Chapter XIV…

Chapter XIV

THE BIOGRAPHY OF SHAKSPEARE CONTINUED TO THE CLOSE OF HIS RESIDENCE IN LONDON.

Various particulars relative to the personal history of Shakspeare, in addition to those which terminated his biography in the country, having been detailed in the chapters that record his commencement as an actor[581:A], the composition of his poems[581:B], and his first efforts as a dramatic writer[581:C], we have now to collect the few circumstances of his life which time has spared to us, during the most active season of its duration, resuming our narrative at a period when the capital was under considerable alarm from the prevalence of the plague, and from the numerous conspiracies which were entered into against the life of the Queen. Shakspeare had been exposed, during the year of his birth, to great risk from the plague at Stratford, and its recurrence in 1593 seems to have made so deep an impression upon him, that he has alluded to it in more than one of his plays; particularly in his Romeo and Juliet written in this very year, where he mentions the practice of sealing up the doors of houses, in which "the infectious pestilence did reign."[581:D] It is probable that the effect on his mind might have been rendered more powerful, by the recollected narrative of those who had tended his infancy, and who, no doubt, had often told him of the danger which threatened the dawn of his existence.

We have found that, on his arrival in London, his first employment was that of an actor, a profession which, we certainly know, he continued to exercise for, at least, seventeen years. That he was by no means partial, however, to this occupation, nay that he bitterly regretted the necessity which compelled him to have recourse to it, as a mode of procuring subsistence, may be fairly deduced from the language of his ninety-first sonnet:—

"O for my sake do you with fortune chide, The guilty goddess of my harmful deeds, That did not better for my life provide, Than publick means, which publick manners breeds. Thence comes it that my name receives a brand, And almost thence my nature is subdu'd To what it works in."

It appears strongly indeed, from the best of all evidence, that of his own words, that his early progress in life was thwarted by many obstacles, and accompanied by severe struggles, by poverty, contumely, and neglect. This he has emphatically told us, not only in one, but in several places, and in terms so expressive as to make us sympathize acutely with his sorrows. Yet we perceive him bearing up under his difficulties with a noble and independent spirit, and contrasting the world's oppression with the solace of private friendship. Thus, in that beautiful sonnet, the twenty-ninth, which has been noticed in another place, the transition from despair to hope is finely painted:—

"When in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes, I all alone beweep my out-cast state, And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries, And look upon myself and curse my fate, Wishing me like to one more rich in hope, Featur'd like him, like him with friends possess'd, Desiring this man's art, and that man's scope.— Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising, Haply I think on thee,—and then my state (Like to the lark at break of day arising From sullen earth) sings hymns at heaven's gate:"

and again, in sonnet the thirty-seventh,—

"As a decrepit father takes delight To see his active child do deeds of youth, So, I made lame by fortune's dearest spite Take all my comfort of thy worth and truth;— So then I am not lame, poor, nor despis'd, Whilst that this shadow doth such substance give, That I in thy abundance am suffic'd, And by a part of all thy glory live."

That, by the salutary though severe lessons of adversity, he had learnt to conquer his misfortunes, and to despise the shafts of vulgar scandal, will be evident from the two subsequent passages:—

"Then hate me when thou wilt; if ever, now; Now while the world is bent my deeds to cross, Join with the spite of fortune, make me bow, And do not drop in for an after-loss: Ah! do not, when my heart hath scap'd this sorrow, Come in the rearward of a conquer'd woe." Sonnet 90.

"Your love and pity doth the impression fill Which vulgar scandal stamp'd upon my brow; For what care I who calls me well or ill, So you o'er-green my bad, my good allow?— In so profound abysm I throw all care Of other's voices, that _my adders sense To critick and to flatterer stopped are_." Sonnet 112.

These complaints and consolations were, no doubt, written during the first ten years of his residence in London, while his reputation, as a poet, was yet assailable, and while the patronage of Lord Southampton was his only shield against the jealousy and traduction of illiberal competitors, whether off or on the stage. But the fame arising from his poems, and from the dramas of Romeo and Juliet, and King Richard the Third, had, in 1596, most assuredly secured him from any apprehensions of permanent injury; more especially as, soon after this period, the encouragement and support of William, Earl of Pembroke, and Philip, Earl of Montgomery, who, as the players tell us, in their dedication of the first folio, had prosecuted our poet's plays, and their author living, with so much favour[583:A], were added to the protecting influence of Southampton.

It was in this year, namely 1596, that Shakspeare's feelings as a father were put to a severe trial, by the loss of his only son Hamnet, who died in the month of August, at the age of twelve—a deprivation which, however sustained with fortitude, must have been long deplored.

He was now residing, it would appear from evidence referred to by Mr. Malone[584:A], near the Bear-Garden in Southwark, and in the following year (1597) purchased of William Underhill Esquire, one of the best houses in his native town of Stratford, which, having repaired and improved, he denominated New Place.[584:B] Whether this was the purchase in which he is said to have been so materially assisted by Lord Southampton, cannot positively be affirmed; but as he had not long emerged from his difficulties, it is highly probable that on this, as well as on subsequent occasions, he was indebted to the bounty of his patron.[585:A]

To the year 1598 has been commonly assigned the commencement of the intimacy between our author and Ben Jonson. This epoch rests upon the authority of Mr. Rowe, who informs us, that "Shakspeare's acquaintance with Ben Jonson began with a remarkable piece of humanity and good-nature. Mr. Jonson, who was at that time altogether unknown to the world, had offered one of his plays to the players to have it acted; and the persons into whose hands it was put, after having turned it carelessly and superciliously over, was just upon the point of returning it to him with an ill-natured answer, that it would be of no service to their company, when Shakspeare luckily cast his eye upon it, and found something so well in it, as to engage him first to read it through, and afterwards to recommend Mr. Jonson and his writings to the public."[586:A]

That this kind office was in perfect unison with the general character of Shakspeare, will readily be admitted, yet there is much reason to believe that the whole account is without foundation; for, as we have related, in the last chapter, Every Man in his Humour, which is supposed by all the editors and commentators to be the play alluded to by Rowe, was first performed at the Rose theatre; and "that Jonson was 'altogether unknown to the world,'" remarks Mr. Gifford, "is a palpable untruth. At this period," (1598) he continues, "Jonson was as well known as Shakspeare, and perhaps better. He was poor indeed, and very poor, and a mere retainer of the theatres; but he was intimately acquainted with Henslowe and Alleyn, and with all the performers at their houses. He was familiar with Drayton and Chapman, and Rowley, and Middleton, and Fletcher; he had been writing for three years, in conjunction with Marston, and Decker, and Chettle, and Porter, and Bird, and with most of the poets of the day: he was celebrated by Meres as one of the principal writers of tragedy; and he had long been rising in reputation as a scholar and a poet among the most distinguished characters of the age. At this moment he was employed on Every Man out of his Humour, which was acted in 1599, and, in the elegant dedication of that comedy to the 'Gentlemen of the Inns of Court,' he says, 'When I wrote this poem, I had friendship with divers in your Societies, who, as they were great names in learning, so were they no less examples of living. Of them and then, that I say no more, it was not despised.'—And yet, Jonson was, at this time, 'altogether unknown to the world!' and offered a virgin comedy (which had already been three years on the stage) to a player in the humble hope that it might be accepted."[586:B]

The presumption is, that our poet and Jonson were acquainted anterior to 1598, probably as early as 1595, and that the dramatic reputation of Ben was the chief motive which induced the company at the Black Friars to procure the alterations in, and to secure the property of, Every Man in his Humour. Such even is the opinion of Mr. Malone himself, when he has once forgotten the preposterous charge of ingratitude, on the part of Jonson, for this imaginary introduction to the stage by Shakspeare; for in a note, on an entry of Mr. Henslowe's, which runs thus:—"11 of Maye 1597, at the comedy of umers (humours) 11," that is, acted eleven times since November, 1596, he observes,—"Perhaps Ben Jonson's Every Man in his Humour." It will appear hereafter, that he had money dealings with Mr. Henslowe, the manager of this theatre, and that he wrote for him. The play might have been afterwards purchased from this company by the Lord Chamberlain's Servants (that is, by Shakspeare, Burbage, Heminge, &c.) by whom it was acted in 1598[587:A]; an inconsistency which has been keenly and justly animadverted upon by Mr. Gifford.[587:B]

Two domestic circumstances mark the next year of our author's life; for in 1599, his father obtained from the Heralds' Office a confirmation of his Coat of Arms, and his sister Joan married Mr. William Hart, a hatter in Stratford, occurrences which, in the great dearth of events unfortunately incident to our subject, are of some importance.

If an inference, however, made by Sir John Sinclair, could be considered as legitimately drawn, this year might be esteemed one of the most important in the poet's life; for, in the twentieth volume of his Statistical Account of Scotland, when speaking of the local traditions respecting Macbeth's castle at Dunsinnan, he infers, from their coincidence with the drama, that Shakspeare, "in his capacity of actor, travelled to Scotland in 1599, and collected on the spot materials for the exercise of his imagination." "Every attempt," remarks Mr. Stoddart, who has introduced this anecdote into his interesting Tour, "to illustrate the slightest circumstance, concerning such a mind, deserves our gratitude; but in this instance, conjecture seems to have gone its full length, if not to have overstepped the modesty of nature. The probability of Shakspeare's ever having been in Scotland, is very remote. It should seem, by his uniformly accenting the name of this spot Dunsináne, that he could not possibly have taken it from the mouths of the country-people, who as uniformly accent it Dunsínnan. Every one knows, with what ease local tradition is so modified, as to suit public history; and it is probable, that what Sir John heard in 1772, was a superstructure raised upon the drama itself. Amid the blaze of Shakspeare's genius, small praise is lost; but it is, perhaps, more honourable to his intellectual energies to suppose, that so much minute information was collected from books, or from conversation, than from an actual acquaintance with the place."[588:A]

Though we by no means contend for the validity of the inference, yet we must observe, that one of the principal objections of Mr. Stoddart is unfounded; for Shakspeare certainly was familiar with both modes of pronunciation, and has given us a specimen of the popular accent in the following well-known passage:—

"Macbeth shall never vanquish'd be, until Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill Shall come against him."

Neither do we think, that his genius would have suffered any deterioration, nor his drama any loss of interest, had he actually painted from local observation.[588:B]

If we be correct in attributing Much Ado about Nothing to the year 1599, it is here that some notice should be taken of an anecdote recorded by Aubrey, who, meaning to allude to the character of Dogberry in this play, though by mistake he refers to the Midsummer-Night's Dream, says, that "the humour of the constable he (Shakspeare) happened to take at Grendon, in Bucks, which is the roade from London to Stratford, and there was living that constable about 1642, when I first came to Oxon. Mr. Jos. Howe is of that parish, and knew him. Ben Jonson and he did gather humours of men dayly, wherever they came."[589:A]

That Shakspeare was accustomed to visit Stratford annually, has been already noticed[589:B]; and we learn from Antony Wood, that in performing these journeys, he used to bait at the Crown-Inn, in Oxford, which was then kept by John Davenant, the father of the poet. Antony represents Mrs. Davenant as both beautiful and accomplished, and her husband as a lover of plays, and a great admirer of Shakspeare.[589:C] The frequent visits of the bard, and the charms of his landlady, appear to have given birth to some scandalous surmises; for Oldys, repeating Wood's story, adds, on the authority of Betterton and Pope, that "their son, young Will. Davenant, (afterwards Sir William,) was then a little school-boy in the town, of about seven or eight years old, and so fond also of Shakspeare, that whenever he heard of his arrival, he would fly from school to see him. One day, an old townsman observing the boy running homeward almost out of breath, asked him whither he was posting in that heat and hurry. He answered, to see his god-father Shakspeare. There's a good boy, said the other, but have a care that you don't take God's name in vain."[589:D] It has also been said, that Sir William had the weakness to feel gratified by the publicity of the supposition.[589:E]

It is very probable that, in 1600, Shakspeare might so time his annual visit to Stratford, as to be present at the christening of his nephew, William Hart, his sister's eldest son; who, according to the Register, was baptized on the 28th of the August of this year, and who, together with his two brothers, Thomas and Michael, is remembered in the poet's will, by a legacy of five pounds.

The subsequent year exhibits our bard in great favour at court. The Queen had been delighted with the Two Parts of Henry the Fourth, and honoured their author with a command to bring forward Falstaff in another play. Tradition says, this was executed in a fortnight, and afforded Her Majesty the most entire satisfaction. The approbation and encouragement, indeed, of the two sovereigns under whose reigns he flourished, was a subject of contemporary notoriety; for Jonson, in his celebrated eulogy, thus apostrophises his departed friend:—

"Sweet swan of Avon, what a sight it were, To see thee in our waters yet appear: And make those flights upon the banks of Thames, That so did take Eliza, and our James."

That Elizabeth "gave him many gracious marks of her favour," has been mentioned by Rowe as a matter of no doubt; and he elsewhere observes, that "what grace soever the Queen conferred upon him, it was not to her only he owed the fortune which the reputation of his wit made[590:A];" an observation which ushers in the acknowledgment of Southampton's well-known generosity.

The pleasure arising from this tide of success must have been, in no slight degree, damped by the sorrow which a son so truly great and good, must have felt on the loss of his father. This worthy man, of whom, in the opening of our work, some account will be found, expired on the 8th of September, 1601, leaving a name immortalised by the celebrity of his offspring.

In 1602, no other trace of our author is discoverable, independent of his literary exertions, than that, on the 1st day of May, he purchased, in the town and parish of Stratford, one hundred and seven acres of land, for the sum of 320_l._, which lands appear to have been indissolubly connected with his former purchase of New Place, and to have descended with it, until the extinction of the latter by Mr. Gastrell.[591:A]

The year following, however, brought an accession of dignity and power; for no sooner had James gotten possession of the English throne, than he granted a Licence to the Company at the Globe, which bears date the 19th of May, 1603, and being entitled "Pro Laurentio Fletcher et Willielmo Shakespeare et aliis," gives us reason to conclude, that the persons thus distinguished were, if not joint managers, at least leaders in the concern.[591:B]

It was about this period also that Shakspeare may, upon good grounds, be supposed to have taken his farewel of the stage as an actor; relinquishing this profession of which he appears not to have been very fond, for the purpose of more closely superintending the general concerns of the theatre, of which his writings continued to be the chief support. One strong motive for this deduction has arisen from the circumstance, that his name, as a performer, is no where visible beyond the era of Jonson's Sejanus, in which play, first acted in 1603, it is found in the list of the principal comedians, while in The Fox, published only two years afterwards, performed at the same theatre, and by the same company, he is not mentioned, though the list of players is, as usual, inserted. That the term fellow, which continued to be mutually used by Shakspeare and the comedians of the Globe, cannot indicate a contrary conclusion, is evident from the language of the poet himself, who, in his will, though written three years after all connection, on his part, with the theatre had been given up, still speaks of Hemynge, Burbage, and Condell as his fellows.

