eleven "painted cloths," which in middle-class homes took the place of the more expensive tapestry. There was a "hall" beautified with two of these painted cloths, a great chamber decorated with five, and other rooms of less importance in which the remaining four were distributed. An inventory of his "goods" made after his death shows that on his own farm in Wilmecote he had eight oxen for the plough, four horses, three colts, seven cows, two bulls, four calves, fifty sheep, besides swine, bees, poultry, etc. The inventory, after the usual conservative fashion, reckoned his goods at £77 11s. Iod. - as such estimates then went, a large sum. And this, of course, did not take into consideration his real property, consisting of his lands and houses.

The Shakespeares had long been tenants on one of Robert Arden's farms at Snitterfield; and through this relationship, perhaps, young John had come to know the Arden family, and had met his future wife. Mary, the youngest of eight children 1 (all daughters), was apparently her father's favorite. When Robert Arden late in life took a second wife (by whom he had no children), he made a special settlement of his real property, in order, it may be, to placate certain of his daughters. He had already, it seems, provided for Elizabeth, who had married John Scarlet; and now, by deeds executed in 1550, he divided his Snitterfield estates into six equal parts, giving one part to each of six daughters, subject, however, to the life-interest of his wife. Mary alone is not mentioned in these deeds. Can it be that she had made no objection to his marriage, and thus had won the heart of her father? However that may be, he most bountifully cared for her upon his death in 1556. To her he left by will ten marks

1 Sir Sidney Lee says that there were only seven children; apparently he forgot Elizabeth who married John Scarlet. Moreover, he expresses some doubt (p. 7) whether Mary was the youngest daughter; she is so described by her father in his will.

as a dowry (the conventional sum), and the freehold of his most valuable possession, the estate of Asbies, with its house, almost sixty acres of land, "and the crop upon the ground, sown and tilled as it is." Mary was thus regarded among the yeomen of Warwickshire as an heiress of importance.

John Shakespeare married her about a year after the death of her father, and brought her to his residence in Stratford. The "Wool Shop," or eastern half of the double house in Henley Street, he continued to use for business purposes; the western half he converted into a home. The bride, having by will received a share of her father's goods,' must have brought with her some furniture and household stuff, including we may suppose a few of the painted cloths, so often alluded to by the poet. In the home thus established, William and the other children were born and reared, and here John and Mary lived their entire lives and died. The building, therefore, is most intimately associated with the name of Shakespeare, and is now rightly preserved as a shrine for all lovers of English poetry.2

Through the acquisition of his wife's property, added to his own, John became an even more important member of the Stratford community; and this importance quickly revealed itself in various ways. In 1557 he was elected one of the ale-tasters, officers who had supervision of malt liquors and bread;3 and near the close of the year was chosen a burgess. In 1558 the twelve jurors elected him one of the four constables, an office of no

4

1 This seems to be the correct interpretation of the clause following the bequest to Alice; but I am not absolutely sure. For the will in full see Halliwell-Phillipps, Outlines, ii, 53.

2 The house remained the residence of John's descendants until 1806. * For a history of this office, and a statement of its precise duties, see C. I. Elton, William Shakespeare, His Family and Friends, 1904, p. 78.

♦ The duties of a village constable are humorously described in Shakespeare's sketch of Dogberry. As Fripp, op. cit., p. xlvi, points out, John

little consideration, to which he was reëlected the following year. In 1559 he was appointed an affeeror, a person who decided the fine or other punishment to' be imposed on those who had been convicted of a fault for which no express penalty had been prescribed by the statutes. In 1561 he was reappointed affeeror, and also elected one of the two chamberlains, officers who had charge of the finances of the municipality. This was a distinct recognition on the part of his fellow-tradesmen of his probity and business ability. They reëlected him to the position in 1562; and although after serving two terms he retired from the office, the municipal records show that he continued to help in managing the finances of the town. Not only did he on several occasions superintend and audit the accounts of the regular chamberlains, but when the

necessity arose he actually advanced money to the corporation out of his own pocket. Clearly he was a publicspirited citizen, deeply interested in the welfare of the village.1

From the fact that he invariably signed documents with a mark, sometimes a plain cross, sometimes a crude representation of a pair of dividers used in the trade of glover, it may be inferred that he could not write his found the office no sinecure, for cases of assault were numerous. A certain Welshman had to be fined not only for a fray, but also for "giving opprobrious words" to the constables. For the record of the constables see pp. 88-90, 92-95.

1 Fripp, op. cit., pp. 1-lii (cf. pp. 120-22, 126–30), shows that as Chamberlain John was very energetic in making repairs on town property and in advancing the condition of the borough; and (pp. liii-v) that several times, "to his great credit," he undertook the duties of Acting Chamberlain.