Chapter XII

MR. VERDANT GREEN AND HIS FRIENDS ENJOY THE COMMEMORATION.

The Commemoration had come; and, among the people who were drawn to the sight from all parts of the country, the Warwickshire coach landed in Oxford our friends Mr. Green, his two eldest daughters, and the Rector--for all of whom Charles Larkyns had secured very comfortable lodgings in Oriel Street.

The weather was of the finest; and the beautiful city of colleges looked at its best. While the Rector met with old friends, and heard his son's praises, and renewed his acquaintance with his old haunts of study, Mr. Green again lionised Oxford in a much more comfortable and satisfactory manner than he had previously done at the heels of a professional guide. As for the young ladies, they were charmed with everything; for they had never before been in an University town, and all things had the fascination of novelty. Great were the luncheons held in Mr. Verdant Green's and Charles Larkyns' rooms; musical was the laughter that floated merrily through the grave old quads of Brazenface; happy were the two hearts that held converse with each other in those cool cloisters and shady gardens. How a few flounces and bright girlish smiles can change the aspect of the sternest homes of knowledge! How sunlight can be brought into the gloomiest nooks of learning by the beams that irradiate happy girlish faces, where the light of love and truth shines out clear and joyous! How the appearance of the Commemoration week is influenced in a way thus described by one of Oxonia's poets:--

"Peace! for in the gay procession brighter forms are borne along--
Fairer scholars, pleasure-beaming, float amid the classic throng.
Blither laughter's ringing music fills the haunts of men awhile,
And the sternest priests of knowledge blush beneath a maiden's smile.
Maidens teach a softer science--laughing Love his pinions dips,
Hush'd to hear fantastic whispers murmur'd from a pedant's lips.
Oh, believe it, throbbing pulses flutter under folds of starch,
And the Dons are human-hearted if the ladies' smiles be arch."

Thanks to the influence of Charles Larkyns and his father, the party were enabled to see all that was to be seen during the Commemoration week. On the Saturday night they went to the amateur concert at the Town Hall, in aid of which, strange to say, Mr. Bouncer's proffer of his big drum had been declined. On the Sunday they went, in the morning, to St. Mary's to hear the Bampton lecture; and, in the afternoon, to the magnificent choral service at New College. In the evening they attended the customary "Show Sunday" promenade in Christ Church Broad Walk, where, under the delicious cool of the luxuriant foliage, they met all the rank, beauty, and fashion that were assembled in Oxford; and where, until Tom "tolled the hour for retiring," they threaded their way amid a miscellaneous crowd of Dons and Doctors, and Tufts and Heads of Houses,--

With prudes for Proctors, dowagers for Deans,
And bright girl-graduates with their golden hair.

On the Monday they had a party to Woodstock and Blenheim; and in the evening went, on the Brazenface barge, to see the procession of boats, where the Misses Green had the satisfaction to see their brother pulling in one of the fifteen torpids that followed immediately in the wake of the other boats. They concluded the evening's entertainments in a most satisfactory manner, by going to the ball at the Town Hall.

Indeed, the way the two young ladies worked was worthy of all credit, and proved them to be possessed of the most vigorous constitutions; for, although they danced till an early hour in the morning, they not only, on the next day, went to the anniversary sermon for the Radcliffe, and after that to the horticultural show in the Botanical Gardens, and after that to the concert in the Sheldonian Theatre, but--as though they had not had enough to fatigue them already--they must, forsooth--Brazenface being one of the ball-giving colleges--wind up the night by accepting the polite invitation of Mr. Verdant Green and Mr. Charles Larkyns to a ball given in their college hall. And how many polkas these young ladies danced, and how many waltzes they waltzed, and how many ices they consumed, and how many too susceptible partners they drove to the verge of desperation, it would be improper, if not impossible, to say.

