SHAKESPERES DESCENDANTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXVIII, Issue 8664, 5 September 1891, Page 1 (Supplement)

SHAKESPERES DESCENDANTS.

Mr. W. J. Daltok, C.E., writes on this subject I herewith enclose a letter just to hand from Richard Savage, Esq., secretary and librarian to " The Trustees and Guardians of Shakespere's Birthplace," together with the Stratford-upon-Avon Herald, containing a report of "The Shaksepere Birthplaco Trustees." Your readers may remember that you published some extracts from "old documents" in my possession, and which you were pleased to call " very interesting," and by these documents I claimed to be a lineal descendant of the " immortal bard." This announcement seemed to raise the ire of some of your correspondents, and several letters appeared in your paper in reference thereto, which I answered by saying I would send the " old documents" to His Worship the Mayor of Stratford-upon-Avon. I accordingly did so, and the letter subjoined will show* how far matters have progressed. " What a great matter a littlo fire kindleth." When I read in one of your Saturday supplements that a " Thomas Hart was the nearest living descendant of Shakespere," I waited on one of your staff at your office on the Monday following, and | referred to the paragraph in question by saying, "Do you really think that the fact of one of Shakespere's descendants is now living'in Auckland would be of any public interest ?" He answered, " I certainly do." "Well," I said, "I am that individual." The reporter stared mo full in the face, and furtively looked around for the nearest paper-weight. But, having satisfied himself on second thoughts, as I suppose, that I did not look so very formidable, and that my eye was not in a fine frenzy rolling, He said, "Oh, indeed! Can you prove that?" I said I thought I could, and would send over to him sundry "old documents" for his inspection, and lot him judge for himself. I left tho documents with him, and expected to seo at some time or other a little local referring to the matter. Bub in the course of a fortnight or three weeks out i comes a whole column and a-half of ' matter, entitled " Shakospere's Descen- ' dants." Very soon after that appeared I was assailed by the most diverse and amusing statements—to curb "my vaulting ambition," I suppose. One said : "Clever fellow your son John, eh ! Great advertiser. Got in that ad. about Shakespero in first-class stylo." " But," 1 replied, " it's a fact, a solemn fact, and 1 have documents to prove it." My interlocutor looked at me very seriously, "more in sorrow than in anger," and said, " Oh, well, if you aro going on in that lino, I'll give you up. Why, man, you ought to know that no such man as William Shakespere ever lived. Shakespere is a myth ; a sort of Joe Miller at that time for the wits; a convenient peg for authors to hang their effusions upon," &c. Now, Mr. Editor, to deprecate the anger of such of your readers as may differ from meand readers aro always supposed to bo gentle—l feol impelled to inquire, " Wherein have I offended ?" And if J really am a descendant of Shakespere, it must be conceded that the fact is not without extenuating circumstances—l really couldn't help it. A correspondent from the West Coast has patronizingly enlightened my dull understanding. Ho asserts (as if ho knew all about it, and it would be news to me) that " Shakespere was only a now da plums, for Bacon." Gammon, say 1. A gentleman on the East Coast tells mo he saw Betty Hall's will in my family's possession some years ago, and he is ready to take his " davy" of the fact Of courso in my peregrinations about the city I have had a full dose of "Donnelly Cryptogram," et hoc gznw omne, " and reasons as plentiful as blackberries." More' than one enthusiastic stranger has requested tho honour of shaking hands with mo, and I sincerely hope the exercise did them good, and that they felt bettor after it, and aro still going on their way rejoicing. To show the impressionability of some minds (I don't know otherwise how to express what I mean), there was a serious termination to the enthusiasm of a sincere friend of mine. A certain highly-rospect-abie gentleman, very well known in Auck land, who thoroughly believed himself to bo a Spiritualistic medium and clairvoyant, in spite of any argument to the contrary, was a guest at my house for some little time, and he took a great interest in the documents favouring my descent from Shakespere. He was so impressed with the facts of the case that he astounded mo one morning by saying Shakespere had been with him all night. This was tho first time I suspected that my poor friend's mind was unhinged, and his relatives thought it proper, and, in fact, found it necessary, to send him to the asylum. This occurred between seven and eight years ago, and tho proceedings taken at tho Police Court can, of course, be inspected now. The certificates of the two doctors who examined him and are tiled in the Court say: "The principal hallucination of is that Mr. Dalton's house is permeated with Shakespere." " Alas, poor Yorick !"

The letter from Mr. Savage, referred to above, says:—" Since I obtained your papers' a relative of yours, living in London, lias brought me an old Bible con taming many mein-'S. relating to the family- These I shall copy, and when an opportunity offers itself shall pursue researches. If I meet: with anything new I will not fail to send it to you.—Richard Savage, Secretary."