buried. There are four lines inscribed on it, said to have been written by himself, and which have in them something extremely awful. If they are indeed his own, they show that solicitude about the quiet of the grave, which seems natural to fine sensibilities and thoughtful minds.

Just over the grave, in a niche of the wall, is a bust of Shakespeare, put up shortly after his death, and considered a resemblance. The aspect is pleasant and serene, with a finely arched forehead, and I thought I could read in it clear indications of the cheerful, social disposition by which he was as much characterized among his contemporaries as by the vastness of his genius, The

inscription mentions his age at the time of his decease, fifty-two years; an untimely death for the world: for what fruit might not have been expected from the golden autumn of such a mind, sheltered as it was from the stormy vicissitudes of life, and flourishing in the sunshine of popular and royal favour?

The inscription on the tombstone has not been without its effect. It has prevented the removal of his remains from the bosom of his native place to Westminster Abbey, which was at one time contemplated. A few years since, also, as some labourers were digging to make an adjoining vault, the earth caved in, so as to leave a vacant space almost like an arch, through which one might have reached into his grave. No one, however, presumed to meddle with his remains, and lest any of the idle or curious, or any collector of relics, should be tempted to commit depredations, the old sexton kept watch over the place for two days, until the vault was finished and the aperture closed again. He told me that he had made bold to look into the hole, but could see neither coffin nor bones; nothing but dust. It was something, I thought, to have seen the dust of Shakespeare.

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10 Irving.

'Garrick. Shakespeare was the greatest of dramatic authors, Garrick the greatest of English actors. Garrick's acting met with prodigious applause, and multitudes thronged to see it. He was born in 1716, and died in 1779. 2 territorial consequence, a feeling of importance arising from possessing territory, or owning land. monarch, etc., this phrase occurs in Cowper's poem on Alexander Selkirk (Robinson Crusoe). Stratford-on-Avon is situated on the right bank of the river Avon, eight miles southwest of Warwick. The town is neatly built, and has quite a modern look, most of the old houses having disappeared. Some trade is carried on in corn and malt. jubilee, a season of great public festivity and rejoicing. Shakespeare's birthday, the 23rd of April, is always a grand day in Stratford; but every centenary,

that is, hundredth year from his birth, a grand jubilee, extending over some weeks, is held. In 1769, Garrick projected and conducted a grand jubilee. It was the second centenary of Shakespeare's birthday. quickening, reviving; life-giving; making alive. garrulous, talkative. 8 assiduous, unwearied, untiring. chancel, that part of a church where the altar or communion. table is placed. 10 Irving, see App.

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SELECTIONS FROM SHAKESPEARE. SCENES FROM AS YOU LIKE IT.

[The Duke has been driven from his dominions by Frederick, his brother, He goes, with some of his faithful lords, to live in banishment in the beautiful Forest of Arden.]

I.

SCENE: The Forest of Arden.

Enter DUKE Senior, AMIENS, and other Lords, in the dress of
Foresters.

Duke S. Now, my co-mates, and brothers in exile,
Hath not old custom made this life more sweet

Than that of painted pomp? Are not these woods
More free from peril than the envious court?
Here feel we but the penalty of Adam,
The season's difference; as the icy 'fang,
And churlish chiding of the winter's wind;
Which, when it bites and blows upon my body,
Even till I shrink with cold, I smile, and say,-
This is no flattery: these are counsellors,
That feelingly persuade me what I am.
Sweet are the uses of adversity,

Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous,

Wears yet a precious 2 jewel in his head;

And this our life, exempt from public haunt,

Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks,

Sermons in stones, and good in everything.

Ami. I would not change it.

Happy is your grace,

That can translate the stubbornness of fortune Into so quiet and so sweet a style.

Duke S. Come, shall we go and kill us venison ? And yet it irks me, the poor dappled fools,—

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Being native 3 burghers of this desert city,— Should, in their own confines, with forked heads Have their round haunches gored.

1 Lord. Indeed, my lord,

The melancholy Jaques grieves at that;
And, in that kind, swears you do more usurp
Than doth your brother, that hath banished you.
To-day, my lord of Amiens and myself

Did steal behind him, as he lay along

Under an oak, whose antique root peeps out
Upon the brook that brawls along this wood;
To the which place a poor 5 sequester'd stag,
That from the hunter's aim had ta'en a hurt,
Did come to languish; and, indeed, my lord,
The wretched animal heaved forth such groans,
That their discharge did stretch his leathern coat
Almost to bursting; and the big round tears
Coursed one another down his innocent nose
In piteous chase; and thus the hairy fool,
Much marked of the melancholy Jaques,
Stood on the extremest verge of the swift brook,
Augmenting it with tears.

Duke S. But what said Jaques?
Did he not moralize this spectacle?

1 Lord. O yes, into a thousand similes. First, for his weeping in the needless stream: Poor deer, quoth he, thou makesta testament

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As worldlings do, giving thy sum of more

To that which had too much. Then being alone
Left and abandoned of his velvet friends :
'Tis right, quoth he; thus misery doth part
The 'flux of company. Anon, a careless hord,
Full of the pasture, jumps along by him,

And never stays to greet him: Ay, quoth Jaques,

Sweep on, you fat and greasy citizens :

'Tis just the fashion; Wherefore do you look Upon that poor and broken bankrupt there?

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Thus most invectively he pierceth through
The body of the country, city, court,

Yea, and of this our life: swearing that we
Are mere usurpers, tyrants, and what's worse,
To fright the animals, and to kill them up,

In their assign'd and native dwelling place.

Duke S. And did you leave him in this contemplation? 2 Lord. We did, my Lord, weeping, and commenting Upon the sobbing deer.

Duke S. Show me the place;

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I love to cope him in these sullen fits,

For then he's full of matter.

2 Lord. I'll bring you to him straight.

'fang, tusk; pointed tooth (like a serpent's).

[Exeunt.

jewel, some of the ancients believed that the head of the toad contained a

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4

precious stone. burghers, citizens. confines, bounds; limits; territories. 5 sequester'd, separated from the herd; solitary. worldling, one given up to the world and its pleasures. flux, flowing together; assembling; gathering. invectively, sharply;

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8

[Adam, an old servant, comes to warn his young master, Orlando, to flee for his life. Orlando's brother, Oliver, has formed a design to murder him.]

SCENE: Before OLIVER'S House.

Enter ORLANDO and ADAM, meeting.

Orl. Who's there?

Adam. What! my young master ?-O my gentle master, O my sweet master, O you memory

Of old Sir Rowland! why, what make you here?
Why are you virtuous? Why do people love you?
And wherefore are you gentle, strong, and valiant ?
Your praise is come too swiftly home before you,