Read Ebook: The Mentor: Shakespeare's Country Vol. 4 Num. 8 Serial No. 108 June 1 1916 by Winter William

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THE MENTOR 1916.06.01, No. 108, Shakespeare's Country

LEARN ONE THING EVERY DAY

JUNE 1 1916 SERIAL NO. 108

THE MENTOR

SHAKESPEARE'S COUNTRY

DEPARTMENT OF VOLUME 4 TRAVEL NUMBER 8

FIFTEEN CENTS A COPY

Stratford Impressions

It is the everlasting glory of Stratford-upon-Avon that it was the birthplace of Shakespeare. Situated in the heart of beautiful Warwickshire, it nestles cosily in an atmosphere of tranquil loveliness, and it is surrounded by everything that gentle rural scenery can provide to soothe the mind and to nurture contentment. It stands upon a plain, almost in the center of England, through which, between low green hills that roll away on either side, the Avon flows, in many capricious windings, to the Severn, and so to the sea.

The golden glory of the setting sun burns on the gray spire of Stratford church, and on the ancient graveyard below,--wherein the mossy stones lean this way and that, in sweet and orderly confusion,--and on the peaceful avenue of limes, and on the burnished water of silver Avon. The tall, pointed, many-colored windows of the church glint in the evening light. A cool, fragrant wind is stirring the branches and the grass. The songbirds, calling to their mates or sporting in the wanton pleasure of their airy life, are circling over the church roof or hiding in little crevices of its walls. On the vacant meadows across the river stretch away the long, level shadows of the stately elms.

It is an accepted tradition in Stratford-upon-Avon that the bell of the Guild Chapel was tolled on the occasion of the death and also of the funeral of Shakespeare.

Sweet bell of Stratford, tolling slow, In summer gloaming's golden glow, I hear and feel thy voice divine, And all my soul responds to thine.

As now I hear thee, even so My Shakespeare heard thee, long ago, When lone by Avon's pensive stream He wandered in his haunted dream.

From "Shakespeare's England," by William Winter

Shakespeare's Country

WARWICK CASTLE

Monograph Number One in The Mentor Reading Course

No one should come abruptly upon Stratford, the home of Shakespeare, as Mr. Winter says. It is wiser and pleasanter to approach it gradually by way of Warwick and Kenilworth. Both these castles have a place in Shakespeare's plays, and it is well worth while for the visitor to see them.

Warwick is a quaint old town. Its population is about 12,000, and it lies on a hill rising from the river Avon. Far back in antiquity it was a settlement of the Britons, and, afterward, it was occupied by the Romans. Its present name is of Saxon origin. Many of the houses retain their medieval appearance; and in fact two of the old gates of the town are still standing.

The prevailing quality of the town of Warwick is a sweet, solemn peace. The people live there as in a gentle dream of repose. The little rows of cottages breathe contentment; ivy embowers them, and roses cluster about their windows.

The Church of St. Mary at Warwick as it now stands was rebuilt after a fire in 1694. The Lord Leicester Hospital was established by Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, in 1571. He founded it for the reception of twelve poor men. This building contains several interesting relics, one of which is a Saxon chair said to be a thousand years old; and another is a piece of needle-work by Amy Robsart, the heroine of Sir Walter Scott's novel, "Kenilworth."

On a commanding position overlooking the Avon rises Warwick Castle, the ancient and stately home of the Earls of Warwick. This castle is one of the finest and most picturesque feudal residences in England. It probably dates from Saxon times; but the oldest part now standing is the tall Caesar's Tower, 147 feet high, which was probably built soon after the Norman conquest. In 1871 a great fire almost completely destroyed the castle; but it was restored in the old style. The most important event in the history of the building was its successful defence by the Parliamentarians during the Civil War in England.

