calmly and smoothly, and this period lasted until the end.

We know very little of Shakespeare's life in London. As an actor
he never made a great name, never acted the chief character in a
play. But he acted sometimes in his own plays and took the part,
we are told, of a ghost in one, and of a servant in another,
neither of them great parts. He acted, too, in plays written by
other people. But it was as a writer that he made a name, and
that so quickly that others grew jealous of him. One called him
"an upstart Crow, beautified in our feathers . . . in his own
conceit the only Shake-scene in the country."* But for the most
part Shakespeare made friends even of rival authors, and many of
them loved him well. He was good-tempered, merry, witty, and
kindly, a most lovable man. "He was a handsome, well-shaped man,
very good company, and a very ready and pleasant smooth wit,"**
said one. "I loved the man and do honor to his memory, on this
side of idolatry as much as any. He was indeed honest and of an
open and free nature,"*** said another. Others still called him
a good fellow, gentle Shakespeare, sweet Master Shakespeare. I
should like to think, too, that Spenser called him "our pleasant
Willy." But wise folk tell us that these words were not spoken of
Shakespeare but of some one else whose name was not William at
all.

*Robert Greene, A groatsworth of Wit bought with a million of
repentance.
**John Aubrey.
***Ben Jonson.

And so although outside his work we get only glimpses of the man,