The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1889-06-18

short square away--lie the Temple
gardens. where tradition, vouched for
by Shakespeare. has it that the red and
white roses were pucked which first
became the emblems of the two houses
Of Lancaster aud York in the wars OF
the roses. The rose-bushes are there
now. and although the tides OF London
sweep back and forth within squares
distance. these peaceful gardens are still
auiet enough 10 shelter either lovers or
conspirators.
Temple Bar. where the heads OF trai-
tors were stuck up, and where the
CHASTITY remnants remained not so long
ago. is not two hundred yards away,
and overlooking the quiet grass plot Is
the Beuchere Hall. Il is said To have
the handsOmest roof Of any hall In Eng
land. and across it runs a magnificent
carved screen OF oak. mado from tim
bers which belonged 10 the ships Of the
Spanish Armada: but the chief interes.
attaching to the place IS that within IT
an actor named William Shakespeare
once PLAYED in one Of his own dramas
before Queen Elizabeth. The old church
of the Temple is on the other side ofthe
court by which you enter beyond the
Johnson Buildings. 1t is as odd-loOkiEg
~ il is in fact. Within lie the efiigies
Of a number Of armOred knights which
were dug up IN soma modern renOva-
ton. Their feet are crossed to show
that they had fought in the Holy Land.
IL was not to see the antique fculp-
lures. however. that we went there at
10 o'clock at night, but to see the grave
which lies outside in the Rfayeled
space beside the walkway, aud in which,
according to the simple inscription on
the plain stone. Lies the body OF Oliver
Goldsmith" The famous inscription
to him by DR.. Johnson. written in
Latin because that was "A bXed tongue,
is under the bust in the Poets corner
in the great abbey; but this one grave
living undislurbed in the very heart OF
the great city is to ray mind an even
more striking monument. | could not
but wish that old Samuel Johnson. VINO
so loved this locality. could have lain
there at his side. a lilac bush grows
behind an iron paling in the corner,
and its boughs stretch over the grave,
the one spot Of green in that stone
waste.
We had picked UP policeman as wa
strolled around through the dark
courts, and after seeing Goldsmith 5
grave | asked him something about
Tom Pinche's fountain which splashes
under the trees in a court near the
Beuchere Hall, aud which we mad
seen. He did not know that this was
the fountain which Dickens has immoi-
talized, but he knew about Dickens.
I've got his books at 'Ome, sir. he
said, but you know / don think so
much OF that man. / sees them same
things what he writes in Lon on every
day Just like he writes EN- Out OF
curiosity we asked him about Scott and
Thackeray, but he had apparently never
heard Of them.
The working man of England is your
true conservative. He may read his
paper and have his vague ideas about
liberalism. but in practice he IS very
conservative lie does not speculate
much. lie il like a machine in a great
machine shop, who is engaged all his
life in working on some one particular
piece of a machine, and becomes per-
feet machine himself. He knows this
particular thing perfectly, but nothing
else.
Once seeing an officer standing in the
middle Of a great street to and persons
10 cross. asked him whose statue was
the great equestrian figure which tow
cred above him. He looked up at 1t a
moment and then said very politely.
" | IN cure | can't tel you, sir" He
had probably been on that beat FOR
years, but it had never occurred to
him to speculate about anything out
sidc OF his immediate work.
From the Temple Courts that night
we went to "Mitre Court, " just below,
TO see the famous "Mitre Tavern "
The entrance on Fleet street has been
by some Solomon who never
heard of Or. johnson or Goldsmith. or
perhaps out OF revenge for the stout
doctors ofton-expressed views about
Scotland, FOR il is now The ClOchan.
The original tavern IS back from the
street a few yards in a little court. and
the upper room is still preserved, where
johnson, Goldsmith, Garrick, and others
used TO congregate. II was here that
the famous club took shape, here that
johnson issued so many Of his oracular
savings. which are now embodied III
the wisdom of our time. A plaster bust
of johnson is on the wall at the foot OF
the narrow stair which leads up from
the bar below. The room Is ample, and
is still used as a smOking-rOOm. WI
intended TO have supper there, but they
had only Drawn SANDWICHES, and
these the American stomach refuses to
stand. so We went elsewhere and fell
back on the stapls of EDgland-a chop.
We were here on the Queens seven
tieth birthday, and it was celebrated
with much ringing OF bells and some
reviewing of troops, decoration of fire
men. and illumination, though only
the bell-ringing was on an extensive
scale. We were Weakened in the morn
ing by such a clangor as might have
walked the Seven Sleepers.
"A we passed down High Halb0rn
that day, from large old church in the
oldest part Of the city was pealing such |
a chime as might have done Her
Majesty heart good. what church Is
lndJ we asked lItuiiAtI. ots ptpul- ]
In a second we were on the |
the ground; for here lies Oneconquered /
who has conquered kings"-the man
who by his courage and genius, though |
often set upon and thwarted, |
effected what Sir Walter Raleigh, /
with all his ability and power.
could not DO. and settled Vir-
ginia, named New England, and estab-
lished Anglo Saxon rule in North |
Captain John Smith" He
lies under the floor of st. Sepulchre. in /
the busiest part of the busiest city in /
the world, with the line have quoted |
a. his epitaph. Some day when our
people shall grow rich, and shall appre-
ciatc the value of heroic association,
We shall have monument TO him, I'M
less our Northern historians shall be-
fore that have proved that he never
lived.
81. Sepulchre is a fine old church with
is church yard filed with shrubbery
and flowers. 1t is hard by Old Baily,
md in the old times when there were
some seventy-odd capital crimes on the
statute books. and a man would be
hanged for forging an order for few
pounds or cOunterfeltlng a coin or "A