uppose that it was not written by one who was seduced into a
tombstone lie by any superfluity of poetic sympathy.

The last will of Shakspeare, written by his own hand and still
preserved, shows several things of the man.

The introduction is as follows:--

"In the name of God. Amen. I, William Shakspeare, at
Stratford-upon-Avon, in the county of Warwick, gentleman, in perfect
health and memory, (God be praised,) do make and ordain this my last
will and testament in manner and form following; that is to say,--

"First, I commend my soul into the hands of God my Creator, hoping, and
assuredly believing, through the only merits of Jesus Christ, my Savior,
to be made partaker of life everlasting; and my body to the earth,
whereof it is made."

The will then goes on to dispose of an amount of houses, lands, plate,
money, jewels, &c., which showed certainly that the poet had possessed
some worldly skill and thrift in accumulation, and to divide them with
a care and accuracy which would indicate that he was by no means of that
dreamy and unpractical habit of mind which cares not what becomes of
worldly goods.

We may also infer something of a man's character from the tone and
sentiments of others towards him. Glass of a certain color casts on
surrounding objects a reflection of its own hue, and so the tint of a
man's character returns upon us in the habitual manner in which he is
spoken of by those around him. The common mode of speaking of Shakspeare
always savored of endearment. "Gentle Will" is an expression that seemed
oftenest repeated. Ben Jonson inscribed his funeral verses "To the
Memory of _my beloved_ Mr. William Shakspeare;" he calls him the "sweet
swan of Avon." Again, in his lines under a bust of Shakspeare, he
says,--

"The figure that thou seest put,
It was for gentle Shakspeare cut."

In later times Milton, who could have known him only by tradition, calls
him "my Shakspeare," "dear son of memory," and "sweetest Shakspeare."
Now, nobody ever wrote of sweet John Milton, or gentle John Milton, or
gentle Martin Luther, or even sweet Ben Jonson.

Rowe says of Shakspeare, "The latter part of his life was spent, as all
men of good sense would wish theirs may be, in ease, retirement, and the
conversation of his friends. His pleasurable wit and good nature engaged
him in the acquaintance, and entitled him to the friendship, of the
gentlemen of the neighborhood." And Dr. Drake says, "He was high in
repu