To nearly the same epoch we may attribute the friendly association of Shakspeare and Jonson in the celebrated club at the Mermaid, a form of society to which, from its ease and independency, Englishmen have always been peculiarly partial. The institution in question originated with Sir Walter Raleigh, and, as Mr. Gifford has well observed, speaking of Jonson's resort to it about the year 1603, "combined more talent and genius, perhaps, than ever met together before or since;—here," he adds, "for many years, he (Jonson) regularly repaired with Shakspeare, Beaumont, Fletcher, Selden, Cotton, Carew, Martin, Donne, and many others, whose names, even at this distant period, call up a mingled feeling of reverence and respect. Here, in the full flow and confidence of friendship, the lively and interesting 'wit-combats' took place between Shakspeare and our author; and hither, in probable allusion to them, Beaumont fondly lets his thoughts wander, in his letter to Jonson, from the country:—

——————— "What things have we seen, Done at the MERMAID! heard words that have been So nimble, and so full of subtle flame, As if that every one from whom they came, Had meant to put his whole wit in a jest, &c."[592:A]

For the expression "wit-combats," in this interesting passage, we must refer to Fuller, who, describing the character of the bard of Avon, says: "Many were the wit-combates between Shakspeare and Ben Jonson. I behold them like a Spanish great galleon, and an English man of war. Master Jonson, like the former, was built far higher in learning, solid but slow in his performances, Shakspeare, like the latter, lesser in bulk, but lighter in sailing, could turn with all tides, tack about, and take advantage of all winds by the quickness of his wit and invention."[592:B]

With what delight should we have hung over any well authenticated instances of these "wit-combats!" but, unfortunately, nothing, upon which we can depend, has descended to us. How much is it to be regretted that Fuller, who, no doubt, from the manner in which he has mentioned the subject, had many of these lively sallies fresh in his recollection, has not been more communicative! What tradition, however, or rather, perhaps, what fabrication, has left us, of this kind, will be found in the notes.[593:A]

It would appear that Shakspeare was now rapidly accumulating property; he had purchased, we have seen, New Place in 1597, a hundred and seven acres of land in 1602, and in 1605 he became the purchaser of the lease of the moiety of the great and small tithes of Stratford, for the sum of 440_l._[594:A], a pretty strong proof of the success which had accompanied the exercise of his talents, both as an actor and a poet, and a complete one of his having overcome the difficulties which, for some years after his arrival in London, had so oppressively encumbered his efforts.

We may add, that he was gratified this year by the affectionate remembrance of his former associate Augustine Phillips, who, in his Will, proved on the 13th of May, 1605, gives and bequeaths to his "Fellowe Wīllm Shakespeare a thirty shillings piece in gould."[594:B]

It was the fashion at this period among the poets, to compliment a monarch, who was peculiarly open to flattery, especially on the subject of his genealogy, and on the union of the three kingdoms in his own person; a species of panegyric in which our author had been preceded by Daniel, Drayton, and Ben Jonson, and even by such grave characters as Dugdale and Wake.[595:A] It was natural, therefore, for Shakspeare, who had been under some obligation to James, to express his sense of it in a similar way, and he has accordingly, through the medium of his Macbeth, which we conceive to have been performed in 1606, represented James as descended from Banquo, a character which, for this purpose, he has drawn, contrary to his historical authorities, noble and blameless. James, as Dr. Farmer[595:B] thinks, was so delighted with the line which painted him as carrying "two-fold balls and treble sceptres," that it was on this occasion he was induced to acknowledge the compliment by a letter to the bard from his own hand; an anecdote which seems entitled to full credit, as it originated, Oldys tells us, with Sheffield, Duke of Buckingham, who had it immediately from Sir William D'Avenant, in whose hands the letter long remained.[595:C]

This year has been also rendered memorable in the biography of our poet by the publication of a drama called "The Return from Parnassus," which had been acted by the students of St. John's College, Cambridge, as early as 1602. To a passage in this very curious production is to be ascribed all the idle tales which have been circulated with so much industry and avidity relative to a supposed quarrel between our author and Ben Jonson, in doing which, though the principal object has been to substantiate a charge of envy and malignancy against the latter, the mode in which the attempt is executed has been such as would, were the premises true, reflect no credit on the former. But the whole is a tissue of the most groundless and indefensible scandal, and we stand aghast at the motives which could induce such persevering hostility against the very man who, more than all others, had been the steady and professed eulogist of the poet whom these commentators sally forth to protect.

The passage, however, as equally applicable and important to both these great men, it will be necessary to transcribe. Burbage and Kempe, Shakspeare's fellow-comedians, are introduced conversing about the histrionic powers of the students of Cambridge, the latter ridiculing and the former defending their attempts, by observing, "that a little teaching will mend their faults; and it may be, besides, they will be able to pen a part;" to which Kempe, who seems here an object of irony, replies,—

"Few of the university pen plays well; they smell too much of that writer Ovid, and that writer Metamorphosis, and talk too much of Proserpina and Juppiter. Why here's our fellow Shakspeare put them (the University poets) all down, ay, and Ben Jonson too. O that Ben Jonson is a pestilent fellow; he brought up Horace, giving the poets a pill, but our fellow Shakspeare has given him a purge that made him bewray his credit."[596:A]

"When an object is placed too near to the eye," observes Mr. Gilchrist, commenting on this quotation, "the vision is strained and impaired, and the object obscured or distorted: if the commentators had viewed this passage 'as others use,' they would have found in the numerous dramas published anterior to the above passage, the instruments by which he put Ben down; and, in their various excellence, the means by which he threw the claims of his competitor into the shade. The passage has no reference to personal animosity; it was a just testimony to the superior merit of 'the poet of nature,' over the writings of more 'learned candidates for fame;' and the well-merited compliment is very appropriately put into the mouth of Will Kempe, one of Shakspeare's fellows."[596:B]

It is remarkable, that with the exception of Rowe, who, however, soon retracted the accusation, none of the editors of, and commentators on, Shakspeare had, previous to Steevens, attempted to prove Jonson the libeller of his friend. It remained therefore for his commentators of the last half century to undertake the noble task of heaping a thousand groundless calumnies on the defenceless head of Shakspeare's dearest friend, on him whom he most admired, and by whom he was best beloved! The iteration of these charges, under every form and shape, and connected with a commentary rendered popular by the text to which it was appended, had totally poisoned the public mind, when Mr. Gilchrist, and, still more amply, Mr. Gifford, by hunting these gentlemen through all their windings and doublings, through all the channels to which they had recourse for defamation, have produced a refutation of their charges, and a detection of their practices, more complete, perhaps, than any other instance of the kind on literary record.[597:A]

Truly delightful must it be to every lover of Shakspeare and of human nature, to find that the affectionate confidence of our bard was not thrown away, was not placed on a man worthless and insensible of the gift, but was returned by honest Ben, however occasionally rough in his manner and temper, with an attachment amounting to enthusiasm, with a steadiness which neither years nor infirmities could shake.[598:A]

On the last day of the year 1607, our poet buried at the church of St. Saviour's, Southwark, his brother Edmond, who, with singular precision, is entered in the register of that parish as "Edmond Shakspeare, a player," so that, as Mr. Chalmers has observed, "there were two Shakspeares on the stage during the same period."[598:B]

He had likewise married, on the fifth of June of this year, his favourite daughter Susanna, to Dr. John Hall, a physician of considerable skill and reputation in his profession, which he exercised at Stratford, residing during his father-in-law's life-time in the old town, but, on his death, removing to New Place, which, with the chief part of his property, had been left by the poet to Mrs. Hall. Susanna was, on her nuptials with Dr. Hall, twenty-five years of age, and there can be little doubt but that her father was present at the celebration of an event so materially affecting the happiness of his child.[599:A]

It is highly probable, that, independent of his regular annual visit, family-occurrences frequently drew Shakspeare from London to the purer atmosphere of his native fields; for, in the year succeeding the marriage of his daughter, two events of this kind took place, of which one required his personal attendance. On the 21st of February, 1608, his grandaughter Elizabeth, daughter of Dr. Hall, was baptized[599:B]; and, on the 16th of the October following, he stood godfather for William Walker, the son of Henry Walker of Stratford, remembering the child in his will, with twenty shillings in gold, under the title of his "godson William Walker."[599:C]

The year 1609 is sufficiently commemorated by the general opinion, that, at this period, Shakspeare planted the Mulberry Tree, whose premature fate has been recorded in a preceding note.

"That Shakspeare planted this tree," observes Mr. Malone, "is as well authenticated as any thing of that nature can be. The Rev. Mr. Davenport informs me, that Mr. Hugh Taylor, (the father of his clerk,) who is now eighty-five years old, and an alderman of Warwick, where he at present resides, says, he lived, when a boy, at the next house to New Place; that his family had inhabited the house for almost three hundred years; that it was transmitted from father to son during the last and the present century; that this tree (of the fruit of which he had often eaten in his younger days, some of its branches hanging over his father's garden,) was planted by Shakspeare; and that till this was planted, there was no mulberry-tree in that neighbourhood. Mr. Taylor adds, that he was frequently, when a boy, at New Place, and that this tradition was preserved in the Clopton family, as well as in his own."[600:A]

That it was planted in the year above-mentioned, seems established by the facts, that, previous to the epoch in question, mulberry-trees, though not absolutely unknown in this country, were extremely scarce; and that, in 1609, King James, with a view to the encouragement of the silk manufacture, imported many hundred thousand of these trees from France, dispersing them all over England, accompanied by circular letters, written to induce the inhabitants to cultivate so useful, and at the same time so ornamental a production of the vegetable world.

It may safely be inferred, therefore, that our poet, on his visit this year to Stratford, had, in deference to the recommendation of his sovereign, as well as from his own taste and inclination, embellished his garden with this elegant tree.

With the exception of a Writ, issued out of the Stratford Court of Record, in June, 1610, for a small debt due to our author, scarcely a vestige of his existence, apart from his works, can be found for the next three years. This writ, and another issued the preceding year for a similar purpose, have the subjoined signature of Greene, being that of Thomas Greene, Esq., a cousin of the poet's; who, though resident in Stratford, and clerk to its corporation, had at the same time chambers in the Middle Temple, and was a barrister in Chancery. He is entitled to this notice, as being not only the relation, but the intimate friend of Shakspeare.[600:B]

We now approach the last year of Shakspeare's abode in London, which, there is every reason to suppose, continued to be in that part of it where we found him in 1596; where he assuredly was, according to Malone, in 1608, and where he no doubt remained, until, as a resident, he quitted the capital for ever.[601:A] Before he took this step, however, he became the purchaser of a tenement in Blackfriars, for which, according to a deed still extant[601:B], he agreed to give one Henry Walker the sum of 140_l._, of which he paid 80_l._ down, and mortgaged the premises for the remainder. The property acquired by this transaction, which took place on the 10th of March, 1613, is in his will bequeathed to his daughter Susanna, and being there described as "that messuage or tenement, with the appurtenances, wherein one John Robinson dwelleth, situate, lying, and being, in the Blackfriars in London, near the Wardrobe," was probably let to this tenant soon after the purchase.

Among the arrangements which such a change of situation would almost necessarily require, it is reasonable to imagine, that his property in the Globe theatre would not be forgotten; but as this is neither mentioned in his will, nor he himself once noticed in the transactions of the theatre for 1613, we are entitled to infer, that he disposed of his interest in the concern previous to his leaving London.

That this event took place before the close of 1613, in all probability during the summer of the year, not only this circumstance relative to the theatre, and the general tradition, that a few years anterior to his death, he had left the metropolis for "ease, retirement, and the conversation of his friends" at Stratford, but two other circumstances of importance, will lead us to conclude. For, in the first place, it has been calculated that, at this period, his income from real and personal property was such, as to enable him to live handsomely in the country, independent of any profit from the stage[601:C]; and secondly, we have found sufficient data for believing, that his literary career was terminated by the production of The Twelfth Night, and that this play was written in 1613.

These considerations, when united, impress us with a perfect conviction, that when Shakspeare bade adieu to London, he left it predetermined to devote the residue of his days exclusively to the cultivation of social and domestic happiness in the shades of retirement.

FOOTNOTES:

[581:A] Vide Part II. Chap. 1.

[581:B] Part II. Chaps. 2. & 5.

[581:C] Part II. Chap. 9.

[581:D] Act v. sc. 2. Vide Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xx. p. 236. See also The Two Gentlemen of Verona, act ii. sc. 1.

[583:A] Vide Reed's Shakspeare, vol. i. p. 164.; and Chalmers's Apology, p. 599.

[584:A] See his "Inquiry," p. 215.

[584:B] Of this mansion, which Dugdale informs us was originally built by Sir Hugh Clopton in the time of Henry the Seventh, and was then "a fair-house, built of brick and timber," and continued in the Clopton family until 1563, when it was purchased by William Bott, and resold in 1570 to William Underhill, Esq., Mr. Wheler has given us the following account, subsequent to the decease of our poet:—"On Shakspeare's death, it came to his daughter Mrs. Hall, for her life; and then to her only child Elizabeth, afterwards Lady Barnard; after whose death New Place was sold, in 1675, to Sir Edward Walker, Knt. Garter, King at Arms, who died the 20th of February, 1676-7; and under his Will, dated the 29th of June, 1676, it came to his only child, Barbara, the wife of Sir John Clopton, Knt. of Clopton, in this parish. Their younger son, Sir Hugh Clopton, Knt. a barrister at law, and one of the heralds at arms, afterwards became possessed of New Place, which he modernised by internal and external alterations; and in 1742, entertained Macklin, Garrick, and Dr. Delany, under Shakspeare's mulberry tree. By Sir Hugh's son-in-law and executor, Henry Talbot, Esq. brother to the Lord Chancellor Talbot, it was sold to the Rev. Francis Gastrell, vicar of Frodsham in Cheshire; who, if we may judge by his actions, felt no sort of pride or pleasure in this charming retirement, no consciousness of his being possessed of the sacred ground which the muses had consecrated to the memory of their favourite poet. The celebrated mulberry-tree planted by Shakspeare's hand became first an object of his dislike, because it subjected him to answer the frequent importunities of travellers, whose zeal might prompt them to visit it, and to hope that they might meet inspiration under its shade. In an evil hour, the sacrilegious priest ordered the tree, then remarkably large, and at its full growth, to be cut down; which was no sooner done, than it was cleft to pieces for fire-wood: this took place in 1756, to the great regret and vexation, not only of the inhabitants, but of every admirer of our bard. The greater part of it was, however, soon after purchased by Mr. Thomas Sharp, watch-maker, of Stratford; who, well acquainted with the value set upon it by the world, turned it much to his advantage, by converting every fragment into small boxes, goblets, tooth-pick cases, tobacco-stoppers, and numerous other articles. Nor did New Place long escape the destructive hand of Mr. Gastrell; who, being compelled to pay the monthly assessments towards the maintenance of the poor, (some of which he expected to avoid, because he resided part of the year at Lichfield, though his servants continued in the house at Stratford during his absence,) in the heat of his anger declared, that house should never be assessed again; and to give his imprecation due effect, and wishing, as it seems, to be "damned to everlasting fame," the demolition of New Place soon followed; for, in 1759, he rased the building to the ground, disposed of the materials, and left Stratford amidst the rage and curses of its inhabitants. Thus was the town deprived of one of its principal ornaments, and most valued relics, by a man, who, had he been possessed of a true sense, and a veneration for the memory of our bard, would have rather preserved whatever particularly concerned their great and immortal owner, than ignorantly have trodden the ground which had been cultivated by the greatest genius in the world, without feeling those emotions which naturally arise in the breast of the generous enthusiast.

