ho caught up with him at the "Tumble-down
Stile." It may be, however, that Shakespeare was later on friendly
terms with the Lucy family, and so it is possible that he was then
entertained in the hall.

"You know," remarked Mrs. Pitt, "that the disgrace of that affair with
Sir Thomas Lucy is thought to have caused Shakespeare to leave his
native town and go to seek his fortune in far-away London. Therefore
the prank is said by some to have been a most important, though
seemingly trivial event in the Poet's life. Shakespeare's revenge
upon the owner of lovely Charlecote came later, when he very plainly
described Sir Thomas in his plays, under the name of 'Justice
Shallow.'"

Another room at Charlecote is very attractive,--that is, the old
library. There is preserved some wonderful inlaid furniture which
tradition describes as a gift from Queen Elizabeth to Leicester, and
which consequently would once have found a place at Kenilworth Castle.
A very charming view of the lawn sloping gently down to the river is
seen from the library windows.

Within the precincts of Charlecote is a beautiful church which was
erected by Mrs. Henry Spenser Lucy, in 1852, upon the site of an
ancient chapel. Here there are huge tombs in memory of three Lucys,
and also an interesting monument to the wife of Sir Thomas, with its
tribute to her lovely character, supposed to have been written by
Shakespeare's "Justice Shallow" himself, who seems at least to have
been a devoted husband. This last-mentioned monument was originally a
part of the older edifice, of course.

It was now about noon, and they were feeling rather hungry, so at a
short distance from Charlecote they selected an inviting place by the
roadside, and there they unpacked the lunch which Mrs. Pitt had
brought. How good it did taste! They all thoroughly enjoyed the
picnic, and when a scarlet automobile went rushing past them, the
ladies' veils fluttering in the breeze, Betty merely remarked:--"An
auto's lovely, of course, but to-day I'd rather have a bicycle. It
seems more appropriate, somehow."

"Yes," Mrs. Pitt responded. "When you are in such a beautiful county
as this, and want to see it well, a bicycle is best. And then, I think
it is more respectful to Shakespeare to go through his beloved haunts
at a fairly leisurely pace. I imagine that he never would have
understood how any one could care so little for Warwickshire as to go
whirling and jiggling along through it in a m