 
 there upon it. There was also a Missal of one 
 of the Henrys, finely emblazoned, with some 
 curiously valuable Greek Manuscripts ; as well 
 as the rare collection of topographical and other 
 works, lately bequeathed to the University, by 
 that learned antiquary, Mr. Gough ; together 
 with the oriental manuscripts, of which there 
 is a rare and unique collection. 
 
 After viewing the elegant models of Ancient 
 Buildings, — among which were particularly 
 
34 THE LORD MAYOR'S 
 
 admired the Theatre of Herculaneum, Le 
 Maison Carree de Nismes, the friezes of which 
 are most minutely and beautifully finished, an 
 excellent cork model of the Amphitheatre of 
 Verona, — and the Busts, Portraits, Landscapes, 
 and Historical Paintings, in which the Picture 
 Gallery is so rich, — the party proceeded to the 
 College of Christ Church. 
 
 The Hall is a magnificent room ; and, for the 
 grandeur of its proportions, and the propriety 
 of its ornaments, is said to be unrivalled as a 
 refectory throughout the kingdom. The 
 entrance to this hall, too, is curious : the roof, 
 though extensive, is supported by one pillar 
 only. As Christ Church has always claimed 
 the honour of receiving our monarchs, when 
 they came to Oxford, this hall has been the 
 scene of those entertainments which were 
 prepared to do honour to the royal visitors — 
 Henry the Eighth, — Queen Elizabeth, in more 
 than one instance ; — to James the First, and 
 Charles the First : and subsequently, in our 
 own times, in the year 1814, our present 
 King dined here with Prince Metternich, the 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 35 
 
 renowned veteran Blucher, and a numerous 
 party of royal and noble visitors ; together with 
 theDean,and all the other members of theCollege. 
 
 In the Kitchen, to which some of the party 
 were drawn by curiosity, nothing was observed 
 particularly worthy of notice, except a large old 
 curious gridiron, apparently about four feet 
 square, supported by four wheels, used in 
 former times for dressing whole joints before 
 ranges and spits were invented. 
 
 After seeing the Cathedral, Chapter House, 
 Common Room, and the Library, which Dr. 
 Johnson pronounced, from its great and 
 commanding size, to be the place to prance in, 
 while Trinity was the place for study, — the 
 party were introduced to the Theatre of 
 Anatomy, by Dr. Kidd, the Regius Professor of 
 Medicine ; of whose polite attentions and 
 interesting communications, on this occasion, 
 too much cannot be said in acknowledgment. 
 
 Among the principal preparations which the 
 Professor's kindness exhibited, — and which are 
 all so elegantly constructed, as in no degree to 
 offend the delicacy of the most refined female 
 
 d2 
 
36 THE LORD MAYOR'S 
 
 mind, — was a portion of the alimentary canal 
 of the turtle, shewing the arteries and veins 
 artificially filled with wax, and the absorbent 
 vessels with quicksilver. 
 
 The exhibition of this fine preparation drew 
 forth some very striking observations on the 
 subject of what is significantly styled compa- 
 rative anatomy, — that part of this wondrous 
 science which compares the anatomy of several 
 species of animals with that of man ; for the 
 purpose of ascertaining the degree of similarity 
 of their internal organization to that of the 
 human body, disregarding the occasional 
 dissimilarity of their external form. " It is on 
 this principle," said the Professor, " that the 
 most approved classification of animals is made, 
 in the present day ; and on this principle it is 
 that the bat and the whale are placed in the 
 same class with the animals that most nearly 
 resemble man ; though, from their external 
 form, they are rather to be considered, the one 
 a bird, and the other ajish." The Professor 
 then took occasion to explain the process of 
 digestion, which, so far as we are acquainted 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 37 
 
 with it, he said, is the same with all animals in 
 the same classification with man, and is soon 
 described. The organs, in their simple state, 
 consist merely of a membranous bag, called the 
 stomach, which, by means of a fluid that exudes 
 from its internal surface, has the power of 
 reducing all the varieties of food on which 
 animals live to a soft homogeneous pulp, from 
 which the nutritive particles are absorbed into 
 the system, and perfected into the state of the 
 blood. He then observed how worthy it is of 
 admiration, and how indicative of the uniformity 
 and power of Nature, " by which term," he 
 said, "I mean the Deity, or Controller of 
 Nature :" — that the character of the blood, 
 through a long series of animals of very different 
 orders, and living on very different kinds of 
 food, is the same. And when we come to 
 examine the mode of its distribution through 
 the body, and the uses to which it is applied, 
 we have equal cause of wonder in the artificial 
 manner in which it is conducted from part to 
 part, and in the varying character of the 
 compounds that are separated from it. The 
 
38 THE LORD MAYOR'S 
 
 resemblance between the distribution of the 
 blood-vessels, and the distribution by a skilful 
 engineer of the pipes and conduits which are to 
 convey water to the several parts of a large city, 
 has been often remarked : " but," said the 
 Professor, "in the distribution of the blood, there 
 is this additional cause for admiration, — -that 
 whereas, in the case of the artificial distribution 
 of water, the same unaltered fluid is drawn off 
 from each individual reservoir to which it has 
 been conveyed, in the case of the blood it is far 
 otherwise. Thus, what passes into the lachrymal 
 gland as blood, passes out as tears ; from the 
 glands of the mouth, as saliva ; from the liver, 
 as bile ; and so on with respect to all the glands 
 of the body. And throughout all the species 
 of the more perfect animals, as quadrupeds, 
 birds, reptiles, and fish, there does not appear," 
 continued the professor, " to be one exception 
 to this mode of distribution. So that, whether 
 you examine the smallest of the fry of the 
 smallest species of minnow, the aggregate 
 quantity of whose blood would hardly be 
 sufficient to leave a sensible moisture on the tip 
 
 6 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 39 
 
 of your finger, or whether you examine the 
 largest of the whale tribe, the main vessel of 
 whose body is a foot in diameter, and whose 
 heart is said to throw out fifteen gallons of 
 blood at a stroke, in either case the mode of 
 distribution, and the apparatus by which it is 
 effected, are essentially the same, as well as the 
 final results : the minutest fish has its heart 
 and arteries as artificially arranged, and the 
 secretions from the blood as distinctly elaborated 
 as those of the elephant or whale. And this," 
 observed the Professor, " is another instance of 
 the truth of that observation, that great and 
 little are as nothing in the hands of God." 
 
 The Professor then took up various prepara- 
 tions illustrative of the history of the skin, shew- 
 ing the unnumbered whitish fibres, of which it 
 consists, intermixed with various branches of 
 nerves, veins, and arteries ; the indented lines, or 
 furrows, upon its surface ; with those pores, or 
 holes of various sizes, not perceivable by the 
 naked eye, which serve for the transpiration of 
 various particles. Each of these pores, when 
 examined through a good glass, looks like a 
 
40 THE LORD MAYOR'S 
 
 fountain, the perspiration being seen to stand 
 therein as clear as rock water. 
 
 The next preparations were illustrative of the 
 teeth, which only, of all the bones, grow in 
 length during a man's whole life ; a circumstance 
 providentially designed to repair the waste 
 continually made by attrition. They are harder 
 and firmer than any other bone, that they may 
 be more durable, and fit to chew the most solid 
 aliments. For their nourishment, there is a 
 cavity contrived on each side of the jaw-bone, 
 in which are lodged an artery, a vein, and a 
 nerve, which, through smaller cavities, send 
 their twigs to every tooth. The fore-teeth are 
 formed broad, and with a thin and sharp edge, 
 like chisels, to cut off a morsel from any solid 
 food. The ones, on each side, beyond these, 
 are stronger and deeper rooted, and some 
 pointed, to bear tougher aliments. The rest 
 are made flat and broad at top, and somewhat 
 uneven, that they may thereby retain, grind, 
 and mix the aliment. The fore- teeth, called the 
 incisors, or cutters, as they have little to do, 
 have only one root : the grinders, designed for 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 41 
 
 harder work, have three. The situation of the 
 teeth, moreover, is most convenient : — the 
 grinders are behind, near the centre of motion, 
 because chewing requires considerable force ; 
 the cutters are placed in front, ready for their 
 easier work. Fresh illustrations these of the 
 wisdom and goodness of the Creator! 
 
 A fine ivory and glass model of the eye was 
 the next preparation to which the learned 
 Professor drew attention ; shewing the utility 
 of the eyelids, eyelashes, and eyebrows. The 
 eyelash, — a palisade of short but stiff hairs, 
 growing out of the cartilaginous edge of the 
 eyelid, — serves to break the too fierce im- 
 pression of the rays of light, and to prevent any 
 thing from getting into the eye when open. In 
 the mean time, the eyebrow hinders perspiration, 
 or any thing else which might be hurtful, falling 
 down from the forehead. And, in order that 
 the eye may be able to move upward, downward, 
 to either side, and round, either to the right or 
 left, six muscles are allotted, which spread their 
 tendons far into the eye. At each corner of 
 the eye there is a gland, with two or three 
 
42 
 
 ducts ; which, opening on the inner surface of 
 the eye-lid, keep the eye-ball moist, to facilitate 
 its motions. By these glands, tears are secerned. 
 The form of the eye, as the Professor lifted the 
 artificial preparation out of its socket, was 
 shewn to be the most commodious that can be 
 imagined. If it had been square, or of any 
 other multangular form, some of its parts would 
 lie too far off, and some too near, those lenticular 
 humours, which, by their refraction, cause vision; 
 but, by means of the round form, the humours 
 are not only fitly placed to perform their office 
 of refraction, and the little darkened cell neatly 
 adapted to receive the image of the object; 
 but, as the eye must necessarily move itself 
 various ways, in order to adjust itself to various 
 objects, so, by this form, it is well prepared for 
 making such movements, Nor less worthy of 
 admiration is the situation of the eye : as it is 
 designed to watch the whole person, it occupies 
 the highest place, — the place most convenient 
 for defence and security. In the hand, indeed, 
 it might have been more ready for service ; but 
 to how many dangers would it have been exposed ! 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 43 
 
 The Professor now opened another of the 
 folding glass doors, which contained some 
 preparations illustrative of diseases and injuries 
 of the bones. 
 
 Noon, however, had now passed ; although 
 the edifying manner in which the time 
 glided away made the party almost insen- 
 sible of its progress. But, as there was 
 much of the University which they had yet to 
 see, and much which, it was lamented, must, 
 after all, remain unseen ; they were under the 
 necessity, with whatever reluctance, of leaving 
 the Theatre of Anatomy : though not without 
 making every possible acknowledgment of their 
 obligations to the Professor, for his kindness of 
 communication; and for those instructive 
 remarks, of which the little that is remembered 
 only serves to raise sincere regret that so much 
 has been forgotten. 
 
 For it is surely scarcely possible to 
 examine even one of those exquisite prepa- 
 rations which the Theatre of Anatomy 
 exhibits, without renewed impressions of the 
 Wisdom that constructed these bodies of ours, 
 
44 THE LORD MAYOR'S 
 
 which are so fearfully and wonderfully made. 
 Nor ought such an illustration of the Divine 
 goodness and mercy to fail of awakening us to 
 the duty of presenting our bodies and souls a 
 living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God ; for 
 
 it is OUR REASONABLE SERVICE. 
 
 Queen's College was next visited. The 
 Library is a noble room ; but it was impossible 
 to observe, without regret, that the fine old oak 
 carving had been painted, without any 
 pretensions whatever to taste or propriety. In 
 this room is a large orrery, now out of repair. 
 The windows of the Chapel, painted nearly 
 three hundred years ago, still retain much of 
 their original brilliance. 
 
 Of All Soul's College, the magnificent 
 Library, — nearly three hundred feet in length, 
 was very much admired. It is said to contain 
 forty thousand volumes,and is annually increased 
 by funds, derived from an estate in the country, 
 appropriated to that purpose. In the centre of 
 this spacious room is a planetarium, kept in 
 motion by machinery, and wound up once in 
 eight days. The Chapel is deserving of all the 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 45 
 
 admiration which it has ever excited. It is 
 exceedingly beautiful : perhaps the most 
 beautiful chapel in Oxford : — the light, shin- 
 ing through the richly-painted windows, is 
 peculiarly soft and impressive ; and imparts a 
 solemnity to the chapel extremely fitting a place 
 of Divine worship. Over the communion-table, 
 and filling the centre of a small Grecian portico, 
 of the Corinthian order, is a fine painting, by 
 Raphael Mengs, — considered one of his finest, 
 — representing our blessed Saviour's appearance 
 to Mary Magdalen in the garden, at the precise 
 moment when he says to her, Touch me not^for 
 I am not yet ascended to my father, #c; his 
 countenance beaming with sweet expression. 
 
 In the Hall is a large picture, by Sir James 
 Thornhill, representing the Finding of the Law, 
 and King Josiah rending his robe. There is a 
 curious sun-dial in the quadrangle of this 
 College, designed by Sir Christopher Wren, 
 which shews the time to a minute ; having two 
 half-rays, and one whole ray for every hour, 
 and the minutes marked on the sides of the 
 rays, fifteen on each side. 
 
46 THE LORD MAYOR'S 
 
 The Lord Mayor's visit to the Radcliffe 
 Library was so brief, that Dr. Williams, the 
 Regius Professor of Botany, and also Librarian 
 of the Radcliffe, regretted he had not an 
 opportunity of paying all the attention he was 
 so anxious to offer. He particularly drew the 
 notice of the party to the two beautiful Roman 
 candlesticks, found at Tivoli, in the ruins of the 
 Emperor Adrian's Palace ; the curious specimens 
 of the Giants Causeway; and the several casts 
 of ancient sculpture, which add so much to the 
 interior decoration of the building. 
 
 The fineness of the day, however, was such, 
 that the Lord Mayor, with many others, 
 particularly wished, after a somewhat hasty 
 inspection of the busts and books which adorn 
 the Library, to take the magnificent panoramic 
 view which the summit of this fine structure 
 commands. Accordingly, several of the party, 
 preceded by his Lordship, ascended the stone 
 staircase, which leads to an outer gallery, 
 surrounding the base of the dome ; and were 
 amply repaid the trouble of ascent by the extent 
 and beauty of what they saw. In the mean 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 47 
 
 time, the Lady Mayoress, and a few others of 
 the ladies, not rinding themselves adequate to 
 greater fatigue than that which they had already 
 sustained, in ascending the lofty and handsome 
 stone staircase, which conducts from the 
 ground-floor to the Library, remained in the 
 superb room which contains the books ; and were 
 quite compensated the loss of the view without, 
 by a more lengthened attention to the treasures 
 within, this elegant building ; particularly some 
 splendid works in Natural History, as they were 
 exhibited and explained by the learned Librarian. 
 
 The day was now fast wearing on, and the 
 Lord Mayor proposed that they should return 
 to the Inn, take some refreshment, and then 
 resume their walk. Of his Lordship's proposal 
 no one felt disposed to decline the acceptance ; 
 for the refreshing fragrance of the air which 
 breathed around the summit of the RadclifFe, 
 had made the party by no means incapable, — 
 spite of a most substantial breakfast, — of doing 
 honour to a copious luncheon, which, at two 
 o'clock, was presented at the Star. 
 
 During this intermediate repast, the amuse- 
 
48 THE LORD MAYOR'S 
 
 ment of the party was exceedingly promoted by 
 the ludicrous entree of a lady of Oxford, who, 
 though of great respectability, had yet over- 
 stepped all the usual ceremonies of introduction, 
 in her eager desire to be admitted to the presence 
 of the Lady Mayoress. Her manners and 
 appearance were ridiculous ; but one felt much 
 regret on hearing that her talents, which were 
 of the highest order, had been unhappily 
 directed, and associated with too small a portion 
 of common sense. 
 
