Arthur Neuendorffer
2020-05-03 20:40:03 UTC
-----------------------------------------------------
Roger Manners: 5th Earl of Rutland
http://tinyurl.com/3usnzkb
<<One of the most well-educated and remarkably literate people
of Elizabethan England. Master of Arts of Cambridge and Oxford
Universities. Was a student at Padua University (Italy) for a while,
studied law at Gray's Inn. For some time, was under the tutelage
of Sir Francis Bacon. Travelled extensively about Europe, visited
the Netherlands, Germany, France, Switzerland, Northern Italy.
Corresponded with European scholars.
His life was closely associated with the Pembrokes and
Sidneys, with the Earl of Southampton, and the Earl of Essex. His
platonic wife and, later, co-author was Elizabeth Sidney, an only
daughter of the famous poet Sir Philip Sidney and step-daughter of
the Earl of Essex. In spite of precarious state of health, the Earl
of Rutland participated more than once in war on land and sea.
Was actively involved in Essex's rebellion and severely punished
for that by Queen Elizabeth I. After the Queen's death in 1603,
the new monarch King James I sent him as his envoy
on an honorary mission to the King of Denmark.
This eccentric aristocrat enveloped his own person and
his literary activities in mystery & secrecy. He never published
anything in his own name, preferring to ascribe the authorship of his
works to "live masks," i.e. semiliterate people like William Shakspere
from Stratford-upon-Avon and Thomas Coryate from OLdcombe. This
was his, his wife's and a few friends' Grand Game, Theatre in Life.
Today we finally have a multitude of positively established facts
witnessing beyond any doubt to the Earl of Rutland's direct connection
with the Shakespeare oeuvre. For instance, the Belvoir Castle archives
keep a variant of a chant from Twelfth Night written in the Earl of
Rutland's hand, and a unique record of the Castle's steward about
payment of money to Shakespeare. Poet and playwright Ben Jonson, who
was well-acquainted with the Earl and Countess of Rutland, called them
and their close circle "poets of the Belvoir Vale." The scene of some
Shakespeare's plays is laid in the very towns of Northern Italy that
Rutland had earlier visited during his European travels. The exact and
accurate Danish realities appeared in Hamlet only after the Earl's
trip to Denmark. The mysterious "Shake-Speare" ceased his creative
work at the very same time when Roger Manners, the 5th Earl of
Rutland, and his wife passed away in 1612 (in quick succession one
after the other). The First Folio was to be released in 1622, the
10th obit of the Earl and his platonic wife. The Second Folio was
published in 1632, obviously to commemorate their 20th obit.>>
------------------------------------------------------------
___ The Rape of Lucrece Stanza 135
.
. Time's office is to fine the hate of foes,
. To eat up err[O|R]s by opinion bred,
. Not spend the dowry of a lawful bed.
. Time's gl[O]ry is to calm contending kings,
. To unmask falsehood and brin[G] *TRUTH to light* ,
. To stamp the *seal of time* in aged things,
. To wak[E] the morn and sentinel the night,
. To wrong the wronger till he [R]ender right,
. To ruinate proud buildings with thy hours,
. And s[M]ear with dust their glittering golden towers ;
Prob. of *O|ROGERM* with skip <50 ~ 1 in 70
............................................
Time's office is to fine the hate of foes,
To eat up err- <= 50 =>
. [O|R] sbyop inionbredNotspendthedowryofalawfulbedTimesg
_ l [O] ryist ocalmcontendingkingsTounmaskfalsehoodandbri
. n [G]{TRUTH}tolightTostampthesealoftimeinagedthingsTowa
. k [E] themo rnandsentinelthenightTowrongthewrongertillh
. e [R] ender rightToruinateproudbuildingswiththyhoursAnd
. s [M] earwi thdusttheirglitteringgoldentowers
............................................
. To fill with WORM-holes stately monuments,
. To feed oblivion with decay of things,
. To blot old books and alter their contents,
. To pluck the quills from ancient ravens' wings,
. To dry the old oak's sap and cherish SPRINGS,
. To spoil antiquities of hammer'd steel,
. And turn the giddy round of Fortune's wheel ;
--------------------------------------------------------
<<The following passage by Mr. Pope stands as a preface
to the various readings at the end of the 8th volume
of his edition of Shakspeare, 1728.>> - Reed.
.................................................
Preface to Shakespeare By Alexander Pope
"But to the end EVERy reader may judge for himself, we have
annexed a compleat list of the rest; which if he shall think
trivial, or erroneous, either in part, or in whole; at worst it
can spoil but a half sheet of paper, that chances to be left
vacant here. And we purpose for the future, to do the same
with respect to any other persons, who thro' candor or vanity,
shall co[M]municate o[R] publish, th[E] least thin[G]s
tending t[O] the illust[R]ation of {OUR AUTHOR}."
..............................
. <= 10 =>
.
. c o [M] m u n i c a t
. e o [R] p u b l i s h
. t h [E] l e a s t t h
. i n [G] s t e n d i n
. g t [O] t h e i l l u
. s t [R] a t i o n o f
. {O U R A U T H O R}."
.
[ROGER M]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
____ SONNET 42 *ROGER M* : skip = 38
. Louing offendors thus I will excuse yee,
. Thou doost loue her, because thou knowst I loue her,
. And for my sake euen so doth she abuse me,
. Suff[R]ing my friend for my sake to approoue her,
. If I l[O]ose thee, my losse is (M)y loues gaine,
. And loosin[G] her, my friend hath f(O)und that losse,
. Both find[E] each other, and I loo(S)e both *TWAINE* ,
. And both fo[R] my sake *LAY ON ME THI(S) (CROSSE)* ,
. But here's the ioy, [MY FRIEND AND I ARE *ON(E)*] ,
. Sweete flattery, then she loues but me alone.
..................................................
_________ <= 38 =>
. Suff [R] ingmyfriendformy s aketoa pprooueher
. IfIl [O] osetheemylosseis (M) yloues gaineAndlo
. osin [G] hermyfriendhathf (O) undtha tlosseBoth
. find [E] eachotherandIloo (S) ebotht waineAndbo
. thfo [R] mysakeLAYONMETHI (S)(CROSSE)Butheresth
. eioy [M YFRIENDANDIAREON (E)]
[ROGER M] 38: Prob. of with skip <39 ~ 1 in 21
(MOSSE) 38
----------------------------------------------------
http://tinyurl.com/jq8h944
.
. This Shadowe is renowned Shakespea{R}'s?
. Soule o[F] th' [A]ge [T]he [A]pplause? delight?
. The wonder {O}f the Stage.
. Nature her selfe, was proud of his desi{G}nes
. [A]nd joy'd to weare the dressing of his lines,
. [T]h{E} learned will confess his works as such
. [A]s neithe{R MAN, NOR MUSE} can praise to much
. [F]or *EVER* live thy [FAME], the worl[D] to tell,
. Th[Y] like, no ag[E], shall *EVE[R]* paralell
....................................................
. <= 41 =>
.
. ThisShadoweisrenownedShakespe a {R} sSoule oFth
. AgeTheApplausedelightThewonde r {O} ftheSt ageN
. atureherselfewasproudofhisdes i {G} nesAnd joyd
. towearethedressingofhislinesT h {E} learne dwil
. lconfesshisworksassuchAsneith e {R MANNOR MUSE}
. canpraisetomuchForEVERlivethy F A MEthew orld
. totellThylikenoageshallEVERpa r a lell
.
{ROGER/MANNOR} 41 : Prob. ~ 1 in 2,550
[FATA] 3 : Prob. ~ 1 in 66
[DYER] 9
------------------------------------------------------
. Ben Jonson folio dedication:
.
. These are, as some infamous Baud, or *WHORE*,
. Should praise a Matron. What could hurt her more?
. But thou a[R]t proofe against them, and indeed
. Above th' ill fortune [O]f them, or the need.
. I, therefore will begin. Soule of the {A|G]e !
. The applause ! delight ! the wonder of our Stage !
. {My Sha{k|E]SPEARE}, rise; I will no{T LODGE} thee by
. Chaucer, or [SPENS{E|R], or bid Beaumont lye
. A little further, to make thee a roo[M]e :
. Thou art a Moniment, without a tombe,
............................................
________ <= 45 =>
.
. Bu t t h o u a[R] tproof eagainstthe m andin deedAbovethil
. lf o r t u n e[O] fthemo rtheneedIth e refor ewillbeginSou
. le o f t h e{A|G] eTheap plausedelig h tthew onderofourSta
. ge {M y S H A{k|E] SPEARE} riseIwillno {T LODGE} theebyChaucer
. or [S P E N S{E|R] orbidB eaumontlyeA l ittle furthertomake
. th e e a r o o[M] eThoua rtaMoniment, w ithou tatombe
.
[ROGER M] 45 : Prob. ~ 1 in 280
........................................................
And such wert thou. Looke how the fathers face
Lives in his issue, even so, the race
Of Shakespeares minde, and *MANNERS* brightly shines
In his well toned, and TRUE-filed lines :
-------------------------------------------------------
http://hollowaypages.com/jonson1692pœtaster.htm
THE POETASTER: OR, HIS ARRAIGNMENT (FOLIO)
Author: It is not so.
*I us'd no Name.* My Books have still been taught
To spare the Persons, and to speak the Vices.
These are meer Slanders, and enforc'd by such
As have no safer ways to Mens Disgraces,
But their own Lies, and loss of Honesty:
Fellows of practis'd and most laxative Tongues,
Whose empty and eager Bellies, i' the Year,
Compel their Brains to many desp'rate Shifts,
(I spare to name 'em; for, their Wretchedness
Fury it self would pardon.) These, or such,
Whether of Malice, or of Ignorance,
Or Itch t' have me their Adversary, (I know not)
Or all these mixt; but sure I am, three Years
They did provoke me with their petulant Styles
On every Stage: And I at last, unwilling,
But weary, I confess, of so [M]uch t[R]oubl[E],
Thou[G]ht I w[O]uld t[R]y if Shame could win upon 'em;
............................................................
. <= 5 =>
.
. B u t w e
. a r y, I c
. o n f e s
. s, o f s o
. [M] u c h t
. [R] o u b l
. [E],T h o u
. [G] h t I w
. [O] u l d t
. [R] y i f s
. h a m e
.
