We met a guide in the ancient schoolhouse where the Bard--I am
speaking now of William, not of Andrew--acquired the rudiments of
his education; and on duty at the old village church was another
guide, who for a price showed us the identical gravestone bearing
the identical inscription which, reproduced in a design of burnt
wood, is to-day to be found on the walls of every American household,
however humble, whose members are wishful of imparting an artistic
and literary atmosphere to their home. A third guide greeted us
warmly when we drove to the cottage, a mile or two from the town,
where the Hathaway family lived. Here we saw the high-backed
settle on which Shakspere sat, night after night, wooing Anne
Hathaway. I myself sat on it to test it. I should say that the
wooing could not have been particularly good there, especially for
a thin man. That settle had a very hard seat and history does not
record that there was a cushion. Shakspere's affections for the
lady must indeed have been steadfast. Or perhaps he was of stouter
build than his pictures show him to have been.
Guides were scattered all over the birthplace house in Stratford
in the ratio of one or more to each room. Downstairs a woman guide
presided over a battery of glass cases containing personal belongings
of Shakspere's and documents written by him and signed by him.
Pages:
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282