The Arkansaw traveler., 1883-01-06
A Christmas Revere At ths ..l1esnaid- ;

| n CnrofmAs kevef1e n tn ~Ie9D01o-
Leo c. Evans (Grinl Yonksss Gasssfe.
The age Of Elizabeth was an are o
revels, and it is by no means improbable
that the "Mermaid' often witnessed such
success as we here attempt to describe.
Those who are disposed to question the
good taste of our effort must not forget
! Tia: The E;ss and writers ne introd11ce
seldom failed to hold the mirror up to
| nature"
Stout logs cracking on the hearth and
blazing and roaring up an ample chin
Falstaf would have felt at ease an oak
table, whereon Chaucer may have written
verses Of The Canterbury Tales Aagon
OF nut-brown, home-brewed ale. look
above me and about to the smoke STAIN
ed rafters; to those hooks and corners
wherein generations of spiders have toiled
undisturbed By the broom Of sacreligious
housemaid, and even their frail webs,
now heavy with the dust Of centuries,
have for me an interest the most delicate
fabrics Of Brussels looms can never
claim.
Here, in this room--this room of the
NMermaid"-the choice spirits of An age
greater, perhaps, than any other in its in
tellectual gifts to the world, we're wont to
close the door against cares and strifes
and ambitions, and doff their reserve
with their cloaks and swords, and in the
ruddy light that shone from the hearth as
it is this night shining upon me, give rein
to their fancy, and orders to some ances-
tor Of mine host, whose family built the
l and vvhn<A laaoh
tive OF good lungs and generous living.
occasionally invades this historic cham
Der to complete my illusion.
"Whai deeds have we seen
| Done at the Mermaid heard words that
! have been
| SO nimble and so full OF subtle flame
As II every one from whence they came
Had meant TO put his whole soul IN Jest.
And resolved to live a fool the rest
| OF his dull life"
II was here they met. Shakspere and
Ben jonson; Beaumont and Fletcher.
whom death alone could part; Marlowe
and gentle lzaak Walton here Bishop
Hall may have expostulated with some
actor whose last mad cscapade was the
talk OF London town, and Bacon may
have turned aside from the dignities of
Office and its responsibilities to inquire
| when Shakspere expected TO have a new
play on the boards at The Globe
What = glorious company they are! |
listener and observer; now and then they
give words to some noble sentiment that
afterwards found enduring expression in
their writings. They walk the floor, not
special figures, but living men. Again
they are seated around the antique table
that table groaning beneath such a
quantity of Burgundy and beef as none
but valiant trenchermen would dream of
attacking; they compliment my smiling,
round-faced host, who looks not unlike
an overgrown angel of some Dutch paint
er, upon his cooking and the favor Of his
wine, nor are they 10th, when opportuni-
ty offers, to taste the lips of his good
wife and those Of her buxom daughters,
and one BY one, as the Burgundy goes
up and the beef goes down, they seek re-
pose under the table. There they lie :
wit and philosopher, statesmen and play
wright, pillowing their heads on the legs
OF the table. because they are unable to
stand on their own. Now one opens his
eyes, and now another, and each, half
puzzled, half-amused, looks upon his
slumbering companion and. then yields
himself 70 sleep once more. Here 4 sit.
face To face With immnftS1s -iiifnfi0ittals
who have desoended to Me plane of or
binary men ahd to their pieasafes. They
will be remembered whensheir revels anu
the very site Of the Mermaid" have been
long forgotten. But this is nothing new
to them. They know no more Of fame
than the hester who is reproaching my
horse for refusing to enter the an. l
Thought them gods find them heah
and 6pod, yet none the less gods for that
reason. God-like still in mind, in elo-
quence; man-ilee in their passions, their
follies, their weaknesses. Indeed the
masses-genius Of them all never penned
truer line than this:
"One touch of nature makes the whole world
KIM
Confectionery IN the greatest variety AT