The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-03-27

LONDON, March 26.-Few are aware
that what was Shakespeare's favorite
chair at his home in Stratford- on
Avon is still in existence.
Way down in the county of Sussex,
far from the madding crowd and the
railway in a quaint and curious old
house that is a BETTING temple for it,
reposes this most interesting of Shake
spearean relics. And no less zealously
are guarded the papers, many faded
and worn with age, which prove it's
genuineness.
Though black with age this chair of
Shakespeare's is in excellent preserva-
ton, notwithstanding that it had his
tory before it came into possession
of the great poet. Its shape proclaimS
it as relic of the Tudor period
what is generally known as the Glas-
tenbury pattern. 1t is built entirely of
oak, neither nails, screws nor glue
having been used in it's manufacture,
for it is pegged together with wood.
The back and the seat are paneled,
but beyond simple reeded holdings the
chair does not boast any carving. A
silver plate of more recent date nailed
| to the top of the chair bears the in
seription in old English lettering:
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE.
Born %, April, 1864. Died %, April, 1916.
The chair is now kept in a room
sacred to antiquities, and as can be
seen by the photograph it occupies a
prominent position beside an Eliza
bethan fire CRATE cast by John Hogge
(the first founder of iron cannon in
England) at BuXted, Sussex, in the
year 1871 This fireback bears the
royal arms and notices of Queen Eliza
beth. The fire-dogs also have her
cipher E. R. upon them. The photo
graph also shows an old proof copy of
"the first folio" portrait of Shakespeare
beside contemporary portraits of the
wife of Henry VII. and Queen Mary L.;
an Elizabethan cross-bow such as
might have been used by Shakespeare
when shooting at Sir William Lucy's
deer; Elizabethan steel; rushlight
holder on bracelet; bellows and to-
bacco tongs which in the olden days
were used to pick up live Goals for the
purpose of lighting pipes.
There is no doubt that the modern
craze for the collection of antique fur
niture had something to do with the
discovery and treasuring of Shake
speare's chair, although before the
birth of the nineteenth century this
craze was in it's earliest infancy. 1t
was about the year 1898 when Samuel
Ireland, q well-known collector and
dealer in rare MSS, of Norfolk street,
Strand, London, went to Stratford to
collect material for his work entitled
Picturesque Views of the Warwick
shire Avon," published in 1895. and to
make exhaustive and critical search for
any literary or personal relics OF
Shakespeare; for Shakespeare's house
had been pulled down some years be-
fore and his possessions scattered to
the four winds.
After quitting London Shakespeare
did not return to the humble dwelling
wherein he was born, but in 1897
bought the house in Stratford next to
the Grammar school. where he had
been educated, had it thoroughly re-
paired, and, giving it the name of the
New Place, lived there until the time of
his death This house had been built
by a Sir Hugh Clopton a century be-
fore Shakespeare purchased it.
l. On the death of Shakespeare, in 1916,
the house and it's contents continued IN
the possession of his wife, who died in
1923, and then it became the property
of their favorite daughter, Susannah
Hall, the wife of John Hall, a physi-
clan of some eninence in the county.
After the death of Mrs. Hall, in 1649,
their daughter, Elizabeth, came into
possession. This lady was married
first to Thomas Nash and afterwards
to Sir Barnard, of Arlington. On the
death of Lady Barnard, Shakespeare's
house was sold under her will, to her
cousin, Edward Nash from whom it
devolved, in 1879, to Reginald Foster,
ESQ, afterwards Sir Reginald Foster,
and from this gentleman it was pur-
chased by the Clopton family, who in
the year 1742 entertained Mr.. David
Garrick, Mr. Macklin and Mr.. Delane
under Shakespeare's mulberry tree,
planted blythe bard, and then standing
in the garden. This was ruthlessly cut
down by Mr.. Gastrell who next pos
sessed the premises. and he committed
this sacrilegious act merely to avoid
the trouble of answering the earnest
opportunities Of frequent travellers.
1t was by the same irreverent hand
that the house was pulled down in 1852
for no other nor better reason than a
difficulty with the magistrates who had
assessed this house, in which he re-
sided only a part of the year, proper
tionately with all others in the bor-
ough AS his only means of defeating
this quite just assessment Mr.. Gastrell
RACED the building to the ground. A