Today we visited that homely town where Tolkien and Lewis walked about and John Wesley carved his name in stone. Oxford, they call it - and yes, it does live up to all its namesake.
Roger, our trusty neighbor, took us around Christ Church, Trinity College, St. John's, New College, Lincoln, and his own - Magdalen College. We walked on dirt paths next to streams with daffodils bloomin like an Outback appetizer, over the place where Ridley and Latimer lit their flame across all of England, and into a candy store that did NOT have the famed Millionaire bar that I've spent the greater part of my life looking for.
It was a lovely day, but now I am worn like the gums of a pig who been chawin a hambone. So here's one story for you.
Roger told us that the old president of Lincoln college was so proud of a certain painting of Henry VIII that he showed it to one of Henry's descendants. It was quite a remarkable gem-o-the-trade, as the entire picture was made up of little hand-written passages from the the chapters of Psalms that you could only see if you looked closely. When he saw it, the descendant (who happened to be some sort of king/ruler figure) said "I want it."
"You can have it," said the President. "Under one condition."
"What is that?" asked the man.
"That you will give to us whatever we ask of you."
"Very well. What do you ask of me?" replied the King/ruler/person.
"That you give it back."
And to this day, it remains at Lincoln College.
0 comments:
Post a Comment