ent of the days of chivalry. The castle is said to have
been sufficiently extensive to have accommodated on one occasion Queen
Elizabeth and four hundred lords and ladies attached to her household.
It was left to the charming pen of Sir Walter Scott to fix the history
of the time and place upon the memory more effectually than could be
done by the pages of the professed historian.

From Leamington we may also make an excursion to Warwick Castle, one of
the grandest and best preserved of mediaeval structures to be seen in
Great Britain, and which is occupied by the present Earl of Warwick.
This relic of the past, perhaps quite as ancient as Kenilworth, of which
only the ruins remain, is in a condition of perfect preservation, and we
believe it has never ceased to be occupied by representatives or
descendants of the same family. The castle contains a museum of
antiquity, including a great variety of armor, battle-axes, swords,
flags, and war implements generally, which were used by the ancestors of
the present earl. There are some choice paintings in the spacious halls,
while from the windows views may be enjoyed, fully depicting the
beauties of English rural scenery.

Stratford-on-Avon--the birthplace of Shakespeare--is within a short
distance by rail: it contains some four thousand inhabitants. Few
foreign travellers fail to visit Stratford. We come to the suggestive
spot on a bright, sunny day, and hasten at once to the old church where
rest the mortal remains of Shakespeare. Just back of this ancient
Gothic structure flows the quiet Avon in the same bed where it has
glided for centuries. A group of hay-makers lying idly upon the grass on
the opposite bank are gossiping away the noon hour; a fisherman with
pole and line is daintily sounding the shady nooks of the peaceful
river; a few white swans glide gracefully in the shadow of the
overhanging willows, while in the middle distance a flock of sheep
nibble the rich green herbage. We find the interior of the church but
little superior in architecture and ornamentation to most country
churches. The tomb of the poet is in the chancel. Just over the grave,
in a niche of the wall, is a bust of Shakespeare, which was placed there
shortly after his death, and which is believed to be a good and true
likeness of the original. He died at the comparatively early age of
fifty-three. We take refreshment at the Red Horse Inn, rendered famous
by Washington Irving, stroll thoughtfull