set in silver. The whole is about eighteen inches in height. It originally belonged to the Founder, Archbishop Chichele, and was given to this College by a descendant of the Chichele family. It is placed in the Hall during dinner, on All Souls' Day, Easter Day, Whitsunday, and Christmas Day. The Lodgings of the Warden front the High-street.

This College was founded by Henry Chichele, Archbishop of Canterbury, and the first stone was laid with great solemnity in 1437. The Society consists of a Warden, forty Fellows, two Chaplains, and six Clerks. The number of members on the books is generally from eighty to ninety. The Fellows are elected from other Colleges of the University; such only being eligible as were either born in the province of Canterbury, or can prove themselves of kin to the Founder.

A curious custom is occasionally observed in this College on the 14th of January; that of keeping the Mallard Night, in commemoration of the discovery of a very large mallard, or drake, in a drain, when digging for the foundation of the College. When this celebration takes place, an old song, called "The Swopping, Swopping Mallard," is always sung. This song is in the humourous publication called "The Oxford Sausage."

At a few paces from All Souls' College, stands

ST. MARY'S CHURCH,

The lofty spire of which renders it a conspicuous object. It is called the University Church. The parishioners of St. Mary's make use of it for Sunday and weekly prayers, and for sermons on those Sundays when the University sermons are preached elsewhere.* The University sermons are preached here on the mornings of every Sunday, excepting Easter Sunday, Trinity Sunday, the first Sunday in August, and when the turn comes to the Dean or Canons of Christ Church, who always preach in their own Cathedral. The Sunday afternoon sermons are also preached here, except during Lent, and on Easter Day, when they are at St. Peter's in the East. To the foregoing rule other exceptions must be added; such as Christmas Day, Lady Day, and some other holydays happening on a Sunday. The University sermons are preached by Doctors and Bachelors in Divinity, Doctors and Bachelors in Civil Law, and Masters of Arts, in their turns. There are ten select Preachers appointed, five of whom annually go out of office. The person whose turn happens in the time of Vacation, or on any day during Term, except Sunday, is at liberty to procure any one qualified, to supply

* A sermon is preached at St. Mary's Church on Sunday, at four in the afternoon, by the vicar of the parish, for general accommodation; particularly for those who are un able to attend morning service.

his place. If the turn happen on a Sunday in Term, no one but a select Preacher is allowed to be his substitute. The names of the University preachers for the day, and the church or chapel in which the sermons will be preached, may be known on Saturday or on the morning of Sunday, they being exhibited for general information near the buttery or hall of every college. In the Long Vacation there are no University sermons.

This spacious Gothic structure is 288 feet in length, 27 feet 11 inches broad, and 70 feet in height. The Vice-Chancellor's seat is at the west end, with the places appointed for the Proctors beneath it. On each side are seats for the Heads of Colleges and Halls, and the Doctors and Noblemen. In the area before them are benches for the Masters of Arts, and over the Vice-Chancellor's seat, with a return to the north and south, are galleries for the Bachelors of Arts and Under-Graduates. The arch between the area and the chancel supports a fine organ, by Smith. The room on the north side of the chancel is the Common Law School, where the Vinerian Professor reads his Lectures. The steeple is 180 feet high.

A religious ceremony takes place annually in this Church, which originated thus: in the year 1353, on the feast of St. Scholastica, (the 10th of February,) a serious quarrel took place between the Scholars and the Citizens, in consequence of John de Croydon, the landlord of

the Mermaid Tavern, on Carfax, giving to some students wine which they disliked. Several angry words passed between them, and, at length, the vintner becoming very saucy, the Scholars threw the wine and the cup at his head. From the noise occasioned by this quarrel, several citizens came into the house and took the landlord's part, and being close to St. Martin's Church, they ordered the bells to be rung, to call the townsmen together. They assembled in great numbers, as did also the members of the University. A great conflict took place, which ended in the death of forty of the Scholars. Many others were wounded, and all the books and goods belonging to the students the townsmen could find, they either destroyed or carried away. In consequence of this outrage, an interdict was laid on the City. This was taken off in the year 1355, on condition that the Mayor, Bailiffs, and sixty of the chief Burghers, should personally appear in the Church of St. Mary, on the said day of Scholastica, and there, at their own charge, celebrate a mass for the souls of the Scholars slain; after which, the Burghers should each offer up one penny at the great altar of the Church, to be distributed to forty poor Scholars, and the residue of the oblation to be given to the vicar of St. Mary's. In failure of this, the City was to forfeit 100 marks to the University. This ceremony was duly

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performed until the early part of the reign of Elizabeth, when it was urged by the City, that it literally meant masses, and these being done away with by the Reformation, the ceremony. and fines ought to be discontinued. The heads of the Queen's Council, however, did not agree in opinion with the Citizens, but ordered that a sermon or communion, (with the pennies each) should be exchanged for the masses. This was, at length, changed into the service now used, (prayers). This service and the offering, continue to this day, as an expiation of an offence committed upwards of 460 years ago, in the days of Edward III. In this Church also, annually, the Mayor, and a certain number of the Citizens of Oxford, take an oath, which is administered to them by the Proctors, in the presence of the Vice-Chancellor, to maintain the rights and privileges of the University.

In the square behind St. Mary's Church, stands that magnificent structure

THE RADCLIFFE LIBRARY.

This fine building was begun in 1737, and was opened with great public ceremony by the trustees under the will of the Founder, Dr. Radcliffe, on the 13th of April, 1749. This great benefactor to the University left £40,000 for the erection of this Library, £150 per annum to the Librarian, £100 per annum for the purchase of books, and £100 per annum to