The Market Cross, Stratford, from the N.W.
[ The story so far: "... it is certain he must have been most successful in his profession, or his gains would not have enabled him to complete such large purchases as those which have just been mentioned. We must not, however, forget that, after the year 1605, he made few purchases of any magnitude, so that perhaps we may conclude he did not consider it necessary after that period to retain any large portion of his income for the purpose of increasing his possessions. With the exception of the house in the Blackfriars, there is no property mentioned in his will of which he was not possessed in 1605...." ]
The exact period at which Shakespeare retired from the stage is not known, but he was one of the original actors in Ben Jonson's Sejanus, which was produced in 1603, and in a letter, hereafter quoted, supposed to have been written in 1608, he is described as "till of late an actor of good account in the cumpanie." His name also occurs in a list of the king's company appended to a letter dated April 9th, 1604, found by Mr. Collier at Dulwich College, but I have some doubt whether he might not have been retained in such a list as long as he continued to possess an interest in the profits of the theatre, even although he had relinquished his profession as an actor. It seems evident, from the curious document quoted at p. 208, that, in 1604, Shakespeare was occupied in pursuits of quite a different kind at Stratford, and the transactions there mentioned are of a character to lead us to believe he was then a resident in that town, especially as they are spread over a considerable period ; but it must be kept in mind that the evidence in this respect is not sufficiently complete to enable us to decide with certainty the period of his permanent establishment at Stratford, for Aubrey's assertion that "he was wont to / p.219 / goe to his native countrey once a yeare" sufficiently explains the circumstances above alluded to, if we can venture to adopt the opinion of a writer whose other statements are so improbable.
The Market Cross, Stratford, from the N.W.
It is beyond doubt that Shakespeare made, for those days, frequent journeys between Stratford and London. In the Corn-market, Oxford, a very few yards from Carfax church, may yet be seen an inn which has for centuries been known by the sign of the Crown. Its front is now quite modernised, but from a yard at the back may still be accurately traced considerable portions of the older building, and sufficiently distinct to enable the observer to bring to his mind the portraiture of a large rambling substantial hostelry of the Elizabethan period. The present frequenters of this establishment are little aware of the associations that have been conferred upon it by the antiquarian gossips of the seventeenth century. It was here,* according to Anthony
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*
Oxford was in the high road between London and Stratford, the route passing through Islip. Shakespeare was probably well acquainted with Oxford / p.220 / and Islip. The following is an account of some Stratford people who went to London on the business of the corporation :
Payd for our horsmeate the first night at Oxford - - -
ij.s. viij.d.
And for our owne charges the same night - - - -
ij.s. ij.d.
The second night at Iselipp for our suppers - - - -
ij.s. iiij.d.
And for our horsemeate the same night at Iselipp - -
ij.s. viij.d.
They third day for our bayt and our horses at Hooke Norton -
xij.d.
And for walkinge our horses at Tetseworth and elsewhere -
iij .d.
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Wood, that Shakespeare lodged "in his journies between Warwickshire and London." The tavern was then kept by John Davenant, father of Sir William, and the hostess, says Wood, "was a very beautiful woman, of a good wit and conversation, in which she was imitated by none of her children but by this William." Aubrey agrees with this account, but in his hands the story, as might be expected, is considerably improved upon, as the following extract from the life of Davenant in his manuscript collections in the Ashmolean Museum will show :
| Sir William Davenant, knight, poet-laureate, was borne about the end of February in . . . . street in the city of Oxford, at the Crowne Taverne : baptized 3. of March, A. D. 1605-6. His father was John Davenant, a vintner there, a very grave and discreet citizen : his mother was a very beautifull woman, and of a very good witt, and of conversation extremely agreable. . . . . Mr. William Shakespeare was wont to goe into Warwickshire once a yeare, and did commonly in his journey lye at this house in Oxon, where he was exceedingly respected. I have heard Parson Robert say that Mr. W. Shakspeare has given him a hundred kisses. Now Sir Wm. would sometimes, when he was pleasant over a glasse of wine with his most intimate friends, e. g. Sam Butler (author of Hudibras) &c. say that it seemed to him that he writt with the very spirit that Shakespeare [did], and was* contented † enough to be thought his son ; he would tell them the story as above. Now, by the way, his mother had a very light report. In those days she was called a trader. |
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--------------------------- * Seemd interlined. † Contentented, MS. --------------------------- |
| If tradition may be trusted, Shakspeare often baited at the Crown Inn or Tavern in Oxford, in his journey to and from London. The landlady was a woman of great beauty and sprightly wit, and her husband, Mr. John Davenant, (afterwards mayor of that city) a grave melancholy man ; who, as well as his wife, used much to delight in Shakspeare's pleasant company. 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. This story Mr. Pope told me * at the Earl of Oxford's table, upon occasion of some discourse which arose about Shakspeare's monument then newly erected in Westminster Abbey ; and he quoted Mr. Betterton the player for his authority. I answered, that I thought such a story might have enriched the variety of those choice fruits of observations he has presented us in his preface to the edition he had published of our poet's works. He replied, There might be in the garden of mankind such plants as would seem to pride themselves more in a regular production of their own native fruits, than in having the repute of bearing a richer kind by grafting ; and this was the reason he omitted it. |
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--------------------------- * "The story of his visiting Shakespear when a boy, as Mr. Pope told me"—Oldys, MS. notes to Langbaine. --------------------------- |
/ p.222 /
The reader will observe that Anthony Wood is our earliest authority for the Crown Inn having been Shakespeare's hostelry in his travels between the metropolis and his native town,* and Warton tells us that "it was always a constant tradition in Oxford that Shakspeare was the father of Davenant the poet," adding that he had seen the circumstance expressly mentioned in some of Wood's papers. The evidence here adduced cannot, however, be said to substantiate Aubrey's statement ; but some writers have attacked Shakespeare's character on much more questionable grounds, relying solely on an entry in the Stratford baptismal register for 1600, "Wilhelmus filius Wilhelmi," for attributing another circumstance of the same kind to Shakespeare. This opinion is as little entitled to credit as the anecdote related by Oldys, which is a common one in early jest-books, and has been attributed to several individuals.†
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*
Wood's words, speaking of Davenant, are,—"His mother was a very beautiful woman, of a good wit and conversation, in which she was imitated by none of her children but by this William. The father, who was a very grave and discreet citizen (yet an admirer and lover of plays and playmakers, especially Shakespeare, who frequented his house in his journies between Warwickshire and London), was of a melancholick disposition, and was seldom or never seen to laugh, in which he was imitated by none of his children but by Robert his eldest son, afterwards fellow of St. John's College, and a venerable doctor of divinity."
