Today I took my last walk through the meadow and along the River Thames. On this walk I was treated to a farewell symphony of honking geese. I turned in my keys to Trinity College and the gates of Oxford which welcomed me in two months ago, closed behind me, hopefully not forever though. I perused the streets and shops of Oxford, taking in as much of the city as I could. I discovered Queen’s Lane for the first time; it’s really nothing special, but it’s an old cobblestone lane that provided a brief respite from the street traffic as I walked towards the Bodleian library for the last time and Medieval England came alive for me. I saw the Treasures exhibit at the Bodleian, a room where significant pieces of literature are on display; for example, an early Jane Austen manuscript, one of the 17 Magna Charta’s, a Gutenberg Bible, some papyrus scrolls. To nicely cap off the day I had the blissful pleasure of finding a print shop on High Street where I spent a wonderful hour leafing through matted print after print of old maps, scenes of Oxford and the larger Great Britain, and excerpts from 19th century fashion magazines. I then challenged myself to a duel, trying to see how many print types I could correctly determine. So I dug deep into my book history memory and spent a lengthy half hour scanning prints, and watching for the nuanced differences between wood and copper engravings, etchings, aquatints, lithographs, and Albumen photographs (these were the easiest to pick out since they were the only photographs in the group, so I guess they didn’t really count for the purpose of the game). This was one of my favorite hours spent in Oxford. I was able to see images of the city that I recognized from many different eras and in several different art mediums. I was penetrated with the knowledge yet again of how old this city and school are, and with how timeless the education is here.
After walking approximately 10 miles in the last two days, my feet are sore, but my heart is full. This blessed gift of a season of my life is coming to a rapid close and I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to come here. Words are failing me right now, and only sweet tears are filling their place. But then I remember that the beautiful thing about knowledge and experiences is that absolutely nothing can take them away from you except your own forgetfulness. Intangible things like these can’t be stolen like physical possessions can (though there’s nothing wrong with possessions, mind you); it’s just that for me, these are the treasures I hold most dear and there will never be a danger of them ever being stolen, or destroyed by moths and rust. And so I can move forward into another new and exciting season of life with just as much joy as I came into this one 3 ½ months ago.
But don’t worry, I’m not done posting. At the very least I still have to tell you all about Bath, Stonehenge, and the finale of rowing – the Christ Church Regatta – which should keep me occupied on the plane tomorrow. J
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