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his own hand to write an amicable letter to Mr. Shakspeare; which letter, though now loft, remained long in the hands of Sir William D'Avenant,3 as a credible perfon now living can testify,"

Mr. Oldys, in a MS. note to his copy of Fuller's Worthies, obferves, that "the story came from the Duke of Buckingham, who had it from Sir William D'Avenant."

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It appears from Rofcius Anglicanus, (commonly called Downes the prompter's book,) 1708, that Shakspeare took the pains to inftru&t Jofeph Taylor in the character of Hamlet, and John Lowine in that of King Henry VIII. STEEVENS.

The late Mr. Thomas Osborne, bookseller, (whofe exploits are celebrated by the author of the Dunciad,) being ignorant in what form or language our Paradife Loft was written, employed one of his garretteers to render it from a French translation into English profe. Left, hereafter, the compofitions of Shakspeare should be brought back into their native tongue from the verfion of Monfieur le Compte de Catuelan, le Tourneur, &c. it may be neceffary to observe, that all the following particulars, extracted from the preface of thefe gentlemen, are as little founded in truth as their defcription of the ridiculous Jubilee at Stratford, which

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which letter, though now loft, remained long in the hands of Sir William D'Avenant,] Dr. Farmer with great probability fuppofes that this letter was written by King James in return for the compliment paid to him in Macbeth. The relater of this anecdote was Sheffield, Duke of Buckingham.

MALONS.

they have been taught to reprefent as an affair of general approbation and national concern.

They fay, that Shakspeare came to London without a plan, and finding himself at the door of a theatre, inftinctively ftopped there, and offered himself to be a holder of horfes :-that he was remarkable for his excellent performance of the Ghost in Hamlet :-that he borrowed nothing from preceding writers: that all on a fudden he left the stage, and returned without eclat into his native country that his monument at Stratford is of copper-that the courtiers of James I. paid feveral compliments to him which are ftill preserved:that he relieved a widow, who, together with her numerous family, was involved in a ruinous lawfuit that his editors have reftored many paffages in his plays, by the affiftance of the manufcripts he left behind him, &c. &c.

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Let me not, however, forget the juftice due to thefe ingenious Frenchmen, whose skill and fidelity in the execution of their very difficult undertaking, is only exceeded by fuch a difplay of candour as would ferve to cover the imperfections of much lefs elegant and judicious writers. STEEVENS.

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STRATFORD REGISTER.

BAPTISMS, MARRIAGES, and BURIALS, of the Shakspeare Family; tranfcribed from the RegifterBooks of the Parish of Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire.4

JONE, daughter of John Shakspere, was baptized Sept. 15, 1558.

Margaret, daughter of John Shakspere, was buried April 30, 1563.

WILLIAM, Son of John Shakspere, was baptized April 26, 1564."

Johanna, daughter of Richard Hathaway, otherwise Gardiner, of Shottery,' was baptized May 9, 1566.

* An inaccurate and very imperfect lift of the baptifms, &c. of Shakspeare's family was tranfmitted by Mr. Weft about eighteen years ago to Mr. Steevens. The lift now printed I have extracted with great care from the Registers of Stratford; and I truft, it will be found correct. MALONE.

5 This lady Mr. West supposed to have married the ancestor of the Harts of Stratford; but he was certainly mistaken. She died probably in her infancy. The wife of Mr. Hart was undoubtedly the Second Jone, mentioned below. Her fon Michael was born in the latter end of the year 1608, at which time the was above thirty-nine years old. The elder Jone would then have been near fifty. MALONE.

• He was born three days before, April 23, 1564. MALONE. 7 This Richard Hathaway of Shottery was probably the father to Anne Hathaway, our poet's wife. There is no entry of her baptifm, the Regifter not commencing till 1558, two years after fhe was born. Thomas, the fon of this Richard Hathaway,

Gilbert, fon of John Shakspere, was baptized Oct. 13, 1566. ›

Jone, daughter of John Shakfpere, was baptized April 15, 1569.

Anne, daughter of Mr. John Shakspere, was baptized Sept. 28, 1571.

