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This closes the notices of the family that I have collected during the
fourteenth century. The above-noted Adam Shakespere, the younger, died
in 1414, leaving a widow, Alice, and a son and heir, John, then under
age, who held lands until 20 Henry VI., 1441. It is not clear who
succeeded him, but probably two brothers, ... |
There the family had spread rapidly. But it is only the first half of
the century that concerns us at present. There have been Shakespeares
noted in Warwick, Alcester, Berkswell, Snitterfield, Lapworth, Haseley,
Ascote, Rowington, Packwood, Beausal, Temple Grafton, Salford, Tamworth,
Barston, Tachbrook, Haselor, Rugby,... |
The earliest Shakespeare will at Worcester, proved at _Stratford_, was
that of Thomas Shakespere, of Alcester, 1539, who left 20s. each to his
father and mother, Richard and Margaret. He had a wife Margaret and a
son William.[49] Among other Worcester wills is that of Thomas
Shakespere of Warwick, shoemaker, May 20, 15... |
The Warwickshire Visitations occur in 1619, after the death of the poet,
without male heirs, and are no help to us here. In the first 1596 draft
the claims are based on John's public office, on a grant to his
antecessors by Henry VII. for special services on marriage with the
daughter and heir of a gentleman of worship... |
In a contemporary play, quoted by John Payne Collier, the herald is made
to say:"We now are faine to wait who grows in wealth,
And comes to beare some office in a towne,
And we for money help them unto armes,
For what can not the golden tempter doe?"ROBERT WILSON: _The Cobbler's Prophecy_.[52] Sir John Fern... |
These men were evidently acting as trustees for the young Robert Arden.
Just in the same way this same Robert Throckmorton was appointed by
Thomas's elder brother, Sir John Arden of Park Hall, as trustee for his
children, in association with John Kingsmel, Sergeant-at-Law, Sir
Richard Empson, and Sir Richard Knightley.... |
If the three cross crosslets fitchée were the correct arms for Thomas
Arden as the second son of an Arden, who might bear ermine, a fesse
chequy or, and az., the crescent would have been the correct difference,
but it had long been borne by the Ardens of Alvanley, in Cheshire, who
branched off from the Warwickshire fam... |
It is unfortunate that we know so little about Thomas Arden, Mary
Shakespeare's "antecessor." A quiet country gentleman he seems to have
been, marrying for love, and not for property, or his wife's descent
might have helped us to clear his own. I do not think she was a
Throckmorton, but I think she was very probably a ... |
Mary Hill was married to John Fulwood, November 15, 1561, at Aston
Cantlow. Agnes Arden, widow, made her will in 1578. The opinion that
there was no great friendliness with her husband's family is
strengthened thereby, yet there was not the absolute estrangement some
writers have supposed. Halliwell-Phillipps states th... |
Now, this apparently second sale has puzzled many Shakespeareans, as
well as the "fraction." Even Halliwell-Phillipps[108] supposes that
"John Shakespeare had some small interest in Snitterfield of his own,"
which he parted with for £4, and that "Mary Shakespeare was entitled
to a share through an earlier settlement." ... |
Finding John Lambert even harder to deal with than his father, John
Shakespeare brought a Bill of Complaint against him in the Court of
Queen's Bench,[115] 1589, by John Harborne, attorney, in which his wife
and son are mentioned. Nothing seems then to have been done. On November
24, 1597, backed by their son's influen... |
[100] West's "Symboleography Concords," pp. 10, 11.[101] Halliwell-Phillipps, "Outlines," ii. 202. Wilmcote Fines, Hilary
term, 21 Eliz.[102] Halliwell-Phillipps points out that it is for £4, which is an
evident error ("Outlines," ii. 179).[103] _Ibid._, p. 179.[104] "Sealed in the presence of Nycholas Knooles, Vicar o... |
In 1567 he was assessed on goods to the value of £4[125] for the subsidy
3s. 4d.; and in another entry on £3, 2s. 6d. This was not at all a small
entry for a tradesman of the time. Everyone tried to make his estimate
as small as possible, as men do to-day, when taxes depend on it. He was
nominated that year, though not... |
In 1592 Mr. John Shakespeare appraised the goods of two important
neighbours--of Ralph Shawe, wool-driver, July 23, and Henry Field,
tanner, August 21. Thomas Trussell, the attorney, drew up the inventory,
and denominated his associate as Mr. John Shaksper, _Senior_, for no
clear reason, but possibly to distinguish him... |
