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THE QUINEYS.

THERE were persons of this name living at Stratford at the time when first the Shakespeares became inhabitants of the town. The name, indeed, appears in the very first document, in which we find John Shakespeare seated at Stratford. The name of Adrian was given to several of them. We find an Adrian Quiney in Mr. Malone's list of the bailiffs of Stratford, serving that office in 1559, 1571, and 1582, and Richard Quiney in 1592 and 1601-2, in which year he died in office. This Richard Quiney had many children, among whom were three sons, Richard, Thomas, and George, who were all young at the time of their father's death.

(1) Richard, baptized at Stratford, October 8, 1587. He married, in 1618, Eleanor, or Elizabeth, (for the authorities are conflicting,) daughter of John Sadler, of Stratford, sister to John Sadler, whose adventure has been already narrated. This Richard Quiney became a partner with Sadler, as grocers or druggists, for both terms are used as if the meaning in those days were the same, at the Red Lion in Bucklersbury. He appeared at the London Visitation of 1634, when his right to coat-armour, three trefoils on a bend, was allowed. He died in May 1656, leaving a very numerous issue,* of whom the eldest was Richard, and the fourth son, William, returned to Stratford, and settled at the village of Shottery. Adrian, another son, was a colonel in the green regiment of the city of London; and Thomas, the third son, was living in London in 1682. There were also five daughters, all respectably married, one of

* K. 3. f. 97, in the College of Arms.

them to Richard Pile, chief serjeant-surgeon to Charles the Second, and another to a Lilburn, who was cousin-german to Colonel John Lilburn, who, low as the turn of his mind was, was a man of good descent and alliances.

He re

(2) Thomas, baptized February 26, 1588-9. mained at Stratford. This is the Quiney who married Judith Shakespeare. The smallness of the share of the family fortune given to her, and the restrictive clauses accompanying it, seem to shew that the marriage was not with the full approbation of the father. Yet there was not much inequality of birth, age, or station. The issue was three sons only; (1) Shakespeare Quiney, baptized at Stratford November 3, 1616, and buried there May 8, 1617: (2) Richard, baptized February 9, 1617-8; and (3) Thomas, baptized January 23, 1619-20. These two grandsons of Shakespeare just reached man's estate. They were carried off in the beginning of the year 1639, within a few weeks of each other, Thomas being buried January 28, 1638-9, and Richard on the 26th of February following. Judith, their mother, lived to be an old woman. She died childless, and was buried February 9, 1661-2. She was another of the persons from whom, had curiosity been sufficiently awake, some information might have been gained many years after the poet's decease; but there was very little biographical curiosity in England till Anthony Wood began to collect for his Athena.

(3) George Quiney, baptized April 9, 1600. He was brought up to the church, became curate of the parish of Stratford, but died in early life, being buried April 11, 1624. Dr. Hall attended him in his illness, and when he records his death in his note-book of cases, he writes, "Multa frustra tentata; placide cum Domino dormit. Fuit boni indolis, et pro juveni omnifariam doctus."* This shews that,

*Boswell's Malone, vol. ii. p. 613.

notwithstanding Shakespeare's unequal distribution of his property between his two daughters, there was a good understanding between the Halls and Quineys.

The Wheats, a family of baronets at Glympton in Oxfordshire, and originally of Coventry, descended from a daughter of Adrian Quiney, the old bailiff of Stratford, who appears to have been also the father of the first Richard.

THE HALLS.

DR. JOHN HALL has not been traced to his birth-place.* He tells us, that in September, 1632, he was about the 57th year of his age, so that he was born about 1576, and was about seven years older than his wife. He married Susanna Shakespeare on June 5, 1607, and from that time, and probably from a little time before, he lived at Stratford, having extensive practice as a physician, both in Stratford and in the whole country around. He died on November 25, 1635, and was buried with the Shakespeares in the chancel of the church of Stratford.

Of the extent of his practice a better idea might be formed, had we his manuscript book of cases, seen by Mr. Malone, but which since his time has passed out of sight. The selection from it for publication made by Dr. Hall himself, which was published in 1657,‡ and was twice afterwards re

The talbot's heads, a common coat of Hall, appear upon his tomb. Lady Bernard, his daughter, speaks in her will of her cousin Thomas Waller, of Carlton, in Bedfordshire, gent., and her kinsman Edward Bagley, citizen of London, who may be presumed to have been related to her on the side of the Halls.

† It was placed in Mr. Malone's hands by "his friend the late Dr. Wright" (Boswell's Malone, vol. ii. p. 506); but it is not said who Dr. Wright was. Mr. Malone must have perceived the curiosity of this manuscript, and have made many extracts from it; but we find in Mr. Malone's Life no other copy from it than what is said of George Quiney, the young clergyman who died of consumption, p. 613. It is to be wished that this manuscript might be recovered.

The title of this book is, Select Observations on English Bodies: or Cases both Empiricall and Historical, performed on many eminent persons in desperate diseases. First written in Latin by Mr. John Hall, a physician living at Stratford-upon-Avon, in Warwickshire, where he was very famous, as also in the counties adjacent, as appears by these Observations, drawn out of

printed, enables us, however, to form some just idea of the estimation in which the son-in-law of Shakespeare was held. We find in it, that he attended in the families of Combe, Boughton, Wagstaff, Beaufoy, Rainsford, Packington, Sheldon of Beoley, Rous of Rous Lench, Greville of Milcote, Puckering, Brown of Radford, Underhill, Clarke of Broom Court, and Vernon of Henbury. He was called to attend Dr. Thornborough, the Bishop of Worcester, in 1633, when he was about eighty-six years of age. Dr. Holyoke, "which framed the dictionary," was one of his patients. He also attended "Mr. Drayton, an excellent poet, labouring of a tertian," who was cured by an emetic infusion. He attended Mrs. Fines, wife to the eldest son of Lord Say and Sele, whom he describes as "a very religious, excellent woman;" also several of the Catholic family of Fortescu of Salden; and the eldest son of the Countess of Shrewsbury, a child of a year old, whom he cured; "for which the Countess returned him many thanks, and gave him a great reward." In March and April, 1622, he was called to Ludlow, to attend the Earl of Northampton, then President of Wales, and the Countess his wife. He had attended before this time in the family of the Earl, who was the Lord-Lieutenant of Warwickshire.

This is quite sufficient to shew that Dr. Hall had an extensive and gainful practice, and that we may well conceive of him to have been able, without inconvenience, to pay the honourable tribute to the memory of Shakespeare, in the expensive monument which we may still see in the church of Stratford, which we know to have been raised long

several hundreds of his, as choycest. Now put into English for common benefit by James Cooke, practitioner in Physick and Chirurgery; 12mo. 1657. The second edition was published in 1679, and has a dedication to Fulk, Lord Brooke. The third edition is of the year 1683.

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