Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1914-10-21
The Country Churchyard
Of Gray's E1egy.
eY WARD r. EVANS.

One of the most charming and in
taresting places in England. and n
that no visitor should overlook, is the
COUNTRY churchyard of Stoke Poges.
which is the ~churchyard of Gray's
.Elegy." l never knew until 1 visited
england that the poet Gray. in writing
the Elegy, had any particular church,
yard in mind. / a supposed that he
had some ain recollection of one of the
numerous English churchyards, which
mad In some manner caught his fancy
and 1 did not know that the Country
Churchyard" was a reality, that it was
a 1aNorite haunt of the great poet, that
ne spent some time in that locality and
is buried beside his mother in the very
churchyard where the rude forefath-
ers of the hamlet Sleep"
Twenty Miles From London.
The Stoke Poges churchyard is near
the village of Stoke Poges in Buck
inghamshire a few miles north of Wind
sor and about 90 miles from London.
1t lies i'm a charming rural district
which abounds in beautiful hedge
fences. shady roads and wei! kept
farms. the typical English rural seem
cry which has such a charming restful
beauty. / had been spending the a
at Windsor and in the middle of the
afternoon l took a motor bus a short
distance north to the town of Slough.
In Slough l made inquiries of a police
man as to how l might reach the old
churchyard. and he informed me-, with
an Englishman's Indifference for walk
ing. that it was only two miles distant
n the way to get there was to walk.
1t proved to be an ideal walk although
the sun shone, the air was fresh N
cool, the grass along the roadside was
green and the grain in the fields vas
ready for the harvest. All h air In
a solemn stiffness holds" and as L would
stop to listen scarcely a sound broke
the country stiffness, 1 could scarce be-
lieve that I was only a few miles from
the noisy London. The church n
the poets time .Yonder i~vy-mantled
tow'r'' is still there which is surrounded
with a spire, which is a modern addition
n perhaps adds nothing to the beauty
or the charm Of the place. The church
yard is small, with a number of trees
scattered about. and crowded with
graves, many of which are not marked.
In the field adjoining is a large square
monument to Gray with stanZas of
the Elegy engraved upon its sides. I
thought it showed signs of neglect
which is to be deplored for 1t really is
a fine monument.
One Is led to believe that the poet
must have spent many quiet Thought
full hours in the old churchyard. His
mothers cottage is only about a mile
away and it was while he was spend
ing his vacations with his mother that
he first knew the place which he has
made immortal. The visitors attention
is called to a line large old tree. which
stands in front of the church. and he
is told that the poet wrote the Elegy
while seated underneath that Very
tree. This may be a bit of fiction. like
and interest to a place. but a consid-
GRAFTON of the circumstances under
which the poem was written would lead
one to believe that perhaps Gray
worked many an hour upon the poem.
while seated beneath this self same
his masterpiece and it would be quite
natural, in fact. highly probably, for
him to come here While visiting at his
mothers home IA work upon the
poem seated underneath the old tree.
One likes to think of him coming here
to work upon his masterpiece OF com
ing to attend service on Sunday morn
ing. One likes to reflect that he must
nave many times wandered among
those graves, or strolled through the
nearby fields or fingered here at twi-
light to catch the grand inspiration for
his poem. 1t was perhaps while wander
ing among those neglected and forgot
ten graves that the thought first came
which prompted those we'll knows
lines.
Full many a gem of purest ray serene
The lark unfathomed caves of ocean
bear:
Full many a flower is born to blush I'M
seen,
And waste it's sweetness on the desert
air.
Or perhaps it was here that he first
realized the great truth that:
The boast of heraldry. the pomp of
And all that beauty. all that wealth
ere gave,
Await alike In inevitable hour.
The paths of glory lead but to the
grave.
Gray Buried There.
Perhaps the place where the church,
spends his last few lingering moments
before departing, is the grave of the
| poet, who is buried beside his mother.
whom he so dearly loved. The grave is
in the yard and at a corner of the
church and bears an inscription writ
| ten by Gray himself which attests his
great low for his mother and his grief
at her demise:
In the same pious confidence. beside her
| friend and sister. here sleep the remains Of
Dorothy Gray.
Widow, the careful, tender Mother Of
many children. one of whom alone had
the misfortune to survive her.
She died March II, 1863.
Aged 81.
| How appropriate it is that the poet
is buried here in the spot that he knew
and loved so we'll? This was the place
of his dreams and his inspirations and
here he likely spent some of the hap
piest moments of his life lost in noble