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Show ,' WAKEMAN'S WANDERINGS H AT THE GHftlNE AND HAUNTO OF M THE POET GIUYH. B Stoke For Whrr th ArrMfMi of ltn- B rl nllrtmnt Oat Our Togue It H Moit MttcMtti rUcj-lVl)1lm Ioaf B rrtndnli IrcU or the Ancient H lnor-Saltan been wilt Pflen.lLI B ItlMorU nnvltonmtnt. H lCprrlKbt,ll, by nJBrL.WVtmn B Btoki Foars. CnsUod, Oct. 10. I once 1 lnew ii little oM bookworm who liAimtrd M tho New York Ubrr.e, ami wliou tnnnner, B wajaaud eLaracUr boron most atrlklng Hi irfrmb1anc to Itat poet whowroU the H not pe rfuct ilrjtr lu tU KnglUh tontfue- H TbomaiOray. H Uoitaju Utt1c.4alBtj man, with nIlTcrM B lialr and a round a J iincli M moit K ttrlkloff pliyilcal characteristic If lilt fins, B penslr Mu?cjiero not Uawloff unoo . you. Hit clolfaioff wat faultier JIU 1 manner weiacouril. IIli vrr iwoi.v B i acm wm UnlcQADt aad rotf nI If o nemod H to cMiflle an r!or cf maik nnd mlcnouotto, H and a I uitd to look at Llm for nu Eight B tenth century remainder, tin grotesque BV uotion alwafi canto tl.at hU melancholy Bi- slChiof pUsittMor dliapprorM a htfed B upon lberauty tomoi bcforn him, could B they to c tun phyIcal apoct, ouldcon B form to the pearly lavender of LU ample B f atoek nod ipotleM troura i lly and by I mlid Urn. Ill little Hf paunch had gone riot and orercomo h B atomach with vout or icmcthta:, nud H the dalntr and learned little bookworm Hj bnd turned from tht tomei of tho Afttor Hj nnd Mercantile to the endlei tomo of Kj eternity. 1 was auro that here wat an Hl other Gray, Ye, he Lad btrn, I found, K atipporteil In academy, colltge, unlrerslty B f nnd la trnTcl by the thrift and trade of B two women, who blindly bcllerwl that la B time he would o ton lib tho world with tho B product of lilt cenlui. Llko Gray, he noter B A arned a penuy hi uncococlotii w Invjmo- B new conquered alt; hla learning wa rant, B p nnd hla Indoleucs wm iwlouudtni. Ho B had apent a lifetime In exhausting tho hit B torlc, Klentlflo and philosophic mcarchcii B and product of other Ite left toni of In B I ginning of great rndearort If ho had i, been forced Into country environment, m woaGray at btoVoI'ogci, li inlnhthaTa . Klven the world an Idyl or an oleffy, and ppH f I then the Ukeneet would hare been com H , plte, B ' The Tcry accident of rural retlracy com- B jielled or Induced Thonr as Gray to cnato B theonebltof verse which cave Um a plnco B anion tho Immortala. From IW7, at tho B axo of ten, when hie mothor placMl him In B I-ton, aud where, tradition ha It, ho at B onco began to versify until ho expired of B inertia and gout In the arms of Dr. Jamet B Brown, Master of plcturewjue old Pern H broke Hall, Cambridge, ou tho SOth of B July, 1T71 a period of forty fourycars ho B was as continuously In An atmosphere of B books aa any wan who ever lived I'or hU H day and time be was the most variously B and penetratingly learned man In Iluropo. B He was practically mad for and from K i book knowledge. Illsdevotlon toreienrcli H I aemedan endless Intoxication of acqulra- 1 I nentfor the thloK or fact encompastod, B rather than that healthful acquisition of H , knowledge for the usee to which It may bo B wlielyput H "i It la no eloubt also true that had ho not B , J . written the "i-lcgj" his place In tho M H t ojtrnphlea would have been no more than H 1 j 'Thoinaa Gray, erudite annotator, ncconi pllshed translator and aomttl me companion H of Horace Walpolc " Because hie aitrpau H -. log ceolus, tbroujth tho blessed Incident of H ruraj Inspiration, for once burst the fetters H of aodden bookish enslavement and It con H , aequent physical Indolence, ho attained fame and loft us our most perfect revela B toa of tendereit emotions and lotrospco- tloni tethe noire rial human heart, 'lhe malignancy of Johnson la quite forglcn fortoeonthonQstieDtcnce be ever wroto about Gray, "Had Gray written often thus,'1 H laid the uaotankeroue maater of wonlx, "It h(d been Tain (o Maine And uzeleaa to H I pralso him," 1 For theee and other reasons the one H place loall tho world Stoktu l'ogeawhlcli prompted a single, Incomputable example H f what Gray mlAht havo been to lltern- B lure has! he Veen shut away from tho V j tfeadcnloK Infloenee nf CombrldRebooka, H c and perhaps ccmptlled to earn hla owu H 4 living, becomes doubly InterestlnK. Bo- H It Idoa the poet resided here for frequent i t Intervals from ITUtolTSO, His (trnvels ssB! h here. A stupeadoue monument stands M ; L most within sight of his old home. Tho K T very church la wblok he worshtpe, and Bt a the churchyard rendered dear to tho hearta H; I ct all men by hla melodious, mournful el H 1 fty remain today just as ho saw And H I knew them la life. The place, too, has ft f some hlstorla importance, and the luimor 't, I of Btoke Tark was once the Lome of thn H descendants ot William Penn, miiny of B': I whom are burled ta the family vault lu the H '. I nave of the mosny old church. Bi (. But better than all else, yon will find H j ' I the place a marvelous revelation of the Hjj elcgyi as you have already felt the elegy to H be rwrftfct Interpretation of those exquisite j X emotions which only the rarest fccene and H i? Aaaoalatlvecondltloaean Impart. OurNiw H if. World affections cllnr very tenderly to cr- j Ml tain Old World shrines. They fold about B Ha them afllmy glamour of loving Ideality, Sy and cradle them la the soft and misty cor-rlea cor-rlea of tho bears. 