 After luncheon, several of the party, (some 
 were too weary to resume their walk,) were 
 conducted to St. John's College by the Rev. 
 Mr. Woodgate, one of its fellows and tutors — 
 a young clergyman standing in the first rank of 
 the classical scholars of the University. In the 
 library of this college, which consists of two 
 handsome rooms, Mr. Woodgate pointed out 
 several objects well worthy of inspection. 
 Over the entrance to the first room was a bust 
 of Charles I. and portraits of Sir William Paddy, 
 Dr. Gibbons, and of Hudson, who gave his 
 name to the settlement called Hudson's Bay, 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 
 
 49 
 
 There are also portraits of Bishop Meaux, 
 and Archbishop Laud. At the upper end of 
 the inner library is a fine picture of John the 
 Baptist, by Guercino. There are also some very 
 curious paintings of our Saviour, the Virgin 
 Mary, and the twelve Apostles, on copper, 
 supposed to be by Carlo Dolci, — some beautiful 
 miniature portraits of Charles I. and his Queen, 
 — and a picture of Charles I., with the whole 
 Book of Psalms written in the lines of the face, 
 and the hairs of the head, too small to be read 
 without the assistance of a good magnifying 
 glass ! The party were also shewn an ancient 
 crosier, of elegant form and workmanship, six 
 feet one inch in height, en arabesques. It is 
 made of a hard shining black wood, probably 
 of ebony, beaded and infoliated with silver. 
 There is also one of the earliest manuscript 
 bibles after the reformation, extremely curious 
 and interesting, — a copy of the Alcoran, — and 
 a Chinese Dictionary ; not forgetting to 
 mention the pastoral cap of Archbishop Laud, 
 and his walking cane, a strong, though slender 
 staff, with an ivory top of a circular form, the 
 
 E 
 
50 THE LORD MAYOR'S 
 
 same, it is said, which he used in walking to 
 the scaffold. 
 
 This visit to the library of St. John's was 
 interesting, from the consideration, that perhaps 
 few other places can exhibit so many memorials 
 ofArchbishopLaud: — that extraordinary prelate, 
 who, by his charitable temper towards the 
 Roman Catholics of that period, and especially 
 by his humane interposition in behalf of their 
 imprisoned priests, — by his resolute adherence 
 to pomps and ceremonies in religious worship, 
 — by his public declaration, that, in the distri- 
 bution of ecclesiastical preferments, he should, 
 when their merits were equal, prefer the single 
 to the married men, — but, above all, by 
 permitting himself, without the least remon- 
 strance, to be addressed by the title of " Your 
 Holiness," and "Most Holy Father," confessedly 
 gave too much reason for the calumny raised 
 by the factious zealots of the day, that he was 
 in collusion with the Papal court. Much, 
 indeed, is it to be lamented, that his mind was 
 not more occupied with essential points than 
 with circumstantial forms ; and that, in the 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 51 
 
 warmth of his attachment to the Church of 
 England, he seemed so entirely to have lost 
 sight of his discretion : for no man was ever a 
 more firm believer in the doctrines of the 
 Establishment, or more deeply sensible of its 
 inestimable value to the British nation, than this 
 ill-fated prelate. Of the men to whose violence 
 he gave his life a sacrifice, it must be admitted, 
 that, notwithstanding the odious and ridiculous 
 qualities which lay on the surface of their cha- 
 racters ; they were yet among the most extraor- 
 dinary body of men the world ever produced. 
 
 The party now left the library, and, crossing 
 the centre of an arcade, at the east end of the 
 second quadrangle, supported by eight pillars, 
 over which are busts representing the Cardinal 
 and Christian Virtues ; they passed through a 
 gateway of the Doric order, supported by Ionic 
 columns, opening on gardens ; which, if not of 
 the largest dimensions, are yet so tastefully 
 designed, so accurately kept, and so rich in 
 exquisite flowers and evergreens, as to display 
 all the beauty and diversity of which the place 
 is capable. 
 
 e2 
 
52 THE LORD MAYOR'S 
 
 A broad gravel walk, bounded by high 
 walls, apparently of the same antiquity with 
 the college itself; overgrown with ivy, and 
 other climbing plants, and surrounded by a 
 most extensive grass-plot in the centre, gra- 
 dually narrows into avenues on rising ground 
 of beautiful inequality ; richly clothed with 
 trees of such lofty and luxurious growth, that 
 their branches completely over-arch the retired 
 pathway beneath ; thus creating that 
 
 " Obsolete prolixity of shade," 
 
 for which the most interesting of poets so 
 pathetically pleads. 
 
 The sun was shining full upon the gardens at 
 the hour of the Lord Mayor's visit to them ; but 
 the many lofty trees keep these avenues in 
 constant shade, excepting where the sun flings 
 in a line of brilliancy between the boughs of the 
 verdant arches. Such, indeed, is the solitude 
 and repose of the whole scene, and so placid 
 the idea of rest and seclusion which it excites, 
 that the imagination would with difficulty 
 conceive of any place more favourable to 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 53 
 
 quiet study and profound meditation, than 
 the sequestered gardens of St. John's in 
 Oxford. 
 
 A postern-door, in an outer wall, conducted 
 the party into a lane leading to the fine and 
 healthy walks, called the Parks. Passing, on 
 the right, the extensive gardens of Trinity 
 College, which are here terminated by a hand- 
 some wrought-iron gate, through which may 
 be seen some very ancient yew hedges, planted 
 in the formal Dutch style ; and, on the left, 
 Wadham College; the next objects of attraction 
 were the Hall, Library, and Chapel, of New 
 College ; all of which are upon a scale of con- 
 siderable magnificence. 
 
 Of New College Chapel every one has heard, 
 and few probably have visited Oxford without 
 having seen it. For, though it has long since 
 been disrobed of that sumptuous furniture, and 
 despoiled of those costly decorations,with which 
 popish superstition is said to have enriched and 
 adorned it in former times ; it yet retains much 
 that is grand and beautiful, and deservedly takes 
 a high, — we had almost said the first, — place 
 
54 THE LORD MAYOR'S 
 
 among the sanctuaries of Oxford . The delicacy 
 and richness of the five compartments of marble 
 sculpture over the communion-table, elegantly 
 executed in alto-relievo, representing the salu- 
 tation of the Virgin Mary, the Nativity of 
 Christ, the Descent from the Cross, the Resur- 
 rection, and the Ascension : — the altar-table, 
 composed of dove-coloured marble, — the eastern 
 wall wrought into universal ornament, enriched 
 with pinnacles encrusted with tracery of florid 
 gothic, and scooped, as though the stone had 
 been robbed of its weight and density, into 
 the most beautiful niches, to the number of 
 fifty, in four separate ranges, rising one above 
 another; — the organ-loft, so raised over the 
 entrance, and the organ itself so divided in its 
 centre by a gothic arch, as to admit of seeing 
 from the altar the great west window, containing 
 seven allegorical figures, representing the four 
 cardinal virtues, Temperance, Fortitude, Justice, 
 and Prudence ; and the three Christian virtues, 
 Faith, Hope, and Charity ; and, above these, in 
 a space of great width and height, a representa- 
 tion of the Nativity of Christ; — the painted 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 55 
 
 windows of the Ante-Chapel, containing por- 
 traits of patriarchs, prophets, saints, and martyrs, 
 ; — the windows on the north side containing the 
 chief persons recorded in the Old Testament, 
 from Adam to Moses, with twelve of the 
 prophets, — other windows displaying figures of 
 the Saviour, the Virgin Mary, and the Twelve 
 Apostles ; with every part, indeed, of this 
 solemn building, wherein painting, music, and 
 architecture are in such admirable unison, the 
 Lord Mayor and his friends were beyond all 
 expression gratified. 
 
 In the north-east corner of the chapel, en- 
 closed within a narrow folding door, and fast- 
 ened by staples to the wall, for the sake of 
 security, is a crosier, or pastoral staff, of William 
 of Wykeham, the founder of the College, and 
 certainly one of the most illustrious men of his 
 age and country ; — gifted with great abilities, 
 unblemished integrity, and princely munificence. 
 His crosier is nearly seven feet high, of silver 
 gilt, emblazoned with gothic ornaments, and of 
 the most beautiful workmanship. 
 
 While the party were sitting down around the 
 
56 THE LORD MAYOR'S 
 
 steps of the altar, admiring the varied and 
 wondrous beauties of this solemn little place, 
 and musing over the picture of other times 
 which the majestic sacredness of this magnifi- 
 cent building presented to their imagination, 
 they were unexpectedly gratified by the sound 
 of the organ ; whose grand intonations soaring 
 aloft, and warbling along the roof, were made 
 to swell gradually through the venerable chapel, 
 diffusing, as it were, a tranquillizing sabbath 
 over the place. 
 
 For this musical treat the party were indebted 
 to the Rev. Mr. Woodgate, who hoped, by 
 playing first himself, to induce the ladies to 
 assume firmness sufficient to contribute their 
 contingent to the gratification of the party. 
 
 After sitting, for some time, lost in that kind 
 of reverie which strains of music are sometimes 
 apt to inspire, it was found that the far advance 
 of the day admitted of visiting only one more 
 of these beautiful buildings, — and this, it was 
 agreed, should be Magdalene College, 
 
 Underneath the altar-piece in Magdalene 
 Chapel, is a very fine picture of Christ bearing 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 57 
 
 his Cross, supposed to have been the work of 
 Moralez, styled El Divino, a Spanish artist of 
 the sixteenth century. The painted windows, 
 enriched with representations of Christ's bap- 
 tism, the Adoration at the Sepulchre, figures of 
 the Apostles, Primitive Fathers, Saints, and 
 Martyrs, were much admired. Over the 
 western entrance are five small figures, repre- 
 senting John the Baptist, Mary Magdalene, 
 Henry III,, William of Wykeham, and William 
 Waynfleete the founder, — considered to be as 
 fine specimens of ancient sculpture, as the party 
 had seen in Oxford. The columns supporting 
 the roof of the Ante-Chapel deserve particular 
 notice. In the hall, which is of spacious pro- 
 portions, the wainscot of painted oak is deco- 
 rated with several grotesque figures, carved in 
 wood. In the centre are nine compartments, 
 six of which are scripture pieces. Among 
 several whole length portraits, the attention was 
 drawn particularly to that of Addison, who was 
 a demy of this college. 
 
 The Buttery was next visited, in which some 
 of the party tasted the classic water. In the 
 
58 
 
 THE LORD MAYOR S 
 
 gardens, which encircle a prettily situated 
 paddock for deer, is a beautiful walk, bordered 
 by lofty elms, near which winds the river 
 Cherwell, and which is called Addison's Walk, 
 from being his favourite resort when an Oxford 
 student. 
 
 The interior of the great quadrangle is re- 
 markable for the emblematical representations 
 which decorate it. These singular devices have 
 long exercised the ingenuity of the curious 
 antiquary. After again admiring the lofty 
 Magdalene tower, whose stately form and fine 
 proportions delight the eye, from whatever point 
 of view it be seen ; the party returned to the 
 Star, to make those alterations in their dress, 
 for which the near approach of the dinner-hour 
 had not allowed more than sufficient time. 
 
 The hour of six had scarcely arrived, when 
 the company, invited by the Lord Mayor to 
 dine with him at the Star, began to assemble. 
 The city watermen, in their new scarlet state 
 liveries, were stationed in the entrance hall ; and 
 a band of music was in attendance, to play on 
 the arrival of the visitors. In a large drawing 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 59 
 
 room, on the first floor, fronting the street, on a 
 sofa at the upper end, sat the Lady Mayoress, 
 accompanied by Mrs. Charles Venables ; and 
 surrounded by the other ladies of the party. The 
 City Marshal of London, Mr. Cope, dressed in 
 full uniform, and carrying his staff of office in his 
 hand, took his station at the door,and announced 
 the names of the guests as they severally arrived. 
 Near the entrance of the room also stood Mr. 
 Beddome, in a richly wrought black silk gown, 
 carrying the sword downwards. The Lord 
 Mayor, who was in full dress, and attended 
 by his chaplain in clerical robes, wore on this 
 occasion the brilliant collar of S. S. ; — an honour 
 belonging to the Lord High Chancellor, — the 
 Lord Chief Justice of England, — and to the Chief 
 Magistrate of London. The worshipful the 
 Mayor, and the other Magistrates of Oxford ; 
 Richard Cox, Esq., Thomas Fox Bricknell, Esq., 
 Aldermen; — William Folker, Esq., Sir Joseph 
 Lock, Richard Wootten, Esq., Thomas 
 Robinson, Esq., Richard Ferdinand Cox, Esq., 
 Assistants; — Mr. Deodatus Eaton, and Mr. 
 Crews Dudley, Bailiffs; together with Mr. 
 
60 THE LORD MAYOR'S 
 
 Percival Walsh, the City Solicitor, attended by 
 the Town Clerk, in his robe of office, which 
 resembled, in some degree, the undress black 
 silk gown worn by Gentlemen Commoners of 
 the University, — were all severally introduced, 
 and received by the Lord Mayor with a warmth 
 and cordiality, adequate to that which they had 
 so kindly manifested on the preceding day. 
 
 The Vice-Chancellor of Oxford, the Rev. Dr. 
 Richard Jenkyns, Master of Balliol, preceded, 
 as usual, by one of the Yeomen Bedels, carrying 
 a large mace, — and the Rev. Dr. Thomas 
 Edward Bridges, President of Corpus Christi 
 College, — the Rev. Dr. George William Hall, 
 Master of Pembroke; the Rev. Dr. Philip 
 Nicholas Shuttleworth, Warden of New College; 
 the Rev. Dr. John Dean, Principal of St. Mary's 
 Hall ; and Dr. John David Macbride, Principal 
 of Magdalene Hall, and Lord Almoner's Prae- 
 lector in Arabic ; together with the two Proc- 
 tors, the Rev. George CummingRashleigh, m. a., 
 and the Rev. Wadham Harbin, m. a . ; the 
 Rev. Mr. Woodgate, to whom allusion has 
 before been made, and other Members of the 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 61 
 
 University, all of whom were dressed in full 
 academicals, were severally introduced to the 
 Lady Mayoress. To this distinguished list of 
 visitors must be added the names of John Fane, 
 Esq. , one of the Members of Parliament for the 
 County of Oxford ; and James Haughton 
 Langston, Esq., and John Ingram Lockhart, 
 Esq., Members for the City of Oxford. 
 
 When dinner was announced, the party, 
 amounting to nearly sixty persons, each gen- 
 tleman taking charge of a fairpartner, descended 
 to a long room on the ground floor. 
 
 Every attention had been given by the pro- 
 prietor of the Star, to render the dinner as 
 excellent as the occasion required, and to fit up 
 the dining-room with as much taste as its 
 extent would admit of; and no means had 
 been left untried to keep the apartment as cool 
 as possible. Wreaths of flowers were hung 
 thickly round it, and the windows, which 
 opened on a garden, were overspread with 
 branches of trees, to exclude, as much as 
 possible, the warm beams of a western summer 
 sun. The band of musicians now removed their 
 
 6 
 
62 THE LORD MAYOR'S 
 
 station from the entrance-hall, to the garden 
 under the windows; where they played, at 
 proper intervals, with excellent effect, the whole 
 evening. The Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress 
 took their seats at the head of the table : the 
 Vice-Chancellor of the University sitting on 
 the right hand of his Lordship, and the Chief 
 Magistrate of Oxford on the left hand of her 
 Ladyship. The Heads of Houses then took 
 their seats, according to the priority of their 
 admission to the degree of Doctor, alternating 
 with the ladies and daughters of Aldermen 
 Atkins, Magnay, Heygate, and Lucas. The 
 Aldermen of London and of Oxford then filled 
 the remainder of the table. 
 
 Amidst much elegance and beauty, the Lady 
 Mayoress attracted particular observation. Her 
 Ladyship was arrayed in the most splendid 
 manner, wore a towering plume of ostrich 
 feathers, and blazed with jewels. 
 
 When the Chaplain, by craving a blessing on 
 the feast, had set the guests at liberty to address 
 themselves to the dainties before them ; and the 
 room was illuminated throughout by a profusion 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 63 
 
 of delicate wax candles, which cast a light as of 
 broad day over the apartment ; it would not 
 have been easy for any eye, however accustomed 
 to look on splendour, not to have been delighted, 
 in no common manner, with the elegance of the 
 classic and civic scene now exhibited in the 
 dining-parlour of the first inn in Oxford. 
 
 The accompaniments, indeed, fell short of 
 that splendour which they would have had in 
 the Egyptian Hall of the Mansion House in 
 London, but still the general effect was pecu- 
 liarly striking; and, when the rank of the 
 company is considered, may with truth be 
 called brilliant. 
 