William Shakespeare was thirty-seven when he became head of the family
in 1601. His previous life must have been a stirring one, though we know
only too little about it. Still, certain inferences may be soundly based
on known facts. He must have been educated at the Stratford Grammar
School, free to the sons of the bur... |
I have shown elsewhere how very much his mental development owed to
books published by Vautrollier and Field,[142] sole publishers of many
Latin works, including Ovid, of Puttenham's "Art of Poetrie," of
Plutarch's "Lives," and many another book whose spirit has been
transfused into Shakespeare's works. We know that he... |
And Shakespeare then befriended the man whose son was to marry his
daughter. The reply seems to have been as prompt as satisfactory, for on
the very same day Quiney wrote to his brother-in-law Sturley, who
replied on November 4: "Your letter of the 25th of October came to my
hands, the last of the same at night per Gre... |
As James made more stringent the laws concerning "vagabonds," as he took
from the nobles the power of patronage of players, reserving it only for
the Royal Family, this passport gave enormous power to the players,
favoured by the King in Scotland.Shakespeare's early patron, the Earl of Southampton, had been released
fr... |
Though it seems to me that the will must have been drawn up before
Judith's marriage, the possibility of such a change of state is clearly
considered. There is no sign of indignation at the later date of the
signing of the will, and £300 was a large portion; and there are no
alterations in his bequests to her, except a... |
"Shakespeare, at length thy pious fellowes give
The World thy Workes--thy Workes, by which outlive
Thy touche thy name must; when that stone is rent,
And Time dissolves thy Stratford monument,
Here we alive shall view thee still."Crude and inartistic as it is, the bust must have had some likeness in
its... |
William Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway, of a respectable family,
supposed to be of Shottery. He had three children: Susanna, and Hamnet
and Judith, twins. The boy died young, in 1596, _before_ the grant of
arms was completed. Anne Hathaway is described as of Stratford in the
marriage bond, but so were Fulk Sandells ... |
At first he was successful. He was made a burgess in 1617, and was
Chamberlain from 1621 to 1623. His accounts for the latter year are
headed by a French proverb, as to the happiness of those who become wise
through the experience of others, that might have had an opposite
meaning to his contemporaries. It shows us tha... |
Shortly after, in 1635, there was a petition sent up from the
Corporation of Stratford for their wives to have the pew in Stratford
Church occupied by Dr. Hall, his wife, and his son-in-law and his wife.
Each family had a pew at each side of the church, while there was not
room for the burgesses' wives to sit or kneel ... |
The death of the young Quineys in 1638-39 affected the details of the
poet's will; for it may be remembered the property was settled on
Susanna Hall and her heirs male, failing whom, on the heirs male of
Elizabeth Hall, failing whom, on the heirs male of Judith, in default of
such heirs male, on the right heirs of Will... |
Her death limited Shakespeare's descendants to two--Judith Quiney,
daughter, and Elizabeth Barnard, granddaughter. A fine was levied on New
Place in 1650, in which John Barnard and Henry Smith were made trustees
to the settlement of 1647, instead of Richard Lane and William Smith. In
1652 a new settlement was made, dev... |
| | | | | | |
Two | Gilbert Joan, = William Anne, Richard, Edmund,
daus., | b. 1566; b. 1569; Hart. b. 1571; b. 1573; b. 1580;
d. | d. 1611. d. 1646. d. 1579. d. 1612. d. 1607.
infants. |
... |
The Rev. Mr. Dyer wrote to Mr. Duncombe from Coningsby, November 24,
1756: "My wife's name was Ensor, whose grandmother was a Shakespeare,
descended from the brother of everybody's Shakespeare."[216] Such claims
may be explained by a natural error. Another John Shakespeare has often
been mistaken for ours, and real ped... |
Richard had probably a daughter who became Mrs. Green. A "Thomas Green,
_alias_ Shakespeare," was buried in Stratford-on-Avon, March 6, 1590. He
was probably the father of Thomas Green, solicitor, in whose "Diary and
Correspondence" we find allusions to his cousin Shakespeare: "My cosen
Shakspeare has commyng yesterday... |
The early registers of Rowington are lost, but we have shown from the
wills that there were Shakespeares there bearing this Christian name.