"The site of New Place was afterwards added to the adjoining garden, by its illiberal proprietor; under whose Will, made on the 2d of October, 1768, it came to his widow, Mrs. Jane Gastrell; who, in 1775, sold it to William Hunt, Esq. late of this town; from whose family it was purchased by Messrs. Battersbee and Morris, bankers, of Stratford."—Wheler's History of Stratford, p. 135.; and Guide to Stratford, pp. 45. 47.

[585:A] It is more probable that he was assisted on various occasions by His Lordship, than that the large sum, mentioned by tradition, was bestowed at once, and at a period, too, when it was less required.

[586:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. i. pp. 67, 68.

[586:B] Gifford's Jonson, vol. i. Memoirs, pp. xliii. xliv. xlv.—Shakspeare, whose name stands at the head of the principal performers in Every Man in his Humour, is supposed to have acted the part of Knowell.

[587:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iii. p. 365.

[587:B] Gifford's Jonson, vol. i. p. cclxxix.

[588:A] Remarks on Local Scenery and Manners in Scotland, 8vo. vol. ii. pp. 197, 198.

[588:B] It is a remarkable circumstance, however, that James is said, during this very year (1599), to have solicited Queen Elizabeth to send a company of English comedians to Edinburgh.—Vide Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iii. p. 51.

[589:A] Bodleian Letters, vol. iii. p. 307.

[589:B] Vide Part II. Chapter 1.

[589:C] Athenæ Oxon. vol. ii. p. 292. edit. 1692.

[589:D] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. i. p. 124.

[589:E] Ibid. vol. iii. p. 209.

[590:A] Vide Rowe's Life of Shakspeare, in Reed's Shakspeare, vol. i. pp. 65, 66.

[591:A] Wheler's Guide to Stratford upon Avon, p. 18.

[591:B] See this Licence given at length in our History of the Stage, Part II. Chapter 7.

[592:A] Gifford's Jonson, vol. i. Memoirs, pp. lxv. lxvi.

[592:B] Worthies, folio edition, part iii. p. 126.

[593:A] Were the repartees, however, of which time has deprived us, no better than those that we have now to communicate, it must be confessed, that the two bards have no great reason to complain of the loss. "Shakspeare," relates Capell, "was god-father to one of Ben Jonson's children, and after the christening, being in deep study, Jonson came to cheer him up; and asked him why he was so melancholy? No faith, Ben, says he, not I; but I have been considering a great while what should be the fittest gift for me to bestow upon my god-child, and I have resolved at last. I prithee what, says he? I'faith, Ben, I'll e'en give her a dozen good Latin (latten) spoons, and thou shalt translate them."—Notes on Shakspeare, vol. i. p. 94.

The second of these morceaux is, if possible, still worse than the preceding: "Mr. Ben Jonson and Mr. William Shakspeare being merrie at a tavern, Mr. Jonson begins this for his epitaph,

"Here lies Ben Jonson Who was once one—

he gives it to Mr. Shakspeare to make up, who presently writte,

"That, while he liv'd was a slow thing, And now, being dead, is no-thing."

"This stuff," adds Mr. Gifford, "is copied from the Ashmole MS. 38."—Gifford's Ben Jonson, vol. i. Memoirs, p. lxxx. note.

The next may be said to be rather of a "better leer."

"Verses by Ben Jonson and Shakspeare, occasioned by the motto to the Globe Theatre—Totus mundus agit histrionem.

JONSON.

"If, but stage actors, all the world displays, Where shall we find spectators of their plays?"

SHAKSPEARE.

"Little, or much, of what we see, we do; We are all both actors and spectators too."

"Poetical Characteristicks, 8vo. MS. vol. i., some time in the Harleian Library; which volume was returned to its owner."—Vide Reed's Shakspeare, vol. i. p. 130.

"That Shakspeare and Ben Jonson were intimate," observes Dr. Berkenhout, "appears from the following letter, written by G. Peel, a dramatic poet, to his friend Marle:—

'Friend Marle,

'I never longed for thy company more than last night, we were all very merrye at the Globe, when Ned Alleyn did not scruple to affyrme pleasantely to thy friend Will, that he had stolen his speeche about the qualityes of an actor's excellencye, in Hamlet hys tragedye, from conversations manyfold whych had passed between them, and opinyons given by Alleyn touchinge the subject. Shakespeare did not take this talke in good sorte; but Jonson put an end to the strife, wittylie remarking, This affaire needeth no contentione; you stole it from Ned, no doubt; do not marvel: have you not seen him act tymes out of number? G. PEEL.'

"Whence I copied this letter, I do not recollect; but I remember that at the time of transcribing it, I had no doubt of its authenticity."—Biographia Literaria, pp. 399, 400. 4to. 1777.

I believe the first appearance of this letter was in the Annual Register for 1770, whence it was copied into the Biographia Britannica, and in both these works it commences in the following manner: "I must desyre that my syster hyr watche, and the cookerie book you promysed, may be sente bye the man.—I never longed, &c." Of the four, this is the only anecdote worth preserving; but I apprehend it to be a mere forgery.

[594:A] Wheler's Guide to Stratford, p. 18.

[594:B] See his Will, in Chalmers's Apology, p. 433.

[595:A] Wake, in his "Rex Platonicus, sive de potentiis, principis Jacobi regis ad Acad. Oxon. adventu, anno 1605," speaking of the prophecy of the Weird Sisters, says, Vaticinii veritatem rerum eventus comprobavit; Banquonis enim e stirpe potentissimus Jacobus oriundus.

[595:B] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. x. p. 300.

[595:C] Ibid. vol. i. p. 130.

[596:A] Ancient British Drama, vol. i. p. 64. Act iv. sc. 3.

[596:B] Gilchrist's Examination, pp. 15, 16.

[597:A] One of these refutations, as including a complete detection of the fallacious grounds on which a well-known anecdote relative to Shakspeare and Jonson has been founded, it will be useful as well as entertaining to transcribe.

"Hales of Eaton," observes Mr. Gifford, "was reported to have said (though the matter was not much in Hales of Eaton's way), 'that there was no subject of which any person ever writ, but he would produce it much better done by Shakspeare,' p. 16.—Shakspeare, vol. i. edit. 1593. This is told by Dryden, 1667. The next version is by Tate, 1680. 'Our learned Hales was wont to assert, that since the time of Orpheus no common place has been touched upon, where Shakspeare has not performed as well.' Next comes the illustrious Gildon (of Dunciad memory), and he models the story thus, from Dryden, as he says, with a salvo for the accuracy of his recollection! 'Mr. Hales of Eaton affirmed, that he would shew all the poets of antiquity outdone by Shakspeare.—The enemies of Shakspeare would by no means yield to this; so that it came to a trial of skill. The place agreed on for the dispute was Mr. Hales's chamber at Eton. A great many books were sent down by the enemies of this poet, and on the appointed day my lord Falkland, sir John Suckling, and all the persons of quality that had wit and learning, met there, and upon a thorough disquisition of the point, the judges chosen out of this assembly unanimously gave the preference to Shakspeare, and the Greek and Roman poets were adjudged to vail at least their glory in that to the English poet.' P. 17.

"The story now reached Rowe; and as it was discovered about this time, that the praise of Shakspeare was worth nothing unless coupled with the abuse of Jonson, it puts on this form. 'Mr. Hales, who had sate still some time, hearing Ben reproach Shakspeare with the want of learning, and ignorance of the antients, told him, at last,' &c. Thus it stood in the first edition: but Mr. Rowe was an honest man, and having found occasion to change his mind before the appearance of the second edition, he struck the passage out, and inserted in its stead,—'sir John Suckling, who was a professed admirer of Shakspeare, had undertaken, with some warmth, his defence against Ben Jonson, when Mr. Hales,' &c. &c.—

"Thus we have the Fable of the Three Black Crows! and thus a simple observation of Mr. Hales (which in all probability he never made), is dramatised, at length, into a scene of obloquy against our author! A tissue of mere dotage scarcely deserves unravelling; but it may be just observed, that when Jonson was seized with his last illness, (after which he certainly never went 'to Mr. Hales's chamber, at Eton,' or elsewhere), the two grave judges, Suckling and Falkland, who sat on the merits of all the Greek and Roman poets, and decided with such convincing effect, were, the first in the twelfth, and the second in the fifteenth year of their ages!—But the chief mistake lies with Dryden, whose memory was always subservient to the passion of the day; the words which he has put into the mouth of Mr. Hales being, in fact, the property of Jonson. Long before Suckling and Falkland were out of leading-strings, he had told the world, that Shakspeare surpassed not only all his contemporary poets, but even those of Greece and Rome:—and if Mr. Hales used these words, without giving the credit of them to Jonson, he was, to say the least of it, a bold plagiarist."—Vol. i. p. cclxii.

[598:A] "It is my fixed persuasion," says Mr. Gifford, "(not lightly adopted, but deduced from a wide examination of the subject,) that they (Jonson and Shakspeare) were friends and associates till the latter finally retired—that no feud, no jealousy ever disturbed their connection—that Shakspeare was pleased with Jonson, and that Jonson loved and admired Shakspeare."—Vol. i. p. ccli.

[598:B] This fact, relative to Edmond Shakspeare, has been mentioned before, at some length; but the chronological form of the present detail required its brief re-admission here.

[599:A] Vide Wheler's Guide, p. 27.

[599:B] Vide Stratford Register; Reed's Shakspeare, vol. i. p. 138.

[599:C] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. i. p. 158. and note.

[600:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. i. p. 77.

[600:B] Wheler's History of Stratford, p. 144.

[601:A] Malone's Inquiry, p. 216.

[601:B] Vide Reed's Shakspeare, vol. i. p. 150.

[601:C] Gildon says that Shakspeare left behind him an estate of 300_l._ per annum, equal to at least 1000_l._ per ann. at this day; but Mr. Malone doubts "whether all his property, real and personal, amounted to much more than 200_l._ per ann. which yet was a considerable fortune in those days." "If," he adds, "we rate the New Place with the appurtenances, and our poet's other houses in Stratford, at 60_l._ a year, and his house, &c. in the Blackfriars, (for which he paid 140_l._) at 20_l._ a year, we have a rent-roll of 150_l._ per ann. Of his personal property it is not now possible to form any accurate estimate; but if we rate it at 500_l._, money then bearing an interest of 10_l._ per cent. Shakspeare's total income was 200_l._ per ann."—Reed's Shakspeare, vol. i. pp. 73, 74.

Part III

SHAKSPEARE IN RETIREMENT.

Chapter I

ANECDOTES RELATIVE TO SHAKSPEARE, DURING HIS RETIREMENT AT STRATFORD.

Yes, high in reputation as a poet, favoured by the great and accomplished, and beloved by all who knew him, Shakspeare, after a long residence in the capital, to the rational pleasures of which he had contributed more than any other individual of his age, at length sought for leisure and repose on the banks of his native stream: perhaps wisely considering, that, as he had acquired a competency adequate to the gratifications of a well-regulated mind; life had other duties to perform, to the discharge of which, while health and vigour should remain, he was now called upon to dedicate a larger portion of his time.

The Genius of dramatic poetry may sigh over a determination thus early taken! but who shall blame what, from our knowledge of the man, we may justly conceive to have been his predominating motive, the hope that in the bosom of rural peace, aloof from the dissipations and seductions of the stage, he might the better prepare for that event which awaits us all, and which talents, such as his were, can only, from the magnitude of the trust, render more awfully responsible.

That he was greatly honoured and respected at Stratford, we are induced to credit, not only from tradition, but from the tone and disposition of heart and intellect which his works every-where evince; and accordingly, Rowe has told us, that "his pleasurable wit and good-nature engaged him in the acquaintance, and entitled him to the friendship of the gentlemen of the neighbourhood."[604:A]

He had scarcely, however, settled in the place, when his property, and that of all his neighbours, was threatened with utter extinction; for, on the 9th of July, 1614, a fire broke out in the town, which according to a brief shortly afterwards granted for its relief, "within the space of lesse than two houres consumed and burnt fifty and fowre Dwelling Howses, many of them being very faire Houses, besides Barnes, Stables, and other Howses of Office, together with great Store of Corne, Hay, Straw, Wood and Timber therein, amounting to the value of Eight Thowsand Pounds and upwards: the force of which fier was so great (the Wind sitting full upon the Towne) that it dispersed into so many places thereof, whereby the whole Towne was in very great danger to have beene utterly consumed."[604:B] Shakspeare's house fortunately escaped.

On the 10th of July, 1614, our poet was deprived of his neighbour and acquaintance Mr. John Combe, a character whose celebrity is altogether founded on the epitaph which Shakspeare is said to have written upon him. The story, however, as related by Rowe, is injurious to the memory of its supposed author, by representing him as wantonly inflicting pain at the moment when his friendship and forbearance were most required. "In a pleasant conversation amongst their common friends," relates Rowe, "Mr. Combe told Shakspeare, in a laughing manner, that he fancied he intended to write his epitaph, if he happened to out-live him; and since he could not know what might be said of him when he was dead, he desired it might be done immediately; upon which Shakspeare gave him these four verses:—

'Ten in the hundred lies here engrav'd; 'Tis a hundred to ten his soul is not sav'd: If any man ask, Who lies in this tomb? Oh! ho! quoth the Devil, 'tis my John-a-Combe.'

