Henslowe has notes of
loans of money to several actors, some of them of Shakespeare's
company, "The Lord Chamberlain's." There is no such note of a loan
to Shakespeare. Does this prove that he was not an actor? If so,
Burbage was not an actor; Henslowe never names him.
There are notes of payments of money to Henslowe after each
performance of any play in one of his theatres. In these notes THE
NAME OF SHAKESPEARE IS NEVER ONCE MENTIONED AS THE AUTHOR OF ANY
PLAY. How weird! But in THESE notes the names of the authors of the
plays acted are never mentioned. Does this suggest that Bacon wrote
all these plays?
On the other hand, there are frequent mentions of advances of money
to authors who were working at plays for Henslowe, singly, or in
pairs, threes, fours, or fives. We find Drayton, Dekker, Chapman,
and nine authors now forgotten by all but antiquarians. We have also
Ben Jonson (1597), Marston, Munday, Middleton, Webster, and others,
authors in Henslowe's pay. BUT THE SAME OF SHAKESPEARE NEVER
APPEARS. Mysterious! The other men's names, writes Dr. Furness,
occur "because they were all writers for Henslowe's theatre, but we
must wait at all events for the discovery of some other similar
record, before we can produce corresponding memoranda regarding
Shaksper" (sic) "and his productions." {157a}
The natural mind of the ordinary man explains all by saying,
"Henslowe records no loans of money to Shakspere the actor, because
he lent him no money.
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