He then withdrew from the stage, and presented the glove to the queen, who was much pleased with his behaviour, and complimented him on its propriety. One evening, Burbage performed Richard III., and while behind the scenes, Shakspeare overheard him making an assignation with a lady of considerable beauty. Burbage was to knock at her chamber-door : she was to say, "Who comes there?" and on receiving for answer, ""Tis I, Richard the Third," the favoured tragedian was to be admitted. Shakspeare instantly determined to keep the appointment himself. Tapping at the lady's door, he made the expected response to her interrogatory, and gained admittance. The poet's eloquence soon converted the fair one's anger into satisfaction; but the real Simon Pure quickly arrived; he rapped loudly, and to the expected query replied, ""Tis I, Richard the Third." "Then," quoth Shakspeare, "go thy ways, Burby, for thou knowest that William the Conqueror reigned before Richard the Third." Rowe says: "The latter part of his life was spent, as all men of good sense would wish theirs may be, in ease, retirement, and the conversation of his friends. His pleasurable wit and good nature engaged him in the acquaintance, and entitled him to the friendship, of the gentlemen of the neighbourhood." And in the words of Dr. Drake, "He was high in reputation as a poet, favoured by the great and accomplished, and beloved by all who knew him." Nothing can be more delightful than to contemplate this wonderful man, in the vigour of his age, and in the full possession of his amazing faculties, retiring from the scene of his well-earned triumphs, to find, in the comparative exclusion of his native town, that repose and quietude, both in mind and body, which is not to be looked for in the bustle of the world. And if he, whose glory was to fill the universe, and whose pursuits (if anything connected with time can be) were worthy of an immortal soul, could pant for retirement in the meridian of his days, what excuse have they who, in senectude and feebleness, continue to toil among the molehills of earth for a little perishable gold, for which they have no use when they have obtained it? Shakspeare retired from the metropolis at a period little past the prime of life. We meet with no hint of any failure in his constitution ; and the execution of his will, in "perfect health and memory," on the 25th of March, 1616, warrants no immediate expectation of his decease. The curtain was now to fall, however, on this earthly stage of existence. He died on the 23rd of April, the anniversary of his birth, having exactly completed his fifty-second year. On the 25th, two days after his death, his body was laid in its original dust, being buried under the north side of the chancel of the great church of Stratford; a flat stone, protecting all that was perishable of the remains of Shakspeare, bears this inscription: "Good friend, for Jesus' sake forbeare To digg the dust enclosed here : Bless'd be the man that spares these stones, The common opinion is that these lines were written by the poet himself; but this notion has, perhaps, originated solely from the use of the word "my" in the closing line. "The imprecation," says Malone, was probably suggested by an apprehension "that our author's 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 Stratford charnel-house." We shall now give a brief abstract of Shakspeare's will, wnich is yet extant in the Prerogative Office. It bears date, March 25, 1616, and commences with the following paragraphs: "In the name of God, amen. I, William Shakspeare, at Stratfordupon-Avon, in the county of Warwick, gent., in perfect health and memory, (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." It then proceeds to make the bequests enumerated below: To his daughter Judith he gave 150l. of lawful English money; 100%. to be paid in discharge of her marriage-portion within one year after his decease, and the remaining gol. upon her giving up to her elder sister, Susanna Hall, all her right in a copyhold tenement and appurtenances, parcel of the manor of Rowington. To the said Judith he also bequeathed 150/. more, if she or any of her issue were living three years from the date of his will; but, in the contrary event, then he directed that 100l. of the sum should be paid to his niece, Elizabeth Hall, and the proceeds of the 50l. to his sister Joan, or Jone Hart, for life, with residue to her children. He further gave to the said Judith a broad silver-gilt bowl. To his sister Joan, besides the contingent bequest above mentioned, he gave 20%. and all his wearing apparel; also the house in Stratford, in which she was to reside for her natural life, under the yearly rent of twelvepence. To her three sons, William Hart, Hart, and Michael Hart, he gave 57. apiece, to be paid within one year after his decease. To his grand-daughter, Elizabeth Hall, he bequeathed all his plate, the silver bowl above excepted. To the poor of Stratford he bequeathed 10.; to Mr. Thomas Cole, his sword; to Thomas. Russel, 5; to Francis Collins, Esq., 137. 