Visit To Stratford-On-Avon And Its, Vicinage.

gentleman that could well be conceived . It once was the residence of old John-a-Coinbe , who appears to haA'e left it on purchasing the College , at Stratford , iu 1596 . The house has long been gone , but the park is noiv the property of Mark Philips , Esq ., who has so much improved the gardens and pleasure-grounds as to make

them—The cynosure of neighbouring eyes . Availing myself of Mr . Philips ' s kind invitation , I was much pleased with my strolls in this sylvan spot . Besides its natural grass-grown hills and bosky glens , we have here the remains of very formidable entrenchments , locally known as the Dingles , which prove that

at some period this now peaceful retreat has been the scene of a furious and deadly struggle , —ivhen , as Shakspere has it , —

The mailed Mars did on his altar sit , Up to the ears in blood . There is no monument so durable , if spared by human hands , as a mound of earth ; when the brass has corroded , and the stone has crumbled into dust , it will remain unchangeduntil what is noiv an inland county shall

, once more become the bed of the sea . It is not improbable that these entrenchments may be as old as the times of the ancient Britons , when this district was inhabited by the Carnabii ; but , belong to whomsoeA * er they might , Nature has long since covered the gory ground with her oivn peaceful mantle of green ; the

wild flowers once more adorn it with their beauty , save AA'here the hand of Art chooses to embellish it ivith rhododendrons , moss-roses , and other choice shrubs and flowers ; and every honest Craftsman Avill join in the hope , that —•

No more the thirsty entrance of this soil Shall daub her lips Avith her own children ' s blood ; No more shall trenching war channel lier fields , Nor bruise her flow'rots Avith the armed hoofs Of hostile paces . Xing Henry IV ., Parfc I ., act i ., scene 1 .

Ascending the highest of these earthworks by a neat footpath from Mr . Philips ' s gardens , I found a small temple and seats judiciously placed at the summit , so as to command the finest prospect in this part of the country ; and the gardener told me that , almost up to the time of my visitthe nightingales had made the

, place ring all night long for months Ai'ith their siveet melody . We heard the brief note of the nightingale ' s mate eveu then . Perhaps Stratford Church never makes so pretty a feature in the landscape as from this delightful spot . Ancl the quiet Avon here and there glistened in the sunshine , though , for the main part of its course ,

it was hid from our vieAv b y the numerous AVLQOAVS and other trees which so plentifully fringe its banks . I thought , as I gazed upon the placid scene , that earth ivould have many a paradise for us yet , if all our hearts were at peace with God and all His creatures ; aud Faith , Hopeand Charity all seemed to whisper in mine ear

, , that the tendency of society was progressing thitherward , and that eA * en every social evil is helping to bring about the desired result , by forcing us , each and all , the better to obserA'e our duties to God , our neighbours , ancl ourselves . I could have mused and moralised long enough at

Welcombe , but I had promised to attend the anniversary of the Snitterfield Benefit Club , and I always like to be punctual in an engagement when I can . I must not quit Welcombe , however , without mentioning that

William Shakspere inherited some land here ; but whether it came to him from his father ' s side or his mother ' s , what ivas its extent , and Avhich was the particular piece , I have not been able to ascertain . He bequeathed it in his AA'ill to his eldest daughter , Susanna , the Avife of Dr . John Hull , from whom it descended to

her daughter , Lady Barnard . Another pleasant stroll of about two miles , by a quiet footpath , brought me to Snitterfield , one of those strictly agricultural villages which the poet loves to picture as the abodes of iunocence and bliss . Certainly , if the souls of the people could onl y be brought into harmony with

the lovely scenery around them , as I believe they one day will , then the very carl shall become a gentleman in thought and action , and " the maid that milks and does the meanest chares , " * shall be a lady in the sweetness of her behaviour . The red rose and " the white bloomed placidly in the hedge-rows , no longer

taken—As cognizance of my blood-drinking hate f by the partizans of either faction ; for hate is not eternal . The wheat , and oats , and barley , were in the ear ; and the red poppy unfurled its showy pennon amongst the corn . The mallow , best , of wound-healing herbs , and the hedge-mustardvaluable for coughs and

, colds , were in full flower . Ancl ever and anon , from fields of blossoming beans , came such exquisite perfumes as cannot be excelled by " Araby the blest . " Then , at fitful intervals ,. . the humming-bee ivould favour me with a pleasant tune , on his ever-welcome natural bagpipe ; ancl before I could well examine his showy raiment of

sable and gold , off it ileiA ' , and either sent others , or soon returned again . In the pastures the cattle ivere gadding to and fro under the torture of the brize or gadfly , ( ecstrum ) , so that it was not difficult to see from ivhence Shakspere drew many of his illustrations ; as , for instance , in Troilus and Crcmda , ( act i ., scene 3 ) , where he makes Nestor to observe ,

that—Even so Doth valour ' s shoAV and valour ' s Avorth divide In storms of Fortune : for in hor ray ancl brightness , The herd hath mora annoyance hy the brize , Than by the tiger . And again , in Antony and Cleopatra , ( act iii ., scene 8 ) ,

AA'hen , at the Battle of Actium , Enobarbus inquires , " HOAV appears the fight ? " the dramatist has made Scarus to reply : — On onr side , like the token'd pestilence , AVhere death is sure . Yon ribald rid nag of Egypt , Whom leprosy o'ortako !—i' the midst o' the

fihtg , When vantage like a pair ol twins appear'd , Both as the same , or rather ours tho cider , —¦ The hri ; : e -upon her , like a cow -in June , Hoists sails , and flies ! In fact , everything I saw in this vicinage seemed in some way or another to belong to Shakspere .

As far as I can ascertain , Shakspere ' s family seem to have been yeomen at Snitterfield for many generations . In 1550—fourteen years before the birth of our bard—¦ Richard Shakspere is known to have rented land in Snitterfield from Robert Arden ; but little thought they thenwhen they met to settle their affairs at rent-day ,

, or to p ledge each other ' s health in a foaming tankard of good home-brewed ale , that from the loins of both of them a lad should he born , to whom each of them should be grandsire ; and that this youth , after exciting the ire