[ROGER M.] -5 : Prob. near the end ~ 1 in 940
.......................................................
And therefore chose Augustus CÆsar's Times,
When Wit and Arts were at their height in Rome,
To shew that Virgil, Horace, and the rest
Of those great Master-spirits, did not want
Detractors then, or Practisers against them:
And by {T}his Line (although no Paralle{L})
I hop'd at last they would sit d{O}wn, and blush:
But nothing coul{D} I find more contrary.
And thou{G}h the Impudence of Flies be gr{E}at,
........................................................
. <= 25 =>
.
. A n d b y {T} h i s L i n e(a l t h o u g h n o P a
. r a l l e {L} I h o p'd a t l a s t t h e y w o u l
. d s i t d {O} w n,a n d b l u s h:B u t n o t h i n
. g c o u l {D} I f i n d m o r e c o n t r a r y.A n
. d t h o u {G} h t h e I m p u d e n c e o f F l i e
. s b e g r {E} a t,
.
{T.LODGE} 25 : Prob. near the end ~ 1 in 265
.....................................................
Yet this hath so provok'd the angry Wasps,
Or, as you said, of the next Nest, the Hornets,
That they fly buzzing, mad, about my Nostrils,
And like so many screaming Grashoppers
Held by the Wings, fill EVERy Ear with Noise.
And what? those former Calumnies you mention'd,
First, of the Law: Indeed I brought in Ovid
Chid by his angry Father, for neglecting
The Study of their Laws, for Pœtry:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
I first got excited about Oxfordian ciphers from reading about 2
amazing near anagrams in Michell's book _Who Wrote Shakespeare_:
..................................................
. OUR EVER-LIVIN(g) POET
. VERO NIL VERIU(s) POET
. and:
. ENVIOU(s) SLIVER broke
. NIL VE(r)O VERIUS broke
--------------------------------------------------
JULY 6, 1604 - Edward de Vere buried
. on St. GodeliEVE's Day
................................................
July 6, 1070 - St. GodeliEVE murdered by
. *DROWNING IN A POND* after being strangled into
. unconciousness by her mother-in-law's servants.
---------------------------------------------------
. *GROS(s)ER NAME* : *ENVIOU(s) SLIVER*
. *ROGE(r) MANERS* : *NIL VE(r)O VERIUS*
..................................................
. Hamlet (Quarto 2, 1604) Act 4, Scene 7
.
Queen: There is a Willow growes ascaunt the Brooke
. That showes his horry leaves in the glassy streame,
. Therewith FANTASTIQUE gaRLANDs did she make
. Of Crowflowers, Nettles, Daises, and long *PURPLES*
. That liberall Shepheards giue *A GROS(s)ER NAM{E}* ,
. But our cull-c{O}ld maydes doe [D]ead mens fing[E]rs call them.
. There on the pen[D]ant boughes h[E]r *CRONET WEED{E}S*
. Clamb(RING) t{O} hang, an *ENVIO[U](s) SLIVER* brok[E],
. When downe he[R] weedy trophi[E]s and her selfe
................................................
. <= 12 =>
.
. *A G R O S (s) E R N A M {E}*
. B u t o u r c u l l -c {O}
. l d m a y d e s d o e [D]
. e a d m e n s f i n g [E]
. r s c a l l t h e m. T h
. e r e o n t h e p e n [D]
. a n t b o u g h e s h [E]
. r *C R O N E T W E E D {E}
. S* C l a m b (R I N G) t {O}
. h a n g, a n *E N V I O [U]
. (s) S L I V E R* b r o k [E]
. W h e n d o w n e h e [R]
. w e e d y t r o p h i [E]
. s a n d h e r s e l f e
.
[DE{E.O.}UERE] 12
------------------------------------------------------------
David Roper Stratford Monument array:
........................................................
<= 34 =>
TE RRAT E (G) I TPOP U L U S M Æ R E T O{L Y M P U S H A B E}T
..................................................................
ST AYPA S (S) E NGER W H Y G O E S T T H O U B Y S O F A S T R
EA DIFT (H)(O) U CANS T W H O M[E N V I O U S]D E A T H H A T H
PL ASTW (I)(T) H INTH I S {M O N[U]M E N T|S H A K S P E A R E}W
IT HWHO (M)(E) Q UICK(N)a {T U R[E|D]I D E|W H O S E N A M E D}O
<TH DECK> Y (S) T OMBE F A R M O[R|E]t H E N C O S T{S I E H}A L
LY THEH A (T) H WRIT T L E[A.V|E|S L I V]I N G A R T B U T P A
GE TOSE R V E HISW I T T
...............................................................
"[ENVIOUS SLIV/ER] broke"
--------------------------------------------------------------
I read Michell's hardback book 25 years ago and it
soon after fell apart so I bought a new paperback.
Michell not only sold me on ciphers but also on group theory...
I think Oxford wrote the (self referential) Hamlet 1603
Quarto while others (including Rutland & Lord STRANGE)
improved upon it for the 1604 Quarto.
After Rutland died in 1612
William Stanley honored him in Hamlet's letter:
----------------------------------------------------
1623 Folio (Act 4, Scene 7)
Claudius reads Hamlet's letter to Laertes:
'High and mighty, You shall know I am set naked on
your kingdom. To-morrow shall I beg leave to see
your kingly eyes: when I shall, first asking your
pardon thereunto, recount the occasion of my sudden
*AND MORE STRANGE RE(t)URN*.' 'HAMLET.'
......................................................
____ *AND MORE STRANGE RE(t)URN*
____ *ROGER MANNERS, E. RUT(l)AND*
------------------------------------------------------
. Sonnet 111
.
O For my sake doe you wish fortune chide,
The guiltie goddesse of my harmfull deeds,
That did not better for my life prouide,
Then publick meanes which publick *MANNERS* breeds.
Then{C}e *COMES* it that *MY NAME* receiues {A} brand,
And almost thence my natu{R}e is subdu'd
To what it workes in, l{I}ke th[E DYER]S HAND,
Pitty me then, a{N}d wish *I wERE REnU'DE*,
Whilst like {A} willing pacient I will drinke,
Potions of Eysell gainst my strong infection,
No bitternesse that I will bitter thinke,
Nor double pennance to correct correction.
{CARINA} 27 [Latin for the keel of a ship]
----------------------------------------------------
. Sonnet 112
.
YOur loue and pittie doth th'impression fill,
Which vulgar scandall stampt vpon my brow,
For what care I who calles me well or ill,
So you ore-greene my bad, my good alow?
You are my All the world, and I must str(I)ue,
To know my (S)hames and pr(A)ises from your t[O]unge,
None e[L]se to me, nor [I] to none ali[V]e,
That my st[E]el'd sence o[R] changes ri[G]ht or wrong,
In so profound Abisme I throw all care
Of others voyces, that my Adders sence,
To cryttick and to flatterer stopped are:
Marke how with my neglect I doe dispence.
You are so strongly in my purpose bred,
That all the world besides me thinkes y'are dead.
..............................................
. <= 10 =>
.
. Y o u a r e m y A l
. l t h e w o r l d,a
. n d I m u s t s t r
. (I)u e,T o k n o w m
. y(S)h a m e s a n d
. p r(A)i s e s f r o
. m y o u r t [O] u n g
. e,N o n e e [L] s e t
. o m e,n o r [I] t o n
. o n e a l i [V] e,T h
. a t m y s t [E] e l'd
. s e n c e o [R] c h a
. n g e s r i [G] h t o
. r w r o n g,
.
(ISA.) 11
[OLIVER] 10
[GREVIL.] -10 : Prob. of [GREVIL] in Sonnets ~ 1 in 145
Fulke [GREVIL]le: Recorder of Stratford (1606-1628)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fulke_Greville,_1st_Baron_Brooke
<<Fulke Greville, 1st Baron Brooke, de jure 13th Baron Latimer and 5th Baron Willoughby de Broke KB PC, known before 1621 as Sir Fulke Greville, was an Elizabethan poet, dramatist, and statesman who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1581 and 1621, when he was raised to the peerage. Greville was a capable administrator who served the English Crown under Elizabeth I and James I as, successively, treasurer of the navy, chancellor of the exchequer, and commissioner of the Treasury, and who for his services was in 1621 made Baron Brooke, peer of the realm. Greville was granted Warwick Castle in 1604, making numerous improvements. Greville is best known today as the biographer of Sir Philip Sidney, and for his sober poetry, which presents dark, thoughtful and distinctly Calvinist views on art, literature, beauty and other philosophical matters.
In 1628 Greville was stabbed at his house in London by Ralph Haywood, a servant who believed that he had been cheated in his master's will. Haywood then turned the knife on himself. Greville's physicians treated his wounds by filling them with pig fat which turned rancid and infected the wounds, and he died in agony four weeks after the attack. His body was brought back to Warwick, and he was buried in the Collegiate Church of St Mary, Warwick, and on his tomb was inscribed the epitaph he had composed:
Folk Grevill
Servant to Queene Elizabeth
Conceller to King James
and Frend to Sir Philip Sidney.
Trophaeum Peccati.>>
---------------------------------------------------------------------
___ Loues Labour's lost (Folio, 1623) Actus primus.
________ <= 23 =>
Dumane: My louing Lo[R]d, Dumane is m[O]rtified,
. The [G]ROS(S)ER *MANN[E]R* of these wo[R]lds delights,
. He throwes vpon the grosse worlds baser slaues:
. (T)o loue, (T)o weal(T)h, to pom{P}e, I pin{E} and di{E},
. With a{L}l thes{E} liuin{G} in Philosophie.
....................................................
. <= 6 =>
. (T) o l o u e,
. (T) o w e a l
. (T) h, t o p o
. m {P} e, I p i
. n {E} a n d d
. i {E},W i t h
. a {L} l t h e
. s {E} l i u i
. n {G} i n P h
. i l o s o p
. h i e
{PEELE,G} 6 {Prob. ~ 1 in 2350, Folio only}
...........................................
. <= 11 =>
. M y l o u i n g L o [R] d,
. D u m a n e i s m [O] r
. t i f i e d,T h e [G] r
. o s s e r*M A N N [E] R*
. o f t h e s e w o [R] l
. d s d e l i g h t (S),
[ROGER] (S) 11 {Prob. ~ 1 in 550, Folio only}
------------------------------------------------
*GROS(S)ER MANNER*
*ROGER (S) MANNERS*
.........................................
