13

The River Avon at Stratford 14

Birthplace of Mary Arden, Mother of Shakespeare 16

Warwickshire House of the Tudor Period 18

Old Graves in Trinity Churchyard, Stratford 20

Old Warwickshire Cottages 24

A Group of Morris Dancers 26

Garden View of Shakespeare's Birthplace, Stratford 30

Queen Elizabeth going to Whitehall by the Thames 35

Portrait of the Earl of Essex 36

Portrait of the Earl of Southampton 40

Queen Elizabeth listening to the Play 44

"Observance to a morn of May" 46

Woods near Stratford 50

Earl of Leicester receiving Queen Elizabeth
at Kenilworth 54

Portrait of Queen Elizabeth in her Later Years 58

A Dance of the Sixteenth Century 62

I.

At the Mermaid.

Thus Raleigh, thus immortal Sidney shone
(Illustrious names!) in great Eliza's days.

--Thos. Edwardes.

[Illustration: At the Mermaid]

SHAKESPEARE'S
CHRISTMAS GIFT TO QUEEN BESS

I.

At the Mermaid.

The numberless diamond-shaped window panes of the Mermaid Tavern are
twinkling like so many stars in the chill December air of London. It is
the last meeting of the Mermaid Club for the year 1596, and not a member
is absent. As they drop in by twos and threes and gather in groups about
the room, it is plain that expectation is on tip-toe. They call each
other by their Christian names and pledge healths. Some are young,
handsome, fastidious in person and dress; others are bohemian in
costume, speech, and action; all wear knee breeches, and nearly all have
pointed beards. He of the harsh fighting face, of the fine eye and
coarse lip and the shaggy hair, whom they call Ben, although one of the
youngest is yet plainly one of the leaders both for wit and for wisd