IV. STRATFORD REGISTERS.. 1558 Septēber 15 1573 [1573-4] March 11 1583 May 26 1584 [1584-5] February 2.. There are then entries BAPTISMS. Jone Shakspere daughter to John Shakspere. Richard sonne to Mr. John Shakspeer. Hamnet & Iudeth sonne & daughter to Willia Shakspere. of Ursula, 1588; Humphrey, 1590; Philippus, 1591 ;---children of John Shakspere (not Mr.) 1607 Junii 5. MARRIAGES. John Hall gentlema & Susanna Shaxspere. 1615 [1615-6] February 10. Tho: Queeny tow Judith Shakspere. It appears by the Register of Burials that Dr. Hall, one of the sons-in-law of William Shakspere, was buried on the 26th November, 1635. He is described in the entry as "Medicus peritissimus." The Register contains no entry of the burial of Thomas Quiney. Elizabeth, the daughter of John and Susanna Hall, was baptized February 21, 1607 [1607-8]; and she is mentioned in her illustrious grandfather's will. The children of Judith, who was only married two months before the death of her father, appear to have been three sons, all of whom died before their mother. V. THE PORTRAITS OF SHAKSPERE. VOLUMES have been written on the subject of the genuineness of Shakspere's portraits. The bust upon Shakspere's Monument has the first claim to notice. The sculptor of that monument was Gerard Johnson. The tomb itself is accurately represented at the head of Shakspere's Will. We learn the name of the sculptor from Dugdale's correspondence, published by Mr. Hamper in 1827; and we collect from the verses by Leonard Digges, prefixed to the first edition of Shakspere, that it was erected previous to 1623 : "Shakespeare, at length thy pious fellows give The world thy works: thy works by which outlive When brass and marble fade, shall make thee look The fate of this portrait of Shakspere, for we may well account it as such, is a singular one. Mr. Britton, who has on many occasions manifested an enthusiastic feeling for the associations belonging to the great poet, published in 1816 "Remarks on his Monumental Bust," from which we extract the following passage:- "The Bust is the size of life; it is formed out of a block of soft stone; and was originally painted over in imitation of nature. The hands and face were of flesh colour, the eyes of a light hazel, and the hair and beard auburn; the doublet or coat was scarlet, and covered with a loose black gown, or tabard, without sleeves; the upper part of the cushion was green, the under half crimson, and the tassels gilt. Such appear to have been the original features of this important but neglected or insulted bust. After remaining in this state above one hundred and twenty years, Mr. John Ward, grandfather to Mrs. Siddons and Mr. Kemble, caused it to be repaired,' and the original colours preserved, in 1748, from the profits of the representation of 'Othello.' This was a generous, and appa rently judicious act; and therefore very unlike the next alteration it was subjected to in 1793. In that year Mr. Malone caused the bust to be covered over with one or more coats of white paint; and thus at once destroyed its original character, and greatly injured the expression of the face." It is fortunate that we live in an age when no such unscrupulous insolence as that of Malone can be again tolerated. A small head, engraved from the little print, by WILLIAM MARSHALL, prefixed to the edition of Shakspere's poems in 1640, is considered amongst the genuine portraits of Shakspere. It is probably reduced, with alterations, from the print by MARTIN DROESHOUT, which is prefixed to the folio of 1623. The original engraving is not a good one; and as the plate furnished the portraits to three subsequent editions, it is not easy to find a good impression. The persons who published this portrait were the friends of Shakspere. It was published at a time when his features would be well recollected by many of his contemporaries. The accuracy of the resemblance is also attested by the following lines from the pen of Ben Jonson : "This figure, that thou here seest put, It was for gentle Shakespeare cut; O, could he but have drawn his wit As well in brass, as he had hit His face, the print would then surpass All that was ever writ in brass. But, since he cannot, Reader, look Not on his Picture, but his Book."-B. J. Under these circumstances we are inclined to regard it as the most genuine of the portraits of Shakspere. It wants that high art which seizes upon a likeness by general resemblance, and not through the merely accurate delineation of features. The draughtsman from whom this engraving was made, and the sculptor of the bust at Stratford, were literal copyists. It is perfectly clear that they were working upon the same original. The famous CHANDOS picture, is now the property of the Earl of Ellesmere; and has recently been engraved for the "Shakespeare Society," by Mr. Cousens. It has a history belonging to it which says much for its authenticity. It formerly belonged to Davenant, and afterwards to Betterton. When in Betterton's possession it was engraved for Rowe's edition of Shakspere's works. It subsequently passed into various hands; during which transit it was engraved, first by Vertue and afterwards by Houbraken. It became the property of the Duke of Chandos, by marriage; and thence descended to the Buckingham family. Kneller copied this portrait for Dryden, and the poet addressed to the painter the following verses as a return for the gift:* "Shakspeare, thy gift, I place before my sight, With awe I ask his blessing as I write; His soul inspires me, while thy praise I write, And I like Teucer under Ajax fight: Bids thee, through me, be bold; with dauntless breast Like his, thy critics in the attempt are lost, When most they rail, know then, they envy most." Of a portrait, said to have been painted by CORNELIUS JANSEN, an engraving was made by Earlom, and was prefixed to an edition of "King Lear," published in 1770, edited by Mr. Jennens. It has subsequently been more carefully engraved by Mr. Turner, for Mr. Boaden's "Inquiry into the Authenticity of the Portraits of Shakspere." This portrait has the inscription "te 46, 1610;" and in a scroll over the head are the words "Ut. Magus." Mr. Boaden says, "The two words are extracted from the famous Epistle of Horace to Augustus, the First of the Second Book; the particular passage this:— 'Ille per extentum funem mihi posse videtur Ut Magus; et modo me Thebis, modo ponit Athenis.' No man ever took this extended range' more securely than Shakspere; no man ever possessed so ample a control over the passions; and he transported his hearers, 'as a magician,' over lands and seas, from one kingdom to another, superior to all circumspection or confine." The picture passed from the possession of Mr. Jennens into that of the Duke of Somerset. The five miniature-portraits of Shakspere, forming the frontispiece to the "Studies of Shakspere," are taken from the following authorities :—top, left—The Chandos Picture, now in the possession of the Earl of Ellesmere;—top, right — Droeshout's Print, prefixed to the folio of 1623;-centre-The Bust at Stratford, as drawn by the late Mr. Phillips, R.A., and engraved under the direction of Mr. Britton;-bottom, left-Mr. Nicol's Picture, of which there is an engraving;— bottom, right— An Ancient Picture (with the panel frame of the wainscot in which it was inserted), in the possession of Mr. Knight. *This picture, by permission of the late Duke of Buckingham, was copied for the engraving in the "Gallery of Portraits," for the first time for forty years; and the copy, by Mr. Witherington, R. A. is in our possession. [THE END.] |