But, however much they might have been fagged by their exertions of feet and features, it is certain that, by ten of the clock the next morning, they appeared, quite fresh and charming to the view, in the ladies' gallery in the theatre. There--after the proceedings had been opened by the undergraduates in _their_ peculiar way, and by the vice-chancellor in _his_ peculiar way--and, after the degrees had been conferred, and the public orator had delivered an oration in a tongue not understanded of the people, our friends from Warwickshire had the delight of beholding Mr. Charles Larkyns ascend the rostrums to deliver, in their proper order, the Latin Essay and the English Verse. He had chosen his friend Verdant to be his prompter; so that the well-known "giglamps" of our hero formed, as it were, a very focus of attraction: but it was well for Mr. Charles Larkyns that he was possessed of self-control and a good memory, for Mr. Verdant Green was far too nervous to have prompted him in any efficient manner. We may be sure, that in all that bevy of fair women, at least one pair of bright eyes kindled with rapture, and one heart beat with exulting joy, when the deafening cheers that followed the poet's description of the moon, the sea, and woman's love (the three ingredients which are apparently necessary for the sweetening of all prize poems), rang through the theatre and made its walls re-echo to the shouting. And we may be sure that, when it was all over, and when the Commemoration had come to an end, Charles Larkyns felt rewarded for all his hours of labour by the deep love garnered up in his heart by the trustful affection of one who had become as dear to him as life itself!

* * * * *

It was one morning after they had all returned to the Manor Green that our hero said to his friend, "How I _do_ wish that this day week were come!"

"I dare say you do," replied the friend; "and I dare say that the pretty Patty is wishing the same wish." Upon which Mr. Verdant Green not only laughed but blushed!

For it seemed that he, together with his sisters, Mr. Charles Larkyns, and Mr. Bouncer, were about to pay a long-vacation visit to Honeywood Hall, in the county of Northumberland; and the young man was naturally looking forward to it with all the ardour of a first and consuming passion.

THE END

POPULAR ILLUSTRATED WORKS

PUBLISHED BY H. INGRAM AND CO. MILFORD HOUSE, MILFORD LAKE, STRAND, LONDON, AND BY ALL BOOKSELLERS.

* * * * *

THE NATIONAL ILLUSTRATED LIBRARY.

_Each Volume containing about 300 Pages and numerous Engravings,
Crown 8vo, handsomely bound in cloth, gilt, 2s. 6d.; cloth extra,
gilt edges, 3s. 6d.; morocco, gilt edges, 7s. 6d.; morocco
antique, 10s. 6d.; 2 vols, in 1, calf, marbled edges, 9s.;
morocco, gilt edges, 10s. 6d._

BOSWELL'S LIFE of Dr. JOHNSON. Complete in four volumes. With numerous Portraits, Views, and Characteristic Designs, engraved from Authentic Sources.--_Third Edition._

THE ILLUSTRATED BOOK of ENGLISH SONGS, from the Sixteenth to the Nineteenth Century. With Fifty Engravings from Original Designs.--_Fourth Edition._

THE MORMONS, or LATTER-DAY SAINTS. An account of the Rise and Progress of this new Religious Sect. Illustrated with Forty Engravings from Original Sources.--_Third Edition._

THE ORBS OF HEAVEN; or, the Planetary and Stellar Worlds. A popular Exposition of the great Discoveries and Theories of Modern Astronomy. Illustrated with Nebulæ, Portraits, Views, Diagrams, &c.--_Fourth Edition._

PICTURES OF TRAVEL IN THE SOUTH OF FRANCE. From the French of ALEXANDRE DUMAS. With Fifty spirited Engravings on Wood.--_Second Edition._

HUC'S TRAVELS in TARTARY, THIBET, and CHINA, in 1854, 5, and 6. _Unabridged Edition._ Two Volumes. With numerous Daguerreotyped Illustrations, and a Map of the Countries, clearly illustrating the Route of MM. HUC and GABET.