*GROS(S)ER NAME* : *ENVIOU(S) SLIVER*
*ROGE(R) MANERS* : *NIL VE(R)O VERIUS*
-----------------------------------------
. . Hamlet (Quarto 2, 1604) Act 4, Scene 7
.
Queen: There is a Willow growes ascaunt the Brooke
. That showes his horry leaues in the glassy streame,
. Therewith FANTASTIQUE gaRLANDs did she make
. Of Crowflowers, Nettles, Daises, and long Purples
. That liberall Shepheards giue a *GROS(S)ER NAME* ,
. But our cull-cold maydes doe dead mens fingers call them.
. There on the pendant boughes her cronet weedes
. Clambring to hang, an *ENVIOU(S) SLIVER* broke,
. When downe her weedy trophies and her selfe
. Fell in the weeping Brooke, her clothes spred wide,
. And Marmaide like awhile they bore her vp,
. Which time she chaunted snatches of old laudes,
. As one incapable of her owne distresse,
. Or like a creature natiue and indewed
. Vnto that elament, but long it could not be
. Till that her garments heauy with theyr drinke,
. Puld the poore wretch from her melodious lay
. To muddy death.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. by Washington Irving.
STRATFORD-ON-AVON.
I regretted to find that the ancient furniture of the hall had disappeared;
for I had hoped to meet with the stately elbow-chair of carved oak in which
the country squire of former days was wont to sway the sceptre of empire
over his rural domains, and in which it might be presumed the redoubled
Sir Thomas sat enthroned in awful state when the recreant
[SHAKESPEARE] was brought before him. As I like to deck out pictures for my
own ente{R}tainment, I pleased myself with the idea that this very hall had
been the scene {O}f the unlucky bard’s examination on the morning after his
captivity in the [LOD{G}E]. I fancied to myself the rural potentate surrounded
by his body-guard of butl{E}r, pages, and blue-coated serving-men with their
badges, while the luckless culp{R}it was brought in, forlorn and chopfallen,
in the custody of gamekeepers, hunts{M}en, and whippers-in, and followed by
a (R)abble rout of co(U)ntry clowns. I fa(N)cied bright fac(E)s of curious
hou(S)emaids peeping from the half-opened doors,
...........................................................................
. <= 66 =>
.
re c rea n t [S H A KESPE A RE] wasbroughtb e forehimA s Iliketodeckou t picturesfor
my o wne n t e {R} t ainme n tI pleasedmyse l fwiththe i deathatthisve r yhallhadbee
nt h esc e n e {O} f theun l uc kybardsexam i nationon t hemorningafte r hiscaptivit
yi n the [L O D {G} E] Ifanc i ed tomyselfthe r uralpote n tatesurrounde d byhisbodygu
ar d ofb u t l {E}[R] pages a nd bluecoateds e rvingmen w iththeirbadge s whiletheluc
kl e ssc u l p {R}[I] twasb r ou ghtinforlor n andchopf a lleninthecust o dyofgamekee
pe r shu n t s {M}[E] nandw h ip persinandfo l lowedbya(R)abbleroutofco(U)ntryclownsI
fa(N)cie d b r i g htfac(E)so fcurioushou(S)emaidspe e pingfromtheha l fopeneddoor
.
[SHAKESPEARE] one of 40 in Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon
{ROGER M.} 66 : Prob. next to a [SHAKESPEARE] ~ 1 in 1,100
(RUNES) 14
[EIRE] -66
----------------------------------------------------------
[S]hake-sp[E]ares So[N|N}ets. Ne[V|E}r befo[R|E} Imprin{T}ed.
.
At London By G. Eld for T. T.
and are to be solde by William Aspley. 1609.
.
. [S] h a k e -s p
. [E] a r e s S o
. [N] {N} (E) t s. N e
. [V] {E} (R) b e f o
. [R] {E} (I) m p r i
. n {T} (E) d.
.
[RVNES] -7: Prob. ~ 1 in 353
(EIRE) -7
-----------------------------------------------
*Faerie Queene* dedication to Queen Elizabeth
http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~rbear/fqintro.html
...............................................
______ T{O}
___ THE MOST HIG{H},
_____ MIGHTI{E}
______ an{d}
____ MAGNIFICEN{T}
___ EMPRESSE RENO{W-}
___ MED FOR PIETIE, VE{R-}
___ TUE, AND ALL GRATIOU{S}
___ GOVERNMENT ELIZABETH B{Y}
___ THE GRACE OF GOD QUEEN{E}
___ OF ENGLAND FRAUNCE an{d}
___ {IRELAND} AND OF VIRG{I-}
................................................
. (*W-R-I-OTHES(L)EY*) Prob. at top ~ 1 in 600
. {Ed.DYER} (H *I STOW*)
. Prob. ~ 1 in 27,000
...............................................
(HISTO)rian (*Iohn STOW*) (1525 - 6 April 1605)
Sir {Ed}Ward {DYER} (1543 - May 1607)
...............................................
___ NIA, DEFENDOUR OF THE
___ FAITH, &. HER MOST
____ HUMBLE SERVANT
____ EDMUND SPENSER
____ DOTH IN ALL HU-
____ MILITIE DEDI-
_____ CATE, PRE-
______ SENT
___ AND CONSECRATE THESE
___ HIS LABOURS TO LIV{E}
___ WITH THE ETERN{I}-
_____ TIE OF HE{R}
______ FAM{É}.
...............................................
{ÉIRE} : Prob. ~ 1 in 1,350
...............................................
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Spenser
<<Edmund Spenser (1553 - 13 January 1599) served under Arthur Grey, 14th Baron Grey de Wilton with Walter Raleigh at the Siege of Smerwick massacre (October 1580). Spenser stayed on in Ireland {i.e., ÉIRE}, having acquired other official posts & lands in the Munster Plantation. Around 1588 Spenser acquired his main estate at Kilcolman in North Cork. He later bought a second holding to the south on a rock overlooking the river Blackwater near a tree, known locally as "Spenser's Oak;" legend has it that he penned some of The Faerie Queene under this tree. In 1590, Spenser travelled to London to publish the first three books of The Faerie Queene. His next significant publication boldly antagonised Lord Burghley (William Cecil), through its inclusion of the satirical Mother Hubberd's Tale. He returned to {ÉIRE}.>>
---------------------------------------------
Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.
by Washington Irving.
STRATFORD-ON-AVON.
............................................
2 [E.DYER]s skip 4 : Prob. ~ 1 in 500
............................................
I had hoped to gather some traditionary anecdotes of the bard
from these ancient chroniclers, but they had nothing new to
impart. The long interval during which Shakespeare's writings
lay in comparative neglect has spread its shadow over his
history, and it is his good or evil lot that scarcely anything
remains to his biographers but a scanty handful of conjectures.
The sexton and his companion had been employed as carpenters on
the preparations for the celebrated Stratford Jubil[E]e, an[D]
the[Y] rem[E]mbe[R]ed Garrick, the prime mover of the fete, who
superintended the arrangements, and who, according to the sexton,
was "a short punch man, VERY lively and bustling." John Ange had
assisted also in cutting down Shakespeare's mulberry tree, of
which he had a morsel in his pocket for sale; no doubt a
sovereign quickener of literary conception.
I was grieved to hear these two worthy wights speak VERY
dubiously of the eloquent dame who shows the Shakespeare house.
John Ange shook his head when I mentioned her valuable and
inexhaustible collection of relics, particularly her remains of
the mulberry tree; and the old sexton even expressed a doubt as
to Shakespeare having been born in her house. I soon discoVERED
that he looked upon her mansion with an evil eye, as a rival to
the poet's tomb, the latter having comparatively but few
visitors. Thus it is that historians differ at the VERY outset,
and mere pebbles make the stream of TRUTH diverge into
different channels even at the fountain-head.
We approached the church through the avenue of limes, and entered
by a Gothic porch, highly ornamented, with carved doors of
massive oak. The interior is spacious, and the architecture and
embellishments superior to those of most country churches. There
are sEVERal ancient monuments of nobility and gentry, over some
of which hang funeral escutcheons and banners dropping piecemeal
from the walls. The tomb of Shakespeare is in the chancel. The
place is solemn and sepulchral. Tall elms wave before the pointed
windows, and the Avon, which runs at a short distance from the
walls, keeps up a low perpetual murmur. A flat stone marks the
spot where the bard is buried. There are four lines inscribed on
it, said to have been written by himself, and which have in them
something extremely awful. If they are indeed his own, they show
that solicitude about the quiet of the grave which seems natural
to fine sensibilities and thoughtful minds:
Good friend, for Jesus' sake, forbeare
To dig the dust inclosed here.
Blessed be he that spares these stones,
And curst be he that moves my bones.
Just over the grave, in a niche of the wall, is a bust of
Shakespeare, put up shortly after his death and considered as a
resemblance. The aspect is pleasant and serene, with a
finely-arched forehead; and I thought I could read in it clear
indications of that cheerful, social disposition by which he was
as much characterized among his contemporaries as by the vastness
of his genius. The inscription mentions his age at the time of
his decease, fifty-three years--an untimely death for the world,
for what fruit might not have been expected from the golden
autumn of such a mind, sheltered as it was from the stormy
vicissitudes of life, and flourishing in the sunshine of popular
and royal favor?
The inscription on the tombstone has not been without its effect.
It has prevented the removal of his remains from the bosom of his
native place to Westminster Abbey, which was at one time
contemplated. A few years since also, as some laborers were
digging to make an adjoining vault, the earth caved in, so as to
leave a vacant space almost like an arch, through which one might
have reached into his grave. No one, howEVER, presumed to meddle
with his remains so awfully guarded by a malediction; and lest
any of the idle or the curious or any collector of relics should
be tempted to commit depredations, the old sexton kept watch over
the place for two days, until the vault was finished and the
aperture closed again. He told me that he had made bold to look
in at the hole, but could see neither coffin nor bones--nothing
but dust. It was something, I thought, to have seen the dust of
Shakespeare.
Next to this grave are those of his wife, his favorite daughter,
Mrs. Hall, and others of his family. On a tomb close by, also, is
a full-length effigy of his old friend John Combe, of usurious
memory, on whom he is said to have written a ludicrous epitaph.
