Mr. Sidney Lee contributes to the Times of Wednesday an
account of an interesting Shakespearean discovery which he has made. In an account of the household expenses of the sixth Earl of Rutland, preserved at Belvoir, there is an entry under the date March 31st, 1613, of a sum paid to "Mr. Shakespeare and Richard Burbage" for preparing "my Lorde's impreso." An impress was an " Itehmate" toy, very popular with the society of the time, consisting of some kind of emblematical design illustrating some quality or deed of the owner, with an appropriate motto. Such men as Drake and Sidney had imprese prepared, for them which are still extant. Burbage, who was noted equally as painter and actor, seems to have made the design, while it would be the task of Shakespeare to find the motto. The entry shows that Shake- speare, after retiring from his great life's work, was ready to lend a hand to his friends in the fashionable craze of the moment. The Rutland family were connected both with Lord Southampton and Sidney. Ben Jonson was a frequent guest at Belvoir ; and Mr. Lee thinks that it may yet be discovered that Shakespeare shared the hospitality of Sidney's daughter there. The prefix " Mr. " attached to his name, the then accepted mark of gentility, shows that the dramatist's social position was recognised as superior to that of Burbage.
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