 The conversation naturally assumed that tone 
 best qualified for the discovery of those talents 
 and learning, of which the evening had drawn 
 together so select and bright a constellation. 
 
 After dinner, as soon as the health of the 
 King, the welfare of the Church, the prosperity 
 of the University and City, and other toasts of 
 loyalty, literature, and religion, had been 
 honoured, the Lord Mayor proposed the health of 
 the Vice-Chancellor of Oxford . This was follow- 
 
64 
 
 ed by toasts to the health of the other Heads 
 of Houses, the Professors, and Proctors; the 
 Worshipful the Mayor, and other Magistrates 
 of Oxford ; and the Right Hon. the Lord Mayor 
 of London : each toast giving rise to such 
 acknowledgments, as the individuals, to whom 
 they referred, considered appropriate and ade- 
 quate. The health of the Lady Mayoress, and 
 the other ladies of the company, was proposed 
 by one of the Heads of Houses ; the toast was 
 hailed with warm demonstrations of respect — 
 and the honour was acknowledged with consi- 
 derable point and taste by Mr. Lockhart, the 
 Member, at her Ladyship's request. 
 
 The ladies, who, to the great gratification of 
 the company, had sat longer than is usual at 
 most tables, at length obeyed the signal of the 
 Lady Mayoress, and retired to the drawing- 
 room — 
 
 " With grace, 
 Which won who saw, to wish their stay." 
 
 The conversation was, however, in no degree 
 changed in their absence. The Lady Mayoress 
 and her fair friends had taken their share in it 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 65 
 
 with much good sense and delicacy ; and their 
 departure, so far from being succeeded by that 
 obstreperous and vulgar merriment, or anything 
 like that gross profligacy of conversation, which 
 indicates rejoicing at being emancipated from 
 the restraint of female presence, only gave 
 occasion to the Magistrates of Oxford to 
 express their wish, that, in the invitations to 
 their corporation dinners, arrangements could 
 be made, that would include the ladies. 
 
 There can be no question, that the influence 
 which well-educated and amiable females have 
 upon society is immense. Among other important 
 effects which it produces, it prevents that con- 
 versational mannerism which is otherwise found 
 to characterize the social intercourse of men ; 
 and it promotes the observance of those little 
 courtesies, on which so much of the comfort of 
 life unquestionably depends. 
 
 At ten o'clock the gentlemen were summoned 
 to the drawing-room ; where they found that 
 the lady who had graced the luncheon with her 
 presence, again gave the Lady Mayoress the 
 honour of her society. It is a remark of 
 
 F 
 
66 THE LORD MAYOR'S 
 
 Aristotle, in his Treatise on the Drama, that its 
 purpose is best answered by such events as 
 are unexpected*. The unexpected honour 
 of this lady's visit was a forcible illustration 
 of this position of the great critic of anti- 
 quity; it greatly promoted the amusement 
 of the company. She appeared to have passed 
 the meridian of life ; was in person somewhat 
 charge d'embonpoint, with a countenance of 
 much drollery of expression, which had once 
 been handsome. Her manners and appear- 
 ance gave instant evidence that she was a 
 most eccentric personage. The younger part 
 of the company, indeed, were kept in a continual 
 agony of stifled laughter ; so much were they 
 amused with every thing she did, and with 
 every thing she said. She revolved through the 
 drawing-room like a vagrant comet in its orbit, 
 sometimes taking her seat at the side of one 
 lady, and then at the side of another ; at one 
 time talking familiarly, — for she was known to 
 
 " Tuvrcc <5e yu/ercu (Acihisa, Toiavra, orav ysvviTai 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 67 
 
 them all, — with every Doctor who had not 
 adroitness enough to move out of her way : and 
 at last wedged herself in upon the sofa, already 
 filled as much as comfortable session would 
 admit ; where she closed her evening eccentri- 
 cities, by humorous converse with the venerable 
 Chamberlain of London. 
 
 f2 
 
68 
 
 THURSDAY. 
 
 While the morning was yet early, — for the 
 Lord Mayor had the night before requested 
 his friends not to devote too many hours to 
 repose, — the sound of footsteps, passing and 
 repassing, was heard through the inn, accom- 
 panied by whispering consultations among the 
 servants ; who were collecting, at every chamber 
 door, the luggage of the party, in order that 
 every thing might be in readiness for embarking, 
 as soon as the Lord Mayor had risen. Long 
 before seven o'clock, the whole city was in 
 motion ; and flocks of people were seen sweep- 
 ing along the streets, and hastening to the 
 banks of Christ Church Meadow, — the point 
 from which the embarkation would best be 
 seen. 
 
 Every place from which a view was likely to 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 69 
 
 be had, was crowded with expecting multitudes. 
 The old wooden bridge, the windows of the 
 late Sir H. Taunton's House, the branches of 
 the trees, — every spot, in short, that could 
 admit a face or footstep, was alive with spec- 
 tators. 
 
 The State Barge, — on the sides of which the 
 ten splendid scarlet silk banners were brightened 
 as they waved gently in the rising sun, — was 
 attended by the shallop of the Thames Navi- 
 gation Committee of the City of London ; on 
 board of which were Messrs. Stevenson, Austin, 
 Bennett, Carter, Daw, Dowler, Green, Hunt, 
 Ingall, Ledger, Lister, Mathie, Saunders, and 
 Mr. Stephen Leach, Clerk of the Works of 
 the Thames Navigation, in the Jurisdiction of 
 the City of London, westward of London Bridge ; 
 who were taking their view of the state of the 
 navigation in the upper districts. In another 
 large boat, half-covered with an awning, was 
 his Lordship's Yeoman of the Household, who 
 had charge of the provisions for the Lord Mayor's 
 party ; together with the cook, who was, at 
 the time of embarkation, busily engaged in 
 
70 
 
 preparing a fire in a grate, fixed in the bow of 
 the boat. 
 
 About seven o'clock, signals of the approach 
 of His Lordship's party were descried and heard. 
 The populace, thickly stationed on the road 
 through which the carriages were to pass, 
 caught up the acclamation ; and announced to 
 all who thronged the margin of the river, that 
 the Lord Mayor was coming. His Lordship 
 and the Lady Mayoress alighted from the 
 carriage at the bridge, and walked through the 
 respectful crowd, which divided to give them 
 passage ; and were at once conveyed to the State 
 Barge, in the Water Bailiff's boat. 
 
 The whole party now quickly followed ; and, 
 at a quarter after seven, amidst shouts of reite- 
 rated applause from the surrounding multitudes, 
 the City Barge, manned by the city watermen, 
 in scarlet liveries, and all the other boats in 
 attendance on His Lordship, were simulta- 
 neously launched on the broad bosom of the 
 princely Thames # . 
 
 * The opinion, that the original name of this fine river is Isis, 
 and that it has no pretensions to the name of Thames, till its 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 71 
 
 The immense tide of population which had 
 rolled forth from the city, flowed along with 
 the boats a considerable distance, on both sides 
 of the river ; and extreme delight was visible in 
 every countenance. The weather, indeed, was 
 of itself sufficient to give rise to joyous and 
 happy feelings. The rays of a bright sun, 
 streaming through an unclouded sky, poured 
 their enlivening influence all around. It was 
 quite one of those genial mornings, when we 
 seem to draw in delight with the very air we 
 breathe ; and to feel happy, we can scarcely tell 
 why. 
 
 As soon as the first tumults of rejoicing had 
 in some degree subsided, and had left the party 
 at liberty to look at the scenery around them ; 
 
 confluence with the little river Tame, in the neighbourhood of 
 Dorchester, in the County of Oxford, is now generally admitted 
 to have no other authority than that which it derives from the 
 fictions of the poet. The learned author of the " Additions to 
 Camden's Britannia," has fairly and fully decided that this river 
 was anciently called the Thames, long before it receives the 
 waters of the Tame. 
 
72 THE LORD MAYOR'S 
 
 Oxford, in a retrospective view, appeared a beau- 
 tiful and an affecting object. You saw, indeed, 
 only the clustering spires, and pinnacles, and 
 domes of this illustrious city, rising from the 
 plain ; but they well served to call to recollection 
 the many monastic buildings, the great gothic 
 quadrangles, the solemn halls, the venerable 
 galleries, the shadowy cloisters, and the se- 
 questered walks, which had been visited the 
 day before. And you could not reflect on the 
 number of its libraries, paintings, statues, 
 monuments, with its stupendous apparatus of 
 universal science, — on the venerable character of 
 its rulers, the erudition of its professors, and the 
 rank, fortune, and number of its students, — 
 without devoutly wishing, " that whatever tends 
 to the advancement of true religion, and useful 
 learning, may, in Oxford, for ever flourish and 
 abound.'' 
 
 The vessels paused, for about five minutes, at 
 Ifley Pound Lock, just long enough to admit 
 of the eye glancing at the venerable tower of 
 Ifley Church, whose appearance bespeaks great 
 antiquity, and is said to exhibit a very fine 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 73 
 
 example of Saxon architecture. As soon as 
 Sanford Lock was passed, where the water falls 
 about seven feet, the beauties of Nuneham w r ere 
 beginning to rise in full prospect to the view. 
 The river now takes a bold, though somewhat 
 meandering sweep to the right, and exhibits, 
 to great advantage, the seat of Earl Harcourt ; 
 a regular and elegant stone edifice, on a fine 
 verdant brow, the dome of the church rising 
 above the woods that stretch to a great extent 
 on either side of it. It is to be regretted, 
 however, that at this period of the pleasure- 
 voyage, — for it was now about nine in the morn- 
 ing, — the party were all so unitedly engaged in 
 the elegant cabin of the State Barge, in doing 
 honour to the delicacies of the Lord Mayor's 
 breakfast table, that the beauties of Nuneham 
 were not seen to the best advantage. 
 
 About ten o'clock the civic party passed the 
 ancient town of Abingdon, which, with the 
 various houses and gardens covering the banks 
 of the river on either side, and the bridge of 
 three arches, an ancient structure, heightens 
 very much the picturesque appearance of the 
 
74 THE LORD MAYOR'S 
 
 scene. The river, however, soon becomes 
 barren of interesting or beautiful objects. The 
 shores are flat on either side, and there is 
 nothing to relieve an extensive view of arable 
 cultivation, except the church of Sutton 
 Courtney. The village of Appleford offers 
 nothing to the attention ; and the white tower 
 of Long Whittenham Church, on a broken 
 slope, sprinkled with trees, alone enlivened the 
 advancing scenes of the voyage. From thence 
 the river makes a sudden northern bend towards 
 Clifton Ferry ; from which place the Thames 
 was made navigable to Oxford, by Act of 
 Parliament, in the twenty-first year of James 
 the First. The navigation here appeared to be 
 particularly defective ; for, with all the advan- 
 tage of the exertions that had been made by 
 the Water-Bailiff's directions, and the expense 
 that had been incurred for the supply of water ; 
 the country having been comparatively drained 
 for several miles along the upper districts, — and 
 though the City Barge and Shallop, and the 
 attendant boats, drew scarcely more than two 
 feet of water, — they were detained at Clifton a 
 6 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 75 
 
 considerable length of time. Such hindrances 
 would, doubtless, be in a great degree removed, 
 — and they are said to happen very frequently, — 
 if the side-cut lately made there, had been 
 continued lower down. This cut, as well as 
 that at Culham, should have opening weirs at 
 the head of them to deepen the water in the 
 cuts, which at present is by no means sufficient, 
 and so to prevent the flush-water from passing 
 away too quickly. With respect, however, to 
 the water below Clifton Ferry, as it would be 
 impossible, owing to the rocky bottom of the 
 shore, to increase its depth, — that portion of the 
 river might be avoided, by another side-cut, 
 with a lock and weir on the Berkshire side. 
 
 Other improvements might here be made ; 
 and, indeeed, in all the upper districts of the 
 Thames Navigation ; by penning up a sufficient 
 quantity of the still abundant supply of water 
 to subserve, at all times, the purposes of Navi- 
 gation without flushing, — deepening the shoals, 
 — reducing projecting points on the banks, 
 making, and preserving uninterrupted, conve- 
 nient towing paths, with the barge - channel 
 
76 THE LORD MAYOR'S 
 
 uniformly contiguous thereto ; keeping the 
 locks in good repair, and well attended, and 
 lessening, as much as possible, the number of 
 the ferry-boats, by removing the necessity for 
 them. 
 
 The river, which now becomes the principal 
 feature of the landscape, widens into conside- 
 rable breadth ; and an island, which divides it, 
 is connected by two bridges with the opposite 
 banks. 
 
 The crowds of people, — men, women, and 
 children, — who had accompanied the barge 
 from Oxford, were continually succeeded by 
 fresh reinforcements from every town and village 
 that is skirted by the river. Distant shouts of 
 acclamation perpetually re-echoed from field to 
 field, as the various rustic parties, with their 
 fresh and blooming faces, were seen hurrying 
 forth from their cottages and gardens ; climbing 
 trees, struggling through copses, and traversing 
 thickets, to make their shortest way to the 
 water-side. Handfuls of halfpence were 
 scattered to the children as they kept pace in 
 running along the banks with the City Barge ; 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 77 
 
 and Mr. Alderman Atkins, who assisted the 
 Lord Mayor in the distribution, seemed to enter, 
 with more than common pleasure, into the enjoy- 
 ment of the little children. It was gratifying to 
 see the absence of selfish feeling manifested by 
 some of the elder boys, who, forgetful of 
 themselves, collected for the younger girls. 
 
 There is, unquestionably, something genuine . 
 and affectionate in the cheerfulness of the 
 common people, when it springs from the 
 bounty and familiarity of those above them : 
 the warm glow of gratitude spreads over their 
 mirth ; and a kind word, or look, or a little 
 pleasantry, frankly said or done, — and which 
 calls in no degree for any sacrifice of personal 
 dignity, — always gladdens the heart of a 
 dependent a thousand times more than oil and 
 wine. It is wonderful, too, how much life and joy 
 even one intelligent and good-humoured member 
 of a pleasure party will diffuse around him. The 
 fountain of indwelling delight, which animates 
 his own bosom, overflows to others ; and every 
 thing around quickly freshens into smiles. 
 
 In the immediate vicinity of Little Whitten- 
 
78 THE LORD MAYOR'S 
 
 ham, near to the town of Dorchester, the Tame 
 mingles its waters with the Thames, not as an 
 equal, but as a tributary, stream. Its j unction, 
 indeed, scarcely strikes the observation ; and, 
 were it not for a wooden bridge, thrown across 
 its mouth, as a communication between the 
 meadows which it divides, the slender supply of 
 water which the majestic Thames receives from 
 the Tame would be hardly noticed . 
 
 At half-past three, the barges passed through 
 Benson Lock, distant about five-and-twenty 
 miles from Oxford, and thus entered the fourth 
 district of the Thames. As the Lord Mayor 
 drew nigh to Wallingford, reports of guns were 
 heard, fired from its bridge of many arches, to 
 salute his Lordship's passage. 
 
 The party were now summoned down to 
 dinner ; much time, however, was not expended 
 at this meal. The scenery was beginning to be 
 much too interesting to be passed unnoticed. 
 The river here glides along amidst successive 
 scenes of varying beauty : the village of Goring 
 on one bank of the river, and that of Streatley 
 on the other, — the numerous islets that spot 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 79 
 
 the river,— with the Basilden Woods in the 
 back-ground, present such a picture of beauty 
 as might well be transcribed upon the canvass. 
 
 On approaching Whitchurch, the stream 
 makes a considerable bend, and taking the 
 direction of Shooter's Hill, — a downy ridge that 
 extends from Basilden Wood to Pangbourne, — 
 reflects its verdant slopes and chalky excavations. 
 Whitchurch is a small but pretty village. On 
 passing beneath the bridge, the retrospective 
 scenery is exceedingly picturesque and pleasing ; 
 the river, which is divided by an island planted 
 with willows, — the falls of water, pouring over, 
 or bursting through, the flood-gates of the 
 lock ; the tower of Pangbourne Church, rising 
 from the village; the spire of Whitchurch, 
 indistinctly seen through surrounding trees ; a 
 mill, with all its interesting accompaniments; 
 the upper line of Shooter's Hill, and Basilden 
 Woods beyond it, are the objects that compose 
 this delightful picture. 
 