But the sharpness of the satire is said to have stung the man so severely, that he never forgave it."[605:A]

That Shakspeare, the gentle and unoffending Shakspeare as he is always represented, should have violated the hour of confidential gaiety by this sarcastic and condemnatory sally, is of itself sufficiently improbable; but we are happily released from weighing the inconsistencies accompanying such an anecdote, by the discovery of a prior and more authentic statement, which completely exonerates the bard, as it proves that the epitaph in question was written after the death of its object: "One time as he (Shakspeare) was at the taverne at Stratford," narrates Aubrey, "Mr. Combes, an old usurer, was to be buried; he makes then this extemporary epitaph upon him:—

'Ten in the hundred the devill allowes, But Combes will have twelve, he swears and he vowes; If any one aske, who lies in this tomb, Hoh! quoth the devill, 'tis my John-a-Combe.'"[605:B]

Mr. Combe, who, it appears, was buried two days after his [605:C]decease, was by no means a popular character, having amassed considerable wealth, through the medium of usury, a term then uniformly applied to the practice of all who took any interest or usance for money. The custom, though now honourable and familiar, was then deemed so odious, and even criminal, that to be a money-lender, on such a plan, was considered as an indelible reproach.

That Shakspeare, therefore, though intimate with the family, should, after the death of Mr. Combe, have uttered this impromptu (which the reader will observe is in Aubrey, without the condemnatory clause) as a censure on his well-known rapacity, may, without any charge of undue severity on his part, or even any breach of his customary suavity of temper, readily be granted.

It is certain that he continued on good terms with the relatives of the deceased, as in his Will he bequeaths to Mr. Thomas Combe, the nephew of the usurer, his sword, as a token of remembrance.

Nor is this the only epitaph which Shakspeare is said to have written; two others have been ascribed to him, one of which, as being given on the authority of Sir William Dugdale, "a testimony," observes Mr. Malone, "sufficient to ascertain its authenticity," and possessing besides strong internal marks of being genuine, requires admission into our text.

It is written in commemoration of Sir Thomas Stanley, Knight, who died some time after the year 1600, and is thus described by Sir William:—

"On the north side of the chancell (of Tongue church, in the county of Salop) stands a very stately tombe, supported with Corinthian columnes. It hath two figures of men in armour, thereon lying, the one below the arches and columnes, and the other above them, and this epitaph upon it:—

"'Thomas Stanley, Knight, second son of Edward Earle of Derby, Lord Stanley and Strange, descended from the famielie of the Stanleys, married Margaret Vernon of Nether-Hadden, in the county of Derby, Knight, by whom he had issue two sons, Henry and Edward. Henry died an infant; Edward survived, to whom those lordships descended; and married the lady Lucie Percie, second daughter of the Earle of Northumberland: by her he had issue seaven daughters. She and her foure daughters, Arabella, Marie, Alice, and Priscilla, are interred under a monument in the church of Waltham, in the county of Essex. Thomas her son, died in his infancy, and is buried in the parish church of Winwich in the county of Lancaster. The other three, Petronilla, Frances, and Venesia, are yet living.'

"These following verses were made by WILLIAM SHAKSPEARE, the late famous tragedian:—

"Written upon the east ende of this tombe.

'ASKE who lyes here, but do not weepe; He is not dead, he doth but sleepe. This stony register is for his bones, His fame is more perpetual than these stones: And his own goodness, with himself being gone, Shall live, when earthly monument is none.'

"Written upon the west ende thereof.

'NOT monumental stone preserves our fame, Nor skye-aspiring pyramids our name. The memory of him for whom this stands, Shall out-live marble, and defacer's hands. When all to time's consumption shall be given, Stanley, for whom this stands, shall stand in heaven.'"[607:A]

It has been well remarked by Mr. Malone, that the fifth and last lines of this epitaph "bear very strong marks of the hand of Shakspeare."

As every circumstance relative to our author is, however minute, possessed of interest, the following particulars and conversation concerning a negociation for the enclosure of some land near Stratford in 1614, and which were first communicated to the public by Mr. Wheler, shall be given in that gentleman's own words.

"About the year 1614," he relates, "there was an intention of inclosing Welcombe field, in this parish, where part of Shakspeare's landed property lay, which he had purchased in 1602 of William and John Combe, and over which field the tithes extended, of which he purchased a moiety in 1605. Shakspeare was therefore doubly interested in this inclosure; and from some memorandums or notes commenced in London, but concluded at Stratford, by Thomas Green, Esq. (the owner of part of the tithes, perhaps the other moiety,) a relation of Shakspeare's,—the following particulars of his conversation with Shakspeare are extracted.

"'Rec. 16. No. 1614, at 4 o'clock afr. noon, a Lre. from Mr. Bayly, and Mr. Alderman, (the Bailif and chief Alderman of Stratford-upon-Avon,) dated 12. No. 1614, touchyng the inclosure busynes.'

"'Jovis 17. No. (1614) My Cosen Shakspeare comyng yesterday to town, I went to see him how he did. He told me that they (the parties wishing to inclose) assured him they ment to inclose no further than to Gospel bush, and so upp straight (leaving out pt. of the Dyngles to the field,) to the gate in Clopton hedg and take in Salisbury's peece; and that they mean in Aprill to svey. the land and then to gyve satisfaccion and not before: and he and Mr. Hall, (Shakspeare's son-in-law, probably present) say they think yr. (there) will be nothyng done at all.'

"Mr. Green, (the common clerk to this corporation, who were adverse to the inclosure) returned to Stratford at the latter end of November, or beginning of December, 1614, and continued his notes until the 23d of December; upon which day it appears that letters were written by the corporation to Shakspeare and to Mr. Manwaring, (another proprietor, resident in London,) both of whom seem to have been desirous of inclosing. Mr. Green's memorandum, as far as it can be transcribed, being almost illegible and the paper somewhat damaged, is as follows:—

"'23. Dec. (1614.) a Hall. Lres. wrytten, one to Mr. Manyring—another to Mr. Shakspeare, with almost all the company's hands to eyther. I also wrytte myself to my Csn. (Cousin) Shakspear, the coppyes of all our . . . then also a note of the inconvenyences wold . by the inclosure.'

"From a copy of the corporations letter to 'Arthur Mannering, Esq.' (then residing at the Lord Chancellor's house, perhaps in some official capacity) as noticed by Green to have been written on the 23d of December, 1614, it appears that he was apprized of the injury to be expected from the intended inclosure; reminded of the damage that Stratford, then 'lying in the ashes of desolation,' had sustained from recent fires; and entreated to forbear the inclosure. The letter written to Shakspeare, the author has not been sufficiently fortunate to discover; but it was probably to the same effect. A petition was presented from the corporation to the Lords of the Privy Council, requesting their injunction to William Combe, Esq. of Stratford College, then High Sheriff of this County; who, being proprietor of considerable estates at Welcombe, was desirous of an inclosure. Nothing, however, was done, as Shakspeare had surmised; and the fields remained open until the year 1774."[609:A]

Early in 1616 our poet married his youngest daughter Judith to Mr. Thomas Quiney, a vintner in Stratford. The ceremony took place on February the 10th, 1616, the bridegroom being four years older than the bride, who had, however, completed her thirty-second year.

The daughters of Shakspeare appear to have been, like those of Milton, ignorant of the art of writing; Judith, at least, in attesting a deed still extant, being under the necessity of making her mark, which is accompanied by the explanatory appendage of "Signum Judeth Shakspeare."[610:A] The omission, however, is less extraordinary in the days of Shakspeare than in those of his great successor; the education of women, during the reigns of Elizabeth and James, being in general calculated, with a few splendid exceptions, principally in the upper classes of society, for the discharge of mere domestic duties; and when, to be able to read was considered as a very distinguishing accomplishment.

The fruit of this marriage was three sons, Shakspeare, Richard, and Thomas Quiney; the first dying in his infancy, the second in his twenty-first year, and the third in his twentieth year; so that, as Elizabeth, the daughter of Susanna, by Dr. Hall, had no issue by her two husbands, Thomas Nash, Esq. and Sir John Barnard, she proved the last lineal descendant of her grandfather.

It was very shortly after the marriage of Judith, that our author, being in perfect health and memory, deemed it necessary to make his Will; a document which appears to have been drawn up on the 25th of February, 1616, though not executed until the 25th of the following month.[610:B]

That the event, for which this was a proper preparatory act, should so rapidly have followed, could be little in the contemplation of one who had not reached his fifty-second year, and who, according to his own account, was in perfect health and memory. Yet we may venture to infer, from what tradition has left us of his life and character, that few were better prepared for the transition, that few could be found, over whom, when the event had occurred, with more justice might it be said,—

"After life's fitful fever, he sleeps well!"

FOOTNOTES:

[604:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. i. pp. 74-76.

[604:B] Wheler's History and Antiquities of Stratford, p. 15.

[605:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. i. pp. 78-80.

[605:B] Letters by Eminent Persons, &c. 1813, vol. iii. p. 307.

[605:C] On the 12th of July, 1614.—See Reed's Shakspeare, vol. i. p. 82.

[607:A] "Preserved," says Mr. Malone, "in a collection of Epitaphs, at the end of the Visitation of Salop, taken by Sir William Dugdale in the year 1664, now remaining in the College of Arms, chap. xxxv. fol. 20.; a transcript of which Sir Isaac Heard, Garter Principal King at Arms, has obligingly transmitted to me."—Reed's Shakspeare, vol. i. p. 90.

The other epitaph alluded to in the text, is from "a Manuscript volume of Poems by William Herrick and others, in the hand-writing of the time of Charles I., among Rawlinson's Collections in the Bodleian Library.

'AN EPITAPH.

'When God was pleas'd, the world unwilling yet, Elias James to nature pay'd his debt, And here reposeth: as he liv'd, he dyde; The saying in him strongly verifide,— Such life, such death: then, the known truth to tell, He liv'd a godly life, and dyde as well. WM. SHAKSPEARE.'"

It appears from Mr. Malone's researches, that the James's were a family living at Stratford both during and after our poet's time. Vide Reed's Shakspeare, vol. i. p. 90.

[609:A] Wheler's Guide to Stratford, pp. 22-25.

[610:A] Vide Wheler's Guide, p. 21.

[610:B] "February," says Mr. Malone, "was first written, and afterwards struck out, and March written over it."—Reed's Shakspeare, vol. i. p. 154.

Chapter II

THE DEATH OF SHAKSPEARE—OBSERVATIONS ON HIS WILL—ON THE DISPOSITION AND MORAL CHARACTER OF SHAKSPEARE—ON THE MONUMENT ERECTED TO HIS MEMORY, AND ON THE ENGRAVING OF HIM PREFIXED TO THE FIRST FOLIO EDITION OF HIS PLAYS—CONCLUSION.

The death of Shakspeare, of which the closing paragraph of the last chapter had afforded us an intimation, took place on Tuesday, the 23d of April, 1616, on his birth-day, and when he had exactly completed his fifty-second year. It is remarkable, that on the same day expired, in Spain, his great and amiable contemporary, Cervantes; the world being thus deprived, nearly at the same moment, of the two most original writers which modern Europe has produced.

That not the smallest account of the disease which terminated so valuable a life, should have been transmitted to posterity, is perhaps equally singular; and the more so, as our poet was, no doubt, attended by his son-in-law, Dr. Hall, who was then forty years of age; and who should have recollected, that the circumstances which led to the dissolution of such a man, had, whether professionally important or not, a claim to preservation and publicity. But the age was a most incurious one, as to the personal history of literary men; and Hall, who left for publication a manuscript collection of cases, selected from not less than a thousand diseases, has omitted the only one which could have secured to his work any permanent interest or value.[611:A]

On the second day after his decease, the remains of Shakspeare were committed to the grave; being buried on the 25th of April, on the north side of the chancel of the great church of Stratford.

Fortunately, some light has been thrown upon the domestic circumstances of the poet, by the preservation of his Will, yet extant in the Prerogative Court, and which, though often published, we have again introduced, as a necessary appendage to our work.

The most striking features in this document, are the apparent neglect of his wife, and the favouritism exhibited with regard to his eldest daughter. Mrs. Shakspeare, indeed, was so entirely forgotten in the original Will, that the only bequest which her husband makes her, of his "second best bed, with the furniture," is introduced by an interlineation.

This omission, and the trifling nature of the legacy, have given birth to some conjectures on the part of his biographers and commentators. Oldys, misapplying the language of one of his sonnets, has hinted, that the poet entertained some doubts as to the fidelity of his beautiful wife; an intimation which soon after occasioned a curious controversy between Messrs. Steevens and Malone; the latter impeaching, and the former defending the conjugal affection of their bard. "His wife had not wholly escaped his memory," observes Mr. Malone; "he had forgot her,—he had recollected her,—but so recollected her, as more strongly to mark how little he esteemed her; he had already (as it is vulgarly expressed,) cut her off, not indeed with a shilling, but with an old bed." "That our poet was jealous of this lady," remarks Mr. Steevens, "is an unwarrantable conjecture. Having, in times of health and prosperity, provided for her by settlement, (or knowing that her father had already done so,) he bequeathed to her at his death, not merely an old piece of furniture, but perhaps, as a mark of peculiar tenderness,

"The very bed that on his bridal night Received him to the arms of Belvidera."[612:A]

In fact, we do know that Shakspeare married for love, but we do not know of any the smallest intimation or hint, previous to the wild conjecture of Oldys, that coolness or estrangement had subsisted between the poet and his wife. We have every right, therefore, to conclude, that Mrs. Shakspeare had been previously and amply provided for, either by her husband, or by her father, whose circumstances are represented by Rowe, as having been "substantial." We may, at least, rest satisfied, as well from the known integrity of Shakspeare, as from the humanity of his disposition, that nothing harsh or unjust had been committed by him on this occasion. Indeed, had the case been otherwise, the love of mankind for propagating what tends to deteriorate superior characters, would, doubtless, have protected such a family-anecdote from oblivion.

Why the executorship was intrusted to Dr. Hall and his lady, may be readily conceived to have originated, independent of their being the persons principally concerned, in the knowledge of the poet that the former, who was a man of business, was much better calculated, than Mrs. Shakspeare could possibly be, for carrying the will into execution.

