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RADCOT WEIR.

death, brought to England, by order of the king, and, at the expence of his majesty, was buried with great pomp and solemnity, at Colne, in the county of Essex. The death of this nobleman gave a curious subject for the ridiculous superstition of those days,-in the coincidence of the crest, of the Veres, Earls Oxford, which was the very animal from whose ferocity he received the wound that caused his death.

Radcot bridge consists of three arches, in the shape of those of London bridge. It is in the direct road from Burford to Faringdon; but, from a late improvement of the navigation, the stream, which flows lazily beneath it, is now entirely deserted, but by the fisherman, who, perchance, pursues his sport, or follows his occupation in its unfrequented water. A cut was completed in the year 1787, which begins at a short distance from the bridge, winds round a meadow, and, after passing through a handsome stone arch, which continues the road, soon rejoins the main current of the river.

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OXFORD,

FROM IFLEY.

IFLEY, the beautiful spot from whence this view is taken, is situated on an eminence rising from the Thames, about a mile and an half from Oxford, and commands, as the engraving is intended to display, every towering object in that city. The Castle, St. Peter's and St. Aldate's churches, Tom Tower Christ Church, the Cathedral of that College, All Saints Church, Merton College, St. Mary's Church, Radcliffe Library, All Souls College, and Magdalen Tower, are distinctly marked.

The University of Oxford, whether considered for its edificial magnificence, its great antiquity, the scientific apparatus it possesses, and the application which is and has for ages been made of it for the advancement of every branch of learning and science, is a proud boast of the country which it adorns.

The name of this renowned place has been the source of serious controversy among the etymological antiquaries; some deriving it from Ouseney ford, the ford at or near Ouseney, which is the more obvious derivation; while others contend for Oxenford, or the ford of Oxen. But leaving this question to those who are disposed to attach importance to it, we shall proceed to give a brief account of the place itself.

It will be expected that we should say something of its origin, which by some fanciful writers is thrown back to a period so remote as to render their antiquarian researches not only incredible but ridiculous. It will be sufficient for us, without attempting to trace its earlier history, to state in the year 886 it was the residence of Alfred and his three sons, Edward, Athelward, and Alsward, and that money was coined there called Ocsnafordia. It shared with almost every other part of the kingdom the reverses which followed

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