The Sun.
London, England, 1817-12-03 00:00:00

SHAKSTE'AR E.

• The name of this wonderful Poet Must attach
an interest to every thing that relates to him and
his works. The world has,'indeed, been so much
deceived by pretended discoveries and specious
impositions, that— it may well look with distrust,
if not total disbelief, on whatever:may, at this
time, be brought forward on the subject.` • HoW-
ever, as there seems to be some colour of • pro-
bability in the following statement, which ,has
just appeared in a periodical work,!antl', as, if
well-founded, it may promote the,purposes of be--
nevolence,.we readily give it insertion
" We solemnly call the attention of the literary
world to a subject which involves the moral, cha-
racter of the British nation. It is now above two
centuries since the death-of William ShAspeare,
• the greatest genius of any age or nation ; and,:
duriN.., the greater part of that period„ it has been
the unceasing boast and glory of the people of.
• Eogland, that the ensivalled:orrivt-of•Naturemnis
an Englishman. Etigland therefore has profited by
his renown, and his was the harmless glory of
literary genius; by which 'he illustrated virtue,
exposed vice, and taught man his domestic, and
social. duties, is there, therefore; no debt of
gratitude due from his country to this great man;
or' to hiS family? Ought the fancily of Sliale7
speare to be suffered to be servants, hirelings,
and paupers ? Do not the equivocal deeds of war
performed by a Churchill, a Byug, a 'Nelson, or
a Wellesley, ennoble and enrich their families in
uvery branch and generation ; •and is nothing, due
to the name and family of that man, that nfiparal-
leled Shakspeare, whose Works not only hononr
his own country, hut our common nature: in .alt
countries ? To
,such a question there can be, but
one answer, followed by an eager curiosity to
learn whether there now live any heir S-at-law, or
representatiVes in blood, of the Shakspeare family.
It is known 'that the line of Shakspeare's own
body terminated in his grand-daughter, La'dy Bar-
nard, of .Abington, near Northampton ; .hut
Shakspeare had a sister, Joan, who married \Vni.
Mute, of Seratforsl: and his branch, partly un-
der the name-of Harte, anti partly under that of
Smith, may be regarded as the last remains of
that family, which as long as transcendant genius
Merits 'distinction; ought nor to be suffered to
pine in want, or to struggle against the Misei•ies
which beset poverty, hOwever "industrial-is, • In
p•assing lately through Tewkesbury, the Editor
of the Monthly Magazine was led, bra reported
inscription on the tomb-stone of a JOhn Ha'rte,
buried there in 1800,—which inscription describ-
ed him as a sixth descendant of the poet Shak-
speare,'—to enquire whether there lived in-that,
sown any survivors of the family. After much
search, be discovered a son of this Harte, who•
had been christened by the name of William Shak-
speare. This poor man is a'chair-maker_bY trade,
and works as journeyman to a Mr. Richardson :
the contour of his countenance strikingly .resem-
bled the portrait in the first folio edit-ion, a-cir-
cionstance,of itself sufficient to •excite.arrieterest
in his • favour. In one room of the ground-floor
of a wretched hovel, lived this man, his wife, and
five children. In. is corner stood. a stocking....
frame; in which the mother said she worked after.
her children were in bed at night, and before'they
awoke in the morning, adding thereby 3s: or: 4s.
per week to her husband's 15s. In answer to.
enquiries about the great Bard, Harte said his
father and grandtather often talked On the
.Bnb7.
ject, and buoyed themselves with hopes that the
family might some time he remembered;--but,
for his part, the name• had hitherto proved of no
other use to hint than as furnishing jokes among
his companions, by whom he was often annoyed
on this account. On the writer presenting .hiM
with a guinea:, lie declared it was the first benefit
which' had arisen (rain his being a Shakspeare. It
,appeared that • his father held the property in
Shakspeare's two 'houses at Stratford, but they
had long been under mortgage ; and his mother,
a,-few years ago, sold them by auction, deriving
la balance, after paying the Mortgage and ex-

