AN ALARM ABOUT SHAKESPHARE'S REMAINS.
Scabes are the order of the day just now, and it is therefore not surprising that the quiet, quaint little town of Stratford- on - Avon should have a sensation of the kind more than sufficient to di turb the equanimity of its inhabitants. The lines inscribed on the gravestone of Shakespeare, with their terrible admonition against any tampering with the bones beneath, after having been efficaoious for over 250 years, were thonght to have lost their power. Suddenly the news ran through the town that a large excavation, about 4ft, wide and 14ft. broad, had been made in the churchyard of the Holy Trinity, outside the north wall of the chancel, and close abutting on Shakespeare's grave. Only a brick wall divided one standing in the pit from the hallowed remains. It was found that skulls and bones had been exhumed and buried elsewhere in the churchyard. Secrecy had manifestly been observed in the work, for it was found that the excavations had been commenced three days before the inhabitants discovered the fact. A meeting of the Town Council was summoned, at which the matter formed the subject of debate, and one of the members, who is also a churchwarden, declared that neither himself nor his colleagues were aware of what was going on till the excavations had been made. It appears that the work had been done by the direction of the vicar with a view to some alterations and restorations of the church. The incident suggests a torrible possibility, and it will be somewhat difficult to allay the fears of the lovers of the great bard, who cannot help being afraid le«t some unhallowed hands should.rifle the grave of the illustrious dead, and convert all that is left of the poet into a marketable commodity, disposing of the bones to the relio hunters who too often act on the principle of " no questions asked" when a really " good thing" is to be had.
The postal name of Otepopo has been altered to Herbert.
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WT18810423.2.11
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Waikato Times, Volume XVI, Issue 1374, 23 April 1881, Page 2
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340AN ALARM ABOUT SHAKESPHARE'S REMAINS. Waikato Times, Volume XVI, Issue 1374, 23 April 1881, Page 2
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