Richard, fon of Mr. John Shakspere, was baptized March 11, 1573. [1573-4.

Anne, danghter of Mr. John Shakfpere, was buried April 4, 1579.

Edmund, fon of Mr. John Shakspere, was baptized May 3, 1580.

Sufanna, daughter of WILLIAM SHAKSPÈRE, was baptized May 26, 1583.

Elizabeth, daughter of Anthony Shakspere, of Hampton, was baptized February 10, 1583. [1583-4.]

was baptized at Stratford, April 12, 1569; John, another fon, Feb. 3, 1574; and William, another fon, Nov. 30, 1578.

MALONE.

8 It was common in the age of Queen Elizabeth to give the fame christian name to two children fucceffively. (Thus, Mr. Sadler, who was godfather to Shakspeare's fon, had two fons who were baptized by the name of John. See note 1.) This was undoubtedly done in the prefent inftance. The former Jone having probably died, (though I can find no entry of her burial in the Regifter, nor indeed of many of the other children of John Shakspeare) the name of Jone, a very favourite one in those days, was transferred to another new-born child. This latter Jone married Mr. William Hart, a hatter in Stratford, fome time, as I conjecture, in the year 1599, when the was thirty years old; for her eldest fon William was baptized there, Auguft 28, 1600. There is no entry of her marriage in the Regifter. MALONE.

9 There was alfo a Mr. Henry Shakspeare fettled at HamptonLucy, as appears from the Regifter of that parish :

1582 Lettice, daughter of Henry Shakspeare, was baptized. 1585-James, fon of Henry Shakspeare, was baptized. 1589 James, fon of Henry Shakspeare, was buried. There was a Thomas Shakspeare fettled at Warwick; for in

John Shakfpere and Margery Roberts were married Nov. 25, 1584.

Hamnet' and Judith, fon and daughter of WILLIAM SHAKSPERE, were baptized February 2, 1584. [1584-5.]

Margery, wife of John Shakspere, was buried Oct. 29, 1587.

the Rolls Chapel I found the inrolment of a deed made in the 44th year of Queen Elizabeth, conveying " to Thomas Shakfpeare of Warwick, yeoman, Sachbroke, alias Bishop-Sachbroke, in Com. Warw." MALONE.

'Mr. Weft imagined that our poet's only fon was chriftened by the name of Samuel, but he was miftaken. Mr. Hamnet Sadler, who was related, if I mistake not, to the Shakspeare family, appears to have been sponsor for his fon; and his wife, Mrs. Judith Sadler, to have been godmother to Judith, the other twin-child. The name Hamnet is written very diftinctly both in the entry of the baptifm and burial of this child. Hamnet and Hamlet feem to have been confidered as the fame name, and to have been used indifcriminately both in fpeaking and writing. Thus, this Mr. Hamnet Sadler, who is a witness to Shakspeare's Will, writes his christian name, Hämnet; but the fcrivener who drew up the will, writes it Hamlet. There is the fame variation in the Register of Stratford, where the name is fpelt in three or four different ways. Thus, among the baptifms we find, in 1591, May 26, John, filius Hamletti Sadler;" and in 1583, Sept. 13, Margaret, daughter to Hamlet Sadler." But in 1588, Sept. 20, we find " John, fon to Hamnet Sadler;" in 1596, April 4, we have "Judith, filia Hamnet Sadler;" in 1597-8,

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Feb. 3, Wilhelmus, filius Hambnet Sadler;" and in 1599, "April 23, Francis, filius Hamnet Sadler." This Mr. Sadler died in 1624, and the entry of his burial ftands thus: "1624, O&. 26, Hamlet Sadler." So alfo in that of his wife: " 1623, March 23, Judith, uxor Hamlet Sadler."

The name of Hamlet occurs in feveral other entries in the Register. Oct. 4, 1576," Hamlet, fon to Humphry Holdar," was buried; and Sept. 28, 1564,"Catharina, uxor Hamoleti Haffal." Mr. Hamlet Smith, formerly of the borough of Stratford, is one of the benefactors annually commemorated there. Our poet's only fon, Hamnet, died in 1596, in the twelfth year of his age. MALONE.

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