aster by the
vividness and power of his impersonations, there must have existed a
close friendship. Shakespeare, unlike most men of genius, was no bad
man of business; and, indeed, a friend of mine, who prides himself
upon being a practical man, once suggested that he selected the part
of the Ghost in _Hamlet_ because it enabled him to go in front of the
house between the acts and count the money. Burbage was universally
acknowledged as the greatest tragic actor of his time. In Bartholomew
Fair, Ben Jonson uses Burbage's name as a synonym for "the best
actor"; and Bishop Corbet, in his _Iter Boreale_, tells us that his
host at Leicester--

"when he would have said King Richard died,
And call'd, 'A horse! A horse!' he, Burbage, cried,"

In a scene, in which Burbage and the comedian Kemp (the J.L. Toole
of the Shakespearean period) are introduced in _The Return from
Parnassus_--a satirical play, as you may know, written by some of
the Members of St. John's College, Cambridge, for performance
by themselves on New Year's Day, 1602--we have proof of the high
estimation in which the great tragic actor was held. Kemp says to the
scholars who are anxious to try their fortunes on the stage: "But be
merry, my lads, you have happened upon the most excellent vocation
in the world for money; they come north and south to bring it to our
playhouse; and for honors, who of more report than _Dick Burbage_
and _Will Kempe_; he is not counted a gentleman that knows not _Dick
Burbage_ and _Will Kempe_; there's not a country wench that can
dance 'Sellenger's Round,' but can talke of _Dick Burbage_ and _Will
Kempe_."

That Burbage's fame as an actor outlived his life may be seen from the
description given by Flecknoe:--

"He was a delightful Proteus, so wholly transforming himself into his
part, and putting off himself with his clothes, as he never (not so
much as in the 'tiring house) assumed himself again until the play was
done.... He had all the parts of an excellent orator, animating his
words with speaking, and speech with acting, his auditors being never
more delighted than when he spake, nor more sorry than when he held
his peace. Yet even then he was an excellent actor still, never
failing in his part when he had done speaking, but with his looks and
gestures maintaining it still to the height."

It is not my intention, even if time permitted, to go much into the
private life of the four actors of whom I propose to s