The apprentice system was in vogue at Stratford in Shakespeare's time, and though the condition of apprentices was not always creditable to their employers, the system ensured a thorough knowledge of any business that a man sought to establish. The apprenticeship was a legal condition, precedent to setting up in business, and until a lad had fulfilled his indentures he could not open a shop on his own account or claim the rights of a freeman. Apprentices had their rights and privileges, including certain holidays, but they might not carry arms, might not visit ale-houses, and might not stay out after nine o'clock. For lads who did not care to settle down in business, or had not the means to establish themselves in one, there were other ways of securing a living. They could seek military service--there was always a demand for strong, athletic young men--or they could enter the big establishments of the great landowners, who employed scores of retainers, and, in peaceful times, did not overwork them. The wealthier lads went to the universities or to the metropolis, where no small proportion, freed from all restraint, went hopelessly to the bad. In Shakespeare's time, the Earl of Leicester, Lord Compton, Sir Thomas Lucy of Charlecote, and a few others, were the chief men in the neighbourhood of Stratford to keep retainers in large numbers. =SHAKESPEARE MEMORIAL THEATRE, STRATFORD-ON-AVON= CHAPTER XIV THE CLOSE OF LIFE When Shakespeare settled down in Stratford to spend the last years of his life amid its familiar surroundings, he could without a doubt have aspired to the highest honours in the corporation's gift. He had restored his father's good name, and John Shakespeare in his palmy days had been Stratford's chief alderman. The early history of his escapades had apparently been forgotten; he was on friendly terms with the then owner of Charlecote Park, while other great landowners who passed a part of their time at Court were to be found among his acquaintances if not his friends. But he had not retired from the stress and strife of London to seek responsibilities that entailed heavy penalties for neglect. It sufficed him to take a friendly interest in the affairs of the corporation, and to remain right outside the council chamber. His own obligations might call him to town at any moment, and his own local affairs would have taken so much of the rest of his time as he would be disposed to give to business. Clearly he wished to enjoy his life, and from the scanty records in our possession there is reason to believe that he did so. Doubtless he added much to his ample stores of observation; the few last years could hardly have been wasted; but apparently he had no wish to set pen to paper when he had left the stage behind him. It may be that, had he been disposed to work in the later years, the Gunpowder Plot might have afforded him material for a stirring play. Ambrose Rookwood, who was closely associated with the