A finely illustrated botanical book, 
or herbal, available in Shakespeare’s 
time, was Den Nieuwen Herbarius 
(Basel, 1 550), from which this hand- 
colored picture of a gourd is 
reproduced. The author of The New 
Herbal was German botanist 
Leonhard Fuchs, after whom the 
fuchsia was named. 
Royal Exchange, Mammon had his London temple. 
If one preferred God, Saint Paul’s beckoned, although 
Mammon had established a foothold there too. To the 
Middle Aisle of Paul’s, called Duke Humphrey’s Walk, 
repaired the Westminister crowd — courtiers, wits, and 
gallants-about-town — to strut in their finery, observe and 
be observed. Lawyers, stationed at their pillars, received 
clients; wenches, masks clapped to their faces, arranged 
assignations. Meanwhile, divine services went on. In 
Paul’s churchyard flourished the book trade — a relatively 
new industry. In the outpourings from the presses, 
Shakespeare found the literary sources for his comedies, 
histories, and tragedies. 
Shakespeare also caught glimpses of the real world of 
intrigue and pomp, which as his history plays testify, he 
came to understand so well. That was when his troupe 
was summoned to Richmond or Greenwich or 
Whitehall — wherever Elizabeth kept her court — to 
participate in the festivities of the Christmas season. 
Although the London panoramas tease rather than 
satisfy curiosity, they give us an inkling of what the 
Globe (and other bankside amphitheaters) looked like 
from the outside. We see the surrounding shrubbery and 
tenements; we see the competing arena in which chained 
and blinded bears were tormented by hungry dogs for the 
amusement of holidaymakers; and in the near distance, 
we see the silver-gliding Thames. The London theaters, 
each with an estimated capacity of some 3,000 
spectators, were among the principal attractions of the 
metropolis for foreign visitors. 
On 29 June 1613, during a performance of 
Shakespeare’s Henry VIII, the thatched roof on the 
Globe playhouse caught fire, a wind fanned the flames, 
and within two hours the theater was reduced to rubble. 
Miraculously, no lives were lost. A year later the second 
Globe opened its doors to the public on the same site. 
This time the roof was prudently tiled. Shakespeare may 
well have decided that this was an opportune time to bid 
adieu to the multitudes who, for over two decades, had 
applauded his plays and rewarded him with material 
success. So he retired at twilight to New Place, the 
pretty house of brick and timber he had acquired in 
Stratford. Presumably, Shakespeare there cultivated his 
garden, which was celebrated for its vines. 
On 25 April 1616, he was laid to rest in Holy Trinity 
Church where, fifty-two years earlier, he had been 
christened. Thus did he begin and end his days in 
Stratford. In between, London had provided a stage for 
supreme achievement. □ 
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