†
"A boy, whose mother was noted to be one not overloden with honesty, went to seeke his godfather, and enquiring for him, quoth one to him, who is thy godfather ? The boy repli'd, his name is goodman Digland the gardiner. Oh, said the man, if he be thy godfather, he is at the next alehouse, but I feare thou takest God's name in vaine."—Taylor's Workes, ed. 1630, ii. 184.
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Shakespeare's eldest daughter, Susanna, was married at Stratford, on June 5th, 1607, to John Hall, and the poet was most likely present at the nuptial ceremony, for that the union met with his special approval may be inferred from the position she occupies in her father's will. In the following December Shakespeare lost his brother Edmund, and, before another year had elapsed, his mother, who had / p.223 / lived to witness the success of her eldest son, had also passed away. Mary Shakespeare was buried at Stratford on September 9th, 1608. Mr. Collier believes that the dramatist was at Stratford at this period, and attended the funeral of his mother. This is probable enough ; but when the same writer tells us that "filial piety and duty would of course impel him to visit Stratford on the occasion," he forgot that had Shakespeare been in London at the time of his mother's death, her funeral would have taken place before the announcement of her decease could have reached him. On October 16th, in the same year, Shakespeare was godfather to William Walker, of Stratford, who is mentioned in his will ; but this circumstance is hardly of itself sufficient to prove he was then at Stratford, for the office was one that was frequently performed by proxy.
At this period, 1608, Shakespeare had retired from the stage. This important fact is ascertained from a letter signed H. S., on behalf of the players of the Blackfriars Theatre, which was then attempted to be suppressed by the corporation of the city of London. These initials are presumed by Mr. Collier to belong to Henry Earl of Southampton, and the letter itself is perhaps the most interesting document relating to Shakespeare yet discovered. Unfortunately the original is not in existence, but a contemporary copy of it was found by Mr. Collier among the Egerton papers. It is without date, but it may safely be assigned to the year just mentioned, at which time we know from other sources how active the authorities of the city were in endeavouring to suppress the theatre.
/ p.224 /
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My verie honored Lord. The manie good offices I have received at your Lordships handes, which ought to make me backward in asking further favors, onely imbouldeneth me to require more in the same kinde. Your Lordship wilbe warned howe hereafter you graunt anie sute, seeing it draweth on more and greater demaunds. This which now presseth is to request your Lordship, in all you can, to be good to the poore players of the Blacke ffryers, who call themselves by authoritie the Servantes of his Majestie, and aske for the proteccion of their most gracious Maister and Soveraigne in this the tyme of theire troble. They are threatened by the Lord Maior and Aldermen of London, never friendly to their calling, with the distruccion of their meanes of livelihood, by the pulling downe of their plaiehouse, which is a private theatre, and hath never given ocasion of anger by anie disorders. These bearers are two of the chiefe of the companie ; one of them by name Richard Burbidge, who humblie sueth for your Lordships kinde helpe, for that he is a man famous as our English Roscius, one who fitteth the action to the worde and the word to the action most admirably. By the exercise of his qualitie, industry, and good behaviour, he hath become possessed of the Blacke ffryers playhouse, which hath bene imployed for playes sithence it was builded by his ffather now nere 50 yeres agone. The other is a man no whitt lesse deserving favor, and my especial friende, till of late an actor of good account in the cumpanie, now a sharer in the same, and writer of some of our best English playes, which, as your Lordship knoweth, were most singulerly liked of Quene Elizabeth, when the cumpanie was called uppon to performe before her Majestie at Court at Christmas and Shrovetide. His most gracious Majestie King James alsoe, since his coming to the crowne, hath extended his royall favour to the companie in divers waies and at sundrie tymes. This other hath to name William Shakespeare, and they are both of one countie, and indeede allmost of one towne : both are right famous in their qualities, though it longeth not of your Lo. gravitie and wisedome to resort unto the places where they are wont to delight the publique care. Their trust and sute nowe is not to bee molested in their waye of life whereby they maintaine themselves and their wives and families (being both maried and of good reputacion) as well as the widowes and orphanes of some of their dead fellows.
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--------------------------- * Mr. Knight seems to think it strange that a copia vera should want date and signature, but there is nothing very remarkable in such a circumstance. In the Library of the Society of Antiquaries, No. 201, art. 3, is preserved "a copye of the comyssion of sewers in the countye of Kent," marked as vera copia, and, singularly enough, written apparently by the same hand that copied the letter of H. S. † I refer to the paper relating to Kemp and Armin, 1605. --------------------------- |
absolutely fatal to the truth of Mr. Collier's discoveries have yet been produced. The quotation from Hamlet, on which so much stress has been laid, is not so remarkable as might be supposed, for it occurs as a kind of proverbial phrase in Heywood's Apology for Actors, 1612, and it is by no means impossible that it did not originate with Shakespeare.
The corporation of London failed in their endeavours to expel the king's players from the Blackfriars, but it appears that they were so anxious to accomplish their purpose, that negociations were commenced for the purchase of the interests of the proprietors and sharers of the theatre. To this circumstance we are indebted for a very singular document, detailing the value of these interests very minutely, and informing us of the exact claim made by Shakespeare on the occasion. It is preserved in the same collection in which the last paper was discovered.
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Imp. Richard Burbidge oweth the fee, and is alsoe a sharer therein. His interest he rateth at the grosse summe of 1000li. for the fee, and for his foure shares the summe of 933li. 6s. 8d. - - - 1933li. 6s. 8d. Item, Laz. Fletcher owith three shares which he rateth at 700li. that is, at 7 yeares purchase for each share, or 33li. 6s. 8d. one yeare with another - - - 700li. Item, W. Shakespeare asketh for the wardrobe and properties of the same playhouse 500li. and for his 4 shares the same as his fellowes Burbidge and Fletcher, viz. 933li. 6s. 8d. - - - 1433li. 6s. 8d. Item, Heminges and Condell, eche 2 shares - - 933li. 6s. 8d. Item, Joseph Taylor, 1 share and an halfe - - 350li. Item, Lowing, also one share and an halfe - - 350li. Item, foure more playeres with one halfe share to eche of them 466li. 13s. 4d.
