Visitors from
all parts of the world look in wonder upon the decay of glories that once
dazzled all Europe. Here the earl of Leicester entertained his virgin
queen hoping to marry her. As Elizabeth crossed the draw-bridge a song in
her praise was sung by a Lady of the Lake on an island floating in the
moat. Story writers have never tired of telling of the magnificence of
these entertainments that cost the ambitious earl $20,000 per day for
nineteen days.
Returning, Warwick Arms Hotel was reached for lunch, after which the
party drove eight miles to Stratford-on-Avon, a model town on the classic
Avon. Here in Henley Street, in a half-timbered house recently carefully
restored, Shakespeare was born. The walls and window panes are covered
with the names of visitors, while inside are kept albums for the
autographs of kings, queens, of Scott, Byron, Irving, and others. One
of the three rooms below is an ancient kitchen, where by the big open
chimney the poet often sat. Climbing a winding, wooden stairway,
George and Gertrude in the lead, our Harrisville friends entered the
old-fashioned chamber, where, it is said, on St. George's Day, April 19,
1564, William Shakespeare was born.
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