etry, after his Retirement
from the Stage, does not so evidently appear: Very few posthumous
Sketches of his Pen have been recover'd to ascertain that Point. We
have been told, indeed, in Print, but not till very lately, That two
large Chests full of this Great Man's loose Papers and Manuscripts,
in the Hands of an ignorant Baker of _Warwick_, (who married one of
the Descendants from our _Shakespeare_) were carelesly scatter'd
and thrown about, as Garret-Lumber, and Litter, to the particular
Knowledge of the late Sir _William Bishop_, till they were all
consumed in the general Fire and Destruction, of that Town. I cannot
help being a little apt to distrust the Authority of this Tradition;
because as his Wife surviv'd him seven Years, and as his Favourite
Daughter _Susanna_ surviv'd her twenty six Years, 'tis very
improbable, they should suffer such a Treasure to be remov'd, and
translated into a remoter Branch of the Family, without a Scrutiny
first made into the Value of it. This, I say, inclines me to
distrust the Authority of the Relation: but, notwithstanding such
an apparent Improbability, if we really lost such a Treasure, by
whatever Fatality or Caprice of Fortune they came into such ignorant
and neglectful Hands, I agree with the _Relater_, the Misfortune is
wholly irreparable.

[Sidenote*: His Character as a _Writer_.]

To these Particulars, which regard his Person and private Life, some
few more are to be glean'd from Mr. ROWE's Account of his _Life_
and _Writings_: *Let us now take a short View of him in his publick
Capacity, as a _Writer_: and, from thence, the Transition will be
easy to the _State_ in which his _Writings_ have been handed down
to us.

No Age, perhaps, can produce an Author more various from himself,
than _Shakespeare_ has been universally acknowledg'd to be. The
Diversity in Stile, and other Parts of Composition, so obvious in
him, is as variously to be accounted for. His Education, we find,
was at best but begun: and he started early into a Science from the
Force of Genius, unequally assisted by acquir'd Improvements. His
Fire, Spirit, and Exuberance of Imagination gave an Impetuosity
to his Pen: His Ideas flow'd from him in a Stream rapid, but not
turbulent; copious, but not ever overbearing its Shores. The Ease
and Sweetness of his Temper might not a little contribute to his
Facility in Writing; as his Employment, as a _Player_, gave him an
Advantage and Habit of fancying himsel