THE MENTOR 1916.06.01, No. 108,
Shakespeare’s Country

Stratford Impressions

It is the everlasting glory of Stratford-upon-Avonthat it was the birthplace of Shakespeare. Situatedin the heart of beautiful Warwickshire, it nestles cosilyin an atmosphere of tranquil loveliness, and it is surroundedby everything that gentle rural scenery can provideto soothe the mind and to nurture contentment. Itstands upon a plain, almost in the center of England,through which, between low green hills that roll away oneither side, the Avon flows, in many capricious windings,to the Severn, and so to the sea.

The golden glory of the setting sun burns on thegray spire of Stratford church, and on the ancientgraveyard below,—wherein the mossy stones leanthis way and that, in sweet and orderly confusion,—andon the peaceful avenue of limes, and on the burnishedwater of silver Avon. The tall, pointed, many-coloredwindows of the church glint in the evening light. A cool,fragrant wind is stirring the branches and the grass. Thesongbirds, calling to their mates or sporting in the wantonpleasure of their airy life, are circling over the churchroof or hiding in little crevices of its walls. On the vacantmeadows across the river stretch away the long, levelshadows of the stately elms.

It is an accepted tradition in Stratford-upon-Avonthat the bell of the Guild Chapel was tolled on the occasionof the death and also of the funeral of Shakespeare.