Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1885-11-11
NO. 5


templatiye manner walked from be1cn,
to bench. The boys were in state of
anxious suspense; some imagined the
gentleman was trying to mesmerize'
them, and some of them thought they
had. been committing some terrible Of
fense, and were being sent up for pun
ishnent. As soon as the gentleman
had completed his examination, he
walked.up to the desk, accompanied by.
the schoolmaster& and his incredulous:
friend. Now said the gentleman
to the pedagogue, 'please tell me how
many Shakespeares / have found" -
"Well,n" responded the schoolmaster,
with smile, 'al the boys you have se-
lected are Shakespeares, and they COM
prise the whole of the boys Of that pat
ronymic attending my SCHOOL, ~
The. gentleman could not dis
guise his delight, but his incredulous
companion wass little chagrined.
"Allow me, said the gentleman, '.to
ask you one more question: Ger
tainly, SIR 'tAre they all of one fam
ilyP" 'tNo, sir. Some are brothers
and some are cousins" The gentle
man relieved the anxiety of the boys by
profusion of compliments and by six
pence a head. It is said that William
Hewitt was the person who visited the
school.
An extract taken from the notebook
of a gentleman formerly connected
with the shipping trade at Gloucester
runs: 81 was once sitting in a mer-
chants Office, waiting for boatman
ito sign his waybill or consignment
note. It was during the dinner hour.
/ had a volume of Shakespeare open on
the desk, exhibiting his vignette or
portrait, and facsimile of his auto
graph. The boatman took off his hat.
was struck with his remarkable face
and head. 1t bore some resemblance
to the portrait before my eyes. The
face and head of the boatman bore
some resemblance to what I imagined
Shakespeare's bust at Stratford would
be if it had been thrown from it's pedes-
tai, scratched and bruised. and be-
grimed with dirt, tar and coal dust.
What meeks ee stare at m. gafer?
Amt yu never zed me afore?' [ felt
rather ashamed, but laughed. and he.
followed my example. Can you
write?' / inquired. Yes, gaffer, or
max me cross.' We'll, then, write
your name; there is a good fellow I
read my book while he wrote his name
in two places. He aroused me from
my reverie by exclaiming: Wool that
do. gaffer?' looked up for the pur-
pose of tearing off and giving him the
counterfoil, and you may imagine my
amazement when I saw he had written
.Willum Shakspere.' My astonishment
was intensified from the resemblance
to the autograph before me. I again
gazed at him and said: Are you any,
relation to the celebrated William
Shakespeare, the poet?' found I had
spoken Greek to him, for he did not
understand me. l tried again: Are
you any kith or kin to any big man of
that name who lived at Stratford-on-
Avon?' No, da live at Tewkesbury.
We ha always lived som ur thereabuts;
but ha yard gran'fay ayther, old John
Shakspere, say as how we spring'd
some time or noather from play
acting kind of covey.' Bill Shaks-
pere and I shook hands, and we
parted. / closed the Office door and
walked toward the lock, meditating on
the vagaries of human life, when I
heard the not very mellifuous voice of
an aquatic termagant crying: Bill
Shakspere, you young devil, thee
leave that kid alone and come aboard,
or I tell thee faythur, and he wool
smack thee I looked; recognized
traces of the features of the great
play-acting covey' in a pugnscious,
black-faced little rascal, who was
heartily fsticufing another juvenile
boatee on the quay. Bill Shakspere
obeyed the maternal command. and
scrambled on board with alacrity.
Seven or eight young Shakspeares
of both sexes PLAYED on the boats deck
amid the grimy smoke of the chinfAey.''
There is no probability of the race be-
coming extinct. More than fifty year,
ago old Thomas Lucy, the eminent corn
merchant and miller at Stratford, J
prosecuted one boatee William Shak-
spere, not for stealing deer, but for
stealing dear wheat, That Thomas
Lucy, unlike his ancestor, caught his
''Will,' and sent him to Warwick Jail.
The unfortunate incident, or accident,
to William Shakspere caused several
jocular paragraphs to be inserted IN
the local press. Alas! it was no joke
for poor Shakspere.-- Whitehall Re-
vseaU.