William Shakespeare; poet, dramatist, and man . as much a matterof atmosphere as of colour. And this is thecharm of Warwickshire. It does not know the roll and thunder of the sea,which Tennyson thought were more tumultuous andresonant on the coast of Lincolnshire than any-where else in England; it is not overlaid with thebloom which makes Kent a garden when the hop-vines are in flower ; it lacks that something, halflegendary and half real, which draws to Cornwall somany lovers of the idylls of Arthur; the noble large-ness of the Somerset landscapes is not to be foundwithin its boundaries; but
William Shakespeare; poet, dramatist, and man . as much a matterof atmosphere as of colour. And this is thecharm of Warwickshire. It does not know the roll and thunder of the sea,which Tennyson thought were more tumultuous andresonant on the coast of Lincolnshire than any-where else in England; it is not overlaid with thebloom which makes Kent a garden when the hop-vines are in flower ; it lacks that something, halflegendary and half real, which draws to Cornwall somany lovers of the idylls of Arthur; the noble large-ness of the Somerset landscapes is not to be foundwithin its boundaries; but its harmonious, balanced,and ripe loveliness is its own and is not to be foundelsewhere. SHAKESPEARE^S COUNTRY 65 There are many points at which one feels thischaracteristic charm. From Kenilworth to Strat-ford, if one goes by the way of Warwick and Charle-cote, it is continuous. There are sweet and homelyplaces along the road where the houses seem tobelong to the landscape and the roses climb as ifthey longed for human intercourse; there are. The remains of a large tract of forest which formerly stretched away from Stratfordon the west and north. stretches of sward so green and deep that one issure Shakespeares feet might have pressed them;there are trees of such girth and circumference ofshade that Queen Elizabeth might have waitedunder them ; there are vines and mosses and roseseverywhere; and ever3^where also there are bits ofhistory clinging like old growths to fallen walls, and•densely shaded hill, and stately mansion set far back 66 WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE in noble expanse of park. Through the trees thelow square tower guides one to an ancient churchset among ancient graves, with a sweet solemnityenfolding it in silence and peace. The fields arerichly strewn with wild flowers, and every cliffystone, and bit of ruined wall is hung deep with vineand moss, as if nature could not care enough forbeauty in a country in which men care so much fornature. Warwick is a busy town on
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectshakesp, bookyear1901