Moreover, the hired men of the companie demaund some recompense for their great losse, and the widowes and orphanes of playeres, who are paide by the sharers at divers rates and proportions, so as in the whole it will coste the Lo. Mayor and the citizens at the least 7000li. |
It is somewhat singular that the wardrobe and properties were included in this estimate, but we may presume that, on such an occasion, the owners would allege their inutility, if deprived of the theatre, and we may perhaps also conclude that the valuation was rather on an extravagant scale. The shares which Shakespeare possessed in the Blackfriars produced him, as it appears from this list, £133 6s. 8d. a year, and Mr. Collier adds an annual £50 to this for the loan of the properties, so that supposing his income from the Globe were of the same amount, his theatrical property in 1608 was worth £366 13s. 4d. per annum. This was a large amount for those days, though far below the estimate I have previously quoted from Ward. A very curious passage in a tract called ‘Ratseis Ghost, or the Second Part of his madde Prankes and Robberies,’ printed about this period, is supposed by Mr. Collier to allude to Shakespeare's acquisition of wealth.*
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--------------------------- * Ratsey was a highwayman, who had given some strolling players £2 for acting before him, and afterwards overtook them on their road, and robbed them of it. He gives them advice, and thus addresses himself to the principal performer :— " And for you, sirrah, (says he to the chiefest of them,) thou hast a good presence upon a stage, methinks thou darkenst thy merit by playing in the country : get thee to London, for if one man were dead, they will have much need of such as thou art. There would be none, in my opinion, fitter than thyself to play his parts : my conceit is such of thee, that I durst all the money in my purse on thy head to play Hamlet with him for a wager. There thou shalt learne to be frugal (for players were never so thrifty as they are now about London), and to feed upon all men ; to let none feed upon thee ; to make thy hand a stranger to thy pocket, thy heart slow to perform thy tongue's promise ; and when thou feelest thy purse well lined, buy thee some place of lordship in the country, that, growing weary of playing, thy money may there bring thee to dignity and reputation : then thou needest care for no man ; no, not for them that before made thee proud with speaking their words on the stage. Sir, I thank you (quoth the player) for this good council : I promise you I will make use of it, for I have heard, indeed, of some that have gone to London very meanly, and have come in time to be exceeding wealthy."—Collier's Hist. Dram. Poet. i. 333. --------------------------- |
A manuscript discovered by Mr. Collier at Dulwich College, informs us that "Mr. Shakespeare," in April, 1609, was assessed at sixpence a week towards the relief of the / p.228 / poor in Southwark. If this relate to the poet, it was most likely on account of his property in the Globe, not for a dwelling-house, for in the spring of that year Shakespeare was probably at Stratford. The following declarations from the records of the court at Stratford, dated in March and June, 1609, are curious, as showing part of the history of a legal process instituted by Shakespeare against one John Addenbrooke for a small debt due to him. The sergeant at mace returning that Addenbrooke was not to be found within the liberty of the borough, Shakespeare proceeded against a person of the name of Horneby, who had become bail for the defendant.
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Burgus. |
} | Precept. est servientibus ad clavam ibidem quod capiant, seu &c., Johannem Addenbrooke, si &c. et eum salvo &c. ita quod habeant |
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corpus ejus coram ballivo burgi prædicti ad prox. cur. de recordo ibidem tenend. ad satisfaciend. Willielmo Shackspeare gen. tam de sex libr. debit. quos prædictus Willielmus in eadem curia versus eum recuperavit quam de viginti et quatuor solid. qui ei adjudicat. fuer. et dampnis et custag. suis quos sustinuit occasione detencionis debiti prædicti, et habeant ibi tunc hoc precept. teste ffrancisco Smyth jun. gen. ball. ibidem 15º. die Marcii, annis regni domini nostri Jacobi, Dei gracia regis Angliæ, ffranciæ et Hiberniæ, sexto, et Scotiæ 42º. Indors. Infrajurat. Johannes non est invent. infra libertat. hujus burgi. ffr. Boyce servien. | ||
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Burgus. |
} | Precept. est servientibus ad clavam ibidem quod cum quidam Willielmus Shackspeare gen. nuper in cur. domini Jacobi, nunc |
| regis Angliæ, burgi prædicti ibidem tent. virtute literarum patent. domini Edwardi, nuper regis Angliæ, sexti, levavit quandam quer. suam versus quendam Johannem Addenbrooke de placito debiti, cumque eciam quidam Thomas Horneby de burgo prædicto in eadem quer. devenit pleg. et manucap. præd. Johannis, scilicet quod si prædictus Johannes in quer. ill. legitimo modo convinceretur, quod item Johannes satisfaceret præfato Willielmo Shackspeare tam debit. in quer. ill. per præfat. Willielmum versus præd. Johannem in cur. præd. recuperand. quam mis. et custag quæ eidem Willielmo in quer. ill. per eandem cur. adjudicat. forent versus eundem Johannem, vel idem se redderet prisonæ dicti domini regis Jacobi nunc burg. præd. ad satisfaciendum eidem Willielmo eadem debit. mis. et custag.; et ulterius quod si idem Johannes non satisfaceret eidem Willielmo debit. et mis. et custag. nec se redderet præd. prisonæ dicti domini regis nunc ad satisfaciendum eidem Willielmo in forma præd. quod tunc ipse idem Thomas Horneby debit. sic recuperand. et mis. et custag. sic adjudicat. eidem Willielmo satisfacere vellet. Cumque eciam in quer. ill. taliter process. / p.229 / fuit in eadem curia quod prædictus Willielmus in loquela ill. per judicium ejusdem curiæ recuperabat versus prædictum Johannem tam sex libr. de debito quam viginti et quatuor solid. decrement. mis. et custag. ipsius Willielmi in sect. querela ill. apposit. Super quo precept. fuit servient. ad clavam ibidem quod capiant, seu &c. præd. Johannem, si &c. et eum salvo &c. ita quod habeant corpus ejus coram ballivo burgi prædicti ad prox. cur. de recordo ibidem tenend. ad satisfaciendum prædicto Willielmo de debito præd. sic recuperat, quam de viginti et quatuor solid. pro præd. dampnis et custag. adjudicat. unde ffranc. Boyce, tunc et nunc servien. ad clavam, ad diem retorn. inde mand. quod prædictus Johannes non est invent. in balliva sua ; unde item Willielmus ad præd. cur. dicti domini regis supplicavit sibi de remedio congruo versus præd. manucaptorem in hac parte provideri, super quod precept. est servient. ad clavam ibidem quod per probos et legales homines de burgo prædicto scire fac. seu &c. præfat. Thomam, quod sit coram ballivo burgi præd. ad prox. cur. de recordo in burgo prædicto tenend. ostensur. si quid pro se habeat vel dicere sciat, quare prædictus Willielmus execucionem suam versus eundem Thomam de debito et mis. et custag. ill. habere non debeat, juxta vim, formam, et effectum manucapcionis præd. si sibi viderit expedire, et ulterius factur. et receptur. quod præd. cur. dicti domini regis cons. in ea parte ; et habeant ibi tunc hoc preceptum : teste ffranc. Smyth jun. gen. ball. ibidem septimo die Junii, annis regni domini nostri Jacobi, Dei gratia regis Angliæ, ffranc. et Hiberniæ, septimo, et Scotiæ 42º. | ||
