The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1868-08-20

of Muggins- ....
what's in same, THAT which we call Mugglns
BY any otter name would win the race
sits on the fence, and victory sits on him.
Farther oG-but why go on Patrons OF the
turf are many. "thoroughbreds" are few, aud
after the oenus eq,us has shown its metal, the
genus homo makes little hesdway in the esttma-
| ton of observers.
once, Saratoga was whited sepulchre:
now, it is q sepulchre without any whitewash
whatever. Once, the fashion of New York,
Philadelphia, and the South met here and
gave tone to the life now, the creme de Ia
creme is bad quality of skinned milk, and
Saratoga Is huge caldron, bubbling over
with vice and frivolty. The American pas
sion for living in caravanseries is gradually
cooling, and there is little doubt but in the
course of time we may emulate the English in
love of country pure and undefled.
The old fishing town of Nantucket is thus
described by William B. Drake;-
Nantucket now has "body % death" ap-
pearance such as few New England towns pos
sess. The houses stand around in faded gen
tility style-the inhabitants have a dreamy
look, as though they live in the memories of
the past. To him who has travelled in the
Old World q visit to Nantucket forcibly recalls
"reminiscences of continental towns. There is
that same messy quiet, the same irregularity
of highways and byways the same quaint
monstrous chimneys, and walks upon the
housetops; many of the people, too, bear in
their faces marks of German phlegm rather
than Yankee 'cuteness. The resemblance be-
tween certain French villages and this Massa-
chusetts town is historically explained. About
the beginning of the present century a num-
ber of Nantucket merchants and mariners set
tied in France, under the auspices of the
French Government, to carry on the whale
fishery and its branches. They carried Anne
rica to France, and brought back France to
America. Upon their return they were as
complete "Mounseers'' as you would see in
century, and Nantucket found the benefit
thereof.
Mr.. G. +. Emery thus depicts Stratford
upon-Avop, in an article entitled can Ameri-
can in Warwickshire:''--
| Eight miles the other side OF Warwick is
another town. the most famous of any in the
! shire--a place which has been the Mecca of
| thousaDds-Stratlordu upon-Avon. The same
quiet loveliness marks the way as was enjoyed
! before, the sleepy Avon now aud again cross
ing the road. How odd it seems to think of a
railroad in so old town Yet just as we
near the clustering houses, the shrek of the
| locomotive is heard upon the air, as il hurries
laundering along upon its iron path, breaking
| harshly in upon the calm silence. Brick, un-
mitigated red brick, is the material of which
principal street is lined with this painful
color. Chance leads us to the "Shakespsare
Inn,' which, though seldom visited by tour
lists, we are fortunate in selecting, as it is one
of the most unique specimens that fall to our
notice. The quaintest, c0ziest low-studded
rooms it has, SO fresh and clean, in each of
which is a portrait of the immortal bard
while over the outside of each door is a board
inscribed with the title of one of his plays,
sometimes seeming to have double signif-
canoe. Over the coffee GROOM is the ''Tempest," {"
referring probably to the traditional storm in
ateapot; over the parlor, cloves Labor Lost"
a sly allusion, no doubt, to the many tiirta-
tiOns there perpetrated; our bedroom is Ia
beled Claiming of the Shrew'-it is double
room; while plethoric neighbor, of stertorous
habits, enjoys a "Midsummer Nights
Dream" Everything is redolent of the poet;
even the knives and forks bear his name and,
be it spoken reverently, his mug shines upon
the china. young lad, a cripple with one
leg hanging uselessly at his side, offers his
services as guide. All Americans employ him,
he says, and he boasts of having pilOted Arte-
mus Ward around the place. "He asked me, -
says he, elf Shakespeare had ali the wit there
was in the country, and told him he left a
little for me-" But, to pedestrians, guides
are enormities, and declining his protfered
services, we proceed to the school where the
poet imbibed 'Iittle Latin and less Greek''-a
very little admiration. A narrow by-path
across the fields where daisies and buttercups
are noddipg their sunny heads, leads to Ann
Hathaway's cottage, whittier the lover often
walked as the dim twilight stole upon the earth
or as the bright moon shone over the face of
nature, shedding light upon the mysteries of
her pages God loves the country, and there
His works most shadow forth the greatness of
His glory. Tall trees wave gracefully at the
corners of the hedges, and just beyond the
creaking turnstile tumbles a crystal brook,
here and there forming an ambitious pool
that eddies round and round, trying for the
embrace of the overhanging turf or in still
ness makes gem mirrors for the angels. Twelve
bare-headed children-one in arms-with
alluvial deposits upon their chubby faces,
contend for the honor of being gate-opener.
AS an example to the English of strict neu-
trality, each and all are allowed their turn,
save the baby (not first-class power), and
they troop away noisily to their homes, happy
in the possession of few bits of "Britannia.' -
The place where Shakespeare must have
passed many of his happiest hours is an
humble cot, with dwarfed windows and a
matched roof, around which lies snug garden.
Over it runs sparsely trained ivy, that clasps
the stones together with an atfectionate
grasp. The occupants courteously invite US
in, but glance betrays the unneatness of the
interior, and we decline and return to the
town. On Henley street. one of the princ pa
thOrOughfares, is the residence of the poet, on
the outside appearing new, but internally Civ
ing evidences of age. A few pieces of furni-
ture stand in the bare rooms, the walls fairly
black with the autographs of visitors, aud the
window-panes scratched similarly; and on the