"Shakespeare!" said Sir Thomas, "'tis well. I will remember. Hath the fellow no Christian name?"
"William, your honour," said the forester; "the elder son of John Shakespeare, of Stratford."
"William Shakespeare!" said Sir Thomas, with emphasis. "'Tis well. Now point this William Shakespeare out to me, if he be present on the Green."
"If your honour looks but amongst the knot of men yonder," said the forester, "you cannot fail but see him."
"What, is it that fellow there with the broad shoulders and long back? By my fay, a strong and able caitiff."
"Not so," said the keeper, "'tis the youth standing next him, in the gray doublet."
"Fetch him hither," said Sir Thomas; "I would speak with him."
As young Shakespeare approached Sir Thomas, the knight regarded him with a scrutinizing and searching eye.
"A goodly stripling," he said, turning to Sir Jacob Astley, of Hill Morton, one of the gentlemen with him, "a goodly stripling, and a bold looking withal."
"It hath been notified to me, sirrah," said Sir Thomas, addressing Shakespeare with infinite stateliness and hauteur, "that you are much given to evil ways, inasmuch as you are wont to make frequent trespass upon my parks and woods hereabouts; and that, too, to the detriment of my property and the disturbance of my deer."