That superior qualities of the head and heart, more especially when united, are entitled, even under the parental roof, to marked distinction, who will deny? and that such were the blended qualities which rendered Susanna the favourite of her father may be certainly inferred from the circumstance that, while we hear nothing of Judith, but that she is supposed to have married contrary to her father's wishes, of Susanna we are told that she was "witty above her sex;" that she had "something of Shakspeare" in her, and, above all, that she was "wise to salvation," that she "wept with all that wept, yet set herself to chear them up with comforts." To a child thus great and good, we need not wonder that Shakspeare paid a delighted deference.[613:A]

It may be objected that, however superior the elder daughter might be in point of intellect and moral sensibility, if the younger had done nothing worse than marry without her father's approbation, no great difference should have been made between them in the distribution of his property. But we must recollect, that they moved in different circles, that whilst Susanna was united to a physician, who being in great practice, and intimate with the first families in the neighbourhood, was obliged to support an establishment of much expense, Judith was the wife of a vintner, a station comparatively inferior, and not necessarily requiring such an expenditure. Under these considerations we shall probably be induced to acquit the poet of any undue partiality, and to view the provisions of his Will as neither disproportioned to the stations nor inadequate to the necessities of the parties concerned.

To the disposition and moral character of Shakspeare, tradition has ever borne the most uniform and favourable testimony. And, indeed, had she been silent on the subject, his own works would have whispered to us the truth; would have told us, in almost every page, of the gentleness, the benevolence, and the goodness of his heart. For, though no one has exceeded him in painting the stronger passions of the human breast, it is evident that he delighted most in the expression of loveliness and simplicity, and was ever willing to descend from the loftiest soarings of imagination, to sport with innocence and beauty. Though "the world of spirits and of nature," says the admirable Schlegel, "had laid all their treasures at his feet: in strength a demi-god, in profundity of view a prophet, in all-seeing wisdom a protecting spirit of a higher order, he yet lowered himself to mortals as if unconscious of his superiority, and was as open and unassuming as a child."[614:A]

That a temper of this description, and combined with such talents, should be the object of sincere and ardent friendship, can excite no surprise. "I loved the man," says Jonson, with a noble burst of enthusiasm, "and do honour his memory on this side idolatry as much as any. He was, indeed, honest; and of an open and free nature;" and Rowe, repeating the uncontradicted rumour of times past, has told us,—"that every one, who had a true taste of merit, and could distinguish men, had generally a just value and esteem for him;" adding, "that his exceeding candour and good-nature must certainly have inclined all the gentler part of the world to love him."[615:A]

No greater proof, indeed, can be given of the felicity of his temper, and the sweetness of his manners, than that all who addressed him, seem to have uniformly connected his name with the epithets worthy, gentle, or beloved[615:B]; nor was he backward in returning this esteem, many of his sonnets indicating the warmth with which he cherished the remembrance of his friends. Thus the thirtieth opens with the following pensive retrospect:—

"When to the sessions of sweet silent thought I summon up remembrance of things past, I sigh—— For precious friends hid in death's dateless night;"

and in the thirty-first he tenderly exclaims,—

"How many a holy and obsequious tear Hath dear religious love stolen from mine eye, As interest of the dead!"

Another very fascinating feature in the character of Shakspeare, was the almost constant cheerfulness and serenity of his mind: he was "verie good company," says Aubrey, "and of a very ready, and pleasant, and smooth witt."[615:C] In this, as Mr. Godwin has justly observed, he bore a striking resemblance to Chaucer, who was remarkable for the placidity and cheerfulness of his disposition[616:A]; nor can there, probably, be a surer indication of that peace and sunshine of the soul which surpasses all other gifts, than this habitual tone of mind.

That Shakspeare was entitled to its possession from his moral virtues, we have already seen; and that, in a religious point of view, he had a claim to the enjoyment, the numerous passages in his works, which breathe a spirit of pious gratitude and devotional rapture, will sufficiently declare. In fact, upon the topic of religious, as upon that of ethic wisdom, no profane poet can furnish us with a greater number of just and luminous aphorisms; passages which dwell upon the heart and reach the soul, for they have issued from lips of fire, from conceptions worthy of a superior nature, from feelings solemn and unearthly.

To these observations on the disposition and moral character of Shakspeare, we must add a few remarks on the taste which he seems to have possessed, in an exquisite degree, for all the forms of beauty, whether resulting from nature or from art. No person can study his writings, indeed, without perceiving, that, throughout the vast range of being, whatever is lovely and harmonious, whatever is sweet in expression, or graceful in proportion, was constantly present to his mind; that

——————————— "on every part, In earth, or air, the meadow's purple stores, The moon's mild radiance, or the virgin's form, ——————————— he saw pourtray'd That uncreated beauty, which delights The mind supreme."[616:B]

Nor was he a less delighted worshipper of the imitative efforts of art. With what taste and enthusiasm, he has spoken of the effects of music, has been already observed; but it remains to notice in what a sublime spirit of piety he refers this concord of sweet sounds, to its source in that transcript of Almighty, "the world's harmonious volume:—"

"There's not the smallest orb, which thou behold'st, But in his motion like an angel sings, Still quiring to the young-eye'd cherubins: Such harmony is in immortal souls; But, whilst this muddy vesture of decay Doth grossly close it in, we cannot hear it."[617:A]

Of the beauties of painting and sculpture he appears to have had a keen and lively discernment. On Julio Romano, the most poetical, perhaps, of painters, he has pronounced, that "had he himself eternity, and could put breath into his work, 'he' would beguile Nature of her custom[617:B];" and of his masterly appreciation of the art of sculpture, the following lines from the The Winter's Tale, where Paulina unveils to Leontes the supposed statue of Hermione, afford evidence beyond all praise:—

"Paul. ——————————— Here it is: prepare To see the life as lively mock'd, as ever Still sleep mock'd death: behold; and say, 'tis well. (Paulina undraws a curtain, and discovers a statue. I like your silence, it the more shews off Your wonder: but yet speak;— Comes it not something near?

Leont. Her natural posture!— —————————————— Oh, thus she stood, Even with such life of majesty,— —————— when first I woo'd her!— Would I were dead, but that, methinks already— What was he, that did make it? See, my lord, Would you not deem it breath'd? and that these veins Did verily bear blood?

Paul. Masterly done: The very life seems warm upon her lip.

Leont. The fixure of her eye has motion in't, As we are mock'd with art:— ———————————— Still methinks, There is an air comes from her: what fine chizzel Could ever yet cut breath?—

Paul. —————————— Shall I draw the curtain?

Leont. No, not these twenty years."[618:A]

To the memory of a poet who, independent of the matchless talents which he has exhibited in his own peculiar province, had shown such proofs of his attachment to the sister arts, some tribute, from these departments of genius, might naturally be expected, and was certainly due. Nor was it long ere the debt of gratitude was paid; before the year 1623, a monument, containing a bust of the poet, had been erected in Stratford Church, immediately above the grave which inclosed his hallowed relics. The tradition of his native town is, that this bust was copied from a cast after nature.[618:B] It is placed beneath an arch, and between two Corinthian columns of black marble, and represents the poet in a sitting posture, with a cushion spread before him, holding a pen in his right hand, whilst his left rests upon a scroll of paper. The entablature exhibits the arms of Shakspeare surmounted by a death's head, with an infantine form sitting on each side; that on the right supporting, in the same hand, a spade, and the figure on the left, whose eyes are closed, reposing its right hand on a skull, whilst the other holds an inverted torch.[618:C]

On a tablet below the cushion are engraved the two following inscriptions:

"Judicio Pylivm, genio Socratem, arte Maronem, Terra tegit, popvlvs mœret, Olympvs habet."

"Stay passenger, why goest thov by so fast, Read, if thov canst, whom envious death hath plast Within this monument, Shakspeare; with whome Quick natvre dide; whose name doth deck ys tombe Far more than cost; sieth all yt. he hath writt, Leaves living art, bvt page to serve his witt. Obiit Ano. Doi. 1616. Ætatis 53. Die 23. Ap."

A flat stone which covers his grave, presents us with these singular lines, said to have been written by the bard himself, and which were probably suggested, as Mr. Malone has remarked, "by an apprehension that 'his' remains might share the same fate with those of the rest of his countrymen, and be added to the immense pile of human bones deposited in the charnel-house at Stratford:—[619:A]

"Good frend, for Jesvs sake forbeare To digg the dvst encloased heare; Blese be ye. man yt. spares thes stones, And cvrst be he yt. moves my bones."

We view the monumental bust of Shakspeare, observes Mr. Britton, "as a family record; as a memorial raised by the affection and esteem of his relatives, to keep alive contemporary admiration, and to excite the glow of enthusiasm in posterity. This invaluable 'effigy' is attested by tradition, consecrated by time, and preserved in the inviolability of its own simplicity and sacred station. It was evidently executed immediately after the poet's decease; and probably under the superintendance of his son-in-law, Dr. Hall, and his daughter; the latter of whom, according to her epitaph, was 'witty above her sexe,' and therein like her father. Leonard Digges, in a poem praising the works and worth of Shakspeare, and published within seven years after his death, speaks of the Stratford monument as a well-known object. Dugdale, in his 'Antiquities of Warwickshire,' 1656, gives a plate of the monument, but drawn and engraved in a truly tasteless and inaccurate style, and observes in the text, that the poet was famous, and thus entitled to such distinction. Langbaine, in his 'Account of English Dramatic Poets,' 1691, pronounces the Stratford bust Shakspeare's 'true effigies.' These are decided proofs of its antiquity; and we may safely conclude that it was intended to be a faithful portrait of the poet.—

"The Bust is the size of life; it is formed out of a block of soft stone; and was originally painted over in imitation of nature. The hands and face were of flesh colour, the eyes of a light hazle, and the hair and beard auburn; the doublet or coat was scarlet, and covered with a loose black gown, or tabard, without sleeves; the upper part of the cushion was green, the under half crimson, and the tassels gilt.[620:A] Such appear to have been the original features of this important, but neglected or insulted bust. After remaining in this state above one hundred and twenty years, Mr. John Ward, grandfather to Mrs. Siddons and Mr. Kemble, caused it to be 'repaired,' and the original colours preserved[620:B], in 1748, from the profits of the representation of Othello. This was a generous, and apparently judicious act; and therefore very unlike the next alteration it was subjected to in 1793. In that year, Mr. Malone caused the bust to be covered over with one or more coats of white paint; and thus at once destroyed its original character, and greatly injured the expression of the face.[621:A] Having absurdly characterized this expression for 'pertness,' and therefore 'differing from that placid composure and thoughtful gravity so perceptible in his original portrait, and his best prints,' Mr. M. could have few scruples about injuring or destroying it. In this very act, and in this line of comment, our zealous annotator has passed an irrevocable sentence on his own judgment. If the opinions of some of the best sculptors and painters of the metropolis are entitled to respect and confidence on such a subject, that of Mr. Malone is at once false and absurd. They justly remark, that the face indicates cheerfulness, good humour, suavity, benignity and intelligence. These characteristics are developed by the mouth and its muscles—by the cheeks—eye-brows—forehead—and skull; and hence they rationally infer, that the face is worked from nature."[621:B]

With these observations, which seem the result of a just and discriminating judgment, we feel happy in coinciding; having had an opportunity, in the summer of 1815, of visiting this celebrated monument, for the purpose of gratifying what we conceive to be a laudable curiosity. When on the spot, we felt convinced, from the circumstances which have been preserved relative to the erection of this bust; from the period of life at which the poet died, and above all, from the character, distinctness and expression of the features themselves, that this invaluable relique may be considered as a correct resemblance of our beloved bard.

That he was "a handsome well shaped man," we are expressly informed by Aubrey, and universal tradition has attributed to him cheerfulness and good temper. Now the Stratford effigy tells us all this, together with the character of his age, in language which cannot be mistaken; and it once superadded to the little which has been recorded of his person, what we have no doubt was accurately given by the original painter of his bust, the colour of his eyes and the beautiful auburn of his hair.

But it tells us still more; for the impress of that mighty mind which ranged at will through all the realms of nature and of fancy, and which, though incessantly employed in the personification of passion and of feeling, was ever great without effort, and at peace within itself, is visible in the exquisite harmony and symmetry of the whole head and countenance, which, not only in each separate feature, in the swell and expansion of the forehead, in the commanding sweep of the eye brow, in the undulating outline of the nose, and in the open sweetness of the lips, but in their combined and integral expression, breathe of him, of whom it may be said, in his own emphatic language, that

"We ne'er shall look upon his like again."

Very shortly after the erection of this monument, appeared the first folio edition of our author's plays, in the title-page of which, bearing the date of 1623, is found the earliest print of Shakspeare, an engraving by Martin Droeshout, with the following attestation of its verisimilitude from the pen of Ben Jonson:

"TO THE READER.

"THIS figure that thou here seest put, It was for gentle Shakspeare cut; Wherein the graver had a strife With nature, to out-do the life. O, could he but have drawn his wit, As well in brass, as he hath hit His face, the print would then surpass All that was ever writ in brass; But since he cannot, reader, look, Not on his picture, but his book."

Between the wretched engraving, thus undeservedly eulogised, and the monumental bust at Stratford, there is certainly such a resemblance as to prove, that the assertion of Jonson with regard to its likeness, was not altogether without foundation; but, as Mr. Steevens has well remarked, "Shakspeare's countenance deformed by Droeshout, resembles the sign of Sir Roger de Coverley, when it had been changed into a Saracen's head; on which occasion The Spectator observes, that the features of the gentle Knight were still apparent through the lineaments of the ferocious Mussulman."[623:A]

There is, however, a much greater, nay, a very close and remarkable similitude, between the engraving, from the Felton Shakspeare, and the bust at Stratford. What basis Mr. Gilchrist may have had for his observation, that Mr. Steevens failed in communicating to the public his confidence in the integrity of Mr. Felton's picture, we know not[623:B]; but, if the most striking affinity to the monumental effigy, be deemed, as we think it ought to be, a proof of authenticity, this picture is entitled to our confidence; for whether we consider the general contour of the head, or the particular conformation of the forehead, eyes, nose, or mouth, the resemblance is complete; the only perceptible deviation being in the construction of the eye-brows, which, instead of forming nearly a perfect arch, as in the sculpture, have an horizontal direction, and are somewhat elevated towards the temples.[624:A]

* * * * *

We have now reached the termination of a work, of which, whatever shall be its reception with the public, even Diffidence itself may say, that it has been prosecuted with incessant labour and unwearied research; with an ardent desire to give it a title to acceptance, and with an anxiety, which has proved injurious to health, that it should be deemed, not altogether unworthy of the bard whose name it bears.

