SHAKESPEARE AND THE WAR. [To THE EDITOR Or TAE "
SrrorATon."1
SIR,—The chronicled events of the present momentous
struggle between the several nations of Europe cannot but call to mind those majestic lines which are familiar to alt readers of Shakespeare. To all who have as yet to acquire that light, which so specially belongs to his works, stir. passing that of all other poets as the lumen supremunt, no more fitting opportunity for seeking it could present itself than in the historic drama which is now being enacted in the theatre of the world. The Chorus in Henry V. naturally presents itself in all its glowing ardour :—
"Now all the youth of England are on fire, And silken dalliance in the wardrobe lies : Now thrive the armourere, and honour's thought Reigns solely in the breast of every man.
For now sits Expectation in the air, And hides a sword from hilts unto the point With crowns imperial, crowns and coronets.
0 England! model to thy inward greatness, Like little body with a mighty heart,"
—Henry V., Act IL, Prologue.
But of this and other apt descriptions none, perhaps, points to the actual dispositions or characteristics of the opposed armies as the following: "When lenity and cruelty play for a kingdom, the gentler gamester is the soonest winner" (Henry V., Act III., Scene vi.).—Trusting that those few lines may induce many of your readers to revive the memories
of England's great poet, I am, Sir, &o.,
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