The Plaiers. By the King's By his Matis plaiers. By his Matis plaiers. By his Matis plaiers. By the Queen's Matis plaiers. The Boyes of the Chapell. By his Mati plaiers. By his Matis plaiers. By his Mati plaiers. By his Matis plaiers. Hallamas Day being the first of November, The Sunday ffollowinge, A Play of the Merry On St. Steven's Night, in the Hall, A Play On St. Jhon's Night, A Maske, wth musicke, On Inosent's Night, the Plaie of Errors. On Sunday ffollowinge, A Plaie How to larne On Newers Night, A Playe cauled All Fouelles. Betwin Newers Day and Twelfe Day, A Play On Twelfe Night, the Queen's Matis Maske On the 7th of January was played the Play The Sth of January, A Play cauled Every one On Candlemas Night, A Playe, Every one in The Sunday ffollowing, A Playe provided and The Poets wch mayd the Plaies. Shaxberd. Shaxberd Hewood. By Georg By his Matis On Shrovsunday, A Play of the Marchant of Shaxberd. On Shrovmanday, A Tragidye of the Spanishe By his Ma plaiers. On Shrovtusday, A Play cauled the Martchant Matie. Shaxberd. Contemporary Notices of Shakespeare. 189 62. It is certain, however, that about this time Shakespeare began to disconnect himself from the stage, and to take steps at least towards a permanent retirement to Stratford. A document found among the registers of the Stratford Court of Record proves, in a rather interesting manner, that, besides his theatrical business in London, Shakespeare had already, in 1604-5, business of a different kind in Stratford, which he attended to carefully enough. The document in question is the commencement of a legal suit by Shakespeare against a fellow-townsman, Philip Rogers, for the recovery of a debt of 1l. 158. 10d., owing by Rogers for malt obtained from Shakespeare at different times. Phillipus Rogers,' says the record, summonitus fuit ad respond. Willielmo Shaxpere de placito quod reddat ei triginta et quinque solid. decem denar. quos ei debet et injuste detinet.' (Philip 'Rogers was summoned to answer William Shaxpere on the plea 'that he repay him thirty-five shillings and ten pence which he 'owes him and unjustly detains.) The particulars of the debt are then recited in similar law-Latin. Shakespeare, through his attorney, William Tetherton, declares that on the 27th day of March last Rogers bought from him, the said William Shakespeare, three bushels of malt for six shillings; that again on the 10th of April, Rogers had bought four bushels of malt for eight shillings; again on the 24th of April other three bushels for six shillings; again on the 3rd of May, other four bushels for eight shillings; again on the 30th of May two bushels for three shillings; that, farther, on the 25th of June, Rogers had borrowed of him, Shakespeare, two shillings of lawful money; that, by these and other transactions, the entire debt had amounted to 41s. 10d., of which Rogers had cleared off 6s., leaving 35s. 10d. still owing, which 35s. 10d., though often asked for it, he had not yet paid, and had refused to pay on all which accounts Shakespeare begs leave to institute suit against Rogers for the recovery of his money. It is to be inferred that Rogers paid up, for we hear no more of the suit. 63. In the summer of 1605, or within a month or two after the performance of so many of his plays in one season before the Court, Shakespeare made the largest investment of which we have any record, and that of a kind which seems to indicate distinctly that he meant thenceforward to reside chiefly in the country. The documents in the case, which are very lengthy, may be seen entire in Mr. Halliwell's Life. Suffice it to say, that on the 24th of July, 1605, an indenture was drawn up between 'Ralph Hubande, of Ipsley, in the county of Warwick, Esquire, 'on the one part, and William Shakespeare, of Stratford-uponAvon, in the said county of Warwick, Gent., on the other part,' by which Hubande, as the then holder of an interest in an unexpired lease of the tithes of corn, grain, blade, and hay yearly and from time to time coming, increasing, renewing, arising, growing, issuing, or happening, or to be had, received, perceived 'or taken out, upon or in the towns, villages, hamlets, grounds or 'fields of Stratford, Old Stratford, Welcombe, and Bishopton, ' in the said county of Warwick, and also of all and all manner ' of tithes of wool, lamb, and other small and privy tithes, ' oblations, obventions, alterages, &c. &c.,' did make over the same to the said William Shakespeare for 440l. The original lease had been granted as far back as 1539 for a period of ninetytwo years; it had therefore to run till 1631, or twenty-six years. Shakespeare, in reality, purchased but a moiety of the interest in the lease; a wealthy fellow-townsman holding the other moiety. The Corporation was interested in the lease being in good hands; and hence Sturley's attempt some years before to get Shakespeare to purchase the property. From subsequent documents it appears that the investment brought Shakespeare in about 601. a-year. 64. There is some doubt whether the notice we are about to quote refers to Shakespeare; but as Mr. Robert Bell cites it in his excellent summary of the facts of Shakespeare's life prefixed to his edition of the minor poems, we include it in our list. One Ratsey, a notorious highwayman, was executed at Bedford in March, 1605. A tract or chap-book, called Ratsey's Ghost, giving an account of his exploits, was immediately afterwards published, which was so popular that a second part' was issued either in 1605 or in 1606. In a passage in the second part, Ratsey is introduced in the company of some strolling players; to the chief performer in which he takes such a fancy, that he advises him to go to London, telling him that if one man were dead' there (Burbage is evidently meant), he would be in great request, and averring that he would back him even against this one man' to play Hamlet for a wager.' The conclusion of Ratsey's advice, and the player's reply, are as follows: There [i.e. in London] thou shalt learn to be frugal (for players were never so thrifty as they are now about London), and to feed upon all men; to make thy hand a stranger to thy pocket, thy heart slow to perform thy tongue's promise; and when thou feelest thy purse well-lined, buy thee some place of lordship in the country, that, growing weary of playing, thy money may bring thee to dignity and reputation: then thou needest care for no man; no, not for them that before made thee proud with speaking their words on the stage.' —Sir, I thank you,' quoth the player, for thy good counsel: I Contemporary Notices of Shakespeare. 