the only relic that I have brought from Stratford."

Irving proceeds, in the same happy strain to give an account of his visit to Charlcote, the seat of the Lucys, which, however interesting, is too long for transcription here: we must, therefore, content ourselves with a few of the passages more strictly applicable to the personality of Shakespeare: "Indeed, the whole country about here is poetic ground; everything is associated with the idea of Shakespeare. Every old cottage that I saw, I fancied into some resort of his boyhood, where he had acquired his intimate knowledge of rustic life and manners, and heard those legendary tales, and wild superstitions, which he has woven like witchcraft into his dramas. For in his time, we are told, it was a popular amusement in winter evenings, to sit round the fire, and tell merry tales of errant knights, queens, lovers, lords, ladies, giants, dwarfs, thieves, cheaters, witches, fairies, goblins, and friars.' As I

crossed the bridge over the Avon, on my return, I paused to contemplate the distant church in which the poet lies buried, and could not but exult in the malediction, which has kept his ashes undisturbed in its quiet and hallowed vaults. What honour could his name have derived from being mingled in dusty companionship with the epitaphs and escutcheons and venal eulogiums of a titled multitude? What would a crowded corner in Westminster Abbey have been, compared with this reverent pile, which seems to stand in beautiful loneliness as his sole mausoleum? The solicitude about the grave may be but the offspring of an overwrought sensibility; but human nature is made up of foibles and prejudices; and its best and tenderest affec

tions are mingled with these factitious feelings. He who has sought renown about the world, and has reaped a full harvest of worldly favour, will find, after all, that there is no love, no admiration, no applause, so sweet to the soul as that which springs up in his native place. It is there that he seeks to be gathered in peace and honour, among his kindred and his early friends. And when the weary heart and failing head begin to warn him that the evening of life is drawing on, he turns as fondly as does the infant to the mother's arms, to sink to sleep in the bosom of the scene of his childhood.

"How would it have cheered the spirit of the youthful bard, when, wandering forth in disgrace upon a doubtful world, he cast back a heavy look upon his paternal home, could he have foreseen that, before many years, he should return to it covered with renown; that his name should become the boast and glory of his native place; that his ashes should be carefully guarded as its most precious treasure ; and that its lessening spire, on which his eyes were fixed in tearful contemplation, should one day become the beacon, towering amidst the gentle landscape, to guide the literary pilgrim of every nation to his tomb.'

SHAKESPEARE'S LAST RESIDENCE.

It is believed that Shakespeare left Stratford in 1585 to pursue his profession, but he frequently returned there to visit his family. In 1597 he bought "all that messuage or tenement called New Place." During the six or seven years after the purchase he bought several valuable "messuages" and 170 acres of "arable land" in and near Stratford. From these circumstances and from existing documents it is

known that he was a cultivator of his own land in his native place. It is not to be doubted that several years before his death he had returned rich and honoured to spend the remainder of his days among those who were dearest to him.

The theatre which occupied and disfigured New Place has been purchased by the liberality of a public-spirited gentleman and pulled down, and the place restored to its original aspect. A private letter received from Stratford says:-"When you visited New Place, at Stratfordupon-Avon, I told you that J. O. Phillips, Esq., had purchased the theatre with the intention of pulling it down in order to restore the gardens to what they were in Shakespeare's time, and I take the opportunity to inform you that every particle of the building was removed and the gardens put in perfect order last week to the great joy of the Stratfordians. They are the admiration of all visitors, especially the Americans. You having visited the place, may I be allowed to beg you to include New Place in your guide-book,-the spot where Shakespeare resided permanently the last seven years of his life, and where, also, he breathed his last!"

THE SHAKESPEARE MEMORIAL THEATRE.

On the bank of the Avon, within two minutes' walk of the New Place, is the new Shakespeare Memorial Theatre. It was first opened on April 23, 1879, the poet's birthday. The library and reading-room and the picture gallery adjoining are in process of construction.

