New-York tribune., 1914-07-05
SHAKESPEARE'S GHOST.
English View of William Dean
HoWells's Book.

Mr.. w. d. Howells paid visit to
Stratford- -upon-Ayon last year, says
"The Pail Mall Gazette" during the
August Shakespeare festival now
much bigger thing, by the way, than
that attending the birthday-and mas
set down his impressions in the
volume. "The Seen and Unseen at
Stratford- Avon" which Messrs
Harper & Bros. have just pubhsheo
in a very charming form at the price
Of ) shillings. The little arwich,
shire town, through which from all
parts of the world such an endless
stream Of humanity is forever moving
has inspired many pens, not least tna'
Of MIR. Howells's countryman, Nath-
sniel Hawthorne; but it may be ques-
toned if il has ever inspired hap
pier book than this written by Mr.
Howells in his seventy-slXth year. ne
town. itself. of course. he loved; but
he liked so many other things. Even
for the crowd, that quiet, kindlooX-
ing. patient crowd, so Englishly single
mind and good tempered he has
none but pleasant words. The polite
shopkeepers, the honest mattresses,
the lusty English lads and lassles IN
their morris dances, the self-forget-
fulness of the actors and actresses
in the performances at the Memorial
Theatre. the beauty of the old church,
the peace and charm Of the arcient
streets. the flowers and fruits and the
autumn Landscape to all these Mr..
Howells pays a tribute which English
men will enjoy reading. One thing
seems rather TO irritate him now and
thcn-a gramophone. But. then, who
would not be irritated at the sound OF
grsmophore at Stratford upon-Avon
We remember the shock we received
few years ago at ONlord
on hearing one Of these deploraole
machines grinding out some muslc-hall
song of the day in a students room
far overhead. At the birthplace OF
the man whom Mr.. Howells calls the
greatest of the sons OF men, the
shock may well be severe, indeed.
Our author, however, met more
than Georgian men and women ard
gramophone at Stratford-upon-AV Avon.
He encountered two no less illustrlous
shades than those Of the Large
browd Neruam, the first OF those VINO
know" and of Shakespeare himself
His Shakespeare makes by long way
the better company is, indeed, as gem
tie ard winning as, by all accounts
he was during his life IN Time. he
sets Mr.. Howells right on several
points, notably on the alleged coolness
which sprang up between the poet and
his wife during the latter part of their
married life. II is well to hear, on
so good an authority, that Anne was
the best Of wives, and that sne ana
her William were lovers to the last.
The beuuest of the second best bed
stead is also explained. and the stories
of the poachins, the deer stalking and
the cudgelling by Sir Thomas Lucy 5
people are shown 10 be no more than
the inventions of vulgar romance.
Bacon, on the other hand. cuts poor
figure. This poor Ghost is filled with
a rather surly remorse for the DID
ings and treacheries of which ne mas
been guilty in his days Of nature.
The explanation of all OF which is, OF
course. that Mr. Howells knows enough
of his Shakespeare TO love MN. ana
enough OF his Bacon 10 admire and yet
dislike him rather. He smiles at the
so-called "Baconlan theory of the or
igin of the plays, and makes Bacon
himself laugh Il TO scorn. And ne does
it all with so much sweetness OF tenn
per and so manly an appreciation OF
simple as also of august things, that
he renders the book a very hard one
to put down until the last line of 1t
has been read. On one point only are
we at issue at all emphatically with
him. and that is his rather impatient
scorn of the low comedy scenes IN
plays. He even finds the
rude mechanicals" in "A Midsum-
mer's Night Dream" tedious. We won
der if he. is judging them from the
book or from watching them clowned
in the open air performance he saw
at Cheltenham before proceeding to
the Warwickshire town. If the former
is the case we are puzzled. if the lat
ter we are not so surprised. But we
wish he had seen them at the Savoy
Theatre a few months ago. He would
NOT have found them tedious there. ,