 Mr. Simeon, of Whitchurch, one of the 
 Navigation Commissioners of the Upper 
 Districts, was invited on board the City State 
 
80 
 
 Barge, with the two ladies, Mrs. Allan Gardner 
 and her friend, who were walking with him. 
 They proceeded a few miles towards Reading, 
 and were much gratified by the polite attention 
 of his Lordship and the Lady Mayoress. Several 
 other persons, too, were invited on board in the 
 course of the day, amongst whom were three 
 nice boys, relations of Mr. Secretary Peel. 
 
 The river now flows on between meadows, 
 whose verdure had apparently been benefitted 
 by the rains of the preceding week ; with near, 
 or more receding uplands, in arable cultivation 
 and shaded inclosures. After a course of about 
 three miles, the stream makes a sudden bend to 
 the left, beneath a long abrupt bank, and 
 approaches Caversham. The road, which is 
 here frequently near the water-side, was lined 
 with spectators, some on foot, some on horse- 
 back, and some in equipages of every kind, to ' 
 see the Barges as they passed. 
 
 Among the equestrians, two are deserving 
 that their looks and equipments should be 
 alluded to in more than general terms. The 
 animals they bestrode, were a couple of broken 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 81 
 
 down ponies, gaunt and rusty, who had possibly 
 once seen better days. The men themselves 
 were not unsuitable figures for such a pair of 
 steeds. They rode with short stirrups, that 
 brought their knees almost under cover of the 
 shaggy mane that overspread the ewe necks of 
 the poor creatures ; and carried their short thick 
 sticks perpendicular in their hands. Such was 
 the appearance of these country wights as they 
 shambled along the road that gave them so 
 good a view of the City State Barge. And so 
 mightily pleased was the Lord Mayor with their 
 uncouth and ludicrous appearance, that he 
 hailed one of them, and asked him to be the 
 bearer of a message to Reading, touching his 
 Lordship's carriage. The fellow seemed to feel 
 as he never felt before. An honour was about 
 to be conferred upon him alone, — to be the 
 avant courier of the Lord Mayor of London, — 
 above and beyond all the other riders, drivers, 
 and walkers, of whatever quality and degree, 
 who had thronged to the view of the civic party . 
 And no sooner had his Lordship flung him a 
 
82 THE LORD MAYOR'S 
 
 piece of money, and told him to " make haste 
 to the Bear Inn, Reading, and order the Lord 
 Mayor's carriage to meet the barge at Caversham 
 Bridge," than the fellow instantly belaboured 
 the starveling ribs of the poor animal that carried 
 him, with kicks and cudgel ; who, in a moment, 
 dashed briskly forward, snuffling and snorting, 
 across the fields. In the eagerness of his flight, 
 the doughty messenger had much ado to 
 maintain his seat ; he sometimes slipped on one 
 side of the saddle, and sometimes on the other ; 
 while the skirts of his unbuttoned coat fluttered 
 far out behind him. He executed his commission , 
 however, with fidelity equalled only by the 
 dispatch which he had used ; for, when the 
 barge arrived at Caversham Bridge, the carriage 
 was waiting the Lord Mayor's arrival. Other 
 carriages were also in attendance. It was now 
 nearly nine o'clock ; and, as the evening shadows 
 were beginning to shroud the surrounding 
 scenery, the Lady Mayoress, and the other ladies 
 of the party, except the Misses Atkins, fearful of 
 too long exposure to the night air, landed at the 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 83 
 
 bridge, amidst the firing of guns and other 
 demonstrations of respectful salutation; and 
 proceeded in their carriages to Reading. 
 
 The State Barge now resumed its passage. 
 The sun had whirled down his broad disk into 
 the west; and the evening twilight just served 
 to show obscurely the tranquil stream of water 
 over which the vessel glided ; and the shapeless 
 forms of country by which it was surrounded. 
 The cool, and yet mild air, of a clear starlight 
 summer night, was quite refreshing after the 
 glare and heat of a long day ; and the perfume 
 which it wafted from the neighbouring trees and 
 meadows, bathed in the evening dew, was 
 exquisitely fragrant. 
 
 At a quarter after nine, the State Barge 
 entered the river Kennet ; and a few minutes 
 before ten arrived at the High Bridge, in the 
 centre of the town of Reading. The distance 
 from Oxford, by water, is about nine-and-thirty 
 miles ; and might certainly have been made in 
 less than fourteen hours and a half, if the 
 navigation of the Upper Districts had been more 
 
 g2 
 
84 THE LORD MAYOR'S 
 
 attended to. Carriages were at the bridge, 
 which conveyed his Lordship and friends to 
 the Bear Inn; where, after partaking of a 
 sumptuous supper, they separated, and betook 
 themselves to the silence and retirement of their 
 chambers. 
 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 85 
 
 FRIDAY, 
 
 The brief time that the party tarried in 
 Reading, the birth-place of Archbishop Laud, 
 admitted of their seeing nothing more than the 
 ruins of its abbey, — an abbey formerly one of 
 the most considerable in England, both for the 
 magnitude of its building, and the state of its 
 endowments. Its abbots were mitred, and 
 were privileged with a seat in parliament. The 
 refectory, in which the councils and parliament 
 of Henry VI.'s thirty-first year are supposed to 
 have been held, still remains ; but the cloister 
 has been long since demolished. Nothing now 
 remains of it, save ruins of massy blocks of flint 
 walls. 
 
 At eight o'clock the whole party were again 
 assembled on-board the City Barge. Their 
 number was considerably augmented by the 
 accession of Alderman Sir Claudius Stephen 
 
86 THE LORD MAYOR'S 
 
 Hunter, his two nieces, and his brother ; Mr. 
 Alderman Birch ; Mr. Alderman and Mrs. 
 Waithman; Mr. Simeon; and Mr. Alderman 
 and Mrs. Heygate, with Miss Mc Murdo, who 
 had intended to rejoin the party sooner ; but had 
 been detained, by the imposing magnificence of 
 the views at Blenheim, too late to meet the 
 barge at Wallingford. 
 
 The bridge at Reading, near which the Lord 
 Mayor embarked, was thronged beyond measure 
 with spectators ; and scarcely could a passage be 
 obtained, so completely were the pathways at 
 the river side choked with people. The throng 
 and confusion, however, was of a lively and 
 cheerful character. All came forth to see and 
 to enjoy; and appeared determined that, 
 whatever might be the inconvenience occasioned 
 by the pressure, it should not, in the smallest 
 measure, be- allowed to chafe their temper. 
 
 The gentlemen on board the Navigation 
 Shallop, which was in close attendance, waved 
 their hats as the Lord Mayor ascended the 
 circular wooden staircase that led upon the 
 deck of the State Barge, and this demonstration 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 87 
 
 of respect was accompanied by loud shouts of joy 
 from those on shore, by the ringing of bells, and 
 the firing of guns. The extreme respect and 
 gratulation, indeed, with which his Lordship 
 was everywhere received throughout the voyage, 
 it would be ungrateful to omit, and yet tedious 
 to repeat. 
 
 In little more than two miles from the spot 
 where the Kennet loses itself in the ampler 
 waters of the Thames, is situated the pretty 
 village of Sunning, where there is an ancient, 
 but apparently-neglected seat, with many a 
 lofty elm scattered about it; — so fair for 
 situation, that no one can pass it, without 
 wishing anxiously for a return of those better 
 days which it is reported formerly to have 
 known. On the opposite bank, in Oxfordshire, 
 the church of Shiplake produces a very pretty 
 effect from the water. The river here makes a 
 considerable bend towards Wargrave. On the 
 high ground, near this village, is a very 
 handsome house, either way commanding a fine 
 view of the Thames, towards Reading on the 
 
88 THE LORD MAYOR'S 
 
 south, and Henley on the north. On the 
 opposite side is Boulney House, the grounds of 
 which are planted in a pleasing taste. 
 
 The party took breakfast at nine o'clock. 
 
 Park Place was the next magnificent object 
 that attracted attention. Its successive pro- 
 jections, with their intervening valleys, its 
 wood, lawns, and declivities, are in a style of 
 beauty which none of the other landscapes near 
 the Thames can at all exceed. The house, 
 which is elegantly chaste and simple, is said to 
 stand nearly three hundred feet above the river, 
 but is well sheltered by woods and plantations* 
 The river is here interspersed with islets ; and, 
 as the vessel glided through their little channels, 
 the elevated beauties of this delightful place 
 appeared to very great advantage. Before the 
 last bold projection of Park Place, the Thames 
 makes a gentle bend, and discovers an excellent 
 view of Henley Bridge. This bridge is built of 
 white stone, and consists of five arches, sur- 
 mounted by a low balustrade ; the whole forming 
 a design of unusual simplicity and elegance,, 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 89 
 
 — certainly the most beautiful structure of the 
 kind, on the Thames, that had yet offered itself 
 to the notice of the party. 
 
 Of the beauties of Henley much had been 
 imagined ; but they surpassed expectation. It 
 is situated in a vale, close to the banks of the 
 river, with an amphitheatre of woody hills 
 behind. Its lofty tower, of beautiful proportions, 
 standing full before the view, adds considerably 
 to the effect produced by the fine bridge and 
 surrounding landscape. 
 
 The Reverend Dr. Schobell, minister of Henley 
 parish, and Chairman of the Commissioners 
 of the Upper District of the Thames, — whose 
 local information and gentlemanly manners 
 gave him a title equally to kindness and 
 respect, — was now, invited by the Lord Mayor 
 on board the barge, with all the usual forms of 
 politeness. 
 
 The morning had, hitherto, been somewhat 
 overcast; but the sun, which, by this time, 
 had risen considerably above the horizon, now 
 began to shine out in all its splendour; and 
 displayed the banners which waved over the 
 
90 
 
 vessel with considerable effect. The vapours 
 rose like a curtain before the scenery, and 
 shewed the town of Henley, with the beauty of 
 the adjacent country, to great advantage. 
 
 The Thames, clear, deep, and still, sleeping, 
 as it were, in summer tranquillity, now appeared 
 beyond expression beautiful. The band of 
 music, which had accompanied the barge from 
 Reading, and was now playing some national 
 airs in a very spirited manner, rendered this part 
 of the excursion highly gratifying. 
 
 Mr. Alderman Birch here called to the 
 recollection of the party, the beautiful lines of 
 Sir Thomas Denham on the River Thames : 
 
 " Though deep, yet clear ; though gentle, yet not dull ; 
 Strong, without rage ; without o'erflowing, full." 
 
 Oh leaving Henley, and near the entrance of 
 the county of Buckingham, Fawley Court is 
 seen on the left ; a place that gives a very 
 distinguishing character to the western shore of 
 this part of the Thames. The Mansion House, 
 a large square regular edifice, tells at once that 
 it belongs to family and fortune. There is 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 91 
 
 in the middle of the river, opposite this fine 
 domain, the most beautiful island on the 
 Thames, shaded with trees of large growth. 
 
 The Berkshire side of the river, after passing 
 Henley, has but little scenery that will admit 
 comparison with the woody amphitheatres of 
 the opposite county, till you arrive at Culham 
 Court ; which certainly appears to command a 
 most lovely prospect. The house is a handsome 
 modern building, standing half way down an 
 expansive irregular brow, scattered over with 
 large trees, and gradually descending, in various 
 unequal slopes, to the water's edge. 
 
 On the opposite side, in Buckinghamshire, 
 are the remains of Medmenham Abbey. The 
 valley through which the Thames now flows is 
 particularly expansive and picturesque ; there is 
 no part of the river where the windings are so 
 frequent, and of such long continuance, as in 
 that below Culham Court. 
 
 Harleyford, the seat of Sir William Clayton, 
 who now joined the party onboard the State 
 Barge, is on the same side of the river, and 
 situate on a gentle slope. The grounds, which 
 
92 THE LORD MAYORS 
 
 are seen from the water, range along a deep 
 shady bank, that divides them from a large 
 upper lawn, surrounded with wood; and where 
 the fir and the beech, of unusual growth, blend 
 their contrasted verdure. The worthy baronet 
 had ordered a salute of guns to be fired from 
 the opposite heights as the Lord Mayor passed. 
 
 From the interesting object of Bisham Abbey 
 the river flows on beautifully, for about a mile, 
 to Marlow ; between meadows, backed by arable 
 uplands to the left, and a line of woods to the 
 right. 
 
 A salute of several guns was fired from 
 Marlow Bridge as the Lord Mayor passed it ; 
 and the bells of the church had been previously 
 heard at some considerable distance. A fine 
 display of scenery now opened on the view : 
 the quarry woods were seen in uninterrupted 
 beauty, rising boldly on the Berkshire side; 
 either retiring into the meadows, or hanging 
 over the river, which here divides itself into two 
 channels; one of which, being reserved for 
 Marlow Poundlock, occasions a waterfall that 
 adds another pleasing object to the scene. It 
 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 93 
 
 is not easy, however, to give any adequate idea 
 of the passage through the willowed islands of 
 this part of the stream, nor of the grand stretch 
 of shade which the quarry woods create. 
 
 Hedsor Lodge, Lord Boston's delightful 
 seat, was the next object of interest in descend- 
 ing the river. The grounds are thrown about 
 by nature in that beautiful variety, which art 
 may imitate, indeed, but can never hope to equal. 
 The house is shaded with lofty trees, among 
 which the little church, situated on a knoll, is 
 deeply imbosomed. 
 
 The tower of Cookham Church, separated 
 from the village by a screen of tre.es on the 
 opposite bank, is a picturesque and prominent 
 feature in the scenery of this part of the river : 
 and its effect was, on this occasion, strikingly 
 increased, by the crowds of spectators who 
 thronged the shore. 
 
 The vessel now passed under what are termed 
 the Hedsor Heights, rising to a considerable 
 elevation from their chalky base ; and soon 
 arrived before the rich and extensive woods of 
 Cliefden : where the scene, receiving all the 
 
94 THE LORD MAYOR'S 
 
 advantage of season and circumstance, now 
 requires a particular and enlarged description. 
 
 Cliefden is, by water, fifty-three miles from 
 London, and about three miles from Maiden- 
 head. The house, — of which the central part 
 was destroyed by fire about thirty years ago, — 
 was built in the reign of Charles the Second, 
 by the celebrated George Villiers, Duke of 
 Buckingham ; whom Dryden has doomed to a 
 painful immortality in the few following lines : 
 
 " A man so various, that he seemed to be 
 Not one, but all mankind's epitome ; 
 Stiff in opinion, — always in the wrong, — 
 Was every thing by starts, but nothing long ; 
 Who, in the course of one revolving moon, 
 Was chemist, fiddler, statesman, and buffoon : 
 Then, all for women, painting, rhyming, drinking ; 
 Besides a thousand freaks that died in thinking."* 
 
 From the wings of the building, which yet 
 remain, it appears to have been a regular and 
 stately mansion ; and is said to have enjoyed a 
 higher elevation than even Windsor Castle. The 
 
 * Dryden 's Poems : Absalom and Achitophel, Part I. 
 
 6 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 95 
 
 grounds are kept in admirable order ; and every 
 one who is influenced by a love of fine scenery 
 will admit, that nothing can be more imposing 
 than the magnificence of Cliefden. The irre- 
 gularity of its surface — the inequality of its 
 heights — the variety of its trees, oaks, beeches, 
 firs, and maples, — 
 
 " Its lofty groves, and fragrant shades, 
 Its boundless prospects, and its op'ning glades, — " 
 
 its vast and verdant lawns, — its chalky, per- 
 pendicular, and awful precipices, on the brinks 
 of which gigantic trees heap up their rich piles 
 of foliage, — form altogether so rare a combination 
 of the sublime and beautiful in nature; that 
 whoever has any thing like an exquisite sense 
 of her beautiful forms, and harmonious combi- 
 nations, will find in Cliefden its full gratification. 
 Cliefden Spring is now the property of the 
 Right Honourable Lord Viscount Kirkwall j 
 who is continually allowing, with much kindness, 
 the use of the grounds, and of an octagonal 
 temple, at the foot of the wood and near the 
 Thames ; for those summer parties, which are 
 every now and then being formed, in the course 
 
96 THE LORD MAYOR'S 
 
 of the year, to enjoy the tranquillity of a rural 
 
 banquet 
 
 " In Cliefden's proud alcove." 
 
