CHAPTER XIII.
THE GRANDEST SCENE IN HISTORY.
[Illustration] Though Scrymgeour only painted in watercolors, I think--I never looked at his pictures--he had one superb idea, which we often advised him to carry out.

When he first mentioned it the room became comparatively animated, so much struck were we all, and we entreated him to retire to Stratford for a few months, before beginning the picture.

His idea was to paint Shakespeare smoking his first pipe of the Arcadia Mixture.
Many hundreds of volumes have been written about the glories of the Elizabethan age, the sublime period in our history.

Then were Englishmen on fire to do immortal deeds.

High aims and noble ambitions became their birthright.