| Right trusty and welbeloved &c. James &c. To all mayors, sherriffs, justices of the peace, &c. Whereas the Queene, our dearest wife, hath for her pleasure and recreation appointed her servaunts Robert Daiborne, &c. to provide and bring upp a convenient nomber of children, who shall be called the Children of her Majesties Revells, knowe ye that we have appointed and authorized, and by these presents doe appoint and authorize, the said Robert Daiborne, William Shakespeare, Nathaniel Field, and Edward Kirkham, from time to time, to provide and bring upp a convenient nomber of children, and them to instruct and exercise in the quality of playing tragedies, comedies, &c. by the name of the Children of the Revells to the Queene, within the Black-fryers in our citie of London, or elswhere within our realme of England. Wherefore we will and commaund you, and everie of you, to permitt her said servaunts to keepe a convenient nomber of children by the name of the Children of the Revells to the Queene, and them to exercise in the qualitie of playing, according to her royall / p.230 / pleasure. Provided alwaies that no playes, &c. shall be by them presented, but such playes, &c. as have received the approbation and allowance of our Maister of the Revells for the tyme being. And these our lettres shall be your sufficient warrant in this behalfe. In witnesse whereof, &c. 4º. die Janii 1609. |
| The inconvenience of plaies beinge verie seriouslie considered of, with the unlawfullnes, and howe contrarie the sufferance of them is againste the orders heretofore made, and againste the examples of other well-governed citties and burrowes, the companie heare are contented and theie conclude that the penaltie of xs. imposed in Mr. Bakers yeare for breakinge the order, shall from henceforth be x.li. upon the breakers of that order, and this to holde untill the nexte commen councell, and from thencforth for ever, excepted, that be then finalli revoked and made voide. |
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--------------------------- * The name of Mr. William Shackspere occurs in a list of donations, "Colected towards the charge of prosecutyng the bill in Parliament for the better repaire of the high waies, and amendinge divers defects in the statutes alredy made, Wednesdaye the xj.th of September, 1611." --------------------------- |
between William Shakespeare, plaintiff, and William and John Combe, defendants, but twenty acres of pasture land, not mentioned in the previous indentures, are here described with the one hundred and seven acres of arable land ; so that Shakespeare may have added to his former purchase. The one hundred pounds here assigned as the purchase money was probably a mere legal fiction. The foot of this fine, here given from the original preserved at the Chapter House, has not been hitherto noticed.
| Inter Willielmum Shakespere generosum quer. et Willielmum Combe armigerum et Johannem Combe generosum deforc. de centum et septem acris terræ et viginti acris pasturæ cum pertinentiis in Old Stratford et Stratford super Avon, unde placitum convencionis sum. fuit inter eos, &c. Scilicet quod prædicti Willielmus Combe et Johannes recogn. prædicta tenementa cum pertinentiis esse jus ipsius Willielmi Shakespere ut illa quæ idem Willielmus habet de dono prædictorum Willielmi Combe et Johannis, et ill. remiser. et quietclam. de ipsis Willielmo Combe et Johanne et hæredibus suis prædicto Willielmo Shakespere et hæredibus suis in perpetuum ; et præterea idem Willielmus Combe concessit pro se et hæredibus suis quod ipsi warant. prædicto Willielmo Shakespere et hæredibus suis prædicta tenementa cum pertinentiis contra prædictum Willielmum Combe et hæredes suos in perpetuum. Et ulterius idem Johannes concessit pro se et hæredibus suis quod ipsi warant. prædicto Willielmo Shakespere et hæred. suis prædicta tenementa cum pertinentiis contra prædictum Johannem et hæredes suos in perpetuum. Et pro hac &c. idem Willielmus Shakespere dedit prædictis Willielmo Combe et Johanni centum libras sterlingorum. [Trin. 8 Jac. I.] |
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The latter part of his life was spent, as all men of good sense will wish theirs may be, in ease, retirement, and the conversation of his friends. He had the good fortune to gather an estate equal to his occasion, and, in that, to his wish ; and is said to have spent some years before his death at his native Stratford. His pleasurable wit and good nature engaged him in the acquaintance, and entitled him to the friendship of the gentlemen of the neighbourhood. Amongst them, it is a story almost still remembered in that country, that he had a particular intimacy with Mr. Combe, an old gentleman noted thereabouts / p.232 / for his wealth and usury : it happened that in a pleasant conversation amongst their common friends, Mr. Combe told Shakspeare in a laughing manner, that he fancied he intended to write his epitaph, if he happened to outlive 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 lines :
But the sharpness of the satire is said to have stung the man so severely, that he never forgave it. |
Stratford College, the residence of John Combe.
The lines recorded by Aubrey and Rowe are constantly found, under slightly varied forms, in epigrammatical collections of the seventeenth century.† As usual with tra-
ditions, for omnis fabula fundatur in historia, we find the general statement accurate, and the particulars incorrect. Shakespeare did write verses on Combe, but not the doggrel assigned to him. It appears, from an account of a journey undertaken in 1634, preserved in MS. Lansd. 213,*
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*
He is generally called John Combe, but his name appears John a Combes in some undated fragments of a subsidy roll at Carlton Ride.
†
In Dominum Edov. Stanhop fœnerat.
Ten in the hundred lies under this stone,
An hundred to ten to the devil he's gone.
MS. Addit. 15227, p. 18.
Here lyes 10 with 100 under this stone,
A 100 to one but to th’ divel hees gone.
MS. Sloane. 1489, f. 11.
Who is this lyes under this hearse ?
Ho, ho, quoth the divel, tis my Dr. Pearse.
MS. Sloane. 1489, f. 11.
Here lies at least ten in the hundred,
Shackled up both hands and feet,
That at such as lent mony gratis wondred,
The gain of usury was so sweet ;
But thus being now of life bereav’n,
Tis a hundred to ten he's scarce gone to heav’n.
