Page:A tour through the northern counties of England, and the borders of Scotland - Volume II.djvu/283

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combinations to those already made to his hand; or unfolding the secret springs of human action; us a genius in the most comprehensive, or a prac- tical metaphysician in the most rational, sense of the term; we shall be unwilling to allow that any of the sons of men have gone before him in intellectual excellence. We entered into Stratford with that pardonable pride of heart which attaches some portion of the merit of a countryman to oneself; and whilst we were surveying the frequent vestiges are scattered through the town, con- ceited that ive were in some measure associated with the praise, as well as the talents, of this favourite child of fancy.

The town is agreeably situated in the center of a broad and fertile valley, through which the Avon, the classic al stream of England, rolls his transparent waters. Containing not more than two thousand inhabitants, it is rather straeylina than compact. St cons'sts of nine streets, which, for the most part . lean, neat, and well-built. Many traces of the ci in which the memory of Shakespeare is held by the inhabitants, are sprinkled up and down the place in signs and inscriptions. The town-hall exhibits a more durable monument to his fame, being built and dedicated to his memory by general contribution and the munificence of the corporation

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