i..." 
 
 Qiwpn Beff 
 
QJorncU ItttoBrBtta ffitbrarg 
 
 atljata. SJew fork 
 
 .Mrs. W.P.E.Gar.X.ejr.- 
 
 '^M 
 
Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of this book is in 
 the Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31 92401 31 52529 
 
Shakefpeare's Chriftmas Gift 
 to ^een Befs 
 
Edited by Mrs. McMahan 
 
 Florence in the Poetry of the Brownings 
 
 With Shelley in Italy 
 
 With Byron in Italy 
 
 With Wordsworth in England 
 
 Each one volume, with many illustrations 
 from photographs, $1.40 net; large-paper 
 edition, $3.73 net. 
 
 A. C. McClurg &= Co., Publishers. 
 
^ 
 
 N 
 
 t*^ 
 
 O 
 
Shakefpe are's 
 
 Ch rift mas Gift to 
 
 Queen Befs 
 
 In the year i^gd 
 
 By 
 
 Anna Bennefon McMahan 
 
 THE MERMAID TAVERN 
 
 Chicago 
 A. C. McClurg ^ Co. 
 
 MCMVII 
 
Copyright 
 A. C.McClurg&j^Co. 
 
 igo7 
 
 Published October la, igo7 
 
 ^jyc^4/4- 
 
 ^^t Vuaittettie ^ttit 
 
 R. R. DONNELLEY & SONS COMFANX 
 CHICAGO 
 
To my Jifter Lina 
 
 in memory of 
 
 the Chriftmafes of our childhood. 
 
"All, though feigned, is true." 
 
 iftw 
 
Contents 
 
 Page 
 
 I At the Mermaid . . , ii 
 
 II At the ^een's Palace . ■ 33 
 
 III A Chriftmas Carol of the Olden 'Time 65 
 
Illuftrations 
 
 Page 
 
 ^een Elizabeth going to Whitehall 
 
 through London Streets . . Frmamece 
 
 At the Mermaid 13 
 
 The River Avon at Stratford . . . 14. 
 Birthplace of Mary Arden, Mother of 
 
 Shakefpeare 16 
 
 Warwick/hire Houfe of the T'udor Period 18 
 Old Graves in 1'rinity Churchyard, 
 
 Stratford 20 
 
 Old Warwick/hire Cottages . . . 2^ 
 A Group of Morris Dancers . . . 26 
 Garden View of Shakefpeare' s Birth- 
 place, Stratford 30 
 
Illujirations Continued 
 
 Page 
 
 ^een Elizabeth going to Whitehall by 
 
 the 'Thames J5 
 
 Portrait of the Earl of Efsex . . . j6 
 Portrait of the Earl of Southampton . 4.0 
 ^een Elizabeth liftening to the Play . ■ 44 
 "Obfervance to a morn of May" . . 46 
 Woods near Stratford .... 50 
 Earl of Leicefter receiving ^een Eliz- 
 abeth at Kenilworth ... 5^ 
 Portrait of^een Elizabeth in her Later 
 
 Years 5<? 
 
 A Dance of the Sixteenth Century . . 62 
 
At the Mermaid. 
 
 Thus Raleigh, thus immortal Sidney /hone 
 (Illuftrious names!) in great Eliza's days. 
 
 — Thos. Edwardes. 
 

 J 
 
 
 ^^♦^*ll 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 i^H^^V^I 
 
 T^ 
 
 \^m^^^^KL' ^^ViSfli 
 
 
 
 
 v^^bSbj^^^H 
 
 ^Z ///(' Mermaid 
 
 ^. 
 
Shakefpeare^ s 
 Chriftmas Gift to Queen Befs 
 
 I. 
 
 At the Mermaid. 
 
 T' HF, numberlefs diamond-fhaped 
 window panes of the Mermaid 
 'Tavern are twinkling like fo many Jiars 
 in the chill Tie c ember air of London. It 
 is the laji meeting of the Mermaid Club 
 
14 S hake f pear es Chriftmas 
 
 for the year I^gd, and not a member is 
 abfent. As they drop in by twos and 
 threes and gather in groups about the room, 
 it is plain that expe Elation is on tip -toe. 
 They call each other by their Chrijiian 
 names and pledge healths. Some are young, 
 handfome, fajiidious in person and drefs; 
 others are bohemian in cojiume, fpeech, and 
 aBion; all wear knee breeches, and nearly 
 all have pointed beards. He of the harfh 
 
 fighting face, of the fine eye and coarfe lip 
 
 [and 
 
Copyright, iSgQ. by A. W. Elsoii &r O', , Boston. 
 
