We have now given all the information on this point that lies within our reach, and must leave the reader to his own judgment in the question. Touching the fear of process for debt, Mr. Collier thinks nothing of the sort would have kept him from church on Sunday, as no such process could be served on that day. But we suspect he must be mistaken here, else why should the return have alleged this as the cause of his not coming to church? The commissioners must have known what could and what could not be done on Sunday; and we cannot judge from the laws of our time what may have been lawful then. But, whatever may have been the cause in question, whether it were fear of arrest or aversion to the reformed faith, or whether it were age, sickness, or impotency of body," it certainly did not prevent his being called upon to make inventories of the goods of persons deceased; a task which, according to the old lawbooks, should be performed by "four credible men or more.” Twice in the year 1592, on the 24th of July and the 21st of August, we find him engaged in offices of that kind, Ralph Shaw and Henry Field being the persons whose goods were inventoried.22 At the end of the latter document, we have the signature "John Shakespeare, senior," with his mark, a simple cross, placed, as usual, a little below his name, to

22 This Henry Field was probably the same person against whom we found him bringing an action in 1556, for unjustly detaining a quantity of barley. We subjoin the titles prefixed to

these two inventories :

"The true and perfect inventory of Raph Shawe, of Stratford upon Avon in the county of Warwicke, woll-dryver, decessed; taken the xxiiii.th day of Julye, in the xxxiiii.th yeare of the raygne of our soveraygne lady Elizabeth, by the grace of God of England, France, and Ierland, Queene, defender of the Feyth, &c., by the discretion of Mr. John Shakspere, Mr. Willyam Wil. son, and Valentyne Tant, with others.

"A trew and perfecte inventory of the goodes and cattells of Henry Feelde, late of Stretford uppon Avon in the cownty of Warwyke, tanner, now decessed, beyinge in Stretford aforesayd, the xxi. daye of Auguste, anno Domini 1592, by Thomas Trus sell, gentylman, Mr. John Shaksper, Richard Sponer, and others."

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the right; and Mr. Halliwell says the signature is " doubtedly in Trussell's handwriting." Collier thinks the word senior was in this case affixed, in order to distinguish him from a shoemaker of the same name, with whom he was perhaps then liable to be confounded, as he has sometimes been since.

From this time forward, his affairs were doubtless taken care of by one who, as we shall see hereafter, was much interested not to let them suffer, and also well able to keep them in good trim. In January, 1597, he is found selling a small portion of his Henley-street property to George Badger for £2; and the deed of conveyance shows him at that date still living in one of his Henley-street houses." The last notice that has been discovered of him before his death is in a paper containing notes of an action for trespass brought by Sir Edward Greville against several burgesses of Stratford in 1601; in which he, along with four others. appears to have been called as a witness. He was buried on the 8th of September, the same year; so that, supposing him to have reached his majority when first heard of in 1552, he must have passed the age of three-score and ten.

On the maternal side our Poet's lineage was of a higher rank, and may be traced further back. His mother was MARY ARDEN, a name redolent of old poetry and romance. The family of Arden was among the most ancient in War

23 This deed was lately found in the office of a solicitor at Birmingham, who permitted Mr. Halliwell to take a transcript of it. The following is an abstract of it as given from the original by Mr. Halliwell: 26 Jan. 39 Eliz. Feoffment whereby John Shakespeare, of Stratford upon Avon, yeoman, in consideration of £2 by George Badger, did bargain, sale, give, deliver and confirm unto said George Badger, his heirs and assigns, all that toft or parcell of land in Stratford in Henley street, the house of said Shakespeare being on the East part thereof, and the house of said George Badger on the West part thereof, to hold to said George Badger his heirs and assigns. Executed by John Shakespeare, livery and seizin indorsed."

wickshire. Dugdale, under the head of Curdworth, says, "In this place I have made choice to speak historically of that most ancient and worthy family, whose surname was first assumed from their residence in this part of the country, then and yet called Arden, by reason of its woodiness, the old Britons and Gauls using the word in that sense." He also speaks of one Turchill de Arden who received favours at the hands of the Conqueror, held large possessions in the shire, and occupied Warwick Castle as a military governor; for which cause he was called by the Normans Turchill de Warwick. The history of the Ardens, as given by Dugdale, spreads over six centuries. The earliest notice we have of the branch from which our Mary Arden sprung, is May, 1438, when land in Snitterfield was conveyed "to Thomas Arden, of Wilmecote, and to Robert Arden, his son." The pedigree of the family as traced by Dugdale brings us no further down in the direct line of Mary Arden than to Robert Arden, her great-grandfather. He was the third son of Walter Arden. Sir John Arden, an elder son of this Walter, was squire of the body to Henry VII.; and he had a nephew, the son of his younger brother Robert, also named Robert, who was page of the bed-chamber to the same monarch. These offices were at that time places of considerable service and responsibility; and both the uncle and the nephew were liberally rewarded by their royal master. Sir John Arden died in 1526. By conveyances dated December 14th and 21st, 1519, it appears that his nephew Robert then became the owner of houses and land in Snitterfield, purchased of Richard Rushby and his wife. He also bought another house in the same village, October 1st, 1529. To all this add the estate conveyed to Thomas and Robert Arden in 1438, which was most likely retained by their descendants in the next century, and we shall find Mary Arden's father the owner of a pretty large property in Snitterfield. Among these possessions, no doubt,

