g at
once the day of the birth and death of Shakspeare; and these events took
place on the same spot, for at Stratford-upon-Avon this illustrious
dramatist was born, in the year 1564, and here he also died, in 1616. It
has been conjectured, that his first dramatic composition was produced
when he was but twenty-five years old. He continued to write for the
stage for a great number of years; occasionally, also, appearing as a
performer: and at length, having, by his exertions, secured a fortune of
two or three hundred a year, retired to his native town, where he
purchased a small estate, and spent the remainder of his days in ease
and honour.

[Illustration: THE CHANDOS PORTRAIT OF SHAKESPEARE.]

When Washington Irving visited Stratford-upon-Avon, he was led to make
the following elegant reflections on the return of the poet to his early
home:--"He who has sought renown about the world, and has reaped a full
harvest of worldly favours, will find, after all, that there is no love,
no admiration, no applause, so sweet to the soul as that which springs
up in his native place. It is there that he seeks to be gathered in
peace and honour among his kindred and his early friends. And when the
weary heart and failing head begin to warn him that the evening of life
is drawing on, he turns as fondly as does the infant to the mother's
arms, to sink in sleep in the bosom of the scene of his childhood. How
would it have cheered the spirit of the youthful bard, when, wandering
forth in disgrace upon a doubtful world, he cast a heavy look upon his
pastoral home, could he have foreseen that, before many years, he should
return to it covered with renown; that his name should become the boast
and glory of his native place; that his ashes should be religiously
guarded as its most precious treasure; and that its lessening spire, on
which his eyes were fixed in tearful contemplation, should one day
become the beacon, towering amidst the gentle landscape, to guide the
literary pilgrim of every nation to his tomb!"

The accredited birth-place of Shakspeare has always been regarded with
great interest: it is situate in a street in Stratford, retaining its
ancient name of Henley, being the road to Henley-in-Arden. In 1574, here
stood two houses, with a garden and orchard attached to each; and these
houses were then purchased by John Shakspeare, whose son William was
born in one of them, which still remains, though altered according to
modern