 The River Avon at Sfratford 
 
 "I kiwii.' a bank wJiere t/ic -wild thyme blows, 
 Wliere oxlips and tlie noddint; Tiotet g'roivs." 
 
 
Gift to Queen Befs IS 
 
 and the Jhaggy hair, whom they call Ben, 
 although one of the youngeji is yet plainly 
 one of the leaders both for wit and for 
 wifdom. 
 
 "That grave and handfome gentleman 
 whofe lordly bearing and princely drefs 
 mark his high rank, is another favourite. 
 He has written charming poems, has 
 fought gallantly on many fields, has voyaged 
 widely on many feas, has founded colonies 
 in difiant America, is a favourite of the 
 
 [Queen 
 
l6 S hake f pear es Chriftmas 
 
 ^een. But in this Mermaid Club his 
 chief glory is that he is its founder and 
 leader, the one whofe magnetifm and per- 
 fonal charm has fummoned and cemented 
 in friendjhip all thefe varied elements. 
 
 At laji the all-important matter of the 
 yearly Chrijimas play at court has been 
 fettled; the Majier of the Revels has chofen 
 from the rich Jiores of his manufcripts 
 "The Midsummer Night's Dream," 
 gracioufy adding that "for wit and mirth 
 
 [it 
 
Copyright. iSgg. Sy A. IV. Elson &- Co.. Boston. 
 
 Birtltplace of Mary Ardeii, Motlier of Skake/peare 
 
 "Quite over-ciinopied with liifciotis luoodbine 
 With fiveet mufl;-rofi's and with eglantine'' 
 
Gift to Queen Befs 17 
 
 it is like to pleafe her Majejiy exceedingly." 
 A high honor, indeed, for its author. For, 
 not then, as now, were plays written pri- 
 marily for the recreation and approval of 
 the audience of the theatre. True, the 
 p:iblic Jiage was fojiered, and attraBed its 
 daily audience, but rather as a drefs re- 
 hearfal, its main purpofe being to train the 
 players for the court prefentations at one 
 of her Majefy's palaces. The fecretfpur 
 to both players and playwright was the 
 
 [hope 
 
1 8 S hake f pear es Chriftmas 
 
 hope of being among the chofen for the 
 feflivities at 'Richmond, Whitehall, or 
 Greenwich, as the ^een might fancy to 
 hold her court. 
 
 Tiif appointment, forenefs, jealoufy, not 
 feldom followed the award of the coveted 
 diJlinSlion, but not fo on this occafon. 
 For now the fuccefsful candidate is one of 
 the youngejl and bejl beloved of this jolly 
 coterie, and their pride in him is fhown by 
 the eagernefs with which they await his 
 
 [coming 
 
Warwick/hire Houfe of the Tudor Period 
 
 iM 
 
Gift to Queen Befs ig 
 
 coming to read to them the changes in the 
 manufcript of his play Jince its former 
 prefentation. Ah ! hear the hurjl of ap- 
 plaufe that greets his late arrival — a 
 high- browed, fandy- haired man of thirty- 
 two, lithe in figure, of middle height, with 
 a f mile of great fweetnefs, yet fad withal. 
 On his face, one may read the lines of 
 recent forrow, and all know that he has 
 returned but recently to London from the 
 mournful errand which took him to his 
 
 [Stratford 
 
20 S hake f pear es Chriftmas 
 
 Stratford home — the burial of his dearly 
 beloved and only fon, Hamnet. The plau- 
 dits for the author of the mofi fuccefsful 
 play of the feafon — "Romeo and Juliet," 
 which was then taking the town by form 
 at the Curtain Theatre — were little heeded 
 by the grief -Jlric ken father as he urged his 
 horfe over the rough roads of the four days' 
 journey, arriving juft too late for a part- 
 ing word from dying lips. But private 
 forrows are not for thofe who are called to 
 