A pleasant drive of 8 miles, past Charlecote, along the general course of the Avon, which is twice crossed, brings us to WAR

WICK (Hotel: Warwick Arms), population, 10,570. This is a place of considerable antiquity, but, except in connection with the Castle-which is one of the finest and best preserved specimens of the residence of a great feudal baron in the kingdom-and the memorials of the great historical families by whom it has been possessed, is of small importance. The Castle stands upon a steep rock, beneath which the Avon flows, the cellars being excavated from the stone itself. The oldest portion is Caesar's Tower, 147 ft. high, the date of which is unknown. The Baronial Hall is a very spacious apartment, retaining much of its original character and furniture. This hall was destroyed by the fire which seriously damaged the castle in 1871. The portions damaged have been restored (chiefly by public donations), and it is intended to place the whole, as nearly as possible, in its former condition. In the suite of rooms shown to visitors will be found an interesting collection of old portraits and armour. The famous Warwick Vase is preserved here. Next in interest to the Castle is St Mary's Church, of which the attraction is the Beauchamp Chapel, in which is the richly decorated altar, tomb, and effigy of Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, who died 1439. The lover of legendary lore may still hear many traditions respecting Guy, Earl of Warwick, and his wonderful exploits.

KENILWORTH is about 5 miles north of Warwick, and may be reached by carriage, or by way of Leamington, by railway. The entire interest of this place centres in its Castle, the remains of which are very extensive, and in this, not so much from the important part which it has played in English history as a stronghold

of Simon de Montford, Earl of Leicester, and the insurgent barons, in the reign of Henry III., as from its having been the abode of Elizabeth's favourite, Robert Dudley, and the scene of the festivities and events connected with her visit to him described in the romance of Sir

Walter Scott, to which it has given its name. The keep, called Caesar's Tower, the most ancient portion of the castle, has walls in some places 16 ft. in thickness. The large banquetting-hall, 86 by 45 ft., built by John of Gaunt, may still be traced. The buildings of Leicester, although the most recent, are in the most dilapidated condition, through the bad quality of the stone, with the exception of the Gatehouse, which has been kept in habitable condition.

COVENTRY (Hotel King's Head) is only 12 minutes by railway from Kenilworth. It is 9 miles from Leamington and 23 from Birmingham. This town was formerly the great seat of the ribbon manufacture, which has much fallen off of late years, since the alteration of the duties on foreign silks in 1861. Watch, fringe, and trimming making, with the above, now afford employment to a great part of the population. It has two ancient churches, of which the finest is St Michael's, with a beautiful tower and spire, 303 ft. in height, and some good modern stained-glass windows, in memory of the late Queen Adelaide, and another commemorative of E. Ellice, formerly__representative of the city in Parliament. St Mary's Hall is the Guild Hall, in the Gothic of Henry VI.'s time, of very considerable dimensions, with a fine carved timber roof. Below the north window is a piece of tapestry, 36 ft. long and 10 ft. high, containing eighty

heads, and representing Henry VI., Queen Margaret, Cardinal Beaufort, Humphry Duke of Gloucester, and the principal court personages of the time. It has an oriel window, with some stained glass; and there are some suits of armour.

There are some popular proverbs connected with this place; one, "true as a Coventry blue,' based upon the stability of a blue dye, for which it was once celebrated; the other, in "sending to Coventry" all persons with whom further conversational intercourse is declined. The latter expression may probably owe its origin to Shakespeare, as he makes the renowned knight Falstaff say, in reference to his tatterdemalion troop of recruits, "I'll not march through Coventry with 'em, that's flat;" a person "sent to Coventry," therefore, is one with whom the speaker would not be seen to associate.

The place which Coventry holds in the popular mind is mainly due to the legend of Lady Godiva, the wife of one of its early lords, Leofric, a Saxon Earl of Mercia, in memory of whom, within the present century, an annual pageant, which has now become an occasional one, was kept up. The inhabitants, much oppressed by his feudal exactions, applied to his lady, Godiva, for intercession on their behalf. Thinking to evade compliance with his wife's request, whilst professing willingness to grant it, he offered to remit the tolls and customs of the town of Coventry, on the condition that she should, on a certain day, ride through it in a state of perfect nudity. She accepted the condition, and fulfilled it (commanding all persons to keep within their houses, and to refrain from looking upon her), by riding through the town, veiled only by her long hair. One individ.

ual only, who is said to have been a tailor, and who lives in legend as Peeping Tom," having ventured to transgress the command, is declared to have been struck blind on the spot, and a grotesque figure, representing him peeping through a hole in a wall, is still preserved. On the occasion of the pageant's taking place, a very lightly-clad female is still the leading character. From Coventry, 18 miles, and 23 miles from Leamington, is the flourishing town of

BIRMINGHAM. (For particulars of direct trains from London to Birmingham, see page 42, ante.) (Hotels: see HOTEL LIST.")

