[Illustration: BRIDGE, ST. JOHN'S COLLEGE.]
Returning to the valley of the Cam, we will follow it down to the great
university city of Cambridge, fifty-eight miles north of London. It
stands in a wide and open valley, and is built on both banks of the
river, which is navigable up to this point, so that the town is
literally the "Bridge over the Cam." The situation is not so picturesque
or so favorable as that of the sister university city of Oxford, but it
is nevertheless an attractive city, the stately buildings being
admirably set off by groups and avenues of magnificent trees that
flourish nowhere to better advantage than in English scenery. The chief
colleges are ranged along the right bank of the Cam, with their fronts
away from the water, while behind each there is a sweep of deliciously
green meadowland known as the "Backs of the Colleges," surrounded by
trees, and with a leafy screen of foliage making the background beyond
the buildings. While the greater part of modern Cambridge is thus on the
right bank of the river, the oldest portion was located on a low plateau
forming the opposite shore. It is uncertain when the university was
first established there. Henry Beauclerc, the youngest son of William
the Conqueror, studied the arts and sciences at Cambridge, and when he
became king he bestowed many privileges upon the town and fixed a
regular ferry over the Cam. By the thirteenth century scholars had
assembled there and become a recognized body, according to writs issued
by Henry III. In 1270 the title of a university was formally bestowed,
and the oldest known collegiate foundation--Peterhouse, or St. Peter's
College--had been established a few years before. Cambridge has in all
seventeen colleges, and the present act of incorporation was granted by
Queen Elizabeth. The Duke of Devonshire is the chancellor. The student
graduates either "in Honors" or "in the Poll." In the former case he can
obtain a distinction in mathematics, classics, the sciences, theology,
etc. The names of the successful students are arranged in three classes
in a list called the Tripos, a name derived from the three-legged stool
whereon sat in former days one of the bachelors, who recited a set of
satirical verses at the time the degrees were conferred. In the
Mathematical Tripos the first class are called Wranglers, and the others
Senior and Junior Optimes. Thus graduate the "Dons" of Cambridge.