 [public 
 
Old Graves in Trinity Churchyard, Stratford 
 
 ^&_ 
 
 
Gift to Queen Befs 21 
 
 public duties; a writer mujl trim his pen 
 not to his own mood, but to the mood of the 
 hour. And ^ueen Elizabeth, old in years, 
 but ever young in her love of fun and 
 frolic and flattery, mufl be made to forget 
 the heavinefs of time and the infirmities 
 of age. If fhe may no longer take part 
 in out-door fports — the hunting, the hawk- 
 ing, the bear-baiting, — fhe ft ill may 
 command proceffions, fetes, mafques, and 
 ft age-plays. It pleafes her now to fee this 
 
 [wonderful 
 
22 S hake f pear es Chriftmas 
 
 HJoonderful fairy piece ^ of which fhe has 
 heard fo much fnce, two years ago, it 
 graced the nuptials of the Earl of Derby. 
 Does fhe not remember alfo that pretty 
 impromptu verfe of the author when aBing 
 the part of King in another man's play, 
 two years ago at Greenwich ? Did fie 
 not twice drop her glove near his feet in 
 crojjingthejiage? And how happily had 
 he ref ponded to the challenge ! True to the 
 charaSler as well as to the metre of his 
 
 [part 
 
Gift to Queen Befs 22 
 
 part, he had picked up the glove, prefenting 
 it to its owner with the words: — 
 
 '^And though now bent on this high embafsy. 
 Yet ftoop we to take up our coujin's glove." 
 
 Seats are taken, the manufcript is 
 opened, and the club becomes a green-room 
 conference. The play is not to be recaji 
 entirely, the changes from the early verjion 
 being mainly to introduce certain touches to 
 flatter the royal ears, and to fuit it to the 
 more elaborate equipment of the Whitehall 
 
 [stage 
 
24 S hake f pear es Chriftmas 
 
 Jiage. ^ill in hand, the reader as he 
 proceeds crojfes out from his manufcript 
 everything that clogs the movement or de- 
 traBs from the playfulnefs; giving free 
 rein to his luxuriant imagination, he fcat- 
 ters the choiceji flowers of fancy to create 
 a vivid and animated piSiure. The lovers 
 meet and part with pretty rhymes and 
 repartee; the hard-handed men — the 
 tradefmen and tinkers — bring their clumfy 
 efforts to ferve the wedding-feafl ; the 
 
 [fairies 
 
Old JVarwiikf/iire Cottages 
 "And all tilings f/i all be peace." 
 
 
Gift to Queen Befs 2$ 
 
 fairies, graceful, lovely, enchanting, dance 
 amidfl the fragrance of enameled meadows. 
 His fellow writers feel the charm. No 
 one of them can do work in fo many kinds 
 nor offuch kind in each. They recognife 
 their mafier, they are under his magic 
 
 fpell; the familiar Jiories from Plutarch 
 and Chaucer and Ovid take on a new 
 meaning; the very holly on the walls feems 
 alive with the fairy folk, as indeed it 
 
 fhould be, according to the pretty, old 
 
 [superstition 
 
26 S hake f pear es Chriftmas 
 
 fuperjiition that elves and fairies hover 
 about all Chrijimas fetes . Hence, branches 
 are hanging in hall and bower in order 
 that thefe invifible guejls may "hang in 
 each leaf and cling on every bough." The 
 holly, its prickly leaves fymbolic of the 
 crown of thorns, and its red berries of the 
 blood of Chriji, banifhes the ivy and other 
 greens, and becomes the popular favourite 
 that it has fnce remained, for Chriftmas 
 decoration. 
 
 [A responsive 
 
A Group of Morris Dancers 
 
 ' The qtiaint mazes in the wanion green. 
 For lack of tread, are undiftingiiifhable." 
 
 
 -%. 
 
 
Gift to Queen Befs 27 
 
 A refponjlve audience truly. Roars of 
 laughter greet the rollicking humour of the 
 clowns and their rude burlefque of things 
 theatrical. But longeji and loudeji is the 
 applaufe over the new touches — thofe por- 
 tions that have been written in to pleafe 
 the court and the ^een. To remodel a 
 play written for a marriage celebration fo 
 that it fhall feem to praife the virginity of 
 the ^een were furely no fight tajk, but 
 it has been accomplifhed. 
 