A WOMAN'S JOURNEY ROUND THE WORLD. _Unabridged._ From the German of IDA PFEIFFER. In One Volume. With Twelve Page Engravings, _printed in Colours_.--_Third Edition._

MEMOIRS OF EXTRAORDINARY POPULAR DELUSIONS. Two Vols. By CHARLES MACKAY, LL.D. Illustrated with One Hundred and Twenty Engravings from scarce Prints and other Authentic Sources.--_Second Edition._

"These volumes will captivate the attention of readers, who,
according to their various tempers, feel either inclined to laugh
at or sigh over the follies of mankind."--_Times._

BOSWELL'S JOURNAL OF A TOUR TO THE HEBRIDES. Companion Volume to "Boswell's Life of Johnson," with the Index to the "Life." By R. CARRUTHERS, Esq., of Inverness.--_Second Edition._

NARRATIVE OF A RESIDENCE AT THE CAPITAL OF THE KINGDOM OF SIAM. With a Description of the Manners and Customs of the Modern Siamese. By FREDERICK ARTHUR NEALE, formerly in the Siamese Service, Author of "Eight Years in Syria," &c.

THE ILLUSTRATED BOOK OF SCOTTISH SONGS, from the Sixteenth to the Nineteenth Century. With numerous Illustrations.--_Second Edition._

PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF LONDON, PAST AND PRESENT. By THOMAS MILLER, Author of the "History of the Anglo-Saxons," &c., with Illustrations.

MADAME PFEIFFER'S VISIT TO ICELAND AND THE SCANDINAVIAN NORTH. Companion Volume to "A Woman's Journey round the World." With Twelve Page Engravings printed in Colours.--_Third Edition._

THE ISRAEL OF THE ALPS. A History of the Persecutions of the Waldenses. By the Rev. Dr. ALEXIS MUSTON. Beautifully Illustrated.--_Second Edition._

MADAME PFEIFFER'S VISIT TO THE HOLY LAND, EGYPT, AND ITALY. Uniform with "A Woman's Journey round the World," and "Visit to Iceland." With Tinted Engravings.--_Second Edition._

A NARRATIVE OF THE UNITED STATES EXPLORING EXPEDITION. Two Volumes. With numerous Drawings made from the sketches of the Artist who accompanied the Expedition, illustrative of the Manners, Customs, and Personal Appearance of the Inhabitants, and Views of the Scenery of the Countries visited.

THE ILIAD OF HOMER. Translated into English Verse by ALEXANDER POPE. A New Edition, with Notes, Illustrations, and Introduction, by the Rev. THEODORE ALOIS BUCKLEY, M. A., Chaplain of Christ Church, Oxford. Two Volumes.

This Edition of Homer's Iliad contains the Classical Compositions
of Flaxman, beautifully drawn by T. D. SCOTT, Esq., and engraved
in the most careful manner by J. L. WILLIAMS, Esq.

THE ODYSSEY OF HOMER. With FLAXMAN's Illustrations, &c. One Volume. Edited by the Rev. THEODORE ALOIS BUCKLEY.

THE COMPLETE ANGLER OF IZAAK WALTON and CHARLES COTTON. New Edition, superbly illustrated with Fifty Engravings of Fishes, Fishing-Tackle, Flies, and Portraits and Landscapes. Edited by EPHEMERA, of Bell's "Life in London."

This Edition of the Complete Angler contains 100 pages of Notes,
explanatory of the Text, and adapting to modern experience and
practice its obsolete instructions.

EXTRAORDINARY MEN; THEIR BOYHOOD AND EARLY LIFE. By W. RUSSELL, Esq. Illustrated with Fifty Engravings of Portraits, Birth-places, Incidents, &c.

THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS FROM THIS WORLD TO THAT WHICH IS TO COME. By John Bunyan. A New Edition, with a Memoir by J. M. HARE. The Allegory illustrated by Thirty Outline Drawings by Clayton, and the Biographical Sketch with interesting relics and recollections of the Author, by J. L. WILLIAMS.--_Third Edition._

To ensure the completeness of the present Edition, it has been
carefully reprinted _verbatim_, without abridgment or
interpolation from the genuine old editions of JOHN BUNYAN.

TRAVELS IN SPAIN. From the French of THEOPHILUS GAUTIER. Illustrated with numerous Authentic Drawings by MACQUOID, of Spanish Architecture, Scenery and Costume.

THE LIFE OF ALEXANDER POPE, with extracts from his Correspondence. By R. CARRUTHERS, Esq., of Inverness. Illustrated with Portraits of distinguished Contemporaries of Pope, Scenes connected with the Poet's Life and Works, and Incidents from his career.

