144 -^'^ Oniitliological Visit to WarzvicksJiire. [Sess. 



county of Warwick is sufficient of itself to cause thousands 

 annually to make the round of its numerous attractions. 

 Mention need only be made of Leicester's Hospital, Warwick 

 Castle, Kenilworth, Guy's Cliff, &c., to show tliat important 

 events in English history have been enacted in this now quiet 

 and tranquil county. But what to most folks in Britain, and, 

 in fact, wherever the English tongue is spoken, is of infinitely 

 greater importance than all the castles, mansions, battles, 

 sieges, and turbulent actions of the old nobility put together, is 

 the simple circumstance that a little over three centuries ago, 

 in the dead little town of Stratford-on-Avon, Shakespeare first 

 saw the light of day, lived there for a considerable portion of 

 his life, and at last was laid to rest in the old parish church 

 in which, no doubt, he had often worshipped. This event, 

 with all its kindred associations, has been so often commem- 

 orated in writing, and is matter of such universal notoriety, 

 that it would be presumptuous on my part to attempt to add 

 another word on the subject. In wandering through the little 

 hamlets, and visiting towns like Warwick, one feels as if he had 

 fallen asleep, and, by a process of retrogression, awoke in the 

 1 7 th century, there is such an old-world look about everything 

 — a want of modern bustle, and a quaint standstill sort of 

 aspect, that reminds one of the old Scotch saying, " As quiet as 

 the grave — or Lauder." The effect of this feeling is rather 

 pleasant than otherwise, and the total change from bustling 

 cities like Birmingham or Glasgow comes as a relief doubly 

 grateful to all whose daily occupations are of an active and 

 often harassing character. Most of the villages have com- 

 posite names, such as Norton-Lindsey, Henley-in-Arden, 

 Bishop's-Hampton, and so on ; and, as already mentioned, 

 many are beautifully situated and highly picturesque, perhaps 

 none more so than the last named, which is in the immediate 

 vicinity of the park where tradition says that Shakespeare 

 enacted the rdle of poacher, and was brought before the Lucy 

 of the day to have punishment meted out to him. The old 

 park is still tenanted by deer and the mansion-house by a 

 descendant of the Lucy family. The latter, however, hardly 

 wields the same power in the district as did his ancestor. As 

 already hinted, the weather during our stay was most unpro- 

 pitious, and, somewhat to our surprise, heavy showers of hail 