 [Though 
 
28 S hake f pear es Chrtftmas 
 
 Though the fcene is laid in Greece, yet 
 the play is full of the Englijh life that all 
 know fo well. " Merrie England" and 
 not clajjic Greece has given the poet the 
 piSlure of the fweet country fchool-girls 
 working at one fower, warbling one fong, 
 growing together like a double cherry. Of 
 England, is the piSiure of the hounds with 
 "ears that fweep away the morning dew"; 
 from England, all this out-door woodland 
 life, the clown's play and the clowns 
 
 [themselves 
 
Gift to Queen Befs 2Q 
 
 themf elves, — Bottom with his inimitable 
 conceit, and his fellows. Snug, ^ince, and 
 the reji. Englijh is all Puck's fairy lore, 
 the cowjlips tall, the red-hipt humble-bee, 
 Oberon's bank, the panfy love-in-idlenefs, 
 and all the lovely imagery of the verfe. 
 Englifh is the whole fcenic background, 
 and the "Wood near Athens" is plainly 
 the Stratford boy's idealifed memory of the 
 Weir Brake that he knows fo well. 
 
 Mayhap, in very truth, on fome mi(^- 
 
 [summer 
 
JO S hake f pear es Chriftmas 
 
 fummer night the young poet, even then of 
 "imagination all compaB" did indeed 
 dream a dream or fee a vifon like unto 
 this, bringing it from Stratford to London 
 partly written, but foregoing its completion 
 for labour that would find readier accept- 
 ance at the theatre. 
 
 However that may be, certain it is that 
 this is a red-letter night at the Mermaid. 
 The genius of "gentle Will" has taken a 
 new point of departure and fhines as it 
 
 [has 
 
Garden View of Shake f pear e' s Birtliplace, Stratford 
 "An odorous chaplet of fweel fiumner buds." 
 
Gift to Queen Befs 31 
 
 has not Jhone before either in his making 
 over of other men's plays, or in his few 
 original works. He has conquered a new 
 realm of art ; the phantoms of the fairy 
 world for the firft time have been endowed 
 with a genuine and fuftained dramatic 
 intereji. Small wonder that no one ven- 
 tures to interrupt as the pages are turned; 
 even at the clofe, only one, the Silenus- 
 faced Ben, offers a criticifm. Being well 
 verfed in clajjic lore, he protefis againji 
 
 [the 
 
22 S hake f pear es Chriftmas 
 
 the charaBerifation of Thefeus, Duke of 
 Athens, faying it is too modern, and has 
 in faB nothing of the antique or Grecian 
 in its compoftion. 
 
 But he is over-ruled fpeedily, and as the 
 meeting breaks up one of the younger fel- 
 lows whifpers to another, "Shakefpeare 
 was fent us from Heaven, but Jonfon 
 from — College." 
 
At the ^een's Palace. 
 
 Thofe flights upon the banks of Thames 
 Thatfo did take Eliza and our James. 
 
 — Ben Jonfon, 
 
Queen Elizahetli going to Wliitcliall by the Thames 
 
 "But, noble Thames, whi/f/ I can hold a pen, 
 I will divulge ihy glory unto men." 
 
 John Taylor, the "U 'ater Poet I ' 
 
 
//. 
 
 At the ^een's Palace 
 
 /T IS Chrijimas night. Lords, ladies, 
 and ambafsadors have been Jummoned 
 to Whitehall Palace to witnejs the play 
 for which author, aBors, and artijis of 
 many kinds have been working fo indus- 
 trioufy during the paji few weeks. The 
 Banqueting Hall, with a temporary Jiage 
 at one end, has been converted into a fine 
 auditorium. 
 
 35 \^^CV^% 
 
36 S hake f pear es Chriftmas 
 
 Facing the Jl age, and beneath her canopy 
 of Jlate,Jits ^een Elizabeth, in ruff and 
 farthingale, her hair loaded with crowns 
 and powdered with diamonds, while her 
 fharp fmile and keen glance take note 
 of every incident. Neareji her perfon 
 and evidently the chief favourite of the 
 moment, is the man who has long been 
 confidered the Adonis of the Court. He is 
 now alfo its hero, having but recently re- 
 turned from the wars in Spain, where 
 
 [his 
 
Earl of Efsex 
 
Gift to Queen Befs J7 
 
 his gallantry and promptitude at Cadiz 
 have won new glories for Her Majejiy. 
 In Jive Jhort years more, his head will 
 come to the block by decree of this fame 
 Majejiy; but this no one can forefee and 
 all voices now unite in praifes for the 
 brave and generous EJfex. 
 