Wits Interpreter, the English Parnassus, 1671.
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*
Hunter's New Illustrations, vol. i. p. 88. The MS. is entitled, "A relation of a short survey of 26. counties, breifly describing the citties and their scytuations, and the corporate townes and castles therein, observ'd in a seven weekes journey begun at the city of Norwich, and from thence into the North, on Monday, August 11th, 1634, and ending att the same place ; by a captaine, a lieutennant, and an ancient, all three of the military company in Norwich." The reader will not, perhaps, object to a copy of all that relates to Stratford :
In that dayes travell we came by Stratford upon Avon, where in the church in that towne there are some monuments, which church was built by Archbishop Stratford. Those worth observing, and which wee tooke notice of, were these.
A monument for the E. of Totnes and his lady, yet living.
The monument of Sr. Hugh Clopton, who built that strong stone bridge of 18. fayre arches over that river. He was Ld. Mayor of London.
A neat monument of that famous English poet, Mr. Wm. Shakespeere, who was borne heere.
And one of an old gentleman, a batchelor, Mr. Combe, upon whose name the sayd poet did merrily fann up some witty and facetious verses, which time would nott give us leave to sacke up.—MS. Lansd. 213, f. 336.
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that three officers of the army saw in that year at Stratford, "a neat monument of that famous English poet, Mr. Wm. Shakespeere, who was borne heere ; and one of an old gentleman, a batchelor, Mr. Combe, upon whose name the sayd poet did merrily fann up some witty and facetious verses, which time would nott give us leave to sacke up." These verses were of course, as Mr. Hunter says, "written in the punning style of the times, allusive to the double sense of the word Combe, as the name of the person there interred, and the name also of a certain measure of corn," but it is not at all likely such lines were ever in Stratford church, as Mr. Hunter asserts, and there is nothing in the extract just given to warrant such a conclusion. According to Rowe, Shakespeare offended Combe by the satire, but this at least is very doubtful, for Combe left him a legacy of £5 in 1614, and the poet gave his sword, by will, to / p.234 / Mr. Thomas Combe. The Combes and Shakespeares were doubtlessly on friendly terms, and the respectable position which John Combe held at Stratford will be seen from his will, which I here print for the first time. It will be found of importance in deciding on the evidence respecting the anecdote above mentioned ; and its publication is a late act of justice to a man who does not appear to have in any way deserved the popular slander that has descended on his name. As far as can be judged from his will, nothing is there to be found inconsistent with a character of perfect fairness and liberality.*
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*
Combe was employed by the Earl of Warwick to collect the rents of the manor of Stratford.
Md. that John Combes gent. bailye of Stretford had, by the graunte of Ambrose Erle of Warwick by Patent, for his ffee for gatheringe the rents ther - - - - liij.s. iiij.d. yerelye.
MS. Inquisition at the Carlton Ride Record Office, 1590.
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| In the name of God, amen ! I John Combe, of Old Stretford in the county of Warwick, gent., being both in perfect health and memory, God be thanked, do make, ordain, and declare my last will and testament in manner and form following, that is to say, first I commend my soul to God my Maker, hoping and stedfastly believing that through the only merits of Jesus Christ, my alone Saviour and Redeemer, I shall after this life ended be partaker of the life everlasting, and my body to be buried in the Parish Church of Stretford upon Avon in the said county of Warwick, near the place where my mother was buried ; and my will is that a convenient tombe of the value of threescore pounds shall be by my executors hereafter named, out of my goods and chattels first raised, within one year after my decease, be sett over me. Item, I give and bequeath to my cousin Sir Henry Clare knight two hundred pounds of lawful English money, to be paid unto him within six months after my decease, and if he die before then, I will and bequeath the said two hundred pounds to Frances Combe, his daughter, to be paid to her within the said six months. Item, I give and bequeath to my brother John Combe all that my messuage or tenement with the appurtenances wherein William Cawdery alias Cooke nowe dwelleth, situate, lying, and being in Warwick in the said county of Warwick, near and adjoining to the Gable there, to have and to hold the same unto the said John Combe my brother, for and during the term of his life, and after his decease, the reversion and remainder thereof to be to the use and behoof of the heirs males of the body of the said John Combe lawfully begotten and to be begotten, and, for want of such heirs, to the heirs males of the body of my nephew / p.235 / William Combe esquire, and the heirs males of his body lawfully begotten and to be begotten, and for default of such heirs, to the use and behoof of my nephew Thomas Combe gent. and of the heirs males of his body lawfully begotten and to be begotten, and for default of such heirs, to my brother George Combe and the heirs males of his body lawfully begotten and to be begotten, and for default of such heirs, to the right heirs of me the said John Combe for ever. Item, I give and bequeath to the children of my brother John Combe the sum of three hundred pounds of lawful English money to be paid unto them within six months after their father's decease, and to be equally divided amongst them, I mean those of his children as shall be living at his decease, and in the mean time my will is, and so I bequeath and devise the said three hundred pounds shall within one year after my decease be raised out of my goods and chattels and be set forth or otherwise employed to the best use it may be, and the use and profit coming thereof to be paid yearly to my said brother John Combe during his life to his own use, and towards the bringing up of his children. Item, I give, will, devise and bequeath unto the said William Combe one close or ground with the appurtenances called Pole Close, and one close or ground called Wallnut-trye Close, and one other close or ground with the appurtenances lately divided into two grounds called Ingon Grove, all of them situate, lying and being within the parish of Bishops Hampton alias Hampton Lucie in the said county of Warwick, to have and to hold the same to the said William Combe and the heirs males of his body lawfully begotten and to be begotten, and for default of such heirs the reversion and remainder thereof to be and remain to my said nephew Thomas Combe and the heirs males of his body lawfully begotten and to be begotten, and for default of such heirs to my brother George Combe for and during his natural life, and after his decease to my nephew John Combe, son of the said George, and to the heirs males of his body lawfully begotten and to be begotten, and for default of such heirs to the use and behoof of my brother John Combe, and the heirs males of his body lawfully begotten and to be begotten, and for default of such heirs, to the right heirs of me the said John Combe for ever. Item, I give, will, bequeath and devise to my said nephew Thomas Combe, all those grounds or closes of land meadow and pasture lying and being in Hampton aforesaid, with their and every their appurtenances, called or known by the several names of Syndrye Meadow, Rynell alias Rynhill, and Priest Croft, to have and to hold the same to my said nephew Thomas Combe, and to the heirs males of his body lawfully begotten and to be begotten, and, for default of such heirs, the said last mentioned premises to be and remain to the use and behoof of the said William Combe, and the heirs males of his body begotten and to be begotten, and for default of such heirs to my said brother George for and during his natural life, and after his decease, to my said nephew John his son, and the heirs males of his body lawfully begotten and to be begotten, and for default of such heirs, to my brother John and the heirs males of his body lawfully begotten and to be begotten, and for default of such heirs to the right heirs of me the said John for ever. Item, I give, will, bequeath and devise unto my said brother George Combe all those / p.236 / closes or grounds with the appurtenances, called or known by the name of Parson's Close* alias Shakespere's Close, lying and being in Hampton aforesaid, to have and to hold the same to the said George Combe for and during the term |
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--------------------------- * In indentures dated 1736 and 1760, Parson's Close is described as containing twenty-five acres, heretofore in the tenure of Francis Oldfield, since of Hiccox, and late in the tenure of Sir John Clopton or his assigns or under tenants. --------------------------- |
Parson's Close alias Shakespeare's Close.
