Page:The Elizabethan stage (Volume 2).pdf/270

 againe, by withdrawinge the hired men from them, and selles theire stocke (in his hands) for 400^{ll}, givinge vnder his owne hand that hee had receaved towardes his debt     300^{ll}:

Which with the iuste and Conscionable allowances before named made to the Companie, which Comes to. . . 267^{ll}, makes     567^{ll}:

Articles of oppression against M^r. Hinchlowe.

Hee Chargeth the stocke with. . . 600^{ll}: and odd, towardes which hee hath receaved as aforesaid. . . 567^{ll} of vs; yet selles the stocke to strangers for fower hundred poundes, and makes vs no satisfacion.

Hee hath taken all boundes of our hired men in his owne name, whose wages though wee have truly paid yet att his pleasure hee hath taken them a waye, and turned them over to others to the breaking of our Companie.

For lendinge of vj^{ll} to p[ay] them theire wages, hee made vs enter bond to give him the profitt of a warraunt of tenn poundes due to vs att Court.

Alsoe hee hath taken right gould and silver lace of divers garmentes to his owne vse without accompt to vs or abatement.

Vppon everie breach of the Companie hee takes newe bondes for his stocke and our securitie for playinge with him; Soe that hee hath in his handes bondes of ours to the value of 5000^{ll} and his stocke to; which hee denies to deliuer and threatens to oppresse us with.

Alsoe havinge apointed a man to the seeinge of his accomptes in byinge of Clothes (hee beinge to have vi^s a weeke) hee takes the meanes away and turnes the man out.

The reason of his often breakinge with vs hee gave in these wordes 'Should these fellowes Come out of my debt, I should have noe rule with them'.

Alsoe wee have paid him for plaie bookes 200^{ll} or thereaboutes and yet hee denies to give vs the Coppies of any one of them.

Also within 3 yeares hee hath broken and dissmembred five Companies.

It is not quite possible to trace all the five breakings of companies referred to in the closing sentence; but the statement is sufficient to give a fairly clear outline of the history of the Lady Elizabeth's men during the years which it covers, and, as it happens, there is a good deal of other evidence from which to supplement it. It appears that in March 1613 Henslowe joined companies with Rosseter; that is to say, that an amalgamation took place between the Lady Elizabeth's men and the Children of the Queen's Revels, who had been acting at the Whitefriars under the patent to Rosseter