expreffion, and indeed he has ftudy'd him fo well, and is fo much a master of him, that whatever part of his he performs, he does it as if it had been written on purpose for him, and that the Author had exactly conceiv'd it as he plays it. I must own a particular obligation to him, for the most confiderable part of the paffages relating to this life, which I have here tranfmitted to the publick; his veneration for the memory of Shakespear having engaged him to make a journey into Warwickshire, on purpofe to gather up what remains he could, of a name for which he had fo great a veneration.

The

The following Inftrument was tranfmitted to us by John Anftis, Efq; Garter King at Arms: It is mark'd, G. 13.

P. 349.

[There is alfo a Manuscript in the Heralds Office, mark'd W. 2. p. 276; where notice is taken of this Coat, and that the Perfon to whom it was granted, had born Magiftracy at Stratford upon Avon.]

T

O all and fingular Noble and Gentlemen of all Eftates and degrees, bearing Arms, to whom thefe Presents fhall come; William Dethick, Garter Principal King of Arms of England, and William Camden, alias Clarencieulx, King of Arms for the South, Eaft, and Weft Parts of this Realm, fend Greetings. Know ye, that in all Nations and Kingdoms the Record and Remembrance of the valiant Facts and virtuous Difpofitions of worthy Men have been made known and divulged by certain Shields of Arms and tokens of Chivalrie; the Grant or Testimony whereof appertaineth unto us, by virtue of our offices from the Queen's moft Excellent Majefty, and her Highness's most noble and victorious Progenitors: Wherefore being folicited, and by credible Report informed, that John Shakespere, now of Stratford upon Avon in the County of Warwick, Gentleman, whofe Great Grandfather for his faithful and approved Service to the late moft prudent Prince, King Henry VII of famous Memory, was advanced and rewarded with Lands and Tenements, given to him in those parts of Warwickshire, where they have continued by fome Defcents in good Reputation and Credit; And for that the faid John Shakespere having married the Daughter and one of the Heirs of Robert Arden of Welling cote

k 3

Wellingcote in the faid County, and alfo produced this his ancient Coat of Arms, heretofore affigned to him whilft he was her Majefty's Officer and Bailiff of that Town. In confideration of the Premifes, and for the Encouragement of his Pofterity, unto whom fuch Blazon of Arms and Atchievements of Inheritance from their faid Mother, by the ancient Custom and Laws of Arms, may lawfully defcend; We the faid Garter and Clarencieulx have affigned, granted, and confirmed, and by thefe Prefents exemplified unto the faid John Shakefpere, and to his Pofterity, that Shield and Coat of Arms, viz. In a Field of Gold upon a Bend Sables a Spear of the first, the Point upward, headed Argent; and for his Creft or Cognisance, A Falcon, Or, with his Wings displayed, ftanding on a Wreathe of his Colours, fupporting a Spear armed beaded, or feeled Silver, fixed upon an Helmet with Mantles and Taffels, as more plainly may appear depicted in this Margent; And we have likewife impaled the fame with the ancient Arms of the faid Arden of Wellingcote; fignifying thereby, that it may and shall be lawful for the faid John Shakefpere, Gent. to bear and ufe the fame Shield of Arms, fingle or impaled, as aforefaid, during his natural Life; and that it fhall be lawful for his Children, Iffue, and Pofterity, lawfully begotten, to bear, use, and quarter, and fhew forth the fame, with their due Differences, in all lawful warlike Feats and civil Ufe or Exercifes, according to the Laws of Arms, and Custom that to Gentlemen belongeth, without Let or Interruption of any Perfon or Perfons, for ufe or bearing the fame. In witness and Teftimony whereof we have fubfcribed our Names, and faftned the Seals of our Offices. Given at the Office in the Forty

of Arms, London, the Day of

fecond Year of the Reign of our moft Gracious Ŝovereign Lady Elizabeth, by the Grace of God, Queen of England, France, and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, &c. 1599.

SHAK

Extracted from the Registry of the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Vicefimo quinto die Martii Anno Regni Domini noftri Jacobi nunc Regis Anglia &c. decimo quarto & Scotia quadragefimo nono, Anno Domini 1616.

I

N the Name of God, Amen. I William ShakSpeare of Stratford upon Avon in the County of Warwick, Gent. in perfect Health and Memory, God be praised, do make and ordain this my last Will and Teftament in Manner and Form following; that is to fay:

First, I commend my Soul into the Hands of God my Creator, hoping, and affuredly believing, through the only Merits of Jefus Chrift my Saviour, to be made Partaker of Life everlasting; and my Body to the Earth whereof that is made.

Item, I give and bequeath unto my Daughter Judith One Hundred and Fifty Pounds of lawful English Money, to be paid unto her in manner and form tollowing; that is to fay, One hundred Pounds in Difcharge of her Marriage Portion within one Year after my Decease, with Confiderations after the rate of Two Shillings in the Pound for fo long Time as the fame fhall be unpaid unto her after my Decease; and the Fifty Pounds Refidue thereof upon her surrendring of or giving of fuch fufficient Security as the Overfeers of this my Will shall like of, to furrender or grant all her Eftate and Right that shall defcend or come unto

her after my Decease, or that she now hath of, in, or to one Copyhold Tenement, with the Appurtenances lying and being in Stratford upon Avon aforefaid, in the faid County of Warwick, being parcell or holden of the Manor of Rowington, unto my Daughter SuJannah Hall, and her Heirs for ever.

Item, I give and bequeath unto my faid Daughter Judith One Hundred and Fifty Pounds more, if she, or any Iffue of her Body, be living at the end of three years next enfuing the Day of the Date of this my Will, during which time my Executors to pay her Confideration from my Decease according to the rate aforefaid: And if fhe die within the faid Term without Iffue of her Body, then my Will is, and I do give and bequeath One Hundred Pounds thereof to my Niece Elizabeth Hall, and the Fifty Pounds to be fet forth by my Executors during the Life of my fifter Joan Harte, and the Use and Profit thereof coming, fhall be paid to my faid Sifter Joan, and after her Deceafe the Fifty Pounds fhall remain amongst the Children of my faid Sifter, equally to be divided amongst them; but if my faid Daughter Judith be living at the end of the said three Years, or any Iffue of her Body, then my Will is, and so I devise and bequeath the faid Hundred and Fifty Pounds to be fet out by my Executors and Overfeers for the best Benefit of her and her Iffue, and the Stock not to be paid unto her fo long as fhe fhall be married and covert Baron; but my Will is that she shall have the Confideration yearly paid unto her during her Life, and after her Decease the faid Stock and Confideration to be paid to her Children, if she have any, and if not, to her Executors and Affigns, the living the faid Term after my Deceafe; provided that if fuch Hufband as the fhall at the end of the faid three Years be married unto, or at and after, do fufficiently affure unto her, and the Iffue of her Body, Land anfwerable to the Portion by this my Will given unto her, and to be adjudged fo by