The interior of the castle contains an interesting collection of paintings, old armor, and other curiosities. In the Great Hall are the sword and some other relics of the legendary Count Guy of Warwick. His feats of arms in slaying terrible monsters are an important part of English legend. In the Great Hall also are the mace of Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, who was known as "the king maker," and the helmet of Oliver Cromwell. This castle is noted for its famous collection of pictures, among which are several by Rubens and Van Dyck. In the conservatory of the castle is preserved the famous Warwick vase of marble, which was found near Hadrian's Villa at Tivoli, in Italy, and is attributed to the fourth century B. C.

Nathaniel Hawthorne has put into words the very feeling that comes over each visitor to Warwick: "We can scarcely think the scene real, so completely do those towers, the long line of battlements, the massive buttresses, the high-windowed walls, shape out our indistinct ideas of the antique time."

Shakespeare's Country

KENILWORTH CASTLE

Monograph Number Two in The Mentor Reading Course

It was in 1575 at Kenilworth Castle that the Earl of Leicester, then a suitor for the hand of Queen Elizabeth, entertained her and the court at "excessive cost" as described in "Kenilworth," by Sir Walter Scott.

Everyone who has read the book knows that the Earl of Leicester had secretly married Amy Robsart, the daughter of a country gentleman, and at the same time was attempting to gain the favor of Elizabeth. When a disclosure of the truth was about to precipitate the ruin of Leicester, he prepared a magnificent pageant at his castle for the Queen; in the meanwhile his follower, Varney, was to pass himself off as Amy's husband.

At Kenilworth Castle, on the Queen's first entry, "a small floating island illuminated by a great variety of torches ... made its appearance upon the lake," upon which, clad in silks, were the Lady of the Lake and two nymphs waiting on her. During the several days of the Queen's stay "rare shews and sports were exercised."

The town of Kenilworth has a population of only about 5,000. The magnificent old castle is now in ruins. It was originally founded about 1120. In the 13th century it passed into the hands of Simon de Montfort. Some years later it came to John of Gaunt. Later the castle became royal property, and in 1562 Queen Elizabeth presented it to the Earl of Leicester. He spent enormous sums of money in enlarging and improving the building. At his death, however, it passed back into the possession of the Crown. When Cromwell became Ruler of England he gave the castle to some of his officers, who demolished the stately pile for the sake of its materials. After the Restoration it passed into the hands of the Earl of Clarendon, who still retains it. One of the principal parts of the building remaining is Leicester's gatehouse, now occupied as a private dwelling. Then there is also the Norman Keep of Caesar's Tower. This has massive walls fifteen or sixteen feet thick. Merwyn's Tower, built by John of Gaunt about 1392, may also be seen: the "small octangular chamber" on its second floor is the one assigned by Walter Scott to Amy Robsart.

Shakespeare's Country

CHARLECOTE

Monograph Number Three in The Mentor Reading Course

The well-known tale of Shakespeare's poaching on the preserves of Sir Thomas Lucy and his subsequent punishment is doubted by many authorities; yet this story has clung to the poet and has always been associated with the house of Charlecote.

The legend runs that Shakespeare as a gay and heedless youth stole deer from the park at Charlecote. The fact of the matter is that there were no deer at Charlecote at the time; but there was a warren, and this term legally covers a preserve for other animals than hares or rabbits. At any rate, the young poet is said to have been called up before Sir Thomas Lucy, who was then sheriff, and prosecuted in 1585. There is added the statement that Shakespeare aggravated the offence by writing a silly ballad on Sir Thomas and affixing it to his gate. This gave the Knight great offence, and Shakespeare is said to have been driven from Stratford to London. The ballad, however, is probably a forgery.

Shakespeare is generally supposed to have caricatured Sir Thomas Lucy in his portrait of Justice Shallow in the second part of "Henry IV," and in the "Merry Wives of Windsor." This may be true for, in the coat-of-arms of Lucy there were three "luces"; while Slender remarks of Robert Shallow that "the ancestors who come after him may give the dozen white luces in their coat."

Sir Thomas Lucy was born on April 24, 1532. Three of his ancestors had been sheriffs of Warwickshire and Leicestershire: and on his father's death in 1552 Thomas inherited the estates of Sherborne and Hampton Lucy, in addition to Charlecote, which was rebuilt for him by John of Padua in about 1558. In 1565 he was knighted and a few years later he became high sheriff of the county.