There are other monuments around, but the mind refuses to dwell
on anything that is not connected with Shakespeare. His idea
pervades the place; the whole pile seems but as his mausoleum.
The feelings, no longer checked and thwarted by doubt, here
indulge in perfect confidence: other traces of him may be false
or dubious, but here is palpable evidence and absolute certainty.
As I trod the sounding pavement there was something intense and
thrilling in the idea that in VERY TRUTH the remains of
Shakespeare were mouldering beneath my feet. It was a long time
before I could prevail upon myself to leave the place; and as I
passed through the churchyard I plucked a branch from one of the
yew trees, the only relic that I have brought from Stratford.
I had now visited the usual objects of a pilgrim's devotion, but
I had a desire to see the old family seat of the Lucys at
Charlecot, and to ramble through the park where Shakespeare, in
company with some of the roisterers of Stratford, committed his
youthful offence of deer-stealing. In this harebrained exploit we
are told that he was taken prisoner and carried to the keeper's
lodge, where he remained all night in doleful captivity. When
brought into the presence of Sir Thomas Lucy his treatment must
have been galling and humiliating; for it so wrought upon his
spirit as to produce a rough pasquinade which was affixed to the
park gate at Charlecot.*
This flagitious attack upon the dignity of the knight so incensed
him that he applied to a lawyer at Warwick to put the sEVERity of
the laws in force against the rhyming deer-stalker. Shakespeare
did not wait to brave the united puissance of a knight of the
shire and a country attorney. He forthwith abandoned the pleasant
banks of the Avon and his paternal trade; wandered away to
London; became a hanger-on to the theatres; then an actor; and
finally wrote for the stage; and thus, through the persecution of
Sir Thomas Lucy, Stratford lost an indifferent wool-comber and
the world gained an immortal poet. He retained, howEVER, for a
long time, a sense of the harsh treatment of the lord of
Charlecot, and revenged himself in his writings, but in the
sportive way of a good-natured mind. Sir Thomas is said to be the
original of Justice Shallow, and the satire is slyly fixed upon
him by the justice's armorial bearings, which, like those of the
knight, had white luces+ in the quarterings.
* The following is the only stanza extant of this lampoon:
A parliament member, a justice of peace,
At home a poor scarecrow, at London an asse,
If lowsie is Lucy, as some volke miscalle it,
Then Lucy is lowsie, whatEVER befall it.
He thinks himself great;
Yet an asse in his state,
We allow by his ears but with asses to mate,
If Lucy is lowsie, as some volke miscalle it,
Then sing lowsie Lucy whatEVER befall it.
+ The luce is a pike or jack, and abounds in the Avon about
Charlecot.
Various attempts have been made by his biographers to soften and
explain away this, early transgression of the poet; but I look
upon it as one of those thoughtless exploits natural to his
situation and turn of mind. Shakespeare, when young, had
doubtless all the wildness and irregularity of an ardent,
undisciplined, and undirected genius. The poetic temperament has
naturally something in it of the vagabond. When left to itself it
runs loosely and wildly, and delights in EVERything eccentric and
licentious. It is often a turn up of a die, in the gambling
freaks of fate, whether a natural genius shall turn out a great
rogue or a great poet; and had not Shakespeare's mind fortunately
taken a literary bias, he might have as daringly transcended all
civil as he has all dramatic laws.
I have little doubt that, in early life, when running like an
unbroken colt about the neighborbood of Stratford, he was to be
found in the company of all kinds of odd anomalous characters,
that he associated with all the madcaps of the place, and was one
of those unlucky urchins at mention of whom old men shake their
heads and predict that they will one day come to the gallows. To
him the poaching in Sir Thomas Lucy's park was doubtless like a
foray to a Scottish knight, and struck his eager, and as yet
untamed, imagination as something delightfully adventurous.*
* A proof of Shakespeare's random habits and associates in his
youthful days may be found in a traditionary anecdote, picked up
at Stratford by the elder Ireland, and mentioned in his
"Picturesque Views on the Avon."
About seven miles from Stratford lies the thirsty little
market-town of Bedford, famous for its ale. Two societies of the
village yeomanry used to meet, under the appellation of the
Bedford topers, and to challenge the lovers of good ale of the
neighboring villages to a contest of drinking. Among others, the
people of Stratford were called out to prove the strength of
their heads; and in the number of the champions was Shakespeare,
who, in spite of the proverb that "they who drink beer will think
beer," was as TRUE to his ale as Falstaff to his sack. The
chivalry of Stratford was staggered at the first onset, and
sounded a retreat while they had yet the legs to carry them off
the field. They had scarcely marched a mile when, their legs
failing them, they were forced to lie down under a crab tree,
where they passed the night. It was still standing, and goes by
the name of Shakespeare's tree.
In the morning his companions awaked the bard, and proposed
returning to Bedford, but he declined, saying he had enough,
having drank with
Piping Pebworth, Dancing Marston,
Haunted Hilbro', Hungry Grafton,
Dudging Exhall, Papist Wicksford,
Beggarly Broom, and Drunken Bedford.
"The villages here alluded to," says Ireland, "still bear the
epithets thus given them: the people of Pebworth are still famed
for their skill on the pipe and tabor; Hilborough is now called
Haunted Hilborough; and Grafton is famous for the poverty of its
soil."
The old mansion of Charlecot and its surrounding park still
remain in the possession of the Lucy family, and are peculiarly
interesting front being connected with this whimsical but
eventful circumstance in the scanty history of the bard. As the
house stood at little more than three miles' distance from
Stratford, I resolved to pay it a pedestrian visit, that I might
stroll leisurely through some of those scenes from which
Shakespeare must have derived his earliest ideas of rural
imagery.
The country was yet naked and leafless, but English scenery is
always verdant, and the sudden change in the temperature of the
weather was surprising in its quickening effects upon the
landscape. It was inspiring and animating to witness this first
awakening of spring; to feel its warm breath stealing over the
senses; to see the moist mellow earth beginning to put forth the
green sprout and the tender blade, and the trees and shrubs, in
their reviving tints and bursting buds, giving the promise of
returning foliage and flower. The cold snow-drop, that little
borderer on the skirts of winter, was to be seen with its chaste
white blossoms in the small gardens before the cottages. The
bleating of the new-dropt lambs was faintly heard from the
fields. The sparrow twittered about the thatched eaves and
budding hedges; the robin threw a livelier note into his late
querulous wintry strain; and the lark, springing up from the
reeking bosom of the meadow, towered away into the bright fleecy
cloud, pouring forth torrents of melody. As I watched the little
songster mounting up higher and higher, until his body was a mere
speck on the white bosom of the cloud, while the ear was still
filled with his music, it called to mind Shakespeare's exquisite
little song in Cymbeline:
Hark! hark! the lark at heav'n's gate sings,
And Phoebus 'gins arise,
His steeds to water at those springs,
On chaliced flowers that lies.
And winking mary-buds begin
To ope their golden eyes;
With EVERy thing that pretty bin,
My lady sweet arise!
Indeed, the whole country about here is poetic ground: EVERything
is associated with the idea of Shakespeare. EVERy old cottage
that I saw I fancied into some resort of his boyhood, where he
had acquired his intimate knowledge of rustic life and manners,
and heard those legendary tales and wild superstitions which he
has woven like witchcraft into his dramas. For in his time, we
are told, it was a popular amusement in winter evenings "to sit
round the fire, and tell merry tales of errant knights, queens,
lovers, lords, ladies, giants, dwarfs, thieves, cheaters,
witches, fairies, goblins, and friars."*
* Scot, in his "Discoverie of Witchcraft," enumerates a of these
fireside fanci[E]s: "An[D] the[Y] hav[E] so f[R]aid us with host
bull-beggars, spirits, witches, urchins, elves, hags, fairies,
satyrs, pans, faunes, syrens, kit with the can sticke, tritons,
centaurs, dwarfes, giantes, imps, calcars, conjurors, nymphes,
changelings, incubus, Robin-goodfellow, the spoorne, the mare,
the man in the oke, the hell-waine, the fier drake, the puckle,
Tom Thombe, hobgoblins, Tom Tumbler, boneless, and such other
bugs, that we were afraid of our own shadowes."
...........................................................................
...........................................................................
I regretted to find that the ancient furniture of the hall had disappeared;
for I had hoped to meet with the stately elbow-chair of carved oak in which
the country squire of former days was wont to sway the sceptre of empire
over his rural domains, and in which it might be presumed the redoubled
Sir Thomas sat enthroned in awful state when the recreant
[SHAKESPEARE] was brought before him. As I like to deck out pictures for my
own ente{R}tainment, I pleased myself with the idea that this very hall had
been the scene {O}f the unlucky bard’s examination on the morning after his
captivity in the [LOD{G}E]. I fancied to myself the rural potentate surrounded
by his body-guard of butl{E}r, pages, and blue-coated serving-men with their
badges, while the luckless culp{R}it was brought in, forlorn and chopfallen,
in the custody of gamekeepers, hunts{M}en, and whippers-in, and followed by
a (R)abble rout of co(U)ntry clowns. I fa(N)cied bright fac(E)s of curious
hou(S)emaids peeping from the half-opened doors,
...........................................................................
. <= 66 =>
.
re c rea n t [S H A KESPE A RE] wasbroughtb e forehimA s Iliketodeckou t picturesfor
my o wne n t e {R} t ainme n tI pleasedmyse l fwiththe i deathatthisve r yhallhadbee
nt h esc e n e {O} f theun l uc kybardsexam i nationon t hemorningafte r hiscaptivit
yi n the [L O D {G} E] Ifanc i ed tomyselfthe r uralpote n tatesurrounde d byhisbodygu
ar d ofb u t l {E}[R] pages a nd bluecoateds e rvingmen w iththeirbadge s whiletheluc
kl e ssc u l p {R}[I] twasb r ou ghtinforlor n andchopf a lleninthecust o dyofgamekee
pe r shu n t s {M}[E] nandw h ip persinandfo l lowedbya(R)abbleroutofco(U)ntryclownsI
fa(N)cie d b r i g htfac(E)so fcurioushou(S)emaidspe e pingfromtheha l fopeneddoor
.
