The National tribune., 1910-04-07

To know and love book is to desire
to know all you possibly can of its
author. The least little thing concerning
him is of interest, whether. for instance
he takes both cream and sugar in his
| morning coffee or neither his taste as
to neckties, his individualities with re-
gard to the way he does his work, etc.
etc These human touches bring him
very close to US, more so than the
glimpses we get of his mental makeup
thru his books. 1t is the same IL the
writer happens to be a woman, OF
| course. The scanty information we
have of the life of Shakespeare has al
ways been matter of keen regret to
the students and lovers of his marvel
Gus genius. After years of careful re-
search, we really know very little. A
few musty papers, a few signatures tell
the whole story. Even the slightest
lifting of the vail shrouding this life
which has exerted a greater influence
upon mankind, intellectually, than any
other known to the world, has been
keenly appreciated and all honor ac-
corded the one who raised it. while
every bit of more valuable information
has been received and cherished as a
priceless gift The recent Shakesper-
can discoveries made by those two earn
| est enthusiastic students of the I'm
| mortal Bard, Mr.. and Mrs. william
| Wallace, come under this latter class.
Mr.. Wallace, a professor in the Uni
versity of Nebraska, assisted by his
wife, has spent years in the patient
| handling Of musty old papers, in the
search for something relating to the
| life of the poet and found recently.
among the documents preserved in the
| Public Record Office of London, which
| is the great national archive of Eng
land, bundle Of parchment records,
four skins fastened together by thongs
and tied up with the original hemp
rope. These proved to be documents in
a law case in which Shakespeare was
concerned during the year of 1912, con-
| tained his own deposition, signed by his
name, as well as the dispositions of sew
eral others in which his name is men,
toned. OF the &c documents in the
case, nine mention Shakespeare by
name, two refer to him merely. In the
entire list his name occurs "a times
The story which these ancient, long
forgotten records brought to light, and
which makes Shakespeare seem more
like a real flesh and blood man than
anything previously contributed to his
history, is briefly this: During the
year 1904, the poet was living in Lon
don with a French Huguenot family,
called Mountjoy. The family consisted
of Madam Mountioy. her husband, a
skillful wig-maker, her daughter, and
an apprentice, one Stephen BeIlott
The young girl and boy worked side by
side for six years learning the wig
makers art, and at the end of that time
Madam Meuntjoy thought it was about
time there was a wedding in the family.
The young people seemed fond of each
other, but Stephen, tho his own master,
neglected to put the fatal question.
Shakespeare, as an inmate of the family
and apparently on, the frfendliest of
terms with them, had become very
much interested in the affair, and at the
request of Madam Mountjoy consented
to sound the dilatory Stephen, being au-
thoriZed by the match making mama
to mention the amount of her daugh-
ter's dot in case the marriage should
be consummated. He did this, and
Mary and Stephen were married. Sew
eral years later, Stephen and his father
in-law quarreled over money matters,
especially as to Marys wedding dover,
which, it was declared, had never been
paid. and the matter was taken to the
courts. Shakespeare seems to have
been the star witness. In his deposit
ton he tells the story of his talk with
Stephen at the instance of Madam
MountiOy (who was dead at the time of
the triaD, evinciug the true spirit of
diplomacy in forgetting several things.
among them the amount of Mary's dot.
His deposition is signed ''Wilm Shaks."
The other deponents, in going over the
same ground, say that Mr.. William
Shakespeare told them thus and so.
the said Mr.. Shakespeare evidently
being a person of much Importance in
their minds. All the dispositions are
very interesting, and throw quite a lit
tie light on the life of Shakespeare at
that period. Much that has hitherto
seemed difficult to explain is solved by
the discovery of these documents. In
the neighbOrhood where the Mountjoys
lived were gathered Italians, French
men and Dutchmen. Sailors. and sea-
men from the Mediterranean ports
bringing back with them many tale
of Italy and the East, were found in
this part of London, and it is more
than probable that Shakespeare, with
his keenness for gathering material, got
much from these. Then, too, we can
now account for those charming scenes
between Katharine and Alice, and
Henry and Katharine in Henry V.
written at this time. 1t is easy enough
to see that Shakespeare got the French,
which he employs so delightfully."- in
them, from the lips of Madam Mount
joy. or the pretty Mary. 1t will be re-
membered that Shakespeare gives the
name of 'MontjOy'' to a French Herald
in this play. which fact now takes on a
new significance. Altogether, the dis
peare as man. living the ordinary life
of other men. with friendly interests,
and performing friendly services. 1t
brings him very close to us. The wal
laces have told the story of their
find in the March number of the
Harper's Magazine. i
Those who have laughed, and wept, |
too, over the experiences of the young |
writer, Myra Kelley, with her East Side |
school children will be sincerely grieved |
to hear of her r'recent death in Torquay, |
England. Myra Kelley was only 80 years |
old. and tho ill health had prevented |
her from writing anything lately, every |
one believed, on account of her youth, |
that she would entirely recover and do |
even better work, if possible, than that |
she had already given us in her delight
full Little Citizens, wards of Lib !
erty', etc She was an Irish girl, with |
the warm blood and quick wit of that |
race, and had come to this country |
when q little mite with her parents, her |
father being doctor. She began teach |
ing in her early young womanhood in an
East Side school, her pupils being the |
little children of immigrants dropped |
from the steerage into the great city
The experiences she had were so novel
and amusing, that her father urged her
to write them out for publication, and
it is said that having prepared three
copies of her first story, which she sent
tp oh tn TINA 1Iy