A bust of the poet stands on the
table.
"We know little of his mother," said Gertrude, "except that she had a
beautiful name, Mary Arden. If it is true, as a rule, that all great men
have had great mothers, Mary Arden must have been a very superior woman."
"The reverse, Gertrude, must be equally true," said George, "that all
great women must have had great fathers."
Gertrude who had made a special study of Shakespeare and his works did
much of the talking. She said, "All that is definitely known of the life
of the great poet can be put on half a page. It is thought that William
was the son of a well-to-do farmer who lost his property. William, not
above work, assisted his father as butcher, then taught school, and later
served as a lawyer's clerk. When he was eighteen, like most young people,
he fell in love."
Saying this, Gertrude led to the street, and the party drove to Shottery,
a pretty village a mile away, where is Ann Hathaway's thatched cottage.
"Here the beardless William often came," said Gertrude, "and told his
love to the English maiden. Ann Hathaway was older than William, she was
twenty-six, but they were married, and had three children.
"When Shakespeare was twenty-five he was part owner of the Blackfriar's
Theatre in London.
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