[SHAKESPEARE] one of 40 in Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon
{ROGER M.} 66 : Prob. next to a [SHAKESPEARE] ~ 1 in 1,100
(RUNES) 14
[EIRE] -66
----------------------------------------------------
Art Neuendorffer
Roger Manners: 5th Earl of Rutland
http://tinyurl.com/3usnzkb
<<One of the most well-educated and remarkably literate people
of Elizabethan England. Master of Arts of Cambridge and Oxford
Universities. Was a student at Padua University (Italy) for a while,
studied law at Gray's Inn. For some time, was under the tutelage
of Sir Francis Bacon. Travelled extensively about Europe, visited
the Netherlands, Germany, France, Switzerland, Northern Italy.
Corresponded with European scholars.
His life was closely associated with the Pembrokes and
Sidneys, with the Earl of Southampton, and the Earl of Essex. His
platonic wife and, later, co-author was Elizabeth Sidney, an only
daughter of the famous poet Sir Philip Sidney and step-daughter of
the Earl of Essex. In spite of precarious state of health, the Earl
of Rutland participated more than once in war on land and sea.
Was actively involved in Essex's rebellion and severely punished
for that by Queen Elizabeth I. After the Queen's death in 1603,
the new monarch King James I sent him as his envoy
on an honorary mission to the King of Denmark.
This eccentric aristocrat enveloped his own person and
his literary activities in mystery & secrecy. He never published
anything in his own name, preferring to ascribe the authorship of his
works to "live masks," i.e. semiliterate people like William Shakspere
from Stratford-upon-Avon and Thomas Coryate from OLdcombe. This
was his, his wife's and a few friends' Grand Game, Theatre in Life.
Today we finally have a multitude of positively established facts
witnessing beyond any doubt to the Earl of Rutland's direct connection
with the Shakespeare oeuvre. For instance, the Belvoir Castle archives
keep a variant of a chant from Twelfth Night written in the Earl of
Rutland's hand, and a unique record of the Castle's steward about
payment of money to Shakespeare. Poet and playwright Ben Jonson, who
was well-acquainted with the Earl and Countess of Rutland, called them
and their close circle "poets of the Belvoir Vale." The scene of some
Shakespeare's plays is laid in the very towns of Northern Italy that
Rutland had earlier visited during his European travels. The exact and
accurate Danish realities appeared in Hamlet only after the Earl's
trip to Denmark. The mysterious "Shake-Speare" ceased his creative
work at the very same time when Roger Manners, the 5th Earl of
Rutland, and his wife passed away in 1612 (in quick succession one
after the other). The First Folio was to be released in 1622, the
10th obit of the Earl and his platonic wife. The Second Folio was
published in 1632, obviously to commemorate their 20th obit.>>
------------------------------------------------------------
___ The Rape of Lucrece Stanza 135
.
. Time's office is to fine the hate of foes,
. To eat up err[O|R]s by opinion bred,
. Not spend the dowry of a lawful bed.
. Time's gl[O]ry is to calm contending kings,
. To unmask falsehood and brin[G] *TRUTH to light* ,
. To stamp the *seal of time* in aged things,
. To wak[E] the morn and sentinel the night,
. To wrong the wronger till he [R]ender right,
. To ruinate proud buildings with thy hours,
. And s[M]ear with dust their glittering golden towers ;
Prob. of *O|ROGERM* with skip <50 ~ 1 in 70
............................................
Time's office is to fine the hate of foes,
To eat up err- <= 50 =>
. [O|R] sbyop inionbredNotspendthedowryofalawfulbedTimesg
_ l [O] ryist ocalmcontendingkingsTounmaskfalsehoodandbri
. n [G]{TRUTH}tolightTostampthesealoftimeinagedthingsTowa
. k [E] themo rnandsentinelthenightTowrongthewrongertillh
. e [R] ender rightToruinateproudbuildingswiththyhoursAnd
. s [M] earwi thdusttheirglitteringgoldentowers
............................................
. To fill with WORM-holes stately monuments,
. To feed oblivion with decay of things,
. To blot old books and alter their contents,
. To pluck the quills from ancient ravens' wings,
. To dry the old oak's sap and cherish SPRINGS,
. To spoil antiquities of hammer'd steel,
. And turn the giddy round of Fortune's wheel ;
--------------------------------------------------------
<<The following passage by Mr. Pope stands as a preface
to the various readings at the end of the 8th volume
of his edition of Shakspeare, 1728.>> - Reed.
.................................................
Preface to Shakespeare By Alexander Pope
"But to the end EVERy reader may judge for himself, we have
annexed a compleat list of the rest; which if he shall think
trivial, or erroneous, either in part, or in whole; at worst it
can spoil but a half sheet of paper, that chances to be left
vacant here. And we purpose for the future, to do the same
with respect to any other persons, who thro' candor or vanity,
shall co[M]municate o[R] publish, th[E] least thin[G]s
tending t[O] the illust[R]ation of {OUR AUTHOR}."
..............................
. <= 10 =>
.
. c o [M] m u n i c a t
. e o [R] p u b l i s h
. t h [E] l e a s t t h
. i n [G] s t e n d i n
. g t [O] t h e i l l u
. s t [R] a t i o n o f
. {O U R A U T H O R}."
.
[ROGER M]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
____ SONNET 42 *ROGER M* : skip = 38
. Louing offendors thus I will excuse yee,
. Thou doost loue her, because thou knowst I loue her,
. And for my sake euen so doth she abuse me,
. Suff[R]ing my friend for my sake to approoue her,
. If I l[O]ose thee, my losse is (M)y loues gaine,
. And loosin[G] her, my friend hath f(O)und that losse,
. Both find[E] each other, and I loo(S)e both *TWAINE* ,
. And both fo[R] my sake *LAY ON ME THI(S) (CROSSE)* ,
. But here's the ioy, [MY FRIEND AND I ARE *ON(E)*] ,
. Sweete flattery, then she loues but me alone.
..................................................
_________ <= 38 =>
. Suff [R] ingmyfriendformy s aketoa pprooueher
. IfIl [O] osetheemylosseis (M) yloues gaineAndlo
. osin [G] hermyfriendhathf (O) undtha tlosseBoth
. find [E] eachotherandIloo (S) ebotht waineAndbo
. thfo [R] mysakeLAYONMETHI (S)(CROSSE)Butheresth
. eioy [M YFRIENDANDIAREON (E)]
[ROGER M] 38: Prob. of with skip <39 ~ 1 in 21
(MOSSE) 38
----------------------------------------------------
http://tinyurl.com/jq8h944
.
. This Shadowe is renowned Shakespea{R}'s?
. Soule o[F] th' [A]ge [T]he [A]pplause? delight?
. The wonder {O}f the Stage.
. Nature her selfe, was proud of his desi{G}nes
. [A]nd joy'd to weare the dressing of his lines,
. [T]h{E} learned will confess his works as such
. [A]s neithe{R MAN, NOR MUSE} can praise to much
. [F]or *EVER* live thy [FAME], the worl[D] to tell,
. Th[Y] like, no ag[E], shall *EVE[R]* paralell
....................................................
. <= 41 =>
.
. ThisShadoweisrenownedShakespe a {R} sSoule oFth
. AgeTheApplausedelightThewonde r {O} ftheSt ageN
. atureherselfewasproudofhisdes i {G} nesAnd joyd
. towearethedressingofhislinesT h {E} learne dwil
. lconfesshisworksassuchAsneith e {R MANNOR MUSE}
. canpraisetomuchForEVERlivethy F A MEthew orld
. totellThylikenoageshallEVERpa r a lell
.
{ROGER/MANNOR} 41 : Prob. ~ 1 in 2,550
[FATA] 3 : Prob. ~ 1 in 66
[DYER] 9
------------------------------------------------------
. Ben Jonson folio dedication:
.
. These are, as some infamous Baud, or *WHORE*,
. Should praise a Matron. What could hurt her more?
. But thou a[R]t proofe against them, and indeed
. Above th' ill fortune [O]f them, or the need.
. I, therefore will begin. Soule of the {A|G]e !
. The applause ! delight ! the wonder of our Stage !
. {My Sha{k|E]SPEARE}, rise; I will no{T LODGE} thee by
. Chaucer, or [SPENS{E|R], or bid Beaumont lye
. A little further, to make thee a roo[M]e :
. Thou art a Moniment, without a tombe,
............................................
________ <= 45 =>
.
. Bu t t h o u a[R] tproof eagainstthe m andin deedAbovethil
. lf o r t u n e[O] fthemo rtheneedIth e refor ewillbeginSou
. le o f t h e{A|G] eTheap plausedelig h tthew onderofourSta
. ge {M y S H A{k|E] SPEARE} riseIwillno {T LODGE} theebyChaucer
. or [S P E N S{E|R] orbidB eaumontlyeA l ittle furthertomake
. th e e a r o o[M] eThoua rtaMoniment, w ithou tatombe
.
[ROGER M] 45 : Prob. ~ 1 in 280
........................................................
And such wert thou. Looke how the fathers face
Lives in his issue, even so, the race
Of Shakespeares minde, and *MANNERS* brightly shines
In his well toned, and TRUE-filed lines :
-------------------------------------------------------
http://hollowaypages.com/jonson1692pœtaster.htm
THE POETASTER: OR, HIS ARRAIGNMENT (FOLIO)
Author: It is not so.
*I us'd no Name.* My Books have still been taught
To spare the Persons, and to speak the Vices.
These are meer Slanders, and enforc'd by such
As have no safer ways to Mens Disgraces,
But their own Lies, and loss of Honesty:
Fellows of practis'd and most laxative Tongues,
Whose empty and eager Bellies, i' the Year,
Compel their Brains to many desp'rate Shifts,
(I spare to name 'em; for, their Wretchedness
Fury it self would pardon.) These, or such,
Whether of Malice, or of Ignorance,
Or Itch t' have me their Adversary, (I know not)
Or all these mixt; but sure I am, three Years
They did provoke me with their petulant Styles
On every Stage: And I at last, unwilling,
But weary, I confess, of so [M]uch t[R]oubl[E],
Thou[G]ht I w[O]uld t[R]y if Shame could win upon 'em;
............................................................
. <= 5 =>
.
. B u t w e
. a r y, I c
. o n f e s
. s, o f s o
. [M] u c h t
. [R] o u b l
. [E],T h o u
. [G] h t I w
. [O] u l d t
. [R] y i f s
. h a m e
.
[ROGER M.] -5 : Prob. near the end ~ 1 in 940
.......................................................
