rst, came a
visit to the site of Shakespeare's home of New Place, to see the old
foundations. As they stood looking down at the few pathetic remains,
Mrs. Pitt explained how the house happened to be pulled down.

"It was shameful!" she cried indignantly. "I dislike to think of the
man who was responsible for its destruction. The house was an old
one, even in Shakespeare's day, as it was probably erected in 1490 by
Sir Hugh Clopton. A historian named Leland of the sixteenth century
says this about New Place and its surroundings: 'There is a right
goodly chappell, in a fayre street towardes the south ende of the
towne dedicated to the Trinitye; this chappell was newly re-edified by
one Hugh Clopton, Mayor of London; this Hugh Clopton builded also by
the north side of this chappell a praty house of brick and tymbre,
wherein he lived in his latter dayes and dyed.' To appreciate that
fully, you should see the queer old spelling! Well, to continue,
Shakespeare left New Place to his eldest daughter, Susanna Hall, and I
don't know just how long it remained in the family. However, at length
it was in the possession of the Rev. Francis Gastrell, who cut down
Shakespeare's celebrated mulberry-tree because too many visitors
troubled him by coming there to see it. In 1759, he became so angry in
a quarrel about the taxes imposed upon New Place, that he had it torn
down and the material sold. I can never forgive him for that! It seems
to me that I never knew of anger having led to a more outrageously
unjust and deplorable act!" Mrs. Pitt's eyes flashed, and her face
was flushed from her feeling of what one might almost be pardoned for
terming "righteous indignation."

Leaving New Place, they turned into Chapel Lane, which borders on one
side the grounds formerly belonging to the Poet's estate.

"Let me give you just a little description of this street in
Shakespeare's time," Mrs. Pitt reflected. "You must know that sanitary
conditions were fearful then, and that Stratford was as bad, if not
worse, than other towns in that respect. Even as late as 1769, when
Garrick visited here, he considered it 'the most dirty, unseemly,
ill-paved, wretched-looking town in all Britain.' The people had
absolutely no idea of cleanliness. In Stratford, there were six places
where it was lawful to dump rubbish,--right in the street! Just fancy!
Sometimes these dumps prevented a man from making his way about the
town. Chapel Lane was considered the wor