New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-05-02
THE MAGPIE AND STUMP.
A LITERARY LANDMARK IN LONDON
LANE AND SOME OF IT'S TRADITIONS.
From The Academy.

From The Academy.
The announcement that the Maybe and STUMP
revived the tradition which connects tins place Wia
the least happy episode IN the lie OF Edmund W a.
with Dryden, and although neither tradition de-
rives much support from history. neither Is un;
Feiter Lane are secured the street by good evil
dence; and, indeed. tributary OF Flset;st which
walked in and dwelt in by notable men. But he
Magic ana stump story ,S o,ieTs was u n room
on the second floor Of this inn that Edmund WAFER
concocted with Mr. Cha9ner ana Not wsh in IN favor
King Charles known as the Waller plot. True:
Fetter Lane TIE best biography of Waller, the ore
pretxed 10 the edition OF his poems dated s 80 $50
dale in his life of the poet, and SO s Johnson re!
the tale which the landlords OF the Maybe ana
not 50 unlikely to be true that it need be harsh!y
dealt with when the old inn Is y wh ss
and would, Therefore be well established In iss
when Waller and his feG oks and S cbaones
were important men in the City, and It was tnei5
a aing 70 ne eSiefr from 8ph Parliament TomEns
had his hSusG n HS6Sn co ed 10 b e top
meeting place between Westminster and the CITY.
s here not for Sn dak and md here
captured the day OF their detection Ire 10
be- grS of the and MiS w h ae Of
soldiery filing the lane and cacn,ng M door.
being beaten in before the party could be mace ,
prisoners. Ii IS matter OF history tnat she pos
was BETRAYED BY a servant OF TCmkins. ana az W.
Maybe and stump 1t is among the aruSies =.
faith that this man conrived TO gain nJ rou.
cccling himself behind some hangings. overheard ~!
chat Il, 9as asaan int Mr.
eathersellsr at the corner OF Grane Cou,t az
hem he had S"e ev ea ses ;I"'' ''''1 pr..
1t must have been proud moment r for Prs s1
dramatic effect for 1t is recorded that the messaSS
b,,, in 4 NJ
s,er in the presenca Of the m nCmn ta POM
in With day O his friends and
out OF church. 1t the sermon that was spoi!ed
Senns enn earned its
the popular Mr.. Waller and a number of persons Ok
plot nipped In the bud. Probably it was not 80
great plot as the accusing party made out Ins
tending to secure the Kings children. to seize Pyn
and tho Puritan Lord Mayor and to capture me
however. scouts these notions and believes that
the WsT of sspes to carry S
the issue of which had been rendered d9nopu l. ~
and are EdSehiIl He suggests that violent measures
may have been talked Of by Lord Conway, VINO nag
using forcepas indeed he might il the good liquor
Of the Maybe and Stump had loosened MS sai'an'
tongue .-.,,,,o .,., ,.,o,,ar.a
Justice and il was this that was mored Out 20 NE
Of Smk Kin Mse ee aS S s 81 mTF
Cornhill Hassel. who had conveyed letters TO ne
in his bed Lords Portland and Conway were i'm:
prisoned and duke was admonished. And WallerI
Waller nov made those paroxysmal efforts 10 save
his sk,n which are so little TO hts credit, but OF
which the su ,cess was so advantageous 10 liter.
allure He feigned a remorse so acute that mis- trial
vas mn on iii he had recovered his Understand
,nr He used the interval 10 fater or bride every
noy.rf,ii person he could meet. He then pleaded
his cause before Parliament with so much skill and
as,nn,ed humility that he got Off with a fine OF
20 Hn and a itence OF Punishment. His personal
and mental grnces completed his reconciliation :?
bis friends and Clarendon says that the AFFAIR did
him no harm in the end. This is easy TO believe
since a few years later the author or the waller
plot was entertaining Cromwell In his country
home AT Beaconsield. In 1854 he published that
nonegyric of the Protector for which he made tho
wittest Of apologies to Charles Ill In 1880 As TO-
the Maggie and Stump's claims nothing In this
story can be apocryphal except the locality; and
when historians are wilfully dumb a maybe may
be allowed to chatter. 80 80,
house which was standing twelve years ago In the
lower part Of Fetter Lane, against Fleur-de-L I've
Court This house according to tradition and Peter
Cunningham had been occupied by Dryden. The
poets Sographers know nothing OF his residence
there, but the house bore an inscribed stone which
IL is hard to believe was built into its walls tor
nothing II read: