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diff --git a/8379-0.txt b/8379-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d89966e --- /dev/null +++ b/8379-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,1807 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, Shakespeare's Bones, by C. M. Ingleby + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most +other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions +whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of +the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at +www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have +to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. + + + + +Title: Shakespeare's Bones + The Proposal to Disinter Them + + +Author: C. M. Ingleby + + + +Release Date: January 10, 2015 [eBook #8379] +[This file was first posted on July 5, 2003] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SHAKESPEARE'S BONES*** + + +Transcribed from the 1883 Trübner & Co. edition by David Price, email +ccx074@pglaf.org + + [Picture: Book cover] + + [Picture: Shakespeare on his death-bed] + + + + + + SHAKESPEARE’S BONES + + + * * * * * + + _THE PROPOSAL TO DISINTER THEM_, + + CONSIDERED IN RELATION TO THEIR POSSIBLE BEARING + ON HIS PORTRAITURE: + + ILLUSTRATED BY INSTANCES OF + + VISITS OF THE LIVING TO THE DEAD. + + BY + C. M. INGLEBY, LL.D., V.P.R.S.L., + + Honorary Member of the German Shakespeare Society, + and a Life-Trustee of Shakespeare’s Birthplace, Museum, and New Place, + at Stratford-upon-Avon. + + [Picture: Decorative graphic] + + _LONDON_: + TRÜBNER & CO., 57 & 59, _Ludgate Hill_. + 1883. + + [ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.] + + * * * * * + + “Let’s talk of graves, of worms, and epitaphs.” + + _Richard II_, a. iii, s. 2. + + * * * * * + + This Essay + IS RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED TO + THE MAJOR AND CORPORATION OF STRATFORD-UPON-AVON, + AND THE VICAR + OF THE CHURCH OF THE HOLY TRINITY THERE, + + BY THEIR FRIEND AND COLLEAGUE, + + THE AUTHOR. + + + + +INDEX TO BIBLIOGRAPHY. + + PAGE +Anonymous Articles _Argosy_ 46 October, 1879. + _Atlantic Monthly_ 45 June, 1878. + _Birmingham Daily 43 August 23, 1876. + Mail_ + ,, ,, ,, ,, _Post_ 44 September 29, + 1877. + ,, ,, ,, ,, _Gazette_ 47 December 17, 1880. + ,, ,, ,, _Town Crier_ 44 November, 1877. + _Cincinnati 48 May 26, 1883. + Commercial Gazette_ + _Daily Telegraph_ 43 August 24, 1876. + _New York Nation_ 45 May 21, 1878. + Letter _Birmingham Daily 45 October 10, 1877. + Post_ +Gower, Lord Ronald _Antiquary_ 46 August, 1880. +Halliwell-Phillipps, 46 1881. +J. O. +Hawthorne, Nathaniel _Atlantic Monthly_ 41 January, 1863. +Ingleby, C. M. 48 June, 1883. +Norris, J. Parker _N. Y. American 41 April, 1876, and + Bibliopolist_ August 4, 1876. +Schaafhausen, Hermann _Shakespeare 43 1874–5. + Jahrbuch_ +Timmins, Sam. _Letter to J. Parker 42 _Circa_ 1874 and + Norris_ 1876. + + + + +SHAKESPEARE’S BONES. + + +THE sentiment which affects survivors in the disposition of their dead, +and which is, in one regard, a superstition, is, in another, a creditable +outcome of our common humanity: namely, the desire to honour the memory +of departed worth, and to guard the “hallowed reliques” by the erection +of a shrine, both as a visible mark of respect for the dead, and as a +place of resort for those pilgrims who may come to pay him tribute. It +is this sentiment which dots our graveyards with memorial tablets and +more ambitious sculptures, and which still preserves so many of our +closed churchyards from desecration, and our {1a} ancient tombs from the +molestation of careless, curious, or mercenary persons. + +But there is another sentiment, not inconsistent with this, which prompts +us, on suitable occasions, to disinter the remains of great men, and +remove them to a more fitting and more honourable resting-place. The +Hôtel des Invalides at Paris, and the Basilica of San Lorenzo Fuori le +Mura at Rome, {1b} are indebted to this sentiment for the possession of +relics which make those edifices the natural resort of pilgrims as of +sight-seers. It were a work of superfluity to adduce further +illustration of the position that the mere exhumation and reinterment of +a great man’s remains, is commonly held to be, in special cases, a +justifiable proceeding, not a violation of that honourable sentiment of +humanity, which protects and consecrates the depositaries of the dead. +On a late occasion it was not the belief that such a proceeding is a +violation of our more sacred instincts which hindered the removal to +Pennsylvania of the remains of William Penn; but simply the belief that +they had already a more suitable resting-place in his native land. {2} + +There is still another sentiment, honourable in itself and not +inconsistent with those which I have specified, though still more +conditional upon the sufficiency of the reasons conducing to the act: +namely, the desire, by exhumation, to set at rest a reasonable or +important issue respecting the person of the deceased while he was yet a +living man. Accordingly it is held justifiable to exhume a body recently +buried, in order to discover the cause of death, or to settle a question +of disputed identity: nor is it usually held unjustifiable to exhume a +body long since deceased, in order to find such evidences as time may not +have wholly destroyed, of his personal appearance, including the size and +shape of his head, and the special characteristics of his living face. + +It is too late for the most reverential and scrupulous to object to this +as an invasion of the sanctity of the grave, or a violation of the rights +of the dead or of the feelings of his family. When a man has been long +in the grave, there are probably no family feelings to be wounded by such +an act: and, as for his rights, if he can be said to have any, we may +surely reckon among them the right of not being supposed to possess such +objectionable personal defects as may have been imputed to him by the +malice of critics or by the incapacity of sculptor or painter, and which +his remains may be sufficiently unchanged to rebut: in a word we owe him +something more than refraining from disturbing his remains until they are +undistinguishable from the earth in which they lie, a debt which no +supposed inviolable sanctity of the grave ought to prevent us from +paying. + +It is, I say, too late to raise such an objection, because exhumation has +been performed many times with a perfectly legitimate object, even in the +case of our most illustrious dead, without protest or objection from the +most sensitive person. As the examples, more or less analogous to that +of Shakespeare, which I am about to adduce, concern great men who were +born and were buried within the limits of our island, I will preface them +by giving the very extraordinary cases of Schiller and Raphael, which +illustrate both classes: those in which the object of the exhumation was +to give the remains a more honourable sepulture, and those in which it +was purely to resolve certain questions affecting the skull of the +deceased. The following is abridged from Mr. Andrew Hamilton’s +narrative, entitled “The Story of Schiller’s Life,” published in +_Macmillan’s Magazine_ for May, 1863. + + “At the time of his death Schiller left his widow and children almost + penniless, and almost friendless too. The duke and duchess were + absent; Goethe lay ill; even Schiller’s brother-in-law Wolzogen was + away from home. Frau von Wolzogen was with her sister, but seems to + have been equally ill-fitted to bear her share of the load that had + fallen so heavily upon them. Heinrich Voss was the only friend + admitted to the sick-room; and when all was over it was he who went + to the joiner’s, and, knowing the need of economy, ordered ‘a plain + deal coffin.’ It cost ten shillings of our money. + + “In the early part of 1805, one Carl Leberecht Schwabe, an + enthusiastic admirer of Schiller, left Weimar on business. Returning + on Saturday the 11th of May, between three and four in the afternoon, + his first errand was to visit his betrothed, who lived in the house + adjoining that of the Schillers. She met him in the passage, and + told him, Schiller was two days dead, and that night he was to be + buried. On putting further questions, Schwabe stood aghast at what + he learned. The funeral was to be private and to take place + immediately after midnight, without any religious rite. Bearers had + been hired to carry the remains to the churchyard, and no one else + was to attend. + + “Schwabe felt that all this could not go on; but to prevent it was + difficult. There were but eight hours left; and the arrangements, + such as they were, had already been made. However, he went straight + to the house of death, and requested an interview with Frau von + Schiller. She replied, through the servant, ‘that she was too + greatly overwhelmed by her loss to be able to see or speak to any + one; as for the funeral of her blessed husband, Mr. Schwabe must + apply to the Reverend Oberconsistorialrath Günther, who had kindly + undertaken to see done what was necessary; whatever he might direct, + she would approve of.’ With this message Schwabe hastened to + Günther, and told him, his blood boiled at the thought that Schiller + should be borne to the grave by hirelings. At first Günther shook + his head and said, ‘It was too late; everything was arranged; the + bearers were already ordered.’ Schwabe offered to become responsible + for the payment of the bearers, if they were dismissed. At length + the Oberconsistorialrath inquired who the gentlemen were who had + agreed to bear the coffin. Schwabe was obliged to acknowledge that + he could not at that moment mention a single name; but he was ready + to guarantee his Hochwürde that in an hour or two he would bring him + the list. On this his Hochwürde consented to countermand the + bearers. + + “Schwabe now rushed from house to house, obtaining a ready assent + from all whom he found at home. But as some were out, he sent round + a circular, begging those who would come to place a mark against + their names. He requested them to meet at his lodgings ‘at half-past + twelve o’clock that night; a light would be placed in the window to + guide those who were not acquainted with the house; they would be + kind enough to be dressed in black; but mourning-hats, crapes and + mantles he had already provided.’ Late in the evening he placed the + list in Günther’s hands. Several appeared to whom he had not + applied; in all about twenty. + + “Between midnight and one in the morning the little band proceeded to + Schiller’s house. The coffin was carried down stairs and placed on + the shoulders of the friends in waiting. No one else was to be seen + before the house or in the streets. It was a moonlight night in May, + but clouds were up. The procession moved through the sleeping city + to the churchyard of St. James. Having arrived there they placed + their burden on the ground at the door of the so-called + _Kassengewölbe_, where the gravedigger and his assistants took it up. + In this vault, which belonged to the province of Weimar, it was usual + to inter persons of the higher classes, who possessed no + burying-ground of their own, upon payment of a _louis d’or_. As + Schiller had died without securing a resting-place for himself and + his family, there could have been no more natural arrangement than to + carry his remains to this vault. It was a grim old building, + standing against the wall of the churchyard, with a steep narrow + roof, and no opening of any kind but the doorway which was filled up + with a grating. The interior was a gloomy space of about fourteen + feet either way. In the centre was a trap-door which gave access to + a hollow space beneath. + + “As the gravediggers raised the coffin, the clouds suddenly parted, + and the moon shed her light on all that was earthly of Schiller. + They carried him in: they opened the trap-door: and let him down by + ropes into the darkness. Then they closed the vault. Nothing was + spoken or sung. The mourners were dispersing, when their attention + was attracted by a tall figure in a mantle, at some distance in the + graveyard, sobbing loudly. No one knew who it was; and for many + years the occurrence remained wrapped in mystery, giving rise to + strange conjectures. But eventually it turned out to have been + Schiller’s brother-in-law Wolzogen, who, having hurried home on + hearing of the death, had arrived after the procession was already on + its way to the churchyard. + + “In the year 1826, Schwabe was Bürgermeister of Weimar. Now it was + the custom of the _Landschaftscollegium_, or provincial board under + whose jurisdiction this institution was placed, to _clear out_ the + Kassengewölbe from time to time—whenever it was found to be + inconveniently crowded—and by this means to make way for other + deceased persons and more _louis d’or_. On such occasions—when the + Landschaftscollegium gave the order ‘aufzuräumen,’ it was the usage + to dig a hole in a corner of the churchyard—then to bring up _en + masse_ the contents of the Kassengewölbe—coffins, whether entire or + in fragments, bones, skulls, and tattered graveclothes—and finally to + shovel the whole heap into the aforesaid pit. In the month of March + Schwabe was dismayed at hearing that the Landschaftscollegium had + decreed a speedy ‘clearing out’ of the Gewölbe. His old prompt way + of acting had not left him; he went at once to his friend Weyland, + the president of the Collegium. ‘Friend Weyland,’ he said, ‘let not + the dust of Schiller be tossed up in the face of heaven and flung + into that hideous hole! Let me at least have a permit to search the + vault; if we find Schiller’s coffin, it shall be reinterred in a + fitting manner in the New Cemetery.’ The president made no + difficulty. + + “Schwabe invited several persons who had known the poet, and amongst + others one Rudolph, who had been Schiller’s servant at the time of + his death. On March 13th, at four o’clock in the afternoon, the + party met in the churchyard, the sexton and his assistants having + received orders to be present with keys, ladders, &c. The vault was + opened; but, before any one entered it, Rudolph and another stated + that the coffin of the deceased Hofrath von Schiller must be one of + the longest in the place. After this the secretary of the + Landschaftscollegium was requested to read aloud from the records of + the said board the names of such persons as had been interred shortly + before and after the year 1805. This being done, the gravedigger + Bielke remarked that the coffins no longer lay in the order in which + they had originally been placed, but had been displaced at recent + burials. The ladder was then adjusted, and Schwabe, Coudray the + architect, and the gravedigger, were the first to descend. Some + others were asked to draw near, that they might assist in recognising + the coffin. The first glance brought their hopes very low. The + tenants of the vault were found ‘over, under and alongside of each + other.’ One coffin of unusual length having been descried underneath + the rest, an attempt was made to reach it by lifting out of the way + those that were above it; but the processes of the tomb were found to + have made greater advances than met the eye. Hardly anything would + bear removal, but fell to pieces at the first touch. Search was made + for plates with inscriptions, but even the metal plates crumbled away + on being fingered, and their inscriptions were utterly effaced. Two + plates only were found with legible characters, and these were + foreign to the purpose. Probably every one but the Bürgermeister + looked on the matter as hopeless. They reascended the ladder and + closed the vault. + + “Meanwhile these strange proceedings in the Kassengewölbe began to be + noised abroad. The churchyard was a thoroughfare, and many + passengers had observed that something unusual was going on. There + were persons living in Weimar whose near relatives lay in the + Gewölbe; and, though neither they nor the public at large had any + objection to offer to the general ‘clearing out,’ they did raise very + strong objections to this mode of anticipating it. So many pungent + things began to be said about violating the tomb, disturbing the + repose of the departed, &c., that the Bürgermeister perceived the + necessity of going more warily to work in future. He resolved to + time his next visit at an hour when few persons would be likely to + cross the churchyard at that season. Accordingly, two days later he + returned to the Kassengewölbe at seven in the morning, accompanied + only by Coudray and the churchyard officials. + + “Their first task was to raise out of the vault altogether six + coffins, which it was found would bear removal. By various tokens it + was proved that none of these could be that of which they were in + search. There were several others which could not be removed, but + which held together so long as they were left where they lay. All + the rest were in the direst confusion. Two hours and a half were + spent in subjecting the ghastly heap to a thorough but fruitless + search: not a trace of any kind rewarded their trouble. Only one + conclusion stared Schwabe and Coudray in the face—their quest was in + vain: the remains of Schiller must be left to oblivion. Again the + Gewölbe was closed, and those who had disturbed its quiet returned + disappointed to their homes. Yet, that very afternoon, Schwabe went + back once more in company with the joiner who twenty years before had + made the coffin: there was a chance that he might recognise one of + those which they had not ventured to raise. But this glimmer of hope + faded like all the rest. The man remembered very well what sort of + coffin he had made for the Hofrath von Schiller, and he certainly saw + nothing like it here. It had been of the plainest sort, he believed + without even a plate; and in such damp as this it could have lasted + but a few years. + + “The fame of this second expedition got abroad like that of the + first, and the comments of the public were louder than before. + Invectives of no measured sort fell on the mayor in torrents. Not + only did society in general take offence, but a variety of persons in + authority, particularly ecclesiastical dignitaries, began to talk of + interfering. Schwabe was haunted by the idea of the ‘clearing out,’ + which was now close at hand. That dismal hole in the corner of the + churchyard once closed and the turf laid down, the dust of Schiller + would be lost for ever. He determined to proceed. His position of + Bürgermeister put the means in his power, and this time he was + resolved to keep his secret. To find the skull was now his utmost + hope, but for that he would make a final struggle. The keys were + still in the hands of Bielke the sexton, who, of course, was under + his control. He sent for him, bound him over to silence, and ordered + him to be at the churchyard at midnight on the 19th of March. In + like manner, he summoned three day-labourers whom he pledged to + secrecy, and engaged to meet him at the same place and at the same + hour, but singly and without lanterns. Attention should not be + attracted if he could help it. + + “When the night came, he himself, with a trusty servant, proceeded to + the entrance of the Kassengewölbe. The four men were already there. + In darkness they all entered, raised the trap-door, adjusted the + ladder, and descended to the abode of the dead. Not till then were + lanterns lighted; it was just possible that some late wanderer might, + even at that hour, cross the churchyard. Schwabe seated himself on a + step of the ladder and directed the workmen. Fragments of broken + coffins they piled up in one corner, and bones in another. Skulls as + they were found were placed in a heap by themselves. The work went + on from twelve o’clock till about three, for three successive nights, + at the end of which time twenty-three skulls had been found. These + the Bürgermeister caused to be put into a sack and carried to his + house, where he himself took them out and placed them in rows on a + table. + + “It was hardly done ere he exclaimed, ‘_That_ must be Schiller’s!’ + There was one skull that differed enormously from all the rest, both + in size and in shape. It was remarkable, too, in another way: alone + of all those on the table it retained an entire set of the finest + teeth, and Schiller’s teeth had been noted for their beauty. But + there were other means of identification at hand. Schwabe possessed + the cast of Schiller’s head, taken after death by Klauer, and with + this he undertook to make a careful comparison and measurement. The + two seemed to him to correspond, and, of the twenty-two others, not + one would bear juxtaposition with the cast. Unfortunately the lower + jaw was wanting, to obtain which a fourth nocturnal expedition had to + be undertaken. The skull was carried back to the Gewölbe, and many + jaws were tried ere one was found which fitted, and for beauty of + teeth corresponded with, the upper jaw. When brought home, on the + other hand, it refused to fit any other cranium. One tooth alone was + wanting, and this was said by an old servant of Schiller’s had been + extracted at Jena in his presence. + + “Having got thus far, Schwabe invited three of the chief medical + authorities to inspect his discovery. After careful measurements, + they declared that among the twenty-three skulls there was but one + from which the cast could have been taken. He then invited every + person in Weimar and its neighbourhood, who had been on terms of + intimacy with Schiller, and admitted them to the room one by one. + The result was surprising. Without an exception they pointed to the + same skull as that which must have been the poet’s. The only + remaining chance of mistake seemed to be the possibility of other + skulls having eluded the search, and being yet in the vault. To put + this to rest, Schwabe applied to the Landschaftscollegium, in whose + records was kept a list of all persons buried in the Kassengewölbe. + It was ascertained that since the last ‘clearing out’ there had been + exactly twenty-three interments. At this stage the Bürgermeister saw + himself in a position to inform the Grand Duke and Goethe of his + search and its success. From both he received grateful + acknowledgments. Goethe unhesitatingly recognised the head, and laid + stress on the peculiar beauty and evenness of the teeth. + + “The new cemetery lay on a gently rising ground on the south side of + the town. Schwabe’s favourite plan was to deposit what he had + found—all that he now ever dreamed of finding—of his beloved poet on + the highest point of the slope, and to mark the spot by a simple + monument, so that travellers at their first approach might know where + the head of Schiller lay. One forenoon in early spring he led Frau + von Wolzogen and the Chancellor von Müller to the spot. They + approved his plan, and the remaining members of Schiller’s family—all + of whom had left Weimar—signified their assent. They ‘did not + desire,’ as one of themselves expressed it, ‘to strive against + Nature’s appointment that man’s earthly remains should be reunited + with herself;’ they would prefer that their father’s dust should rest + in the ground rather than anywhere else. But the Grand Duke and + Goethe decided otherwise. + + “Dannecker’s colossal bust of Schiller had recently been acquired for + the Grand Ducal library, where it had been placed on a lofty pedestal + opposite the bust of Goethe; and in this pedestal, which was hollow, + it was resolved to deposit the skull. The consent of the family + having been obtained, the solemnity was delayed till the arrival of + Ernst von Schiller, who could not reach Weimar before autumn. On + September the 17th the ceremony took place. A few persons had been + invited, amongst whom, of course, was the Bürgermeister. Goethe, + _more suo_, dreaded the agitation and remained at home, but sent his + son to represent him as chief librarian. A cantata having been sung, + Ernst von Schiller, in a short speech, thanked all persons present, + but especially the Bürgermeister, for the love they had shown to the + memory of his father. He then formally delivered his father’s head + into the hands of the younger Goethe, who, reverently receiving it, + thanked his friend in Goethe’s name, and having dwelt on the + affection that had subsisted between their fathers vowed that the + precious relic should thenceforward be guarded with anxious care. Up + to this moment the skull had been wrapped in a cloth and sealed: the + younger Goethe now made it over to the librarian, Professor Riemer, + to be unpacked and placed in its receptacle. All present subscribed + their names, the pedestal was locked, and the key carried home to + Goethe. + + “None doubted that Schiller’s head was now at rest for many years. + But it had already occurred to Goethe, who had more osteological + knowledge than the excellent Bürgermeister, that, the skull being in + their possession, it would be possible to find the skeleton. A very + few days after the ceremony in the library, he sent to Jena, begging + the Professor of Anatomy, Dr. Schröter, to have the kindness to spend + a day or two at Weimar, and to bring with him, if possible, a + functionary of the Jena Museum, Färber by name, who had at one time + been Schiller’s servant. As soon as they arrived, Goethe placed the + matter in Schröter’s hands. Again the head was raised from its + pillow and carried back to the dismal Kasselgewölbe, where the bones + still lay in a heap. The chief difficulty was to find the first + vertebra; after that all was easy enough. With some exceptions, + comparatively trifling, Schröter succeeded in reproducing the + skeleton, which then was laid in a new coffin ‘lined with blue + merino,’ and would seem (though we are not distinctly told) to have + been deposited in the library. Professor Schröter’s register of + bones recovered and bones missing has been both preserved and + printed. The skull was restored to its place in the pedestal. There + was another shriek from the public at these repeated violations of + the tomb; and the odd position chosen for Schiller’s head, apart from + his body, called forth, not without reason, abundant criticism. + + “Schwabe’s idea of a monument in the new cemetery was, after a while, + revived by the Grand Duke, Carl August, but with an important + alteration, which was, that on the spot indicated at the head of the + rising ground there should be erected a common sepulchre for Goethe + and Schiller, in which the latter’s remains should at once be + deposited—the mausoleum to be finally closed only when, in the course + of nature, Goethe should have been laid there too. The idea was, + doubtless, very noble, and found great favour with Goethe himself, + who entering into it commissioned Coudray, the architect, to sketch + the plan of a simple mausoleum, in which the sarcophagi were to be + visible from without. There was some delay in clearing the ground—a + nursery of young trees had to be removed—so that at Midsummer, 1827, + nothing had been done. It is said that the intrigues of certain + persons, who made a point of opposing Goethe at all times, prevailed + so far with the Grand Duke that he became indifferent about the whole + scheme. Meanwhile it was necessary to provide for the remains of + Schiller. The public voice was loud in condemning their present + location, and in August, 1827, Louis of Bavaria again appeared as a + _Deus ex machina_ to hasten on the last act. He expressed surprise + that the bones of Germany’s best-beloved should be kept like rare + coins, or other curiosities, in a public museum. In these + circumstances, the Grand Duke wrote Goethe a note, proposing for his + approval that the skull and skeleton of Schiller should be reunited + and ‘provisionally’ deposited in the vault which the Grand Duke had + built for himself and his house, ‘until Schiller’s family should + otherwise determine.’ No better plan seeming feasible, Goethe + himself gave orders for the construction of a sarcophagus. On + November 17th, 1827, in presence of the younger Goethe, Coudray and + Riemer, the head was finally removed from the pedestal, and Professor + Schröter reconstructed the entire skeleton in this new and more + sumptuous abode, which we are told was seven feet in length, and bore + at its upper end the name + + SCHILLER + + in letters of cast-iron. That same afternoon Goethe went himself to + the library and expressed his satisfaction with all that had been + done. + + “At last, on December 16th, 1827, at half-past five in the morning, a + few persons again met at the same place. The Grand Duke had + desired—for what reason we know not—to avoid observation; it was + Schiller’s fate that his remains should be carried hither and hither + by stealth and in the night. Some tapers burned around the bier: the + recesses of the hall were in darkness. Not a word was spoken, but + those present bent for an instant in silent prayer, on which the + bearers raised the coffin and carried it away. They walked along + through the park: the night was cold and cloudy: some of the party + had lanterns. When they reached the avenue that led up to the + cemetery, the moon shone out as she had done twenty-two years before. + At the vault itself some other friends had assembled, amongst whom + was the Mayor. Ere the lid was finally secured, Schwabe placed + himself at the head of the coffin, and recognised the skull to be + that which he had rescued from the Kassengewölbe. The sarcophagus + having then been closed, and a laurel wreath laid on it, formal + possession, in the name of the Grand Duke, was taken by the Marshal, + Freiherr von Spiegel. The key was removed to be kept in possession + of his Excellency, the Geheimrath von Goethe, as head of the + Institutions for Art and Science. This key, in an envelope, + addressed by Goethe, is said to be preserved in the Grand Ducal + Library, where, however, we have no recollection of having seen it. + + “The ‘provisional’ deposition has proved more permanent than any + other. Whoever would see the resting-place of Goethe and Schiller + must descend into the Grand Ducal vault, where, through a grating, in + the twilight beyond he will catch a glimpse of their sarcophagi.” + +The other case of exhumation, and reinterment with funeral rites, which I +deem of sufficient importance to be recorded here, is that of the great +Raphael. In this the motive was not, as in that of Schiller, to give his +bones a worthier resting-place, nor yet, as in so many other cases, to +gratify a morbid curiosity, but to set at rest a question of disputed +identity. In this respect the case of Raphael has a special bearing upon +the matter in hand. I extract the following from _Mrs. Jameson’s Lives +of Italian Painters_, ed. 1874, p. 258: + + “In the year 1833 there arose among the antiquarians of Rome a keen + dispute concerning