And therefore chose Augustus CÆsar's Times,
When Wit and Arts were at their height in Rome,
To shew that Virgil, Horace, and the rest
Of those great Master-spirits, did not want
Detractors then, or Practisers against them:
And by {T}his Line (although no Paralle{L})
I hop'd at last they would sit d{O}wn, and blush:
But nothing coul{D} I find more contrary.
And thou{G}h the Impudence of Flies be gr{E}at,
........................................................
. <= 25 =>
.
. A n d b y {T} h i s L i n e(a l t h o u g h n o P a
. r a l l e {L} I h o p'd a t l a s t t h e y w o u l
. d s i t d {O} w n,a n d b l u s h:B u t n o t h i n
. g c o u l {D} I f i n d m o r e c o n t r a r y.A n
. d t h o u {G} h t h e I m p u d e n c e o f F l i e
. s b e g r {E} a t,
.
{T.LODGE} 25 : Prob. near the end ~ 1 in 265
.....................................................
Yet this hath so provok'd the angry Wasps,
Or, as you said, of the next Nest, the Hornets,
That they fly buzzing, mad, about my Nostrils,
And like so many screaming Grashoppers
Held by the Wings, fill EVERy Ear with Noise.
And what? those former Calumnies you mention'd,
First, of the Law: Indeed I brought in Ovid
Chid by his angry Father, for neglecting
The Study of their Laws, for Pœtry:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
I first got excited about Oxfordian ciphers from reading about 2
amazing near anagrams in Michell's book _Who Wrote Shakespeare_:
..................................................
. OUR EVER-LIVIN(g) POET
. VERO NIL VERIU(s) POET
. and:
. ENVIOU(s) SLIVER broke
. NIL VE(r)O VERIUS broke
--------------------------------------------------
JULY 6, 1604 - Edward de Vere buried
. on St. GodeliEVE's Day
................................................
July 6, 1070 - St. GodeliEVE murdered by
. *DROWNING IN A POND* after being strangled into
. unconciousness by her mother-in-law's servants.
---------------------------------------------------
. *GROS(s)ER NAME* : *ENVIOU(s) SLIVER*
. *ROGE(r) MANERS* : *NIL VE(r)O VERIUS*
..................................................
. Hamlet (Quarto 2, 1604) Act 4, Scene 7
.
Queen: There is a Willow growes ascaunt the Brooke
. That showes his horry leaves in the glassy streame,
. Therewith FANTASTIQUE gaRLANDs did she make
. Of Crowflowers, Nettles, Daises, and long *PURPLES*
. That liberall Shepheards giue *A GROS(s)ER NAM{E}* ,
. But our cull-c{O}ld maydes doe [D]ead mens fing[E]rs call them.
. There on the pen[D]ant boughes h[E]r *CRONET WEED{E}S*
. Clamb(RING) t{O} hang, an *ENVIO[U](s) SLIVER* brok[E],
. When downe he[R] weedy trophi[E]s and her selfe
................................................
. <= 12 =>
.
. *A G R O S (s) E R N A M {E}*
. B u t o u r c u l l -c {O}
. l d m a y d e s d o e [D]
. e a d m e n s f i n g [E]
. r s c a l l t h e m. T h
. e r e o n t h e p e n [D]
. a n t b o u g h e s h [E]
. r *C R O N E T W E E D {E}
. S* C l a m b (R I N G) t {O}
. h a n g, a n *E N V I O [U]
. (s) S L I V E R* b r o k [E]
. W h e n d o w n e h e [R]
. w e e d y t r o p h i [E]
. s a n d h e r s e l f e
.
[DE{E.O.}UERE] 12
------------------------------------------------------------
David Roper Stratford Monument array:
........................................................
<= 34 =>
TE RRAT E (G) I TPOP U L U S M Æ R E T O{L Y M P U S H A B E}T
..................................................................
ST AYPA S (S) E NGER W H Y G O E S T T H O U B Y S O F A S T R
EA DIFT (H)(O) U CANS T W H O M[E N V I O U S]D E A T H H A T H
PL ASTW (I)(T) H INTH I S {M O N[U]M E N T|S H A K S P E A R E}W
IT HWHO (M)(E) Q UICK(N)a {T U R[E|D]I D E|W H O S E N A M E D}O
<TH DECK> Y (S) T OMBE F A R M O[R|E]t H E N C O S T{S I E H}A L
LY THEH A (T) H WRIT T L E[A.V|E|S L I V]I N G A R T B U T P A
GE TOSE R V E HISW I T T
...............................................................
"[ENVIOUS SLIV/ER] broke"
--------------------------------------------------------------
I read Michell's hardback book 25 years ago and it
soon after fell apart so I bought a new paperback.
Michell not only sold me on ciphers but also on group theory...
I think Oxford wrote the (self referential) Hamlet 1603
Quarto while others (including Rutland & Lord STRANGE)
improved upon it for the 1604 Quarto.
After Rutland died in 1612
William Stanley honored him in Hamlet's letter:
----------------------------------------------------
1623 Folio (Act 4, Scene 7)
Claudius reads Hamlet's letter to Laertes:
'High and mighty, You shall know I am set naked on
your kingdom. To-morrow shall I beg leave to see
your kingly eyes: when I shall, first asking your
pardon thereunto, recount the occasion of my sudden
*AND MORE STRANGE RE(t)URN*.' 'HAMLET.'
......................................................
____ *AND MORE STRANGE RE(t)URN*
____ *ROGER MANNERS, E. RUT(l)AND*
------------------------------------------------------
. Sonnet 111
.
O For my sake doe you wish fortune chide,
The guiltie goddesse of my harmfull deeds,
That did not better for my life prouide,
Then publick meanes which publick *MANNERS* breeds.
Then{C}e *COMES* it that *MY NAME* receiues {A} brand,
And almost thence my natu{R}e is subdu'd
To what it workes in, l{I}ke th[E DYER]S HAND,
Pitty me then, a{N}d wish *I wERE REnU'DE*,
Whilst like {A} willing pacient I will drinke,
Potions of Eysell gainst my strong infection,
No bitternesse that I will bitter thinke,
Nor double pennance to correct correction.
{CARINA} 27 [Latin for the keel of a ship]
----------------------------------------------------
. Sonnet 112
.
YOur loue and pittie doth th'impression fill,
Which vulgar scandall stampt vpon my brow,
For what care I who calles me well or ill,
So you ore-greene my bad, my good alow?
You are my All the world, and I must str(I)ue,
To know my (S)hames and pr(A)ises from your t[O]unge,
None e[L]se to me, nor [I] to none ali[V]e,
That my st[E]el'd sence o[R] changes ri[G]ht or wrong,
In so profound Abisme I throw all care
Of others voyces, that my Adders sence,
To cryttick and to flatterer stopped are:
Marke how with my neglect I doe dispence.
You are so strongly in my purpose bred,
That all the world besides me thinkes y'are dead.
..............................................
. <= 10 =>
.
. Y o u a r e m y A l
. l t h e w o r l d,a
. n d I m u s t s t r
. (I)u e,T o k n o w m
. y(S)h a m e s a n d
. p r(A)i s e s f r o
. m y o u r t [O] u n g
. e,N o n e e [L] s e t
. o m e,n o r [I] t o n
. o n e a l i [V] e,T h
. a t m y s t [E] e l'd
. s e n c e o [R] c h a
. n g e s r i [G] h t o
. r w r o n g,
.
(ISA.) 11
[OLIVER] 10
[GREVIL.] -10 : Prob. of [GREVIL] in Sonnets ~ 1 in 145
Fulke [GREVIL]le: Recorder of Stratford (1606-1628)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fulke_Greville,_1st_Baron_Brooke
<<Fulke Greville, 1st Baron Brooke, de jure 13th Baron Latimer and 5th Baron Willoughby de Broke KB PC, known before 1621 as Sir Fulke Greville, was an Elizabethan poet, dramatist, and statesman who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1581 and 1621, when he was raised to the peerage. Greville was a capable administrator who served the English Crown under Elizabeth I and James I as, successively, treasurer of the navy, chancellor of the exchequer, and commissioner of the Treasury, and who for his services was in 1621 made Baron Brooke, peer of the realm. Greville was granted Warwick Castle in 1604, making numerous improvements. Greville is best known today as the biographer of Sir Philip Sidney, and for his sober poetry, which presents dark, thoughtful and distinctly Calvinist views on art, literature, beauty and other philosophical matters.
In 1628 Greville was stabbed at his house in London by Ralph Haywood, a servant who believed that he had been cheated in his master's will. Haywood then turned the knife on himself. Greville's physicians treated his wounds by filling them with pig fat which turned rancid and infected the wounds, and he died in agony four weeks after the attack. His body was brought back to Warwick, and he was buried in the Collegiate Church of St Mary, Warwick, and on his tomb was inscribed the epitaph he had composed:
Folk Grevill
Servant to Queene Elizabeth
Conceller to King James
and Frend to Sir Philip Sidney.
Trophaeum Peccati.>>
---------------------------------------------------------------------
___ Loues Labour's lost (Folio, 1623) Actus primus.
________ <= 23 =>
Dumane: My louing Lo[R]d, Dumane is m[O]rtified,
. The [G]ROS(S)ER *MANN[E]R* of these wo[R]lds delights,
. He throwes vpon the grosse worlds baser slaues:
. (T)o loue, (T)o weal(T)h, to pom{P}e, I pin{E} and di{E},
. With a{L}l thes{E} liuin{G} in Philosophie.
....................................................
. <= 6 =>
. (T) o l o u e,
. (T) o w e a l
. (T) h, t o p o
. m {P} e, I p i
. n {E} a n d d
. i {E},W i t h
. a {L} l t h e
. s {E} l i u i
. n {G} i n P h
. i l o s o p
. h i e
{PEELE,G} 6 {Prob. ~ 1 in 2350, Folio only}
...........................................
. <= 11 =>
. M y l o u i n g L o [R] d,
. D u m a n e i s m [O] r
. t i f i e d,T h e [G] r
. o s s e r*M A N N [E] R*
. o f t h e s e w o [R] l
. d s d e l i g h t (S),
[ROGER] (S) 11 {Prob. ~ 1 in 550, Folio only}
------------------------------------------------
*GROS(S)ER MANNER*
*ROGER (S) MANNERS*
.........................................
