Item I gyve & bequeath unto her the saied Elizabeth Hall All my Plate (except my brod silver & gilt bole) that I now have att the date of this my will.
Item I gyve & bequeath unto the Poore of Stratford aforesaied tenn poundes, to mr Thomas Combe my Sword, to Thomas Russell Esquier ffyve poundes, & to ffrauncis Collins of the Borough of Warr in the countie of Warr gent thirteene poundes Sixe shillinges & Eight pence to be paied within one Yeare after my deceas.
Item I gyve & bequeath to
Item I Gyve Will bequeath & Devise unto my daughter Susanna Hall for better enabling of her to performe this my will & towardes the performans thereofall that Capitall Messuage or tenemente with thappurtenaunces in Stratford aforesaied Called the newe place wherein I nowe dwell & twoe messuages or tenementes with thappurtenaunces scituat lyeing & being in Henley streete within the borough of Stratford aforesaied, And all my barnes stables Orchardes gardens landes tenementes & hereditamentes whatsoever scituat lyeing & being or to be had Receyved and perceyved or taken within the townes Hamlettes villages ffieldes & groundes of Stratford upon Avon Oldstratford Bushopton &
Welcombe or in anie of them in the saied countie of Warr, And alsoe All that messuage or tenemente with thappurtenaunces wherein one John Robinson dwelleth, scituat lyeing & being in the blackfriers in London nere the Wardrobe, & all other my landes tenementes and hereditamentes whatsoever; To Have & to hold All & singuler the saied Susanna Hall for & during the terme of her naturall lief, & after her Deceas to the first sonne of her bodie lawfullie yssueing & to the heires Males of the bodie of the saied first Sonne lawfullie yssueing, & for defalt of such issue to the second Sonne of her bodie lawfullie issueing and
Item I gyve unto my wife my second best bed with the furniture.*
Item I gyve & bequeath to my saied daughter Judith my broad silver gilt bole.
All the rest of my goodes chattels Leases plate Jewels & householde stuffe whatsoever, after my dettes and Legasies paied & my funerall expences discharged, I gyve devise & bequeath to my Sonne in Lawe John Hall gent & my daughter Susanna his wief whom I ordaine & make executours of this my Last will and testament. And I doe intreat & Appoint the saied Thomas Russell Esquier & ffrauncis Collins gent to be overseers hereof. And doe Revoke All former wills & publishe this to be my last will and testament. In witness whereof I have hereunto put my
By me William Shakespeare.
* WS prepared the first draft of his will in January 1616. A month later, his daughter Judith was married to Thomas Quiney, the ne'erdo-well son of one of his old schoolfellows. A month after that, his new son-in-law was charged before the Church Court at Stratford with getting another local woman pregnant, and sentenced to do public penance in a white sheet. This disgrace may have hastened Mr Shakespeare's end. The signed will is dated 25th March 1616, the day before Quiney's disgrace. Within a month, the poet was dead.
+All passages thus have been deleted from the first draft.
* All phrases in italics are additions.
+ All this reflects WS's anxiety about Quiriey, and his wish to protect Judith's inheritance.
* I believe this should have read Robert Reynolds, and that the passage belongs with the one referring to Shakespeare's other 'fellows' following. I bought a ring at my own expense, and wear it in his memory.
* WS was baffled in his desire to leave New Place and the bulk of his fortune to male descendants. Susanna had no son.
+ Judith's sons died young and without progeny. The first, christened Shakespeare, lived only a few months.
* Why did Mr S leave his wife only his second best bed, and that as an afterthought? I have heard it remarked that no slight or insult was intended and that while the main part of his estate was bequeathed to Susanna, he would have taken it for granted that Anne would continue to live with her daughter at New Place. While there may be something in this, I still say that to claim that it meant nothing to use the term second best bed in connection with your wife is to deny all Mr S's power and virtue with regard to words. He knew what he meant. And he meant what he said. And the rest of his will (particularly as regards his daughters) is very carefully worded. I think he did not leave Anne Shakespeare that second best bed lightly, even if it was only thought of at the last moment. Did he leave it to her darkly then, remembering Lucy Negro? Mrs Shakespeare smiled when I asked her about the bequest, a most singular smile, but she would say nothing.
Chapter Ninety-Seven Fire
It had been my intention to write in this chapter of how Mr Shakespeare was dogged by fire in the last years of his life. It was as if the element followed him around, sir. There was first the outbreak of fire that destroyed our Globe theatre, and was responsible for the destruction of many of Shakespeare's manuscripts in the process. Then there was the great fire at Stratford in the summer of 1613, when fifty-four dwellings and numerous barns and stables stacked with hay, wood, and fodder fell a prey to the flames. I have notes on both these conflagrations in this first of my four remaining boxes.
But all such fire past has been overtaken now by another fire, a very present fire, an immediate conflagration. This broke out last night here in London, and already threatens to engulf the city.
Pompey Bum declares his prophecy has come true. He says it is the wrath of God, to kill us. He has all his whores running up stairs and down in a high state of excitement, I can tell you. He roars it is the end of the world, and the poor girls scream. I saw two of them on their knees, and not giving head. There's no sign of Polly in the general confusion that prevails here.