a human skull, which on no evidence whatever, + except a long-received tradition, had been preserved and exhibited in + the Academy of St. Luke as the skull of Raphael. Some even expressed + a doubt as to the exact place of his sepulchre, though upon this + point the contemporary testimony seemed to leave no room for + uncertainty. + + “To ascertain the fact, permission was obtained from the Papal + Government, and from the canons of the Church of the Rotunda (_i.e._, + of the Pantheon), to make some researches; and on the 14th of + September in the same year, after five days spent in removing the + pavement in several places, the remains of Raphael were discovered in + a vault behind the high altar, and certified as his by indisputable + proofs. After being examined, and a cast made from the skull and + [one] from the right hand, the skeleton was exhibited publicly in a + glass case, and multitudes thronged to the church to look upon it. + On the 18th of October, 1833, a second funeral ceremony took place. + The remains were deposited in a pine-wood coffin, then in a marble + sarcophagus, presented by the Pope (Gregory XVI), and reverently + consigned to their former resting-place, in presence of more than + three thousand spectators, including almost all the artists, the + officers of government, and other persons of the highest rank in + Rome.” + +This event, as will appear in the sequel, is our best precedent for not +permitting a sentimental respect for departed greatness to interfere with +the respectful examination of a great man’s remains, wherever such +examination may determine a question to which “universal history is _not_ +indifferent.” + +Toland tells us that Milton’s body was, on November 12, 1674, carried “to +the Church of S. Giles, near _Cripplegate_, where he lies buried in the +Chancel; and where the Piety of his Admirers will shortly erect a +Monument becoming his worth, and the incouragement of Letters in King +William’s Reign.” {19} It appears that his body was laid next to that of +his father. A plain stone only was placed over the spot; and this, if +Aubrey’s account be trustworthy, was removed in 1679, when the two steps +were raised which lead to the altar. The remains, however, were +undisturbed for nearly sixteen years. On the 4th of August, 1790, +according to a small volume written by Philip Neve, Esq. (of which two +editions were published in the same year), Milton’s coffin was removed, +and his remains exhibited to the public on the 4th and 5th of that month. +Mr. George Steevens, the great editor of Shakespeare, who justly +denounced the indignity _intended_, not offered, to the great Puritan +poet’s remains by Royalist landsharks, satisfied himself that the corpse +was that of a woman of fewer years than Milton. Thus did good +Providence, or good fortune, defeat the better half of their nefarious +project: and I doubt not their gains were spent as money is which has +been “gotten over the devil’s back.” Steevens’ assurance gives us good +reason for believing that Mr. Philip Neve’s indignant protest is only +good in the general, and that Milton’s “hallowed reliques” still “rest +undisturb’d within their peaceful shrine.” I have adduced this instance +to serve as an example of what I condemn, and should, in any actual case, +denounce as strongly as Mr. Philip Neve or George Steevens. To expose a +man’s remains after any interval for the purpose of treating his memory +with indignity, or of denouncing an unpopular cause which he espoused, or +(worst of all) “to fine his bones,” or make money by the public +exhibition of his dust, deserves unmeasured and unqualified reprobation, +and every prudent measure should be taken to render such an act +impossible. + +To take another example of the reprehensible practice of despoiling the +grave of a great enemy: Oliver Cromwell was, as is proved by the most +reliable evidence, namely, that of a trustworthy eye-witness, buried on +the scene of his greatest achievement, the Field of Naseby. Some +Royalist _Philister_ is said to have discovered, and stolen from its +resting-place, the embalmed head of the great Protector. It found its +way to London towards the end of the last century, where it was exhibited +at No. 5, Mead Court, Old Bond Street. {20} It is said to have been +acquired by Sir Joshua Reynolds in September, 1786, and to be now or late +in the collection of Mr. W. A. Wilkinson, of Beckenham. It is recorded +in one of the _Additional Manuscripts_ in the British Museum, under date +April 21, 1813, that “an offer was made this morning to bring it to Soho +Square, to show it to Sir Joseph Banks, but he desired to be excused from +seeing _the remains of the old villanous Republican_, _the mention of +whose very name makes his blood boil with indignation_. The same offer +was made to Sir Joseph forty years ago, which he also refused.” What a +charming specimen was Banks of the genus Tory! But after all it is a +comfort to think that on this occasion he was right: for while this head +was undoubtedly that which did duty for the Protector at Tyburn, and was +afterwards fixed on the top of Westminster Hall, it was almost certainly +not that of Oliver Cromwell: whose remains probably still lie crumbling +into dust in their unknown grave on Naseby Field. {21a} + +I give one more example of robbing the grave of an illustrious man, +through the superstition of many and the cupidity of one. Swedenborg was +buried in the vault of the Swedish Church in Prince’s Square, on April 5, +1772. In 1790, in order to determine a question raised in debate, viz., +whether Swedenborg were really dead and buried, his wooden coffin was +opened, and the leaden one was sawn across the breast. A few days after, +a party of Swedenborgians visited the vault. “Various relics” (says +White: _Life of Swedenborg_, 2nd ed., 1868, p. 675) “were carried off: +Dr. Spurgin told me he possessed the cartilage of an ear. Exposed to the +air, the flesh quickly fell to dust, and a skeleton was all that remained +for subsequent visitors. {21b} At a funeral in 1817, Granholm, an +officer in the Swedish Navy, seeing the lid of Swedenborg’s coffin loose, +abstracted the skull, and hawked it about amongst London Swedenborgians, +but none would buy. Dr. Wählin, pastor of the Swedish Church, recovered +what he supposed to be the stolen skull, had a cast of it taken, and +placed it in the coffin in 1819. The cast which is sometimes seen in +phrenological collections is obviously not Swedenborg’s: it is thought to +be that of a small female skull.” + +In the latter part of the reign of George III a mausoleum was built in +the Tomb House at Windsor Castle. On its completion, in the spring of +1813, it was determined to open a passage of communication with St. +George’s Chapel, and in constructing this an opening was accidentally +made in one of the walls of the vault of Henry VIII, through which the +workmen could see three coffins, one of which was covered with a black +velvet pall. It was known that Henry VIII and Queen Jane Seymour were +buried in this vault, but a question had been raised as to the place of +Charles the First’s interment, through the statement of Lord Clarendon, +that the search made for the late King’s coffin at Windsor (with a view +to its removal to Westminster Abbey) had proved fruitless. Sir Henry +Halford, in his _Account_, appended to his _Essays and Orations_, 1831, +{22} thus describes the examination of the palled coffin. + +“On representing the circumstance to the Prince Regent, his R. H. +perceived at once that _a doubtful point in history might be cleared up +by opening this vault_; and accordingly his R. H. ordered an examination +to be made on the first convenient opportunity. This was done on the +First of April last [_i.e._, 1813], the day after the funeral of the +Duchess of Brunswick, in the presence of his R. H. himself, who +guaranteed thereby _the most respectful care and attention to the remains +of the dead_, during the enquiry. His R. H. was accompanied by his R. H. +the Duke of Cumberland, Count Munster, the Dean of Windsor, Benjamin +Charles Stevenson, Esq., and Sir Henry Halford.” + +“The vault was accordingly further opened and explored, and the palled +coffin, which was of lead, and bore the inscription ‘King Charles, 1648,’ +was opened at the head. A second Charles I, coffin of wood was thus +disclosed, and, through this, the body carefully wrapped up in +cere-cloth, into the folds of which a quantity of unctuous or greasy +matter, mixed with resin, as it seemed, had been melted, so as to +exclude, as effectually as possible, the external air. The coffin was +completely full; and, from the tenacity of the cere-cloth, great +difficulty was experienced in detaching it successfully from the parts +which it enveloped. Wherever the unctuous matter had insinuated itself, +the separation of the cere-cloth was easy; and when it came off, a +correct impression of the features to which it had been applied was +observed in the unctuous substance. {23} At length the whole face was +disengaged from its covering. The complexion of the skin was dark and +discoloured. The forehead and temples had lost little or nothing of +their muscular substance; the cartilage of the nose was gone; but the +left eye, in the first moment of exposure, was open and full, though it +vanished almost immediately: and the pointed beard, so characteristic of +the reign of King Charles, was perfect. The shape of the face was a long +oval; many of the teeth remained; and the left ear, in consequence of the +interposition of the unctuous matter between it and the cere-cloth, was +found entire.” + +The head was found to be loose, and was once more held up to view; and +after a careful examination of it had been made, and a sketch taken, and +the identity fully established, it was immediately replaced in the +coffin, which was soldered up and restored to the vault. Of the other +two coffins, the larger one had been battered in about the middle, and +the skeleton of Henry VIII, exhibiting some beard upon the chin, was +exposed to view. The other coffin was left, as it was found, intact. +Neither of these coffins bore any inscription. + +In the Appendix to Allan Cunningham’s _Life of Burns_ {24} we read of an +examination of the poet’s Tomb, made immediately after that life was +published: + +“When Burns’ Mausoleum was opened in March, 1834, to receive the remains +of his widow, some residents in Dumfries obtained the consent of her +nearest relative to take a cast from the cranium of the poet. This was +done during the night between the 31st March and 1st April. Mr. +Archibald Blacklock, surgeon, drew up the following description: + + “The cranial bones were perfect in every respect, if we except a + little erosion of their external table, and firmly held together by + their sutures, &c., &c. Having completed our intention [_i.e._, of + taking a plaster cast of the skull, washed from every particle of + sand, &c.], the skull, securely closed in a leaden case, was again + committed to the earth, precisely where we found it.