 It was here that the civic flotilla arrived in 
 the afternoon of Friday. The noble owner of 
 this delightfully-sequestered place having most 
 handsomely granted the use of it for the Lord 
 Mayor's party, invitations had been sent to all the 
 nobility and gentry in the neighbourhood of 
 Marlow, Henley, Sunning, and Maidenhead ; to 
 honour his Lordship and suite with their 
 company at dinner, at Cliefden Spring, on this 
 day. 
 
 Reports began, in consequence, soon to 
 circulate through the neighbourhood, that the 
 Lord Mayor would dine at Cliefden in his way 
 to London. Preparations had been made for 
 this fite champetre, in a manner corresponding 
 with the rank of the guests who were expected 
 to be present on the occasion : and, at a quarter 
 before five, the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress 
 entered the temple, in which the dinner was 
 served ; and took their seats at the upper end of 
 a long dining table, which extended considerably 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 97 
 
 beyond the limits of the building. This com- 
 modious apartment, of which the pointed arched 
 windows reach down to the ground, is well 
 shaded by trees of large dimensions and 
 abundant foliage; and is erected near to the 
 fountain called Cliefden Spring, which rises 
 there, and pours its rippling current, sparkling 
 over stones, down a gentle declivity into the 
 river. 
 
 There were present, at this rural fete, the 
 Right Honourable Lord and Lady Kirkwall, — 
 the Right Honourable Lord and Lady Boston, 
 — Sir Gilbert and Lady East, — J. Pocock, Esq., 
 — Broom Witts, Esq., — G. H. Leycester, Esq. 
 and his Lady, — rhe Rev. Dr. Schobell, — the 
 Worshipful the Mayors of Reading, Windsor, 
 and Maidenhead, — Mrs. Fromow, the amiable 
 mother of the Lady Mayoress, and her son, 
 P. J. Fromow, Esq., — George Venables, Esq., 
 the Lord Mayor's brother, — and the Misses 
 Venables, the Lord Mayor's sisters; together 
 with an elegant company, to the number of 
 between sixty and seventy persons. 
 
98 THE LORD MAYOR'S 
 
 The dinner consisted of cold dainties ; and 
 the tables were strewed with a profusion of the 
 sweetest flowers, which had been sent expressly 
 for the occasion, by the kindness of Lady 
 Boston. 
 
 A band of musicians were stationed at a 
 suitable distance from the marquee which over- 
 spread that part of the table not included 
 within the building; and played extremely 
 well. 
 
 The gardens and grounds were thronged with 
 spectators, either strolling about, or seated on 
 the grass ; and, on the opposite banks, several 
 tents were erected for general convenience; 
 around which the children shouted and threw 
 up their hats. Boats of all descriptions, bearing 
 parties intent only on enjoying the scene of 
 pleasure which had been prepared, were floating 
 on the river ; and the air echoed and re-echoed 
 with the sound of guns and music, and great 
 rustic rejoicings. The day was serenely fine 
 and beautiful ; and the Thames seemed to awe 
 itself into stillness, as if to listen more atten- 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 99 
 
 tively to the high applause with which the 
 arrival at this spot of its Chief Conservator was 
 welcomed. 
 
 At the close of the dinner, and just before the 
 time of returning thanks, the Yeoman of the 
 Lord Mayor's Household appeared at the head 
 of the table, bearing in his hands a massive 
 silver-gilt cup, known by the name of the 
 Loving Cup, capable of containing, at the least, 
 two quarts, rilled with spiced wine, diluted, and 
 always used at the Mansion House on state 
 occasions. 
 
 When the names of the greater part of the 
 company had been severally announced, accord - 
 ing to ancient custom, the Lord Mayor rose 
 from his seat ; and, pledging the courtesy of 
 Lady Kirkwall, who was on his right hand, 
 raised the cup to his lips, while her Ladyship, 
 having risen at the same time, held the cover; 
 and in this way, each one drinking to his 
 neighbour, the cup passed round the table.* 
 
 * It may not, perhaps, be altogether without interest, to give 
 the form in which this hospitable relic of the olden time,— 
 probably of even more ancient date than the renowned Wassail 
 
 h2 
 
100 THE LORD MAYOR'S 
 
 The increasing pressure of the surrounding 
 people now rendered the adoption of some plan 
 necessary by which their curiosity could be 
 better gratified . Arrangements were accordingly 
 made to admit the female part of the spectators, 
 in small successive parties, to walk round the 
 tables, as the company were seated at dinner ; 
 and it was curious to see how many eager eyes 
 were strained, and fingers pointed, to distinguish 
 the individuals of the party. But it was some- 
 thing more than a mere idle feeling of curiosity 
 that prompted this anxiety in the honest 
 peasantry to see the Lord Mayor of London. 
 
 Bowl, — is usually presented to the company. At this banquet, 
 the names, — which the Yeoman of the Household previously 
 announces, and which, of course, will vary with the occasion, — 
 were as follows :— " The Right Honourable Lord Viscount 
 Kirkwall,— the Right Honourable Lord Boston, — Sir Gilbert 
 East, Baronet, — Alderman Sir Claudius Stephen Hunter, Baronet, 
 — Mr. Alderman Birch, — Mr. Alderman Atkins, — Mr. Alderman 
 Magnay, — Mr. Alderman Waithman, — Mr. Alderman Lucas, — 
 the Worshipful the Mayors of Reading, Maidenhead, and 
 Windsor,— the Rev. Dr. Schobell, — Knights, Esquires, Ladies 
 and Gentlemen all, — the Right Honourable the Lord Mayor of 
 the City of London, and the Lady Mayoress, drink to you in a 
 Loving Cup, and bid you all a hearty welcome." 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 101 
 
 The home-bred charities of the heart were in it. 
 His Lordship was now in the immediate neigh- 
 bourhood of his own paternal fields. With his 
 early life they had been many of them familiar ; 
 and they now grouped around him, to recognize 
 his claim to their affectionate and true esteem : 
 for they said, — " He was born in our village. " 
 Such instances of unaffected kindness and 
 attachment are beyond measure pleasing. No 
 other testimonies, indeed, are half so valuable to 
 a man, as those which are borne spontaneously 
 by those who know him intimately : no love, 
 no applause, half so sweet and gratifying, as 
 that which springs up in his native place. And 
 whatever approbation may be awarded to the 
 individual who gives occasion to these remarks, 
 elsewhere ; however high and wide the renown 
 may be, which, from early boyhood to the robe 
 of dignity, he has sought in a doubtful world ; 
 and in quest of which many a long life-time 
 has been wasted ; however full may be the harvest 
 of applause which he may have reaped ; yet, 
 when the bustle of public life is over, and the 
 weary heart and the failing head shall indicate 
 
102 THE LORD MAYOR'S 
 
 that the hour of his departure from this transitory 
 scene will not be much longer delayed ; it may be, 
 that he will then cast back a look of filial fondness 
 upon his paternal home ; and will seek to sleep 
 in his father's sepulchre, and to mingle his dust 
 with that of his kindred and his early friends. 
 
 The evening was now beginning to be late, 
 and preparations were made for the re-embarka- 
 tion. The ladies of the party had early with- 
 drawn from the dinner-tables, for the purpose 
 of taking that more enlarged view of the 
 grounds, and of the surrounding country, which 
 a large temple, on an embowered point, 
 commands ; and were now seen returning down 
 one of those shaded walks which wind round to 
 a very pretty rustic building, — called the Root 
 House, — situated on an eminence, in memory 
 of the well-known duel between the Duke of 
 Buckingham and the Earl of Shrewsbury. 
 
 The oarsmen had assembled at their respective 
 stations ; the horses were in readiness on the 
 towing-path; the State Barge was brought 
 close to the water-side ; and, at half-past eight, 
 the Lord Mayor resumed his passage down the 
 1 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 103 
 
 river, accompanied by all the nobility and gentry 
 who had been present at the entertainment. 
 
 These magnificent and delightful grounds, 
 which fast receded from the view, were rendered 
 particularly interesting, — as indeed are most of 
 the ancient and hereditary parks that embower 
 this island, — from the traditionary anecdotes 
 that are told of those who once resided there. 
 The gifted, and, at one time, the admired and 
 popular Duke of Buckingham, for whom Cliefden 
 House was originally reared, filled some of the 
 highest offices in the kingdom, during the 
 reign of Charles the Second; and possessed 
 an income of almost fifty thousand pounds a 
 year ! His talents, which were certainly of the 
 highest order, he could so skilfully direct, as 
 equally to charm the presbyterian Fairfax and 
 the licentious Charles ; — to ridicule, by turns, 
 the solemn chancellor and the merry king ; — 
 and to plot, at one time, the ruin of his country 
 by a cabal of bad ministers,* — of whom himself 
 
 * Clifford, Ashley, Buckingham, Arlington, and Lauderdale, 
 — a junto to whom the whole secrets of administration were 
 confined, and who then were known by the name of the Cabal, 
 
104 THE LORD MAYOR'S 
 
 was one, — and to uphold it at another by a 
 band of bad patriots. 
 
 Amid the gay and the licentious of the 
 intriguing and all-licensed court of Charles the 
 Second, the Duke of Buckingham was the most 
 gay and the most licentious. For, though he 
 lived in an age when what was called gallantry 
 warranted the most atrocious actions of deceit 
 and violence ; he yet pushed his debaucheries to 
 such a flagrant height, as to draw down upon 
 himself the censures of even that unblushing 
 age. It was in the duel to which allusion has 
 been made, that this unprincipled voluptuary 
 slew the Earl of Shrewsbury; while the adulterous 
 Countess of the noble Earl, — a woman abandoned 
 to unheard-of gallantries, — held the Duke's 
 horse, in the disguise of a page ; and was after- 
 wards, — as the infamous libertine himself 
 admitted, — caressed by him, before he had 
 changed the blood-stained clothes in which he 
 had slain her husband ! 
 
 But retribution does sometimes, even in this 
 
 a word which the initial letters of their names happened to 
 compose. 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 105 
 
 life, arrest the wicked. A succession of disasters 
 dragged down this miscalled nobleman from 
 that elevated sphere, which his abilities might 
 well have fitted him to adorn, but which he had 
 so much disgraced by his vices ; his princely 
 fortune was entirely expended ; and he was, at 
 last, reduced to such penury, that he died in 
 the utmost misery, in a paltry inn in Yorkshire : 
 
 " In the worst inn's worst room, with mat half-hung, 
 The floors of plaster, and the walls of dung ; 
 On once a flock bed, but repaired with straw, 
 Wi th tape-tied curtains, never meant to draw ; 
 The George and Garter dangling from that bed 
 Where tawdry yellow strove with dirty red, 
 
 - Great Villiers died !*" 
 
 Thus affording one of those too frequent instances, 
 in which a vigorous understanding and com- 
 manding talents are found to run to waste ; and 
 become more dangerous than advantageous to 
 society, by the want of steady principle, and the 
 improvidence of the possessor. 
 Of a far different character, however, was 
 
 * Pope's Moral Essays, Ep. III. 
 
106 THE LORD MAYOR'S 
 
 Cliefden once the residence. It was in these 
 quiet abodes of nature, that George the Third 
 passed the spring-time of his years. His father, 
 Frederick, Prince of Wales, lived here in 
 affluence and dignity, superintending the 
 education of his children. And it is not im- 
 probable that, in this sweet retirement, our late 
 revered monarch quietly imbibed those prin- 
 ciples of firm integrity and virtue, and cherished 
 those domestic tastes, which have given such a 
 lustre to his memory. A sheltered and secluded 
 spot, near the pavilion, was shown as the play- 
 ground of the royal pupil : but every part of 
 the domain was fancied into some resort of his 
 boyhood. Nor was it easy to dismiss from the 
 mind those recollections of his character, which 
 these lovely scenes had so pleasingly awakened. 
 He was not one of those monarchs whose 
 latter life extinguishes the hopes which their 
 early years had raised ; nor was his that sup- 
 plementary virtue which is offered in old age as 
 an atonement for the vices of youth. When 
 Rome saw her second emperor on the throne, 
 she was filled with the most fearful forebodings 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 107 
 
 of his future reign. The first exertions of his 
 power were put forth to the slaughter of his 
 subjects ; the most sacred rights of nature were 
 violated ; and nothing was heard through the 
 streets of Rome but cries and lamentations ; — 
 scarcely a house escaping without a murder. 
 But when the fervour of youthful impetuosity 
 had subsided, and had yielded to the suggestions 
 of maturer years ; the latter part of his life was 
 as much distinguished for its benignity and 
 moderation, as the former had been for its 
 violence and cruelty : so that it has been said, 
 if we could separate Octavius from Augustus, — 
 his youth from his manhood, — he would be 
 one of the most faultless princes in history. 
 
 Now, contrast with Augustus the character of 
 George the Third. His reputation was not 
 made up of broken parcels of upright actions. 
 His was not that deciduous laurel of fame, of 
 which the verdure, in its spring, is bright and 
 gay, but which time had stolen from his brow. 
 He was virtuous in youth, and thus he became 
 venerable in age. His hoary head was truly 
 a crown of glory ; and indeed, if the hoary 
 
108 THE LORD MAYOR'S 
 
 head is to be a crown of glory, it must be 
 found in the way qfrighteo usness. 
 
 In separate parts of our late sovereign's cha- 
 racter, it were not impossible, perhaps, to find 
 some who equalled, and others who excelled 
 him. As a man of letters, he was probably not 
 equal to the great Alfred ; nor was his temper 
 milder or more amiable, perhaps, than that of 
 our sixth Edward ; nor his sanctity more 
 eminent than that of Henry the Sixth. But, 
 in that rare combination of qualities that fitted 
 him for such a high and awful station as monarch 
 of this great and free country, he stands un- 
 rivalled. 
 
 For, while the little governors of this little 
 globe were busied in sacrificing to the paltry 
 motives of personal revenge, or the visionary 
 projects of personal ambition, the treasure, and 
 the blood, and the happiness, of the infatuated 
 millions that obeyed them ; we had, in the late 
 king, an instance of an understanding that rose 
 above the grovelling ideas of vulgar monarchs; 
 and of a genuine worth of character that scorned 
 to wield a nation's folly to its own destruction. 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 109 
 
 The groans and the pangs of dying victims 
 had no charms for him. He never engaged 
 even in a just and necessary war without the 
 utmost reluctance. The chief object of his 
 administration was to render the people who 
 surrounded and supported his throne blest and 
 happy. He felt that his own happiness was 
 interwoven with the happiness of his subjects; 
 and, therefore, he never sought to aggrandize 
 himself by impoverishing them. So far other- 
 wise, that, to use the luminous language of 
 Lord Bacon, when speaking of an earlier 
 sovereign; — " He was but a steward in effect for 
 the public; and what came from the people 
 was but as moisture drawn from the earth, 
 which gathered into a cloud, and fell back upon 
 the earth again/' 
 
 He was not permitted, indeed, — so profound 
 and mysterious are the ways of Providence, — 
 to witness the full and gorgeous splendour which 
 burst upon the close of his long and prosperous 
 reign. He saw not the beginning of that 
 universal peace which now blesses the world. 
 It pleased the Most High to visit him, for the 
 
110 THE LORD MAYOR'S 
 
 last nine years of his valuable life, with one of 
 the most awful calamities incident to human 
 nature, — a calamity deplored throughout his 
 vast empire, — and we wept at the awful spectacle 
 of Majesty labouring under a permanent and 
 hopeless eclipse. But we know that he walked 
 in the light, while he possessed the light ; and 
 that, while reason was continued to him, he held 
 frequent and retired communion with his 
 Heavenly Father. His sun, indeed, did set 
 behind a cloud; but its brightness will be 
 undiminished, when he rises from his tomb on 
 the resurrection-morning ; in a firmament with- 
 out clouds, over which night never shall extend 
 her melancholy dominion. 
 