| of his natural life, and after his decease the said last mentioned premises with their appurtenances, and the reversion and reversions thereof, to be and remain to my said nephew John Combe, and the heirs males of his body lawfully begotten and to be begotten, and for default of such heirs to my nephew William Combe, and the heirs males of his body lawfully begotten and to be begotten, and for default of such heirs to my nephew Thomas Combe, and the heirs males of his body lawfully begotten and to be begotten, and for default of such heirs to my said brother John Combe, and the heirs males of his body lawfully begotten and to be begotten, and for default of such heirs to the right heirs of me the said John Combe for ever. Item, I give and bequeath unto Thomas Raynoldes, son of Thomas Raynoldes of Old Stretford aforesaid gentleman, one hundred pounds of lawful English money. To my cousin Margaret Raynoldes, wife of the said Thomas Raynoldes the elder, one hundred pounds of lawful English money. To the children of Jane Featherston, daughter of the said Thomas Raynoldes the elder, one hundred pounds of lawful English money, equally to be divided amongst them, and to be paid unto the said children at the decease of the said Jane ; and my will and meaning is and so I devise and will that the said one hundred pounds shall within one year after my decease be set forth by my executors and overseers to the best use and commodity that / p.237 / may be, and the use thereof coming shall be paid yearly to the said Jane during her life for her maintenance. Item, I give and bequeath to Margaret Raynoldes, daughter of the said Thomas, twenty pounds. To every one of the rest of my cousin Thomas Raynoldes his children ten pounds apiece, to be paid within one year after my decease, and my will is and so I devise that if any of the children of the said Thomas Raynoldes happen to die, then his her and their legacy so dying shall be and remain amongst the rest of his now children as shall be then living, equally to be divided amongst them. Item, I give and bequeath to my brother George Combe my best suit of apparel and my second gown, and if he be not living at my decease, my will is that his son shall have the said apparel and gown. Item, I give and bequeath to my sister Hyett and her children one hundred marks of lawful English money to be paid within six months after my decease, and to be equally divided amongst them. Item, I give and bequeath unto my nieces Mary Combe and Joyce Combe, daughters of my brother Thomas Combe deceased, one hundred pounds apiece of lawful English money to be paid within one year after my decease, and if either of them die before her legacy be due to them, my will is and soe I devise that her legacy so dying shall be paid and remain to the survivor of them, and if both of them so die, then my will is and so I devise that both their legacies shall remain and be paid unto my brother George his two daughters, equally to be divided between them. Item, I give and bequeath to my said brother George his two daughters one hundred marks apiece of lawful English money, to be paid unto them within one year after my decease, and if either of them die before that time, her legacy so dying shall remain and be paid to the survivor of them, and if they both die before their legacies be due, my will is and so I do devise that both their legacies shall remain and be paid unto the said Mary and Joyce Combe, equally to be divided between them. Item, I do give, will and devise unto my cousin Margaret Reynoldes, wife of the said Thomas Raynoldes the elder, all my right and title I have to those grounds called Samon Joale and Samon Tayle lying and being within the parish of Stretford upon Avon in the county of Warwick, to have and to hold the same for and during the term of her natural life, and after her decease, the said last mentioned premises and the reversion therof to be and remain to William Raynoldes her son, and the heirs males of her body lawfully begotten and to be begotten, and for default of such heirs, to Thomas Reynoldes her son and the heirs males of his body lawfully begotten and to be begotten, and for default of such heirs, to Walter Reynoldes her son and the heirs and the heirs males of his body lawfully begotten and to be begotten, and for default of such heirs, to the right heirs of the said Margaret Reynoldes for ever. Item, I give, bequeath and release unto my said cousin, Thomas Reynoldes the elder, all such sums of money and debts which he oweth unto me, and thereof, and of all reckonings accompts and demands whatsoever, I do by this my will release acquit and discharge him, the said Thomas Reynoldes his elder, his heirs, executors, and administrators for ever. Item, I give and bequeath unto my said cousin Margaret Raynoldes all my plate, my best gown, and all my household stuff except my apparel. Item, / p.238 / I give and bequeath unto my servant Richard Mason, if he be my servant at my death, fifty pounds of lawful English money ; to Audrean Holder, if he be my servant at my decease, thirty pounds of lawful English money. To John Featherston, ten pounds. To Robert Davies, if he be my servant at my death, twenty pounds. To Richard Burnett, if he be my servant at my decease, twenty shillings ; and to Panckeridge, if he be my servant at my decease, fourty shillings ; and to my cousin Thomas Reynoldes the elder, his servants, such as shall be his servants at my decease, five shillings apiece. All these legacies to be paid within one year after my decease. Item, I give and bequeath to my uncle, John Blunt, if he be living at my decease, fourty shillings to buy him a ring. To my cousin Anne Dickins, five pounds to buy her a ring. To my god-daughter Garden twenty pounds, and to her sister ten pounds, to be paid within one year after my decease. Item, I give, will and bequeath, one hundred pounds of lawful English money to be used and employed for ever according to my intent and meaning hereafter expressed in this my will, that is to say, and my will is, that my executors and overseers hereafter herein named shall, within one year after my decease, upon good and reasonable security, lend the said hundred pounds unto fifteen poor or young tradesmen, occupiers or handicraftsmen dwelling within the borough of Stretford upon Avon aforesaid, viz. to every one of them twenty nobles apiece for the term of three years, every one of them paying yearly during the said three years the sum of three shillings and four pence at the feasts of Saint Michael the archangel and the Annunciation of blessed Mary the Virgin by equal portions, and at the end of the said three years to fifteen others for three years, every one paying yearly 3s. 4d. in manner aforesaid ; so from three years to three years for ever, paying as aforesaid, according to my true menaing, which said yearly several sums of three shillings and fourpence before mentioned to be paid as aforesaid for the said one hundred pounds, shall be and for ever remain to the use of the almsfolks of Stretford aforesaid. And my will is, and so I do desire that my executors and overseers, or the