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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 benevoIence, and the goodness of his heart. 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 honor his memory on this side idolatry as much as any. He was indeed honest, and of an open and free nature." My gentle Shakspeare' is the language of the same great man, in his poem to the memory of our bard; and Rowe, repeating the uncontradicted rumor of times past, has told us, 'that every one, who had a true sense of merit, and could distinguish men, had generally a just value and esteem for him;' adding, 'that his exceeding candor and good nature must certainly have inclined all the gentler part of the world to love him.'

Mrs. Shakspeare, who survived her husband eight years, was buried between his grave and the north wall of the chancel, under a stone inlaid with brass, and thus inscribed :

Heere lyeth interred the bodye of Anne, wife of Mr. William Shakespeare, who depted. this life the 6th day of Avgvst, 1623, being of the age of 67 yeares.

Vbera, tv, Mater, tv lac vitamq. dedisti;
Væ mihi! pro tanto mvnere saxa dabo.

Qvam mallem, amoveat lapidem bonvs angel' ore,
Exeat vt Christi corpvs, imago tva.

Sed nil vota valent; venias cito, Christe; resvrget,
Clavsa licet tvmvlo, mater, et astra petet.

Of Shakspeare's two daughters, the eldest, Susanna, married Dr. John Hall, a physician of Stratford, who is said to have obtained much reputation and practice. She brought her husband an only child, Elizabeth, who was married, first, to Thomas Nashe, Esq. and afterwards to Sir John Barnard, of Abingdon, in Northamptonshire; but had no issue by either of them. Judith, Shakspeare's second daughter, married Thomas Quiney, a vintner of Stratford, by whom she had three children ; but none of them reached their twentieth year, and they left no posterity. Hence our poet's last lineal descendant was Lady Barnard, who was buried at Abingdon, February 17, 1669-70. Dr. Hall, her father, died November 25, 1635, and her mother July 11, 1649; and both were interred in Stratford church.

Our poet's house and lands continued in the possession of his descendants to the time of the Restoration, when they were repurchased by the Clopton family, the original proprietors. Sir Hugh Clopton, who was knighted by George I., modernised the residence by internal and external alterations, and in 1742, entertained Macklin, Garrick, and Dr. Delany under Shakspeare's mulberry-tree. By Sir

Hugh's executor it was sold to the Rev. Francis Gastrell, vicar of Frodsham in Cheshire; who, if we may judge by his actions, felt no pride or pleasure in this charming retirement, no consciousness of being possessed of the sacred ground, which the Muses had consecrated to the memory of their favorite 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. 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 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. T. Sharp, watch-maker, of Stratford; who, well acquainted with the value set on 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 damn'd to everlasting fame,' the demolition of New Place soon followed; for in 1759 he razed 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.

Many portraits have been engraved and published as likenesses of our author; but it is a lamentable and extraordinary fact, that there is no authority attached to one of them. The pedigree of each is defective, and even that in the title of the first folio edition of the author's works, which has been poetically extolled by Jonson, is so badly drawn and executed, that it cannot be considered a good likeness. Not so the monumental bust in Stratford church; for this appeals to our eyes and under

standing with all the force of truth, and indeed has always been esteemed the most authentic and probable portrait of the poet. It was executed soon after his decease, and, according to credible tradition, was copied from a cast after nature.

In the present edition the text of Malone has been followed, as published under the superintendence of Mr. Boswell in the year 1821, in 21 volumes. The great superiority of this text over every other hitherto published is now generally acknowleged. By a careful collation of the early folio and quarto editions, and by a rigid adherence to the determination of admitting no reading unsupported by one or more of these early copies, unless where an absolute want of intelligibility from typographical carelessness compelled him to do so, Mr. Malone has succeeded in presenting us with as perfect a transcript of the words of Shakspeare as can reasonably be expected from any materials, of which we are at present in possession.

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