The New York herald., 1845-08-04
Great Novelty In Observation-Disclosures re and
his Times.

following work. II abounds with a vast ama,nt of
information Of the times events and circumstances
of the Immortal Bard" and will be read with con-
siderable interest by all readers and admirers of
Shakspeare--thati IL to say, the whole world. when
ever the English language is known or appreciated
or human feeling understood It is TO be honed
that this country will not be long without perfect
reprint Of this interesting production We take
the following notice from the London Athena,.m Of
July l2:-
The Diary of Philip Henslo,ce, printed from the oyi-
ginai ~ 8. at Dui,cich College. Edited by J.
Payne Collier. Printed for the Shakespeare So
ciety.
" The manuscript from which the present volume
has been printed contains minute and valuable in
formation respecting the history and condition of
our early drama and sage from the year 1891 to the
year 1909, during the whole OF which period Shaks-
peare was exercising his unequaled powers for the
public instruction and amusement Although his
name nowhere occurs in the text of the following
pages, the company OF players TO which he belonged
was acting, II not IN concert. IN the joint occupation
OF the same theatre for two whole years; and it will
be seen that In the hist OF plays performed, not
niar TO, the titles born by some of Shakspeare's un-
doubted productions" Such is Mr.. Golfers ac-
count OF the Diary before us to which he adds, in
another place" The MS: is mainly in the hand
writing of Hensowe, assisted here and there by
some clerk or scribe whom he empoyed it is folio
volume of considerable bulk, bound in parchment,
and had been used from about 1876 to 1886 to re-
cord transactions connected with the telling sale
and consumption of wood in Ashdown Forrest in
SUSSEX for there Is reason to believe that Henslowe
and his family were OF that county; but the backs
OF the leaves were left blank, while upon others
there was no writing at all, Hensowe EMPLOYED
most OF the unoccupied spaces to register matters
connected with undertakings in which he sub
sequenty Interested"
Philip Henslowe, of ST. Savours, in the county
OF Surrey, gent, was man OF many occupations.
| lie was citizen OF London, Lormer and Dyer
Sergeant OF the Bear Garden to King James-Sewer
IN Ordinary Of His Maesty's Chamber-Proprietor
wark-Jolnt share holder with his step-son Alleyn
('famous Ned Alleyn,) in the Fortune Theatre in
Golding lane"a dealer in new and old plays, with
or without brilliant "adycions "in play house pro-
| periles-helmouths and murrey-colored cloaks-a
pawnbroker to poets, poor only in their purses and
players IN distress, without the means to dress equal
to their parts.
Malone discovered the MS. in Dulwch College.
and made use OF IN his edition of Shakespeare but
so lmperfecty, and at times so inaccurately that
careful publication ofthe whole was an undertaking
worthy OF the y Shakespeare Society. So impenecy,
indeed, did Malone execute his task of examining
the Old managers account book, that many of the
more important entries he has omitted altogether
II was reserved torMr. Colier-a name as intimate
ly connected with the history of our stage as his
namesake IN King William HIS reign was with the
moral reformation Ct it, to give the account book
as 1t ls-not,w we are sorry to say, as il was-'for it
Is necessary to remarks " says Mr. Collier, ''that this
dersood, and so justly appreciated by the author-
ties OF Duwlch College, is not now in the state in
which 1t existed when in the hands of Malone
'Ths fact" he adds, "is established by the circum
stance, that Malone made long and curious quota
tons from parts OF 1t not now found in the manu-
script" He might have added, that certain portions
OF Y have more than once been exposed for sale by
public auction. But Mr. Collier overcharges the da-
mage actually done to the Ms. when in the hands of
Malone, Tor the portion here printed an Appendx
to the Account Book from Maone's Shakespeare by
nt fhpp pnt h.,t Il.
covered by Malone, as he expressly tells us (Shak
by Bos III 1860 Sin bundle ofloose papers" This
Inventory, 1t IS understood. is not now among AL
leyns papers at Dulwich College.
llenslowe was poor speller and poor account
ant lie seems TO have opened his book "hab-
nab" at random, and to have made an entry wher-
ever there was room. The contents are various
receipts at performances-prices paid for plays
loans and advances-records of repayments-scrib-
bllngs and calculations OF nativties-medica re-
cepts and charms: "To cleanes hurte wounde
and heale "" To know where thinge is that is
stolen" The MS. is, in many respects. important
We read OF plays, with names precisely similar to
the undoubted productions Of Shakespeare, but writ
ten there IS every reason TO believe, by poets who
Henslowe received at King leareo twenty six
shlllings, on the 9th of June in the same YEAR "at
Hamlet" eight shillings, at tittus and ondronicus"
on tour several occasions ss u, twelve shilllngs,
and seven shllllngs, and at harry the ". variety
OF suiis large IN amount, when compared with his
receipts from other plays. But the MS. is addition
ally interesting from the information it supplies (in-
formation TO be found nowhere else) that several of
Shdkspeare's contemporaries wrote plays on pre-
clsely the same stories already chosen, subse-
quently chosen by our great dramatic poet. Thus
on the 7lh of April, 1899, Mr.. Henslowe-
Lent unto Thomas Downton, TO lende unto Mr. Dick
and harey cheatte in earneste Of ther boocke call
ed TroyeIes and Creassedaye, the some ofiiji'
and Shakspeare's play, il is said was not acted un-
III 1909. On the 9th Of June 1901 Hensowe-
Lent unto Samwell Rowlye to pay e unto harye Che
tell for writngs the Boocke of Carnalle wolseye lyfe
and Shakspearc's Henry VIII, in the form in which
1t has come down TO us, could not have been pro-
duced before James l. came to the throne. On the
22nd May, 1902, Hensowe-
Lent unto the companye [the Lord Admiral's Play.
ers to geve unto Anoney Monday and Mhell Drayton,
webcster, Mydeon, and the Rest, in earnesto of a
Boocke called seser's FaIle, the some Of VII"
and the julius Cesar of our great dranatist was
written, as Mr. Collier contends, the year after. On
the 9th OF June, 1902 Henslowe-
Lent unto bengemy Johnsone in earneste of boocke
ronyme, the some of Xii"
but here Shakespeare was the first in the field for
Richard I'LL was printed in 1897, five years before
Ben received his earnest money for Richard Crook
back. Jonson would have made very inferior
play to Shakespeare on this subject, but still very
line one, and one poor only by comparison.
The earliest entry in the volume records the per-
formance of "Fryer Bacon" on the 10Th of Febru-
ary, 1891, by "my Lord Stranges men,: nearly the
TeeonS IN point OF tune the marriage OF on one M p
managers sstep-daughter, Joan Woodward. Hens
lowe would appear to have bought "a gyltte COB.
ette" and "a beacker of perseil gylte" as bridal
presents on this occasion. But we shall pass these
entries over, to Gull from the more important parts
OF the volume.
"From Henslowe's Diary" says Mr.. Collier, 1--WE
derive very curious and conclusive information res
pectng the ordinary rewards Of dranatlsts IN his
day. The hig hest price Henslowe appears, from
this MS, ever to have given was for Page OF
Plymouth, ,by Ben Johnson and Dekker; for this
piece the old manager paid III. For Dekkers
Medicine for a Curst WIFE he gave lOi; for Pa
tient Grissil "a play reprinted by the Shakespeare
Society in ISiI,) 81 los. Six pounds seems not to
have been an unusual sum: Henslowe gave that
amount for Drayton's Longsword' and Heywood's
Woman Killed with Kindness" When a play be-
came unusually popular, and therefore profitable,
gratultles were now and then, though rarely, allow