IN THE COUNTRY’S HEART

Evening Star, Issue 19802, 28 February 1928, Page 12

IN THE COUNTRY’S HEART

BURIAL OF THREE GREAT MEN ASQUITH'S SURPRISING CHOICE TOWN AND COUNTRYSIDE IN ENGLAND. [Written by Pilgrim, for the 1 Even, ing Star.’] Probably never before in the history of England have three men died within a space of a few weeks all of whom were deemed worthy of national burial in the heart of London. It is equally remarkable that none of the three wished for such burial. Hardy was buried in the Abbey against his wish. Haig chose to lie with his ancestors at Dryburgh Abbey, and it is worthy of note that he sleeps beside Scott. Many a lover of Scott will thank Mr Baldwin for his remark that Haig was among tho few men worthy of that proximity. Asquith also left definite instructions that he was to be buried in the heart of the countryside, and his wish was respected.

Is it not a little curious that all these men preferred to rest in the countryside? Surely it must have occurred to each of them that the honor of burial in the Abbey or St. Paul’s would be offered. Hardy’s case is the easiest to understand. He was a countryman in his deepest being, born and bred in Wessex, and his life work had been the portrayal of rural types. One is proud to think that he lies in the Poets r Corner, but a little uneasy that his wish was not fully respected. Haig was of a Border family, and it was natural that he should desire to rest there, but one thinks of him as more of a townsman — despite his roving military life—than Hardy. Asquith’s is the strangest case. He was horn in a small Yorkshire manufacturing town, educated in London and Oxford, and has been identified all his life more with urban than rural interests. One thinks ot him as a city man. 1 know ills occasional writings well, but though it is obvious ho is a great lover of English poetry—and you cannot be such without loving tho countryside—l cannot recall a passage about country life similar to those in the writings of Visconut Grey or Mr Baldwin. (The Prime Minister, by the way, has written an appreciation _ of tbo sights and sounds of tho landscape that is fit to be placet! in an anthology of prose.) Yet Asquith lived Ills last years in a village near the source of the Thames, and there—- “ far from the madding crowd’s ignoble strife ” —cbosc to be buried. The choice was indicative of his utter lack of vanity, yet it is to bo regretted. Of these three men it was most desirable that Asquith should lie amid the roar of the city’s capital. It would have been what his service to tho country merited, and what was duo to his fame and tho requirements of history Successive generations through the ages would have seen his grave, and if they did not know who he was, would have found out something _ about him. As it is, the succession in the Abbey of pilots who weathered tho storm—and no one ever faced such a storm as ho did—i s broken; the point I especially wished to make, however, is the connection between English life and the English countryside. In England cities extend their boundaries year by year; the fabric of industrialism becomes vaster and vaster; the rural population declines; yet the English people (or shall we say tho British?) still have their roots in their ancient soil. It is most interesting and instructive to observe how statesmanship retains its connection with the countryside, and draws strength from its beauty and rostfillness. We may bo sure that Asquith, like Grey, owed some of his strength of character and his unfailing patience, to this ancient heritage. It is also curious to note that, while British agriculture is declining, British poetry is still very much occupied with the beauty of tho countryside. More than all this, I believe that a. largo proportion of town dwellers still love the country and obtain there moral and aesthetic reinforcements. The other day [ was talking to a Now Zealand girl who had just returned from England, after working for a time in Manchester. I had been struck by the number of town dwellers making holiday in tho country, especially on the hills of Surrey. Sue told mo that she had been impressed by tbo popularity of the countryside among the people of tho Lancashire towns. This has its pathetic side, but there is something noble and stimulating about it. It England should ever become one vast city—to those who have seen the extent of her lovely countryside such a complete change is unthinkable —or if tho country should fall into decay and loso its beauty, the soul of the nation would be wounded fatally,