The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1898-09-17
TaE SHAKESPEARE QUESTION.
S.S and un q q AFEnmsni a. 10 tbs Bard
ofAvan's AHihsrShip.

Erancis or Sir. Burke wrote the Let
ters OF Junius," whether DR.. Gauden or
Csarles /. wrote "Elkon Baslllke," are
Dyestions that win neyer cease to inter-
Lst Glaze. though Il viii be only a
small class; but as1ong as the best lit
erature ever yet produced BY the hui
man mind shall continue to be read on
any part of the globe men viii be found
willing to hear further, II only rational
conjecture. on the question who wrote
"shakespeare." He that expects GER
taInty. or even, after alnpse Of three
hundred year.. expects an array of facts
and a course of reasoning that VIII
leave the iaqulsiilye. mind satisfied,
must be disappointed. opiy a probable
case is now possible, but q probable
case Will be welcomed by the cultured
mind. Years ago JudGy RoIuies, OF this
cltr. a learned and strong writer. pup
lIshed a book on the lHQulry. He miss
ed the mark completely. a conclusive
reason aPainit Shhfespenre's author
ship OF thlrty-six plays, manF OF them
among the best ever pehued, is that the
Tlsk Is too great for any one mind.
Holmes. only incrOI I'D the dialeulty bF
guessing that the plnSA came from the
nen OF Bacon, one oBSthe most fertile
prose writer's OF that age The world Is
growing incTedulousareG miracles es
modern and secular taelt. Up to fifty
sears ago It was beiIeVed that one mind,
Homer, produced the tllad. and car
Fied the whole twenty.toRr books In the
memory. To-day all scholars agree that
the "IlIad" Is made 'uB lof number OF
poems, composed bg lbhrds who never
saw each other, and gathered together
and welded into one great whole. In our
day there remains one literary miracle,
the production OF the body Of plays
called Shakespeare" But Is 1t in fact
Q miracle2
William Shakespeare. was born In the
village OF stratford, in Warwickshlre.
in 1854. His father, John Shakespeare,
was in early life rich. bqhafterward be-
came poor. In childhood William was
10 the free school. where, probably, only
primary studies were taught, but seems
10 have left that school at an early age.
As to the fathers vocation, there two
traditions One ls that he was a wool
dealer. and the other that he was a
butcher Probably bothtare true. In
the miGdle Of the sixteenth century
cleared land for meadows was scarce In
England, ard 20 gatsef the CLIP OF wool
in the neighbOrhOOd Ola village. clean
Il OF burrs, wash and cdrd II for the use
OF the farnerE' wives, would be no small
Job. The butchering business for so
small market would be ligilt. a boy
OF Il with occasional help, could do the
whole. William seems 10 have been
wayward. He married when barely
turned II, and appears 10 have married
under compassion. Nor did he have
nice respec; for the property rights OF
his neighbors. He stole deer, and when
about 10 found 1t prudent to flee from
Stafford to London. , u his new abode
Immediate subsistence gas necessity.
London was then q SINAI place and peo-
pie rode on horseback to The theatre.
hiring persons to take care OF their
horses during the clay. Young Shaks-
peare took up the business OF holding
horses at the theatre. By his prompts
nesS and poiiteness, perhaps bnsdness,
he gave such satisfaction that patron
age increassc, ard he niret other ] =
who, when gentleman rode mp. :,
ped forward vita I'm Shakspeores
boy" Unless we except his tact in get
llflE NEIllbQUt LlllH - k4AN llASA fANNN
tsrprise We hear OF in Shakespeare. But
NOT the lasZ Enterprise was his nota-
bic merit
Soon our adventurer got employment
inside the playhouse as Il, cailboy, or
supernumeTary. At that time the word
theater was not much used, but In It's
stead playhouse. ard the performers
were called not actors but players. In
the tragedy OF Hamlet they are called
PLAYERS, There be players that / have
seen play, etc" The playhouse was a
large room In or attached to tavern.
and taking the name Of the tavern. as
the Globe, Blaclefriar's. Fortune, Red
Bull, Bears Head.
In Shakespeare's day Puritanlsm was
at It's height. and II hated and detested
playhouses. players and plays. 1t pro-
cured sharp legislation against them.
One prohibition reads that no playes
be printed cXcepte they bee allowed by
Eutch as have authOritye." The Arch
bishop Of Canterbury occasionally or
dered a bonfire OF books. The religious
world regarded players and playing as
It did gamblers aud gambling, that is'
with abominatlOn. No man OF ambition
dared 10 attend the playhouse unless In
disguise, or, II a writer, to write for the
playhouse unless by stealth. The mer-
camille man would Jose patronage, tho
Incumbent OF a scholarly position would
lose his place, the courtler his possible
Ity Of promotion by any known connsc-
ton with the drama. Shakespeare
prospered. He became an actor, though
never rose higher than 10 play INFERIOR
parts, such as the Ghost IN Hamlet.
He also became manager OF the Clone.
Enterprise led him TO form and cult,
vate the acquaintance OF my L9 ~.
SOUTHAMPTON, who made him munih-
cent present, and he became part own
er Of the Globe. His connection with
the Globe gave further room for enter
prise PLAYS were abundant. but were
chiefly worthless. Here was further
call for enterprise. In those days every
playhouse could use only the plays
which belonged to II or which j stole
from other playhouses. II the Globe u
10 yield large gains It must procure new
and attractive plays. The time was
auspiclous. England under Elizabeth
like Franco under Louis XIV, was pro-
life Of mind. But under the asceuc
despotism OF PurItanism mind could not
AFFORD to Identify itself with the odious
playhouscF. Many mind was tenn
ing with thoughts which II burned TO
express. but dared not.
What can be done? The man OF en-
terprlse IS equal To the occasion. He
seeks men Of genius and says 10 ehcn
Of them: You write me play. ! Will
do the copying with my own hand; VIII
in the printed copy give myself AZ the
author. ana pledge myself that you shall
not he known. The bargain is Mt once
struck, and soon several OF the first IN
tellects and n gcodly number OF sec
ond-rAte and thiTd-Fate lRtelleets are