 Another confpicuous favourite is a 
 blue-eyed, pink-cheeked young fellow of 
 twenty-three, whofe fcarcely perceptible 
 beard and moujlache, and curly auburn 
 
 [hair 
 
38 S hake f pear e^s Chriftmas 
 
 hair falling over his Jhoulders and half- 
 way to his waiji, would fuggeft fem- 
 ininity except for his martial manner and 
 tall figure. His refplendent attire is 
 notable even in this gorgeoufiy arrayed 
 company. His white fatin doublet has 
 a broad collar, edged with lace and 
 embroidered with fiver thread; the white 
 trunks and knee-breeches are laced with 
 gold; the fword-belt, embroidered in red 
 and gold, is decorated at intervals with 
 
 [white 
 
Gift to Queen Befs 39 
 
 white Jilk bows; purple garters, embroid- 
 ered in Jilver thread, fajien the white 
 Jiockings below the knee. As one of the 
 handfomeji of Elizabeth' s courtiers, and 
 alfo one of the moji dijlinguifhed for birth, 
 wealth, and wit, he would be a Jiriking 
 figure at any time; but to-night he has the 
 added diftinSlion of being the fpecial friend 
 and munificent patron of the author of the 
 play that they have come to witnefs. To 
 him had been dedicated the author's firfi 
 
 [appeal 
 
40 S hake f pear es Chriftmas 
 
 appeal to the reading public — a poem 
 called " Venus and Adonis" publijhed 
 fome three years Jince; alfo, a certain 
 "fugared fonnet," privately circulated, 
 protejiing — 
 
 "For to no other pafs my verfes tend 
 Than of your graces and your gifts to tell." 
 
 And through the patronage of this man — 
 the gracious Earl of Southampton — the 
 aBor-author was firjl brought to the 
 
 [Queen's 
 
Earl of Southampton 
 
 
 V 
 
Gift to Queen Befs 41 
 
 ^een's notice, finally leading to the prefent 
 diJiinBion at her hands. 
 
 But 'now the fiage compels attention. 
 The filk curtains are withdrawn, difclofing 
 a Jetting of fuch elaboration and illufion 
 as never before has been witnefsed by 
 fixteenth century eyes. Never before has 
 the frugal Elizabeth confented to fuch an 
 expenditure for cojiumes, properties, lights, 
 and mufic. In vain the audience awaits 
 the coming of the author; he is behind 
 
 [the 
 
42 S hake f pear es Chriftmas 
 
 the fcenes, an anxious and watchful 
 partner with the machinijl in fecuring 
 the proper working of thefe new mechan- 
 ical appliances, and the fmoothnefs of the 
 fcene fhifting. The ^een is a connoijfeur 
 in thefe matters, and there muji be no 
 bungling. 
 
 The ft age is divided horizontally between 
 
 the roof and floor, the upper part concealed 
 
 from the audience, while the lower feSiion 
 
 reprefents the interior of a royal palace at 
 
 [Athens 
 
Gift to Queen Befs 43 
 
 Athens. Three foundings of the cornet 
 announce the opening of the play with its 
 Jiately dialogue, in which Thefeus, Duke 
 of Athens, and Hippolyta, ^een of the 
 Amazons, anticipate their approaching 
 nuptials. Egeus enters with his daughter 
 Hermia to bring complaint to the Duke 
 that fhe will not marry Demetrius, the 
 hufband he has feleBed for her, but is 
 bewitched with love for Lyfander. The 
 Duke reafons with Hermia; but the maiden 
 
 [is 
 
44 S hake f pear es Chriftmas 
 
 is Jiill obdurate and demands to know the 
 worji that may befall if fhe refuses to 
 wed Demetrius, The Duke pronounces 
 fentence: — 
 