survivor of them, will take such order either with the bailiff or burgesses of the borough of Stretford aforesaid for the time being, or by some other way or mean, that the said hundred pounds and the benefit thereof coming may continue for ever according to my meaning before expressed. Item, I give and bequeath to the poor of Stretford twenty pounds, to the poor of Warwick five pounds, and to the poor of Alcester five pounds. Item, I give unto William White fourty shillings which he oweth me by bond, if he be living at my decease, and the same bond to be cancelled. To Mr. William Shackspere five pounds, and to my landlord John Davies 40s. Item, I give and bequeath unto Francis Collines the elder of the borough of Warwick ten pounds of lawful English money, and to my godson John Collens his son other ten pounds of like lawful English money, to be paid unto them within one year after my decease, and if either of them die before receipt of his said legacy, then my will is and so I devise and bequeath that the survivors of them shall have his legacy that shall so happen to die : and if the said Francis and John Collens happen to die before the time appointed for the payment of their legacies, / p.239 / then my will is, and so I devise and bequeath both their legacies of ten pounds apiece to Susanna Collens, wife of the said Francis, and to the eldest son of the said Francis equally betwixt them. Item, I give and bequeath to the said Susanna Collens six pounds thirteen shillings four pence of lawful English money, and to Mr. Henry Walker twenty shillings. Item, I give and bequeath unto my servants Richard Mason and Audrian Holder, if they be my servants at the time of my decease, all my wearing apparel not before given, except that apparel that was my uncle William Combes ; and if they be not my servants, then to such persons as my executors shall appoint. Item, I give and bequeath to my cousin Thomas Reynoldes the elder, and Margaret his wife, my team of oxen which I shall have at my decease, and if I then shall have no team, then I give and bequeath forty marks of lawful English money ; and also I give unto them, the said Thomas and Margaret, my waynes, tumbrells, ploughs, and other things belonging to a team. Item, I give and bequeath unto Sir Francis Smith, knight, five pounds to buy him a hawk, and to the Lady Anne his wife fourty pounds of lawful English money to buy her a bason and ewer ; and unto Mrs. Palmer, the wife of John Palmer esquire, 40.s. to buy her a ring. Item, I give and bequeath to every one of my godchildren before not named five shillings a piece. Item, I give will bequeath and devise to my cousin Thomas Combe, his heirs and assigns for ever, all my meadow ground with the appurtenances in Shottery meadow, to the uses intents and purposes hereafter herein mentioned, that is to say that he the said Thomas Combe, his heirs and assigns, shall yearly and every year for ever pay to a learned preacher twenty shillings to make a sermon twice a year at Stretford church aforesaid, and also shall and do yearly and every year for ever, one week before the feast of the Nativity of our Lord God, give and deliver to such ten poor people within the borough of Stretford aforesaid as shall be yearly appointed and elected by the bailiff and chief alderman for the time being of the said borough, and two of the ancientest aldermen there, ten black gowns, every one of them worth thirteen shillings and four pence apiece : and if my said nephew Thomas Combe, his heirs or assigns, shall or do not pay the said twenty shillings yearly to a preacher, and give and deliver the said gowns, then my will is, and so I will and devise that it shall be lawful to and for the bailiff and burgesses of the borough of Stretford aforesaid and their successors for the time being, from time to time and at all times hereafter, so often as the said twenty shillings shall not be yearly paid to a preacher, or the said gowns or any of them delivered and given as aforesaid, according to my will and meaning herein mentioned, to enter into the said meadow ground and every part and parcel thereof, and the issues and profits thereof, to pay give and satisfy the yearly sum of twenty shillings so behind unpaid and the arrearages thereof, if any be, together with the said gowns as shall be behind undelivered, according to this my will, and after, the said meadow ground to be to the said Thomas Combe his heirs and assigns, charged as aforesaid. Item, I give and bequeath to every one of my good and just debtors for every twenty pounds that any man oweth me, twenty shillings, and so after this rate, for a greater or lesser debt, to be delivered back to them by my executors when they pay in their debts. All the rest of my goods, chattels, leases, credits, / p.240 / and rights whatsoever, after my debts and legacies paid, and my funerals discharged according to my degree, and my will performed, which I will and charge my executors to do within one year and an half after my decease, upon pain of forfeiture of such legacies of as well of lands as money or goods I leave or do herein give and bequeath unto my said nephew Thomas Combe. And I do make and ordain the said Thomas Combe, Sir Richard Verney, knight, and Bartholomew Hales, esquire, executors of this my last will and testament. And I do give and bequeath to the said Sir Richard Varney and Bartholomew Hales twenty pounds apiece of lawful English money, and also I do nominate and appoint Sir Edward Blunt, knight, Sir Henry Rainsford, knight, Sir Francis Smith, knight, and John Palmer of Compton, esquire, to be overseers of this my will, unto whom I give five pounds apiece, or unto every one of them a silver salt worth five pounds. Item, I give to Mrs. Barnes fourty shillings to buy her a ring, and to the Lady Rainsford fourty shillings to buy her a ring ; And my will is and so I do devise that if any person whatsoever before named shall dislike of such legacies as I have herein devised or bequeathed unto them, and not hold themselves therewith contented, shall lose the same and all other benefit that they can any way claim by this my will. And I do hereby revoke all former wills by me heretofore made ; and do declare and publish this to be my last will and testament, and have unto every sheet hereof written my name. |
Interior of the Hall of Stratford College, 1785.
Posterity has reason to deplore the haste of the three officers in their tour of 1634, for their want of time to / p.241 / "sack up" the verses on Combe, has deprived us of the benefit of receiving what Shakespeare really wrote on his friend. These, perhaps, will never be recovered, but it is worthy of remark that a different version of the anecdote is related in MS. Ashmole 38, p. 180,* written not many years after the death of Shakespeare,—
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*
This curious extract was first published by me in 1841, in "An Introduction to Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream," 8vo.
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Who lies in this tombe ? Hough, quoth the devill, tis my sone John a Combe. Finis.
