the Aldermen, and the Common Council. The
attitude of these city officials towards the drama
was unmistakable: they had no more love for the
actors than had the Puritans. They found that
"plays and players" gave them more trouble than
anything else in the entire administration of
municipal affairs. The dedication of certain "great
inns" to the use of actors and to the entertain-
ment of the pleasure-loving element of the city cre-
ated new and serious problems for those charged
with the preservation of civic law and order. The
presence in these inns of private rooms adjoin-
ing the yard and balconies gave opportunity for
immorality, gambling, fleecing, and various other
"evil practices" -- an opportunity which, if we
may believe the Common Council, was not wasted.
Moreover, the proprietors of these inns made a
large share of their profits from the beer, ale, and
other drinks dispensed to the crowds before, dur-
ing, and after performances (the proprietor of the
Cross Keys, it will be recalled, was described as
"citizen and brewer of London"); and the re-
sultant intemperance among "such as frequented
the said plays, being the ordinary place of meet-
ing for all vagrant persons, and masterless men
that hang about the city, theeves, horse-stealers,
whoremongers, cozeners, cony-catching persons,
practicers of treason, and such other like," ¹ led

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