Part 3 (1/2)

COLERIDGE'S ”WATCHMAN”

Coleridge, a his many speculations, started a periodical, in prose and verse, entitled _The Watchht know the truth, and that the truth e's incurable want of order and punctuality, and his philosophical theories, tired out and disgusted his readers, and the as discontinued after the ninth number Of the unsaleable nature of this publication, he relates an a to rise at an earlier hour than usual, he observed his servant-girl putting an extravagant quantity of paper into the grate, in order to light the fire, and he mildly checked her for her wastefulness: ”La!

sir,” replied Nanny; ”why, it's only _Watchmen_”

IRELAND'S SHAKSPEARE FORGERIES

Mr Sainally a silk merchant in Spitalfields, was led by his taste for literary antiquities to abandon trade for those pursuits, and published several tours One of the which he explored, with ardent curiosity, every locality associated with Shakspeare He was accompanied by his son, a youth of sixteen, who imbibed a portion of his father's Shakspearean reat importance which his parent attached to every relic of the poet, and the eagerness hich he sought for any of his MS reratify his father by soe and manner of Shakspeare's time The idea possessed his hteenth year, he produced so of Shakspeare, which he said had been given hiarticled to a solicitor in Chancery, easily fabricated, in the first instance, the deed of e from Shakspeare to Michael Fraser The ecstasy expressed by his father urged him to the fabrication of other documents, described to come from the saher coth announced the discovery of an original draern_, which he exhibited, act by act, written in the period of twoprovided hi the fly-leaves of old books,) and with ink prepared by a bookbinder, no suspicion was entertained of the deception The father, as a ave such _eclat_ to the supposed discovery, that the attention of the literary world, and all England, was drawn to it; insomuch that the son, who had announced other papers, found it ioaded into the production of the series which he had promised

The house of Mr Ireland, in Norfolk-street, Strand, was daily crowded to excess by persons of the highest rank, as well as by theenuine, were considered to be of inestimable worth; and at one tiive any required suth sounded an alarm, which was echoed by certain of the newspapers and public journals; notwithstanding which, Mr Sheridan agreed to give 600_l_ for perern_ at Drury-lane Theatre So crowded a house was scarcely ever seen as on the night of the performance, and a vast number of persons could not obtain adan an opposition frorave scenes into ridicule, and there ensued between the believers and sceptics a contest which endangered the property The piece was, accordingly, withdrawn

The juvenile author was now so beset for information, that he found it necessary to abscond from his father's house; and then, to put an end to the wonderful ferenuity had created, he published a pamphlet, wherein he confessed the entire fabrication Besides _Vortigern_, young Ireland also produced a play of Henry II; and, although there were in both such incongruities as were not consistent with Shakspeare's age, both drainality

The admissions of the son did not, however, screen the father from obloquy, and the reaction of public opinion affected his fortunes and his health Mr Ireland was the dupe of his zeal upon such subjects; and the son never contemplated at the outset the unfortunate effect Such was the enthusias them Drs

Parr and Warton,) that they fell upon their knees before the MSS; and, by their idolatry, inspired hundreds of others with si author was filled with astonishe it was not in his power to check Sir Richard Phillips, who knew the parties, has thus related the affair in the _Anecdote Library_

In the Catalogue of Dr Parr's Library at Hatton, (_Bibliotheca Parriana_,) we find the following attempted explanation by the Doctor:--

”Ireland's (Saery, called,' Miscellaneous Papers and Legal Instruments, under the hand and seal of William Shakspeare, folio 1796

”I am almost ashamed to insert this worthless and infaedy of _King Lear_, and a fragment of _Hamlet_ Ireland told a lie when he imputed to _ I called on Ireland, and was inclined to adenuineness in his papers In e of opinion But I thought it not worth while to dispute in print with a detected impostor--S P”

Mr Ireland died about 1802 His son, Williahted his literary reputation for ever, and he died in straitened circumstances, about the year 1840 The reputed Shakspearean MSS are stated to have been seen for sale in a pawnbroker'sin Wardour-street, Soho

HOOLE, THE TRANSLATOR OF TassO THE GHOST PUZZLED

Hoole was born in a hackney-coach, which was conveying his mother to Drury-lane Theatre, to witness the perforedy of _Timanthes_, which had been written by her husband Hoole died in 1839, at a very advanced age In early life, he ranked ast the literary characters that adorned the last century; and, for some years before his death, had outlived most of the persons who frequented the _conversazioni_ of Dr Johnson By the will of the Doctor, Mr Hoole was enabled to take froht think proper to select, by way of ly chose a chair in which Dr Johnson usually sat, and the desk upon which he had written the greater number of the papers of the _Rambler_; both these articles Mr Hoole used constantly until nearly the day of his death

Hoole was near-sighted He was partial to the dra, often strutted his hour at an amateur theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields

Upon one occasion, whilst perforhost in _Hamlet_, Mr Hoole wandered incautiously froed from the nether world, and by which it was his duty to descend