speare's writings prevents that appeal to internal evidence, which in other cases has been found to throw light on character. The purity of his morals, for example, if sought in his plays, must be measured against the licentiousness of his language, and the question will then be, how much did he write from inclination, and how much to gratify the taste of his hearers? How much did he add to the age, and how much did he borrow from it? Pope says, "he was obliged to please the lowest of the people, "and to keep the worst of company:" this must have been Pope's conjecture. Managers are sometimes obliged to please the lowest of the people: and, in our days, they have not unfrequently yielded to or created a corrupt taste; but we know not that writers are under a similar obligation; and of Shakspeare's keeping the worst of company, we have no existing proof. With regard to the amusements of his leisure hours, we have many allusions in his works to the sports of the field, and falconry appears to have been a particular favourite. Generally speaking, there is every reason to think, that he soon acquired and maintained a respectable character. He came to London poor and unknown, and he left it with a high reputation, and took his seat with the men of rank and opulence in his native county. The only life which has been prefixed to all the editions of Shakspeare of the eighteenth century, is that drawn up by Mr. Rowe, and which he modestly calls, "Some Account, &c." In this we have, what Rowe could collect when every legitimate source of information was closed, a few traditions that were floating nearly a century after the author's death. Some inaccuracies in his account have been detected in the valuable notes of Mr. Steevens, and in that part of a new but imperfect life of Shakspeare, published in Mr. Malone's last edition. In other parts also of their respective editions, they have scattered a few brief notices which we have incorporated in the present sketch. The whole,|| however, is unsatisfactory. Shakspeare, in his private character, in his friendships, in his amusements, in his closet, in his family, is no where before us: and such was the nature of the writings on which his fame depends, and of that employment in which he was engaged, that being in no important respect connected with the history of his age, it is in vain to look into the latter for any information concerning him. Mr. Capell is of opinion that he wrote some prose works, because "it can hardly be supposed that he, "who had so considerable a share in the confidence "of the Earls of Essex and Southampton, could be "a mute spectator only of controversies in which "they were so much interested." This editor, however, appears to have taken for granted a degree of confidence with these two statesmen which he ought first to have proved. Shakspeare might have enjoyed the confidence of their social hour, but it is mere conjecture that they admitted him into the confidence of their state affairs. Mr. Malone, the most frequent conjecturer of all Shakspeare's admirers, but whose opinions are entitled to a higher degree of credit than those of Mr. Capell, thinks that our author's prose compositions, if they should be discovered, would exhibit the same perspicuity, the same cadence, the same elegance and vigour, which we find in his plays. It is unfortunate, however, for all wishes and all conjectures, that not a line of Shakspeare's manuscripts is known to exist, and his prose writings are no where hinted at. We are in possession of printed copies only of his plays and poems, and those so depraved by carelessness or ignorance, that all the labour of all his commentators has not yet been able to restore them to more than a probable purity. Many of the difficulties which originally attended the perusal of them yet remain, and will require, what it is now scarcely possible to expect, greater sagacity and more happy conjecture than have hitherto been employed. Of Shakspeare's POEMS, it is perhaps necessary that some notice should be taken in an account of his life, although they have never been favourites with the public, and have seldom been reprinted with his plays. Shortly after his death, Mr. Malone informs us, a very incorrect impression of them was issued out, which in every subsequent reprint was implicitly followed, until he published a correct edition, or what he supposed to be such, in 1780, with illustrations. But the peremptory decision of his compeer, Mr. Steevens, on the merits of these poems, must be our apology for omitting them in the present abridgment of the labours of these critics. "We "have not reprinted the Sonnets, &c. of Shakspeare, "because the strongest act of parliament that could "be framed would fail to compel readers into their "service. Had Shakspeare produced no other works "than these, his name would have reached us with "as little celebrity as time has conferred on that of "Thomas Watson, an older and much more elegant "sonnetteer." The elegant preface of Dr. Johnson gives an account of the attempts made in the early part of the last century to revive the memory and reputation of our poet, by Rowe, Pope, Theobald, Hanmer, and Warburton, whose respective merits he has characterised with candour, and with singular felicity of expression. Shakspeare's works may be overloaded with criticism, for what writer has excited so much curiosity, and so many opinions? but Johnson's preface is an accompaniment worthy of the genius it celebrates. — His own edition followed in 1765, and a second, in conjunction with Mr. Steevens, 1773. The third edition of the joint editors appeared in 1785, the fourth in 1793, in 15 vols., and the last and most complete, in 1803, in 21 volumes octavo. Mr. Malone's edition was published in 1790, in 10 vols. crown octavo, and soon became scarce. His original notes and improvements