7 FEBRUARY 1920, Page 13

LONG FELLOW'S " K ER AMOS."

[TO THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR."J

Sin,—Can you or some of your readers inform me what chnr:•ll and what tomb Longfellow refers to in his poem Keramos " when he says ?—

" Here in this old neglected church, That long eludes the traveller's search, Lies the dead bishop on his tomb. Earth upon earth he slumbering lies, Life-like and death-like in the glcom. Garlands of fruit and flowers in bloom And foliage deck his resting-place, A shadow on the sightless eyes, A paler on the patient cheek, Made perfect by the furnace heat,'' &c.

I have failed to trace in any copy of poems I have so far looked in any note on the matter. The reference seems to be In Della Robbia's work, but I know of no tomb on which is a full- length .body of a Bishop in china or similar work. It may he a poet's licence to merely one of Della Robbia's plaques on which the Bishop's face is depicted. Perhaps you can clear up the point for me.—I am, Sir, itc.,

SWYNFEN JERVIS, Lt. Col.,

late South Staffordshire Regiment. 90 Clarerton Street, S.W. 1.