 With our sense of his excellence, however, let 
 us associate the recollection how many of the 
 qualities that adorned his mind may be trans- 
 ferred to ours. We are in much danger of 
 viewing the life of kings as something entirely 
 above the ordinary scenes of human existence. 
 We are apt to consider it as the peculiar mode 
 of existence of a distinct species of mankind, 
 who live and act with manners incommunicable ; 
 
 i 
 
VISIT TO OXFOttD. Ill 
 
 who are rather the beholders, than the partakers, 
 of human nature ; and from whom, therefore, 
 little instruction can be derived, suited to the 
 ordinary matters of common life. It was 
 otherwise, however, with the late king. In his 
 character was the rare association of private 
 with public eminence. He did not, like the 
 monarch s of the East, derive his dignity from 
 his concealment. His merit was not of that 
 kind which attracts most admiration at a 
 distance : it grew into estimation the more 
 closely it was inspected. When he withdrew 
 from the public and official duties of his high 
 station, and threw off the cumbrous ornaments 
 of royalty ; his retirement was not the soft and 
 pleasurable asylum of inactive sovereignty, 
 accommodated to the elegance and refinement 
 of a royal voluptuary ; but a calm recess, where 
 to the splendour of a throne, he brought the 
 milder and the sweeter radiance of domestic 
 virtue. And, while he was establishing an 
 illustrious and permanent reputation abroad, by 
 every act of firm and legitimate resistance to 
 that ambitious despot of modern times, who 
 
112 THE LORD MAYOR'S 
 
 threatened to overwhelm all Europe with an 
 irresistible torrent of conquest ; our late beloved 
 king was labouring to establish a solid glory 
 at home, by raising the depressed tone of 
 virtuous practice. 
 
 Every testimony which has let us into the 
 history of this monarch's heart, has shown us 
 the simple affections of human nature throbbing 
 beneath the royal ermine ; and has concurred 
 to prove, that the fond and affectionate father, 
 — the tender and faithful husband, — the firm 
 and sincere friend, — the invariably early riser, 
 — the diligent economist of time, — the strict 
 appropriator of every hour to its employment, — 
 his temperance, his sobriety, his moderation, — 
 the correct facetiousness with which he adorned 
 society, — and, above all, his devotional and 
 consistent piety, both in his closet and in his 
 family; — these, with every other exemplification 
 of whatsoever is lovely and of good report, were 
 traits in the character of the good old king, — as 
 we now love to call him, — which are remembered 
 only to add value to the loss; to aggravate 
 regret for that which can no longer be possessed ; 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 
 
 113 
 
 and to deepen sorrow for that, which, though it 
 may be imitated, can never be recalled. 
 
 In the history of his reign, he will be a model 
 for succeeding sovereigns ; but, in the excel- 
 lencies of his life, he is a model for all. And 
 it should be carefully remembered, that the 
 imitation of his virtues will be the best proof of 
 our remembering them. 
 
 It is now time to return to the civic party. — 
 A long and bold range of woody hills, — under 
 which are beautifully situated the Taplow Paper 
 Mills, the property of George Venables, Esq., 
 — skirted the eastern bank of the river, till the 
 arrival of the barge at Maidenhead Bridge. 
 Evening had now closed in too far to admit the 
 view of Taplow House, the residence of Lord 
 Kirkwall, and of Taplow Church, which may 
 be taken from the bridge. Taplow House is 
 situated on the southern brow of these fine hills, 
 and is said to be an elegant and ancient edifice. 
 The magnificence, indeed, of the domain is not 
 to be compared with that of Cliefden ; but it is 
 considered to equal it, in at least the charms of 
 variety. 
 
114 THE LORD MAYOR'S 
 
 The carriages of Lord and Lady Kirkwall, 
 Lord and Lady Boston, and others of the party, 
 were awaiting at Maidenhead the arrival of the 
 State Barge. In taking leave of the Lord 
 Mayor, Lord Kirkwall offered, in the most 
 obliging manner, the accommodation of his 
 grounds to the civic party on any future 
 occasion; an offer of which the Lord Mayor 
 appropriately acknowledged the kindness. 
 
 Lady Kirkwall, — a young and lovely woman, 
 — who must not be mentioned without the 
 warmest encomium on her person, manners, 
 and mind, — took leave of the Lady Mayoress in 
 the most courteous manner, and was handed 
 by her Lord into the carriage. The only ladies 
 left on board, when the barge resumed its 
 passage, were Mrs. Heygate, Miss Mc Murdo, 
 and the Misses Atkins. The state of the 
 navigation soon threatened to impede the course 
 of the barge. The shallowness of the river, 
 indeed, as the vessels drew on towards Romney 
 Lock, rendered it necessary for the Lord Mayor, 
 and others of the party, to continue the passage 
 in the water-bailiff's boat. 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 115 
 
 The night was starlight, just enough to show 
 the irregular walls and majestic towers of 
 Windsor Castle, lifting themselves in dark relief 
 against the near horizon. The clock had told 
 some time the hour of eleven, before the Lord 
 Mayor, and those of his friends who had 
 accompanied his Lordship in the boat, arrived 
 at the cast-iron bridge at Windsor. They 
 were immediately conducted along the steep 
 ascending street that leads up from the river 
 into the interior of the town ; and were met at 
 the Castle-inn by the Lady Mayoress, and other 
 ladies of the party; who had, about an hour before, 
 arrived in their carriages from Maidenhead. 
 
 The ladies were soon after waited upon by the 
 hostess of the inn, who conducted them to the 
 apartments that had been previously engaged 
 for their reception. 
 
 The remainder of the party subsequently 
 arrived in the State Barge ; though not without 
 having become borrowers on the night for an 
 hour or two. 
 
116 THE LORD MAYOR'S 
 
 SATURDAY, 
 
 " Good from each object, from each place acquir'd ; 
 For ever exercis'd, yet never tir'd." 
 
 Notwithstanding the lateness of the hour 
 at which the civic party had arrived in Windsor, 
 on the preceding evening, time had yet been 
 found to receive and answer the communication 
 made to the Lord Mayor by the architect to 
 the king. Mr. Wyatville had offered, with 
 much promptitude and politeness, to give every 
 facility to his Lordship and his friends for 
 viewing those magnificent improvements that 
 are now making in Windsor Castle. 
 
 Some of the party had risen early, — even 
 while the crimson streaks on the edge of the 
 horizon were giving tokens of the recent sun- 
 rise, — in order to survey, in a walk before the 
 breakfast hour, the exterior of this fabric of 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 117 
 
 veneration. The large grey tower, which has 
 stood the brunt of ages past, and seems likely 
 to stand the brunt of ages yet to come, built on 
 a lofty mound, and used as the ancient keep, 
 over which waves the regal standard, said to be 
 fourteen yards in length, and eight broad, which 
 
 " Proclaims the royal residence is here ; — " 
 
 The noble terrace, faced, on all sides, by a solid 
 stone rampart, commanding the most extensive 
 prospects over the Thames, and surrounding 
 country, and justly considered the grandest 
 walk in Europe; — all this, — associated with the 
 recollection, that, within this stately castle there 
 have lived, for upwards of seven centuries, from 
 Edward the Third's great reign, monarchs who 
 have filled history with their deeds, and the 
 earth with their renown, — renders even the 
 external aspect of this courtly habitation awfully 
 imposing. 
 
 As soon as the party had done ample honours 
 to the delicacies of a well-spread breakfast- 
 table, they proceeded to view the interior of the 
 Castle ; and, having entered the Lower Court, 
 
118 
 
 THE LORD MAYOR S 
 
 at the principal Gate Tower, they were first 
 conducted to the Collegiate Chapel of St. 
 George ; generally considered to be the most 
 complete and finished specimen of what is 
 termed the florid gothic, in the kingdom. The 
 choir is separated from the body of the chapel 
 by an organ-gallery; which, though built of 
 artificial stone, yet, as it is uniform with the 
 rest of the chapel, adds considerably to its 
 elegance. On each side of the choir are the 
 stalls of the Knights of the Order of the Garter; 
 with the scarf, helmet, crest, and sword, of 
 each knight, set over the stall, on a canopy 
 richly carved of oak, though with the grotesque 
 decorations of gothic architecture. On the 
 right hand of the principal entrance into the 
 choir, is the sovereign's stall ; whose banner is 
 of rich crimson velvet, and the mantling of gold 
 brocade. 
 
 As the party were looking round on these 
 vacant stalls, and on the rows of gorgeous 
 banners that overhang their pinnacles, he who 
 shews the chapel, — as if desirous that they 
 should connect their view of these memorials of 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 119 
 
 distinction with the dust and oblivion in which 
 all distinctions must eventually terminate, — 
 hastily drew down their attention to a part of 
 the pavement, in front of the altar, where is the 
 entrance to the Royal Vault; — that dusky cham- 
 ber of mortality, where kings, and princes, and 
 princesses, lie mouldering in their beds of dark- 
 ness. 
 
 The painting of the Last Supper, over the 
 communion-table, is by West, and is said to be 
 one of his finest works. Some of the party, 
 however, conceived that the countenance of 
 Judas is so plainly indicative of every thing 
 that is treacherous, dark, and deadly, that, if 
 his features had really been so strongly marked 
 as the artist has depicted them, no one at the 
 table of the Last Supper could have doubted, 
 for an instant, who it was that should betray 
 our blessed Lord. 
 
 The subject of the window, over the altar, is 
 the Resurrection. It is divided into three 
 compartments. In the centre is our Saviour 
 rising from the tomb, preceded by an angel; 
 above whom, in the clouds, is an host of 
 
120 
 
 cherubim and seraphim. In the front ground 
 are the Roman soldiers, thrown into various 
 postures of astonishment and terror, and gazing 
 with amazement at the risen Saviour. On the 
 right hand are Mary Magdalene ; Mary, the 
 mother of James j and Salome, coming to the 
 sepulchre, with ointments and spices to anoint 
 the body of their Divine Master : and on the 
 left are Peter and John, supposed to have been 
 recently told of our Lord's resurrection by Mary 
 Magdalene, and running towards the sepulchre, 
 — their countenances indicating the greatest 
 surprise and anxiety. This masterly performance 
 was designed by West, but executed by Jarvis 
 and Foster. In the north-east corner of the 
 choir, on the left hand of the communion- 
 table, is an elegant wrought-iron model of the 
 east end of Antwerp Cathedral ; executed by 
 Quintin Matsys, the celebrated blacksmith, 
 who afterwards turned his attention to the 
 study of painting. 
 
 The party were now conducted through 
 folding gates into the North Aisle, and passing 
 round, on the east, into the South Aisle, they 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD, 
 
 121 
 
 glanced but rapidly at the various painted 
 windows, the mural and other monuments, in 
 their eagerness to inspect the Cenotaph to the 
 memory of the late Princess Charlotte of Wales ; 
 which occupies what was once a small chantry, 
 in the north-west corner of the chapel. The 
 monument is of white marble, and was executed 
 by Mr. Matthew Wyatt. The body of the 
 Princess is represented lying on its side, covered 
 with drapery, which extends also over the 
 couch on which it is lying. One hand hangs 
 down; and the ringers, which are just seen 
 escaping from beneath the covering, have quite 
 the appearance of inanimate life. Four figures, 
 entirely veiled, as if to conceal their agony of 
 grief, are seen bending down around the couch 
 of the deceased princess. At the back of the 
 whole, over the couch, where the marble is so 
 wrought as to give the idea of opened curtains ; 
 a figure, intended to represent the soul of the 
 princess, clothed in white garments, appears to 
 be ascending to heaven, between two angels, — 
 one of whom is carrying her infant. A gilded 
 stone cornice surmounts the whole, with the 
 
I 
 
 122 THE LORD MAYOR'S 
 
 coronet of the princess in the centre. The base 
 of the chantry is a slate-coloured marble ; and 
 the whole is enclosed within a low railing of 
 polished brass. The two windows at the side 
 of the monument are studiously darkened with 
 painted glass, the one of a yellow colour, and 
 the other of a dark purple, in order to bring 
 out the figures in bolder relief; thus 
 
 " Teaching light to counterfeit a gloom," 
 
 somewhat in accordance with the melancholy 
 train of reflections which the cenotaph so 
 impressively awakens. 
 
 Of the merits of this singular piece of modern 
 sculpture, as a whole, there were differences of 
 opinion. Some of the party thought that the 
 lamented cause of her death would be told 
 more simply to after ages, if the princess had 
 herself carried her babe. Others inquired, why 
 — as she is supposed to have thrown aside the 
 incumbrance of the body, — is her figure so 
 much larger than the angels who are attending 
 her? Some thought there should have been 
 only one figure of the princess : others conceived 
 
 ) 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 123 
 
 that there is an inelegance in the drapery in 
 the front of the figure representing the soul. 
 Some, moreover, were of opinion, that the light 
 which finds its way upon the monument, 
 imitating the colour of sun-set, increases its 
 effect : others, again, thought that it lessened 
 it. It was generally agreed, however, notwith- 
 standing these minor shades of difference in 
 opinion, that it is a very ingenious work for a 
 young man who was not originally educated as 
 a sculptor. 
 
 Mr. Wyatville was now kind enough to lead 
 the way to the buildings on the east and south 
 side of the Upper Court, where the improve- 
 ments at the present time are being made. At 
 the entrance of this Court, the attention of the 
 party was drawn to an immense pile of rotten 
 wood, — which had been taken from the east 
 and south sides, — showing how entirely the 
 timbers in that part of the Castle were decayed. 
 Considerable progress was now seen to have 
 been made in these projected improvements. 
 The Grand Entrance, or George the Fourth's 
 Gateway, is built, and faces the Long Walk. 
 
124 THE LORD MAYOR'S 
 
 From that gateway, along the South Terrace, 
 and returning on the east side, all the external 
 parts are nearly finished. The New Terrace, on 
 the eastern side, is in a very forward state. 
 Within the Upper Court, on the south and 
 east sides, the Long Gallery, — five hundred and 
 fifty feet in length, — is nearly completed. It 
 . forms a direct communication to all the private 
 apartments of his Majesty. The Court, too, 
 has been lowered considerably, to avoid the 
 inconveniences formerly felt. The architect's 
 principle of proceeding, — of which too much 
 can scarcely be said in commendation, — seems 
 to be, to restore, with even greater grandeur, 
 those parts of this magnificent building which 
 time, or caprice, had destroyed, of the castellated 
 character. 
 
 The Commissioners appointed for the super- 
 intendence of these great and necessary 
 alterations are, — 
 
 The Duke of Wellington, Lord Farnborough, 
 
 The Earl of Liverpool, Sir M. W. Ridley, 
 
 The Earl of Aberdeen, Right Hon. Charles Arbuthnpt, 
 
 The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alexander Baring, Esq. 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 125 
 
 Some of the distinguished architects in the 
 country were called upon by his Majesty to 
 frame designs for these important works. The 
 plans, however, of Mr. JefTry Wyatt were finally 
 decided upon by the Commissioners, with the 
 approbation of the King. 
 
 His Majesty first signed the approved designs, 
 and then the Commissioners.* 
 
 When the party had arrived at the door of 
 the small private staircase, by which admission 
 is given to view the State Apartments ; the 
 Lord Mayor took leave of Mr. Wyatville, with 
 one of those well expressed compliments to his 
 kindness of communication, which no one 
 knows better how to offer. 
 
 The first room into which the party were 
 conducted was 
 
 THE QUEEN'S AUDIENCE CHAMBER, 
 
 in which are the following paintings : — 
 Whole-length Portrait of James II., Sir Pete?' Lely. 
 
 * During the previous reign, many parts of the Castle were 
 altered, under the late Surveyor General, JamesWyatt, Esq. vl.a, 
 And, in order to prevent immediate and historical confusion, his 
 

 1*26 THE LORD MAYOR'S 
 
 Portrait of Queen Anne, Sir Peter Lely. 
 
 Anne, of Denmark, Queen of James I., VanSomer. 
 Henrietta Maria, of France, Queen of 
 
 Charles I., Vandyke. 
 
 William III. when a Boy, Honthorst. 
 
 Frederick Henry, Father of William III. t Ho?ithorst. 
 The Meeting of Isaac and Rebecca, Zuccarelli. 
 
 There is also a Landscape by Zuccarelli. 
 