It has also been a labour of love, and, though much indisposition has accompanied several of the years devoted to its construction, it is closed with a mingled sensation of gratitude, regret, and hope; of gratitude, for what of health and strength has been spared to its author; of regret, in relinquishing, what, with all its concomitant anxieties, has been often productive of rational delight; and of hope, that, in the inevitable hour which is fast approaching, no portion of its pages shall suggest a thought, which can add poignancy to suffering, or bitterness to recollection.

FOOTNOTES:

[611:A] These Cases were afterwards translated from the original Latin by James Cooke, a Surgeon at Warwick, under the title of "Select Observations on English Bodies; or Cures, both empericall and historical, performed upon very eminent persons in desperate diseases." London, 1657. 12mo.

[612:A] Malone's Supplement, vol. i. pp. 653. 657. 655.

[613:A] I recollect an engraving, from a picture by Westall, of Milton composing Paradise Lost, in which he is attended by his two daughters. Shakspeare and his favourite Susanna might furnish a pleasing subject for the same elegant artist.

[614:A] Lectures on Dramatic Literature, vol. ii. p. 138.

[615:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. i. p. 67.

[615:B] "My gentle Shakspeare" is the language of Jonson, in his Poem to the memory of our bard: and see the Commendatory Poems prefixed to the old editions of our author's works, in Reed's Shakspeare, vol. ii.

[615:C] Letters by Eminent Persons, from the Bodleian Library, vol. iii. p. 307.

[616:A] Life of Chaucer, vol. iv. p. 175.

[616:B] Akenside's Pleasures of Imagination, book i.

[617:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. vii. p. 374. Act v. sc. 1.

[617:B] Ibid. vol. ix. p. 408. Act v. sc. 2.

[618:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. ix. pp. 412-416. Act v. sc. 3.

[618:B] Wheler's Guide to Stratford, p. 87.—"If Shakspeare's and Lord Totness's tombs," says Mr. Wheler, "were erected by one and the same artist, circumstances not at all improbable, it would not appear that he (Thomas Stanton, the sculptor) had any want of skill in preserving a resemblance; for the monumental likeness of Lord Totness strongly resembles the capital paintings of him in Clopton House, and at Gorhambury, in Hertfordshire, as well as the engraving of him prefixed to his 'Hibernia Pacata,' a posthumous publication in 1633."—Vide p. 89.

[618:C] The arms on this monument, are,—Or, on a bend sable, a tilting spear of the first, point upwards, headed argent.—Crest, A falcon displayed argent, supporting a spear in pale or.

[619:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. i. p. 90.

[620:A] "Although the practice of painting statues and busts to imitate nature, is repugnant to good taste, and must be stigmatized as vulgar and hostile to every principle of art, yet when an effigy is thus coloured and transmitted to us, as illustrative of a particular age or people, and as a record of fashion and costume, it becomes an interesting relic, and should be preserved with as much care as an Etruscan vase, or an early specimen of Raffael's painting; and the man who deliberately defaces or destroys either, will ever be regarded as a criminal in the high court of criticism and taste. From an absence of this feeling, many truly curious, and, to us, important subjects have been destroyed. Among which is to be noticed a vast monument of antiquity on Marbrough Downs, in Wiltshire; and which, though once the most stupendous work of human labour and skill in Great Britain, is now nearly demolished." Britton.

[620:B] "Wheler's Guide, p. 90."

[621:A] "Mr. Wheler, in his interesting Topographical Vade Mecum, relating to Stratford, has given publicity to the following stanzas, which were written in the Album, at Stratford church, by one of the visitors to Shakspeare's tomb."

"Stranger, to whom this Monument is shown, Invoke the Poet's curses on Malone; Whose meddling zeal his barbarous taste displays, And daubs his tomb-stone, as he marr'd his plays."

[621:B] "Britton's Remarks on the Monumental Bust of Shakspeare." These Remarks, which were published on April 23. 1816, "The Anniversary of the Birth and Death of Shakspeare, and the Second Centenary after his Decease," are accompanied by an admirably executed Mezzotinto of Shakspeare from the Monumental Bust; engraved by William Ward, from a Painting by Thomas Phillips, Esq. R. A. after a Cast made from the original Bust by George Bullock.

Mr. Britton had previously expressed a similar opinion of the merits and fidelity of this Bust, in some very ingenious and well-written "Remarks on the Life and Writings of Shakspeare," prefixed to an edition of the Poet's Plays, by Whittingham and Arliss.

[623:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. i. p. 19.

[623:B] Gifford's Jonson, vol. i. p. ccclviii.

[624:A] These observations are founded upon the fidelity of the engraving prefixed to Reed's edition of Shakspeare, 1803.

Appendix

SHAKSPEARE'S WILL.

(From the Original, in the Office of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury.)

Vicesimo quinto die Martii, Anno Regni Domini nostri Jacobi nunc Regis Angliæ, &c. decimo quarto, et Scotiæ quadragesimo nono. Anno Domini, 1616.

In the name of God, Amen. I WILLIAM SHAKSPEARE of Stratford-upon-Avon, in the county of Warwick, gent. in perfect health and memory[627:A], (God be praised!) do make and ordain this my last will and testament in manner and form following; that is to say:

First, I commend my soul into the hands of God my Creator, hoping, and assuredly believing, through the only merits of Jesus Christ my Saviour, to be made partaker of life everlasting; and my body to the earth whereof it is made.

Item, I give and bequeath unto my daughter Judith, one hundred and fifty pounds of lawful English money, to be paid unto her in manner and form following; that is to say, one hundred pounds in discharge of her marriage-portion within one year after my decease, with consideration after the rate of two shillings in the pound[627:B] for so long time as the same shall be unpaid unto her after my decease; and the fifty pounds residue thereof, upon her surrendering of, or giving of such sufficient security as the overseers of this my will shall like of, to surrender or grant, all her estate and right that shall descend or come unto her after my decease, or that she now hath, of, in, or to, one copyhold tenement, with the appurtenances, lying and being in Stratford-upon-Avon aforesaid, in the said county of Warwick, being parcel or holden of the manor of Rowington, unto my daughter Susanna Hall, and her heirs for ever.

Item, I give and bequeath unto my said daughter Judith one hundred and fifty pounds more, if she, or any issue of her body, be living at the end of three years next ensuing the day of the date of this my will, during which time my executors to pay her consideration from my decease according to the rate aforesaid: and if she die within the said term without issue of her body, then my will is, and I do give and bequeath one hundred pounds thereof to my niece[628:A] Elizabeth Hall, and the fifty pounds to be set forth by my executors during the life of my sister Joan Hart, and the use and profit thereof coming, shall be paid to my said sister Joan, and after her decease the said fifty pounds shall remain amongst the children of my said sister, equally to be divided amongst them; but if my said daughter Judith be living at the end of the said three years, or any issue of her body, then my will is, and so I devise and bequeath the said hundred and fifty pounds to be set out by my executors and overseers for the best benefit of her and her issue, and the stock not to be paid unto her so long as she shall be married and covert baron; but my will is, that she shall have the consideration yearly paid unto her during her life, and after her decease the said stock and consideration to be paid to her children, if she have any, and if not, to her executors or assigns, she living the said term after my decease: provided that if such husband as she shall at the end of the said three years be married unto, or at any (time) after, do sufficiently assure unto her, and the issue of her body, lands answerable to the portion by this my will given unto her, and to be adjudged so by my executors and overseers, then my will is, that the said hundred and fifty pounds shall be paid to such husband as shall make such assurance, to his own use.[628:B]

Item, I give and bequeath unto my said sister Joan twenty pounds, and all my wearing apparel, to be paid and delivered within one year after my decease; and I do will and devise unto her the house, with the appurtenances, in Stratford, wherein she dwelleth, for her natural life, under the yearly rent of twelve-pence.[629:A]

Item, I give and bequeath unto her three sons, William Hart, —— Hart[629:B], and Michael Hart, five pounds a-piece, to be paid within one year after my decease.

Item, I give and bequeath unto the said Elizabeth Hall all my plate (except my broad silver and gilt bowl) that I now have at the date of this my will.[629:C]

Item, I give and bequeath unto the poor of Stratford aforesaid ten pounds; to Mr. Thomas Combe[629:D] my sword; to Thomas Russel, esqr. five pounds; and to Francis Collins[629:E] of the borough of Warwick, gent. thirteen pounds six shillings and eight-pence, to be paid within one year after my decease.

Item, I give and bequeath to Hamlet (Hamnet) Sadler[629:F], twenty-six shillings eight-pence, to buy him a ring; to William Reynolds, gent. twenty-six shillings eight-pence, to buy him a ring; to my godson William Walker twenty shillings in gold; to Anthony Nash[630:A], gent. twenty-six shillings eight-pence; and to Mr. John Nash[630:B] twenty-six shillings eight-pence; and to my fellowes, John Hemynge[630:C], Richard Burbage[630:D], and Henry Cundell[630:E], twenty-six shillings eight-pence a-piece, to buy them rings.

Item, I give, will, bequeath, and devise, unto my daughter Susanna Hall[630:F], for better enabling of her to perform this my will, and towards the performance thereof, all that capital messuage or tenement, with the appurtenances, in Stratford aforesaid, called the New Place, wherein I now dwell, and two messuages or tenements, with the appurtenances, situate, lying, and being in Henley-street, within the borough of Stratford aforesaid; and all my barns, stables, orchards, gardens, lands, tenements, and hereditaments whatsoever, situate, lying, and being, or to be had, received, perceived, or taken, within the towns, hamlets, villages, fields, and grounds of Stratford-upon-Avon, Old Stratford, Bishopton, and Welcombe, or in any of them, in the said county of Warwick; and also all that messuage or tenement, with the appurtenances, wherein one John Robinson dwelleth, situate, lying, and being, in the Blackfriars in London near the Wardrobe[631:A]; and all other my lands, tenements, and hereditaments whatsoever; to have and to hold all and singular the said premises, with their appurtenances, unto the said Susanna Hall, for and during the term of her natural life; and after her decease to the first son of her body lawfully issuing; and to the heirs males of the body of the said first son lawfully issuing; and for default of such issue, to the second son of her body lawfully issuing, and to the heirs males of the body of the said second son lawfully issuing; and for default of such heirs, to the third son of the body of the said Susanna lawfully issuing, and to the heirs males of the body of the said third son lawfully issuing; and for default of such issue, the same so to be and remain to the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh sons of her body, lawfully issuing one after another, and to the heirs males of the bodies of the said fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh sons lawfully issuing, in such manner as it is before limited to be and remain to the first, second, and third sons of her body, and to their heirs males; and for default of such issue, the said premises to be and remain to my said niece Hall, and the heirs males of her body lawfully issuing; and for default of such issue, to my daughter Judith, and the heirs males of her body lawfully issuing; and for default of such issue, to the right heirs of me the said William Shakspeare for ever.

Item, I give unto my wife[631:B] my second best bed, with the furniture.

Item, I give and bequeath to my said daughter Judith my broad silver gilt bowl. All the rest of my goods, chattels, leases, plate, jewels, and houshold stuff whatsoever, after my debts and legacies paid, and my funeral expences discharged, I give, devise, and bequeath to my son-in-law, John Hall[631:C], gent. and my daughter Susanna his wife, whom I ordain and make executors of this my last will and testament. And I do entreat and appoint the said Thomas Russel, esqr. and Francis Collins, gent. to be overseers hereof. And do revoke all former wills, and publish this to be my last will and testament. In witness whereof I have hereunto put my hand, the day and year first above written.

By me, WILLIAM SHAKSPEARE.

Witness to the publishing hereof, FRA. COLLYNS. JULIUS SHAW. JOHN ROBINSON. HAMLET SADLER. ROBERT WHATTCOTT.

Probatum fuit testamentum suprascriptum apud London, coram Magistro William Byrde, Legum Doctore, &c. vicessimo secundo die mensis Junii, Anno Domini 1616; juramento Johannis Hall unius ex. cui, &c. de bene, &c. jurat. reservata potestate, &c. Susannæ Hall, alt. ex. &c. eam cum venerit, &c. petitur, &c.

FOOTNOTES:

[627:A] From the short period which elapsed between the date of this Will and the death of the poet, we must infer, that the "malady which at so early a period of life deprived England of its brightest ornament," was sudden in its attack, and rapid in its progress.

[627:B] Ten per cent., we find from this passage, was the usual interest of money in our author's days; and in the epitaph on Mr. Combe, as preserved by Aubrey, this old gentleman is censured for taking twelve per cent.:—

"But Combes will have twelve, he sweares and he vowes."

[628:A] —— to my niece—) "Elizabeth Hall was our poet's grand-daughter. So, in Othello, act i. sc. 1., Iago says to Brabantio: 'You'll have your nephews neigh to you;' meaning his grand-children."—Malone.

[628:B] Judith died at Stratford, aged 77, and was buried there Feb. 9th, 1662.

[629:A] Joan Hart, the poet's sister, was buried at Stratford, Nov. 4th, 1646.

[629:B] "It is singular that neither Shakspeare nor any of his family should have recollected the Christian name of his nephew, who was born at Stratford but eleven years before the making of his will. His Christian name was Thomas; and he was baptized in that town, July 24, 1605."—Malone.

[629:C] Elizabeth Hall, the poet's grand-daughter, was married at Stratford, on April 22d, 1626, to Thomas Nash, Esq., and after the decease of this gentleman on April 4th, 1647, she again entered into the marriage-state with Sir John Barnard of Abington, in Northamptonshire. The ceremony took place at Billesley near Stratford, on the 5th of June, 1649, and Lady Barnard died, without issue by either of her husbands, at Abington, and was buried there on the 17th of February, 1669-70.

"If any of Shakspeare's manuscripts," remarks Mr. Malone, "remained in his grand-daughter's custody at the time of her second marriage, (and some letters at least she surely must have had,) they probably were then removed to the house of her new husband at Abington. Sir Hugh Clopton, who was born two years after her death, mentioned to Mr. Macklin, in the year 1742, an old tradition that she had carried away with her from Stratford many of her grandfather's papers. On the death of Sir John Barnard they must have fallen into the hands of Mr. Edward Bagley, Lady Barnard's executor; and if any descendant of that gentleman be now living, in his custody they probably remain."—Reed's Shakspeare, vol. i. p. 98.

[629:D] "Mr. Thomas Combe was baptized at Stratford, Feb. 9, 1588-9, so that he was twenty-seven years old at the time of Shakspeare's death. He died at Stratford in July 1657, aged 68; and his elder brother William died at the same place, Jan. 30, 1666-7, aged 80. Mr. Thomas Combe by his will, made June 20, 1656, directed his executors to convert all his personal property into money, and to lay it out in the purchase of lands, to be settled on William Combe, the eldest son of John Combe, of All-church, in the county of Worcester, gent., and his heirs male; remainder to his two brothers successively. Where, therefore, our poet's sword has wandered, I have not been able to discover."—Malone.