This place, like Sheffield, was early known for the excellence of its manufactures. During the Civil War it must have been a place for the manufacture of arms, as we read that whilst it supplied swords to the parliament it refused them to the king. Although since playing a leading part in the furtherance of all the great questions which have occupied the attention of the statesmen of the age, having long been represented by John Bright, who may be taken as a typical exponent of its school of politics, it has only attained the dignity of a municipal and parliamentary borough since the Reform Bill. It is the centre of what is known as the "Hardware" district, in which numberless towns have sprung up through the contiguity of the Staffordshire coalfield, and have become celebrated for metal manufactures of various kinds, but of which Birmingham still remains the emporium. It was called by Burke "the toy-shop of Europe.' For guns, steel pens, buttons, and other manufactures, no town in the world can be named in competition with it. To the man of business these are sufficiently well known, and to the

tourist their enumeration would be simply tedious; suffice it to say, that anything into the composition of which metal largely enters may be obtained here. Gas was first successfully used here by Boulton and Watt, whose names are so honourably known in connection with the perfection of the steam engine. The old church has been so overlaid by modern additions that none of its original characters are recognizable, although it contains some old monuments. The principal modern buildings are the Grammar School, the market, and the Town-hall. In the latter is one of the most powerful organs in England, and the Birmingham Musical Festival held here has long held a conspicuous place amongst periodical entertainments of the kind. The organ is 45 ft. high and 40 ft. wide, has 4000 pipes (the longest 35 ft. in length), 4 sets of keys, and nearly 80 stops.

The Grammar School is one of the most important foundations here, having a revenue of £10,000 per annum, and 10 Exhibitions at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. There are about 450 scholars. Queen's College, founded in 1843, by charter, is a school of medicine, theology, and law. The Roman Catholic College is a handsome building designed by Pugin. The Birmingham and Midland Counties Institute, near the Town-hall, founded in 1855, contains a museum, lecture, news, and class rooms.

(In addition to its railways, Birmingham has canal communication with Liverpool, Hull, London, and Gloucester. It now returns three members to parliament.)

EAVING London from the King's Cross Station, we reach Hatfield (17 miles). On the right we see Hatfield House, the splendid residence of the Marquis of Salisbury. It was once the property of James I., who gave it to an ancestor of the Marquis in exchange for another estate in the same county (Herts) called Theobalds. On the left we observe Brocket Hall, the seat of the late Lord Palmerston, and a short distance further, Knebworth Park, where the great novelist, Lord Lytton, resided. On the right, near Stevenage (28) miles), we see Panshanger Park, the seat of Earl Cowper. The pleasure grounds and picture gallery are shown to visitors. We next arrive at Hitchin (32 miles), where branches go, on the right to Cambridge, and on the left to Bedford and Leicester. Passing Huntingdon (561 miles), the next place of any importance at which we stop is PETERBOROUGH (761 miles), (Hotels: Great Northern, Crown). The only object to delay the tourist here is the Cathe dral, which is of large size and of exceedingly massive structure, the body of the building being Norman, enriched with a magnificent western front in the early English style. Most of the monuments and shrines were destroyed by the Puritans under Cromwell,

and the church generally suffered, but there are still some of interest. Katherine of Arragon, the first Queen of Henry VIII., was buried here; and for a time, before her removal to Westminster Abbey, the unfortunate Mary Queen of Scots.

There is a painting upon the wall near the western entrance, of Robert Scarlet, the sexton who buried both the above queens, and a quaint old epitaph commemorative of the circumstance. He died aged 98.

Sir

Passing sundry places of no interest, we reach GRANTHAM (105 miles), (Hotel: Angel). A Parliamentary borough, said to have been founded in the fourth century. Money is said to have been coined here by King Canute. Its principal trade is in corn, for which there are two Exchanges. Isaac Newton was a native of Woolsthorpe, in this neighbourhood, and received some education in Grantham Grammar School. It has a handsome Parish Church, of the thirteenth century, with a lofty and elegant spire, and is connected with the Trent by a canal 30 miles long.

Belvoir Castle, the magnificent seat of the Duke of Rutland, containing one of the best collections of pictures in the kingdom, is about 5 miles from Grantham. The next place of any importance is NEWARK ON - TRENT (120 miles) (Hotels: Saracen's Head, Clinton Arms), a Parliamentary borough. The castle of this place has been famous in history. Built by Alexander, Bishop of Lincoln, in the twelfth century, it was taken from him for rebellion, and held by the crown. When besieged by the Barons, in the reign of John, he came to its relief, and died here in 1216. It sustained three several sieges in Charles's interest, in the civil war,