were, however, incorporated in the editions of 1793 and 1803, by Mr. Steevens. Mr. Malone's last edition, a posthumous work, which appeared in 1821, was edited by Mr. James Boswell, the second son of the biographer of Johnson, who appears to have been fully in the confidence of Mr. Malone. To this is prefixed a new life of Shakspeare, which, although extending to more than five hundred pages, conducts Shakspeare only to London, without giving us any more information of his subsequent progress than we had before in the notes which Steevens and Malone had formerly contributed to Rowe's life. Mr. Malone, after more than twenty years' labour, had not advanced farther, nor did he leave any materials from which his editor could attempt a continuation. To follow Mr. Malone in enumerating the copies of Shakspeare dispersed through England, would now be impossible. In one form or other his plays have been, for the last twenty years, almost continually in the press. Nor among the honours paid to his genius, ought we to forget the very magnificent edition undertaken by Messrs. Boydell and Nicol. Still less ought it to be forgotten how much the reputation of Shakspeare was revived by the unrivalled excellence of Garrick's performance. His share in directing the public taste towards the study of Shakspeare, was perhaps greater than that of any individual in his time, and such was his zeal, and such his success in this laudable attempt, that he may be forgiven for his injudicious alterations of some of the plays, as well as for the foolish mummery of the Stratford jubilee. proved that W. S. gent. the only authority for attributing it to Shakspeare in the reprinted edition, meant William Stafford, gent. Theobald, the same accurate critic informs us, was desirous of palming upon the world a play called "Double False"hood," for a posthumous one of Shakspeare. In 1770 was reprinted at Feversham, an old play called "The Tragedy of Arden of Feversham, and Black When public opinion had begun to assign to Shak- "Will," with a preface attributing it to Shakspeare, speare the very high rank he was destined to hold, without the smallest foundation. But these were he became the promising object of fraud and im- trifles compared to the atrocious attempt made in posture. This we have already observed, he did 1795-6, when, besides a vast mass of prose and not wholly escape in his own time, and he had the verse, letters, &c., pretendedly in the handwriting spirit or policy to despise it.) It was reserved of Shakspeare and his correspondents, an entire play, for modern impostors, however, to avail themselves entitled Vortigern, was not only brought forward of the obscurity in which his history is involved. In to the astonishment of the public, but actually per1751 a book was published, entitled, "A Compen- || formed on Drury-lane stage. It would be unneces"dious or briefe examination of certayne ordinary sary to expatiate on the merits of this play, which "Complaints of diuers of our Countrymen in those Mr. Steevens has very happily characterized as "the "our days: which although they are in some Parte "performance of a madman, without a lucid inter"unjust and frivolous, yet are they all by way of val," or to enter more at large into the history of "dialogue throughly debated and discussed by Wil- a fraud so recent, and so soon acknowledged by "liam Shakspeare, Gentleman." This had been ori- the authors of it. It produced, however, an interginally published in 1581, but Dr.Farmer has clearly esting controversy between Mr. Malone and Mr. George Chalmers, which, although mixed with some unpleasant asperities, was extended to inquiries into the history and antiquities of the stage, from which future historians and critics may derive considerable information. 11) Mr. Malone has given a list of 14 plays ascribed to Shakspeare, either by the editors of the two later folios, or by the compilers of ancient catalogues. Of these Pericles has found advocates for its admission into his works. III. APPENDIX. No. I. SHAKSPEARE'S WILL, FROM THE ORIGINAL IN THE OFFICE OF THE PREROGATIVE COURT OF CANTERBURY. Vicesimo quinto die Martii, 1) Anno Regni Domini nostri Jacobi nunc Regis Anglia, &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 (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 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. 2) 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 1) Our poet's will appears to have been drawn up in February, though not executed till the following month; for February was first written, and afterwards struck out, and March written over it. — MALONE. 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 3) 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. 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 twelvepence. Item, I give and bequeath unto her three sons, William Hart, - Hart, *) 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. Item, I give and bequeath unto the poor of Stratford aforesaid ten pounds; to Mr. Thomas Combe") my sword; to Thomas Russel, esq. five pounds; and 2) This was found to be unnecessary, as it was ascertained that the copyhold descended to the eldest daughter || 1605. by the custom of the manor. — - MALONE, edit. 1821. 3) to my | niece —] Elizabeth Hall was our poet's granddaughter. So, in Othello, Act I. sc. 1. lago says to Brabantio: "You'll have your nephews neigh to you;" meaning his grand-children. MALONE. 5) except my broad silver and gilt bowl,] This bowl, as we afterwards find, our poet bequeathed to his daughter Judith. · HARNESS. 6) — Mr. Thomas Combe] This gentleman was baptized at Stratford, Feb. 9, 1588-9, so that he was twenty-seven to Francis Collins ") of the borough of Warwick, || Robinson dwelleth, situate, lying, and being, in the in the county of Warwick, gent. thirteen pounds || Blackfriars in London near the Wardrobe: 14) and six shillings and eight-pence, to be paid within one all other my lands, tenements, and hereditaments year after my decease. 