—Archd. + Blacklock.’” + +The last example I shall adduce is that of Ben Jonson’s skull. On this +Lieut.-Colonel Cunningham thus writes: + +“In my boyhood I was familiar with the Abbey, and well remember the +‘pavement square of blew marble, 14 inches square, with O Rare Ben +Jonson,’ which marked the poet’s grave. When Buckland was Dean, the spot +had to be disturbed for the coffin of Sir Robert Wilson, and the Dean +sent his son Frank, now so well known as an agreeable writer on Natural +History, to see whether he could observe anything to confirm, or +otherwise, the tradition about Jonson being buried in a standing posture. +The workmen, he tells us, ‘found a coffin very much decayed, which from +the appearance of the remains must have originally been placed in the +upright position. The skull found among these remains, Spice, the +gravedigger, gave me as that of Ben Jonson, and I took it at once into +the Dean’s study. We examined it together, and then going into the Abbey +carefully returned it to the earth.’ In 1859, when John Hunter’s coffin +was removed to the Abbey, the same spot had to be dug up, and Mr. Frank +Buckland again secured the skull of Jonson, placing it at the last moment +on the coffin of the great surgeon. So far, so good; but not long +afterwards, a statement appeared in the ‘Times’ that the skull of Ben +Jonson was in the possession of a blind gentleman at Stratford-upon-Avon. +Hereupon Mr. Buckland made further inquiries, and calmly tells us that he +has convinced himself that the skull which he had taken such care of on +two occasions, [such care as not so much as to measure or sketch it!] was +not Jonson’s skull at all; that a Mr. Ryde had anticipated him both times +in removing and replacing the genuine article, [!] and that the +Warwickshire claimant [!] was a third skull which Mr. Ryde observed had +been purloined from the grave on the second opening. Mr. Buckland is a +scientific naturalist, and an ardent worshipper of the closest of all +observers, John Hunter. Now mark what satisfies such a man on such an +occasion as this. He was wrong and Mr. Ryde was right, because Mr. Ryde +described _his_ skull as having _red hair_; and in Aubrey’s _Lives of +Eminent Men_, ‘I find evidence quite sufficient for any medical man to +come to the conclusion that Ben Jonson’s hair was in all probability of a +red colour, though the fact _is not stated in so many words_.’ In so +many words! I think not! Actually all that Aubrey says on the subject +is, ‘_He was_, _or rather had been_, _of a cleare and faire skin_’! +(_Lives_, ii, 414.) And this, too, in spite of our knowing from his own +pen, and from more than one painting, that his hair was as black as the +raven’s wing! Besides, he was sixty-five years old when he died, and we +may be sure that the few locks he had left were neither red nor black, +but of the hue of the ‘hundred of grey hairs’ which he described as +remaining eighteen years before. Mr. Buckland’s statement will be found +in the _Fourth Series_ of his _Curiosities of Natural History_, one of +the most entertaining little volumes with which we are acquainted.” {26} + +In reviewing the various incidents connected with the foregoing cases of +exhumation one is perhaps most struck with the last two. That an +illustrious man of science, and his son, who at that time must already +have been a scientific naturalist, should have coöperated in so +stupendous a blunder as the mere inspection of Ben Jonson’s skull, +without taking so much as a measurement or drawing of it, would be +incredible, but for the fact that both are dead, and nothing of the sort +has come to light: and it is scarcely less surprising that the +Swedenborgians, who believed themselves to be in possession of their +founder’s skull, should not have left on record some facts concerning its +shape and size. + +Before addressing myself to the principal matter of this essay, namely +the question whether we should not attempt to recover Shakespeare’s +skull, I may as well note, that the remains of the great philosopher, +whom so many regard as Shakespeare’s very self, or else his _alter ego_, +were not allowed to remain unmolested in their grave in St. Michael’s +Church, St. Albans. Thomas Fuller, in his _Worthies_, relates as +follows: “Since I have read that his grave being occasionally opened [!] +his scull (the relique of civil veneration) was by one King, a Doctor of +Physick, made the object of scorn and contempt; but he who then derided +the dead has since become the laughingstock of the living.” This, being +quoted by a correspondent in _Notes and Queries_ {27a} elicited from Mr. +C. Le Poer Kennedy, of St. Albans, {27b} an account of a search that had +been made for Bacon’s remains, on the occasion of the interment of the +last Lord Verulam. “A partition wall was pulled down, and the search +extended into the part of the vault immediately under the monument, but +no remains were found.” On the other hand, we have the record of his +express wish to be buried there. I am afraid the doctor, who is said to +have become the laughingstock of the living, has entirely faded out of +men’s minds and memories. + +Among the many protests against the act of exhumation, I select that of +Capel Lofft, as representative of the rest. He writes— + +“It were to be wished that neither superstition, affectation, idle +curiosity, or avarice, were so frequently invading the silence of the +grave. Far from dishonouring the illustrious dead, it is rather +outraging the common condition of humanity, and last melancholy state in +which our present existence terminates. Dust and ashes have no +intelligence to give, whether beauty, genius, or virtue, informed the +animated clay. A tooth of Homer or Milton will not be distinguished from +one of a common mortal; nor a bone of Alexander acquaint us with more of +his character than one of Bucephalus. Though the dead be unconcerned, +the living are neither benefited nor improved: decency is violated, and a +kind of instinctive sympathy infringed, which, though it ought not to +overpower reason, ought not without it, and to no purpose, to be +superseded.” Notwithstanding the right feeling shewn in this passage, it +is quite sufficient to condemn Capel Lofft as a _Philister_. Let us for +a moment examine some of these very eloquent assertions. Agreeing as I +cordially do with his wish, that neither superstition, affectation, +whatever that may mean, idle curiosity, or avarice, were the motives +which actuate those who molest the relics of the dead, I cannot allow +that neither dust and ashes, bones, nor teeth, have any intelligence to +give us; nor yet that by the reverential scrutiny of those relics the +living can be neither benefited nor improved. All that depends upon the +intelligence of the scrutineer. Doubtless your _Philister_ would turn +over the skull or the bones, or make hay with the dust, just as Peter +Bell could see nothing in a primrose but a weed in flower. What message +a bone or a weed may have for the man or the race depends wholly upon the +recipient. Your Shakespeare or Goethe, your Owen or Huxley, would find +in it an intelligible language; while your Capel Lofft would denounce +what he found there as dirt and indecency. How true is the proverb of +Syr Oracle Mar-text: “To the wise all things are wise.” In the case of +Schiller, the skull spoke for itself, and claimed to be that of Schiller; +the bones, like those in the 37th chapter of _Ezekiel_, aggregated +themselves around their head, and submitted to an accurate articulation; +and the teeth gave their evidence, too, at least the place of one, which +was not in the jaw, bore its testimony to the fact that the jaw in +question was that which Schiller had submitted to dentistry. In the case +of Raphael, the discovery of the skull disproved the claims of the +spurious relic, and arrested a stupid superstition. {29} Beyond question, +the skull of Shakespeare, might we but discover it in anything like its +condition at the time of its interment, would be of still greater +interest and value. It would at least settle two disputed points in the +Stratford Bust; it would test the Droeshout print, and every one of the +half-dozen portraits-in-oils which pass as presentments of Shakespeare’s +face at different periods of his life. Moreover it would pronounce +decisively on the pretensions of the Kesselstadt Death-Mask, and we +should know whether that was from the “flying-mould” after which Gerard +Johnson worked, when he sculptured the Bust. Negative evidence the skull +would assuredly furnish; but there is reason for believing that it would +afford positive evidence in favour of the Bust, one or other of the +portraits, or even of the Death-Mask: and why, I ask, should not an +attempt be made to recover Shakespeare’s skull? Why should not the +authorities of Stratford, to whom this brochure is inscribed, sanction, +or even themselves undertake, a respectful examination of the grave in +which Shakespeare’s remains are believed to have been buried? + +Two grounds have always been assigned for abstention: (1) the sentiment +which disposes men to leave the relics of the dead to their rest in the +tomb: (2) the prohibition contained in the four lines inscribed upon +Shakespeare’s gravestone. With the former of these I have sufficiently +dealt already. As for the latter; the prohibitory lines, whether they +proceeded from our Poet himself, as Mr. William Page, and many before +him, believed, or from the pen of Ben Jonson, or of an inferior writer +(which is to me the more probable authorship), I am most desirous to +respect them; not that I stand in awe of Shakespeare’s