Of course, the
false bust in the existing monument was substituted for the old bust for
the purpose of fraudulently supporting the Stratford myth.
When Mr. Sidney Lee wrote that the present monument was erected before
1623 he did not do this consciously to deceive the public; still, it is
difficult to pardon him for this and the other reckless statements with
which his book is filled. But what are we to say of his words
(respecting the _present_ monument) which we read on page 286? "It was
first engraved--very imperfectly--in Rowe's edition of 1709." An exact
full size photo facsimile reproduction of Rowe's engraving is shown in
Plate 19, Page 77.
[Illustration: Plate. XIX. The Original Stratford Monument, from Rowe's
Life of Shakespeare, 1709]
As a matter of fact, the real Stratford monument of 1623 was first
engraved in Dugdale's "Warwickshire" of 1656, where it appears opposite
to page 523. We can, however, pardon Mr. Sidney Lee for his ignorance of
the existence of that engraving; but how shall we pardon him for citing
Rowe as a witness to the early existence of the present bust? To anyone
not wilfully blinded by passion and prejudice, Rowe's engraving [see
Plate 19, Page 77] clearly shews a figure absolutely different from the
Bust in the present monument.
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