ord-on-Avon, and his attorney. Unfortunately, these are badly
written, and the composition is dubious; but to my mind it seems clear
that Green meant to say that Mr. Shakespeare could not bear the
enclosing of Welcombe.[169]

In the opening of 1615-16 Shakespeare found himself "in perfect healthe
and memorie--God be praised"; and yet, for some reason, he wished to
make a new will, "revoking all other wills," and his solicitor, Francis
Collins of Warwick, drew up a draft. Halliwell-Phillipps thinks this was
done in January, and that it was intended to have been signed on the
25th of that month. I own that the date, erased to be replaced by
"March," looks to me more like "February." An important difference it
would be, because in January he might not have known that his daughter,
Judith Shakespeare, aged 32, had made up her mind to marry Thomas
Quiney, aged 28. By February 25 she had already done it. On February 10,
1616, Thomas Quiney was married, at Stratford-on-Avon, to Judith
Shakespeare without a license, an irregularity for which both the
parties were summoned to appear[170] before the Ecclesiastical Courts
some weeks afterwards, and threatened with excommunication, but probably
the fact of Shakespeare's illness and death would act as an excuse in
high quarters.

Though it seems to me that the will must have been drawn up before
Judith's marriage, the possibility of such a change of state is clearly
considered. There is no sign of indignation at the later date of the
signing of the will, and L300 was a large portion; and there are no
alterations in his bequests to her, except a curious one. The first
bequest was originally intended to have been in favour of "_my sonne
and_ daughter Judith," but the "sonne" was erased. Of course, this
possibly arose from the scrivener intending to start with the Halls. But
the less important bequests came first. One hundred and fifty pounds was
to be paid to Judith within a year, in two instalments, the L100 in
discharge of her marriage portion, and the L50 on her surrendering her
share in the copyhold tenement in Stratford-on-Avon (once Getley's) to
her sister, Susanna Hall. Another L150[171] was to be paid Judith, or
any of her heirs alive at the date of three years after the testator's
death. If she had died without issue at that date, L100 thereof was to
go to Elizabeth Hall, and L50 to his sister Joan and her children. If
Judith were alive, the stock was to be invested by the e