The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1889-02-26

whose banks beyond are shaded by |
splendid trees. This castle is occu-
pied by the present Earl of War /!
wick and his family, and is therefore /
a live one. No part of it has been I
suffered to go to ruin, and in every |
particular it answered our idea of |
what a castle should be. Eight miles
from here Is StratfOrd, the birth
place and home of Shakespeare. !
We reached the town just as
heavy rain commenced falling and
stopped for luncheon at the Red
Horse Tavern. While waiting for
its preparation we rested III the par
lor sacred to the memory of Wash
ington Irving. Forty years ago when
Irving was publishing his sketch
| book In London he made a visit to
this place. 1t was not SO fashion
able then as now to make pilgrim
ages to Shakepeare's shrine and
| he commenced his visit by
giving It a place among his
| Sketches" When the book APP
peared, the good people of this tav-
ern were so overcome by his notice,
| that they Immediately immortalized
! the room and articles which he had
used while here. Thus the room In
which he wrote, the chair in which
he sat, and the poker with which he
stirred the fire, are exhibited with
! pride-the two latter articles being
kept behind a glass door. Some of
the very pictures of which he wrote,
still hang upon the walls. After
lunch the rain abated, and a few
minutes drive brought US to the
birthplace of the great poet. A low
oldfashiOned house, with gable win
dow5 above. After it passed out Of
the hands of Shakespeare's family,
it was used as a butcher shop for
many years, and during that time,
the stOne-paved floor in the front
room became much injured and
broken. Thousands of names have
been traced in pencil over every inch
of the ceiling and walls in every
room, where writing was possible
When the English Government
bought the property and arranged
for the collection of relics now kept
here, this practice was forbidden.
The relics are not very many-chiefly
pictures of the poet at various times
IN his life; the first copies of his diff
ferent plays as they appeared in
pamphlet form, with their quaint old
English wording and letters. The
desk at which he sat, in the village
school, and which is whitfield and
hacked and worn equal to that OF
any boy of the present age. The
chair in which he sat in later life,
while writing his great works. His
signet ring and watch, and some
good pictures of his great friend
David Garrick. The parish church
where he was buried with his wife,
dates from the 18th century. There
is nothing architecturally remark
able about the building, save as the
points at which additions have been
made are very marked. Shakes
peare's bust and inscription are upon
the wall over his tomb, while upon
the slab that marks his grave are
these lines:
" Good friend for Jesus sake forbeare,
To digg the dust encloased heare;
Bleste be We man that spares thes stones
And curst be he that moves my bones
Had it not been for this curse, in al
: probability, his bones" would long
ago have been removed to Westmin
ster Abbey, where a beautiful statue
, is placed to his memory. The drive
Of ten miles back to bennington
was as delightful as a good road, fine
horses, charming country refreshed
by the recent shower, and thermom
eter at sizty-fve degrees, could con
spire in our behalf to produce. Al
hours rest, and a good dinner, occu
) pied us till we took the cars for Lon
don, leaving our friends to pursue
. their way to Birmingham and Liver
pool. Long before we reached the
city, we found it raining as hard a.
! when we left it. This fact added i
: possible to our appreciation of the
7 sunny and refreshing outing we haC
just enjoyed.