Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1916-04-26
A VISIT TO BIRTHPLACE
OF SHAKESPEARE
Our Trip to Stratford- on Avon, il
September 1914, Described
Briefly.

this month the 300th anniversary of
the death of William Shakespeare,
it may not be out Of place this week
to tell about my visit in 1914 to
Stratford -on-Avon, where stood the
cradle and where also is the grave
of the great poet and dramatist.
arrived in Liverpool on Satur-
day evening, Sept. 49, after stormy
voyage of nearly five days on a slow
going Danish freighter from Aarhus,
Denmark. Owing to the fear Of
mines, the vessel made long de-
tour around the northern coast of
Scotland. Along the Scottish coast
and especially when crossing the
Irish sea, the pillows rolled fearfully,
causing the ship to pitch and heave
numerically, in the opinion of most
of the passengers who felt a similar
commotion within. Owing to our
late arrival in port we were not al
lowed to land until next morning.
Before the customs officers had gone
thru our baggage it was nearly
noon. Arriving at the hotel that had
been assigned me, I found that about
a dozen people, all strangers, were
to occupy one room. 1 did not like
that idea and therefore started out
to find another hotel. soon found
out that owing to war conditions,
hotel accommodations were almost
impossible to secure in the city.
After calling at nearly dozen diff
ferent hostleries, finally found COM
Portable lodging at the AylesWorth
Temperance Hotel, where I remained
to rest up and clean up, after the
ocean trip, until Tuesday morning,
when left for London. AS the ship,
the Mauritania, which was to carry
me back to the United States, was
to sail before Saturday afternoon, I
decided to see as much of England
as | could, in the mean time. Max
ing use of the stopover privileges Of
Bmy railway ticket my first stop was
at the old tower Of Chester, on the
river Dee. After I had alighted
from the train and was on the way
up town carrying my own luggage,
a twelve or fourteen year old boy
approached me and asked if he
could not be allowed to assist me. I
scrutinized him carefully from head
to foot and was amazed to see more
holes than cloth in his raiment.
There was a perfect net work of
holes in his clothing, not owning to
any decree Of fashion, as with ladies'
hose, but owing to poverty, evident
ly. Never before have I seen such
rag -a-muffin. I thought he needed
tc earn few shillings and therefore
bargained with him to show me as
much of the. town as he could
until the next train for London
would arrive, which would be in
about three hours. Leaving my
baggage at hotel, we first proceed
ed to the old stone wall that encircles
the town. This wall nearly two
miles in length was built during the
Roman occupation of England, for
defense purposes and is still in
fair state of preservation. 1t is in
places forty feet in height and wide
enough on top to form pleasant
promenade. l walked around and
at one of several towers l noticed
this inscriptions: "Upon this tower,
Sept. 27, 1645, stood King Charles |
and saw his army defeated at Row
ton Moor" Many old ruins and
relics from the distant past were
pointed out to me as we sped along,
Samong them some stones that had
been used in Roman bath, the
crulnbling pillars and walls Of an old
church built in $50, by King Ethelred,
bridge that had been built by
Edward I, two hundred years before
Christopher Columbus discovered
America, a piece Of a road built by
the Romans and still in use, etc,
etc. Leaving the walls the imposing
cathedral built in the middle OF the
sixteenth century was next visited.
Here I saw some tattered flags that
had been through the storming OF
Quebec at the time when General
Wolfe was slain. Many Of the
names on graves and monuments,
here and elsewhere in England show
unmistakable traces of Scandinavian
origin. / tarried too long on this
interesting place and consequently
lost my dinner. Bidding farewell to
my guide / had to hurry to the train
which was to carry me to Stratford-
on-Avon, my next stopping place.
Birmingham, great manufacturing
center with its hundreds Of flaming
fiery furnaces suggestive Of hades,
was passed about dusk, and in
another hour / was in Stratford- d-on-
Avon, the birthplace of the immortal
Shakespeare. At the Fountain
Hotel, a short distance from the
depot, put up for the night. Hav-
ing had no dinner, I felt the need Of