THE LIFE, PUBLIC AND DOMESTIC, OF THE RIGHT HON. EDMUND BURKE. By PETER BURKE, Esq., of the Inner Temple and the Northern Circuit. Profusely illustrated with Portraits, Scenes of Events, and Landscape Views, relating to the great Orator and the other noted persons of his time and career.--_Second Edition._

THE WORKS OF ALEXANDER POPE, edited by R. CARRUTHERS, Esq., of Inverness. Volume II., containing The Rape of the Lock, Windsor Forest, Imitations of Chaucer, Essay on Criticism, Vertumnus and Pomona, Abelard and Héloise, Epistles, Odes, &c. &c. Illustrated with Incidents, Localities, and Portraits, by J. PORTCH and T. D. SCOTT.

THE NATURAL HISTORY AND ANTIQUITIES OF SELBORNE. By the Rev. GILBERT WHITE, M.A. Edited, with Notes and Additions, by Sir WILLIAM JARDINE, Bart., F.R.S.E., F.L.S., M.W.S. Fully illustrated.

THE POETICAL WORKS OF ALEXANDER POPE. Volume III., containing The Dunciad, The Essay on Man, &c. Completely illustrated.

THE POETICAL WORKS OF ALEXANDER POPE. Volume IV., containing Satires, Miscellaneous Pieces, &c. Illustrated with Incidents, Localities, and Portraits, by J. PORTCH and T. D. SCOTT.

Great pains have been taken to render this Edition accurate and
complete. Several important mistakes of the previous biographers
and Editors of Pope have been rectified, and new information
added.

"This illustrated Edition is the most lucid, comprehensive, and
correct, that has yet issued from the press."--_Britannia._

"This Edition of Pope's Works is a very useful addition to our
literature, and will be read as long as there is any taste left
for vigorous thought expressed in nervous language."--_Economist._

THE LIFE AND TIMES OF SIR WALTER RALEIGH, with copious Extracts from his "History of the World." By CHARLES WHITEHEAD. Fully illustrated.

JOHNSON'S LIVES OF THE POETS. Completed to L. E. London by WILLIAM HAZLITT, and including a Life of Lord Byron by SIR HENRY L. BULWER. In Four Volumes. Illustrated with Portraits, Incidents, and Localities, by JOHN GILBERT, T. D. SCOTT, and other artists.

THE HISTORY OF RUSSIA, from the Foundation of the Monarchy by Rourick to the close of the Hungarian War. To which are added Dissertations on Serfdom, Landed Tenure, the Nobility, the Church, Trade, &c., of Russia. By ALPHONSE RABBE and JONATHAN DUNCAN, B.A. With Tinted Illustrations (by S. Read) of the principal Cities, Ports, and Harbours, and two Maps of the Russian Empire. In two Volumes.

SKETCHES OF LIFE IN THE CAUCASUS. By a Russe, many years resident among the Mountain Tribes. With Eight Page Engravings.

FERN LEAVES FROM FANNY'S PORTFOLIO. Second Edition. By FANNY FERN (Sister to N. P. Willis). Illustrated with Eight Page Engravings in Sepia tints, from designs by BIRKET FOSTER. Crown 8vo. cloth.

Of this work 6,000 copies were ordered in America in advance of
publication, and 60,000 have been already sold.

This is the only complete and Illustrated Edition. Several new
sketches by FANNY FERN have been added. Third Edition.

LITTLE FERNS FOR FANNY'S LITTLE FRIENDS. The Juvenile Gift Book of the Season. Embellished with Eight Page Engravings in Sepia tints, by BIRKET FOSTER, engraved by EVANS. _Second Edition._--N.B. The copyright of this book is secured.

SAUNTERINGS IN AND ABOUT LONDON; or, a Foreigner's Impressions of England. Translated from the German of SCHLESINGER, by OTTO WENCKSTERN.

A "BRAGE-BEAKER" WITH THE SWEDES; being a Tourist's Experiences in Scandinavia. By WILLIAM BLANCHARD JERROLD, Esq.; with numerous sketches by the Author.

THE ALAIN FAMILY. A Tale of the Norman Coast. By ALPHONSE KARR. With Eight Page Illustrations by ANELAY.