were the house and land which we have seen occupied by Richard Shakespeare in 1550.4

Mary Arden was the youngest of seven children, all of them daughters, and appears to have been her father's fa vourite. On the 7th of July, 1550, Robert Arden executed a deed conveying certain lands and houses in Snitterfield to Adam Palmer and Hugh Porter, to be held in trust for three daughters, Jocose Arden, Alice Arden, and Margaret Webbc. The latter was the wife of Alexander Webbe, and probab.y the mother of the Thomas and Robert Webbe, whom we have found purchasing certain Shakespeare interests at Wilmecote and Snitterfield in 1579 and 1580. Ten days later, on the 17th of July, 1550, by a similar deed, already noticed in connection with Richard Shakespeare, he conveyed certain other property in Snitterfield, reserving for himself and wife a life-interest therein, to the same trustees for three other daughters. These were Agnes Stringer, Katherine Etkins, and Joan Lambert, wife of Edward Lambert, a relative of the Edmund Lambert whom we have found taking a mortgage of Ashbies in 1579. In both the deeds here referred to, Robert Arden is styled "of Wilmecote, in the parish of Aston Cantlow, in the county of Warwick, husbandman." It is quite probable, though no instrument to that effect has been found, that before his death he made a similar provision for his youngest daughter, Mary; for we have seen that John Shakespeare held, in right of his wife,

24 It continued in his tenure as late at least as 1560; for in an indenture made by Agnes Arden on the 21st of May, that year, she "demyseth, graunteth, &c., unto Alexander Webbe and to his assignes all those her two mesuages, with a cottage, with all and singuler their appurtenances, in Snytterfield, and a yarde and a halfe of ayrable land thereunto belongyng, with all lands, meadowes, pastures, commons, thereunto apperteynynge; all which now are in the occupation of Richarde Shakespere, John Henley, and John Hargreve." This property, of course, or a part of it, is the same, that we have already found Robert Arden conveying to be held in trust for three daughters, "after the death of Robert and Agnes Arden." See note 4 of this chapter.

some interest in Snitterfield, which he alienated to Robert Webbe for £4, in 1579. It was probably in this way, also, that she acquired the considerable interest at Wilmecote, which we have already noticed as being transferred, in 1579, to Thomas Webbe and Humphrey Hooper.

Robert Arden's will was made November 24th, and proved December 17th, 1556, he having died in the interval. We subjoin the greater part of it:

"First, I bequeath my soul to Almighty God, and to our blessed Lady St. Mary, and to all the holy company of heaven; and my body to be buried in the church-yard of St. John the Baptist in Aston aforesaid.

"Also, I give and bequeath to my youngest daughter Mary all my land in Wilmecote called Ashbies, and the crop upon the ground, sown and tilled as it is; and £6 13s. 4d. of money, to be paid or ere my goods be divided. Also, I give and bequeath to my daughter Alice the third part of all my goods, moveable and unmoveable, in field and town, after my debts and legacies be performed; besides that good she hath of her own at this time. Also, I give and bequeath to Agnes my wife £6 13s. 4d., upon this condition, that she shall suffer my daughter Alice quietly to enjoy half my copyhold in Wilmecote during the time of her widowhood; and if she will not suffer my daughter Alice quietly to occupy half with her, then I will that my wife shall have but £3 6s. 8d., and her jointure in Snitterfield.

“Item, the residue of all my goods, moveable and unmoveable, my funerals and my debts discharged, I give and bequeath to my other children, to be equally divided amongst them by the discretion of Adam Palmer, Hugh Porter, of Snitterfield, and John Scarlett, whom I do ordain and make my overseers of this my last will and testament; and they to nave for their painstaking in this behalf 20s. a-piece. Also, I ordain and constitute and make my full executors Alice and Mary, my daughters, of this my last will and testament. Also, I give and bequeath to every house that hath no team in the parish of Aston 4d.”