[629:E] Francis Collins—) "This gentleman, who was the son of Mr. Walter Collins, was baptized at Stratford, Dec. 24, 1582."—Malone.

[629:F] "Hamnet Sadler was godfather to Shakspeare's only son, who was called after him. Mr. Sadler, I believe, was born about the year 1550, and died at Stratford-upon-Avon, in October, 1624. His wife, Judith Sadler, who was god-mother to Shakspeare's youngest daughter, was buried there, March 23, 1613-14. Our poet probably was god-father to their son William, who was baptized at Stratford, Feb. 5, 1597-8."—Malone.

[630:A] "Anthony Nash was father of Mr. Thomas Nash, who married our poet's grand-daughter, Elizabeth Hall. He lived, I believe, at Welcombe, where his estate lay; and was buried at Stratford, Nov. 18, 1622."—Malone.

[630:B] "Mr. John Nash died at Stratford, and was buried there, Nov. 10, 1623."—Malone.

[630:C] John Hemynge died in October, 1630.

[630:D] Burbage died in March, 1619.

[630:E] Cundell died in December, 1627. For accounts of these three celebrated performers, see Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iii. pp. 228. 232. 245., as drawn up by Mr. Malone.

[630:F] Susanna Hall, the poet's favourite daughter, died on the 11th of July, 1649, aged 66, and was buried in Stratford church on the 16th of the same month. On her tomb-stone were formerly the following lines preserved by Dugdale:—

"Witty above her sexe, but that's not all, Wise to salvation was good Mistriss Hall. Something of Shakspeare was in that, but this Wholy of him with whom she's now in blisse.

Then, passenger, hast ne're a teare, To weepe with her that wept with all: That wept, yet set her selfe to chere Them up with comforts cordiall.

Her love shall live, her mercy spread, When thou hast ne're a teare to shed."

[631:A] This messuage or tenement was the house which was mortgaged to Henry Walker.

[631:B] The poet's wife died on the 6th of August, 1623, and was buried between her husband's grave and the north wall of the chancel. A brass plate affixed to her tomb-stone exhibits the following inscription:—

"Ubera, tu mater, tu lac vitamq. dedisti, Væ mihi; pro tanto munere Saxa dabo! Quam mallem, amoveat lapidem, bonus Angel' ore Exeat ut Christi Corpus, imago tua Sed nil vota valent, venias cito Christe resurget, Clausa licet tumulo mater, et astra petet."

[631:C] John Hall, M.D. died Nov. 25. 1635, aged 60. His grave-stone in Stratford church is thus inscribed:—

"Hallius hic situs est medica celeberrimus arte, Expectans regni gaudia lœta Dei Dignus erat meritis qui Nestora vinceret annis, Interris omnes, sed rapit æqua dies; Ne tumulo, quid desit adest fidissima conjux, Et vitæ comitem nunc quoq. mortis habet."

INDEX.

*.* The Roman Numerals refer to the Volumes; the Figures to the Pages of each Volume.

A

Acheley (Thomas), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 676.

Acting, art of, consummately known to Shakspeare, i. 423. Parts chiefly performed by him, 424, 425.

Actors, companies of, when first licensed, ii. 202. Placed under the superintendence of the masters of the revels, 203. Their remuneration, 204. Patronized by the court, 205, and also by private individuals, whose names they bore, 205, 206. Days and hours of their performance, 215, 216. Their remuneration, 223, 224.

Admission to the theatre, in the time of Shakspeare, prices of, ii. 216, 217.

Adonis, beautiful address of Venus to, ii. 25, 26. See Venus and Adonis.

Ægeon, exquisite portrait of, in the Comedy of Errors, ii. 288.

Æschylus, striking affinity between the celebrated trilogy of, and Shakspeare's Macbeth, ii. 472, 473.

Affection (maternal), exquisite delineation of, ii. 421.

Affections (sympathetic), account of, i. 373, 374.

Agate stone, supposed virtue of, i. 368.

Agnus Dei, a supposed charm against thunder, i. 364.

Air, spirits of, introduced into the Tempest, ii. 524.

Akenside's "Pleasures of the Imagination" quoted, i. 321, 322.

Alchemistry, a favourite pursuit of the age of Shakspeare, ii. 154.

Alderson (Dr.), opinion of, on the cause of spectral visitations, ii. 405, 406. His application of them to the character of Hamlet, 408.

Ale, synonymous with merry making, i. 175. Different kinds of Ales, 176. Leet-ale, 176. Clerk-ale, ibid. Church-ales, 177-179.

Alehouses, picture of, in Shakspeare's time, ii. 216-218.

Alfs, or bright and swart elves of the Scandinavians, account of, ii. 308, 309.

All-Hallow-Eve, festival of, i. 341. Fires kindled on that eve, ibid. Prayers offered for the souls of the departed, 342. Supposed influence of fairies, spirits, &c. 342-344. Spells practised on that eve, 344-347.

Alliterations, in the English language, satirised by Sir Philip Sidney, i. 444.

All's Well that Ends Well, probable date of, ii. 422. Analysis of its characters,—the Countess of Rousillon, 423. Helen, ib. 424, 425. Remarks on the minor characters, 425.

Passages of this drama, which are illustrated in this work.

Act i. scene 3., ii. 424. Act ii. scene 1., i. 108. 175. ii. 434. scene 2., i. 143. 159. scene 5., ii. 434. scene 7., ii. 434. Act iii. scene 2., ii. 107. 425. Act iv. scene 10., i. 362. scene 12., ii. 192.

All Saints' Day, festival of, i. 341. Superstitious observances on its vigil, 341-347.

Allot (Robert), "English Parnassus," i. 723. List of contributors to this collection of poems, 724. Critical remarks on the merits of his selection, ibid. 725.

Amadis of Gaul (Romance of), popularity of, i. 515. Notice of English translations of it, 546, 547.

Amusements of the fairies, ii. 342-345.

Amusements, national, in the age of Shakspeare, enumerated, i. 246, 247. Account of the itinerant stage, 247-252. The Cotswold games, 252-254. Hawking, 255. Hunting, 272. Fowling, 287. Bird-batting, 289. Fishing, 289. Horse-racing, 297. The Quintaine, 300. Wild-goose chace, 304. Hurling, 305. Shovel-board, 306. Shove-groat, 307. Juvenile sports, 308-312. Amusements of the metropolis and court, ii. 168. Card playing, 169. Tables and dice, 171. Dancing, 172. Bull-baiting and bear-baiting, 176. Archery, 178. Frequenting of Paul's Walk, 182. Sagacious horses, 186. Masques and pageants, 187. Royal progresses, 193. Dramatic performances, 201-226.

Anderson (James), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 676.

Andrewe (Thomas), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 676.

Angels, different orders of, i. 335. Account of the doctrine of guardian angels prevalent in Shakspeare's time, 336. Supposed number of angels, 337-339. Remarks on this doctrine by Bishop Horsley, 339, 340. The supposed agency of angelic spirits, as believed in Shakspeare's time, critically analysed, ii. 399-405. And applied to the introduction of the spirit in Hamlet, 407-416. Superiority of Shakspeare's angelic spirits over those of all other dramatists, ancient or modern, 417, 418.

Angling, notice of books on the art of, i. 290, 291. Contemplations of an angler, 292, 293. His qualifications described, 294-296. Encomium on, by Sir Henry Wotton, 297. Beautiful verses on, by Davors, 614.

Anglo-Norman romances, account of, i. 523-531.

Animals, sagacious, in the time of Shakspeare, notice of, ii. 186, 187.

Anneson (James), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 676.

Ante-suppers, when introduced, ii. 128.

Anthropophagi, supposed existence of, i. 385, 386. Allusions to by Shakspeare, 385.

Antony and Cleopatra, date of, ii. 492. Character and conduct of this drama, 493.

Passages of this drama which are illustrated in the present work.

Act i. scene 4., i. 129. Act ii. scene 3., i. 338. Act iii. scene 9., i. 138. Act iv. scene 10., i. 308.

Apemantus, remarks on the character of, ii. 451, 452.

Apes, kept as companions for the domestic fools, ii. 146.

Aphorisms of Shakspeare, character of, i. 517.

Apparitions, probable causes of, ii. 406. Application of them to the character of Hamlet, 406-408.

Arcadia of Sir Philip Sidney, critical notice of, i. 548-552. Alluded to by Shakspeare, 573, 574.

Archery, a favourite diversion in the age of Shakspeare, ii. 178. The knights of Prince Arthur's round-table, a society of archers, instituted by Henry VIII., 179. Encouraged in the reign of Elizabeth, 179, 180. Decline of archery, 181, 182.

Arden or Ardern family, account of, i. 3. Shakspeare probably descended from, by the female line, ibid.

Ardesoif (Mr.), terrific death of, i. 146. note.

Ariel, analysis of the character of, ii. 506. 522, 523.

Ariosto's Orlando Furioso, as translated by Sir John Harington, remarks on, i. 629. His "Supposes," a comedy, translated by Gascoigne, ii. 233.

Armin (Thomas), complaint of, against the critics of his day, i. 456.

Arms, supposed grant of, to John Shakspeare, i. 1. Real grant and confirmation of, to him, 2, 3.

Arras Hangings, an article of furniture, in the age of Shakspeare, ii. 114, 115.

Arthington (Henry), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 676.

Arthur and Hubert, beautiful scene between, in the play of King John, ii. 422.

Arthur's Chase, account of, i. 377, 378.

Arthur's Round Table, a society of archers, account of, i. 562, 563.

Arval, or Funeral Entertainment, account of, i. 238.

Ascham (Roger), complaint of, on the little reward of schoolmasters, i. 27. note, 94. Improved the English language, 439. Remarks of, on the cultivation of classical literature in England, 450.; and of Italian literature, 452. Notice of his "Scholemaster," 454. His censure of the popularity of "La Morte d'Arthur," 524, 525. Design of his "Toxophilus," ii. 181.

Aske (James), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 676.

Asses' Heads, absurd recipe for fixing on the shoulders of man, ii. 351, 352.

As You Like It, date of, ii. 431. Remarks on the general structure of its fable, 431, 432. Analysis of the character of Jaques, 433, 434.

Passages of this drama which are illustrated in the present work.

Act i. scene 2., i. 301. Act ii. scene 1., i. 367. 403. scene 7., i. 55. ii. 102. Act iii. scene 2., ii. 115. scene 3., i. 580. scene 4., i. 556. Act iv. scene 1., i. 580. ii. 157. Act v. scene 4., i. 288. ii. 159. The Epilogue, i. 218.

Aubrey, statement of, respecting Shakspeare's being a butcher, i. 36. Probability of his account that Shakspeare had been a schoolmaster, 45. His character of the poet, ii. 615.

Avale (Lemeke), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 676.

Autolycus, remarks on the character of, ii. 500.

B

Bacon (Lord), character of his Henry VII., i. 476., and of his "Essays," 512. 517.

Bag-Pipe, the ancient accompaniment of the morris-dance and May-games, i. 164, 165.

Baldwyne's "Myrrour for Magistrates," account of, i. 708, 709.

Ballads, early English, notice of a collection of, i. 574-576. Quotations from and allusions to them by Shakspeare, 577-593.

Balnevis (Henry), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 676.

Bandello, principal novels of, translated by Paynter, i. 541. His novels wholly translated by Warner or Webbe, 543.

Banquets, where taken, in the age of Shakspeare, ii. 144.

Barksted (William), encomiastic verses of, on Shakspeare's Venus and Adonis, ii. 30.

Barley-Break, verses on, i. 309. How played, 310. Poetical description of, 311. Scottish mode of playing, 312.

Barnefielde (Richard), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, works of, i. 676, 677. Character of his affectionate shepherd, 677. note [677:A]. Verses of, on Shakspeare's Venus and Adonis, and Lucrece, ii. 29.

Barnes (Barnabe), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 677. Character of his Sonnets, ibid. note [677:B].

—— (Juliana), the book of St. Alban's of, reprinted by Markham, i. 70. note. Dedication of it, ibid. Account of the edition, with extracts, 71, 72. notes. The treatyse of Fishing not written by her, 290. and note. Different editions of this work, 291.

Baronets, order of, when created, ii. 527. Their arms, 528.

Barry's "Ram Alley," illustrated, i. 224.

Barson or Barston, village, allusion to by Shakspeare, i. 51.

Bastard (Thomas), notice of the epigrams of, i. 677. and note.

Batman (Stephen), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 677.

Batman's translation of "Bartholome de Proprietatibus Rerum," well known to Shakspeare, i. 485.

Bear-baiting, a fashionable amusement in the age of Elizabeth, ii. 176. Prices of entrance to the bear-gardens, 178.

Beards, fashions of, in the age of Shakspeare, ii. 102, 103.

"Beards Wag all," the proverb of, explained, i. 143, 144.

Beaufort (Cardinal), dying scene of, i. 390.

Beaumont (Sir John), critical notices of, as a poet, i. 601, 602. His elegiac tribute to the memory of the Earl of Southampton, ii. 17, 18. How far he assisted Fletcher, 558.

Beaumont and Fletcher, illustrations of the plays of, Custom of the Country, i. 477. Fair Maid of the Inn, i. 329. Knight of the Burning Pestle, i. 477. ii. 282. note. Playhouse to Let, ii. 282. note. Scornful Lady, i. 224. Woman Pleased, act iv. sc. 1. i. 172, 173.

Beauty, exquisite taste for, discoverable in Shakspeare's works, ii. 616-618.

Bedchambers, furniture of, in the age of Shakspeare, ii. 117.

Belemnites, or Hag-Stones, supposed virtues of, i. 367.

Belleforest's and Boisteau's "Cent Histoires Tragiques," a collection of tales, notice of, i. 544.

Bells, why tolled at funerals, i. 232-234. Worn by Hawks, 268.

Beltein, or rural sacrifice of the Scotch Highlanders on May-day, i. 152.

"Bel-vedere, or the Garden of the Muses," a collection of poems, critical notice of, i. 725, 726. List of contributors to it, 726, 727.

Benefices bestowed in Elizabeth's time on menial servants, i. 92.

Betrothing, ceremony of, i. 220-223.

Betterton (Mr.), visits Stratford, in quest of information concerning Shakspeare, i. 34.

Beverley (Peter), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 677.

Bevis (Sir), of Southampton, notice of, i. 565. Allusions by Shakspeare to the romance of, 565, 566.

Bezoar stones, supposed virtues of, i. 367.

