The Youth of Parnassus, and Other Stories

An unexpected visitor arrives at Oxford on a rainy October evening, his umbrella collapsing in the cloistered quadrangle and revealing a shy, pale‑faced American student. The resident fellow, Foley, initially assumes the newcomer is a missionary or some wandering tourist, but he soon discovers the young man is a scholar from Parnassus City, Indiana, lodged temporarily above his own rooms. Their tentative conversations expose the cultural distance between the bustling New World and the centuries‑old university, laying the groundwork for a subtle, quietly humorous friendship.

Through nightly cigarette‑smoke talks, the American paints vivid pictures of his rapidly expanding hometown—electric trolleys humming along freshly paved streets, gas‑lit avenues, and a community eager to outpace the mossy traditions of the Midwest. He remarks on Oxford’s ancient customs, the prevalence of wine‑drinking and card games, and the seeming absence of modern conveniences like telephones, finding the contrast both bewildering and amusing. As Foley listens, the visitor’s earnest curiosity begins to soften the outsider’s loneliness, hinting at a deeper exchange of worlds.