How Christopher Marlowe Died

New Zealand Times, Volume LII, Issue 12211, 8 August 1925, Page 12

How Christopher Marlowe Died

, The secret of Christopher Marlowe’s death, a puzzle for three centuries, bos teen revealed at last te Dr. J, Deslie Hotaon, of Harvard tmiversty, discoverer, of the long-lost documents which, from the testimony of eye-wit-nesses, given within two days of the tragedy, tell exactly how and why and when and where -the dramatist wns slain.' \ As every schoolboy knows, Christopher Marlowe was stabhed t, death in a brawl at Deptford, just outside of London, and waA buried in the Church of St Nicholas near by; _ but no- one has ever known definitely how the greatest of Shakespeare's predecessors met his tragic deathmainly because no one has ever , felt Suite just how much credence could he given to the contemporary, accounts, all of which are obviously written or inspired by, Puritans. The story of the killing thus ■ revealed is as follows: —Preiser and Marlowe were, together at the Deptford tavern of Eleanor Bull,* widow , from 10 in the, morning until .evepof May 30th, 1593. They had-dinner together, after' which they went for a stroll in the garden and came back for supper about 6. After supper, unfortunately, they nuarrelled. Neither wanted i pay the bill I Marlowe was lying on a ted, while Ingram was aittipg at a table between two other men, in such a way that he could not readily get free—and with his darner at his back, convenient to Marlowe’s hand. Suddenly fhe dramatist/ sprang up, aeised Freser’s dagger (not his own, na the Puritans have it) and wounded him twice in the brad. Unable to get away, Prezer “with the dagqer aforesaid of the value of twelve pence gave the said Christopher then' and there a ,mortal wound oyer his right, eye of the depth of two inches and of the width of one inch; of which mortal wound the aforesaid Christopher Morlpy then and there instantly died.”