penees,•.of hilly 301. The family pedi4ree he had
reserved ; but be had no, other relict of the
great poet, save a long walking-stick', which was
given to him by his father as one which hail be-
'taiga to Shakspeare. It appeared also that his
father hail given a Mr. Kingsbury, of Tewkes-
bury, a jug,- ,r ?'beaker, with.Shakspeare's por-
trait on it, and a sort of pencil-case, With a cypher
W. S. upon it—both of which he asserted had been:
the.. property
_of tfbit poet.. .ou,'eistptiring after
other branches of the Ilasailp, he, referred ,the
writer to the Smiths, of Stratford, who were his
cousins, and children' of his father's sister ; and
also to ar:autrik, whom he supposed still fo'i.eside
at-Stratford. The -Editor of the Monthly Male,a-•
zine'afterwards ptheeuded to Stratford; 'and, on
applying to. Mrs. Horuby, an' amusing gosiip,
who nosy Tesides,:itY the house in which Sisal:-
speare -was•born,.herwaa.readily introduced to
Smiths, but ti out •removed to Leamitlt;-
ton.. Of the t‘miths; there are two brothets
a sister one is a bricklayer, and the .other had
kept a grocer's•shop, Hitt had recently failed. Tb
sister is 'married to. a bricklayer, who woks un-
der .his,brother-,in-Jaw. It was no fancy to trace
in the faces of the two Smiths the same family
resemblance which bad be observed in-Harte at
Tewkesluiry: The frame-work of their faces was
all over the Bard of Avon. They were charac-
terized by the same modesty as poor Halle. Hav-
ing as yet profited nothing by their family re-
flown, they expected nothing; but they acknoW-
!edged that they felt it bard that Stratford should
profit so much, by the name of their kinsman, and
the country boast so much of. his works, Whilehis
family were.sufferiog every.kind.of privation ; the
very house of..Shakspeare laav,Tng the
.hands of strangers, by shewing which, the family.
might have been kept from , want., „„At,Stratfotd..
the Editor, received much, aid in' these inquiries
from the politeness of Mr.,.Wheeler, author of the
History of Stratford: ()wing, however, to a mis-.•
take,im the published pedigrees, be and the.ialsa-.'
bitants of Stratford had to this time lost 'sight of
the Sitsi/b4, as connected with the family of theif
illustriuns townsman--; and, till the visit. of the,
s
Edittir,t bey hatl.supposed [hat every, branch'irf the..
fatally had left- Stratfprd._. From Stratford the
Editor pcoceededr.ro-Leamington, he found:
Jane,- the aunt of Ilene,. of.Tewkesbary, in the.,
humble situation of a washei,wonwt,
mai tied a sol,dier ailre:name of whom..
she has two,glrls,,the eldest of whom iskit ly'
parronized4y Mr..l-elissett, 9f the nuseuin, and •
has been .recogn.ized,..iu her relittjonship to the.'
Bard-of Avon by many of bis,distiuguisked
ors. bytbe-eourse of these iniparies, the Edit'or
collected some :novelties .connected with Shak--
speare, ,a- .detail.-of which would now he mq•or
,place-,;nbat, iii a.future magazine, he, will present •
them to the public underlie head, of, &utlesperia.o. .
At pfesent ,it is,-his sole desigir.to call the atten:-.
lion-of she litera.rrworld.to the condition of the,
interesting, industrious, anti' virtuous familyof-
flian.) who possesses:snch pre-eminent claims on
the veneration and, gratitude of his. country.
_Tbe
surviving branches may he classed as.utu)er

• " WILLIAM SHAKSPEARE [TARTE, Chair-lilakery
of Tewkesbury, son of. John 'Have, who died Ji-
miary'22, 1800, and ,grandson•of George ihrte 5.
and his live children.

JOHN HA TES a chair maker, of Cirencester,
brother of W. S. liarte.

•
• " JANE -HARTS, of Leamington, daughter of
Thomas Harte, who was son of George Harte,
turner and chair-maker, orStratford, and resident
in Shakspeare's house, which was hiS property ;
and her two eltildreth ,

" JOSEPH MALLISON SMITH, late grocer of
Sttatford, st,n of Mary Haile,' who died Deceni-
bet 1785; who was daughter of the above George
Plante; 'and his two children.
Jobtis SMITH, of Gloucester, late
in the Militia of that county ; and his three chil-
dren.

GrEpi;GE SMITH, of Stratford, bricklayer; and
64

" SARAH.SMITH, of Stratford, wife of a brick-

layer: •
." These eleven persons, with the exception of
Mr: Smith, of 'Gloneeiter,•• are in a cOndition of
life to whoin peettnia!y ;iSsiSt:ance`wonld be higtoy
acceptable:; acid their moral ir;•bits justify an ex.
peCtation'that Vvonitiffot uselessy
he"afforaed,' In &inside-o'sg the meani of calling
on file
.‘venithy•andliberal, it has appeared to the
that' the true arid 'legitimate property o.f
of a nigti 'of genius, is tics WORKS. NO.
envy-6141 a n'o"w exists in the works of Sbakspeare';
but, if the public and the dealers in'books,libc-
FAY concurs in pitychitsing and vending such o,I(z
be "printed for the benefit Of thkt
family; there can he'no.doubt but oollnnuitj, of
frog 5061. toloool. per. annum may be thns sc-
ented, for'seVeral.generations, to-the legal.repre-
Sentatives. of this great poet." . • .
• •

'NORTHAMPTON, Nov; 29.—0 n Monday last tht.
Statne of the Right• HMI. Spencer l'e,•ceval,
Francis Chantrey, Esct. was removed from' Loro.
rim), and arrived in this town • on We-dnesday last,
and is now being placed- on the north side the
Chancel in MI Saints Church._ The Statue re•
presents the Honourable Gentleman in his sena- •
torial rubes as Chancellor nf•the Exchequer. He
is supposed to be in i►is place in the• House of
Cummons, with papers its his hand, solicitous to
communicate to the House, something of national
importance. The other parts of his dress' are
modern. `.` Spencer Perceval," is the only inscrip:.
tion. The figure stands on a plain pedestal of
marble, lightly ornamented. •