The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1896-05-02
ANNIVERSARY OF SHAKES
PEARE.

On the parish register still preserved
in the Church Of the Holy Trinity at
neutrality-suspicious., in Warwickshire,
England, under the date April g. 1864.
is the inscription: "B. Guliulimus filius
Johannes Shakspere" = baptized Will
liam, the son of John Shakespeare.
There is no record of the exact date of
Shakepeare's birth and the subject is
one merely of curious conjecture.
Thomas De Quincy, the most ingeni-
GUS English scholar of any age, suggests
that April %, corresponding to May 4,
new style,w the date of the poets birth.
But his argument is flimsy. Susanna
Shakespeare, the poets eldest daughter,
married John Hall. physician Of STRAIT
ford. Elizabeth Hall, the only issue of
this marriage. the poets granddaughter.
was married to Thomas Nash April %,
1926. The conjecture of De Quincy is
that the date of this wedding, ten years
after Shakespeares death, was fixed in
honor of the anniversary of his birth.
This guess. for it is no more, is endorsed
by Mr.. Halliwell Phillips, whose indus
trious researches in Shakespearean his
tory have given to the world the most
complete collection of facts as to the life
and history of the poet. Yet he does not
regard the question as settled. He
merely says regarding the marriage of
Elizabeth Hall: Few things are more
likely than the selection of her grand
fathers birthday for such celebra-
tion.' In Shakespeare's will he gives to
his favorite granddaughter all his plate
except silver bowl. This is very in
conclusive testimony, however. as to
Shakespeare's actual birthday.
Another conjecture is to the effect
that Shakespeare was born April %. He
died April %, 1916, and the traditions of
| Stratford from the earliest times are
| that he died on the anniversary of his
birth. 1t is also said that according to
usage the christening of child always
occurred no later than the third day
after birth. If this is fact the weight
of testimony sustains the conjecture
that Shakespeare was not born previous
to April %.
| A bond of marriage between William
Shakespeare ano Anne Hathaway was
filed at Stratford, Nov. %, 1882. The
bond required two sureties, and the con-
ditions were that no impeachment by way
of consanguinity or previous nuptial
contract on either side existed as bar
to marriage. Shakespeare was Is years
old and Anne Hathaway was 26. There
is no record giving the date of the actual
marriage, which must have occurred i'm
mediately or soon afterward.
The first child of the marriage was
Susanna. baptized May 26, 1888, five
months and twenty eight days after the
bond of marriage was executed. Feb. 2,
1885, year and eight months after the
first christening in the family, Hamnet
and Judith, twins, were baptized.
These are all the facts known by the
record in regard to Shakespeare from
his christening April q. 1864. until
April IS, 1893, when his poem venus
and Adopis" was copyrighted in London
by Richard Field, the publisher, and
dedicated by himself to the young earl
of Southampton. His first play, Titus
Andronicus." was copyrighted Feb. 6.
| 1894, and WAS produced on the stage
| the same year.
There are many traditions regarding
Shakespeare's youth. He is said to have
been an apprentice to his father in the
wool trade, to have been poacher,
with scapegrace and profigate habits;
that when he first went to London he
| held the horses of playgoers at the door
of the theater and that he performed
other servile work. All these interest
ing myths woven around his boyhood
and youth give charm to his history
and to the illustrious place that he occu-
pies first in human literature.
But comparatively little is known in
regard to the entire life of Shakespeare.
The date of his baptism, of his marriage
bond, of the baptism of his children, the
copyrights and entries of his poems and
plays, the appearance of his name. on a
few play bills, his purchase of property
at London and Stratford, his will and
the date of his death-this is his authen-
ticated biography. All else regarding
him is tradition and fable. On this
skeleton superstructure of facts an en-
during monument has been built supe-
rior to that of all other literary fame