r there, together with diverse other gentlemen; and they
all supped together with the said Sir Thomas Cawarden, in the same
room [the Parlor] where the said school of fence is now kept, and did
there see a play."[297]

[Footnote 296: Feuillerat, _Blackfriars Records_, pp. 43, 47, 48.]

[Footnote 297: _Ibid._, p. 52.]

Later Cawarden leased the Parlor to a keeper of an ordinary: "One
Woodman did hold the said house where the said school of fence is
kept, and another house thereby of Sir Thomas Cawarden, and in the
other room kept an ordinary table, and had his way to the same through
the said house where the said school of fence is kept."[298]

[Footnote 298: _Ibid._, p. 51.]

In 1563 William Joyner established in the rooms the school of fence
mentioned above, which was still flourishing in 1576.[299]

[Footnote 299: Feuillerat, _Blackfriars Records_, p. 121.]

When in 1583 John Lyly became interested in the First Blackfriars
Playhouse, he obtained a lease of the rooms, but it is not clear for
what purpose. Later he sold the lease to Rocho Bonetti, the Italian
fencing-master, who established there his famous school of fence.[300]
In George Silver's _Paradoxes of Defence_, 1599, is a description of
Bonetti's school, which will, I think, help us to reconstruct in our
imagination the "great room, paved" which was destined to become
Shakespeare's playhouse:

He caused to be fairely drawne and set round about the
schoole all the Noblemen's and Gentlemen's Armes that were
his schollers, and, hanging right under their Armes, their
Rapiers, Daggers, Gloves of Male, and Gantlets. Also he had
benches and stooles, the roome being verie large, for
Gentlemen to sit about his schoole to behold his teaching.

He taught none commonly under twentie, fortie, fifty, or an
hundred pounds. And because all things should be verie
necessary for the Noblemen and Gentlemen, he had in his
schoole a large square table, with a green carpet, done
round with a verie brode rich fringe of gold; alwaies
standing upon it a verie faire standish covered with crimson
velvet, with inke, pens, pen-dust, and sealing-waxe, and
quiers of verie excellent fine paper, gilded, readie for the
Noblemen and Gentlemen (upon occasion) to write their
letters, being then desirous to follow their fight, to send
their men to dispatch their businesse.

And to know how the tim