curse, but because +I think they proceeded from a natural and laudable fear. I have no more +doubt that “moves,” in the quatrain, means “_re_moves,” than I have that +“stones” means “_grave_stones.” The fear which dictated these curious +lines, was, I believe, lest Shakespeare’s remains should be carried, +whither so many of his predecessors in the churchyard had been carried, +to the common charnel-house hard-by. I do not read in those lines a +prohibition against an examination of the grave, say for purposes of +knowledge and history, but against the despoiling of that grave, to make +room for some local knight, squire, or squireen, who might have been +deemed a worthier tenant of the Chancel room. Shakespeare’s body was +carried to the grave on Thursday, April 25, 1616 (O. S.); and, beyond +question, his son-in-law, Dr. John Hall, made all the arrangements, and +bore all the expenses. We have no proof whatever that the grave has +remained closed from that time: on the contrary there is some slight +_scintilla_ of proof that it has been explored; and it would never +astonish me to learn that Shakespeare’s skull had been abstracted! There +may yet be some among us who have a personal interest in preventing such +an exploration, and in thus maintaining the general belief, that +Shakespeare’s relics still rest in the mould in which they were buried. + +Be that as it may: in the year 1796, the supposed grave was actually +broken into, in the course of digging a vault in its immediate proximity; +and not much more than fifty years ago the slab over the grave, having +sunk below the level of the pavement, was removed, the surface was +levelled, and a fresh stone was laid over the old bed. It is certain, I +believe, that the original stone did not bear the name of Shakespeare, +any more than its successor: but it is not certain that the four lines +appear upon the new stone in exactly the same literal form as they did +upon the old one. {31} I wish I could add that these two were the only +occasions when either grave or gravestone was meddled with. I am +informed, on the authority of a Free and Accepted Mason, that a +Brother-Mason of his has explored the grave which purports to be +Shakespeare’s, and that he found nothing in it but dust. The former +statement must be taken _cum grano_. Granting this, however, the latter +statement will not surprise my valued friend Mr. J. O. +Halliwell-Phillipps, who thinks he sees a reason for the disappearance of +SHAKESPEARE’S BONES, in the fact that his coffin was buried in the +Chancel mould. {32} If this be all the ground of his assurance, that +nothing but dust would reward the search, I would say “despair thy +charm;” for many corpses so buried have for many years been preserved in +comparative freshness—corpses which had been treated with no more care +than the body of Shakespeare is believed to have received. The last case +to come to my knowledge, was that of the Birmingham poet, John Freeth, +the father of my old friend John Freeth, formerly the Clerk (or principal +manager) of the Birmingham Canal Navigations. On the destruction of the +burial-place of the Old Meeting House, in Old Meeting Street, Birmingham, +in March, 1882, the coffin of the poet was found in the earth, and on +opening it, the face was almost as fresh, and quite as perfect, as on the +day of the old man’s interment seventy-four years before: and as to his +bones? Does Mr. Halliwell-Phillipps believe that in a period but little +more than double that of the poet Freeth’s unmolested repose, namely 180 +years, all SHAKESPEARE’S BONES would have been turned to dust, and become +indistinguishable from the mould in which the coffin lay? To ask this +question is to answer it. A more credulous man, than I know Mr. +Halliwell-Phillipps to be, would hesitate to give an affirmative answer. +Depend upon it, Shakespeare’s skull is in his grave, unchanged; or it has +been abstracted. There may well have been a mistake as to the exact +locality of the grave: for we do not know that the new gravestone was +laid down exactly over the place of the one that was removed; and the +skull may be found in a grave hard-by. But if, on making a thorough +search, no skull be found, I shall believe that it has been stolen: for, +apart from the fact of its non-discovery, I should almost be disposed to +say, that no superstition, or fear of Shakespeare’s curse, nor any +official precaution and vigilance, could have been a match for that +combination of curiosity, cupidity, and relic-worship, which has so often +prompted and carried out the exhumation of a great man’s bones. If there +were no other reason for searching Shakespeare’s grave, save the +extinction of an unpleasant but not irrational doubt, I would forthwith +perform the exploration, and if possible obtain tangible proof that the +poet’s skull had not been removed from its resting-place. + +But the exploration, if successful, would have a bearing upon more +material issues. The most opposite judgments have been passed upon the +Bust, both as a work of art and as a copy of nature. Landor, whose +experience of Italian art was considerable, recorded it as his opinion, +that it was the noblest head ever sculptured; while Mr. Hain Friswell +depreciated it, declaring it to be “rudely cut and heavy, without any +feeling, a mere block”: smooth and round like a boy’s marble. {33} After +some of Mr. Friswell’s deliverances, I am not disposed to rank his +judgment very high; and I accept Lander’s decision. As to the finish of +the face, Mr. Fairholt’s criticism is an exaggeration, successfully +exposed by Mr. Friswell. My own opinion, _telle quelle_, has been +already printed. {34} Allowing the bust to have been a recognisable, if +not a staring likeness of the poet, I said and still say—“How awkward is +the _ensemble_ of the face! What a painful stare, with its goggle eyes +and gaping mouth! The expression of this face has been credited with +_humour_, _bonhommie_ and _jollity_. To me it is decidedly _clownish_; +and is suggestive of a man crunching a sour apple, or struck with +amazement at some unpleasant spectacle. Yet there is force in the +lineaments of this muscular face.” The large photograph of the Monument +lately issued by the _New Shakspere Society_, as well as those more +successful issues of Mr. Thrupp’s studio, fully bears out this judgment. +But the _head_, as Landor said, is noble. Without accepting the +suggestion that the sculptor had met with an accident to the nose, and +had, in consequence, to lengthen the upper lip, I think it self-evident +that there is some little derangement of natural proportions in those +features; the nose, especially, being ill-formed and undersized for the +rest of the face. If we had but Shakespeare’s skull before us, most of +these questions would be set at rest for ever. + +Among the relics once religiously preserved in the Kesselstadt collection +at Mayence was a plaster mask, having at the back the year of +Shakespeare’s death. This relic had been in that collection time out of +mind, and seems always to have been received as a cast from the +“flying-mould” of Shakespeare’s dead face. With this was a small +oil-painting of a man crowned with bays, lying on a state bier; of which, +by the kindness of Mr. J. Parker Norris of Philadelphia, I am able to +give the admirable engraving which forms the frontispiece to this little +volume. On the death of Count and Canon Francis von Kesselstadt, at +Mayence, in 1843, the family museum was broken up, and its contents +dispersed. No more was seen or heard of either of the two relics +described, till 1847, when the painting was purchased by an artist named +Ludwig Becker; and after some months of unremitting search he discovered +the Death-Mask in a broker’s shop, and this he bought in 1849. The +purchaser is dead: but both these relics are in the Grand Ducal Museum at +Darmstadt, and belong to its curator, Dr. Ernst Becker, Ludwig’s brother. +I have inspected both with the keenest interest; and I am of opinion that +the painting is not after the mask. The date, 1637, which it bears, led +Dr. Schaafhausen to think that it was intended for Ben Jonson; a view to +some extent borne out by the portrait of Ben in the Dulwich Gallery. {35} +By others, however, it is believed to be a fancy portrait of Shakespeare, +based upon the Death-Mask. Now the Bust was believed to have been +sculptured after a death-mask. Is the Becker Mask that from which Gerard +Johnson worked? If so, there must have been a fatal accident indeed to +the nose; for the nose of the mask is a long and finely arched one: the +upper lip is shorter than that of the bust, and the forehead is more +receding. + +Of the many alleged portraits of Shakespeare there are but two whose +pedigree stretches back into the seventeenth century, and is lost in +obscurity there. The origin of the vast majority of the claimants is +only too well known, or shrewdly suspected: these are (1) copies, more or +less unfaithful, of older pictures; (2) idealised portraits, based upon +such older ones, or upon the Bust; (3) genuine portraits of unknown +persons, valued for some slight or imaginary resemblance to the Bust, or +to such older portraits, or for having passed as Shakespeare’s, and thus +offering the means of selling dear what had been bought cheap; (4) +impostures. As I am not writing an essay upon the portraits, I will +merely mention in the order of their importance the few claimants whose +title merits the least consideration. + +I.—The Droeshout engraving, prefixed to the first collective edition of +the Poet’s works, published in 1623: _i.e._, the print in its early +state. + +II.—The so-called Janssen portrait (on wood) in the collection of the +Duke of Somerset. This has been traced back to 1761, when it was +purchased by Charles Jennens, Esq., of Gopsall. Its identity with the +portrait which was purchased for the Duke of Hamilton and Brandon in 1809 +is, at least, highly probable. In 1811 Woodburn published the first +engraving from it, and stated that the picture had belonged to Prince +Rupert, who left it to Mrs. E. S. Howes on his death in 1682. No actual +proof of this was given, nor did Woodburn mention Jennens’ ownership. + +III.