*GROS(S)ER NAME* : *ENVIOU(S) SLIVER*
*ROGE(R) MANERS* : *NIL VE(R)O VERIUS*
-----------------------------------------
. . Hamlet (Quarto 2, 1604) Act 4, Scene 7
.
Queen: There is a Willow growes ascaunt the Brooke
. That showes his horry leaues in the glassy streame,
. Therewith FANTASTIQUE gaRLANDs did she make
. Of Crowflowers, Nettles, Daises, and long Purples
. That liberall Shepheards giue a *GROS(S)ER NAME* ,
. But our cull-cold maydes doe dead mens fingers call them.
. There on the pendant boughes her cronet weedes
. Clambring to hang, an *ENVIOU(S) SLIVER* broke,
. When downe her weedy trophies and her selfe
. Fell in the weeping Brooke, her clothes spred wide,
. And Marmaide like awhile they bore her vp,
. Which time she chaunted snatches of old laudes,
. As one incapable of her owne distresse,
. Or like a creature natiue and indewed
. Vnto that elament, but long it could not be
. Till that her garments heauy with theyr drinke,
. Puld the poore wretch from her melodious lay
. To muddy death.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. by Washington Irving.
STRATFORD-ON-AVON.
I regretted to find that the ancient furniture of the hall had disappeared;
for I had hoped to meet with the stately elbow-chair of carved oak in which
the country squire of former days was wont to sway the sceptre of empire
over his rural domains, and in which it might be presumed the redoubled
Sir Thomas sat enthroned in awful state when the recreant
[SHAKESPEARE] was brought before him. As I like to deck out pictures for my
own ente{R}tainment, I pleased myself with the idea that this very hall had
been the scene {O}f the unlucky bard’s examination on the morning after his
captivity in the [LOD{G}E]. I fancied to myself the rural potentate surrounded
by his body-guard of butl{E}r, pages, and blue-coated serving-men with their
badges, while the luckless culp{R}it was brought in, forlorn and chopfallen,
in the custody of gamekeepers, hunts{M}en, and whippers-in, and followed by
a (R)abble rout of co(U)ntry clowns. I fa(N)cied bright fac(E)s of curious
hou(S)emaids peeping from the half-opened doors,
...........................................................................
. <= 66 =>
.
re c rea n t [S H A KESPE A RE] wasbroughtb e forehimA s Iliketodeckou t picturesfor
my o wne n t e {R} t ainme n tI pleasedmyse l fwiththe i deathatthisve r yhallhadbee
nt h esc e n e {O} f theun l uc kybardsexam i nationon t hemorningafte r hiscaptivit
yi n the [L O D {G} E] Ifanc i ed tomyselfthe r uralpote n tatesurrounde d byhisbodygu
ar d ofb u t l {E}[R] pages a nd bluecoateds e rvingmen w iththeirbadge s whiletheluc
kl e ssc u l p {R}[I] twasb r ou ghtinforlor n andchopf a lleninthecust o dyofgamekee
pe r shu n t s {M}[E] nandw h ip persinandfo l lowedbya(R)abbleroutofco(U)ntryclownsI
fa(N)cie d b r i g htfac(E)so fcurioushou(S)emaidspe e pingfromtheha l fopeneddoor
.
[SHAKESPEARE] one of 40 in Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon
{ROGER M.} 66 : Prob. next to a [SHAKESPEARE] ~ 1 in 1,100
(RUNES) 14
[EIRE] -66
----------------------------------------------------------
[S]hake-sp[E]ares So[N|N}ets. Ne[V|E}r befo[R|E} Imprin{T}ed.
.
At London By G. Eld for T. T.
and are to be solde by William Aspley. 1609.
.
. [S] h a k e -s p
. [E] a r e s S o
. [N] {N} (E) t s. N e
. [V] {E} (R) b e f o
. [R] {E} (I) m p r i
. n {T} (E) d.
.
[RVNES] -7: Prob. ~ 1 in 353
(EIRE) -7
-----------------------------------------------
*Faerie Queene* dedication to Queen Elizabeth
http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~rbear/fqintro.html
...............................................
______ T{O}
___ THE MOST HIG{H},
_____ MIGHTI{E}
______ an{d}
____ MAGNIFICEN{T}
___ EMPRESSE RENO{W-}
___ MED FOR PIETIE, VE{R-}
___ TUE, AND ALL GRATIOU{S}
___ GOVERNMENT ELIZABETH B{Y}
___ THE GRACE OF GOD QUEEN{E}
___ OF ENGLAND FRAUNCE an{d}
___ {IRELAND} AND OF VIRG{I-}
................................................
. (*W-R-I-OTHES(L)EY*) Prob. at top ~ 1 in 600
. {Ed.DYER} (H *I STOW*)
. Prob. ~ 1 in 27,000
...............................................
(HISTO)rian (*Iohn STOW*) (1525 - 6 April 1605)
Sir {Ed}Ward {DYER} (1543 - May 1607)
...............................................
___ NIA, DEFENDOUR OF THE
___ FAITH, &. HER MOST
____ HUMBLE SERVANT
____ EDMUND SPENSER
____ DOTH IN ALL HU-
____ MILITIE DEDI-
_____ CATE, PRE-
______ SENT
___ AND CONSECRATE THESE
___ HIS LABOURS TO LIV{E}
___ WITH THE ETERN{I}-
_____ TIE OF HE{R}
______ FAM{É}.
...............................................
{ÉIRE} : Prob. ~ 1 in 1,350
...............................................
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Spenser
<<Edmund Spenser (1553 - 13 January 1599) served under Arthur Grey, 14th Baron Grey de Wilton with Walter Raleigh at the Siege of Smerwick massacre (October 1580). Spenser stayed on in Ireland {i.e., ÉIRE}, having acquired other official posts & lands in the Munster Plantation. Around 1588 Spenser acquired his main estate at Kilcolman in North Cork. He later bought a second holding to the south on a rock overlooking the river Blackwater near a tree, known locally as "Spenser's Oak;" legend has it that he penned some of The Faerie Queene under this tree. In 1590, Spenser travelled to London to publish the first three books of The Faerie Queene. His next significant publication boldly antagonised Lord Burghley (William Cecil), through its inclusion of the satirical Mother Hubberd's Tale. He returned to {ÉIRE}.>>
---------------------------------------------
Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.
by Washington Irving.
STRATFORD-ON-AVON.
............................................
2 [E.DYER]s skip 4 : Prob. ~ 1 in 500
............................................
I had hoped to gather some traditionary anecdotes of the bard
from these ancient chroniclers, but they had nothing new to
impart. The long interval during which Shakespeare's writings
lay in comparative neglect has spread its shadow over his
history, and it is his good or evil lot that scarcely anything
remains to his biographers but a scanty handful of conjectures.
The sexton and his companion had been employed as carpenters on
the preparations for the celebrated Stratford Jubil[E]e, an[D]
the[Y] rem[E]mbe[R]ed Garrick, the prime mover of the fete, who
superintended the arrangements, and who, according to the sexton,
was "a short punch man, VERY lively and bustling." John Ange had
assisted also in cutting down Shakespeare's mulberry tree, of
which he had a morsel in his pocket for sale; no doubt a
sovereign quickener of literary conception.
I was grieved to hear these two worthy wights speak VERY
dubiously of the eloquent dame who shows the Shakespeare house.
John Ange shook his head when I mentioned her valuable and
inexhaustible collection of relics, particularly her remains of
the mulberry tree; and the old sexton even expressed a doubt as
to Shakespeare having been born in her house. I soon discoVERED
that he looked upon her mansion with an evil eye, as a rival to
the poet's tomb, the latter having comparatively but few
visitors. Thus it is that historians differ at the VERY outset,
and mere pebbles make the stream of TRUTH diverge into
different channels even at the fountain-head.
We approached the church through the avenue of limes, and entered
by a Gothic porch, highly ornamented, with carved doors of
massive oak. The interior is spacious, and the architecture and
embellishments superior to those of most country churches. There
are sEVERal ancient monuments of nobility and gentry, over some
of which hang funeral escutcheons and banners dropping piecemeal
from the walls. The tomb of Shakespeare is in the chancel. The
place is solemn and sepulchral. Tall elms wave before the pointed
windows, and the Avon, which runs at a short distance from the
walls, keeps up a low perpetual murmur. A flat stone marks the
spot where the bard is buried. There are four lines inscribed on
it, said to have been written by himself, and which have in them
something extremely awful. If they are indeed his own, they show
that solicitude about the quiet of the grave which seems natural
to fine sensibilities and thoughtful minds:
Good friend, for Jesus' sake, forbeare
To dig the dust inclosed here.
Blessed be he that spares these stones,
And curst be he that moves my bones.
Just over the grave, in a niche of the wall, is a bust of
Shakespeare, put up shortly after his death and considered as a
resemblance. The aspect is pleasant and serene, with a
finely-arched forehead; and I thought I could read in it clear
indications of that cheerful, social disposition by which he was
as much characterized among his contemporaries as by the vastness
of his genius. The inscription mentions his age at the time of
his decease, fifty-three years--an untimely death for the world,
for what fruit might not have been expected from the golden
autumn of such a mind, sheltered as it was from the stormy
vicissitudes of life, and flourishing in the sunshine of popular
and royal favor?
The inscription on the tombstone has not been without its effect.
It has prevented the removal of his remains from the bosom of his
native place to Westminster Abbey, which was at one time
contemplated. A few years since also, as some laborers were
digging to make an adjoining vault, the earth caved in, so as to
leave a vacant space almost like an arch, through which one might
have reached into his grave. No one, howEVER, presumed to meddle
with his remains so awfully guarded by a malediction; and lest
any of the idle or the curious or any collector of relics should
be tempted to commit depredations, the old sexton kept watch over
the place for two days, until the vault was finished and the
aperture closed again. He told me that he had made bold to look
in at the hole, but could see neither coffin nor bones--nothing
but dust. It was something, I thought, to have seen the dust of
Shakespeare.
Next to this grave are those of his wife, his favorite daughter,
Mrs. Hall, and others of his family. On a tomb close by, also, is
a full-length effigy of his old friend John Combe, of usurious
memory, on whom he is said to have written a ludicrous epitaph.