The Richard of Rowington who died in 1561 mentions a son William in his
will. The second Richard of that place had a son William mentioned in
the will of 1591. The third Richard an... |
There are many Shakespeare wills preserved in Lichfield. Christopher
Shakespere of Packwood, August 31, 1551, proved August 15, 1558,
mentions a wife Isabel, and sons, Richard, William, Roger, Christopher,
and John, and daughters Alice and Agnes; Elizabeth Shakspere of St.
Werbergs, Derby, 1558; Roger Shakspere of Tach... |
Thomas Shakespeare, of Rowington, _temp._ John Pickering, Lord Keeper,
and Maria, his wife, daughter and heir of William Mathews, deceased,
filed a bill in Chancery concerning various tenements in Hatton,
Shrawley, Rowington, Pinley and Clendon.[259] Hil., 16 Elizabeth, Hugo
Walford, Quer., and Thomas Shakspere and Mar... |
[265] A Jone Ley was buried in St. Nicholas, Warwick, the same year. The
administration of the goods of Mary Shakespeare, Warwick, was granted
1723.CHAPTER XIIISHAKESPEARES IN OTHER COUNTIESThe Warwickshire Shakespeares overflowed into the surrounding counties.
There were Shakespeares in Stafford,[266] Worcester,[267]
... |
In Layston[292] Churchyard there are the tombs of "Mr. John Shakespeare,
late citizen and founder of London," 1732, and of "Henry Mond
Shakespear, Citizen and Loriner of London," 1784.In Portsmouth, 1662, William Shakespeare was contractor for the old Gun
Wharf. A public-house, called Shakespeare's Head, is supposed to... |
[268] There is the will of John Shakespeare, of Newington Bagpath, Cook,
among the Gloucester Wills, Index Library, and in "The Shakespeares of
Dursley," by John Henry Blount, we find James Shakespeare buried at
Bisley, March 13, 1570; Edward, son of John and Margery Shakespeare,
bapt. at Beverston, September 19, 1619.... |
John Scatcliffe, of St. Botolph's, Aldersgate, cook, bachelor,
twenty-four, and Mary Shakespeare, of the same, spinster, twenty-four,
at St. Botolph's, December 20, 1637;[315] in later years, Nathaniel[316]
Shaxspere and Elizabeth ----, widow, married August 18, 1663, in St.
Botolph's, Bishopsgate; Henry Shakespeare, o... |
William Shakespeare the poet had by this time made his mark, not only in
literature and the drama, but in Court influence and financial
possibilities. His patron, the Earl of Southampton, was in favour with
the King. Supposing this John was Shakespeare's first cousin, as I
believe he was, what more likely than that the... |
An important branch of the family settled in the east. John Shackspeer,
of Rope Walk, Upper Shadwell, appears in 1654. His father has still to
be found, but his posterity believe he descended from the poet's
grandfather. I had hoped to satisfy them through the St. Clement's Danes
registers. But his age at his marriage ... |
4. The fourth son of John Shakespear and Mary Davenport, Arthur
Shakespear, was Captain in the 10th Hussars, served as aide-de-camp to
Lord Combermore during the Peninsular War, and was Brigade-Major of the
Hussars at Waterloo. He married, April 19, 1818, Harriet Sophia,
daughter of Thomas Skip Dyott Bucknall, of Hampt... |
In the unsatisfactory inquiries relating to Shakespeare's ancestors I
have exhausted all that I can find concerning his father's family; but
so much remains to be said concerning his mother's family, that in
consideration of the old proverb, "like mother, like son," it has seemed
to me worth incorporating into this vol... |
Few families in the country have a descent so nationally interesting as
that of the Ardens. Great Norman families who "came in with the
Conqueror" are numerous enough, but there are few that claim to be
"merely English," and have such a record to show. The fables that have
grown around the memory of the hero do not inv... |
The main line was carried on by Henry de Arden, son of Siward, who
married Oliva, and whose eldest son and heir was Thomas de Arden, of
Curdworth (9 John). He had also William de Arden of Rodburn, Herbert,
and Letitia. Thomas de Arden married Eustachia, widow of Savaricius de
Malaleone, and had a son of his own name, S... |
A Robert Arden, who had been Escheator to the Crown for Nottingham and
Derby under Henry VII., received a new patent 2 Henry VIII.[395] On June