1 con recall but few which are not better for the dlstnnt tight 1cm lullaby, and this Is oue. 6toko Poges Is a thinly settled -. Ulage or a thickly Milled ayhan parish of Buck H I j tngbamshlro, not over twenty flvo mllia B A west of Ixiudon and about two mllea H U north of the railway station of Blough, B 'v which Is In turn the same distance north H of Windsor and Castle. Itderlves Its un B ', poetlo name from Amlcla de Stoke, whn H brought the manor lu marriage to a cerUln H UoUrt Pogels, a knight of the ihlre In tho H Twefth ceulury. In the ttwo of lMwartl B HI the (Mtate p.mcd Into the poHicsslou of B 1 BIr JohnMolyns. He had a Met uu from H 1 the klnrf to fortify and embattle a matwlon H u here,uod ltwivs he who built the plctur H'; f cmjuo old church mado famous by Gray' H r "LIcgy," The manor diiCLnded through H t female belra to the great earls of Hunting H don, one of whom rvbullt the manor houM1 H ) enrlylntho rslgu of LllmUth. Then .Sir IMward Coke posestd It and sumptuous fly entertained lllsibth here Hemalns of this splundld manor house are stlUbtand tng a few rods northwest of the old church Aside from Its poetlo associations, the manor came to hae peculiar interest to K Americans when, lu Ktt), It was purchased B fro1" tbr noble family of Cobham by B Thomus Penn, second son of tho great fm founder of Penusyhanta by bis sttond wife, Hannah CallowhLU. The grate of I Willi a ru Tcnn Is but nine miles distant, i beside the quaint old Quulcr mcrttrg sjH house at Jordan', and all of Penu's do H teendants through the family line of this B kou, Thomas who have since deceased oro B Ijltigln the Penn family lault lu tho old B Btoke PogisLhurch. Thomas Penn' old B est son, the last John Penn nnd grnndsoti H , of the founder, was 'ft virtuoso, builder H I and ornameutcr of lino residences" and j i also au author. Ho built tho great housa HI lu Kensington Gardens, and In 1T89 the H present noble mansion of toLo Hall, which Ht stands a few hun Jrod yards to the south of B the church and the old titoko manor house. Hj At tho time of Gray's residence nt btoko 1 t Vout old Stoke Hull was tho home of fl Iady Cobham, whoso nntles to secure nc- B quuUitaiicu and subsequent friendly Inter H , course with the shy pot, ho tUenUied wllh hU mother and aunt In I-M cot tage. About a mile distant, areV""" In theromartto Incidents so felicitously r Uled In Gray's facetious poem of the 'Iong Btorr." Tho now Btoke Hall was built by John Penn from designs by WyatL It Is chiefly of brick, stuccoed, and comprises a largo fqtinre center and two wings. Tbecnlrance front li ornamented by n colonnado of tm Horlo columns, upproached by Imjwaliig rUghla of steps, lendltitf to the famous oval central MarUo Hall Ihe south front, alto adorned with a colon nude, hit twelve fluttrd Dorlo columns, and U 190 feet In length. Many visitors h'.ro mlsUike the old manor house at tho north of tLechurcb for Gray'a former home. It Is a beautiful and ptc turewjuehalf ruin, occupied by tho keeper tf Btoke Park. Its chimneys are the largest I have seen In any old ICngllsh manor houe, and there are undoubtedly today mora bricks lu thMlry cotcnl lueinentoeof old time cheer than were originally re quired In the entire construction of tho wall. John Penn built tho modest yet noted mansion of Solitude, still standing on tho bank cf the Bchuylklll, opixwlte I'nlr mount, In Philadelphia. Much of the rev rnuefrou remaining Pennsylvania "Pro t riotary" Interests wa expended here Vast sums were used upon new Btoko Hall nnd Its library, statuary and painting. Ho also rescued from oblivion Ihencluil burial place of Gray by placing tho memorial me-morial slab against the church wall beneath be-neath the vestry window, an 1 erected nt I Is own expense the huge monument to tho poet whUh dominates all the slumbu ous scene. On the death of John Pi nn, Btoko Manor waslnherIledbyLUyoungrbrther,(iran vllle Penn, who died nt btoke lu 11 Ho wai an author and m admitted to bi oue cf the most learned HnglUh laymen of his time. His oldest son, Granville John Penn, not only ' restored'' but