claiming a lien upon the residue of the gallery takings which, although collected by his own 'gatherers', would otherwise, under the tenancy agreement, have been handed over to the sharers. For a time he seems to have satisfied himself with reserving half of this residue towards his account. In July 1598, however, he notes in the diary 'Here I begyne to receue the wholle gallereys'. Even so the repayments did not keep pace with the expenditure, and from time to time he struck a balance and took an acknowledgement from the company of the amount of their outstanding debt. Most of Henslowe's advances were either for properties and apparel or for the writing of plays, and I see no reason to doubt that substantially the whole expenditure of the company under these two heads passed through his hands. Sometimes, but not always, he paid the fee demanded by the Master of the Revels for the licensing of a new play; and occasionally he put his hand in his pocket for travelling or legal expenses, or for the shot of a corporate jollification at a tavern. On the other hand, there were certain regular outgoings with which he had nothing to do, and for which the company must have had to make provision in other ways; for lighting and cleaning and the rushes which obviated the need for cleaning, for music, for the wages of stage attendants and those actors who were not sharers, the 'hirelings', as they were called from an early date.[1] Probably the boys who took the female parts were apprenticed to individual sharers; in one case a boy was apprenticed to Henslowe, who charged the company or one of its members a weekly sum for his services.[2]up and downe after the waggon. Leaue therefore, O leaue the company of such as lick the fat from your beards (if you haue any) and come hether, for here I know you shall be sharers'.]
- ↑ Cf. Gosson, S.A. 39 (App. C, No. xxii), 'the very hyrelings of some of our players, which stand at reuersion of vi s by the weeke'; Dekker, News from Hell (Works, ii. 146), 'a companie of country players, being nine in number, one sharer, & the rest iornymen'; The Raven's Almanac (iv. 193), 'a number of you (especially the hirelings) shall be with emptie purses at least twice a week'; Jests to Make you Merrie (ii. 353), 'Nay, you mercenary soldiers, or you that are as the Switzers to players (I meane the hired men) by all the prognostications that I haue seene this yeare, you make but a hard and a hungry liuing of it by strowting [? 'strowling'
- ↑ Cf. Chapman, May Day, III. iii. 228, 'Afore heaven, 'tis a sweet fac'd child: methinks he would show well in woman's attire. . . . I'll help thee to three crownes a week for him, and she can act well'. The will of Augustine Phillips in 1605 mentions his apprentice James Sands, and his late apprentice, Samuel Gilburne. The 'boys' of various Admiral's men appear in Henslowe's diary and in the Dulwich 'plots' of plays; cf. Henslowe, i. 71, 73, 'Thomas Dowtones biger boy'; Henslowe Papers, 137, 138, 142, 147, 'E. Dutton his boye', 'M^r. Allens boy', 'M^r. Townes boy', 'Mr^r. Jones his boy', 'M^r. Denygtens little boy'.
