Reader, if you have ever tasted of the delightful cup of youthful
friendship, and pressed with all the glow of early and sincere
attachment the venerable hand of a kind instructor, or met the wistful
eye and hearty grasp of parting schoolfellows, and ancient dames, and
obliging servants, you will easily discover how embarrassing a task
it must be to depict in words the agitating sensations which at such a
moment spread their varied influence over the mind. I had taken care to
secure the box seat of the old Oxford, that on my approach I might enjoy
an uninterrupted view of the classic turrets and lofty spires of sacred
{Academus}. Contemplation had fixed his seal upon my young lips for the
first ten miles of my journey. Abstracted and thoughtful, I had scarce
turned my eye to admire the beauties of the surrounding scenery, or lent
my ear to the busy hum of my fellow passengers' conversation, when a
sudden action of the coach, which produced a sensation of alarm, first
broke the gloomy mist that had encompassed me. After my fears had
subsided, I inquired of the coachman what was the name of the place we
had arrived at, and was answered Henley.-"Stony Henley, sir," said our
driver: "you might have discovered that by the _bit of a shake_ we just
now experienced. I'll bet a _bullfinch_{1} that you know the place well
enough, my young master, before you've been two terms at Oxford.
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