Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-07-23

|. I0SH.
the contrary, one could imagine q no more
/ reposeful and retired place for his own day
dreams or those of such genius as Chatter
ton. Pleasantly came the sounds of the
street through the open windows; sweeter
| still were now and then waited the organ
notes and voices of the singers engaged be-
| low in vesper service. The open, rotting
and discarded muniment Golfers, or scot
| res" are still there, No one knows their
age 1t must be very great But these
| veritable ancient chests were the ones
whose contents. first largely pilfered and
| scattered by the parish authorities them
| selves, furnished Chatterton with the i'm
| pulse and means of attracting public atten-
| tion to his own compositions, to appear in
| the guise of antique manuscripts from the
| pen of the fictitious monk Rowley, the
| whole the creation of his own fertile brain.
There are few other Chatterton memorials
| in Bristol. The Colston Hospital or school,
| where he had secured nomination as char
ity scholar, was removed to the old EDisco-
pal palace at Stapleton over quarter of a
century ago. The building in which were
located the Offices of John Lambert, attor-
ney, to whom Chatterton was articled as
apprentice, is still standing in Corn street.
The place where the boy poet was born,
in Pile street near its conjunction with
Thomas street, Is Immediately opposite the
dreary, mildewed spot to-day, though the
old buildings are supplanted by others. A
free school is still conducted at the place by
Neazened spinster. The yard is narrow,
damp and dank; the structure is damp, and
dank and narrow; and the little tots whom
1 saw leaving the place are ragged, pinched
and squalid.
Between this place and the church oppo-
site, upon the hill, within the churchyard,
though not within "consecrated" ground
for though churches sing the boy-poet's
hymns, and the church received the Col
ston boy into its saving embrace ahrough
confirmation, ecclesiastic intolerance insists
| upon his damnation on the ground that he
| died by his own hand and an 'infdel"--
stands the monument to his memory. Red
cliffe Church, more dishonor to it, forbade
its erection within the edifce, where lie in
pompous state the remains of libertines and
traders In their fellow men.
After the bitterest of struggles on the
part Of the poets friends, this cenotaph was
finally put in place, outside the church, be-
tween the tower and the imminent room, so
intimately associated with his youthful
dreams and struggles But repairs upon
the north porch, soon gave an excuse for
its removal, for it was discovered that the
monument impinged on ''consecrated'
ground. Then it was taken to pieces and
bundled away.
After years of further struggles with
bigoted consistories it was finally re-erected
where it now stands, near the northeast en-
trance, Just within the churchyard green.
But even then these fine folk of the cloth
turned the face of the statue surmounting
the cenotaph away from Redcliffe Church
And that was WELL Chatterton, with his
back to Redcliffe Church, his tiny face half
in smiles, gazing affectionately down upon
his birthplace across the way, is fitting
enough satire, while stone may last, upon
the intolerance and vindictiveness thus SO
aptly recalled and emphasized.
The figure is represented in the habila-
ments OF Colston schoolboy; muffin cap,
with band and ball; coat with long plated
| skirt; leathern belt, corduroy knee
breeches, and rough-ribbed stockings. The
left hand holds an open scroll. upon which
is written, "Ella, Tragedy" In one of
the monuments inches is q torn or severed
scroll, with the legend, ''The Poems of
Rowlie." While the chief panel bears the
words from the poets own pen, written
half in Jest, half in earnest, but incompara-
BILE in their aptitude: ''To the memory of
Thomas Chatterton. Reader, judge not if
thou art Christian. Believe that he shall
be judged by superior power To that
power alone is he now answerable."
Charming Literary "Reminiscences.
If something like resentfulness and
heartache did not come at every turn when
seeking for kindly Chatterton shrines, one
would be deeply charmed and interested in
the antiquarian, historic and literary remi-
niscences of this fine old Bristol town.
Cabot, who should be equally honored
with Columbus, sailed on his voyage of
American discovery from this port. The
''Great Western" the first steam craft to
successfully demonstrate the practicability
of steam navigation between the two conti-
nents, was built and manned at Bristol. The
great Burke, "friend OF America" repre-
sented the city in Parliament; and the un-
happy ex-Enpress Eugenie was once a
schoolgirl here.
1 have come upon names and local remin-
iscences of nearly 60 really noted men and
time lived at Bristol. Detoe frequented its
"Red Lion" and Selkirk for time lived
in st. Stephens parish. "Hugh Conway"
was born, and Canon Kingsley educated
here. Hallam came out of its Grammar
School and Hume was Bristol merchants
clerk. The author of Buffers "Analogy"
was Bishop of Bristol; Hannah Moore,
though living most of her life at "Barley-
wood,'' a few miles distant, was born in
and died at Bristol; the Porter sisters,
Mary Robinson and Amelia B. Edwards,
were all Bristol women; while charming
book could be alone written ON the early
careers OF Southey and Coleridge, both
begun in Utopian dreams of "Pantisocracy"
in this grimy yet rich and mellow old West
of England seaport town.
EDGAR L. WAKEMAN.