The patent to John Daniell in 1615, giving him authority to bring up a company of youths as A. D. actors, has already been mentioned: it was 1618. followed in April, 1618, by what is termed, in the indorsement of the original in the State Paper Office, ' a letter of assistance,' on the ground, that the previous patent had been oppugned and resisted,' but in fact to authorise Daniell to assign his patent to others, if he thought fit, and to give authority to Martin Slatier *,

ance of his Majesty's peace, and the hurt of many poore men.

And

though divers of the offenders were comitted to Newgate, and proceeded 'withall at the Session according to lawe; yet they are so farre from 'being warned by that example, as they rather take occasion thereby, in ' regarde that some of their fellowes were in danger and punished the last ' yeare, to cast seditious lybells into Playhouses, in the name of some 'London fellowes, apprentices, to summon others in the skirts and confynes to meete at the Fortune, and after that to goe to the Play'houses, the Redd Bull and the Cockpitt, which they have designed to 'rase and pull downe, besides what further mischiefe may ensue thereupon, to the scandall of Government, and the great contempt of his 'Majesty's lawes. For prevention whereof wee thinke it very expedient, 6 as wee have addressed our letters to the Lord Mayor and Aldermen ' of the Cittie of London, soe to require you, by virtue of his Majesty's 'Commission of Lieutenancy directed unto you, to take the like order 'upon Shrove Tuesday next as you did upon May Day last, by setting ' good and substanciall watches in such places as shall be meete, and by ' appointing some of the trayned Bandes to be mustered and trayned ‘that day, in such convenient places in the skirtes and confynes of the 'Cittie as may serve for the suppressing of any ryott or tumulte, that 6 may happen by the disorder of such leude people. Whereof we require 'you to have especiall care, &c.'

* Martin Slatier was probably the same person whose name often occurs in Henslowe's Diary, as Martin Slater, and Martin Slaughter. He was an author as well as an actor, and the earliest entry regarding him or his productions, bears date in May, 1595.

John Edmonds, Nathaniel Clay, and others, who are termed her Majesty's servants,' to proceed to different parts of the kingdom, under the designation of her Majesty's servants of her royal Chamber of Bristol,' and to act in any play-houses, school-houses and other convenient places, provided they did not continue in any one place for more than fourteen days, and refrained from playing on the Sabbath during Divine service. Chalmers printed this document *, but from an imperfect and incorrect copy, and it is subjoined literally in a note f. We do not in any

* Apology, p. 365.

" Aprill, 1618. Copie of a Ire in the behalf of John Daniell, to 'bringe up youthes in qualitie of plaieinge of enterludes.

'After our harty comendations. Whereas it pleased his Matie by 'his Lrs Patents under the Great Seale of England, bearing date the

xvijth daie of Julie in the xiii yeare of his Highnes Raine, to grant ' unto John Daniell, gent. (the Prince his servant) aucthoritie to bring ( upp a companie of Children and youthes in the quallitie of playing Enterludes and Stage plaies. And wee are informed, that notwith'standing his Maties pleasure therein, that there are some who oppugne ' and resist the said aucthoritie in contempt of his Maties Lrs Patents. 6 In consideration whereof, and for the further effecting and performance of his Maties pleasure therein, We have thought good to grant unto the said John Daniell these our Lrs of Assistance, thereby requiring you, and in his Maties name straightly chardging and com'maunding you and every of you, not only quietly to permit and suffer 'Martin Slatier, John Edmonds and Nathaniell Clay (her Maties scr'vants) with their Associatts, the bearers hereof, to play as aforesaid " (as her Maties servants of her Royall Chamber of Bristoll) in all Playhouses, Townehalls, Schoolehouses and other places convenient for the purpose, in all Citties, Universities, Townes, and Burroughes 'within his Maties Realmes and Dominions, freely and peaceably without 'any of your letts, trobles or molestations. But as occasion shall be

subsequent instrument find mention of a company of the same name, and it probably had a very brief existence.