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Howere he lived, judge not, John Combe shall never be forgott While poor hath memmorye, for hee did gather To make the poore his issue : hee their father, As record of his tilth and seedes, Did crowne him in his latter needes. Finis W. Shak.
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Thin in beard, and thick in purse, Never man beloved worse ; He went to th’ grave with many a curse : The devil and he had both one nurse. |
It will be observed that the composers of this and other similar stanzas attributed to the bard, among which may be included the vulgar lines over his grave, are never satisfied without introducing his Satanic majesty on the scene, or, at the least, his ordinary legacy, a curse. We must not so readily deprive our poet of his contemporary epithet, the gentle Shakespeare ; for none of these can safely be assigned to his pen. It is however, worth adding, that in the last century there was a traditionary tale current at Stratford, which included the verses on John and Thomas Combe, and in which they are introduced somewhat differently from the narratives just given.
| Mr. Combe and the bard of Stratford were intimately acquainted ; the former one day in a tavern, said to be the sign of the Bear, in the Bridge street, in Stratford, said to the other, "I suppose you will write my epitaph when I am dead ; you may as well do it now, that I may know what you will say of me when I am gone." Immediately he replied, "It shall be this, ‘ Ten in the hundred, &c.’ " The company instantly burst into a loud laugh, perhaps from the justness of the idea, and the hatred all men have to the character of a miser and usurer : the violence of the mirth somewhat subsiding, they desired to hear what he had to say of Mr. Thomas Combe, brother of the former gentleman, when he instantly said, "But thin in beard, &c." This brother was remarkable for the thinness of his beard, and no doubt also for his covetous disposition ; therefore the poignancy of the sarcasm afforded no small diversion amongst the convivial meeting ; but it is said the severity of this satire made so deep an impression upon the two brothers, that they never forgave the author of their epitaphs. |
/ p.243 /
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Now, Mr. Shakespeare, tell me, if you can, The difference between a youth and a young man. |
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Thou son of fire, with thy face like a maple, The same difference as between a scalded and a coddled apple. |
| Mr. Macklin tells but a blind story of Sir Hugh Clopton's having sent for a very old woman, near ninety, who repeated to him a couplet that she remembered to have heard in her youth, and which was said to have been made by Shakspeare on old John Combe, in which he compared his face to a maple. I gave no great credit to this at first, but having yesterday found the same satirical comparison in a book of Queen Elizabeth's age, I begin to be less incredulous. Perhaps Mr. Taylor may remember this old woman. It is certain much tradition might have been handed down about our great poet, for the mother of the very old woman I speak of might have been a servant to his daughter Mrs. Queeny, and have heard many particulars from her so late as the Restoration, but unfortunately the last age was not an age of curiosity or inquiry. |
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Gentlemen, this fellow, with this face of mapple, Instead of a pippin hath throwne me an apple. But as for an apple, he hath cast a crab, So, instead of an honest woman, God hath sent him a drab. |
| The people laughed heartily, for he had a quean to his wife. |
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--------------------------- * A gentleman being choaked with a honeycomb, his friends began to bemoan him. Why make you such lamentation, said Shakespear, never man had a sweeter death. A country gentleman once telling Shakespear he was surprized there was so many pickpockets in London, seeing there was a watch at every corner. Pough, replies Shakespear, they are as glad of a watch as any else. Shakespear being at church when a dry empty fellow preached most of his auditors out of the church, said he made a very moving sermon. Shakespear being with a set of merry companions over a chearful bowl, when different toasts were going round, a gentleman whose name was Brown toasted an absent lady, which he had often done for many years, tho he never had the courage to speak to her. Our wag, who sat next him, said, I believe, sir, you have toasted that lady these seven years at least, and it's surprizing she is not brown yet. Shakespear being in company with some gentlemen and ladies who were playing at comparison, an agreeable young lady was likened to a repeater. She appealed to Shakespear for the propriety of the resemblance. Madam, says he, I find a very great difference ; a repeater makes us remember the hours, but you make us forget them. Shakespear having brought his friend down into his cellar, his friend observing there was no seat to sit upon, asked him the reason of it : because, reply'd Shakespear, I will have no man that comes here drink any longer than he can stand. Shakespear being told by a gentleman that players were idle fellows ; you are mistaken, says our wag, for their whole life is full of action. A pert coxcomb in company with Shakespear, rising from his chair, said saucily, know, Mr. Wag, I set up for a wit. Oh, do you so, says Shakespear, then take my advice and sit down again. Shakespear's Jests, or the Jubilee Jester, 8vo. [1769.]
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Another tradition must be noticed, as one of the few that are still current at Stratford. It was credited by the elder Ireland, who has given us a representation of Shakespeare's crab-tree, a supposititious relic now departed, and not worthy of being perpetuated.
Amongst the many juvenile levities of Shakspeare, I cannot omit delineating some other traits of his character ; tradition says that he loved hearty draughts of English beer or ale, and that there were then two companies of people who usually met at a village called Bidford, about seven miles below Stratford, upon the banks of the Avon, who distinguished themselves by the appellations of the topers and sippers, the former of whom were accounted the most eminent in the science of drinking the largest quantity of liquor without being intoxicated ; yet the latter were also very powerful, and looked on themselves superior to most other companies of drinkers in this country. These sons of Bacchus challenged all the men in England to drink with them, to try the strength of their heads ; the Stratford bard and his companions accepted it, and repaired to Bidford on a Whitsun Monday to make a trial with the topers, but, to their disappointment, they discovered that they were gone to Evesham Fair upon a like excursion ; so the Stratfordians with Shakspeare were obliged to take up with the sippers, who they scoffed at as unworthy the contest ; but upon trial they found themselves very inferior to their opponents, and were at last obliged to own their superiority, for the poet and his companions got so intoxicated, that they were obliged to decline any further trial ; and, leaving Bidford, they proceeded homeward ; but poor William, when he came about half a mile from the village, unable to go on, laid himself down upon the verdant turf, beneath the umbrageous boughs of a wide spreading crab-tree, where he took his night's repose ; the lark's early matins awaked him, and he was invited to return to Bidford by some of his convivial companions to renew the contest, but he refused ; says he, I have drank with
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Shakspeare your Wincot ale hath much renownd, That foxd a beggar so (by chance was found Sleeping) that there needed not many a word To make him to believe he was a lord : But you affirm, and in it seem most eager, ’Twill make a lord as drunk as any beggar. Did Norton brew such ale as Shakspeare fancies Did put Kit Sly into such lordly trances ? And let us meet there for a fit of gladness, And drink ourselves merry in sober sadness. |
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