There are other monuments around, but the mind refuses to dwell
on anything that is not connected with Shakespeare. His idea
pervades the place; the whole pile seems but as his mausoleum.
The feelings, no longer checked and thwarted by doubt, here
indulge in perfect confidence: other traces of him may be false
or dubious, but here is palpable evidence and absolute certainty.
As I trod the sounding pavement there was something intense and
thrilling in the idea that in VERY TRUTH the remains of
Shakespeare were mouldering beneath my feet. It was a long time
before I could prevail upon myself to leave the place; and as I
passed through the churchyard I plucked a branch from one of the
yew trees, the only relic that I have brought from Stratford.
I had now visited the usual objects of a pilgrim's devotion, but
I had a desire to see the old family seat of the Lucys at
Charlecot, and to ramble through the park where Shakespeare, in
company with some of the roisterers of Stratford, committed his
youthful offence of deer-stealing. In this harebrained exploit we
are told that he was taken prisoner and carried to the keeper's
lodge, where he remained all night in doleful captivity. When
brought into the presence of Sir Thomas Lucy his treatment must
have been galling and humiliating; for it so wrought upon his
spirit as to produce a rough pasquinade which was affixed to the
park gate at Charlecot.*
This flagitious attack upon the dignity of the knight so incensed
him that he applied to a lawyer at Warwick to put the sEVERity of
the laws in force against the rhyming deer-stalker. Shakespeare
did not wait to brave the united puissance of a knight of the
shire and a country attorney. He forthwith abandoned the pleasant
banks of the Avon and his paternal trade; wandered away to
London; became a hanger-on to the theatres; then an actor; and
finally wrote for the stage; and thus, through the persecution of
Sir Thomas Lucy, Stratford lost an indifferent wool-comber and
the world gained an immortal poet. He retained, howEVER, for a
long time, a sense of the harsh treatment of the lord of
Charlecot, and revenged himself in his writings, but in the
sportive way of a good-natured mind. Sir Thomas is said to be the
original of Justice Shallow, and the satire is slyly fixed upon
him by the justice's armorial bearings, which, like those of the
knight, had white luces+ in the quarterings.
* The following is the only stanza extant of this lampoon:
A parliament member, a justice of peace,
At home a poor scarecrow, at London an asse,
If lowsie is Lucy, as some volke miscalle it,
Then Lucy is lowsie, whatEVER befall it.
He thinks himself great;
Yet an asse in his state,
We allow by his ears but with asses to mate,
If Lucy is lowsie, as some volke miscalle it,
Then sing lowsie Lucy whatEVER befall it.
+ The luce is a pike or jack, and abounds in the Avon about
Charlecot.
Various attempts have been made by his biographers to soften and
explain away this, early transgression of the poet; but I look
upon it as one of those thoughtless exploits natural to his
situation and turn of mind. Shakespeare, when young, had
doubtless all the wildness and irregularity of an ardent,
undisciplined, and undirected genius. The poetic temperament has
naturally something in it of the vagabond. When left to itself it
runs loosely and wildly, and delights in EVERything eccentric and
licentious. It is often a turn up of a die, in the gambling
freaks of fate, whether a natural genius shall turn out a great
rogue or a great poet; and had not Shakespeare's mind fortunately
taken a literary bias, he might have as daringly transcended all
civil as he has all dramatic laws.
I have little doubt that, in early life, when running like an
unbroken colt about the neighborbood of Stratford, he was to be
found in the company of all kinds of odd anomalous characters,
that he associated with all the madcaps of the place, and was one
of those unlucky urchins at mention of whom old men shake their
heads and predict that they will one day come to the gallows. To
him the poaching in Sir Thomas Lucy's park was doubtless like a
foray to a Scottish knight, and struck his eager, and as yet
untamed, imagination as something delightfully adventurous.*
* A proof of Shakespeare's random habits and associates in his
youthful days may be found in a traditionary anecdote, picked up
at Stratford by the elder Ireland, and mentioned in his
"Picturesque Views on the Avon."
About seven miles from Stratford lies the thirsty little
market-town of Bedford, famous for its ale. Two societies of the
village yeomanry used to meet, under the appellation of the
Bedford topers, and to challenge the lovers of good ale of the
neighboring villages to a contest of drinking. Among others, the
people of Stratford were called out to prove the strength of
their heads; and in the number of the champions was Shakespeare,
who, in spite of the proverb that "they who drink beer will think
beer," was as TRUE to his ale as Falstaff to his sack. The
chivalry of Stratford was staggered at the first onset, and
sounded a retreat while they had yet the legs to carry them off
the field. They had scarcely marched a mile when, their legs
failing them, they were forced to lie down under a crab tree,
where they passed the night. It was still standing, and goes by
the name of Shakespeare's tree.
In the morning his companions awaked the bard, and proposed
returning to Bedford, but he declined, saying he had enough,
having drank with
Piping Pebworth, Dancing Marston,
Haunted Hilbro', Hungry Grafton,
Dudging Exhall, Papist Wicksford,
Beggarly Broom, and Drunken Bedford.
"The villages here alluded to," says Ireland, "still bear the
epithets thus given them: the people of Pebworth are still famed
for their skill on the pipe and tabor; Hilborough is now called
Haunted Hilborough; and Grafton is famous for the poverty of its
soil."
The old mansion of Charlecot and its surrounding park still
remain in the possession of the Lucy family, and are peculiarly
interesting front being connected with this whimsical but
eventful circumstance in the scanty history of the bard. As the
house stood at little more than three miles' distance from
Stratford, I resolved to pay it a pedestrian visit, that I might
stroll leisurely through some of those scenes from which
Shakespeare must have derived his earliest ideas of rural
imagery.
The country was yet naked and leafless, but English scenery is
always verdant, and the sudden change in the temperature of the
weather was surprising in its quickening effects upon the
landscape. It was inspiring and animating to witness this first
awakening of spring; to feel its warm breath stealing over the
senses; to see the moist mellow earth beginning to put forth the
green sprout and the tender blade, and the trees and shrubs, in
their reviving tints and bursting buds, giving the promise of
returning foliage and flower. The cold snow-drop, that little
borderer on the skirts of winter, was to be seen with its chaste
white blossoms in the small gardens before the cottages. The
bleating of the new-dropt lambs was faintly heard from the
fields. The sparrow twittered about the thatched eaves and
budding hedges; the robin threw a livelier note into his late
querulous wintry strain; and the lark, springing up from the
reeking bosom of the meadow, towered away into the bright fleecy
cloud, pouring forth torrents of melody. As I watched the little
songster mounting up higher and higher, until his body was a mere
speck on the white bosom of the cloud, while the ear was still
filled with his music, it called to mind Shakespeare's exquisite
little song in Cymbeline:
Hark! hark! the lark at heav'n's gate sings,
And Phoebus 'gins arise,
His steeds to water at those springs,
On chaliced flowers that lies.
And winking mary-buds begin
To ope their golden eyes;
With EVERy thing that pretty bin,
My lady sweet arise!
Indeed, the whole country about here is poetic ground: EVERything
is associated with the idea of Shakespeare. EVERy old cottage
that I saw I fancied into some resort of his boyhood, where he
had acquired his intimate knowledge of rustic life and manners,
and heard those legendary tales and wild superstitions which he
has woven like witchcraft into his dramas. For in his time, we
are told, it was a popular amusement in winter evenings "to sit
round the fire, and tell merry tales of errant knights, queens,
lovers, lords, ladies, giants, dwarfs, thieves, cheaters,
witches, fairies, goblins, and friars."*
* Scot, in his "Discoverie of Witchcraft," enumerates a of these
fireside fanci[E]s: "An[D] the[Y] hav[E] so f[R]aid us with host
bull-beggars, spirits, witches, urchins, elves, hags, fairies,
satyrs, pans, faunes, syrens, kit with the can sticke, tritons,
centaurs, dwarfes, giantes, imps, calcars, conjurors, nymphes,
changelings, incubus, Robin-goodfellow, the spoorne, the mare,
the man in the oke, the hell-waine, the fier drake, the puckle,
Tom Thombe, hobgoblins, Tom Tumbler, boneless, and such other
bugs, that we were afraid of our own shadowes."
...........................................................................
...........................................................................
I regretted to find that the ancient furniture of the hall had disappeared;
for I had hoped to meet with the stately elbow-chair of carved oak in which
the country squire of former days was wont to sway the sceptre of empire
over his rural domains, and in which it might be presumed the redoubled
Sir Thomas sat enthroned in awful state when the recreant
[SHAKESPEARE] was brought before him. As I like to deck out pictures for my
own ente{R}tainment, I pleased myself with the idea that this very hall had
been the scene {O}f the unlucky bard’s examination on the morning after his
captivity in the [LOD{G}E]. I fancied to myself the rural potentate surrounded
by his body-guard of butl{E}r, pages, and blue-coated serving-men with their
badges, while the luckless culp{R}it was brought in, forlorn and chopfallen,
in the custody of gamekeepers, hunts{M}en, and whippers-in, and followed by
a (R)abble rout of co(U)ntry clowns. I fa(N)cied bright fac(E)s of curious
hou(S)emaids peeping from the half-opened doors,
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. <= 66 =>
.
re c rea n t [S H A KESPE A RE] wasbroughtb e forehimA s Iliketodeckou t picturesfor
my o wne n t e {R} t ainme n tI pleasedmyse l fwiththe i deathatthisve r yhallhadbee
nt h esc e n e {O} f theun l uc kybardsexam i nationon t hemorningafte r hiscaptivit
yi n the [L O D {G} E] Ifanc i ed tomyselfthe r uralpote n tatesurrounde d byhisbodygu
ar d ofb u t l {E}[R] pages a nd bluecoateds e rvingmen w iththeirbadge s whiletheluc
kl e ssc u l p {R}[I] twasb r ou ghtinforlor n andchopf a lleninthecust o dyofgamekee
pe r shu n t s {M}[E] nandw h ip persinandfo l lowedbya(R)abbleroutofco(U)ntryclownsI
fa(N)cie d b r i g htfac(E)so fcurioushou(S)emaidspe e pingfromtheha l fopeneddoor
.
[SHAKESPEARE] one of 40 in Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon
{ROGER M.} 66 : Prob. next to a [SHAKESPEARE] ~ 1 in 1,100
(RUNES) 14
[EIRE] -66
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Art Neuendorffer