 THE BALL ROOM 
 
 Contains some fine paintings by Guido, 
 Vandyke, and Sir Peter Lely. There are also 
 in this apartment several magnificent tables and 
 chandeliers of massive silver; some of which 
 were presented to King William the Third by 
 the Corporation of London. 
 In the 
 
 queen's drawing-room 
 the paintings are : — 
 
 The Apostles Peter, James, and John, Caravaggio. 
 Portrait of Lady Digby, Vandyke. 
 
 nephew, the present architect, — also a member of the Royal 
 Academy, — took, by the gracious permission of his Majesty, the 
 name of Wyatville, drppping the final t of the former name. 
 
 1 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 127 
 
 This is an allegorical painting, intended to show how 
 entirely unfounded were the remarks of malevolence 
 and envy with which the character of this lady of 
 extraordinary beauty had been assailed. A dove is 
 introduced, expressive of her innocence : and she is 
 handling a serpent, without fear, to show how little 
 even the envenomed tongue of slander could injure her. 
 The figure of Calumny, double-faced, bound, and 
 thrown down on the ground behind her, is demonstra- 
 tive of her triumph over the malice of her traducers. 
 
 Pilate delivering up Christ, Schiavoni. 
 
 Pharaoh's Daughter finding Moses, Zuccarelli. 
 
 Portraits of Killigrew and Carey, Jesters 
 
 to King Charles the Second, Vandyke. 
 
 With other Portraits and Landscapes. 
 The next magnificent room is 
 
 THE QUEEN'S STATE BED-CHAMBER, 
 
 Where hang the likenesses of the fourteen 
 beauties that graced the gay court of Charles 
 the Second : 
 
 Lady Sunderland, 
 
 Countess of Northumberland, 
 
 Countess of Rochester, ^ Sir p eter Ldy% 
 
 Countess de Grammont, 
 
 Duchess of Richmond, 
 
I 
 
 
 128 THE LORlJ MAYOR'S 
 
 Duchess of Cleveland, 7 
 
 ta , t & r Peter Lely. 
 
 Duchess of Somerset, 3 
 
 Lady Byron, Huysman. 
 
 Mrs, Nott 
 
 Countess of Ossory, \ Wissing. 
 
 Mrs. Lawson, * 
 
 Mrs. Middleton, -. 
 
 Lady Denham, > Sir Peter Lely. 
 
 Lady Whitmore, * 
 
 There are also Portraits of William Duke of 
 Gloucester, son of Queen Anne, by Sir Peter 
 Lely ; and a Portrait of the Duchess of Orleans, 
 by Spatillo; with many others, and several 
 Landscapes. 
 
 The Bed of State in this room, — of which the 
 hangings and coverlet are of lilac satin, lined 
 with white satin, and splendidly embroidered 
 with flowers, — is said to have been worked by 
 the daughters of a clergyman in Bedfordshire, 
 of the name of Wright, and to have been placed 
 there by her late Majesty, Queen Charlotte. 
 
 At the north-west corner of 
 
 THE QUEEN'S DRES9ING-ROOM 
 
 Is a small closet, in which are deposited all 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 129 
 
 the banners of France, — -each of which consists 
 of a gold fleur-de-lis on a white ground, 
 annually delivered at the Castle, before twelve 
 o'clock, on the second of August, by the 
 successive Dukes of Marlborough ; — being the 
 tenure by which they hold Blenheim. In this 
 closet are also deposited all the tri-coloured 
 banners, except the last, by the annual delivery 
 of which, on the anniversary of the battle of 
 Waterloo, the Duke of Wellington and his 
 descendants are to hold the princely estate 
 granted him by the nation for his transcendent 
 services. It is said, that if either of these 
 illustrious Dukes should fail in the delivery of a 
 new banner at Windsor Castle, on the days, and 
 at the hour, respectively required of them, he 
 would forfeit his estate, and five thousand a-y ear. 
 Returning through the Queen's State Bed 
 Chamber, and the Queen's Drawing Room, the 
 party entered 
 
 THE KING'S DRESSING ROOM, 
 
 Which contains, among others, the following 
 paintings :— * 
 
130 THE LORD MAYOR'S 
 
 The Angels appearing to the Shepherds, Poussin. 
 
 Whole-length Portrait of Edward the 
 Sixth, and a Portrait of the Duke of 
 Norfolk, both admirable specimens of 
 the brilliant style of Holbein. 
 
 St. Peter delivered from Prison, Steenwick. 
 
 Head of Erasmus, Perm. 
 
 Portrait of Martin Luther, Holbein. 
 
 This is an admirable painting of that great Reformer. 
 
 The Garden of Eden, Breughel. 
 
 A Head of the Virgin, Carlo Dolci. 
 
 A Head of the Saviour, Carlo Dolci. 
 
 The Agony in the Garden, Poussin. 
 
 An awfully-impressive painting. 
 
 St. John, Carlo Maratti. 
 
 The Misers, Quintin Matsys. 
 
 This is considered one of the most extraordinary paintings 
 in the Royal Collection, both for powerful delineation 
 of character, and extreme brilliancy of colouring. The 
 painter, it is said, was an humble Uacksmith at 
 Antwerp. 
 
 Portrait of William the Third, \ 
 
 Portrait of Mary, his Queen, > 
 
 The Last Supper, a Sketch, Rubens. 
 
 If this were not an excellent painting, and every way 
 
 worthy of its great Master, it would be difficult to 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 131 
 
 forgive the Artist the anachronism of a pair of 
 spectacles on the nose of one of the principal figures. 
 
 There is also in this room a richly-inlaid 
 cabinet, which was used as a writing-desk by 
 William the Third. 
 
 In the 
 
 king's closet 
 There are several fine paintings ; among these 
 are — 
 
 Portraits of Titian and a Venetian Senator, Titian, 
 Two inimitably fine Heads : the one, Age ; 
 
 and the other, Youth, Holbein. 
 
 A Holy Family, from Titian, Teniers. 
 
 Portrait of Charles the First's Queen, Vandyke. 
 Portrait of the Great Duke of Marlborough, Dahl. 
 Portrait of Charles the Second, Russell. 
 
 The Virgin and Child; a most interesting 
 
 Picture, Guido. 
 
 The Death of Cleopatra, Guido. 
 
 Heads of St. Peter and St. Paul, Guercino. 
 
 The Holy Family, a pair, After Raphael. 
 
 The next apartment is 
 
 THE COUNCIL ROOM; 
 
 In which are the following paintings : — 
 
132 the l6rd mayor's 
 
 Whole-length Portrait of George theThird, Dupont. 
 Portrait of Charles the Fifth, After Titian. 
 
 Portrait of Charles the Second, when a Boy, Vandyke. 
 Charles the First's Children, Vandyke. 
 
 This Picture is said to be one of the finest works of this 
 Master. 
 Jacob's Departure from Laban, 
 St. John, After Correggio. 
 
 Whole-length Portrait of Queen Elizabeth, 
 
 when Princess, 
 Portrait of the Queen of James the First, Jansen. 
 
 The paintings in the King's Closet, the 
 King's Dressing Room, and in the Council 
 Room, are displayed with admirable effect, by 
 the hangings of scarlet cloth, encircled with 
 gold mouldings, which surround the room. 
 
 In the 
 
 king's drawing room 
 I 
 
 the paintings are: — 
 
 The Virgin and Child, After Correggio. 
 
 St. John, After Correggio. 
 
 Portrait of Father Couplet, a Jesuit Mis- 
 sionary in China, generally called "the 
 Converted Chinese," Sir Godfrey Kneller. 
 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 133 
 
 This Picture is considered the chef-d'oeuvre of Knellei ; 
 and was thought to be so by himself. 
 
 The Martyrdom of St. Stephen, Rottenhamer. 
 
 A Holy Family, Rubens. 
 
 The Offering- of the Wise Men, Lucca Jordana. 
 
 THE KING'S STATE BEDCHAMBER 
 
 contains, among other fine paintings : — 
 
 Sampson betrayed to the Philistines, After Vandyke. 
 A Mathematician, Spagnoletto. 
 
 Peter the Great, Sir Godfrey Knellir. 
 
 Whole-length Portrait of Mary Queen of 
 
 Scotland, Janneite. 
 
 This Picture is on board ; and a representation of the 
 execution of this most unfortunate Queen occupies a 
 portion of the back- ground. 
 
 In a recess at one end of this room is a State 
 Bed belonging to Queen Anne. It is of crim- 
 son velvet, manufactured in Spitalfields ; and 
 though, at the present time, it is more than a 
 hundred and twenty years old, its colours are 
 good. 
 
 Returning hence, and crossing the King's 
 
334 THE LORD MAYOR'S 
 
 Drawing-room, the next apartment into which 
 the party were conducted was 
 
 THE KING'S AUDIENCE CHAMBER. 
 
 All the paintings in this room are by West > 
 and they consist of seven large historical pieces, 
 illustrative of the principal events in the reign 
 of Edward the Third : — The Passage of the 
 River Somrae ; the Interview between the King 
 and his victorious Son after the Battle of 
 Cressy; the Battle of Neville's Cross, in which 
 David King of Scotland was taken Prisoner by 
 Queen Philippa, whilst her Royal Consort, 
 Edward the Third, was besieging Calais ; the 
 Battle of Poictiers, in which John King of 
 France was taken Prisoner ; the first Installa- 
 tion of the Order of the Garter ; an Entertain- 
 ment given by Edward the Third after defeat- 
 ing the French in their attempt upon Calais ; 
 and the Surrender of Calais. 
 
 The chief paintings in 
 
 THE KING'S PRESENCE CHAMBER, 
 
 are Portraits of Charles the Second and James 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 135 
 
 the Second, by Sir Peter Lely ; of King William 
 and Queen Mary, by Sir Godfrey Kneller ; of 
 King George the Second, by Zeenan ; and of 
 Duns Scotus, by Spagnoletto. 
 
 In the spacious room, denominated 
 
 THE KING'S GUARD CHAMBER, 
 
 Amidst an immense collection of arms and 
 warlike instruments, ingeniously disposed in 
 the form of colonades, pillars, shields, and 
 circles, — is deposited the tri-coloured banner of 
 the Duke of Wellington, presented at the 
 Castle on the last anniversary of the battle of 
 Waterloo. 
 
 THE QUEEN'S GUARD CHAMBER, 
 
 To which the party were admitted on crossing 
 the spacious gallery in which the grand stair- 
 case terminates, is also called the King's Private 
 Chapel, and in the last reign was used as such ; 
 but the number of guns, bayonets, pikes, and 
 bandoleers, with which it is furnished, although 
 they are disposed in various beautiful forms 
 
136 
 
 around the walls, are not altogether in accord- 
 ance with a place of worship. 
 
 THE QUEEN'S PRESENCE CHAMBER, 
 
 contains a few splendid paintings by Rubens 
 and Vandyke. The Portraits of Charles the 
 First and his Queen and Children, of James 
 the First, and of Charles the First on Horse- 
 back, are considered to be among the finest 
 specimens of Vandyke. 
 
 This was the last of the sixteen State Apart- 
 ments through which the party were conducted ; 
 and, as the time of re-embarkation was at 
 hand, they were under the necessity of quitting 
 this magnificent and Royal residence. 
 
 The visit, however, had not failed to 
 raise in every mind the earnest wish — that 
 the illustrious Monarch, who now fills the 
 throne of these realms, may live long to 
 enjoy the improvements, of which his own 
 tasteful mind has had the chief direction ; that 
 strength may be continued to him yet many 
 years, to sustain the weight of the British 
 sceptre 5 that the God of his father may be his 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 137 
 
 God ; that the same attachment to the Christian 
 faith, which distinguished the character of his 
 august parent, and the same patriotic devoted- 
 ness to the happiness of his subjects, may 
 continue to animate the councils, and increase 
 the renown, of the present sovereign of 
 England ; that we may sit down, — every man 
 eating of his own vine and fig-tree, — happy in 
 the enjoyment of our civil and religious liberty, 
 — none daring, none desiring, to make us 
 afraid ; and that, when his auspicious reign shall 
 have touched upon its close, he may be accepted 
 by that righteous Judge, whose hands will dis- 
 pense crowns not encircled with care, and con- 
 fer a kingdom not to be shaken ; according to 
 that nobility of character, which is so well 
 described in His own record of eternal truth ; 
 and upon those who are born, not of blood, nor 
 of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, 
 but of God. 
 
 The hour of re-embarking was now declared 
 to be at hand ; and, after returning for a short 
 time to the inn, the civic party, at a quarter 
 before twelve, were once again on board the 
 
138 THE LORD MAYOR'S 
 
 City Barge. The appearance of the vessel, as 
 the meridian sun gilded its scarlet banners; 
 the gazing and respectful salutations of the 
 spectators, who thronged the bridge, were 
 heaped on walls, and gates, and roofs, and 
 hung, as it were, in clusters round the lamp- 
 irons ; considerably heightened the effect pro- 
 duced by the salutes of guns, and the pealing 
 of church-bells. The weather continued to be 
 serene and beautiful ; and, as the vessels cleft 
 the glassy water, they left a long undulating 
 track behind. 
 
 The river, after it has glided past the village 
 of Eton, — so celebrated for its College, which 
 ranks among the first schools in the British 
 empire, — winds round Windsor little Park, 
 which discovers the Castle on its brow ; lifting 
 up its lordly pile, as if to receive the prostrate 
 homage of the surrounding country. After 
 passing the village of Datchet — which appears 
 to contain several pleasing country residences, 
 — and Ditton Park, enriched with many wide- 
 spreading oaks ; the river flows on between 
 banks of osiers, till the vessels approached Old 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 139 
 
 Windsor. This delightful village was once 
 the residence of several Saxon kings ; and, in 
 the reign of William the Conqueror, is said to 
 have possessed about an hundred houses. But 
 when that monarch fixed his residence on the 
 neighbouring hill, it gradually sunk into decay, 
 and New Windsor arose under the guardianship 
 of the fortress which he erected. 
 
 The improved state of the navigation in this 
 part of the river considerably increased the 
 speed with which the vessels glided along, and 
 soon exchanged the county of Berkshire, — 
 which had long given to the view so fine a range 
 of interesting country,— for the county of 
 Surrey ; in which the first object of especial 
 notice is Cooper's Hill, so well sung by Sir 
 John Denham, — in a poem to which he owes 
 his chief fame. This hill is said to compre- 
 hend a vast breadth of prospect, and to com- 
 mand some of the finest reaches of the Thames. 
 
 The meadow of Runnymede next appeared 
 on the right ; that spot so sacred to British free- 
 dom, where, — after a debate of a few days, — the 
 Barons of the Empire prevailed upon King 
 
 1 
 
140 THE LORD MAYOR'S 
 
 John to sign and seal that Great Charter, 
 which either granted or secured very important 
 privileges and immunities, to every order of men 
 in the kingdom, — to the, clergy, the barons, 
 and the people. 
 
 The view of this memorable place recalled 
 to the recollection of the party the inscription 
 of Dr. Akenside for a column atRunnymede : — 
 
 " Thou, who the verdant plain dost traverse here, 
 While Thames, among his willows, from thy view 
 Retires : O stranger, stay thee, and the scene 
 Around contemplate well. This is the place 
 Where England's ancient Barons, clad in arms, 
 And stern with conquest, from their tyrant king, 
 Then rendered tame, did challenge and secure 
 The charter of thy freedom. Pass not on 
 Till thou hast bless'd their memory, and paid 
 Those thanks, which God appointed the reward 
 Of public virtue. And if chance thy 
 Home salute thee with a father's honour'd name, 
 Go call thy sons ; instruct them what a debt 
 They owe their ancestors; and make them swear 
 To pay it, by transmitting down intire 
 Those sacred rights, to which themselves were born." 
 
 The party, however, had scarcely time to 
 admire these beautiful lines, and to indulge 
 
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 fsii ( QmmEmmiTM^ ^mn (Ss^t&dwji, 
 
 MIMLIR &3E&OT3ES IfSf^tllic 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 141 
 
 those grateful reflections, which they are so 
 well calculated to raise, before the ringing of 
 bells, and the firing of guns, gave signals of 
 approach to 
 
 €§t ©ttg Stone* 
 
 The State Barge was now moored close to the 
 edge of the meadow, on which, at no great 
 distance from the water-side, stands this ancient 
 mark of the boundary of the Lord Mayor's 
 jurisdiction on the Thames; with the square 
 Saxon tower of the Church in the back-ground 
 of the prospect. It is to this stone, not 
 improbably, that the town of Staines, about a 
 mile distant, and so well known on the great 
 western road to London, is indebted for its 
 name, — the Saxon word [Srana] signifying a 
 stone. On a moulding around the upper 
 part of the stone are inscribed the words, 
 "God preserve the City of London, A.D. 
 1285." 
 
