Arrived at 5:00 p.m., July 7th. It had been my intention to pay this place
only a brief visit, giving but a glance at "The Poet's" home and
birthplace, and then start on foot for Coventry; but I soon found that
Stratford possesses more charms than I had anticipated. Shakespeare's fame
has an influence over his native town, that is simply marvelous.

The thousands of tourists that come from every land, and from every clime,
_to see the scenes that the poet saw, and breath the same air that he
breathed,_ make the place one of the most popular resorts of literary
pilgrims, that can be found anywhere.

The buildings of Stratford are small and low, as is the rule, rather than
the exception, in English towns and villages. Many are covered with tiles,
but the thatch roof is also very common here. This consists of a mixture
of straw and earth, often more than a foot in thickness, and covered with
moss and grass. Notwithstanding this, both the houses and the streets are
kept remarkably clean and inviting; so much so, that I felt nowhere else
so soon and so perfectly at home as here. Its people seem to be possessed
of every virtue, and preëminent among them all, is that of hospitality
which seems to be blooming in the hearts of all its citizens to-day, as
did poetry in the mind of Shakespeare three hundred years ago.

The streets of this town are kept as clean as a floor, by sweepers
watching the streets all day long, collecting and carrying away all the
refuse matter. One day, I felt ill at ease about a small piece of paper
that had become a superfluity in my pocket, but which I was afraid to
throw upon the street, as it would there seem as much out of place as if I