New-York tribune., 1906-06-02
SHAKESPEARE RESEARCH.
Ne1c Discoveries and the Possibilities
of More.


of More.
What grounds are there" asks Mr. Sidney
Lee IN The Nineteenth Century" for inagin-
ing IL possible that our documentary information
o0"cefnlng Shakespeare and other Eliza bethan
o'aHnausts Will grow in the century which has
just opened%' The answers which he proceeds
TO give 10 this question are full of interest In
tne hrst place he declares that IL is no exaggera
uon TO state that some million documents in the
Public Record Office which might possibly throw
more or less direct light on the conditions Of
Elizabethan literature and the Biographies of
Ehzaeethan authors have not yet been exam
iheo There are the records OF lawsuits for ex-
ample; The actors and dramatic authors of
Shakespearss day and their early successors
We're htigiously inclined. and It is extremely
PROBABLE that were thorough examination
made of sll the documents respecting their legal
Quarf>is which may be assumed TO be on the
sheNes OF the Record Office. many points of OBJ
scurity In the history OF the Elizabethan stage
would be removed" Then there are the papers
OF the various ofneiaI Masters OF the Revels at
Court-papers which turn up from time TO time
ana may still exist in large numbers in the
Record Office Nobody knows, moreover, what
treasures may lurk in uncared for private
ehVes Mr. Lee illustrates this point quoting the
report OF the deputy keeper OF the public records
Sir Henry Maxwell-Lyte concerning his exam
tnation OF the Duke OF Rutland's imminent room
at Belvoir Castle He was surprised TO find so
few letters Of the Elizabethan period; but
disused lumber room subsequently revealed i'm
portant historical documents OF the sixteenth
and seventeenth centuries. Among these papers
was discovered key labelled Key of old writ
ings over stable" What exciting search that
label suggested, The result was both delightful
and exasperating. as Sir Henry's report shows:
1 repaired to the stables, which are az the bot
there, in a loft under the roof. discovered vast
~s o4 soe Sa 0S eT Tfan Gs Of hung @ from
documents, piled a height of three or four feet.
tnat al hrst there was scarcely standing room.
plaster and dirt which made white paper undis-
tinguishable from brown In the course OF the
HSt t ;litsni %atitfos 5ddresss5 "a The
SaTg9!sy rs1Syy Sy IN he reisn Of George the
discovery of these thre. representative papers ia
close contisuy tendeG 10 shoS tn5u b,la ~ m9G.u AZ
this stage laborer called in 10 assist in the
the printed matter. which consisted Of pamphlets;
PaPeT aG &c b ysaT i nG
This disturbance of the surface caused horrible .
stencil, and il soon became evident mat the @ iolr
damage 70 vaiuable MSS by gnawing and stain,
tn 6s h oens fsS o & had des
gatgres 9 centre OF G1g it,eT ba IN tne etTe SnT
disappeared. Those that remained were of very
yaee ehsrae o deeG OF 'ee sora 5s on Iea m
counts Of the eighteenth century, and gossiping
vouchers. Letters to Henry Vernon Of HadGon
from the Duke Of Clarence. the EarI or NaTWck NaT,
ed very small lay hidden between large leases en-
crossed on thick parchment
Other treasures We're found in other hiding
places at Belvoir. a mine Of wealth for the his
torical student having finally been rescued thus.
The account indicates what treasures may yet
be disclosed in the neglected muniments OF other
famiies-and among the ancient documents also
OF cathedrals Of municipalities and of solicitors
Offices.
Mr. Lee devotes several pages to the Ave con-
temporary manuscript notices Of Shakespeare
which have been revealed within the present
century. One of these refers TO a tax which was
levied on goods OF his in London and 10 his pay
rneut Of It Another concerns the effort of the
senior Shakespeare, melted by his son. 10 obtain
from the Heralds College coat Of arms. An
other is a slight entry in the Belveir Household
Book noting payment 10 Mr.. Shakespeare"
and TO Richard Burbadge' for designing and
pajnting an .impresa'-'a semi -heraldic pcte-
rial badge with an attached Tnotto"-for the
sixth Earl of Rutland. a discovery at the
public record ofice of two Chaneery suit docu-
lnents in which Shakespeare's name figures as
that of plaintiff was made last autumn by Pro-
fessor wallace, OF Nebraska The most inter
esting Of the five new" references was that
found about three years ago in a manuscript
notebook bequesthsd with other books and pa
pers TO the town OF Maldon. in Essex. by a pa
triotic native. Archdeacon Plume. Plume's
notes. written round about the year 1856"
contain various stories about literary men and
Two new statements about Shakespeare" says
NJ Lee "of which only ore calls for full notice
here:
a well worn statement which calls for comment.
He proceeds thus IL expand the sbbreviationsl:
''STilr John MeEnes saw once his old fIathelr In
hi isl shop-a merry checked old man thtap sl3ild
hIaVel orackt jeast width him al any time
This entry requires some annexation il Is not
easg to identify Sir John MenneS. Chronology
seems 10 differentiafe him from Sir John Mennes,
reign who only two years old when SHAKE
speares father died. But il may well be that the
Story related by Sir John Mennes. who mingled
freely in literary society IN the generation follow
ing Shakespeare's death. and that Plume hastily
and inaccurateiy credited him with an experience
which in Str Johns conversation he assigned IN
some other At any rate. Piunes neie preserves a
Personal description of the poets father which be
longs TO nearly contemporary gossip, and Is the
orv personal refninsCence OF him that has Yet been
discovered. That John Shakespeare should have
with al know OF the sons faculty for Eayety
bat fst her nd should have cracked tests with
one another, and that the Older man should have
reckoned himself match n repartee with The
iigbt There is testimony OF a sort the poets
Character IN his fstheTs reported description OF him
as "a sood honest fellow.