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THE CASTLE, AND ' Til !•: PROVISIONS OF OXFORD.' ^C,') sketch like the present, it would be impossible to unravel their obscurity. Those who are desirous of tracing the rise and progress of these various clianges must enter upon a field of investigation, which would be too wide for one who now merely professes to indicate slightly the points best worth consideration. I have already quoted from original documents with a tedious diffuseness, because they not only serve to cast some fresh light on the internal arrangements and decorations of the palaces of the Plantagenets, but also because the}'- relate to buildings wherein these important questions concerning the expanding liberties of the Phiglish nation, were either checked in their growth, or fostered by the wisdom of the Crown. It is impossible we should ever look coldly upon scenes hallowed by so many striking incidents They solemnly remind us of the struggles or perilous achievements of our forefathers, of their deeds of valour, their patriotism, or their devotion ; and they should serve to increase in the affections an admiration for their generous and lofty prin- ciples, mixed, though they may be, with much that is incompatible with modern notions of political justice or even humanity. We may knit together the noblest impulses of the past, with the refinement of the present age, and thus embody the fleeting shadows of antiquity with vitality and existence. Nor are they to be envied who would suflcr such associations to remain inactive in the heart, who would teach us to deny the natural instinct of political sympath}^, and by bidding us consign to oblivion the serious grandeur of historic recollections, efface all those marks of our progress which have been sheltered under the hallowed wings of time. CHARLES HENRY HARTSHORNE. 3d