23 JUNE 1923, Page 21

The Mystery of Mr. W. H. By Colonel B. R.

Ward. (Cecil Palmer. 10s. 6d.) According to the theory here deduced the dedication of the Sonnets refers to William Hall, who procured them for Thorpe, the publisher, from King's Place, Hackney, when it changed hands in 1609—the year of the Sonnets. Previously, of course, King's Place had been the residence of the Earl of Oxford—Mr. Looney's Shakespeare. The words " onlie begetter " are explained as meaning " only procurer," using beget in the ordinary sense of " get." They seem to us a little extravagant for that purpose. The connexion of Oxford with Shakespeare's work would be more plausible if Colonel Ward had shown some conclusive (he is fond of that word) evidence why Shakespeare did not write it himself.