28, 7 Henry VIII., order to cancel five recognizances amounting to £200;
one made by Robert Arderne, of Holme, co. Notts, may concern the same
gentleman.[396]Henry seems to hav... |
The will of William Arden does not seem to have been noted by the family
genealogists, probably because it was drawn up in London. The Calendar
at Somerset House enters it as "William Arden,[407] of St. Brigyde,
London, and Saltley,[408] Warwickshire," 7 July, 36 Henry VIII. Its
details shed much light on the fortunes ... |
In Worcestershire, near Stourbridge, there is a parish of Pedmore, and a
hall of the name that seems at one time to have belonged to the Ardens,
as well as the Pedmore Manor, near West Bromwich, Warwickshire. By the
kindness of Mr. W. Wickham King, now resident there, I am told that
"Mistress Joyce Arden" was buried th... |
[413] Coke's "Entries," f. 39_b_.[414] In an account of the Grevilles, when the eldest son still resided
at Drayton, it is noted: "Though a great part of the Lands of Sir Giles
Arden came to Lewis Greville through his wife, yet there is one Arden at
this time in Warwickshire that is a man of three hundred marks land by... |
Perhaps on his coming to Longcroft he found the old Arden arms there.
Before the grant to his grand-uncle Robert there had been Ardens in
Yoxall.[434] Certain it is that after that date they appear in Longcroft
Hall and in the parish church. The headship of the family fell to his
heirs in 1643. Simon's son[435] Ambrose... |
Dugdale says concerning Hampton in Ardern,[448] that it is not _quite_
certain that Ralph de Arderne was a son of Turchil.[449] He is mentioned
in 5 Stephen and in 33 Henry II. as a Justice Itinerant. Hampton in
Arden was not altogether his own, but his son Robert purchased it for
500 marks. Robert was a clergyman, Arc... |
The main line had estates in Northampton. Robert de Arden had a charter
of free warren in Wapenham and Sudborough.[460] In 7 Henry IV. Wapenham
was assigned as dower to Elena, widow of Sir Henry de Arden, by Ralph
his son, with remainder to Geoffrey de Arden, his brother (see p. 170).
After the death of Elena and Geoff... |
Sir John de Arderne at the tournament at Stepney, 2 Edward II., in the
retinue of the Earl of Lancaster, bore "Gules, 10 crosses crosslet, and
a chief or."[476]But it is said that after his marriage the Arden arms were temporarily
varied to gules, crusule or, and a chief or.[477]In 9 Edward II. he purchased part of Has... |
Foss believes him to be the father of Sir Peter Arderne,[494] also in
royal service. In 18 Henry VI. he was deputy of William de la Pole, Earl
of Suffolk, chief seneschal of the Duchy of Lancaster. He took the coif
February 14, 1443, and was made King's Serjeant and Chief Baron of the
Exchequer May 2, 1448. Dugdale doe... |
The goods of Edith Arden, Hampton Turvil, Wilts, were administered in
1578, and those of Richard Arden, of Chilton, 1641.John Arden,[513] of Hampton Turville, Highworth, Wilts, yeoman, August
16, 1585, leaves half his goods to his wife Amy as long as she is
unmarried, reversion to Thomas Arden, his son; to Editha Colly... |
Of this family probably sprung the Arden mentioned in Bishop Scory's
letter from Whitborn:[529] "Messrs. Mug, Blaxton, Arden and Gregory,
popish priests, were driven out of Exeter, but received elsewhere, and
feasted in the streets with torch-light."--August 17, 1561.In a search for Arden and other prisoners who had es... |
[518] 52 Wrastley.[519] Katharine, daughter of John Cheney of Woodaye, Esq., married to
John Arderne of Cottesford, co. Oxon. See Visitation of Wiltshire, 1565
(_Genealogist_, New Series, xii.).[520] He had to prove his right to Kirtlington and Jackley,
Oxfordfordshire (Hil. Rec., 10 Elizabeth, Rot. 38).[521] Anthony's... |
The manor of Lyesnes, in Kent, was released to Thomas Ardern in 37 Henry
VIII.[556] There are many notices of the Kent Ardens in Hasted's
"History of Kent." But perhaps public attention was drawn most to the
member of the family who was murdered.[557] The story is closely
followed in the "Tragedy of Arden of Feversham,... |
[534] Harl. Chart., 45, D. 9.[535] 23 Moone, proved May 26, 1501.[536] "Misc. Gen. et Her.," N. S., iv. 21; "Yorksh. Archæo. Journ.," xi.