BLANCHE THE HUGUENOT. A Tale of the Persecutions of the French Protestants. By WILLIAM ANDERSON, with Eight Page Illustrations by GEORGE and W. L. THOMAS.

THE PATHWAY OF THE FAWN. By Mrs. T. K. HERVEY. Illustrated with Chapter Initials and Twelve highly-finished Engravings on Wood, printed in two tints, and elegantly bound in cloth, gilt edges.

MARIA LOUISE. Translated from the Swedish of EMILIE CARLEN. Illustrated with Eight fine Engravings.

THE LIFE OF TOUSSAINT-L'OUVERTURE, the Negro Patriot of Hayti. Comprising Sketches of the War of Liberation in that Island, and an outline of its more recent History. By the Rev. JOHN. R. BEARD, D.D. Embellished with Seven Characteristic Sketches, and a Map of St. Domingo.

ADOLPHE RENOUARD: a Tale of Rural Life in France. By JAMES WARD, Esq. With Eight Page Engravings.

SEALFIELD'S CABIN-BOOK. Illustrated with Eight Page Engravings. This interesting work contains Scenes and Sketches of the late American and Mexican War.

LADY FELICIA. By HENRY COCKTON, Author of "Valentine Vox." Post 8vo. With Illustrated Frontispiece and Title, elegantly bound in blue and silver.

IVAR; OR, THE SKJUTS BOY. From the Swedish of EMILIE CARLEN. Author of "Woman's Life." Illustrated. Bound in cloth, gilt.

THE SQUANDERS OF CASTLE SQUANDER. A New Novel. In Two Volumes. By WILLIAM CARLETON, Author of "The Black Prophet," "Traits of the Irish Peasantry," &c.

UNCLE TOM'S CABIN. By HARRIET B. STOWE. Sixth Edition. Embellished with Eight Fine Engravings.

THE WHITE SLAVE. A Tale of Slave Life in Virginia. Edited by R. HILDRETH, Esq., Author of "A History of the United States." Eight Spirited Wood Engravings.

AUBREY CONYERS; or, THE LORDSHIP OF ALLERDALE. By Miss E. M. STEWART, Authoress of "Tales of the City of London," &c. Illustrated with Eight Page Engravings.

CALEB STUKELEY. A Tale of the Last Century. Reprinted from "Blackwood's Magazine." With Numerous Illustrations by M'Connell, engraved by Dalziel.

THE UNIVERSAL LIBRARY.

THE BEST WORKS OF THE BEST AUTHORS, IN ALL DEPARTMENTS OF LITERATURE.

_Beautifully and uniformly printed in Royal Octavo, with two or
more first-class Illustrations in each Number, and a handsome
cover. Each part containing a complete work at 1s., 1s. 6d., or
2s. each, according to size._

* * * * *

THE FOLLOWING WORKS HAVE ALREADY APPEARED:

I. Scott's Lady of the Lake, and Lay of the Last Minstrel. 1s.

II. Izaak Walton's Lives of Donne, Wotton, Herbert, Hooker, and
Sanderson. 1s.

III. Anson's Voyage Round the World. 1s.

IV. Goldsmith's Vicar of Wakefield, and Saintine's Picciola. 1s.

V. Alison's Essays on Taste. 1s.

VI. Sterne's Tristram Shandy (168 pages) 1s. 6d.

VII. Fables of La Fontaine. Translated from the French by E.
WRIGHT. 1s.

VIII. Sedgwick's Home, Paul and Virginia, the Indian Cottage, and
the Exiles of Siberia. With Three Engravings. (120 pages.) 1s.

IX. Uncle Tom's Cabin. New edition; with Portrait and a Memoir of
Mrs. HARRIET BEECHER STOWE; a Digest of the Slave Laws of the
Southern States of America; and Statistics of American Slavery
since the Declaration of Independence. (180 pages.) 1s. 6d.

