The Adventures of Mr. Verdant Green | Page 9

Indeed, she thought
it an act of the greatest heroism (or, if you object to the word,
heroineism) to be won over to say "yes" to the proposal; and it was not
until Miss Virginia had recited to her the deeds of all the mothers of
Greece and Rome who had suffered for their children's sake, that Mrs.
Green would consent to sacrifice her maternal feelings at the sacred
altar of duty.
When the point had been duly settled, that Mr. Verdant Green was to
receive a university education, the next question to be decided was, to
which of the three Universities should he go? To Oxford, Cambridge,
or Durham? But this was a matter which was soon determined upon.
Mr. Green at once put Durham aside, on account of its infancy, and its
wanting the ~prestige~ that attaches to the names of the two great
Universities. Cambridge was treated quite as summarily, because Mr.
Green had conceived the notion that nothing but mathematics were ever
thought or talked of there; and as he himself had always had an
abhorrence of them from his youth up, when he was hebdomadally
flogged for not getting-up his weekly propositions, he thought that his
son should be spared some of the personal disagreeables that he himself
had encountered; for Mr. Green remembered to have heard that the
great Newton was horsed during the time that he was a Cambridge
undergraduate, and he had a hazy idea that the same indignities were
still practised there.
But the circumstance that chiefly decided Mr. Green to choose Oxford
as the arena for Verdant's performances was, that he would have a
companion, and, as he hoped, a mentor, in the rector's son, Mr. Charles
Larkyns, who would not only be able to cheer him on his first entrance,
but also would introduce him to select and quiet friends, put him in the
way of lectures, and initiate him into all the mysteries of the place; all
which the rector professed his son would be glad to do, and would be

delighted to see his old friend and playfellow within the classic walls of
Alma Mater.
Oxford having been selected for the university, the next point to be
decided was the college.
"You cannot," said the rector, "find a much better college
[AN OXFORD FRESHMAN 19]
than Brazenface, where my lad is. It always stands well in the class-list,
and keeps a good name with its tutors. There are a nice gentlemanly set
of men there; and I am proud to say that my lad would be able to
introduce Verdant to some of the best. This will of course be much to
his advantage. And besides this, I am on very intimate terms with Dr.
Portman, the master of the college; and, if they should not happen to be
very full, no doubt I could get Verdant admitted at once. This too will
be of advantage to him; for I can tell you that there are secrets in all
these matters, and that at many colleges that I could name, unless you
knew the principal, or had some introduction or other potent spell to
work with, your son's name would have to remain on the books two or
three years before he could be entered; and this, at Verdant's age, would
be a serious objection. At one or two of the colleges, indeed, this is
almost necessary, under any circumstances, on account of the great
number of applicants; but at Brazenface there is not this over-crowding;
and I have no doubt, if I write to Dr. Portman, but what I can get rooms
for Verdant without much loss of time."
"Brazenface be it then!" said Mr. Green, "and I am sure that Verdant
will enter there with very many advantages; and the sooner the better,
so that he may be the longer with Mr. Charles. But when must his - his
what-d'ye-call-it, come off?"
"His matriculation?" replied the rector. "Why, although it is not usual
for men to commence residence at the time of their matriculation, still
it is sometimes done. And as my lad will, if all goes on well, be leaving
Oxford next year, perhaps it would be better, on that account, that
Verdant should enter upon his residence as soon as he has

matriculated." Mr. Green thought so too; and Verdant, upon being
appealed to, had no objection to this course, or, indeed, to any other
that was decided to be necessary for him; though, it must be confessed,
that he secretly shared somewhat of his mother's feelings as he looked
forward into the blank and uncertain prospect of his college life. Like a
good and dutiful son, however, his father's wishes were law; and he no
more thought of opposing them, than he did of