12.[537] Burton's "Monasticon Eboracense," p. 250.[538] Fuller's "Worthies of Yorkshire."[539] Letters and Papers Henry VIII., 1524, _et seq._, Gairdner.[540] Pat. 9 Henry VIII., p. ... |
Page 51.--It is difficult to imagine John Shakespeare making up the
bills for the other Chamberlains, or conducting so many financial
responsibilities, if he was unable to read and write, as well as reckon
well--as Halliwell-Phillipps says he was.Page 52.--The goods of Richard Shakespeare were prised at £35 17s., and
t... |
Page 110.--Halliwell-Phillipps states that in the "Coram Rege Roll of
1597, Gilbert Shakespeare is named as one of those standing bail for a
clockmaker of Stratford"; and adds that he is described as "Haberdasher
of St. Bridget's Parish, London." Through the kind permission of the
Worshipful Company of Haberdashers, I ... |
"1682, Oct. 19. William, son of William Shakespeare, of
Lowston ford, bapt., and buried Dec. 27.""1683, Ap. 24. Thomas Shakespeare and Anne Biddle married.""1686, June 21. William Shakespeare of Brookfurlong buried.""Dec. 12. John, son of Thomas Shakespeare, bapt.""Feb. 19. Thomas Shakespeare of Rowington buried."... |
Page 181.--In the "Visitation of Warwickshire," published by the
Harleian Society, there are many evident slips in proper names, which
must be checked from other sources. It makes one extraordinary
statement: "The younger house of the Ardens were Lords of _Upton in
Warwickshire_, and grew to be surnamed Uptons. The hei... |
Page 196.--In relation to the Cheshire Ardens, Burke says that "the
elder branch of Ardens became extinct by the death of Walkelin Ardern,
_temp._ Richard II. Sir John Arden, younger brother, became head of the
family. A younger branch of Arderns settled at Alderley (Edward III.),
and ended in a few descents in a femal... |
"Alethia Arden, daughter of John, 21 Feb., 1617."Also from the Diocese of Bath and Wells (Harleian Publications):"Marriage Licenses: Thomas Arden of Lopen, bachelor, and Elizabeth
Plumer of same, spinster, 10th March, 1755."Bishop of London's Marriage Licenses:"Rich. Bromfield and Jone Aorden of St. Margaret's,
We... |
[584] In St. Mary's, Warwick, a marble monument bears similar arms
sacred to the memory of "Franciscus Chernocke of gen. antiqua. Baronet
cognominum in com. Bedford, familia oriundus. Obiit 1727, æt. 69."[585] Lieutenant, R.N.; died, _s.p._, 1691. Mrs. Elwes died, _s.p._,
1718 (Marshall's "Genealogist," i. 149).INDEXAb... |
Edkins, 36, 37, 49
Laurence, 212
Leonard the priest, 209
Letitia, 167
Leverunia, 165
Lucia, 168
Margaret, 166, 169, 178, 183, 198, 200, 209, 212, 214, 216, 220
Margaret, of Wilmecote, m.Webbe, 36, 37, 224
Margery, 198, 211, 214
Martin, 26, 27, 32, 49, 171, 172, 173
Mary, 175, 178, 179, 180, 185, 195... |
Ashwell, John, 119Astley, Isabella, Prioress of Wroxall, 11Aston Cantlow, 27, 31, 39, 40, 51, 174, 175, 222Athelstan, King, vi, 33_Athenæum_, 25, 64, 66, 139, 179, 226Atkins or Edkins, Richard, 30, 223Atwood, Thomas, 113Auberville, Matilda de, 93, 232
William de, 93, 232Averne, Anne, 124Babthorpe, Margaret, 200
Sir... |
Cokaine, Sir Aston, 186Colbrand, 163Cole, Henry, 50"Colin Clout's Come Home Again," Spenser's, 2Collier, J. P., 143Collins, Agnes, 208
Edith, 208
Elizabeth, 208
Francis, 80, 122
Katherine, 206
name of, 207Colyns, Hugh, 173Combe, John, 72, 77, 224, 225
Mr. Thomas, 80
Mrs., 100
Mr. William, 78, 225"Comedy... |
