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During the next few years the
plague3 was always with us．Some years it was bad，other years not so bad．When the theatres in London closed，we went on tour．Well，the King's Men did．Will and I were mostly at home in Stratford in the summers．Will was usually writing，and I did bits of business for him when I could．
Susanna
married4 Dr5 John Hall in June，1607，and Will's
granddaughter6 Elizabeth was born in February the next year．We had a very cold winter that year．The river Thames in London
froze7 right up to Westminster．People had parties and cooked sheep over fires on the ice．
Will's brother Edmund died that winter—he was only twenty-seven—and Will's mother died in September the next year．
Will was writing a different kind of play at this time．John Heminges said they were dark，cruel plays，and that Will was only looking at the black side of people．But that was the thing about Will．He was still changing，trying new kinds of
poetry8 and stories in his plays all the time．And suddenly，there was a new kind of play，full of laughing and spring flowers and love：The Winter's
Tale9．
When we were in London，we often went in the evenings to the Mermaid Tavern in Cheapside it was a very good inn，with good beer，and all the writers and
poets10 in London went there．
We were there one evening in the winter of 1610，I think it was．A lot of Will's friends were there—actors，writers．Ben Jonson was there，of course．He was a great drinker all his life．He was writing a lot of plays now and was doing very well．But he never had any money—Will always paid for the beer．
At first，the talk was all about King James and his court．We didn't like the King so much now—he was more interest-ed in horses than in plays．Then Ben remembered something about The Winter's Tale．He knew，really，that Will's plays were the best，but he always liked to find mistakes if he could．
‘Now，Why did you put Bohemia by the sea，Will？’he said．‘Bohemia's in the middle of Europe！There's no sea for a hundred miles，you
stupid11 man！’
‘Your plays are very clever，Ben，’Richard Burbage said，‘but they smell of the schoolbook，don't they，Will？’
Will laughed．‘How many people are going to worry about that，Ben？What does it matter？They liked the play at court．The
Queen12 said it was a very sweet play，and the King—’
‘The King！’Ben said loudly．His face was red and angry．King James sometimes fell asleep during Ben's plays．‘The King，’he went on excitedly，‘is a very stupid man！I told him，I said it to his face：“Sir，you don't understand poetry！”’
John Heminges laughed．‘Oh my word！’he said．‘What a terrible man you are，Ben！I don't know how you've lived so long！’
Will laughed too，but he said，‘Ben，you must be careful．You don't want the King to be your enemy．Don't forget that he pays twice as much as Queen Elizabeth did—and sees twice as many plays．’
