In writing the chapters which describe medieval Oxford, the author
had the advantage of an ancient map, and of certain interesting
records of the thirteenth century, so that the picture of
scholastic life and of the conflicts of "north and south," etc. is
not simply imaginary portraiture. The earliest houses of education
in Oxford were doubtless the religious houses, beginning with the
Priory of Saint Frideswide, but schools appear to have speedily
followed, whose alumni lodged in such hostels as we have described
in "Le Oriole." The hall, so called (we are not answerable for the
non-elision of the vowel) was subsequently granted by Queen Eleanor
to one James de Hispania, from whom it was purchased for the new
college founded by Adam de Brom, and took the name of Oriel
College.

Two other points in this family history may invite remark. It may
be objected that the Old Man of the Mountain is too atrocious for
belief. The author can only reply that he is not original; he met
the old man and all his doings long ago, in an almost forgotten
chronicle of the crusades, especially he noted the perversion of
boyish intellect to crime and cruelty.

Lastly, in these days of incredulity, the supernatural element in
the story of Sir Roger of Walderne may appear forced or unreal. But
the incident is one of a class which has been made common property
by writers of fiction in all generations; it occurs at least thrice
in the Ingoldsby Legends; Sir Walter Scott gives a terrible
instance in his story of the Scotch judge haunted by the spectre of
the bandit he had sentenced to death {2}, which appears to be
founded on fact; and indeed the present narrative was suggested by
one of Washington Irving's short stories, read by the writer when a