French, G. R., "Shakespeareana Genealogica," 8, 31, 35, 46, 88, 112,
122, 123, 133, 135, 141, 144, 160, 165, 187, 221Freville, Baldwin, 216Freyndon, 5Fuller's "Worthies of England," 31, 192, 207, 209, 214, 215Fulwood, John, 39
Mary, 39
Richard, 212
Robert, 59Furnivall, Dr. F.J., 3, 62Galton, Mr. Francis, 160G... |
Henneage, Sir Thomas, Vice-Chamberlain of the Household, 3, 66, 214, 222Henrietta Maria, Queen, 101, 129"Henry IV.," 68"Henry VIII.," 77Heraud, 164Hertfordshire, 136, 137Hewes, Joan, 173Hewlands, 88Hewyns, John, 49
Margaret, 49
Thomas, 49Heylin's "History of St. George," 163Higgins, Alice, 124Highworth, Wilts, 208H... |
More, Agnes, 234
Sir Thomas, 234
John, 212Morris, Katherine, 119, 212Morrison, Lady Elizabeth, 235Mortimer, Isabella, 168
Sir Roger, 168Mortlake, 75Moseley's, Mr., account, 85Mountford, William, 91Mowsley End, Rowington, 128Muerson, Louisa, 156Mug, Rev. Mr., 212Muklowe, Katharine, 173, 231, 234
Richard, 173Murr... |
"Romeo and Juliet," 68, 108Roses, The Wars of the, 26, 170Rosswell, Mr., 69Rotley, 166Rous, John, 162Rowbotham, Jane, 188Rowington, 4, 8, 13, 14, 21, 54, 93, 113, 114, 115, 124, 127, 128, 129
Court Rolls, 4, 8, 13
Records of, edited by Mr. J.W. Rylands, 4, 14, 54, 80, 121,
122, 129, 130, 220, 226, 227Rucking,... |
Martin's, 145, 146
of Snitterfield, Agricola, 52, 116, 120, 145, 147, 152, 223
of Warwick, 15, 130, 229
John, the shoemaker, 58, 112, 118, 119, 120, 147
John, the poet's father, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25,
31, 33, 36, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52,
53, 54, 55, 57, 58, 59... |
O., 159
Nathaniel, 143
Nicholas, 124, 125, 126, 128
Owen, 157
Peter (1483), 9, 142
Peter (1596), 10
Peter, 14, 124, 125, 130
Philip, 118, 125
Radulphus, 7
Ralph, 7, 13, 136
Reginald, 141
Rebecca, 228
Rebekah, 151
Richard (1457), 7
Richard, 8, 12, 13, 14, 15, 123, 125
Richard, of Rowington,... |
Shallow, Justice, 64, 79Shankes' Petition, 71Shaw's "Staffordshire," 184, 185, 187, 198, 199, 232Shaxsby, John, 140Shawe, Ralphe, 58Sheldon, Mrs., 100Shenton, Geoff. de, 186
Nichola, 186Sheppard's, Samuel, "Epigrams," 85Shillingworth, Mr. Ralph, 134Shirley, Henry, 176Shottery, 87, 88, 226Shotteswell, Catharine, 127
... |
Weale, John, 122Webbe, Alexander, 36, 37, 39, 40, 41, 49
Agnes (Mrs. Arden), 36, 49
Margaret, 36, 37, 39, 49, 56
Robert, 39, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 47, 49, 56, 114, 223
Thomas, 42Webberley, Edmund, 237Wedgewood, Mary, 186
William, 54Weever family, 233Wegeat, or Wigatus, 164Welcombe, 78, 80Welles, Thomas, 106Wenn... |
E-text prepared by Sankar Viswanathan, Suzanne Shell, and the Project
Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net)RAVENSDENE COURTbyJ. S. FLETCHERNew York
Alfred A. Knopf
MCMXXIICopyright, 1922, by
Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.Published July, 1922CONTENTSI THE INN ON THE CLIFF 9II R... |
The sound of his voice startled me; also, it brought me out of a
reverie and sharpened my wits, and as I replied to him, I took him in
from head to foot. A thick-set middle-aged man, tidily dressed in a
blue serge suit of nautical cut, the sort of thing that they sell,
ready-made, in sea-ports and naval stations. His c... |
"Sort of port that a vessel might put into with security and comfort
for a day or two, this, master," he observed. "I reckon I'll put
myself up here, while I'm looking round--this will do me very well.
