have reward of the city.[1] One of the mutinous companies in 1583 was Worcester's, who in the following year repeated their offence at Leicester, going 'with their drum and trumppytts thorowe the towne in contempt of Mr. Mayor' and using 'evyll and contemptyous words' of that dignitary, who had given them an angel (3s. 4d.) towards their dinner. The threat of reporting them to their lord reduced them to submission, and after all they were allowed to play, and made a public apology to Mr. Mayor as a prologue.
The worst of travelling was that, after all the tramping of bad roads, and all the wrangling with jacks-in-office, there was but a scanty living to be made out of it, even with the aid of the few shillings to be picked up in the larger villages, from such a windfall as is described in Ratseis Ghost,[2] or from the generous hospitality of a friendly manor.[3] The competition
- ↑ Murray, ii. 337, 'This day John Mufford one of the Ld Beauchamps players being forbidden by Mr Maiour to playe within the liberties of this Citie and in respect thereof gave them among them xxs and yett notwithstanding they did sett up bills to provoke men to come to their playe and did playe in XXe churche. Therefore the seid John Mufford is comytted to prison' (1590); cf. ch. xiii (Worcester's, 1583; Essex's, 1585; Derby's, 1602). So, too, at Coventry in 1600 'the lo: Shandoes [Chandos's] players were comitted to prison for their contempt agaynst Mr Maior & ther remayned untill they made their submisshon under their hands as appeareth in the fyle of Record and their hands to be seene'. At Nottingham in 1603 a penalty on the host is recorded in the entry 'Richard Jackson commytted for sufferinge players to sound thyere trumpetts and playinge in his howse without lycence, and for suffering his guests to be out all night'.
- ↑ Halliwell-Phillipps, i. 326, reprints from this tract (S. R. 31 May 1605) the chapter 'a pretty Prancke passed by Ratsey upon certain Players that he met by chance in an Inne, who denied their Lord and Maister, and used another Noblemans name'. Gamaliel Ratsey, highwayman, harangued the players, like Hamlet, on 'striving to over-doe, and go beyond yourselves . . . yet your poets take great paines to make your parts fit for your mouthes, though you gape never so wide', and on the ups and downs of the profession, for some 'goe home at night with fifteene pence share apeece', while others become wealthy. Later he met them again passing 'like camelions' under the name of another lord. They gave a 'private play' before Ratsey, who rewarded them with 40s., 'with which they held themselves very richly satisfied, for they scarce had twentie shillings audience at any time for a play in the countrey'. Next day he met them with their wagon in the highway, robbed them, bade them pawn their apparel, 'for as good actors and stalkers as you are have done it, though now they scorne it', gave them leave to play under his protection and share with him, and advised their leader to get to London.
- ↑ Payments to travelling companies appear in the household accounts of the Earl of Rutland at Belvoir (Rutland MSS. iv. 260), the Earl of Cumberland at Skipton Castle (Murray, ii. 255), the Duchess of Suffolk at Grimsthorpe (Ancaster MSS. 459), Sir George Vernon at Haddon Hall (G. Le B. Smith, Haddon, 121), Lord North at Kirtling (Murray, ii. 295), the Earl of Derby at Lathom House, New Park, and Knowsley Hall
