Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1892-11-12

rural Inspiration, Tor once burst the letters
Of soddcn bOoklHh onslavement and rs con.
scquent physical Incidence. he attained
fame and left Va our most perfect rsvela.
ton OF tenderest emotions aud intruspec.
tons TO the universal human heart. The
malignnncy Of johnson Is quite forgiven
for the onc honest sentence lie ever wrote
about Gray. "llad Gray written often thus
said the clntankcrous muster OF words, ut
had been vain 20 blame and useless TO
praise him."
For these and other reasons tho one
place In MI howord-stol,esP oges-which
prompted n single, incompatible example
OF what Gray might have been To litora-
turc had he been shut away from the
doadening influence Of Cambridge books.
and perhaps compelled to earn his own
living. becomes doubly interesting. BE.
sides the poet resided here FOR frequent
intervals from lac TO 1859. Ills grave IL
here. \ stupendous monument stands al
most within sight Of his old home. Tho
very church In which he worshped. and
tho churchyard rendered denr to the hearts
OF all men by his melodious, mournful el.
egg, remain today just as he saw and
knew them IN lie, Tho place. too, has
some historic Importance, and the manor
descendants Of William Penn, many 81
whom arc buried Ia the family vault in the
nave of the messy old church.
But better than al else, you will find
the place maryel, revelation OF tho
elcgy, ms you haze already felt tho elegy TO
be perfect Interpretation Of those exquisite
emotions which only the rarest scene and
associative condition can iinpart. Our New
World affections cling very tonderly To Ger
tain Old World shrincs. They fold about
them n illmy glamour II loving ldcality,
and cradle them In the soft and misty cor.
rics Of the heart. eau recall hut few
! which are not better for the distant sight
less lullaby, and this Is one.
! Stoke Pogcs is u tl,inly settled village or
n thickly settled sylvan parish Of Buck
| inghamshirc, not over twenty .ilye miles
west Of London and about two miles
| north Of the railway station Of Slough,
which Is In turn the same distance north
| of Windsor and Castle. ltdervcs It's un.
poetic name from AmiciG de Stoke who
brought the manor In marriage to u certain
Robert Pogels, n knight OF the shire IN the
| Twelfth century. In tho time OF Edward
| III the estate passed into the possession OF
| Sir John Alolyns, lie had license from
the king TO fortify aud cmhattle n mansion
here, aud II was he who built the pictur-
esquc old church made famous by Gr1y's
"ElcRy." The manor descended through
female heirs to the great cars OF Hunting
don, one Of whom rebuilt the manor house
early In the reign of Elizabeth. Then Sir
Edward Coke possessed IL and sumptuous-
ly entertained Elizabeth here. Remains
Of this splendid manor house are still stand
Ing few rods northwest OF the old church
Aside from its poetic associations, the
manor came to have peculiar interest TO
Americans when, In 1860, II was purchased
from the noble family Of Gotham by
Thomas Penn, second son of the great
founder Of Pennsylvania by his second
wife. Hannah Callowhill. The grave OF
William Penn IN but nine miles distant,
beside the quaint old Quaker meeting
house ut Jordan's, and all Of penn's de-
scendants through the family line Of this
son, Thomas, who have since deceased are
lying IN the Penn family vault In the old
Stoke Poges aLuroh. Thomas Penns old.
est son, tnv iast Joha Penn and grandson
OF the founder, was "a yirtuoso, builder
and ornamenter OF fine residences" anC
also an author. lie built the great hous'
IN KenslngtOn Gardens, and In 1850 thu
present noble mansion OF Stoke Hall, which
stands few hundred yards TO the south o
the church and the old Stoke manor house
At the time OF Gray's residence at Stok
Poges old Stoke Hall was the home o
Lady Gotham. whose anties to securo ~