Chapter 43

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[593:A]Were the repartees, however, of which time has deprived us, no better than those that we have now to communicate, it must be confessed, that the two bards have no great reason to complain of the loss. "Shakspeare," relates Capell, "was god-father to one of Ben Jonson's children, and after the christening, being in deep study, Jonson came to cheer him up; and asked him why he was so melancholy? No faith, Ben, says he, not I; but I have been considering a great while what should be the fittest gift for me to bestow upon my god-child, and I have resolved at last. I prithee what, says he? I'faith, Ben, I'll e'en give her a dozen good Latin (latten) spoons, and thou shalttranslatethem."â€”Notes on Shakspeare, vol. i. p. 94.The second of thesemorceauxis, if possible, still worse than the preceding: "Mr. Ben Jonson and Mr. William Shakspeare being merrie at a tavern, Mr. Jonson begins this for his epitaph,"Here lies Ben JonsonWho was once oneâ€”he gives it to Mr. Shakspeare to make up, who presently writte,"That, while he liv'd was aslowthing,And now, being dead, isno-thing.""This stuff," adds Mr. Gifford, "is copied from the Ashmole MS. 38."â€”Gifford's Ben Jonson, vol. i. Memoirs, p. lxxx. note.The next may be said to be rather of a "better leer.""Verses by Ben Jonson and Shakspeare, occasioned by the motto to the Globe Theatreâ€”Totus mundus agit histrionem.Jonson."If, butstage actors, all the world displays,Where shall we findspectatorsof their plays?"Shakspeare."Little, or much, of what we see, we do;We are all bothactorsandspectatorstoo.""Poetical Characteristicks, 8vo. MS. vol. i., some time in the Harleian Library; which volume was returned to its owner."â€”Vide Reed's Shakspeare, vol. i. p. 130."That Shakspeare and Ben Jonson were intimate," observes Dr. Berkenhout, "appears from the following letter, written by G. Peel, a dramatic poet, to his friend Marle:â€”'Friend Marle,'I never longed for thy company more than last night, we were all very merrye at the Globe, when Ned Alleyn did not scruple to affyrme pleasantely to thy friend Will, that he had stolen his speeche about the qualityes of an actor's excellencye, in Hamlet hys tragedye, from conversations manyfold whych had passed between them, and opinyons given by Alleyn touchinge the subject. Shakespeare did not take this talke in good sorte; but Jonson put an end to the strife, wittylie remarking, This affaire needeth no contentione; you stole it from Ned, no doubt; do not marvel: have you not seen him act tymes out of number?G. Peel.'"Whence I copied this letter, I do not recollect; but I remember that at the time of transcribing it, I had no doubt of its authenticity."â€”Biographia Literaria, pp. 399, 400. 4to. 1777.I believe the first appearance of this letter was in the Annual Register for 1770, whence it was copied into the Biographia Britannica, and in both these works it commences in the following manner: "I must desyre that my syster hyr watche, and the cookerie book you promysed, may be sente bye the man.â€”I never longed, &c." Of the four, this is the only anecdote worth preserving; but I apprehend it to be a mere forgery.

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

"Here lies Ben JonsonWho was once oneâ€”

"Here lies Ben Jonson

Who was once oneâ€”

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

"That, while he liv'd was aslowthing,And now, being dead, isno-thing."

"That, while he liv'd was aslowthing,

And now, being dead, isno-thing."

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

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

"Verses by Ben Jonson and Shakspeare, occasioned by the motto to the Globe Theatreâ€”Totus mundus agit histrionem.

Jonson.

"If, butstage actors, all the world displays,Where shall we findspectatorsof their plays?"

"If, butstage actors, all the world displays,

Where shall we findspectatorsof their plays?"

Shakspeare.

"Little, or much, of what we see, we do;We are all bothactorsandspectatorstoo."

"Little, or much, of what we see, we do;

We are all bothactorsandspectatorstoo."

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

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

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

'Friend Marle,

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

G. Peel.'

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[597:A]One of these refutations, as including a complete detection of the fallacious grounds on which a well-known anecdote relative to Shakspeare and Jonson has been founded, it will be useful as well as entertaining to transcribe."Hales of Eaton," observes Mr. Gifford, "was reported to have said (though the matter was not much in Hales of Eaton's way), 'that there was no subject of which any person ever writ, but he would produce it much better done by Shakspeare,' p. 16.â€”Shakspeare, vol. i. edit. 1593. This is told by Dryden, 1667. The next version is by Tate, 1680. 'Our learned Hales was wont to assert, that since the time of Orpheus no common place has been touched upon, where Shakspeare has not performed as well.' Next comes the illustrious Gildon (of Dunciad memory), and he models the story thus, from Dryden, as he says, with a salvo for the accuracy of his recollection! 'Mr. Hales of Eaton affirmed, that he would shew all the poets of antiquity outdone by Shakspeare.â€”Theenemiesof Shakspeare would by no means yield to this; so that it came to a trial of skill. The place agreed on for the dispute was Mr. Hales's chamber at Eton. A great manybooks were sent downby the enemies of this poet, and on the appointed day my lord Falkland, sir John Suckling, andall the persons of qualitythat had wit and learning, met there, and upon a thorough disquisition of the point, the judges chosen out of this assembly unanimously gave the preference to Shakspeare, and the Greek and Roman poets were adjudged to vail at least their glory in that to the English poet.' P. 17."The story now reached Rowe; and as it was discovered about this time, that the praise of Shakspeare was worth nothing unless coupled with the abuse of Jonson, it puts on this form. 'Mr. Hales, who had sate still some time, hearing Ben reproach Shakspeare with the want of learning, and ignorance of the antients, told him, at last,' &c. Thus it stood in the first edition: but Mr. Rowe was an honest man, and having found occasion to change his mind before the appearance of the second edition, he struck the passage out, and inserted in its stead,â€”'sir John Suckling, who was a professed admirer of Shakspeare, had undertaken, with some warmth, his defence against Ben Jonson, when Mr. Hales,' &c. &c.â€”"Thus we have the Fable of theThree Black Crows!and thus a simple observation of Mr. Hales (which in all probability he never made), is dramatised, at length, into a scene of obloquy against our author! A tissue of mere dotage scarcely deserves unravelling; but it may be just observed, that when Jonson was seized with his last illness, (after which he certainly never went 'to Mr. Hales's chamber, at Eton,' or elsewhere), the two grave judges, Suckling and Falkland, who sat on the merits of all the Greek and Roman poets, and decided with such convincing effect, were, the first in the twelfth, and the second in the fifteenth year of their ages!â€”But the chief mistake lies with Dryden, whose memory was always subservient to the passion of the day; the words which he has put into the mouth of Mr. Hales being, in fact, the property of Jonson. Long before Suckling and Falkland were out of leading-strings, he had told the world, that Shakspeare surpassed not only all his contemporary poets, but even those of Greece and Rome:â€”and if Mr. Hales used these words, without giving the credit of them to Jonson, he was, to say the least of it, a bold plagiarist."â€”Vol. i. p. cclxii.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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