Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1893-02-09
neutrality-suspicious. Of Gazette and Journal

epeclalCorrespondenc Of Gazette and Journal
LONDON, Jan. 2i.-lt has been pretty
well settled by literary ferrets that Gray
actually composed portion If not the
whole of his immortal l3legy, while sitting
IN the south porch Of the old Stoke Pogis
Church, beneath the ''vcw trees shade"
1t is one of my fayorite tramps from
London to this spot in sunny weather, as
there is hardly a sweeter or more restful
place in oil England; aud | love to sit
where Gray sat- beneath the yew trees
shade, and muse on the quite and hall
lowed surroundings. In this way the
famous yew tree of Stoke Pogis church
yard has come to possess for me a most
loving and precious interest. There Is no
record Of its age but as it was already
tree of mature growth when Gray wrote.
In churcEyard between 400 and 800
years old, its antiquity must be consider
able even for the yew, which in England
Rttains to most venerable age.
1t stands so feet south of the old stone
south porch of the church. Its top has
been repeatedly cut away to preserve the
tree, which is still about 80 feet in height.
The girth of the trunk is trile over II
feet, and its huge spreading branches,
reaching to the north, almost touch the
roof tiling of the church above the porch;
while towards the south and southeast
fully dozen branches, from so to GO feet
long, sweep to the ground or softly tap the
headstones Of the ancient graves. should
think that from 300 to 400 persons could
stand beneath its gentle shade.
If you were wandering north on the
main coacll road from Windermere to
keswick in the county of Westmorclund,
England, a steep, wide roadway turnnrto
the right anu east would attract your at.
tention. From the enclosures on either
side huge beech trees and sycampres push
M Il pYta . iI, a
completely cover the way. 1t is us
shadowy as twilight here. You will not
have passed score of rods up this high
arched natures aisle until the sounds
from the highway-the rumblng of the
stages, the laughter of gay tourists, and
even the. notes of the coach horns--are
stilled. In summer the place is thronged
with birds Even these irreverent chOris-
tiers seem as if subdued and ruminative
here. III autumn your feet sink III feath-
cry masses of pale golden leaves. 1t seems
long time that you have been traversing
these few rods; all is so hlshei and still.
Ascending little farther, there is q
break in the foliage to your right. Some
huge gates are seen. lodge stands Just
beyond, and suddenly the splendid facades
of Rydai Hall, the seat of the lie Flem-
ings. appear above tho luxuriant shrubbery
of its splendid park. Higher still YOU
climb, and where the dark roadway seems
hill to the left you pause to listen. Some
thing like low and hesitant organ notes is
murmuring in minor chords, while guy
and Joyous treble plays in eXultant tones
above. All! you remember These are tire
voices of the two cascades of Rydal Their
songs were sung to the poet Wordsworth
for 40 happy years.
Between the Littledale fels and the
Westmoreland hills, in the Lune valley of
Lancashire, England, in one of my recent
wanderings in the lake district came mp
on an interesting British government Of
fetal This official was woman You
could not and she would not, tell whether
she was 40 or 80 years of ago. In other
respects she was exceedingly chatty and
friendly. She was nearly six feet tall
Her frame was like mans and so was her
face. She could outwalk any yeoman of
the hills, and was firm and hard as iron.
She wore hobnailed boots, a short heavy
wooden skirt of home spinning and weav-
ing, an uader-lacket of corduroy and the
grotesque sbort-skirtcd, red-strippcd blue
coat and regulation cap of the British post
man.
have pride in my own achievements as
a walker but could not keep in pace with
this woman for half mile. Before had,
putting and painting, fallen behind her for
rest and rumination, | had learned that
this faithful body had carried the British
mails, often being laden with from 50 to 50
pounds Of post parcels for delivery, over 20
miles every weekday for the past q years.
As sat on rock by the roadside think.
ing the matter over, as she disappeared
with fine strong stride that | envied, |
could not help figuring out with my stick
in the chalky dust of the stony road that
she had already walked nearly the dis
lance of five times the earth's cirrumfer-
ence tor the pittance of ~ shilings per
httt f,,p tl,.nn 4 ~
years drudgery
A few mornings since | heard some
prideful conversation between "cheery"
London costermongers and Covent Garden
porters, which ] afterward found to be
true, showing that two of the most famous
singers London has every known, reached
fame through the peculiar and hard train
ing originally secured among the lowly
of their ilk. Albert Chevaier, now the
greatest of living character impersonatUrs
practically lived among the cUSters for
years; and the marvellous fidelity of his
songs and impersonntions of coster life
and character were wholly gained in this
manner. Sims Reeves, the one tenor who
for nearly half century held all the song
lovers of Britain enslaved, once carried
the knot" that is, the head-pad. Of a
Covent Garden porter, and got his start rs
asinger in the former foul dens within
When your tourist fancy leads Won into
Scotland, go further, 1t is but a little sea
iaunt from Aberdeen, Peterhead or Wick
TO the Shetland Islands. Their people arr,
very hospitable, possessing many pleasant
ancient customs; and there is no end to
tnOdern historic and pagan monuments of
orange and curious interest. Not the
least of your pleasures there will be wit
messing drive o. Gazing whales" which
you are almost certain TO do, if your visit
TO the islands happens in May or June.
The Peterhcad and other whaling ships
formerly completed their crews at Lcr-
wick, and these times were always periods
of great activity. Of late years shetland
interest i'll whaling has been principally
confined TO driving the monsters ashore.
This exciting work is often tremendously
profitable. In 1916 great shual of loo
ealing" whales were driven ashore in
Queudale Bay, the southernmost BAY of
Shetland, lying between Sumberg and Fit
full Heads; and i'll June, two years ago, a
shoal of several hundred was successfully
landed on the east coast
Until quite recently these shore whalers
were lily requited for their captures. The
financially omniverous landlord, called the
''laird" here, true to his octopus instincts,
claimed the right, up to 1880, to tax the
poor Shetlanders one-half of the entire
proceeds of all whales driven into sh BAL
water opposite, or upon the shores OF,
their domains; "a sort of riparian right on
the Almighty for what Vas sent to- e.,Fe
men from Starvation on account VI rGDt4
and other oaricns lmpastG an II F'tarN
hiulseit, al DID nncI.4ndyr ekplsaac' Is
me.
As the y2luec' tlu bll5uC: ui.l i.r.n15
$50 pet aat Lae 5glrn gi'""fvu sHwp",j
frnyu 3 mi 81, EsAIy ms his. ~ .ft. ..7 ,