In 1558 Sir Thomas Lucy introduced into Parliament a bill for the better preservation of game and grain; this, together with his reputation as a preserver of game, gives some color to the Shakespearian tradition connected with his name. He died at Charlecote on July 7, 1600. The Charlecote estates eventually passed to the Rev. John Hammond through his marriage with Alice Lucy, and in 1789 he himself adopted the name of Lucy.

Charlecote is still occupied by one of his descendants. It contains a good collection of old paintings, antique furniture, and many objects of Shakespearian interest. The park is now well stocked with deer.

Charlecote Church, nearby, contains several monuments of the Lucy family, including one to the wife of Sir Thomas Lucy with a fine epitaph written by the Knight himself. This epitaph shows that Sheriff Lucy could hardly have been otherwise than kind and gentle. He may have been a severe magistrate and perhaps a haughty, disagreeable neighbor, but in those lines there is a tone of manhood and high feeling that wins a prompt response of sympathy. If Shakespeare stole the deer of Sir Thomas Lucy, he received just punishment and the Knight was not to blame.

Shakespeare's Country

THE CHURCH AND THE RIVER, STRATFORD-UPON-AVON

Monograph Number Four In The Mentor Reading Course

Historians may deny it, statisticians may disprove it, yet Stratford is the heart of England, and the little Avon is in a sense the most famous of all English rivers. It is the goal of all Shakespeare lovers. The poet and the river are Stratford's two claims for distinction--but what place could ask for more? The Avon gives it a setting, the beauty of which can never entirely pass from the mind of the beholder; Shakespeare, the man and the poet, is to be seen and heard everywhere.

Stratford-upon-Avon is a clean and well built little country town of about 8,000 or 9,000 inhabitants. It has wide and pleasant streets with numerous quaint half-timbered houses. It is a place of great antiquity. Stratford is mentioned in a Saxon Charter of the eighth century, and Roman coins have been found in the district showing that it was inhabited in Roman times. Later it had some importance as an agricultural center. In addition to this, the various trades of weaving, glove-making, candle-making, and soap-making were carried on; but now these have lost their importance, and the town owes its fame almost entirely to the memory of Shakespeare, born there in 1564. Over 35,000 pilgrims annually visit Stratford.

On the bank of the river is the Church of the Holy Trinity. It occupies the site of a Saxon monastery, and was probably completed in the fifteenth century. It was greatly restored in 1890-1892 and 1898. The central tower dates probably from the twelfth century. This is surmounted by a lofty spire.

The interior of the church contains many things of interest, but those that attract the visitor most strongly are, of course, the ones connected with Shakespeare. There is his grave, and there on the wall above is the bust which was executed soon after his death. The stained glass window nearby, representing the Seven Ages, was erected with the contributions of American visitors. Near Shakespeare's tomb are those of his wife, Anne Hathaway, of his daughter and son-in-law, and of Thomas Nash, the first husband of his granddaughter, Elizabeth.

Shakespeare's House, in which the poet was born in 1564, is now national property.

The Shakespeare Memorial Building, the site for which was presented to the town of Stratford by Charles Edward Flower, stands on the banks of the Avon a little above Trinity Church. It was erected in 1879. It includes a Theater in which annual performances are held in April, and occasional performances during the winter. The "Droeshout Portrait" of Shakespeare, an authentic portrait of the dramatist, is one of the treasures kept in this building. In the adjoining grounds is the Shakespeare Monument presented in 1888 by the sculptor Lord Ronald Gower. On top of the Monument is a large seated figure of the poet, and around the base are figures of Lady Macbeth, Prince Hal, Falstaff, and Hamlet.

The Red Horse Hotel in Stratford contains a bedroom and a sitting-room occupied by Washington Irving. There may still be seen the chair in which he sat and the poker with which he meditatively stirred the fire.

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