THE PIERCING OF THE VEIL.
"I think," says Dr. Lynch in The Daily Chronicle, "that a man leaves some trace of himself in every sentence that he writes. What then of works so extensive as Shakspeare's? Certainly we should see him through and through if we only knew how to look."
We do know how to look, and we have done so with results that can hardly fail to astonish the reader. It has long been known, for instance, that Shakspeare was a good man of business, but until our researches no one had realised quite how good. His theatre had to pay, and he knew as well as any modern manager how to make it do so. That he realised, for instance, the attractions of American dance tunes is evident from his reference to "rags to split the ears of the groundlings" (Hamlet, Act III., Scene 2).
Apart from his business Shakspeare had private ambitions. We all know that he applied for a grant of arms, but few are aware that he also stood for Parliament, and, like many another, regretted the expense after it was incurred. "Almost all," he says feelingly, "repent in their election" (Coriolanus, Act II., Scene 3). His exact political views are still uncertain, but, at any rate, we may be sure that he disapproved of the Lords, for he boldly announced the fact in the Two Gentlemen of Verona, Act V., Scene 4, where he says, "One house, one mutual happiness."
But these are serious matters. What of his hours of ease? That he golfed there can now be no manner of doubt. In The Tempest, Act IV., Scene 1, he refers to the "short grassed green," and in Hamlet, Act II., Scene 2, he earns our respect by the simple statement, "I went round," without any tedious details. Possibly the "thousand marks in links" in the first part of Henry IV., Act III., Scene 3, explains this reticence, but, at any rate, he occasionally found one whom he fancied he could beat; witness his remark in Twelfth Night, Act II., Scene 3, "Sir Toby, I must be round with you."
And, golf over, he liked his pipe and his glass. The "smoke and lukewarm water" mentioned in Timon of Athens, Act III., Scene 6, only needs the addition of a dash of whisky to make an evening any of us might enjoy; and his words in Anthony and Cleopatra, Act I., Scene 2, "We bring forth weeds when our quick minds are still," will find an echo in many a chest. In this connection it might be noted that he took an occasional holiday in France. That at least seems a reasonable assumption when so keen a smoker cries, as he does in The Merchant of Venice, Act III., Scene 1, "I have another bad match."
A VAGRANT.
The humble bee