practically rebuilt Gray's house. West Knd Cot t ago, on tho Wr.t Ilnd Ilnad Itwns converted Into a sumptuous Klif nbcthan mansion, with every ev-ery acceiwry of ornament and beauty. In 1S50 it was sold to n gentleman ntmed Bftrby, but was Afterward purchased by A. Allhauscn, Eu , whose family and heirs stilt possets It, and with It tho right of una of the Gray family pew In tho southwest comer of the south aisle of tho old Btoko Pogea church A curious Illustration of thodcendenen of great famlllfw, as well as of vast fortunes even In I.ngtand, Is found In thollnnlex tloctlon of this the most eminent branch cf the Penn family, and the diversion of their onco great estates. Everyone Is familiar with the escheating of William Perm's American possessions, In whteh tho "estate of tho late proprietaries was vested In the Commonwealth," tho payment byPeimsjl vsnU of 130,000 sUrllm- to tho devisees and legaters, "in rcmembrnnro of tho en tirprlslog spirit of the Founder," aud tho granting by tho Kngltsh parliament. In 17V0, of an annuity of JL4,0g0 tohls hi Irs and descendants. All this was tn addition tu the rich English possessions of thePinns, which included the manor of Btoke. And vet on March 'J9.1M7, Granville John IVnn, lord of the mauorof Btoke, died lu hlsrhalr with an unsigned will In bis hands All his properties wcro Inherited by his brother, '1 nomas. That gentleman, who was In clerical orders and a man of extraordinary learning, w as subncquently declared Insane and IncnpaMo of managing his estates, 1 here passed Into the tentuclesof that great English octopus, the chancery court, and finally, after the death of the unfortunate unfor-tunate Thomas, got Into tho posneKNlon of William Stuart, gentleman, of Aldcnham Abbey, In the shire of Herts, lixlny the Puma of Stoke Poitee are no more. Ihe romping dill lren of a country squlro havo banished tho lender wraiths that peopled the homo and haunts of Gray nt West Knd Cottage, wllle the lord of the manor whoso park keeper now uses as a farm house the anclunt home of tho Cobham, theCokiaand the lordly house of Hast Ings, whore Queen I.lUabeth was royally entertained, aud whoso own present princely prince-ly habitation was once the palatial seat of the Pcnns Is n maker of matches In Xjoii doul btlllnoonecan coma to tho awcet old place without bslcg touched by tho tender bplrlt of repose which broods not alouo upouStokePossChureh and churchyard, upon the witlre Stoke tnaurr, where, half hidden beneath sylvan shades, appear tho very place where the poet lived nnd sang, the picturesque old ruin whero onco dlv tiorted lords and IsdUd, and even royalty Itself, and the grander seat of tho Pduns, but upnn the entire historic parish. AH Us environment strangely htlra the heart and memory. Over to the south Is rnvnl Windsor, throilf k whono aurrASslvf epochs tho whole vaet hook of Kngtlsh history may be written, from the Vkto rlan era to the tins of Arthur, his knights and the Table IUuud. Milton wrote his "IAUegro" at Horton, Just below, Coop-er's Coop-er's Hill, contecratedto the muso of Hen ham, is nearer still, Herscbel made his first groat dLcorrlea In astronomy In that old rrd brick mtnslon jiut beyond Btouglt on the highway to Windsor. Pd nuiud Burke and Dlmuud Waller lived at near Beocmnfleld. Jsot two hours' walk distant Is the grave of William Penn, nnd quite ns nar are the famous Hurnlmm llecchts discolored by Gray himself when upon his first visit to the region which his genius was destined to make one of tho bust loved spot of earth 1 liitid these, ns will nil who corns to this spot where the "Uegy" wis wrltteu. But nu Ecu enn aguln todcllclously till of Hum am Beech j, nnd the languid, lazy, eny going Gray himself, as did Uruy'n In this bit from one of his charmlug lcttirs to his frttnd Horace Walpolo' "My uncle U n great hunter In lmnglna tton, his dogs take up em chair lu the bouo, mi I am forced to stand nt tho prts i nt writing; aud though the gout forbids his galloping after them lu tho Held, yet he continues stilt to ngale hi tint and ne with their comfortable noUu and stink. Ho holds me mighty cheap, I per celc, for walking when 1 should rid and reading when 1 should hunt. My comfort amidst all this I that I huont adKuuco of half n mtl,th.ough n grceu lane, n fori t (the vulgar cull It a eommon) nil my own, at least ns good ns ho, fori spy nuhiiumu thing in It but myself It ts a little ehnos of mountatus and precipices, mountains His true, that do not usewnd muchabote tho clouds, nor nruthft devItrltlesqulioHn amazing as Hover ClilT, but Just such hill as people who loo their miksns wellns 1 elo nmy senturo to rllmh,Hud eraastlmt L,lve the ejo as muih plaurousIf the' tro more dangerous." KtHitn I.. Wakhuh |