William Henry Ireland

“ Who could soar with his sublime genius? Who rove with his boundless imagination? Who could rival his pregnant wit? Who with intuitive inspection discover the workings of the human mind, and by the natural evolutions of the passions interest us so deeply, as this matchless poet? Now these papers in question bear on them the same strong marks of his original genius, as those with which his acknowledged writings are deeply impressed. Is it then an unfair inquiry to ask, if these are not Shakspeare's, to whom do they belong? ”

“ What! for a diadem, The which I purchase at no less a cost Than even the perdition of my soul; Still at that self same price will I obtain it. The rooted hate the Britons bear the Scots Is unto me an omen most propitious; I have dispatch'd my secret emisaries, And the young princes sons of the old King, (A long time since for study sent to Rome) Even for them have I prepared honours: For ere the moon shall twice have fill'd her orb, Death shall provide for them a crown immortal! ”

“ The annexed speeches were given to the haughty Becket, in different parts of the play of Henry the Second, and were much dwelt upon by numerous persons who esteemed themselves perfect judges of Shakspeare's style and his mode of expression.
Becket. Why, thus and thus it is: the matter argu'd,
Both parts justly weigh'd and well consider'd,
Judgement too given with no partial tongue,
Will speak this verdict:—
Happiness with Ambition bears no kin:
For thus: Content dwells not with Ambition;
And he who lacks content lacks happiness. ”

“ Frequently after dinner my father would read the different accounts of Shakspear, and say, it was wonderful, out of so many thousand lines which he must have wrote, that no vestige remained but his signature to the will in the Commons, and his name affixed to the mortgage deed presented by Mr. Wallis to Mr. Garrick; this was often repeated, and, with enthusiastic praises of Shakspear, my father would often say, that if there ever was a man inspired, Shakspear was that man. ”

“ Thou wouldst be witty, Fool! FOOL.
Marry, say not I would be, but that I am so; for let me tell you, the wit of your Fool is true wit, being solely his own, no man coveting it; whereas that of your wise man comes from books, and from those who went before. But wherefore should I thus lose wind? my wit being folly, is not by your wise man understood; therefore, I'll to the purpose. My master is made half King, and sends me his swift Mercury, to tell your gentle ladyship his honour's pleasure. EDMUNDA.
Prithee, be brief, and tell thine errand quickly. ”

“ GENERAL OPINIONS. The opinions delivered as to the language of the profession of faith were unanimous—every person allowing the genuine feeling that breathed throughout the whole composition; which, it was stated, fully evinced it to be from the pen of our great dramatist: nor was my satisfaction a little heightened on finding that this effusion banished at once every idea of Shakspeare's catholicism from the minds of those whom I had frequently heard hazarding that opinion as to his religious tenets. ”

“ PREFACE. IN the year 1796 I gave to the world a concise pamphlet, in which I avowed myself the fabricator of the manuscripts attributed by me to Shakspeare.
The papers themselves, and the circumstances attending their production, had so highly excited the public curiosity that the whole edition was disposed of in a few hours: and so great has since been the eagerness to procure a copy, that, though originally published at one shilling, a single impression has been sold, in a public auction-room, at the extravagant price of a guinea. ”

“ For ere the thick and noisome air of night Shall with damned Hecate's baneful spells be fill'd, Thou must from hence to the cold bed of death, To whom alike peasant and king are slaves. Come then black night, and hood the world in darkness, Seal close the hearts of those I have suborn'd, That pity may not turn them from their purpose. ”

“ Having heard of the Lord Southampton’s bounty to Shakspear, I determined on writing the correspondence between them on that subject; but, on enquiry, could not learn that any signature of his Lordship’s was in existence, I accordingly formed his mode of writing, merely from myself, and the better to disguise it from Shakspear’s, I wrote the whole with my left hand; this was done to give more authenticity to the story. ”

“ In some cases, it is true, an author, as well as other men, might be imitated, both in his manner and style, as well as in the signature of his name. But that is not the case in the present instance. All great and eminent geniuses have their characteristic peculiarities, which not only distinguish them from all others, but make them what they are. These none can rival, none successfully imitate. Of all men and poets, Shakspeare had the most of these. ”

“ Nay, o'that I think not, for thou wou'dst joke, but an thou dost, thou hast rare impudence to do't i'th' presence of a fool. When thy beard is somewhat blacker, When thy years have made thee riper, When in thy purse the pounds thou'lt tell, And for a brothel thou't not sell Thy patrimony, and thy lands, Why marry, an I should then find nought more suiting, my charity shall bid me follow thee, and teach thee the ways o'this slippery world. ”

“ Soother of every sorrow, that can'st bury The care-distracted mind in sweet oblivion, To thee, O gentle pow'r! I pawn my soul! Here then, on my bended knee, great God, Let me implore thy grace, and look for mercy; Though thou hast plac'd me sovereign over men, And on my brow hath fix'd a diadem; Yet am I subject still to human frailty, And naught can boast more than my meanest vassal. How wisely hast thou fram'd thy work of nature, Even the smallest reptile hath its instinct, Aye, is as nicely form'd as man, himself. Both too must die, both rot and come to dust. ”

“ DISQUISITIONS ON THE WITTY CONUNDRUM. As it was supposed that nothing could possibly come from the hand of Shakspeare which did not possess some sterling good, the witty conundrum became an object of learned investigation; but all to no effect: for although many sapient opinions were hazarded as to its real meaning, nothing conclusive was decided upon: which is, indeed, not at all to be wondered at, as when it was by me committed to paper I had no particular end in view, neither was there any meaning whatsoever annexed to the drawing of the supposed witty conundrum. ”

