(our poet's Hamlet), by whom, or by Richard Burbage, it was painted.* Taylor dying about the year 1653, at the advanced age of seventy,† left this picture by will to Davenant.‡ At the death of Davenant, who died intestate in 1663, it was bought, probably at a sale of his effects, by Betterton, the actor. While in Betterton's possession, it was engraved by Van der Gucht, for Rowe's edition of Shakespeare, in 1709. Betterton dying without a will and in needy circumstances, his pictures were sold. Some were bought by Bullfinch, the printseller, who sold them again to a Mr. Sykes. The portrait of Shakespeare was purchased by Mrs. Barry, the actress, who afterwards sold it for forty guineas to Mr. Robert Keck, of the Inner Temple. While in his possession, an engraving was made from it, in 1719, by Vertue, and it then passed to Mr. Nicholls, of Southgate, Middlesex, who acquired it on marrying the heiress of the Keck family. The Marquis of Caernarvon, afterwards Duke of Chandos, marrying the daughter of Mr. Nicholls, it We have, unfortunately, no proof that Joseph Taylor, the player, ever painted portraits. There was a contemporary, however, named John Taylor, who was an artist, and it is possible that these two have been confounded. Boaden refers the picture to Burbage, "who is known to have handled the pencil." Op. cit., p. 49. Taylor was thirty-three when Shakespeare died in 1616, and survived him thirty-seven years. This will, it appears, is not to be found (Wivell, Op. cit., p. 49), but it matters little, if we are assured that Davenant possessed the picture. then became his Grace's property. When his pictures were sold at Stowe, in September, 1848, this portrait was purchased for three hundred and fifty-five guineas by the Earl of Ellesmere, who, in March, 1856, presented it to the Trustees of the National Portrait Gallery, in whose hands it still remains. Notwithstanding this pedigree, the picture has been objected to on the ground that the dark hair and foreign complexion could never have belonged to our essentially English Shakespeare. Those who make this objection, seem to forget entirely the age of the portrait, and the fact that it is painted in oil and on canvas, a circumstance which of itself is quite sufficient, after the lapse of two centuries and a half, to account for the dark tone which now pervades it, to say nothing of the numerous touches and retouches to which it has been subjected at the hands of its various owners. Notwithstanding the missing links of evidence, it seems to me that, having traced the picture back to the possession of Shakespeare's godson, we have gone far enough to justify us in accepting it as an authentic portrait in preference to many others. For we cannot suppose that Sir William Davenant would retain in his possession until his death a picture of one with whom he was personally acquainted, unless he considered that it was sufficiently faithful as a likeness to remind him of the original. On the score of pedigree, then, and because I believe that the only well-authenticated portrait (i.e., the Droeshout) represents Shakespeare as an actor, and not as a private individual, I have selected the Chandos portrait for my frontispiece. By obtaining a reduced photograph of this upon wood, from the best engraving, and “vignetting" it, I have been enabled to place upon the left hand a hooded falcon, drawn by the unrivalled pencil of Mr. Wolf, and thus to entrust to the engraver, Mr. Pearson, a faithful likeness of man and bird. As regards the other illustrations, my acknowledgments are due to Mr. J. G. Keulemans for the artistic manner in which he has executed my designs, and to Mr. Pearson for the careful way in which he has engraved them. With these observations, I conclude an undertaking which has occupied my leisure hours for six years, but which indeed has been, in every sense of the word, "a labour of love." Should the reader, on closing this volume, consider its design but imperfectly executed, it is hoped that he will still have gleaned from it enough curious information to compensate him for the disappointment. CONTENTS. SHAKESPEARE'S GENERAL KNOWLEDGE OF NATURAL HISTORY. His Love of Sport.-Hawking.-Fishing.-Hunting.-Fowling.-Deer-Shoot- ing.-Deer-Stealing. "The Subtle Fox" and "Timorous Hare.". Coursing.-Coney-Catching.-Wild Animals mentioned by Shakespeare. -His Knowledge of their Habits.-Insects referred to in the Plays.-- Shakespeare's Powers of Observation.-Practical Knowledge of Falconry. 'Eagle Eye.". Power of Flight.-A good Omen. "The Bird of Jove."-The Roman Eagle.-The "Ensign" of the Eagle-Habits and Attitudes.—Eagles' Eggs.-Longevity of the Eagle: its Age computed. ---The Eagle trained for Hawking. - The Vulture: its Repulsive Habits. --The Osprey its Power over Fish.-The Kite.-The Kite's Nest.- Explanation of Hawking Terms.-The Falcon and Tiercel.—The Qualities of |