been a keen consciousness that balance of fortune
was in his favour when he rode out from London on to the
Oxford-Stratford road, only to return to look after his vested interests
as occasion should demand.

The poet would appear to have taken an active part in developing the
prosperity of his native town, and to have found in that work
sufficient consolation, if any was needed, for his absence from the
scenes of greater activity. In 1611, the year of his retirement, he
supported with his purse and influence a Bill before Parliament for the
better repair of the highways. He had suffered first-hand acquaintance
with their wretched state. Doubtless he took part in much unrecorded
work for the betterment of his own estate, and he was frequently found
indulging in his undeniable passion for litigation. The purchase of a
house in Blackfriars is recorded in 1613, and it led to the seemingly
inevitable lawsuit some two years later. Nicholas Rowe, poet-laureate to
King George I., wrote a life of Shakespeare in the early years of the
eighteenth century, and we owe to him a statement, founded upon such
information as a lapse of a century could validate, that Shakespeare
spent the last years of his life enjoying "ease, retirement, and the
conversation of his friends." We know that Michael Drayton and Ben
Jonson visited him at New Place, and it is a tradition that their visits
were celebrated in convivial fashion. At the same time there would have
been certain restraints upon a very free life, even had the poet been
disposed to lead one. Society in small country towns is notoriously
inclined to be intolerant, and Shakespeare's son-in-law, Dr. Hall, was
one of the great and growing body of Puritans that looked askance at
sensual indulgence in any form. Moreover, there was a strong feeling
against the stage in Stratford; it found expression only a year after
Shakespeare's return, when the Town Council passed a resolution that
stage plays were unlawful, and increased the penalties to which players
might be subjected. It would be a matter of great interest to know how
Shakespeare regarded a resolution that so wantonly decried the
profession by which he had lived and thriven. There is no evidence to
show that the action of the city fathers was symptomatic of any ill-will
towards him, or that he resented it openly. Yet he was a man who could
and would stand up for his rights in and out of season. Perhaps in the
most of his moods he was g