And doubtless there'll be them coming in here, night-time, as'll know
the neighbourhood, and be able to give a man poi... |
"What's to pay?" he demanded. "Take it out o' that--all we've had, and
do you help yourself to a glass and a cigar." He flung a sovereign on
the table, and rose to his feet. "I must be stepping along," he
continued, looking at me. "If so be as there's another man seeking
for----"But at that he checked himself, remainin... |
"That adds to its charm," I remarked with a laugh. "I hope I shall
have the pleasure of seeing the ghost.""I don't!" she said. "That is, I hope I shan't. The house is odd
enough without that! But--you wouldn't be afraid?""Would you?" I asked, looking more closely at her."I don't know," she replied. "You'll understand m... |
So I had now discovered certain facts about Mr. Cazalette. He was an
octogenarian. He was uncannily active. He had an almost imp-like
desire to live--and to dance when he ought to have been wrapped in
blankets and saying his last prayers. And a few minutes later, when we
were seated round our host's table, I discovered... |
I made haste to reply that I should be only too happy to put my
knowledge at her disposal, and she responded by saying that she would
like to help me in classifying and inspecting the various volumes
which the dead-and-gone great-uncle had collected. We got on very well
together, and I was a little sorry when my host c... |
The instinctive desire to get an answer to this last question made me
suddenly stoop down and lay my fingers on the dead man's open palm. I
was conscious as I did so of the extraordinary, appealing helplessness
of his hands--instead of being clenched in a death agony as I should
have expected they were stretched wide; ... |
"I don't want to alarm Miss Raven," I said in a low voice, which I
purposely kept as matter-of-fact as possible. "Something has happened.
You know the man I was telling you of last night--Salter Quick? I
found his dead body, half-an-hour ago, on your beach. He has been
murdered--stabbed to the heart. Your gamekeeper, T... |
"Middlebrook!" he whispered, edging me away from the others. "Do you
look here, my lad! D'ye see the inside of the lid of this box? There's
been something--a design, a plan, something of that sort,
anyway--scratched into it with the point of a nail, or a knife. Look
at the lines--and see, there's marks and there's figu... |
She at once acquiesced in this proposition, and we began to inspect
the accumulations of the dead-and-gone master of Ravensdene Court. As
his successor had remarked in his first letter to me, Mr. John
Christopher Raven, though obviously a great collector, had certainly
not been a great exponent of system and order--exc... |
As the twilight approached, making my work in the library impossible,
and having no wish to go on with it by artificial light, I went out
for a walk. The fascination which is invariably exercised on any of us
by such affairs led me, half-unconsciously, to the scene of the
murder. The tide, which had been up in the morn... |
Somewhere about the end of the year 1910, Noah Quick, hailing,
evidently, from nowhere in particular, but, equally evidently, being
in possession of plenty of cash, became licensee of a small tavern
called the Admiral Parker, in a back street in Devonport. It was a
fully-licensed house, and much frequented by seamen. N... |
"I'd rather find it out for myself," said he, with a knowing look.