 . " Either to die the death, or to abjure 
 Forever the fociety of men. 
 'Therefore, fair Hermia, queftion your dejires. 
 Know of your youth, examine well your blood. 
 Whether, if you yield not to your father s choice, 
 Tou can endure the livery of a nun. 
 For aye to be infhady cloifter mew'd, 
 To live a barren Jifter all your life, 
 
 [Chanting 
 
Queen Elizabeth liftening to the Play 
 
Gift to Queen Befs 45 
 
 Chanting faint hymns to the cold, fruitlefs moon. 
 Thrice blefsed they that mafter so their blood. 
 To undergo fuch maiden pilgrimage; 
 But earthlier happy is the rofe diftill'd 
 Than that which withering on the virgin thorn 
 Grows, lives, and dies in Jingle blefsednefs." 
 
 The tributes to the "maiden pilgrimage" 
 and "Jingle blefsednefs" win from the 
 Queen's countenance a glow which age 
 has had no power to diminifh. The high- 
 way to favour with the Virgin ^ueen, as 
 
 [every 
 
46 S hake f pear es Chriftmas 
 
 every courtier and every writer knows, lies 
 through praifes of her voluntary Jiate of 
 celibacy. 
 
 Thus threatened, Hermia is urged by 
 Lyfander to a clandejline marriage: — 
 
 " If thou lovft me then. 
 
 Steal forth thy father s houfe to-morrow night. 
 
 And in the wood, a league without the town. 
 
 Where I did meet thee once with Helena 
 
 'To do obfervance to a morn of May, 
 
 There will I ftay for thee." 
 
 [H 
 
 ermia 
 
' In the wood, a league without the town 
 To do obfervance to a morn of May y 
 
 iS 
 
 r%j 
 
Gift to Queen Befs 47 
 
 Hermia, hearing thefe words, feels her 
 
 heart leap with joy. She tries to anfwer 
 
 foberly, in the fame meafure ufed by her 
 
 lover; but as her words become impafjioned 
 
 fhe breaks into rhyme. 
 
 " My good Lyfander ! 
 I /wear to thee by Cupid' s ftrongeft bow. 
 By his beft arrow with the golden head. 
 By the Jimplicity of Venus' doves. 
 By that which knitteth fouls and prospers loves. 
 And by that fire which burn' d the Carthage green, 
 
 [When 
 
4.8 S hake f pear es Chriftmas 
 
 When the falfe 'Trojan under fail wasfeen; 
 By all the vows that ever men have broke. 
 In number more than ever woman f poke. 
 In that fame place thou haft appointed me, 
 To-morrow truly will I meet with thee^ 
 
 A fcene of homely profe follows. The 
 tradefmen and tinkers of Athens are plan- 
 ning to turn aBors and to play "Pyramus 
 and Thifbe" for the Duke's wedding feaji. 
 It is full of "local hits," which are not 
 loft upon the audience. In the practical 
 
 [jokes 
 
Gift to Queen Befs 49 
 
 jokes, the melodrama, the ranting bombajl, 
 and Bottom's ambition to play "a tyrant's 
 vein" they recognife a fatire on the ama- 
 teur theatricals of the trades-guilds, the 
 clownijh horfeplay of the "moralities" 
 fo-c ailed. Thefe crude plays, once fo pop- 
 ular, have become the jeji of an audience 
 who pride themfelves on a drama of higher 
 ideals and greater art. 
 
 [A sudden 
 
50 S hake f pear es Chriftmas 
 
 A fudden fall of the upper curtain, and 
 the lower Jiage is concealed, the upper one 
 breaking upon the view of the delighted 
 fpeBators and announcing ASl II of the 
 play. It is a night fcene in a wood near 
 Athens; mofsy banks and green trees; 
 clouds and twinkling ft ars in the heavens; 
 forms of fairies flitting about like humming 
 birds, or refling in nodding fern leaves. 
 They fng in quick, fhort rhymes, fuiting 
 the tempo to their aSlions: — 
 
 [Over 
 
i/M 
 
 Woods near Stratford 
 
 ' Met we on hill, in dale, foreft or mead. 
 By paved fountain or by riifhy brook, 
 Or in the beached margent of the fea. 
 To dance our ringlets to the -whiftlijig wind." 
 
