SHAKESPEARE COMMEMORATION.
On the three-hundredth anniversary of Shakespeare at Stratford-on-Avon I
contributed an ode, to be found in my extant book of poems. Among the
notabilia of the feastings and celebration, I remember how Lord Houghton
raised a great laugh by his pretended indignation when the glee singers
greeted the guests at dinner as "Ye spotted snakes with double
tongue!"--Doubtless it was a Shakespearean old English piece of
music,--but stupidly enough selected for a complimentary greeting. My
ode was well received, but I'll say no more of that, as it can speak for
itself. Lord Leigh made us all very welcome at his splendid Palladian
mansion, and there I met Lord Carlisle, then Viceroy of Ireland, who
kindly told me that as he had known my father, and knew me, and my son
was then in Ireland (he was a captain in the 29th Regiment), he would
put him on his staff, as a third generation of the name. I am not sure
if this happened, for my son soon was sent elsewhere; and he has long
since gone to the Better Land. But Lord Carlisle's kindness was all the
same. At the ball I remember Lord Carlisle's diamonds hanging like a
string of glass chandelier drops at his button-hole with a Shakespeare
favour, and jingling perilously for chippings as he danced: for size
those half-dozen Koh-i-noors must be--foolishly--invaluable.
At Stratford Church, either then or some while after, I strangely was
the means of saving Shakespeare's own baptismal font from destruction,
as thus: the church had been "restored,"--_i.e._, all its best patina
was polished away; and among the "improvements," I noticed a brand new
font. "Where is the old one?" "O sir, the mason who supplied the new one
took it away." So I called and found this font--quite sacred in
Shakespearean eyes as where their idol had been christened--lying broken
in a corner of the yard. Then off I went to the rector, I think it was a
Mr. Granville, expostulating; and (to make the matter short) with some
difficulty I got the font mended and put back again, as it certainly
never should have been removed. I have since been to Stratford, and find
that they use the new font, and have put the old one in a corner of the
nave.
An odd thing happened to me in the church, where at the vestry I had
just signed my name as other visitors did. An American, utterly unknown
to me as I to him, came eagerly up to me as I was inspecting that
unsatisfactory bust and inscription about Shakespeare, and said, "Come
and see what I've found,--Martin Tupper's autograph,--he must be
somewhere near, for he has just signed: do tell, is he here?" I rather
thought he might be. "I've wished to see him ever since I was a small
boy. Do you know him, sir?" Well, yes, a little. "Show him to me, sir,
won't you? I'd give ten dollars for his autograph." After a word or two
more, my good nature gave him the precious signature without the
dollars,--and I shan't easily forget his frantic joy, showing the
document to all around him, whilst I escaped.
Besides a Pindaric Ode to Shakespeare, to be found in my Miscellaneous
Poems, wherein many of his characters are touched upon, I wrote the
following sonnet, now out of print:--
_The Stratford Jubilee._
"Went not thy spirit gladly with us then,
Most genial Shakespeare!--wast thou not with us
Who throng'd to honour thee and love thee thus,
A few among thy subject fellow-men?
Yea,--let me truly think it; for thy heart
(Though now long since the free-made citizen
Of brighter cities where we trust thou art)
Was one, in its great whole and every part,
With human sympathies: we seem to die,
But verily live; we grow, improve, expand,
When Death transplants us to that Happier Land;
Therefore, sweet Shakespeare, came thy spirit nigh,
Cordial with Man, and grateful to High Heaven
For all our love to thy dear memory given."