published in 1662, characterizes the converse of these brilliant wits. Referring to Shakespeare he says, "Many were the wit-combats betwixt him and Ben Jonson; which two I behold like a Spanish great galleon and an English man-of-war: Master Jonson, like the former, was built far higher in learning, solid, but slow in performances; Shakespeare, with the English man-of-war, lesser in bulk, but lighter in sailing, could turn with all tides, tack about, and take advantage of all winds by the quickness of his wit and invention." As Fuller was later than this time, he could not speak from his own observation, but we have every reason to believe that his delineation is a faithful one. Such specimens of these wit-combats as have come down to us by tradition, are altogether poor and unworthy of the men. It is not in tradition, but in the dramas of Shakespeare and Jonson, that we are to seek for the puns, jests, witticisms, and humorous raillery, which enlivened those brilliant conversations at the Falcon. The slowness and ponderous learning of Jonson stand in strong contrast with the fluency and fertile invention of Shakespeare, but they differ as much in other respects. Ben Jonson was a man of vigour and energy, and made a greater impression on those who came in close contact with them than “gentle Will.” Their contemporaries, however, fully appreciated the difference between the genius of the poets, as appears from the scanty audiences that went to hear 'Sejanus' and 'Catiline,' compared with the enchanted throngs that crowded the theatre when Falstaff, or Malvolio came upon the stage. Jonson has made a noble tribute to the

memory of his departed friend, in those verses of which one of the most remarkable is :

"He was not of an age, but for all time."

Jonson has elsewhere spoken of Shakespeare with a freedom which brought on him the charge of envy, although without just cause. He says, "I remember the players have often mentioned it as an honour to Shakespeare, that in his writing (whatsoever he penned), he never blotted out a line. My answer hath been, Would he had blotted a thousand! Which they thought a malevolent speech. . . . He was indeed honest, and of an open and free nature; had an excellent phantasie, brave notions, and gentle expressions, wherein he flowed with that facility, that sometimes it was necessary he should be stopped: Suflaminandus erat, as Augustus said of Haterius." The latter paragraph of this quotation is of extreme value. We have mention made here of some of the most prominent characteristics of the great dramatist by one who knew him well, and was capable of comprehending his character. There is another notice of Shakespeare by a contemporary, which we may introduce here. Francis Meres, in a work entitled "Palladis Tamia" (Wit's Treasury), informs us of twelve plays then (1598) known as Shakespeare's. After remarking that as the soul of Euphorbus was thought to live in Pythagoras, so the sweet, witty soul of Ovid lives in mellifluous and honey-tongued Shakespeare, he adds, "As Plautus and Seneca are accounted the best for comedy and tragedy among the Latines, so Shakespeare among the English is the most

excellent in both kinds for the stage: for comedy, witness his Gentlemen of Verona, his Errors, his Love Labours Lost, his Love Labours Wonne, his Midsummer's Night Dreame, and his Merchant of Venice: for tragedy, his Richard the 2, Richard the 3, Henry the 4, King John, Titus Andronicus, and his Romeo and Juliet."

Before the year 1597, Shakespeare had gradually risen in the Blackfriars theatre from occupying a humbler office, to be a sharer and ultimately a proprietor. By this time he had acquired considerable wealth, and he now hastens to invest it in houses and property at his native Stratford-upon-Avon. In 1597, he purchased from William Underhill, for £60, what was known as "the great house," or "New Place," consisting of one messuage, two barns, and two gardens with their appurtenances. In May 1602, he bought 107 acres of arable land, lying within the parish of Old Stratford, from William and John Combe, for £320; and in September of the same year, a house in Dead Lane, from Walter Getley. Within that year he also purchased a property from Hercules Underhill, which consisted of one messuage, two barns, two gardens, and two orchards. These various purchases show the wealth and consideration to which he had attained. His largest investment, however, took place in 1605, when he gave the sum of £440 to Ralphe Huband of Ippesley, Esquire, for half the tithes of Stratford, Old Stratford, Bishopton, and Welcombe, during the currency of an unexpired lease. The original grant of this lease took place in 1544, and was for a term of ninety-two years.

Shakespeare had been an actor, as well as a writer of plays. We do not know in how many different characters he appeared, but we have some evidence that he sustained the part of the Ghost in "Hamlet," and of Adam in "As You Like It." He was also one of the actors in Ben Jonson's "Every Man in his Humour," and also in his "Sejanus." He has the reputation of being a good actor, although in that sphere he was not of the first rank. The date of his ceasing to appear on the stage is probably 1604. He continued to reside in London for six or seven years after this time, however, and wrote a number of plays. It was his custom to spend some portion of the year at Stratford, and we must consider that place to have been his permanent home since 1597 at least. In his journeys between London and Stratford, he used to put up at the Crown Inn, as he passed through Oxford. Oldys relates, on the authority of Pope, that "the landlady was a woman of great beauty and sprightly wit, and her husband, Mr. John Davenant, a grave, melancholy man, who, as well as his wife, used much to delight in Shakespeare's pleasant company." Their son, Will Davenant, a boy of about seven or eight years old, used to fly from school to see Shakespeare. Davenant rose to some eminence as a poet, and was knighted for his loyalty in the civil war. He was to the last an ardent admirer of the great dramatist.

The time of Shakespeare's final withdrawal from London was in or near 1610. We have evidence of his having visited the metropolis repeatedly after this date, but he seems after that to have made Stratford his permanent residence.

Shakespeare retires to Stratford-His family-John-a-Combe-Epitaph on Sir T. Stanley-Careless regarding his Writings-Reason for nonpublication--Folio of 1623-Carelessness a feature of spontaneous genius-Last days and death-Personal appearance-True sources for knowing his real life-as yet uninvestigated.

SOMEWHERE about the year 1610, as we have mentioned, Shakespeare retired from public life to spend the remainder of his days in tranquillity, and in the society of his friends, at his native Stratford. His wife and family must have resided here all along, for we have no evidence of their being in London. The members of his family consisted of Susanna, born in 1583, and Hamnet and Judith, twins, a boy and a girl, born in 1585. His son Hamnet died in 1596. Susanna, his eldest daughter, was married in 1607 to Mr. John Hall, gentleman, at Stratford. This was Shakespeare's favourite daughter. Her husband was a professor of medicine, and practised as a physician. The younger daughter, Judith, married Thomas Quiney, a vintner and wine merchant of Stratford. He was the son of Richard Quiney, some of whose pecuniary transactions with the poet have been recorded. This marriage took place in 1616, on 10th February, and was no doubt sanctioned by Shakespeare, as appears from the terms of his will. The incidents known to us of Shakespeare's later