191 promise you I will make use of it, for I have heard indeed of some that have gone to London very meanly and have come in time to be exceeding wealthy.' It increases the probability that the allusion here is to Shakespeare that the time when it was published corresponds with that at which Shakespeare's retirement from the stage took place. 65, 66, and 67. But if Shakespeare had by this time ceased to be an actor, he still kept up his connexion with the London stage as a writer of plays and as a theatre-proprietor. To the year 1607, besides new editions of his Venus and Adonis and Lucrece, belongs the following entry of a new play of his on the books of the Stationers' Company: 26, Nov. 1607: Na Butter and Jo Busby: entered for their coppie under t'hands of Sir Geo. Bucke Kt. and the Wardens a booke called Mr. Willm. Shakespeare, his Historye of the Life and Death of King Lear,' &c. In the June preceding the date of this entry, had been solemnized at Stratford the marriage of the poet's eldest daughter, Susanna, to John Hall, Gentleman,' a medical practitioner of the town; and in the succeeding December, Edmund Shakespeare, the poet's youngest brother, died in London. 1607, Dec. 31, Edmund Shakespeare, a player: in the church,' is the entry of his burial in the register of St. Saviour's parish. He was then twenty-seven years of age; his niece, whose marriage he had lived to see, was twenty-four. 68, 69, 70, 71, and 72. On the 9th of September, 1608, was buried at Stratford, Mayry Shaxspere, Widowe,' the mother of the poet. She had survived her youngest son, Edmund, nine months; and a little before her death, her great-grand-daughter, Elizabeth, the only child of the poet's daughter, Susanna Hall, had come into the world. Our figures, however, refer not to these facts, but to the following facts of the same year, relating to Shakespeare's literary life. 'Mr. William Shak-speare: His true chronicle Historie of the Life and Death of King Lear and his three daughters. With the unfor tunate life of Edgar, sonne and heir to the Earle of Gloster, and his sullen and assumed humour of Tom of Bedlam. As it was played before the King's Majestie at Guildhall upon St. Stephens night in Christmas Hollidayes. By his Majestie's servants, playing usually at the Gloabe in the Banck-side. London. Printed for Nathaniel Butter and are to be sold at his shop in Pauls Churchyard at the signe of the Pied Bull neere St. Austin's Gate: 1608.' [There is a noticeable peculiarity in the title here as well as in the title of the entry of the play at Stationers' Hall in the preceding year. The name of the poet is placed first, as if to make the fact of Shakespeare's being the author more conspicuous than usual. On the title-page, too, Mr. Collier informs us, the name is printed in unusually large type.] A second edition of the same: 1608: with the same title. A third do. do. do. A third edition of Richard the Second, the title-page concluding thus: With new additions of the Parliament scene and the deposing of King Richard. As it hath been lately acted by the Kinge's Majestic's servantes at the Globe. By William Shake-speare. At London, Printed by W. W. for Matthew Law and are to be sold at his shop in Paule's Churchyard at the signe of the Foxe: 1608.' A fourth edition of Richard the Third, newly augmented.' A fourth edition of the First Part of Henry the Fourth, published by Law.' 73 and 74. More satisfactory than the mere title-pages of works published in 1608; are two documents of the same year relating to Shakespeare. A feud had been going on for some time between the Corporation of the City of London and the London Companies of Players generally, but more especially the Blackfriars Company. As early as 1579, the Corporation had attempted, though without success, to claim a right of jurisdiction over this Company; and from that time there seems to have been no good feeling between the Company and the City authorities. In 1605 the City authorities complained to the Privy Council that certain of the players in the Blackfriars Company had again not forborne to bring upon their stage one or more of the worshipful aldermen of the City of London, to their great scandal and to the lessening of their authority; and the Privy Council were petitioned to inquire into the same, and to put down or remove' the said theatre. The business thus referred to the Privy Council seems to have hung on hand for a year or two; and the following document, discovered by Mr. Collier among the Ellesmere papers, and believed to have been written in or about 1608, is supposed to have reference to it. The document is a copy, and not the original; it is signed H. S. (supposed to be for Henry, Earl of Southampton, to whom Shakespeare had dedicated his Venus and Adonis and his Lucrece); and Mr. Collier's idea is that it was addressed to some other nobleman of influence, who forwarded it to the Lord Chancellor Egerton. It proceeds : These bearers are two of the chief of the company-one of them by name Richard Burbage, who humbly sueth for your Lordship's kind help, for that he is a man famous as our English Roscius, one who fitteth the action to the word and the word to the action most admirably. By the exercise of his quality, industry, and good behaviour, he hath become possessed of the Blackfriars Playhouse, |