—The Croker portrait. We have it on the authority of Boaden that +this portrait, which he said was the property of the Right Hon. J. Wilson +Croker, was a replica of the Janssen. There was a mystery, not in the +least cleared up, concerning these two pictures and their history. I am +unable to ascertain who at present owns the later one. Collectors of the +prints can always distinguish between the two. The only engraving of the +Croker portrait was by R. Cooper; published January 1, 1824, by G. +Smeeton, and is an oval in a shaded rectangle. All the rest are either +from the Janssen, or from Dunkarton’s engraving of it. {37} + +IV.—The Chandos portrait (on wood) in the National Portrait Gallery at +South Kensington. It has been traced back to 1668, when, on Davenant’s +death, it passed to John Otway: but not in its present or even late +condition. + +V.—The Lumley portrait, well known through the admirable +chromo-lithograph, by Mr. Vincent Brooks (which is scarcely +distinguishable from the original), and once sold for forty guineas as +the original portrait. It has been traced back to 1785. + +VI.—The Ashbourne portrait. + +VII.—The Felton portrait (on wood), traced back to 1792. + +VIII.—The Challis portrait (on wood). + +IX.—The Hunt portrait: at the Birthplace. This is not in its original +state, and cannot be judged-of apart from a copy of it in the possession +of John Rabone, Esq., of Birmingham. + +Of these III, VI, and VIII have not been satisfactorily traced back even +into the last century. + +Beyond question, after the Bust and the Droeshout engraving, the Janssen +portrait has the greatest value. Unfortunately the Chandos, even if its +history be as stated, is of very little real value: for it has been so +often repaired or “restored,” and is at present in such a dilapidated +condition, that it cannot be relied upon as a portrait. Moreover it +bears but little resemblance to the admirable drawing from it in its +former state, made by Ozias Humphreys in the year 1783. This drawing is +an exceedingly fine work of art, to which even Scriven’s print, good as +it is, scarcely does justice. To compare Humphreys’ drawing, which hangs +in the Birthplace, and is its most valuable portrait, with Samuel +Cousin’s fine mezzotint of the Chandos, engraved forty years ago, is to +be convinced that the existing picture no longer represents the +man—whosoever he may have been—from whom it was painted. How many +questions, affecting the Bust, the Death-Mask, and these portraits, would +be set at rest by the production of Shakespeare’s skull! + +The late Mr. William Page, the American sculptor, whose interest in +testing the identity of the Kesselstadt Death-Mask, by comparing it with +Shakespeare’s skull, was in 1874–5 incomparably greater than that of any +other interested person, comes _very near_ the expression of a wish for +the exhumation of the skull. {39} But he had not the courage to express +that wish, and after the passage which I am about to quote, abruptly +changes the subject. He says, “The man who wrote the four lines [of +epitaph] which have thus far secured his bones that rest which his +epitaph demands, omitted nothing likely to carry the whole plan into +effect. The authorship of the epitaph cannot be doubted, unless another +man in England had the wit and wisdom to divine the loyal heart’s core of +its people, and touch it in the single appeal ‘for Jesus sake.’ Nothing +else has kept him out of Westminster [Abbey]. The style of the command +and curse are Shakespearian, and triumphant as any art of forethought in +his plays.” Then follows on—without even the break of a paragraph—not +what naturally should have followed, and _must_ have been in Mr. Page’s +mind, but a citation of Chantrey and John Bell, as to the model from +which the Bust was made. Possibly it is due to the omission of a +sentence, which once intervened between the remarks on the remains and +those which concern the Bust of Shakespeare, that we have now two totally +different matters in juxtaposition, and in the same paragraph. In this +Death-Mask Mr. Page saw the reconciliation of the Bust, the Droeshout +print (in its best state), and the Chandos portrait. I do not meddle +with that opinion, or the evidences upon which it rests. But I have +inspected all the four: I have also seen Mr. Page’s life-size bronze +bust, and wish I had never seen it, or even a photograph of it, for it +destroyed for me a pleasant dream. + +But whatever be the value of Mr. Page’s conclusion, or of his Bust, I +have no doubt that the value of his book lies in those accurate +“Dimensions of Shakespeare’s Mask,” which he took during his six days of +free access to the Grand Ducal Museum. The measurements are on pp. 51–55 +of his book, and may eventually be of the greatest possible use, if the +time should ever arrive when Shakespeare’s skull will be subjected to +similar measurement. For myself, I am disposed to believe that no +mistaken sense of duty on the part of the Stratford authorities will long +be able to prevent that examination, if the skull be still in existence. + + + + +A BIBLIOGRAPHY +OF +THE EXHUMATION QUESTION +AS AFFECTING +SHAKESPEARE’S BONES. + + +1.—HAWTHORNE, NATHANIEL, in “Recollections of a Gifted Woman,” in _Our +Old Home_ (reprinted from the _Atlantic Monthly_, January, 1863), records +Miss Delia Bacon’s project for exploring Shakespeare’s grave, and the +failure of her attempt through the irresolution occasioned by her fear of +disappointment. + +2.—NORRIS, J. PARKER, in the New York _American Bibliopolist_, of April, +1876, vol. viii, p. 38, in the section entitled “Shakspearian Gossip” +[reprinted in the Philadelphia _Press_, August 4, 1876], seriously +proposes the exhumation of Shakespeare’s remains, and asks, “Is it not +worth making an effort to secure ‘the counterfeit presentment’ of him who +wrote ‘for all time’? If we could even get a photograph of Shakspeare’s +skull it would be a great thing, and would help us to make a better +portrait of him than we now possess.” His courageous article is +particularly useful for the adduction of cases in which corpses have lain +in the grave far longer than that of Shakespeare, and been discovered in +a state of comparative perfection. What would one not give to look upon +Shakespeare’s dead face! + +The letter of “a friend residing near Stratford,” from which he gives a +long extract, was from one of my present colleagues in the Shakespeare +Trust, viz.: + +3.—TIMMINS, SAM., as quoted in the last recorded article, writes—“Some +graves of the Shakspeare date were opened at Church Lawford a few years +ago, and the figures, faces, and dresses were perfect, but, of course, in +half an hour were mere heaps of dust. Shakspeare’s grave is near the +Avon, but doubtless he was buried well (in a leaden coffin probably), and +there is scarcely room for a doubt that, with proper precautions, +photographs of his face might be taken perfectly. Surely the end does +justify the means here. It is not to satisfy mere idle curiosity. It is +not mere relic-mongering; it is simply to secure for posterity what we +could give—an exact representation of the great poet as he lived and +died. Surely this is justifiable, at least it is allowable, in the +absence of any authentic portrait. Surely such a duty might be most +reverently done. I doubt after all if it will be; but I am very strongly +in favour of the trial, and if no remains were found, no harm would be +done, the ‘curse’ to the contrary notwithstanding. People who have pet +projects about portraits would not like to have all their neat and +logical arguments knocked on the head, but where _should_ we _all_ be if +no Shakspeare at all were found, but only a bundle of musty old MSS. in +Lord Bacon’s ‘fine Roman hand’? After all, I am rather nervous about the +result of such an exhumation. But, seriously, I see no reason why it +should not be made. A legal friend here long ago suggested (humorously, +not professionally of course) that the ‘curse’ might be escaped by +employing a woman (‘cursed be _he_’) and women would compete for the +honor!” + +4.—Anonymous Article in _The Birmingham Daily Mail_, of August 23, 1876, +headed “Shakspeare’s _Carte de Visite_.” This is strongly adverse to Mr. +Norris’s proposals. The writer inclines to believe that the “friend +residing near Stratford” was “a fiction of the Mrs. Harris type,” or +“possibly a modest way of evading the praise which would be the meed of +the brilliant genius who originated the project”: both very random +guesses, and, as it turns out, wide of the mark. The article ends thus: +“If Moses had been raised in Massachussetts he would have been wanted to +take a camera or some business-cards up Sinai.” For our part, if we +shall be so fortunate as to find Shakespeare alive in his grave, we shall +of course raise him, and invite him to coöperate in the business of +photographing his own shining face. But we are not so sanguine as to +expect that miracle, though almost as great wonders have been done by the +power of this magician. But where is the “triple curse” with which, +according to this authority, “that gravestone is weighted”? Quite +another view of the inscription is given by Lord Ronald Gower, _infra._ + +5.—Anonymous Article in the London _Daily Telegraph_, of August 24, 1876: +also strongly adverse to Mr. Norris. + +6.—SCHAAFHAUSEN, HERMANN, in the _Jahrbuch_, or Annual, of the German +Shakespeare Society, vol. x, 1875, asks: “Should we be afraid to rely on +this evidence [agreement of Mask with known portraits, &c.], there is an +easy way of settling the question. We can dig up Shakespeare’s skull, +and compare the two. True, this may seem to offend against the letter of +the epitaph + + ‘BLESTE BE EY MAN TY SPARES THES STONES, + AND CVRST BE HE TY MOVES MY BONES.’ + +But there is no desecration in entrusting the noble remains of the poet +to the enquiring eye of science; which will but learn something new from +them, and place beyond doubt the value of another precious relic of him, +and then restore them to the quiet of the grave.”—(From the Tr. N. S. S., +1875–76. Appendix v.) + +7.—Anonymous Article, in the _Birmingham Daily Post_ of September 29, +1877, headed “General Grant at Stratford-upon-Avon,” in the course of +which Dr. Collis, the Vicar of the church there, is reported to have made +some indignant remarks upon Mr. Parker Norris’s article. “Having dilated +upon the cool presumption of the author of the letter [article], Dr. +Collis continued, that persons proposing such an experiment would have to +walk over his prostrate body before they did it; adding that the writer +even forgot to say, ‘if you please.’” The American party, however, do +not appear to have seen the matter from Mr. Collis’s point of view. + +8.