6s. 8d.; to Hamlet (Hamnet), saddler, 17. 6s. 8d. to buy a ring; and a like sum, for the same purpose, to William Renolds, gent., Anthony Nash, gent., John Heminge, Richard Burbage, and Henry Cundell, his "fellows"; also twenty shillings in gold to his godson, Wiiliam Walker. To his daughter, Susanna Hall, he bequeathed New Place, with the appurtenances, situated in Henley-street; also, all his "barns, stables, orchards, gardens, Jands, tenements and hereditaments whatsoever, situate, lying, and being, or to be had, received, perceived, or taken, within the towns, hamlets, villages, fields, and ground 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, situated, lying, and being in the Blackfriars, London, near the Wardrobe: and all my other 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 male of her said first son, lawfully issuing; and for default of such issue, to the second son of her body, lawfully issuing, and to the heirs male of the said second son, lawfully issuing;" and so forth as to third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh sons of her body, and their heirs male: "and B B for default of such issue, the said premises to be and remain to my niece Hall, and the heirs male of her body, lawfully issuing; and for default of such issue, to her daughter Judith, and the heirs male of her body lawfully issuing; and for default of such issue, to the right heirs of me the said William Shakspeare." To the said Susanna Hall and her husband, whom he appointed executors of his will, under the direction. of Francis Collins and Thomas Russel, Esqs., he further bequeathed all the rest of his "goods, chattles, leases, plate, jewels, and household stuff whatsoever," after the payment of his debts, legacies, and funeral expenses; with the exception of his "second-best bed, with the furniture," which constituted the only bequest he made to his wife, and that by insertion after the will was written out. A few additional facts respecting Shakspeare's family may be acceptable. His wife surivved him seven years, and was buried between his grave and the north wall of the chancel, under a stone inlaid with brass, and inscribed thus: "Heere lyeth interred the bodye of Anne, wife of Mr. William Shakspeare, who departed this life the sixth day of August, 1623, being at the age of sixty-seven yeares." We have thus, as briefly as the importance of such a memoir would permit, gone over the meagre biographical remains of the noblest dramatic poet the world has ever produced. Without attempting to draw the character of this matchless writer, we have occasionally, in the course of our narrative, endeavoured to mark the feeling of respect and admiration by which we are influenced while contemplating the mighty performances of a mind which, with little assistance from education, surpassed all the efforts of ancient and modern genius. CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER OF SHAKSPEARE'S DRAMAS. ON THE AUTHORITY OF MALONE, CHALMERS, AND KNIGHT. THE ensuing enumeration of Shakspeare's dramas with the dates assigned by the most generally received authorities, is merely given as a matter of curiosity; for the learned commentators are so much at variance in their chronology, that it deserves little or no attention. Indeed, when we reflect that the first edition of our author did not appear till several years after his death, and was then published by the players, who, it can scarcely be supposed, would pay any regard to the order of time in their arrangement of the dramas, it must be obvious, that with a very few exceptions, the dates given to those compositions are purely conjectural. A cloud rests over Shakspeare's career as an author, which is not now likely to be dispersed; those who were most familiar with the operations of his extraordinary genius, seem to have been hardly aware "that he was not for a day, but for all time;" they paid their shillings and applauded his productions on the stage, perhaps, but they had little taste or inclination to do them justice in the closet. Shakspeare himself appears to have been remarkably careless of his own fame he produced his great works without effort, and bequeathed them to his country, unconscious of their merit, and reckless of their fate. |