 While the several Office-bearers of the City 
 
142 
 
 of London were arranging themselves in their 
 respective robes of office, the party were ex- 
 ceedingly amused by bursts of heterogeneous 
 sounds, which proceeded from a small rustic 
 band of musicians, in a barge at the water- 
 side; who were scraping a violin, jingling a 
 triangle, and beating a drum, with a vast 
 deal more power than melody; and were 
 attempting to play something like the national 
 airs of " God save the King," and w Rule 
 Britannia. " 
 
 The oarsmen of the State Barge were busy in 
 fixing a large plank from the boat to the shore; 
 and four of them held a hand-railing on either 
 side of the plank, which conducted the party 
 immediately and easily from the barge to the 
 meadow. 
 
 Every thing being now in readiness for the 
 performance of this ancient ceremony, — which 
 multitudes of the surrounding inhabitants 
 had turned out to see, — the Lord Mayor, 
 Aldermen, and others, descended to the shore ; 
 and walked three times round the stone, at a 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 
 
 143 
 
 considerable distance from it, in the following 
 order : — 
 
 A Police Officer. 
 The City Colour. 
 Thirty-two Watermen, in their New State 
 Clothes. 
 The Principal Assistant Water-Bailiff. 
 The Barge-Master. 
 City Marshall. 
 Chaplain. 
 Water Bailiff. Sword-Bearer. 
 
 The Lord Mayor. 
 The Aldermen. 
 Town Clerk. 
 City Solicitor. 
 The Navigation Barge Master. 
 The Water-Bailiff's Eight Watermen, in Full- 
 Dress Livery. 
 
 In the mean time, the Lady Mayoress, and 
 the other ladies of the party, who were desirous 
 of obtaining a better view of the ceremony than 
 the crowd of spectators would admit of being 
 taken from the State Barge, had been conducted 
 
144 THE LORD MAYOR'S 
 
 to a convenient standing-place near the 
 Stone. 
 
 When the procession halted, the Lord Mayor 
 took his station near the City Boundary; and 
 directed the City Sword to be placed on the 
 Stone, in token of his Lordship's jurisdiction. 
 It was also a part of the ceremony, — which, 
 though important, is simple, — that the City 
 Banner should wave over the Stone. At the 
 request, therefore, of the Lord Mayor, Lord 
 Henry Beauclerk, a lad of very prepossessing 
 appearance, of the age of fourteen, dressed in 
 naval uniform, and brother to his Grace the 
 Duke of St. Albans, mounted the stone; and 
 held the City Banner during the performance 
 of the ceremony. The Lord Mayor now received 
 a bottle of wine from one of the attendants, and 
 broke it, according to ancient custom, on the 
 Stone. The Water-BailifT then handed his 
 Lordship a glass of wine, who drank, ** May 
 God preserve the City of London !" In this he 
 was joined by the young nobleman and the 
 assembled company. Orders were then given 
 that the following inscription should be en- 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 145 
 
 graven on the pedestal which supported the 
 Stone : — 
 
 The Right Honourable 
 
 WILLIAM VENABLES, 
 
 Lord Mayor of the City of London, 
 
 and 
 
 Conservator of the River Thames, 
 
 Viewed the Western Boundary of the 
 
 City's Jurisdiction on the said River, 
 
 Marked by the Ancient Stone 
 
 Raised upon this Pedestal, 
 
 Erected a.d. 1285, 
 
 On the 29th Day of July, a.d. 1826. 
 
 God preserve the City of London ! 
 
 The Lord Mayor then scattered abroad some 
 hundred newly-coined sixpences ; and, after 
 repeated cheering, returned onboard the barge; 
 accompanied by Lord Henry Beauclerk, Lord 
 Amelious Beauclerk, and Lord Charles Beau- 
 clerk, with their tutor. These nice little boys, 
 of the ages of nine, twelve, and fourteen, were 
 altogether devoid of that petulant volubility 
 
146 THE LORD MAYOR'S 
 
 which so commonly renders the young impatient 
 of the conversation and company of their elders ; 
 and were so intelligent, so well-behaved, and 
 unassuming in their manners, as to give great 
 promise of their future eminence and deportment 
 in life. 
 
 At three o'clock the party sat down, in the 
 cabin of the State Barge, to a cold collation ; 
 after which some speeches were made, expressive 
 of the gratification with which this pleasure- 
 voyage had been associated. 
 
 It will here be proper to introduce some 
 observations on the state of the navigation 
 from Reading to the City Stone, in the second 
 and third districts of this fine river. — For the 
 Lord Mayor had not allowed those courteous 
 attentions, which he distributed equally among 
 all his friends, at all to interfere with that close 
 and narrow observation, which it was one chief 
 design of this excursion to make, on the state 
 of the navigation. In this observation he was 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 147 
 
 assisted by Mr. Alderman Lucas ; whose know- 
 ledge of navigation unquestionably extends 
 considerably beyond the rudiments of the science. 
 
 It is a well known fact, that the Kennet and 
 Avon Canal, made at an enormous expense, is 
 used as a shorter and more desirable line of 
 communication between the cities of London, 
 Bath, and Bristol, than the Thames and Severn 
 Canal ; chiefly, no doubt, because of the present 
 state of the Upper Districts of the Thames. 
 
 From Reading, therefore, the navigation 
 ought to be put into that complete state of im- 
 provement of which it is so capable. The 
 important and increasing intercourse between 
 the city of London, by means of its own river, 
 — and the cities of Bath, Bristol, Gloucester, 
 soon likely to become a port, with its bonding 
 warehouses, — South Wales, — and even Ireland, 
 would be thus materially facilitated. 
 
 The necessity for making these improvements 
 is great and obvious ; for it is for want of them, 
 that unceasing attempts are made, in every 
 session of parliament, to wrest much of the 
 remaining trade from the Thames Navigation. 
 
148 THE LORD MAYOR'S 
 
 And the practicability of such improvements 
 has been beneficially proved in the case of the 
 navigation in the City District, which, though 
 at one time as much obstructed as any of the 
 Upper Districts at present are, has been rendered 
 altogether free from impediments or delay, 
 excepting such as may occasionally arise from 
 floods ; and even the duration and effect of 
 these have been so materially lessened, that 
 they are never known to exceed the detention 
 occasioned by frost on canals. 
 
 The principal and most expensive improve- 
 ments, then, that are required, are in the Second 
 District, between Boulter's Lock and Staines ; 
 in the Third District, between Boulter's Lock 
 and Reading ; and these improvements must be 
 chiefly made in the towing-paths, — in that, 
 particularly, just opposite to Medmenham 
 Abbey, and in that at Spadoak. At Cookham 
 and Hedsor improvements are necessary, which 
 would be best effected by a lock at Hedsor. 
 
 At Boulter's Lock great improvements might 
 be made by building a lock on the Berkshire 
 side of the river, in place of the present one, 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 149 
 
 which is completely worn out ; inaccessible and 
 impassable at low water, from the height of its 
 cillj, and the crooked and shallow channel below 
 it, lying at the distance it does from the 
 towing-path. 
 
 Farther improvements are necessary in the 
 towing-path and channels between Maidenhead 
 Bridge and Surley Hall Point; where the navi- 
 gation of the river should be abandoned for 
 that of a side-cut, — with an opening weir at the 
 head of it, — to pen the water upwards ; and a 
 lock at the lower end, at Clewer Point. By 
 these alterations, two inconvenient and danger- 
 ous points, with the shoal-water and bad towing 
 between them, would be avoided. 
 
 When this improvement is completed, the 
 towing-path above Windsor Bridge, might, and 
 probably would, be advantageously removed to 
 the Berkshire side. Romney Lock, too, requires 
 complete repair. An opening weir is necessary 
 at the head of the New Cut at Old Windsor, to 
 keep a sufficient depth of water in that cut, 
 and to help the water above. The New Channel, 
 made by the City ballast boats, should be kept 
 
150 THE LORD MAYOR ? S 
 
 open; the towing-path, just below it, raised; 
 a new channel dug near to the towing-path, at 
 Old Windsor pay-gate ; and the lock and weir 
 at Bell Weir, which are but of a temporary 
 nature, and in an improper situation, should be 
 substantially constructed on an improved site. 
 
 That these improvements would answer the 
 purposes required, and render the Thames 
 Navigation what it ought to be, there can 
 scarcely be any reasonable doubt. Its present 
 state is perfectly anomalous : and no land com- 
 munication in the kingdom, between the metro- 
 polis and places of such consequence as those 
 to which these remarks have before referred, 
 would be suffered to remain in such a state one 
 single session of parliament. 
 
 Unless, therefore, it be a matter of no moment 
 at all to retain the present trade upon the 
 Thames; — if, rather, it be an object of the first 
 importance to make available the jurisdiction 
 which this great city has over so large a portion 
 of so fine a river, — which jurisdiction it has held 
 for many hundred years ; — -if the increase or 
 diminution in the value of the corporation pro- 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 151 
 
 perty, and that of its citizens on the banks of 
 the river, — arising from the increase or disuse 
 of the Thames Navigation,— be questions of 
 great and pressiug interest ; — if the opening of 
 the Pool to the upper parts of the river, in 
 consequence of the removal of London Bridge, 
 and the facility which the Thames affords in 
 conveying articles of subsistence, — such as, for 
 instance, flour, — into the heart of the metropolis, 
 and taking back from thence articles of com- 
 merce into the interior ; with numerous other 
 advantages, too numerous to be either described 
 or foreseen : — if these considerations have all, 
 or any of them, any weight, then the improve- 
 ment of the Navigation of the Thames should 
 be, by every means, most carefully attended to. 
 
 When the party rose from the dinner-table, 
 and resumed their seats under the banners that 
 streamed over the vessel, the high grounds of 
 Oatlands were caught in the distance. With 
 
152 THE LORD MAYOR'S 
 
 the exception, however, of Chertsey Church, 
 and the Abbey House, there are few objects to 
 vary this part of the scenery till the bridge 
 presents itself, backed by high and woody 
 grounds. Chertsey Mead stretches on in a fine 
 display of farms, villages, and villas, and every 
 mark of cultivation and opulence. Walton 
 Bridge is a conspicuous object, and adds much 
 to the scenery. The little tower of Shepperton 
 Church, rising from a pretty group of trees and 
 houses, is an interesting object. The view now 
 becomes confined by thick banks of osiers on 
 either side of the river; but the tower of 
 Sunbury Church soon discovers itself, and, in 
 about two miles, we reached that sumptuous 
 village, where numerous fine houses enrich the 
 shore. The principal ornament of the village of 
 Hampton is the villa of the late David Garrick ; 
 and the next grand feature in the scenery is the 
 Palace of Hampton Court, said to have been 
 built by Cardinal Wolsey, soon after his 
 advancement to the see of York. It is situated 
 near the river, and, though built with a very red 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 153 
 
 brick, — which is not considered favourable to 
 the display of architecture, — it is yet a most 
 superb structure. 
 
 From Kingston, the river, in a gently bending 
 reach, flows on toTeddington,or the Tide-ending 
 town ; so called, because the force of the tide 
 does not extend beyond this pretty village. 
 
 The State Barge, and its attendant vessels, 
 were now gliding swiftly over a most magnifi- 
 cent reach of the river; and, having passed 
 successively the numerous lovely villas of 
 Twickenham, Strawberry Hill, Marble Hill, 
 Ham House, and Petersham, they at length, at 
 twenty-five minutes after eight in the evening, 
 arrived at the village of Richmond ; so well 
 known, and so much admired for the charms of 
 its situation. 
 
 The vessels paused at the bridge ; and the 
 carriages, which had been previously ordered, 
 being found to be in readiness, the party, — all 
 in the full tide of spirits, regretting only, 
 indeed, that what had been so delightful was 
 to be also so short, — every one's countenance 
 deeply imbrowned by long exposure to the sun 
 
154 THE LORD MAYOR'S 
 
 and air, — now took leave of the Lord Mayor 
 and Lady Mayoress, and returned to their 
 respective homes. His Lordship soon after 
 ascended from the river-side to the interior of 
 Richmond ; and entered the private State 
 Carriage, accompanied by the Lady Mayoress, 
 and attended by the Sword-bearer and Chap- 
 lain. The horses were put at full speed, and, 
 at a few minutes before ten, the Lord Mayor 
 arrived at the Mansion House. 
 
 Thus ended this pleasure-voyage ; of which 
 the whole party will ever retain the most grati- 
 fying recollections. Of the mode in which the 
 time was passed, in the progress of this pas- 
 sage down the river, it would be difficult and 
 tedious to detail all the particulars. Suffice it, 
 therefore, to say, that although the party were 
 three successive days, — two of which days 
 included fifteen hours, — upon the water; yet, 
 such was the fine and ever-varying nature of 
 the home scenery around them, which was of 
 itself sufficient to engross the attention, as the 
 Thames made its azure sweeps round slopes of 
 meadow land ; so diversified were the occupa- 
 1 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 155 
 
 tions of reading, working, and conversation, — 
 conversation, which, always easy and intelli- 
 gent, was often such as to discover memories 
 containing ample registers of miscellaneous 
 snatches and fragments of sentiments, both in 
 prose and verse, which were sometimes applied 
 with considerable tact and address to passing 
 scenes ; — so well and interestingly, in short, 
 were the several successive hours filled up ; — 
 that no recourse was had, in any single instance, 
 throughout the voyage, either to cards or dice ; 
 or to any other of those frivolous expedients of 
 indolence, to which so many of the evening 
 hours of life are sacrificed ; and in which that 
 time is suffered to waste away, which Provi- 
 dence allows us for the duties of our station ; 
 and which, when gone, shall never return. 
 
 Here, then, ends the narrative. And if, 
 perchance, it should be asked, "To what pur- 
 pose is all this ? What good is the record of 
 these occurrences designed to do V It may be 
 answered, — That the Lord Mayor's Visit to 
 
156 THE LORD MAYOR'S 
 
 Oxford, and his progress down the Thames — 
 apart from the effect which it has already been 
 known to have, in suggesting improvements in 
 the navigation of the river, — will be always 
 deeply interesting, to those at least connected 
 with it, from the consideration, that the indi- 
 viduals of the Party are never likely to meet again 
 in this world, altogether in the same society. 
 
 An event, indeed, has lately happened, — 
 even since the first sheets of this little work 
 were put to press, — the sudden and lamented 
 death of one of the party ; # which not only 
 most impressively forbids this expectation, but 
 proclaims, with the voice of a passing bell, the 
 tremendous uncertainty of life. 
 
 This little narrative, then, will not have been 
 written entirely in vain, if it shall at all con- 
 tribute to remind the respected individuals 
 whose names have been mentioned on its pages, 
 — that even if such delightful parties could 
 continue always, and they could dwell together 
 thus harmoniously for the full season of this 
 mortal life ; yet that, after a few more years, at 
 
 * The lute Mr. Alderman Magnay. 
 
VISIT TO OXFORD. 157 
 
 most, the grave would close its gates between 
 them, — that every page will, ere long, be torn 
 from the volume of every one's life, — and all 
 will have passed away. 
 
 If, however, they shall diligently seek, — 
 and there is but one way, — to be included 
 in the general assembly and church of the 
 Jirst-born, whose names are written in heaven, 
 — then, though they may chance to pass whole 
 weeks, whole months, and, it may be, whole 
 years, without seeing or knowing any more of 
 each other; — and though death may at last 
 break the bond of their society on earth, — yet, 
 like the waters of that ample stream which has 
 recently borne them so pleasantly along, — 
 separated, for a short time, by the piers of an 
 intervening bridge, — they shall ultimately meet 
 again, in that more perfect state of being, where 
 there shall be neither absence, nor interruption; 
 — where death, is never known ; and friends, are 
 never parted. 
 
 THE END. 
 

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