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 heirsmales of the body of the said first son lawfully isson of her body lawfully issuing, and to the heirsmales 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, 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 my second best bed, with the furniture. 15) Item, I give and bequeath to Hamlet [Hamnet] Sadler ) 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, 9) twenty shillings in gold; to Anthony Nash, 10) gent. twenty-six shillings eight-suing; and for default of such issue, to the second pence; and to Mr. John Nash,11) twenty-six shillings eight-pence; and to my fellows, John Hemynge, Richard Burbage, and Henry Cundell, 12) twenty-six shillings eight-pence apiece, to buy them rings. Item, I give, will, bequeath, and devise, unto my daughter, Susannah Hall, for better enabling of her to perform this my will, and towards the perform-fifth, sixth, and seventh sons of her body, lawfully ance 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, 13) or in any of them, in the said county of Warwick; and also all that messuage or tenement, with the appurtenances, wherein one John 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 Allchurch 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. I have taken the trouble to ascertain the ages of Shakspeare's friends and relations, and the time of their deaths, because we are thus enabled to judge how far the traditions concerning him which were communicated to Mr. Rowe in the beginning of this century, are worthy of credit. MALONE. 13) Old Stratford, Bishopton, and Welcombe,] The lands of Old Stratford, Bishopton, and Welcombe, here devised, were, in Shakspeare's time, a continuation of one large field, all in the parish of Stratford. Bishopton is two miles from Stratford, and Welcombe one. For Bishopton, Mr. Theobald erroneously printed Busharton, and the error has been continued in all the subsequent editions. The word in Shakspeare's original will is spelt Bushopton, the vulgar pronunciation of Bishopton. — I searched the Indexes in the Rolls Chapel from the year 1589 to 1616, with the hope of finding an enrolment of the purchase-deed of the estate here devised by our poet, and of ascertaining its extent and value; but it was not enrolled during that period, nor could I find any inquisition taken after his death, by which its value might have been ascertained. I suppose it was conveyed by the former owner to Shakspeare, not by bargain and sale, but by a deed of feoffment, which it was not necessary to enroll. MALONE. 14) that messuage or tenement in the Blackfriars in London near the Wardrobe:] This was the house which was mortgaged to Henry Walker. - By the Wardrobe is meant the King's Great Wardrobe, a royal house, near Puddle-Wharf, purchased by King Edward the Third from sir John Beauchamp, who built it. King Richard III. was lodged in this house, in the second year of his reign. See Stowe's Survey, p. 693, edit. 1618. After the fire of London this office was kept in the Savoy: but it is now abolished. - MALONE. 15) — my second best bed, with the furniture.] Thus Shakspeare's original will. It appears, in the original will of Shakspeare (now in the Prerogative-office, Doctors' Commons,) that he had forgot his wife; the legacy to her being expressed by an interlineation, as well as those to Heminge, Burbage, and Condell. — The will is written on three sheets of paper, the last two of which are undoubtedly subscribed with Shakspeare's own hand. The first indeed has his name 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 household stuff whatsoever, after my debts and legacies paid, and my funeral expenses discharged, I give, devise, and bequeath to my son-in-law, John Hall, 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 Russell, esq. 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. 30. Antony and Cleopatra. 81. Coriolanus. . . . 32. The Tempest. 33. The Twelfth Night 84. Henry VIII.. 35. Othello. 29. Julius Cæsar - - 1611 1607 EDITIONS OF SHAKSPEARE'S WORKS. during the life-time of Shakspeare. Of the following plays, editions were printed Titus Andronicus Pericles EARLY QUARTOS. Henry VI. Parts 2 and 3. 1600-1611 . 1609 1597-1598-1608-1615 1597-1598-1602-1612 1597-1599-1609 1598 Midsummer-Night's Dream 1600 Much Ado About Nothing. 1600 Merry Wives of Windsor. 1602 Hamlet Lear 1603-1604-1605-1607-1609 1608 1609 no date. The above are the only dramatic productions of time. All of them were sent into the world imperour Author which were published during his lifefectly; some printed from copies surreptitiously obtained by means of inferior performers, who, deriving no benefit from the theatre, except their salary, were uninterested in the retention of copies, which was one of the chief concerns of our ancient managers; and the rest, as Hamlet in its first edition, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Romeo and Juliet, Henry the Fifth, and the two Parts of Henry the Fourth, appear to have been published from copies inaccurately taken by the ear during representation, without any assistance from the originals belonging to the playhouses. 13. Henry V. 14. The Merchant of Venice. 15. Hamlet. 1597 1599 1596 1597 1599 1599 1597 in the margin, but it differs somewhat in spelling as well as manner, from the two signatures that follow. - MALONE and STEEVENS. FOLIOS. As Shakspeare had himself shewn such an entire disregard for posthumous reputation as to omit publishing a collected edition of his works, an attempt was made to atone for his neglect by his friends Heminge and Condell, about eight years after his death, who published, in 1623, the only authentic edition of his works. |