BODL LIBR. 26. SEP 1918 OXFORD

REMARKS.

Shakspeare's Early Days.

IN those day-dreams of fancy which persons of a certain temperament are wont to indulge, we have pictured to our imagination Shakspeare and his times. His majestic countenance, from the contemplation of which Dryden caught inspiration, has been rudely, yet faithfully preserved; his mind is best seen in his works. On the few incidents recorded in his life, we dwell with fond enthusiasm. His boyhood, courtship, marriage— his wild exploits in the park of Sir Thomas Lucy, (the scene of "As you like it,")-his bitter lampoon on the "Parliament Member,"-his retreat from Stratford; arrival in London; accidental encounter with the players, his appearance as an actor and author,-and the first dawning of his mighty genius. That the muse had vouchsafed him her inspirations, and opened to his infant eyes the gates of immortality; that she had haunted his visions by day, and his dreams by night, is not the fiction of an idle brain, but an inference fully warranted by events :

"Genius! too meanly priz'd on earth,
Immortal star of heavenly birth!

How dazzling shine thy morning beams;
What ardent hopes, what golden dreams,
And summer prospects, fondly cheer
Thy bright, eccentric, wild career !"

In disgrace and penury, the world before him, but its prospects gloomy and uncertain, Shakspeare quitted his native town, his family, and kindred. His feelings who shall imagine? who shall describe? We should say they partook of melancholy mingled with hope, relieved by the curiosity of a young and ardent adventurer strong in the emotions of genius; anticipating a wider field for the exercise of his talents; and not without some partial glimpses of "The All Hail Hereafter!" If such were his aspirations, never was vision more prophetic.

In aid of this illusion, his contemporaries pass in re• The Editor.

view before us-Elizabeth," the expectancy and rose of the fair state;" the gallant Southampton, "the observ'd of all observers;" the rare Ben Jonson, and his Fellows, Alleyn, Armin, Burbage, Green, and that prince of clowns, Dick Tarlton, whose true effigies have passed to posterity, and enough of whose history remains to give us some insight into their characters. Their very places of resort, convivial and theatrical, though for the most part destroyed by time, are transmitted to us by the graver's art; and so minutely has description set forth each particular, that we pace the deserted chambers of the Falcon and the Devil-we hear the wisdom and the wit, and the loud laugh—we visit the Bear Garden, the Globe, and the Fortune-we listen to Tarlton, with his wondrous, plentiful, pleasant, extemporal humour, exchanging gibes with our merry ancestors :"Friend or foe, if thou wilt needs know, mark me well,—

With parting dogs and bears, then by the ears, this chance fell:
But what of that? Though my nose be flat, my credit to save,
Yet very well I can by the smell scent an honest man from a
knave"-

we behold Burbage, such a player "as no age must
look to see the like," in his original character of the
crafty Richard-Maister Greene, than whom
"there
was not an actor of his nature, in his time, of better
ability in performance of what he undertook, more
applaudent by the audience, of greater grace at the
court, or of more general love in the Citty," in his crack
part of Bubble, "Tu Quoque !"-the merry and frolic-
some Bob Armin, in simple John, in the Hospitall
-and

"Alleyn, playing Faustus,

With the cross upon his breast."

The age of Skakspeare was the age of romance

"Of pomp, and feast, and revelry,
With mask and antique pageantry;
Such sights as youthful poets dream
On summer eves by haunted stream."

As yet, frigid philosophy had not reduced man's existence to one dull round of sad realities; but some magical drops were distilled in the cup, to make the bitter draught of life go down. Shakspeare had drank deep at this fountain of inspiration; hence the hightoned sentiment, the noble enthusiasm, the perfect hu

manity, that makes the heart tremble, and the tears start, in the works of this mighty enchanter. The age, too, was a joyous one,-the puritanical ravings of Gosson and Stubbes, and the snarling of Prynne, had not disinclined the people to their ancient sports and pastimes; and England, in her holydays and festivals, well deserved her characteristic appellation of "Merrie." These national peculiarities were not lost on a mind so excursive as Shakspeare's :-his works abound in curious illustrations of the domestic habits and popular superstitions of our ancestors; and he who has attentively studied them may claim more credit for antiquarian knowledge, than is generally conceded to the readers of fiction and fancy.-From all that we can learn of his personal history, his disposition was bland, cheerful, and humane; by one who best knew him, and who has been most unjustly and invidiously brought forward as an adversary, he is styled the "gentle Shakspeare." He possessed that happy temperament so beautifully described in Hamlet s character of Horatio.

"For thou hast been

As one, in suffering all, that suffers nothing;

A man that fortune's buffets and rewards

Hast ta'en with equal thanks: and bless'd are those,
Whose blood and judgment are so well co-mingled,
That they are not a pipe for fortune's finger
To sound what stop she please."

He loved the merry catch and the mirth-inspiring glee, -the wine and wassail, the cakes and ale, which warmed the hearts of that immortal trio, Sir Andrew, Sir Toby, and the Clown, and extracted from the taciturn Master Silence those precious relics of old ballad poetry that erst graced the collection, "fair wrapt up in parchement, and bound with a whipcord," of that righte cunninge and primitive bibliographer, Captain Cox, of Coventry !-And how deeply has he struck the chords of melancholy !—yet, no marvel thereat; since there never was a true poet, who did not feel the presence of this sublime spirit—a spirit that dwelt in Shakspeare, in all its intensity :

"To him the mighty mother did unveil
Her awful face; the dauntless child
Stretch'd forth his little arms and smil'd.

This pencil take (she said), whose colours clear,
Richly paint the vernal year:

Thine, too, these golden keys, immortal boy!
This can unlock the gates of joy;

Of horror, that, and thrilling fears,

Or ope the sacred source of sympathetic tears."

Shakspeare did not wait for the sear, the yellow leaf, ere he bade a final adieu to the theatre of his glory. If ever pride became a virtue, it was that which glowed in the poet's bosom at this auspicious moment. Of fame he possessed a greater share than ever fell to the lot of human being.-A splendid retirement was before him ;

"And that which should accompany old age,

As honour, love, obedience, troops of friends."

With what emotions must he have revisited that sacred pile, the last object where he might have fondly lingered, when he went forth a wanderer!-Too soon it was to become his mausoleum-the shrine of adoring votaries, through distant ages; who, led thither by the divine spirit of his muse, account it no idolatry to bow before the dust of Shakspeare.

The present age, so fertile in inventions, has exhibited Shakspeare in propriâ personâ on the scene where he was once illustrated in all his glory. The attempt was a bold one :

"The daring youth that fir'd th' Ephesian dome

Outlives in fame th' ambitious fool that rear'd it.”

The author has performed his task with reasonable success. Shakspeare, for the most part, speaks his own language; the other personages are not offensively prominent, they do not o'erstep the modesty of nature. The scenery is a rich antiquarian treat,-Shakspeare's house at Stratford--a view of the town, and the mansion and park, of Charlcotte-the Falcon Tavern at Bankside, and the Globe Theatre.-The illusion was perfect. Shakspeare was represented by Mr. Charles Kemble; and to whom could The Immortal be assigned with greater propriety, than to this superb actor and accomplished gentleman? The other characters were well supported-Bartley in Sir Thomas Lucy, Blanchard in Dr. Orthodox, and J. Russell in Slyboots, deserve particular commendation.