Bibliography, cultivated by Queen Elizabeth, i. 428. Influence of her example, 433. Account of eminent bibliographers and bibliophiles of her court, 433-436.

Bidford Topers, anecdote of them and Shakspeare, i. 48-50.

Bieston (Roger), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 677.

Biographical Writers, during the age of Elizabeth, notice of, i. 482.

Birds, different modes of taking in the 16th century, i. 287. By means of stalking-horses, 288. Bird-batting described, 289.

Blackfriars, theatre in, account of, ii. 209, 210.

Black Letter books, chiefly confined to the time of Elizabeth, i. 438.

Blenerhasset (Thomas), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 677. Additions made by him to the "Mirrour for Magistrates," 709.

Boar's-head, anciently the first dish brought to table, i. 76. Ceremonies attending it, 201. Verses on, ibid. 202.

Boccacio, principal novels of, translated by Paynter, i. 541.

Bodenham's (John), "Garden of the Muses," a collection of poems, i. 725. Critical notice of, 726. List of contributors to it, 726, 727.

Bodley (Sir Thomas), an eminent book collector, notice of, i. 433. Observation of King James I. on quitting the Bodleian library, 434.

Bolton (Edward), critical notice of his "Hypercritica: or Rule of Judgment for writing or reading our Historys," i. 465, 470-471.

Bond (Dr. John), an eminent Latin philologer, i. 454.

Booke of St. Albans, curious title and dedication of Markham's edition of, i. 70. note. Rarity of the original edition, 71. note. extract from, ibid., 72. note.

Book of Sports, account of, i. 173, 174.

Books, taste for, encouraged by Queen Elizabeth, i. 428. 433-435. Were anciently placed with their leaves outwards, 436. Were splendidly bound in the time of Elizabeth, 432. and note, 436. Hints on the best mode of keeping books, 436, 437. Remarks on the style in which they were executed, 437, 438.

Boors, or country clowns, character of, in the 16th century, i. 120-122.

Boots, preposterous fashions of, in the age of Shakspeare, ii. 106, 107.

Bourcher (Arthur), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 677.

Bourman (Nicholas), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 677.

Boys (Rev. John), an eminent Grecian, notice of, i. 454.

Bradshaw (Thomas), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 677.

Brathwait's English Gentleman cited, i. 258, 259.

Brathwayte (Richard), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 677.

Brawls, a fashionable dance in the age of Shakspeare, ii. 173. Different sorts of, ibid.

Bread, enumeration of different kinds of, in the age of Shakspeare, ii. 127.

Breeches, preposterous size of, in the age of Shakspeare, ii. 104. and note.

Breton (Nicholas), critical notice of the poems of, i. 602, 603.

Brewer's "Lingua," illustration of, i. 477.

Brice (Thomas), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 678.

Bridal Bed, why blessed, i. 226.

Bride, custom of kissing at the altar, i. 225. Supposed visionary appearances of future brides and bridegrooms, on Midsummer-Eve, 332-334. and on All-Hallow-Eve, 344-347.

Bride Ale (Rustic), description of, i. 227-229.

Britton (Mr.), remarks of, on the monumental bust of Shakspeare, ii. 619, 620.

Broke (Arthur), account of his "Tragicall Historye of Romeus and Juliet," ii. 359. and note.

Brooke (Christopher), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 678.

Brooke (Thomas), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 678.

Broughton (Rowland), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 678.

Browne's (William), Britannia's Pastorals, quotations from, illustrative of ancient customs:—on May-day, i. 155. Critical notice of his merits as a poet, 603, 604, 605. Causes of his being neglected, 605.

Brownie, a benevolent Scottish fairy, account of, ii. 330-336. Resemblance between him and Shakspeare's Puck, 351.

Brutus, character of, ii. 492.

Brydges (Sir Egerton), on the merits of Lodge, as a poet, i. 633-635. Estimate of the poetical character of Sir Walter Raleigh, 640-642. Critical observations of, on the "Paradise of Daintie Devises," 714, 715. And on "England's Helicon," 721-723.

Bryskett (Lodowick), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, notice of, i. 678. and note. [678:B]

Buck (Sir George), a minor poet in the time of Shakspeare, i. 678.

Buchanan's "Rerum Scoticarum Historia," character of, i. 477.

Bull-baiting, a fashionable amusement in the age of Shakspeare, ii. 176, 177.

Bullokar's "Bref Grammar for English," notice of, i. 455, 456. His innovations in English spelling, satirised by Shakspeare, 472.

Burbadge, the player, notice of, i. 417.

Burial, ceremony of, i. 232. Tolling the passing-bell, ibid. 233, 234. Lake wakes, described, 234-236. Vestiges of, in the north of England, 237. Funeral entertainments, 238. Garlands of flowers sometimes buried with the deceased, 240, 241. Graves planted with flowers, 242-244.

Burns, poetical description by, of the spells of All-Hallow-Eve, i. 346.

Burton (William), critical notice of his "History of Leicestershire," i. 481.

Burton's apology for May-games and sports, i. 174. Invective against the extravagance at inns, 219. His list of sports pursued in his time, 247. Portrait of the illiterate country gentlemen of that age, 430, 431. Eulogium on books and book collectors, 434, 435. The popular song of "Fortune my Foe," cited by him, 577.

Burton on the Heath, allusion to, by Shakspeare, i. 50.

Bust of Shakspeare, in Stratford church, originality of, proved, ii. 620. Its character and expression injured through Mr. Malone's interference, 621.

Buttes (John), "Dyets Dry Dinner," curious extract from, ii. 218.

Byrd's (William), collection of "Tenor Psalmes, Sonets, and Songs, of Pietie," &c. account of, i. 731.

Byron's (Lord), "Siege of Corinth" illustrated, ii. 411.

C

Cæsar. See Julius Cæsar.

Caliban, remarks on the character of, ii. 506. 523. 525.

Camden (William), character of his "Annals," i. 477.

Campbell's "Pleasures of Hope," character of, i. 599.

Campion (Thomas), critical notice of his "Observations on the Art of English Poesie," i. 468, 469.

Canary Dance, account of, ii. 175.

Candlemas-day, origin of the festival, i. 138. Why called "Wives' Feast Day," ibid. Ceremonies for Candlemas-eve and day, 139, 140, 141.

Capel (Mr.), Erroneous notions of, concerning Shakspeare's marriage, i. 62. His text of Shakspeare, one of the purest extant, ii. 48. note.

Caps worn by the ladies, in the age of Shakspeare, ii. 95.

Carbuncle, imaginary virtues of, i. 396. Allusions to it, ibid. 397-399.

Cards, fashionable games of, in the age of Shakspeare, ii. 169, 170. Were played in the theatre by the audience before the performance commenced, 217.

Carew (Richard), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 679.

Carew's "Survey of Cornwall," notice of, i. 481.

Carols (Christmas), account of, i. 197-202.

Carpenter (John), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 679.

Castiglione's "Cortegiano" translated into English, i. 453.

Chair of Shakspeare, purchased by Princess Czartoryskya, i. 22, 23.

Chalkhill (John), critical notice of the poems of, i. 605. 607. Singular beauty of his pastorals, 606.

Chalmers (Mr.), probable conjecture of, on the authenticity of Shakspeare's will, i. 15, 16. His hypothesis, concerning the person to whom Shakspeare addressed his sonnets, disproved, ii. 61, 62. Examination of his conjectures respecting the date of Romeo and Juliet, 357, 358. Of Richard III. 370, 371. Of Richard II. 376. Of Henry IV. Parts I. and II. 379. Of the Merchant of Venice, 385. Of Hamlet, 391. Of King John, 419. Of All's Well that Ends Well, 422, 423. His opinion on the traditionary origin of the Merry Wives of Windsor controverted, 435, 436. His conjecture on the date of Troilus and Cressida, 438. Of Henry VIII. 442. Of Timon of Athens, 444. Of Measure for Measure, 452. Of King Lear, 457. Of the Tempest, 500-503. Of Othello, 528. Of Twelfth Night, 532, 533.

Chapman (George), critical merits of as a poet, i. 607, 608. His tribute to the memory of the Earl of Southampton, ii. 17. Estimate of his merits as a dramatic poet, 569, 570.

Characters, notice of writers of, in the age of Elizabeth, i. 509-511. Sketch of the public and private character of Queen Elizabeth, ii. 146-151. and of James I. 151, 152. Of Shakspeare's drama, remarks on, ii. 545.

Charlcott-House, the seat of Sir Thomas Lucy, notice of, i. 402.

Charms practised on Midsummer-Eve, i. 331-333. On All-Hallow-Eve, 344-347. Supposed influence of, 362-365.

Chaucer, poetical description of May-day by, i. 153. Illustration of his "Assemblie of Fooles," 379, 380, 381. Description of the carbuncle, 396. Alluded to, by Shakspeare, ii. 79. Allusions by Chaucer to fairy mythology, 313. 317.

Chester (Robert), a minor poet, of the age of Shakspeare, i. 679. Critical notice of his "Love's Martyr," 728.

Chettle (Henry), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 679.

Children, absurdity of frightening by superstitious tales, i. 317. Notice of legendary tales, of their being stolen or changed by fairies, ii. 325-327.

Chivalric Amusements of Shakspeare's age, described, i. 553-556.

Chivalry, influence of, on the poetry of the Elizabethan age, i. 596. Allusion to it, by Shakspeare, ii. 79.

Chopine or Venetian stilt, notice of, ii. 98.

Chrismale or Chrism-Cloth, account of, i. 231.

Christenings, description of, i. 230, 231.

Christian IV. (King of Denmark), drunken entertainment given to, ii. 124, 125.

Christian Name, the same frequently given to two successive children in the age of Queen Elizabeth, i. 4. note.

Christmas Brand, superstitious notion concerning, i. 140.

Christmas, festival of, i. 193. Of Pagan origin, 194. Ceremony of bringing in the Christmas block, ibid. 195. Houses decorated with ivy, &c. on Christmas-Eve, 195, 196. Origin of this custom, 196. Custom of singing carols in the morning, 197. Gambols, anciently in use at this season, 202-205, 206. note. Poetical description of, by Herrick, 206. and by Mr. Walter Scott, 207, 208. At present how celebrated, 208. note.

Church-Ales, account of, i. 177, 178.

Churles and gentlemen, difference between, i. 71, 72.

Church-yard (Thomas), critical notice of the poems of, i. 608, 609.

Chute (Anthony), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 679.

Chronological list of Shakspeare's plays, ii. 261, 262.

Cinthio (Giraldi), principal novels of, translated in the time of Shakspeare, i. 543.

Citizens of London, dress of, in the age of Shakspeare, ii. 110, 111.

Clapham (Henoch), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 679.

Classical literature, diffusion of, in the reign of Elizabeth, i. 28. Fashionable among country gentlemen, 82. Cultivated generally, 449, 450, 451. The knowlege of Greek literature greatly promoted by Sir Thomas Smith, and Sir Henry Savile, 453.; and Dr. Boys, 454. Latin literature promoted by Ascham, Grant, Bond, Rider, and others, 454, 455.

Claudio, remarks on the character of, in Measure for Measure, ii. 455.

Cleanliness, attention of Shakspeare's fairies to, ii. 346, 347.

Cleaton (Ralph, a clergyman), character of, i. 92.

Cleopatra, remarks on the character of, ii. 493.

Clergymen, anciently styled Sir, i. 87-90. Picture of country clergymen in the age of Elizabeth, 90, 91. Their degraded state under James I. 92, 93. The younger clergy, chiefly schoolmasters, 94. Bishop Hall's picture of their depressed state, 95. Prohibited from hawking, 259. note.

Clerk-ale, notice of, i. 176.

Cloten, remarks on the character of, in Cymbeline, ii. 468.

Clothes, materials of, in the age of Elizabeth, ii. 91. How preserved, ibid. 92.

Clown (country), character of in the 16th century, i. 120-122.

Coaches, when first introduced into England, ii. 146. Extravagant number of, used by the great, 147.

"Cock and Pye," explanation of the phrase, i. 554.

Cockayn (Sir Aston), epigram of, on Wincot-ale, i. 48, 49.

Cock-fighting, a favourite sport in Shakspeare's age, i. 145. Awful death of a cock-fighter, 146. note.

Cocks, throwing at, a barbarous sport on Shrove-Tuesday, i. 145. and note. Ridiculed by Hogarth, ibid.; and now completely put down, 146.

Colet's (Dean), Grammatical Institutes, notice of, i. 26.

Combe (Mr. John), satyrical epitaph on, by Shakspeare, ii. 605. His character, ibid.

Combe (Mr. Thomas), notice of, ii. 629. note. Bequest to him by Shakspeare, 629.

Comedy, "Gammer Gurton's Needle," the first ever performed in England, ii. 227.

Comedy of Errors, probable date of, ii. 286. Mr. Steevens' opinion that this drama was not wholly Shakspeare's, controverted and disproved, 287, 288. Superior to the Menæchmi of Plautus, whence its fable is borrowed, 286-288. Exquisite portrait of Ægeon, 288. General observations on this drama, 288, 289.

Passages of this drama, which are cited and illustrated in the present work.

Act I, Scene 1 — , ii. 364. Act ii. scene 2., i. 394. Act iv. scene 2., i. 556

Comic Painting, exquisite, of Shakspeare's dramas, ii. 550.

Commentators in the age of Shakspeare, notice of, i. 470.

Compact of witches with the devil, account of, ii. 183-185.

Compliments, extravagant, current in the age of Shakspeare, ii. 161, 162.

Composition of the poetry of the Elizabethan age considered, i. 597, 598.

Compton (Lady), moderate demands of, from her husband, ii. 145.

Conduct of Shakspeare's drama considered, ii. 541-544.

Conjurors and schoolmasters, frequently united in the same person in the 16th century, i. 95, 96.

Constable (Henry), critical notice of the poems of, i. 609, 610. Particularly of his sonnets, ii. 55.

Constance, remarks on the character of, ii. 420, 421.

Cooks, in Shakspeare's time, overlooked by their masters, i. 74. Were better paid than clergymen, 93.

Cooper's Latin and English Dictionary, used by Shakspeare, i. 26. The author preferred by Queen Elizabeth, 27.

Copley (Anthony), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 679.

Copyholder, character of a poor one, in the time of Elizabeth, i. 120.

Copyrights of plays, how disposed of in Shakspeare's time, ii. 224, 225.

Cordelia, beautiful character of, ii. 465.

Coriolanus, date of the tragedy of, ii. 493. Critical remarks on its conduct and the characters introduced, 494.

Passages of this drama illustrated in the present work.