1897-]
He has had glimpses of wonderful lanes, like those of .Devonshire,
of great drooping willows, of century-old elms. And what does
he find? A great city of 8,000 inhabitants with few trees save
along the river, with row upon row of plain brick houses, with
shop windows stuffed with Shakespearian souvenirs, with money
changers and stalls for the selling of doves even in the holy of
holies.
We saw Stratford-on-Avon on a holiday, and the mob was
supreme. Down by the Avon there was a boisterous tent show
‘ ‘ with real American darkies. ’ ’ The ‘ ‘ silver stream ’ ’ was black
with boats let for sixpence per hour. The birthplace of Shake
speare was in full blast. “ Get into the line and wait your turn.”
“How much? A shilling?” “Thank you.” A showman was
in every room, and he told his little story in side-show tones:
“ This is the room in which Shakespeare was born. That name
on the pane there is Scott’s; that is Byron’s; that is the original
ceiling. This is the room in which Shakespeare was born,” and
so on interminably. The keeper of the museum parroted off the
names of objects in view—buttons, pieces of wood from houses,
etc., etc. —as if all Shakespearian knowledge would die with her.
The clods gazed with open mouths just as they would do at the
fat woman of the museum, or the living skeleton. We sought the
open air with the feeling that one might have who had just seen
his sweetheart on exhibition in a dime show.
At least there will be seclusion and quiet in the church. Bet’s
go there, ‘ ‘ What is that ? A sixpence admittance ?” “ Thank
you. ” “ Write you names in the American register. ’ ’ And this
is the grave of Shakespeare with its immortal epitaph. But that
placard at the head ? ‘ ‘ Rubbings from the epitaph may be had
from the verger—one shilling. ’ ’ And that is the new American
window; who on earth selected the subjects for the pictures?
‘ ‘ Americans will drop something into the box to defray the debt
on the window. ” “ Ah, a sixpence for the verger ? Not much. ’ ’
Those carvings are for sale. I wonder if we have to pay to get
out? “What’s that, boy, a sixpence for watching the bikes.
We didn’t ask you to watch them. What? Oh!” “Thank
you, sir.”
As we rode out of town that night the great, wicked word that
commences with D. was not spoken. To 11s all it seemed as if the
town was one vast machine for extorting shillings from Americans
on the strength of the fact that a great man had happened to be
Disillusion