From Oxford To London By Water*

FROM OXFORD TO LONDON BY WATER *

HPIIOSE who have known the Thames tor the past ten years must have been struck b y - * - the immense increase of the pleasure traffic upon the river . Expeditions such as that Avhich has suggested the present paper Avere , not so many years ago , confined almost entirely to boating men from the University or the London rowing clubs . The week after the end of the Summer Term at Oxford saw a goodly stream of four and pairoars , manned by undergraduates , making their Avay to Windsor , Eichmond , or Wauds-Avorth ; and throughout the summer months occasional parties of Londoners miht

g have been found starting from Salter ' s raft at Oxford for a three or four days' trip doAvn their noble river . Now , however , the fashion has spread Avider , ancl the excursionists on the Thames maybe counted by hundreds . The river-side inns are full to overfloAA'ing in July and August ; and you cannot row for many miles without coming upon a party preparing to camp out hi some snug spot by the river bank , either by pitching a tent , or bcovering in their boats with an ingenious contrivance like the " tilt" of a covered

y cart . Some idea of the extent of this pleasure traffic may be formed from the fact that at the beginning of August , Avhen the Avriter ancl his party started from Oxford , they were told that Salter alone had at that moment ninety-five boats out along the river betAveen Oxford ancl London .

Given fine weather , scarcely any more enjoyable trip can be imagined for those AA-IIO are fond of the . open air , good exercise , ancl pleasant scenery . Those AA'ho are not familiar AA'ith the Thames have no idea of the lovely spots that he within an hour or two ' s journey from London , and of the many varied combinations of AVOOC ! and hill and stream Avhich the river presents , aud in AA'hich the artist ancl the lover of nature may find endless interest ancl occupation as he passes along . The physical exercise , too , brings health and A * igour and appetite ; aud after a long pull under a summer sunthe

, veriest sybarite must admit that no bumper of champagne had ever half the charm of the first draught of " Alsopp from its native pevrter . " The freedom from all the restraints and ties of ordinary life , the sense of independence in moving from point to point AA'ith none of the clisagreebles of ordinary travel , and the sound ancl dreamless sleep AA'hich only such a healthy existence giA'es—these combine to " set one up " iu the short space of a feAV days more effectively than all the doctors iu London . There are certainl

y many worse Avays of spending a four or five days' holiday . Let us , hoAA'ever , begin to trace the course of such an expedition , as it is fresh in tho Avriter ' s memory . An early morning train to Oxford enables us to start in time for a first day's journey to Shilling ford or Wallingforcl ; but it is , of course , rather more convenient to sleep over-night at Oxford , ancl start earlier , before the mid-day heat . The University toAvn—that part of it , at least , in AA'hich the colleges mainly stand—is

in August like a city of the dead . Broad Street is almost deserted ; in the Eaclcliffe Square not a footstep will disturb our contemplation of one of the most striking group of buildings in the AA'orld ; the " High , " save for a slight bustle at the entrance to the market , is like the High' Street of any provincial town . A " honeymoon" couple strolling lovingly along , or a party of keen-faced Americans "doing" the p lace as vapidly as they can , are the only signs of life in St . John ' s or NBAV College gardens , or

under the shadow of the noble elms in Christ . Church meadoAA-s , as AA' 6 pass along the Broad Walk toAvards the river . The stranger , or non-University man , AA'ho does not understand the sacred institution of the "Long , " or the half-superstitious belief of Oxford men in the city ' s unhealthiness as a summer residence , will be surprised to see the most beautiful of English cities so deserted at the most beautiful time of the year ; and , if he be a Cambridge man , will be able to phiihe himself upon the more sensible custom of his OAA ' UniA'ersity in its Loug Vacation residence for reading purposes .