Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1888-05-13
nesa5s
sHAKsPEREIAN AUTOGRAPHS.

zen; his mother was equally uneducated,
most of his relatives the same, and his own
daughter Judith, at the age of 81, could not
sign her name. When William was but ID
years old his father became bankrupt.
William worked successfully as butcher and
wool stapler till the age OF Is, when he was
compelled to marry Anne Hathaway, years
older than himself Their first child was
born few weeks after and their twins
Hamnet and Judith, come two years after.
The young husband and father became
rather disSolute; was prosecuted and whipped
for stealing deer from the park of Sir
Thomas Lucy, and took revenge by circulat-
ing a coarse piece of poetry ridiculing the
magistrate, for which ne was SO threatened
that at the age of 81 he fed to London. There
he lived a short time By the humblest occu-
pations, then became an actor, and very soon
after appeared the first, and perhaps the
finest, of the Shakespearian plays.
And here we are face to face with the first
great mystery.
il ShaksDere wrote "Shakospeare.n then
We must believe that the illiterate village
boy advanced in two or three years to
the capacity Of producing dramas which
sweep the whole ganut OF human feel
ing, rise to the heights Of learning and go
down &c the depths Of mental and moral
philosophy, display a knowledge of courtly
life and gentle manners equal to that Of
Raleigh and an insight into the principles of
law almost rivaing Coke, at the same time
that they show q command of Latin deriva-
tives never in any ether case gained except
by n severe classical training, smoothness
OF versihcation no other poet has attained
without years of application and an insight
into tho workings of The human heart never
granted to any other writer 1t almost sur
passes the power of human credulity. It
Is perhaps possible TO accept it as a fact
without invoking miracle as the eyplana-
ton, but We need not wonder that many
thousand thoughtful men disDelieve it
This IS TIE first and greatest mystery, and
the second is like unto it, namely-Why did
William Shskspere, if the great dramstist,
suddenly cease TO write at the very time
Lord Bacon was promoted to high Office, re-
tire to Stratford and never mention his i'm
mortal worksl As we have seen, the first
plays appeared almost as soon as the youth
1era1o an actor though there is evil
4elce that plcys very similar il char
Gcter and title had been shown
IN London b2fore Shakspere arrived
there. Before 1888 a pe,re6 seven plays and
two poems, al these before William Shal1s-
pere was 50 years old! Between the latter
deto and lCG0 appeared thirteen more plays,
and thus they continued to appear TIL Bacon
VAS prorlOtcd-tLSnS hakspere went to STRAIT
ford As manager cf the t5eStTe in London
ho Ind acquired great fortune; we should
areS1Rle, therefore, that he would thereafter
lead tie life Of a retired scholar, and his
.,slnsiol be the resort Of learned men Moth
ils, of the sort On the contrary, he engaged
IL the brewing business, loaned small sums
N iTo-clad mortgages, pursued debtors with
clcrclieSs severity, n one instance suing
.i,,-l for two shlAnCs, lpdulged various vices,
contracted according 70 one OF ais coteu-
9-r2rleS' loathsclle disease. and finally
80 n fever produced by long debaucl
III tbe accorrpanying eIpoSure. In ali
Cr-l4--d ths uc-ncSt research has failed to
produce 6 Scrap 81 bis writing except FIVE
: y1-a;lres, none of these hsd Any connection
a!th literature, ror Is there any proved copy
n anything he wrcte IA which he referred TO
'->ca6eS pesre's" dramas ae made a VII IN
st.eh he mSnt;C1s ali rs petty household
stun, bis bowls his breechss AID has second
hest bed. but ~ i there IS 10 word referring
- his books, no mention OF his plsys or any
lam - copyright, not one aIluSion 10 his
possibls fame. Did ever great scholar or
ritter make vii without such r>sfere2cel
a.oll might RALPH Waldo Emerson say, y
cannot marry the facts t. his verse,"
The continued .istory Of his family
-raatly AIDES TO the lHyscery- dis daughter
Iu;iith. 1t tie age Ct =, had aer 'mar1n Ger
iied to because she could rot w-.ts. His
arcats' graves were unmarked bv Any stone
and unknown 10 his children His daughter
;Csanna married Dr..
All ii basSc, and With n
~ publication OF Dams, ~
or which they were cited
- appear before the &c
,leslasJical court, and
we're able 70 nrove thaBJUrE-z szzAxsEE-.s
he haste vas 90 lsass a.