"And if you want to know, I've been trying to do so. But I've looked
through every local history there is--and I think the late John
Christopher Raven collected every scrap of printed stuff relating to
this corner of the country that's ever left a press... |
"I am!" he said, frankly. "And I'll tell you why. It's just because no
particular attention was drawn to it at the inquest. So far as I remember
it was barely mentioned--if it was, it was only as one item, an
insignificant one, amongst more important things; the money, the watch and
chain, and so on. But--somebody--som... |
"Nowt," he said. "Nowt at all! I'll tell you all about it--that's what
I've comed here for, hearing as you were wondering who I was and what
had come o' me. I come up here--yes, it were on t' sixth o' March--to
see about some sheep stock for our maister, Mr. Dimbleby, and I put up
for t' first night at a temp'rance i' ... |
Had Miss Raven and I suddenly been caught up out of that little coast
village and transported to the far East on a magic carpet, to be set
down in the twinkling of an eye on some Oriental threshold, we could
scarcely have been more surprised than we were at the sight of that
bland, smiling countenance. For the moment I... |
"Ah, the Quick business?" remarked Lorrimore. "Um!--well, as regards
that, it seems to me that whatever light is thrown on it will have to
be thrown from the other angle--from Devonport. From all that I heard
and gathered, it's very evident that what is really wanted is a strict
examination into the immediate happening... |
"Gone? Aye!" exclaimed Claigue. "Long since. There's been a good many
tides washed over that spot since this, Mr. Middlebrook. But they
haven't washed out the fact that a man's life was let out there! And
whether it was man or woman that stuck that knife into the poor
fellow's shoulders, it'll come out, some day.""I'm ... |
"Well, I tell you there was a crest; anyhow it was a coronet, or that
make of a thing," he answered. "Woven in one corner--I mean worked in
by hand. And the letters beneath it were a V and a de--small, that
last--and a C. Man! that handkerchief was the property of some man of
quality! And the stains being wet--the mud-... |
I looked again--this is what there was to look at: mere lines, and at
the foot of the photograph, Mr. Cazalette's explanatory notes and
suggestions: I sat studying this for a few moments. "I make nothing of
it. It seems to be a plan. But of what?""It is a plan, Middlebrook," he answered. "A plan of some place. But
ther... |
"I had better tell you how far my investigations have gone," he said
quietly. "Then we shall know precisely where we are, and from what
point we can, perhaps, make a new departure, now that I have come
here. I was put in charge of this case--at least of the Saltash
murder--from the first. There's no need for me to go i... |
"Just so, sir!" agreed Scarterfield, dryly. "Therefore, if Noah and
Salter Quick were on her, and as they were alive until recently,
either the _Elizabeth Robinson_ did not go down in a typhoon, or from
any other reason, or--the brothers Quick escaped. But here is a list
of the men who were aboard when she sailed from ... |
It was Lorrimore who, at the detective's request, explained to Wing
why we had sent for him. The Chinaman nodded a grave assent when
reminded of the Salter Quick affair--evidently he knew all about it.
And--if one really could detect anything at all in so carefully-veiled
a countenance--I thought I detected an increase... |
"Now, you know, this is really about the most serious and important
thing I've heard, so far," he said, when Mr. Cazalette had finished.
"Just let's sum it up. Salter Quick is murdered in a strange and
lonely place. Not for his goods, for all his money and his
valuables--not inconsiderable--are found on him. But the mu... |
"Ye may put it clear away from you, Raven," said Mr. Cazalette. "The
murderer may be within bow-shot, but he's none o' yours. Ye'll look
deeper, far, far deeper than that--this is no ordinary affair, and no
ordinary men at the bottom of it." Then, when he and I had left our
host, and were going along one of the upstair... |
"Now," he said confidentially, "I'll set it all out in order--what
I've done and found out since I came here two days ago. There's no
need, Mr. Middlebrook, to go into detail about how I set to work to
get information: we've our own ways and methods of getting hold of
stuff when we strike a strange town. But you know w... |
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