Gift to Queen Befs 51 
 
 Over hill, over dale, 
 'Thorough flood, thorough fire. 
 Over park, over pale. 
 Thorough flood, thorough fire, 
 I do wander everywhere. 
 Swifter than the moon'sfphere; 
 And I ferve the Fairy ^een. 
 To dew her orbs upon the green. 
 
 The fairy ^een and King appear, 
 engaged in a very human quarrel. Titania, 
 like any mortal woman, is little difpofed 
 to yield to the demands of her lord and 
 
 [master 
 
S2 S hake f pear es Chriftmas 
 
 majier one of her cherijhed treafures. 
 
 They part in anger, and Oberon fum- 
 
 mons Puck, the arch mif chief maker, and 
 fets on foot the punifhment of the rebellious 
 
 lady. The audience, eafy believers in 
 fpells, magic, and witchcraft, are in full 
 fympathy with Puck's mijjion to fecure the 
 potion whofe magic power will create love 
 
 or caufe infidelity and hatred. Never had 
 poetry been fuller of imagery or fweeter in 
 
 verffication than in the lines fpoken by 
 
 [Oberon 
 
Gift to Queen Befs 5J 
 
 Oberon; nor had ^een Elizabeth ever 
 received a more graceful compliment: — 
 
 " 'Thou remembereft 
 Since once I fat upon a promontory. 
 And heard a mermaid on a dolphin's back 
 Uttering fuch dulcet and harmonious breath 
 That the rude fea grew civil at her fong. 
 And certain ftars Jhot madly from their fpheres. 
 To hear the fea maid's mujic. 
 That very time I faw, but thou could' ft not. 
 Flying between the cold moon and the earth, 
 Cupid all arm'd; a certain aim he took 
 
 [At 
 
54 S hake f pear es Chriftmas 
 
 At a fair veftal throned by the Weft, 
 
 And loofed his love-fhaft fmartly from his bow. 
 
 As it fhould ■pierce a hundred thoufand hearts; 
 
 But I might fee young Cupid" s fiery fhaft 
 
 Quench" din the chafte beams of the watery moon. 
 
 And the imperial votarefs pafsed on. 
 
 In maiden meditation, fancy free. 
 
 Yet mark'd I where the bolt of Cupid fell; 
 
 It fell upon a little weftern flower. 
 
 Before milk-white, now purple with love's 
 
 wound. 
 And maidens call it love-in-idlenefs. 
 Fetch me that flower." 
 
 [Mark 
 
Earl of Leicefter I'ccchniig Quccii Elizahetli at Kenilworth 
 
 "And the imperiat votarefs pafsed on 
 In maide7i meditation fancy free." 
 
Gift to Queen Befs 55 
 
 Mark the Queen's jiujhed cheek and 
 parted lips! The "mermaid on the dol- 
 phin's back" is no fancy picture, but an 
 exaB defcription of one of the pageants at 
 the fejiivities in her honour at Kenilworth. 
 Although twenty years have pafsed, memory 
 Jiill loves to linger about thofe days when 
 fhe vifted her favourite, the fafcinating 
 Karl of Leicejier, on her royal progrefs, 
 before Jiate policy and private pique had 
 combined to create firife and alienation. 
 
 [From 
 
5^ S hake f pear es Chriftmas 
 
 From memory alfo was the verfe-piBure 
 painted. The lad of eleven, who had 
 made light of the fifteen miles between 
 Kenilworth and Stratford by tearing acrofs 
 ditch and hedge and meadow, could not 
 eafily forget the fights of that memorable 
 day. Little then could he forefee the 
 prefenthour; but rightly now does he judge 
 that thefe reminifcences of the olden days 
 will pleafe Her Majefiy. 
 
 Rightly alfo does he judge that the 
 
 [ridiculous 
 
Gift to Queen Befs 57 
 
 ridiculous Jituations between the lovers will 
 not be difpleajing. A ^een whofe whole 
 reign has been marked by warfare againji 
 the marriage of her courtiers and her 
 clergy, whofe own mother's marriage had 
 been fo unhappy, will fympathife with 
 Puck when he fays of the lovers: — 
 
 " T!hofe things do beft pleafe me 
 'That fall out prepofteroujly" 
 
 or, 
 
 "Lord! What fools these mortals be!" 
 