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It was on the 24th of May, in this year, that the King put forth the celebrated Declaration concerning lawful sports to be used upon Sundays, ' after evening prayers ended, and upon holidays.' It recited, that during his late progress through Lancashire, he had found it necessary to rebuke some Puritans and precise people,' who wished to prohibit lawful recreations, and honest exercises upon Sundays, ' and other holidays;' and it proceeds to allow dancing by both sexes, archery, leaping, vaulting, or any such harmless recreation' the only portion immediately connected with our subject is the prohibition of what are termed unlawful games' on Sundays, such as bull and bear-baitings, interludes and bowling. Interludes' is here used as a generic term for all theatrical representations.

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Ben Jonson's Pleasure reconciled to Virtue, was the 'offered (they or any of them having to showe his Lrs Patents, and a 'Letter of Assignment from the said John Daniell) to be lykewise aid'ing and assisting unto them, they behaving of themselves civilly and ' orderly, lyke good and honest subjects, and doing nothing therein contrary to the tenour of his Maties said Lrs Patents, nor staying to play in any one place above foureteene daies together, and the tymes of 'Divine Service on the Saboth daies only excepted.

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'Whereof faile you not at your perilles. Given at the Court at 'Whitehall, &c.

To all Maiors, Sheriffes, Bayliffs, Constables, and other his Maties Officers and Liege Subjects, to 'whome it may belong, or in any wise appertaine.'

Mask on Twelfth-day 1618-19: it was performed A. D. again on Shrove Tuesday, with the addition 1619. of the antimask called For the Honour of Wales. A Privy Seal, extant in the Chapter House, shows that on the 3rd of December, 400l. were issued from the Exchequer to Edward Leech to enable him to make preparations.

The Corporation of London, having succeeded in 1615 and 1616 in preventing the erection of a new theatre in the Blackfriars by Rosseter, in 1618-19 endeavoured to suppress the old one, which had been in existence since the year 1576. On the 21st of January, 1618-19, the Lord Mayor, Harvey, issued an order reciting the representations made by the inhabitants of the precinct in 1596, the directions of the Privy Council in 1600 (limiting the number of theatres in and near London to only two), and proceeding to state, that notwithstanding the steps thus taken, the owner' of the Blackfriars theatre, under the name of a private house, hath converted the same into a public playhouse, into which there is daily so 'great a resort of people, and so great multitudes of coaches, wherof many are hackney coaches bringing

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people of all sorts, that sometimes all the streets can' not contain them.' The Lord Mayor, therefore, of his own authority, took upon himself to command, that the said playhouse be suppressed, and that the ' players shall from henceforth forbear and desist from playing in that house, in respect of the manifold ' abuses and disorders complained of.'

The theatre had been originally built in the liberty of the Blackfriars, because it was out of the A. D. jurisdiction of the Lord Mayor; and that this 1619-20. exercise of civic authority was not attended with any effect, is obvious, not merely from the fact that more than ten years afterwards the inhabitants of Blackfriars found it necessary to petition the Bishop of London on the subject, but from the discovery, in the State Paper Office, of a Patent under the Great Seal, dated 27th of March, 1619-20, in which the King licenses his well-beloved servants to act, not only at

It

the Globe on the Bankside, but at their private 'house situate in the precincts of the Blackfriars.' would almost seem as if this new patent (a revival of that granted to Fletcher, Shakespeare, and others, on the 19th of May, 1603) had been conceded for the express purpose of deciding the right of the King's players to act at the Blackfriars theatre. It follows very much the terms of the licence of the same kind granted to the Prince's players at the Fortune in 1612-13, omitting, however, the clause reserving the authority of the Master of the Revels, and inserting a precautionary provision against performing when the deaths by the plague exceeded forty in the week. The names of the principal members of the company at this date were these*

* As Joseph Taylor, who was afterwards associated with Hemming, as leader of the King's company, is not mentioned in the instrument, we may infer that, at this date, he continued at the head of the players of Prince Charles.