New-York tribune., 1884-11-02
MlRY coWDENcLAEKE And HER UoRK.
IIOII IUF .TTpVFN
In a letter now living before me. in which she

n "A letter now Nlng before me. III Nul'h SItc
snoLs of her lite clls that she began writing a.
sixteen ana adds: have written and am Tllll wiring
almost daily since, with more or less pleasure 10 M
readers with nerprual aud Lnstfu happnc iO my self
To enumcrate all her contributions 10 literature N2ud
NOR than MI our spa; ana "eie as tnere , IrS b -
name win ever be- connected aud remembered a. ios as
the world remembers that bard o barl-. "When lou
meet Hhake'peae IN Paradise YOU mn.t ehps't ~
and he VIII give IL YOU even II y0ar hn,banI - ny.
writes Douglas Jcrruld in his jocuar way, Ia Mrs Cow
dent taike IN letter. have had the privilege To- @ec'
wherein he thanks her for the glft of her Invaluable
Concordance that work moro valuable FAR than the
hundreds of commentaries that have been been penned
upon the Swan of Avon. Truly anOhlc monument Ot in
compile and f,nr o correct for the prr.a VSrcnloan
labor nnintermtnsl performed often in sickness and
trouble.
Like 50 many great things, 1t owed ts genesis to a
mere accident j. wa IN July ls29. when Mrs: COW
friends In Somerset shire that resr expressed that
evpr,hne Mrs Unw,on tatkn resolved then AMI hrr,
that she would write this dpsipd concordance aud that
Nert tprnoon while mnlne hei friends IN awak through
the hela she toik With hpi Volume NJ the pnrt and
pcnrl AMI lprd down tho hts nes W hot haak under u
hoatsNeih, have rn,e." Rmb /. t. ~
The WlNwhs "a on e,rNunt shp sh,e mp NJ the mne "
wttnb ahr ultimately a,ortcl p't his wnfh ~ hal .
,,eS@,"" MN,ttMs @ ,''h s,,rs !" 'he enha"',
r,en, et ine eh ,N wrl,Ins tahr oneued mS tahers
yeN ., q time. ,oos ho nal w"d h,l p,esVnlai
ltaeli at the toro the nta pase Wa viii slrpaae this
went :" htsm with "a ~ aud enurvd zach won't oom
wunelng with the halac luer tho Ma page which wa
headed ny tho Woid and pldoet la it, respective pu~
iuo solhg thus ALPHABETICALLY through the whole at the
tSo ,plosdoprn pa aos untl every salient word therein
duly Culled aud registered generally worked frOm
Tour 10 sN hours per daN and awaya before aud after
breakfast TN dnnerme that the outside of the
house during those hours was little known to mo- and
We usually took exercise recreation of evening
Happy supremcly happy the hours them side
y size one WORKING at this book, the other writing his
lectures on our poetic idol"
When she had got half way she was told that some
other person engaged the task Sadly, very
sadly she packed up ali her portfolios and materials
solved 10 abandon the task, thinking with native mod
She told that 10 this day she can recall her feelings
while kneeing on the floor and pushing away the largo
uer her bed Tor safe keeping for they lived IN
small quarters then, and had to he ec0nomzed
JOYFUL very Joyful she when she learned the runor
was unfoundod. and she could haul her packet forth
again Some idea O the vastness of the undertaking may
be gained from the circumstance that the paper alone
quired for the work over 95.
From this careful study Shakespeare resulted some
original works. of which the notable Is the Girl
hood OF snakcspeaIes iIeroinos," In which, with in
genulty ana ntuitive Imagination, Mrs Cowden Clarke
has sriven To trace tho probable antecedents IN the
history or some OF shakespcarc's To conjecture
what might have been tIc first imperfect dawnlngs
meridian blaze OF perfection bold venture truly TINS
series OF hccu tales and only Justified by It's wonderful
success Ihey first brought out separate stories
Porua or belmont, the first written and was tle
that st occurred To the authores conducting 10 the
production Of the whole series This Mrs. Cowdon
Clarke explained their genesis 10 me:
" had been brooilng over Iallitts unjust words I;
Portia Il not great iaVorito with us she has
certain degree or aiectatiun and pcantry about her
which Is very unusual In shakespaarc's women, but
which. perhaps, proper qualification FOR the ONCE
OF civil DOCTOR which she undertakes and executes so
successfully thought how II probable that sho
had gained her legal knowledge from her cousin, tho
learned Bclaro, a doctor oi laws, aud one whose
Dnko of Venice much relies that he sends
plud for the trial of ShylOck the Jew and
thus sketched her anteeedent history"