the miseries of human
nature to write well on Shakespeare. Of Fox Mr. Whibley says:

He put no bounds upon his hatred of England, and he thought it not
shameful to intrigue with foreigners against the safety and credit
of the land to which he belonged. Wherever there was a foe to
England, there was a friend of Fox. America, Ireland, France, each
in turn inspired his enthusiasm. When Howe was victorious at
Brooklyn, he publicly deplored "the terrible news." After Valmy he
did not hesitate to express his joy. "No public event," he wrote,
"not excepting Yorktown and Saratoga, ever happened that gave me so
much delight. I could not allow myself to believe it for some days
for fear of disappointment."

It does not seem to occur to Mr. Whibley that in regard to America,
Ireland, and France, Fox was, according to the standard of every ideal for
which the Allies professed to fight, tremendously right, and that, were it
not for Yorktown and Valmy, America and France would not in our own time
have been great free nations fighting against the embattled Whibleys of
Germany. So far as Mr. Whibley's political philosophy goes, I see no
reason why he should not have declared himself on the side of Germany. He
believes in patriotism, it is true, but he is apparently a patriot of the
sort that loves his country and hates his fellow-countrymen (if that is
what he means by "the people," and presumably it must be). Mr. Whibley has
certainly the mind of a German professor. His vehemence against the
Germans for appreciating Shakespeare is strangely like a German
professor's vehemence against the English for not appreciating him. "Why
then," he asks,

should the Germans have attempted to lay violent hands upon our
Shakespeare? It is but part of their general policy of pillage.
Stealing comes as easy to them as it came to Bardolph and Nym, who
in Calais stole a fire-shovel. Wherever they have gone they have
cast a thievish eye upon what does not belong to them. They hit
upon the happy plan of levying tolls upon starved Belgium. It was
not enough for their greed to empty a country of food; they must
extract something from its pocket, even though it be dying of
hunger.... No doubt, if they came to these shores, they would feed
their fury by scattering Shakespeare's dust to the winds of
heaven. As they are unable to sack Stratford, they do what seems to
the