may be sure I was happy. At Oxford by twelve: found letter from Lord
Carrington--most punctual of men--appointing the 29th. But no letter
from Mr. Russell: sent the porter with note to him: "Mr. Russell gone to
see his brother at the Charter-house." Porter trudged again with two
notes, one to Tom Beddoes [Footnote: Her nephew]--"not come up this
term:" another note to Mr. Biddulph--most civil and best of College
cicerones--arrived almost as soon as the porter returned with his "very
happy;" and he walked us about to all those halls and gardens which we
had not seen before. Balliol and University gardens beautiful: at Corpus
Christi beautiful altar-piece. Rested at Mr. Biddulph's most comfortable
rooms at Maudlin: we went to Evening Service in the chapel: going in
from daylight, chapel lighted with many candles: dim light through brown
saints in the windows: chanting good, anthem very fine: two of the
finest voices I ever heard, one of a young boy. Good tea at Tetsworth:
amused ourselves next morning reading like ladies, and watching from our
gazabo window the arrival and departure of twelve stage-coaches, any one
of which would have been a study for Wilkie, besides the rubbing down of
a horse with a besom: at first we thought the horse would have been
affronted--no, quite agreeable. The dried flakes of yellow mud, first
besomed and then brushed, raised such a dust, that in the dust, man and
horse were lost.

Arrived here just at dressing-time. Lord Carrington had asked the
Lushingtons and Dr. Holland--can't come. Count and Countess Ludolf
expected to-morrow: he is ambassador from Sicily. Fanny says you and she
met them at Lady Davy's.


_To_ MRS. RUXTON.