—Anonymous Article, in the _Birmingham Town Crier_ of November, 1877; a +skit upon Mr. Collis’s foolish speech. Beyond this censure, however, +_nil de mortuo_. It is to be regretted that the worthy Vicar’s remains +were not buried in the church, so that persons approaching the grave with +a laudable purpose might meet the reverend gentleman’s views, and “walk +over his prostrate body.” + +9.—Shakespearian, A, in the _Birmingham Daily Post_ of October 10, 1877, +writes a sensible letter, taking Mr. Parker Norris’s side of the +question. + +10.—Anonymous Article in the New York _Nation_, of May 21, 1878, in which +we read: “Is it sacrilegious to ask whether it is wholly impossible to +verify the supposition that the Stratford bust is from a death-mask? +Would not the present age permit a tender and reverential scientific +examination of the grave of Shakespeare?” + +11.—Anonymous Article in the _Atlantic Monthly_, of June, 1878, in the +section entitled “The Contributors’ Club,” where it is said—“Since the +time seems to have come when a man’s expression of his wishes with regard +to what is to be done after his death is violently and persistently +opposed by all who survive him, is it not a good opportunity to suggest +that perhaps respect has been paid for a long enough time to the doggerel +over Shakespeare’s grave? + + GOOD FRIEND FOR IESVS SAKE FORBEARE, + TO DIGG THE DVST ENCLOASED HEARE: + BLESTE BE EY MAN TY SPARES THES STONES, + AND CVRST BE HE TY MOVES MY BONES. {45} + +When we consider how little we know of the great poet, and the +possibility of finding something more by an examination of his tomb, it +seems as if, with proper care, an investigation might be made that would +possibly reward the trouble.” The writer concludes thus—“Is it not +advisable, then, to avoid waiting till it is too late? That is to say, +unless, as I may fear, it is too late already.” + +12.—Warwickshire Man, A, in the _Argosy_, of Oct., 1879, in an article +entitled, “How Shakespeare’s Skull was Stolen.” The _vraisemblance_ of +this narrative is amazing. But for the poverty of the concluding +portion, which is totally out of keeping with the foregoing part, one +might almost accept this as a narrative of fact. + +13.—GOWER, RONALD, in the _Antiquary_, of August, 1880, vol. ii, p. 63, +“The Shakespeare Death-Mask,” concludes thus—“But how, may it be asked, +can proof ever be had that this mask is actually that of Shakespeare? +Indeed it can never be proved unless such an impossibility should occur +as that a jury of matrons should undertake to view the opened grave at +Stratford; they at any rate would not need to fear the curse that is +written above his grave—for it says, ‘Cursed be _he_ (and not _she_), who +stirs that sacred dust.’” This is a ‘new version’ of the time-honoured +line. I note too that Lord Ronald reproduces the “legal friend’s” joke +in Mr. Parker Norris’s article. But I do not say he ever saw it. + +14.—HALLIWELL-PHILLIPPS, J. O., in his _Outlines of the Life of +Shakespeare_, 1st edition, 1881, p. 86: 2nd edition, 1882, p. 172: 3rd +edition, 1883, p. 233: writes thus— + +“The nearest approach to an excavation into the grave of Shakespeare was +made in the summer of the year 1796, in digging a vault in the immediate +locality, when an opening appeared which was presumed to indicate the +commencement of the site of the bard’s remains. The most scrupulous +care, however, was taken not to disturb the neighbouring earth in the +slightest degree, the clerk having been placed there, until the brickwork +of the adjoining vault was completed, to prevent any one making an +examination. No relics whatever were visible through the small opening +that thus presented itself, and as the poet was buried in the ground, not +in a vault, the chancel earth, moreover, formerly absorbing a large +degree of moisture, the great probability is that dust alone remains. +This consideration may tend to discourage an irreverent opinion expressed +by some, that it is due to the interests of science to unfold to the +world the material abode which formerly held so great an intellect.” Mr. +Halliwell-Phillipps has more faith in the alleged precaution than I have. +Surely a needy clerk, with an itching palm, would be no match for a +relic-hunter. May we not here read between the lines, _q. d._, ‘to allow +any one to make free with the masonry and explore the sacred dust?’ + +15.—Anonymous Article in the _Birmingham Daily Gazette_, of December 17, +1880, headed “Excavations in the Church and Churchyard of +Stratford-upon-Avon.” This repeats, on the authority of Washington +Irving’s _Sketch Book_, the story recorded by Mr. Halliwell-Phillipps. +It is an alarmist article, censuring the Vicar’s excavations, which were +made indeed with a laudable purpose, but without the consent, or even the +knowledge, of the Lay Impropriators of the Church. + +16.—Anonymous Article in the Cincinnati _Commercial Gazette_, of May 26, +1883, headed “Shakspeare at Home,” where it is said “Nor should they [the +antiquarians of England] rest until they have explored Shakspeare’s tomb. +That this should be prevented by the doggerel engraved upon it, is +unworthy of a scientific age. I have heard it suggested that if any +documents were buried with Shakspeare, they would, by this time, have +been destroyed by the moisture of the earth, but the grave is +considerably above the level of the Avon, as I observed to-day, and even +any traces connected with the form of the poet would be useful. His +skull if still not turned to dust, should be preserved in the Royal +College of Surgeons, as the apex of the climbing series of skeletons, +from the microscopic to the divine.” + +17.—INGLEBY, C. M., _Shakespeare’s Bones_, June, 1883, being the +foregoing essay. + + * * * * * + + [Picture: Decorative graphic] + + * * * * * + + * * * * * + + Printed by ROBERT BIRBECK, Birmingham. + + + + +FOOTNOTES + + +{1a} The corrigenda has been applied to this eBook. For example, in the +book this phrase is “and its ancient tombs” but is corrected in the +corrigenda to “and our ancient tombs”. DP. + +{1b} See _The Times_, July 14 and August 8, 1881. + +{2} Jordan’s Meeting-house, near Chalfont St. Giles, Bucks. See _The +Times_, July 20, 1881. + +{19} _The Life of Milton_. London: 1699. P. 149. + +{20} _Morning Chronicle_, March 18, 1799. + +{21a} See _Notes and Queries_, 1st S., xi, 496, and xii, 75. + +{21b} See _Notes and Queries_, 1st S., xi, 496, and xii, 75. + +{22} _An Account of what appeared on opening the Coffin of King Charles +the First in the vault of Henry VIII_, _in_ [_the Tomb House_,] _St. +George’s Chapel_, _Windsor_, _on the First of April_, _MDCCCXIII_. + +{23} It appears that the examiners omitted to utilize this unctuous mask +for the purpose of taking a plaster cast: a default which, as we shall +see, has been paralleled by those who conducted other examinations of the +kind. + +{24} _Works of Robert Burns_: Bohn, 1842. + +{26} Prefatory Notice to Cunningham’s larger edition of Ben Jonson’s +Works, pp. xviii-xx. For other examples, see _God’s Acre_, by Mrs. +Stone, 1858, chapter xiv, and _Notes and Queries_, 6th S., vii, 161. + +{27a} 2nd S., viii, 354. + +{27b} _Ibid_, ix, 132. + +{29} The case of Dante has been recently alluded to, as if it were one +of exhumation. But despite the efforts of the Florentines to recover the +remains of their great poet, they still rest at Ravenna, in the grave in +which they were deposited immediately after his death. + +{31} _Traditionary Anecdotes of Shakespeare_. 1883, p. 11. + +{32} _Outlines of the Life of Shakespeare_. 3rd edition, 1883, p. 223. + +{33} _Life Portraits of Shakespeare_. 1864, p. 10. + +{34} _Shakespeare_: _The Man and The Book_. _Part I_, p. 79. + +{35} As to this, see an article contributed by me to _The Antiquary_ for +September, 1880: also the _Shakespeare Jahrbuch_, vol. x, 1875, for Dr. +Schaafhausen’s views. + +{37} There is no engraving by “Dunbar”: that name was Friswell’s mistake +for Dunkarton. Boaden’s “absolute fac-simile” and “no difference +whatever,” (_Inquiry_, 1. p., page 137) are expressions not borne out by +the engravings. My old friend, the Rev. Charles Evans, Rector of +Solihull, who possesses the almost unrivalled Marsh Collection of +Engraved Portraits of Shakespeare, at my request compared Cooper’s +engraving of the Croker portrait with those by Dunkarton, Earlom, and +Turner, of the Janssen: and he writes: “In the Cooper the face is peaked, +the beard more pointed, and the ruff different in the points.” After +all, such differences may well be the creation of the engravers. I would +fain know where the Croker portrait now is; and also that which belonged +to the late Dr. Turton, Bishop of Ely. + +{39} _A Study of Shakespeare’s Portraits_. 1876, p. 23. + +{45} This is exactly as it stands upon the existing gravestone, not as +it is reproduced by the writer in the _Atlantic Monthly_: the like as to +the two lines of the epitaph in No. 6. The manuscript of Dowdall, +referred to on p. 31 _ante_, is unfortunately modernized in _Traditionary +Anecdotes_. He has, indeed ‘friend,’ and ‘these,’ as in the pamphlet +version, but also ‘digg,’ and ‘inclosed.’ Dowdall, however, was a very +inaccurate copyist. See fac-simile in Mr. J. O. Halliwell’s Folio +Shakespeare, vol. i, inserted between pp. 78 and 79. The Dowdall +manuscript does not give the epitaph in capitals, except the initials. + + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SHAKESPEARE'S BONES*** + + +******* This file should be named 8379-0.txt or 8379-0.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/8/3/7/8379 + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will +be renamed. + +Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright +law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, +so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United +States without permission and without paying copyright +royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part +of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm +concept and trademark. 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