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The day before, Will Shakespeare had followed a company of strolling mountebanks about town instead of going to school. And Thomas Chettle had told Schoolmaster, and he had told Father. When Will reached home the evening before, Dad was telling as much to Mother and blaming her for it. "An' Chettle's lad admits Will had ever rather see the swords an' hear a drum than look upon his lessons "
But one may ask, in 1592 did George Peele "profess the quality" of an actor; was he then a professional actor, and only an occasional playwright? If so, I am not apt to believe that Greene seriously advised him not to put faith in the members of his own profession. Thus I do not see how Chettle's professional actor, reported to have facetious grace in writing, can be identified with Peele.
And, wound up Appleyard, who had a keen knowledge of human nature and saw deep into Chettle's mind, Mr. Allerdyke would doubtless see that Chettle lost nothing by holding his tongue about anything that wasn't exactly ripe for discussion. At present, he repeated, let Chettle do his duty not exceed it. "That's it," agreed Allerdyke. "You've hit it, Ambler.
"Myself have seen him no less civil than he is excellent in the quality he professes"; whether or not this means that Chettle has SEEN his excellence in his profession, I cannot tell for certain; but Chettle's remark is, at least, contrasted with what he gives merely from report "the facetious grace in writing" of the man in question. Who, then, is this mysterious personage?
"A thread here, a thread there! Heaven knows what it'll all come to. But this Chettle's a good 'un he's like to do things." Chettle joined him in the smoking-room of the hotel at a quarter to seven, and immediately produced a telegram. "Came half an hour ago," he said as they sat down in a corner. "Nobody but myself seen it up to now. And it's just what I expected. Read it."
In Chettle's 'Kind-Harte's Dreame' the proprietor of a house of evil fame concludes his speech with reproaches against actors on account of their spoiling his trade; 'for no sooner have we a tricke of deceipt, but they make it common, singing jigs, and making jeasts of us, that everie boy can point out our houses as they passe by. Again, in Ben Jonson's 'Poetaster, we read that 'your courtier cannot kiss his mistress's slippers in quiet for them; nor your white innocent gallant pawn his revelling suit to make his punk a supper; or that 'an honest, decayed commander cannot skelder, cheat, nor be seen in a bawdy house, but he shall be straight in one of their wormwood comedies.
Allerdyke was in more than half a mind to draw the chief aside and tell him about Chettle's discoveries as regards the handwriting, but while he hesitated Fullaway tugged earnestly at his sleeve. "Come away!" whispered Fullaway. "Come! We're going to cut in at this ourselves!"
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