X. Koempfer's Account of Japan. 1s.

XI. Translations of Goethe's Faust, and the Tragedies of Schiller.
With Four Engravings. (170 pages.) 1s. 6d.

XII. Stephens' Travels in Egypt, Arabia, and the Holy Land. 1s.

XIII. Emerson's Essays and Orations. 1s.

XIV. Milton's complete Poetical Works. 1s. 6d.

XV. Bremer's Mora, H. Family, Bondmaid, Axel and Anna. With Six
Engravings. 1s. 6d.

XVI. Stephens' Travels in Turkey, Greece, Russia and Poland. With
Frontispiece and Vignette. 1s.

XVII. Goldsmith's Citizen of the World. With Frontispiece and
Vignette. 1s.

XVIII. Michelet's Life of Martin Luther. With Engravings and
Vignette. 1s.

XIX. Memoirs of the Life of Colonel Hutchinson. By LUCY
HUTCHINSON. With Frontispiece and Vignette. 1s.

XX. The Life of Charles XII., King of Sweden, by VOLTAIRE; and the
Life of Lord Herbert of Cherbury. With Frontispiece and Vignette.
1s.

XXI. Essays, Civil and Moral, by FRANCIS BACON; and LOCKE on the
Reasonableness of Christianity. With Four Illustrations. 1s.

XXII. The Neighbours and Minor Tales. By FREDRIKA BREMER. With
Frontispiece and Vignette by C. KEANE. 1s.

XXIII. Ritson's Robin Hood, with Title and Frontispiece. 1s.

XXIV. The Mutiny of the Bounty. With Frontispiece and Vignette by
E. DUNCAN. 1s.

XXV. The Canterbury Tales of Geoffrey Chaucer. Edited, with a
Glossary, &c., by THOMAS WRIGHT, Esq., M.A., F.S.A., &c. Double
Part (230 pages), with Frontispiece and Vignette. 2s.

XXVI. Goldsmith's Essays. With Frontispiece and Vignette. 1s.

XXVII. The Poetical Works of Robert Burns. With Frontispiece and
Vignette. 1s.

XXVIII. Goldsmith's Plays and Poems. Illustrated with Frontispiece
and Vignette. 1s.

XXIX. The Life of Peter Wilkins, a Cornishman. By a Passenger in
the "Hector." With Frontispiece and Vignette. 1s.

XXX. Crabbe's Tales. With Frontispiece and Vignette. 1s.

XXXI. Crabbe's Borough and Collins' and Gray's Poems. Frontispiece
and Vignette. 1s.

XXXII. Knickerbocker's History of New York. With Frontispiece and
Vignette. 1s.

Poetry.--Volume I., containing Scott's Lay of the Last Minstrel, Lady of the Lake; La Fontaine's Fables; Goethe's Faust; Schiller's Piceolomini, and Wallenstein's Death; Milton's Poetical Works. Royal 8vo. handsomely bound in cloth gilt, 6s.

Poetry.--Volume II., containing Ritson's Robin Hood; Chaucer's Canterbury Tales; Burns' Poems: Goldsmith's Plays and Poems. Royal 8vo, cloth, gilt, 6s.

Fiction.--Volume I., containing Goldsmith's Vicar of Wakefield; Saintine's Picciola; Sedgwick's Home, Paul and Virginia, the Indian Cottage, and the Exiles of Siberia; Uncle Tom's Cabin; Bremer's Mora, II. Family, Bondmaid, Axel and Anna. Cloth gilt, 6s.

Voyages and Travels.--Volume I., containing Anson's Voyage Round the World; Stephens' Travels in Egypt, Arabia and the Holy Land; Stephens' Travels In Turkey, Greece, Russia, and Poland; Koempfer's Account of Japan; Bligh's Voyage in the Bounty to the South seas. With Twelve Illustrations by GILBERT, DUNCAN, and others. Royal 8vo., cloth (600 pages), 6s.

Miscellaneous.--Volume I., containing Sterne's Tristram Shandy; Goldsmith's Citizen; Life of Peter Wilkins; and Knickerbocker's New York. Royal 8vo, cloth gilt, 6s.

Essays.--Volume I., containing the Essays of Alison, Emerson, Goldsmith, Bacon, and Locke, and Michelet's Life of Luther, royal 8vo., cloth gilt, 6s.

Cloth Cases for Volumes, 1s. each