“ It is extraordinary to observe how willingly persons will blind themselves on any point interesting to their feelings. When it was known that a play on the subject of Vortigern was coming forward, every person who inspected the manuscripts admired the strange coincidence of Mr. Ireland's having so long possessed a drawing on the very subject of that drama; yet do I not recollect, even in one instance, that the drawing in question excited the smallest suspicion of the fact above stated, which was unquestionably more consonant with probability. ”

“ Trusting to thee, our noble good Protector, We do, without delay, pronounce as guilty, The perpetrators of this crying deed. We also do, with general accord, Beseech you bear the office of a King, Until the Princes do return from Rome; For on Aurelius, now the elder son Of our deceased King the election lights; Well do we know how tedious is this task, How full of trouble and perplexity! But we do also know thee for a man, Most good, most perfect, and most merciful! ”

“ If so, I can have done no injury to any living creature; for that which in itself was not capable of deceiving any one, cannot perhaps, strictly speaking, be deemed a forgery: neither was it any injury to the reputation of Shakspeare as a poet. Now the former believers in the manuscripts being perfectly satisfied in their own minds, until Mr. Maione chose to inform them that they knew nothing about the matter, I do aver that it is at the said Mr. Maione they should level their shafts; as I could not have injured them; having, according to Mr. Malone, committed no forgery. ”

“ The sparkling drop which graces every eye, And fain wou'd deluge every manly cheek, Denotes the brimful sorrow of each heart; Pity disgraces not the manlike brow, And yet it suits but ill the present crisis, When our best strength and wisdom both are needful, To stem this black, this damn'd conspiracy; For bloody war and foul rebellion lurk Beneath the mask of cruel treachery, Which i'th' present is so plainly shewn, By the brutal deed of these vile Scotsmen! ”

“ Ireland would frequently remark, "If the gentleman be a friend of yours, why does he set his face against a publication which it is admitted on all hands would be productive of a fortune to you?" My reply was still invariably the same.—At length these constant importunities rendered life almost insupportable; and I then for the first time ventured to question Mr. Ireland in the following manner: "Suppose they should not be really manuscripts of Shakspeare's?" ”

“ LINES ON BEAUTY. Beauty having been so very frequently pictured as a mere transitory object, I composed the ensuing stanzas; intending to have introduced them, with the other manuscripts, as the effusions of our immortal poet.
Beauty's like bubble on the water's brim ”

“ Oh! is't not most manlike, that we stain Our hands with blood that ne'er did us offend? Is't not most serpent like, to sting sweet sleep, Which even from the giant takes all strength, And makes man taste of that which is to come? Let us, I pray thee friend, turn from the deed! I cannot, dare not, nay! ”

“ QUOTATION FROM MY SECOND LETTER TO MR. IRELAND. ———That I have been guilty of a fault in giving you the manuscripts, I confess, and am sorry for it, but must at the same time assure you, that it was done without a bad intention, or even a thought of what would ensue.
As you have repeatedly stated that "truth will find its basis;" even so will your character, notwithstanding every malignant aspersion, soon appear unblemished in the eyes of the world. ”

“ GENERAL APOLOGY FOR THE PRODUCTION OF THE SHAKSPERIAN MANUSCRIPTS. I have been thus particular in every statement concerning my production of the papers, in order that it may be perfectly understood I did not act upon any premeditated plan of deception, but was as it were unwittingly led into the error; and when a man has yielded to falsehood in a single act, I believe it will invariably be found that he seeks a veil from detection in a continuation of the same impropriety. ”

“ With regard to cupidity: if such had been my motive, why did I not exact from Mr. S. Ireland certain stipulations? why did I not, on the production of the first documents, accept the offer of some of his valuable books, for I was a lover of such property? why was I contented with the sum of ninety pounds for the Vortigern, when four hundred and three had been actually received for my sole benefit? ”

“ On the production of the manuscripts, his royal highness began to inspect them with the strictest scrutiny; when, to Mr. Ireland's infinite astonishment, he not only questioned him on every point with an acuteness which he had never before witnessed from the learned who had inspected the papers, but he also displayed a knowledge of antiquity, and an intimate acquaintance with documents of the period of Elizabeth, which Mr. Ireland had conceived was confined to such individuals only as had made that particular subject the object of their study. ”

“ Thyer's edition of Butler's Remains (vol. ii, p. 494) , the satirical author of Hudibras has thus expressed himself with regard to the productions of Ben Jonson and Shakspeare:
"Men of the quickest apprehensions and aptest geniuses to any thing they undertake, do not always prove, the greatest masters in it: for there is more patience and phlegm required in those that attain to any degree of perfection, than is commonly found in the temper of active ready wits; that soon tire, and will not hold out; as the swiftest racehorse will not perform a long journey so well as a sturdy dull jade. ”

“ Jordan.
PROLOGUE TO VORTIGERN. WRITTEN BY SIR JAMES BLAND BURGESS, BART.
SPOKEN BY MR. WHITFIELD.
No common cause your verdict now demands: Before the court immortal Shakspeare stands; That mighty master of the human soul, Who rules the passions, and with strong controul Through ev'ry turning of the changeful heart Directs his course sublime and leads his powerful art. When on his birth propitious Nature smil'd, And hung transported o'er her fav'rite child; While on his head her choicest gifts she show'rd, And o'er his mind her inspiration pour'd; "Proceed!" she cried ”

“ Malone, I candidly submit to a generous public, whether my age, and the causes leading to my fabrication of the papers, should not be taken into consideration, and whether I may not be acquitted of every thing except boyish folly.
I beg leave to state, that such was the light in which it was regarded by Albany Wallis, esq., who stated it as his decided opinion that Mr. Malone and the public ought rather to pass the business over as a boyish frolic (such was his expression) , than continually heap odium upon me as a daring and bold impostor. ”