‘Money？'shouted Bed．He loved to argue about anything．‘We're poets and actors，not businessmen！What does money matter？’
‘It puts bread and meat in your stomach，and a coat on your back，’said Will，drinking his beer．‘And you're the first to shout if you haven't got any money．’
Ben
banged13 his beer glass on the table．‘Now listen，Mr William
Shakespeare14 of Stratford，with your fine big house and your expensive horses，you wrote in your play King Lear that money was—’
‘Oh，do stop it，you two！John Heminges said．He turned to talk to me，but a few minutes later Ben was arguing about another of Will's plays．
‘And what about Antony and Cleopatra？What kind of writing is that？You never know which place you're in！One minute you're in Egypt，the next minute you're in Rome，then you're at sea on a ship，then back in Egypt again—’
Richard Burbage didn't like that．‘You're wrong again，Ben．It's only you who can't follow the play．You think Londoners are stupid，but they understand more than you do！And another thing…’
I
decided15 to go home to bed．Ben's a fine man，but he does talk so much．He goes on and on．When I left，he was calling for more beer．I knew they would be there in the Mermaid for most of the night．
9 美人鱼酒店
随后的几年里，瘟疫流行不断，有些年份情况很糟，有些年份也好不了多少。只要伦敦内剧院关门停业，我们就下乡巡回演出。当然，国王剧团一直这么做。威尔和我夏天多半呆在斯特拉福镇的家中。威尔通常搞创作，而我则尽可能帮助他打理零碎的生意。
1607年6月，苏姗娜嫁给约翰·豪尔医生。翌年2月威尔的外孙女伊丽莎白出世。那年冬天，天寒地冻，泰晤士河伦敦河段到西敏斯特河段大面积结冰。人们就在冰上举行盛会，还生起篝火烤羊吃。
那年冬天，威尔的弟弟埃德蒙去世——年仅27岁——第二年9月，威尔的母亲又不幸过世。
这一时期，威尔创作风格大有变化。约翰·海明说威尔只看到人们丑陋的一面，使得戏剧带上沉郁、残暴的色彩。不过，他的创作风格一直在变，不断尝试在戏剧中运用新格调的诗歌的故事。出人意料，他又创作出一部新剧本《冬天的故事》，这部戏剧充满欢笑，春天的鲜花和爱情。
在伦敦时，我们晚上经常到切普塞特街的美人鱼酒店。这家酒店环境舒适，备有好酒，是伦敦文人墨客聚会喝酒的好去处。
1610年冬天的一个晚上，我们来到这家酒店，我记得没错。威尔的许多朋友——演员和剧作家都在场，当然少不了平生很能喝酒的本·琼生。虽然他创作了大量的剧本，也小有名气，但他还是身无分文——连喝啤酒的钱通常都要威尔掏腰包。
开始，议题总是关于詹姆士国王和他的宫廷大臣。说实在的，我们现在不大喜欢这位国王了——他爱看赛马已胜过爱看戏。这时，本想起《冬天的故事》剧本中的一些情节。尽管他确实承认威尔的戏剧是最优秀的，不过，他这人就喜欢鸡蛋里挑骨头。
“嗨，威尔，你怎么把波希米亚这地方说成是在海边呢？”他说道，“波希米亚可是在欧洲中部呀！方圆一百英里根本就没有海，你真糊涂！”
“本，你创作的剧本确实很妙，”理查·白贝芝说，“不过太书卷气，威尔，你说呢？”
威尔笑道：“本，会有几个人去深究那些细节呢？这有什么关系呢？在宫廷他们喜欢这部戏。王后说，这部戏剧很甜蜜，而国王——”
“国王！”本大嚷起来，脸气得发红。因为詹姆士国王看本的戏剧有时打瞌睡。“国王，”他仍然很激动，“简直笨得透顶！我曾告诉他，当面对他说过：‘陛下，你压根不懂诗歌！’”
约翰·海明听了此话大笑。“噢，真没想到！”他说，“本，你真是无可救药！我真不知道你怎么还能活这么长命！”
威尔也笑了起来，但他说道：“本，你可要小心呀。你不想与国王为敌吧！别忘了，国王付的报酬是伊丽莎白女王的两倍——看的戏也是她的两倍。”
“钱？”本大叫起来，他很爱争论事情。我们是诗人，是演员，不是生意人！钱有什么用？”
“钱可以使你有面包和肉果腹，有衣穿，”威尔喝了一口啤酒，说道，“要是没钱的话，你会第一个破口大骂的！”
本把啤酒杯砰地放在桌上。“现在听着，斯特拉福镇的威尔·莎士比亚先生，你不就拥有堂皇的居宅，高价的马匹吗？你在《李尔王》一剧中不是写道钱是——”
“呕，你们两个都住嘴吧！”约翰·海明劝道，然后便转身和我谈话。不过几分钟后，本又在评论威尔的另一部戏剧。
“《安东尼与克莉奥佩特拉》这部剧怎么样？到底写些什么呀？你根本就不知道自己呆在何处！一会儿在埃及，一会儿在罗马，接着坐船在海上，然后又回到埃及——”
理查·白贝芝渐生厌恶之情。“本，你又搞错了，只有你才不懂这部戏。你认为伦敦人都傻乎乎的，他们可比你清楚得多。还有……”
我还是决定回家睡觉。本是个好人，除了话太多之外。他讲得没完没了。在我抽身离开时，他又要了一些啤酒。我知道他们肯定又会在酒店呆上多半夜。
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