Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1867-09-24
Foreign Correspondence.
LETTER NO. 4.


1t is beautiful town of about 10000 lnhablt-
| ants. The streets and sidewalks are in perfect
order, and look as if they were swept two or
| three times day, though you never see any
| body cleaning them. There are rows of beau
tiful residences; splendid Shops (thcy call
everything here by that name which we call
stores j fine looking people, handsomely dressed
| and handsome equipages.
| We stopped at the Clarendon Hotel, an ex-
cellent house. but very quiet, and more like
genteel boarding house than hotel-have our
own parlor, &C., in which we took our meals
At all such places you have to order your meals,
/ describing what you want before hand, ordering
your breakfast the night before. They are ex-
pensive places; indeed all places in England,
and almost everything costs more than it does
| with us. You cannot get nearly so good din
ner as you can at the Virginia Hotel for less
than four shllings sterling, or about 81 of our
currency. 1t is, however, better served, and
the servants are much better. have often
wished that you had three good English SER
wants. You would have no trouble in that re-
/ spect ei naa
We took a waggonet last Thursday morning.
| holding all of US and started out for davis
| sightseeing. We first drove to Warwick. a
| town about two miles distant, and went to War.
wick Castle, famous old castle on the banks of
| the Avon. We passed through the old archway
through long wide path cut through the solid
rock, and came out upon the court, or inner
yard of the Castle. The buildings are several
hundred years old. part of them in ruins. but
large portion well preserved. Among those
who had lived there was Guy Warwick, the
'last of the Barons, described in Bulwer's
novel; We passed up the massive steps, and
were ushered into an immense hall-called the
''Banqueting Hall'- room about 1OOx5O feet
=. IL e. L Il, ~
of oak, and walls 6 or feet thick. The room.
is hung with curious old relics, fine old paint
ings suits of ancient armor, coats of mall &C..
&c, fire arms used in the days of Cromwell.
among them, recotUf,g guns and pistols, and
breech-loaders and rifles. showing that these
arms are not of modern invention We passed
from room to room of large proportions splen
didly equipped and decorated, and furnished:
saw paintings taken from life of many of the
old Kings and Queens, and Dukes and Earls,
and celebrities of by-gon days-Henry Will,
Elizabeth, Anne Boleyn, &C. In one room,
among thousand curiosities, is fine Mosaic
Table, inlaid with gems, which cost 10000
| sterling and, after going from dungeon keep
| to dungeon town, .. e., from bottom to top.
we passed out into the magnificent grounds, and
saw, among other things, in a house, erected
| for the purpose OF preserving it. the celebrated
! Warwick Vase, a great marble bowl. of Roman
make, splendidly carved, Of the capacity of 1863
| gallons
| From Warwick we drove eight miles to STRAIT
ford, on Avon, a smart little English town, ia
nous as being the birthplace of Shakespeare.
The shakespeare House is a miserable look
ing old shanty, looking like most very old Eng
fish frame houses. as if it was turned inside out,
the frame work all showing on the outside
We entered, passed through the old kitchen
and little "cuddies, and assembled the rude
staircase to the room attic, where his mother
had the honor of giving to the world the great
est genius that ever happened I felt uncom-
Portable in the room, the air seemed redoent of,
and thick and heavv with Shakspearian thought
and inspiration. It was too rich for my breath
ing. | could almost feel the weight of the old
| fellows after-glory resting on me, and it was
too heavy form shoulders twas oppressive,
as if in the castle of the King maker" which
we had but recently left [ had donned that
warriors armor, and essayed to carry it. After
feeding the soul on the associations of the place.
! we proceeded to Trinity Church, where all of
| Shakespeare that can die is rotting. We passed
the old Grammar School, where he cot what
education he had, whittier he, from dav to day,
''crept unwillinely to school" to learn his sttle
Latin and less Greek, and at length reached
the grand old pile which swells and rises high
kyward, as if proud of being the great poets
sepulchre. The tomb is in the chancel of the
church, plain old sand-ston slab rests on it..
with no date, and nothing but his name, &C..
and the epitaph supposed to have been written
by himself, which you no doubt have often seen.
| Well, [ had seen the beginning place, and
the ''end-all'' of this worlds wonder, the nest
in which the s'Swan of Avon was hatched.
and the cold stone box in which his song was
hushed The lowliness and humbleness of the
first suggested to me encouragement for the
lowest to aspire. [ could almost hear fame
calling on poverty and obscurity to come into
the corner, and wrestle with certainty for the
prize, and the latter as clearly impressed on me
the sense of the evanescence and unsubstantial-
ity OF all earthly things You would expect an
end to little men, but there seemed too much of
| Shakespeare ever to give out We babe Trinity
| Church Il thought of our little grove at home)
| farewell, and as | was passing out the gate of
the church-yard. | was beset by lame man for
aims. He said he was the man who had the
honor to conduct Artemus Ward through this
church. could not see any especial force in
this argument. but somehow or other. [ found
my pocket weighing about an ounce in copper
lighter as L left the man; settlement of nv cash
shows that gave him penny.
One of the interesting features of the little
-Red House, tavern in Stratford-is that
Washington Irving spent much time there, and
wrote those several articles in his ssSketch-
book" [ would like you to turn to that and
read his beautiful description of Stratford on
Avon which he wrote at this place [ went
INTO the room he once occupied, sat in the chair
he sot in, lit has his name on brass plate
screwed on the back, poked the CRATE with the
yerltable poker he poked with, and [ have no
doubt that if at that moment, when surrounded
by all these associations. and the otaatus was
on me- some one had slipped into my hand a
pen like he aorit with, should have given to
the world something which as old Crozet used
to say they "did not erpect.
We paid our bill, mounted our fancy wagon
and started on our return aaa Kenilworth. Our
ride was glorious, over a beautiful road with
lively company, fast gay horses, and stylish
eqnipage.
The best roads are laid off for carriage way.
some twenty feet wide a horseback track. about
ten feet wide. and foot path about eight feet
wide, lined with trees and hedges-roads verv
solid, well graded. and free from ruts and
| ''chuck-holes." Of course, large loads can be
drawn over them by very small power; single
horse easily doing on them what would require
two or three with u.s.
We passed "Stoneleigh Abbey on the
grounds of Lord Leigh, Zone of the largest land
owners in England, through which we drove
and which we found, of course, very extensive
and lovely. Hundreds of deer ranging about
over the velvet greenswards. Thousands of fat
sheep browsing and feeding about-the house
In the distance, large and palatial
We reached Kenilworth Castle and were
| soon inside IFS walls IT. is only n qyun hut Al