 [A mad 
 
$8 S hake f pear es Chriftmas 
 
 A mad frolic now begins in fairyland. 
 Puck Jiirs up all forts of complications 
 by fqueezing the magic flower juice on the 
 wrong eyes with fuch fad refults that 
 Titania falls in love with the weaver. 
 Bottom, with the afs's head on his fhoul- 
 ders; the two friends, Hermia and Helena, 
 rail at each other over the feeming defertion 
 of their lovers. But in the morning, the 
 fpell having been removed and each lover 
 reflored to his proper relations, the rivals 
 
 [become 
 
Queen Elizabeth in her Later Yean 
 
 ^^- 
 
 
Gift to Queen Befs 59 
 
 become once more true friends. The fairy 
 King and ^een alfo have become recon- 
 ciled, and prepare to celebrate the double 
 wedding of the mortals with fports and 
 revels throughout their fairy kingdom. 
 
 The fifth aSl refiores the lower fiage 
 and the palace of Thefeus. His wedding 
 fefiivities have begun. The hard-handed 
 men of Athens perform their crude inter- 
 lude, made all the more grotefque by the 
 awkwardnefs of Francis Flute, the bellows- 
 
 [mender 
 
6o S hake f pear es Chriftmas 
 
 mender. In the charaBer of T^hifbe, it is 
 his part to fall upon the fword and die, 
 thus ending the play. Imagine the delight 
 of the courtly auditors when the clumfy man 
 in the part of the difconfolate lady falls, 
 not upon the blade, but upon the fcabbard 
 of the unfamiliar weapon ! 
 
 But laughter and applaufe are arrejied 
 by the appearance of a bright, tranfparent 
 cloud. It reaches from heaven to earth, 
 and bourne in upon it, with mujic and with 
 
 [song 
 
Gift to Queen Befs 6l 
 
 fong, are Oberon, Titania, and their elfin 
 train. The cloud parts, and Puck Jieps 
 forth to f peak the epilogue: — 
 
 " If we Jhadows have offended 
 Think but this, and all is mended. 
 'That you have but /lumber d here 
 While thefe vijions did appear." 
 
 The Chrijimas play is over, but not 
 over the Chrijimas fun. Lords and ladies 
 are but human, and have devifed a 
 '■'■ftately dance," in which they themf elves 
 
 [participate 
 
62 S hake f pear es Chriftmas 
 
 participate until nearly funrife, the ^een 
 herfelf joining at times, and never fo 
 happy as when ajfured of her ^^ wondrous 
 majejiy and grace." 
 
 Did they — did any one — at this Chrijl- 
 mas play of three hundred years ago feel 
 the full charm and glory of this immortal 
 creation of the poet ? Did its lines ring in 
 their ears the next day, and the next, and 
 the next? Did they forefee how its rhythm 
 would dance down the ages and abide in 
 
 [these 
 
A Dance of the Sixteenth Century 
 
 "A fortnight hold we this folemnity. 
 In nightly revels and new jollity." 
 
 m"^ 
 
Gift to Queen Befs 63 
 
 thefe prefent days, and in this prefent 
 fpeech of ours ? 
 
 But this is fomething that I, your truth- 
 ful reporter, cannot anfwer. 
 
/// 
 
 An Old -Time Chriftmas 
 Carol. 
 
An Old -'Time Chriftmas Carol. 
 
 Sung to the ^ueen in the Prefence at 
 Whitehall MDXCVI. 
 
 7" SING of a maiden 
 'That is makelefsj 
 King of all kings 
 
 To her fon /he chesf 
 He came al fo Jlill 
 
 There his mother was. 
 As dew in April 
 
 That falleth on the grafs. 
 
 1. Matchless. 2. Chose. 
 
68 S hake f pear es Chriftmas 
 
 He came al Jo Jiill 
 
 To his mother's bower. 
 As dew in April 
 
 That falleth on the jlower. 
 He came al fo Jiill 
 
 There his mother lay. 
 As dew in April 
 
 That Jalleth on the Jpray. 
 Mother and maiden 
 
 Was never none but Jhe ; 
 Well may Juch a lady 
 
 God's mother be. 
 
Te End.