Diary of Rev. John Ward, from 1648 to 1679: “I _have heard_ that Mr. Shakespeare was a natural wit, without any art at all,” and that is pretty well all the Vicar of his native place heard tell of him as a writer of these plays. He has nearly as much to say of “Edmund Alline, a stage-player, who founded the College of Dulwich.” “I have heard that Mr. Shakespeare was a natural wit without any art at all: hee frequented the plays all his younger time, but in his elder days lived at Stratford, and supplied the stage with two plays every year and for itt had an allowance so large that he spent at the rate of £1000 a year as I have heard.”—From Diary of Rev. John Ward. How came Shakespeare’s brother stage-player to be worth thousands, whilst the other’s income saved was only about £200 or at most £300 a year? Was he the trusted middle man, or Kemp, or both, in the secret? Shakespeare’s Plays—Who Wrote them? There is a quaint story printed by the Camden Society—Kemp’s “Nine Daies’ Wonder,” published 1600. Kemp was one of the leading performers in that company in which Shakespere had subordinate parts assigned him, and Edward Alleyne was chief manager. Nash was a friend of his, and his tract, “An Almond for a Parrot,” is dedicated to him, “Monsieur du Kempe.” He talks of another great journey, and signifies that he keeps it dark whether “Rome, Jerusalem, Venice, or any other place at your idle appoint” (p. 20). One of his letters begins, “My notable Shakerags,” mentions “a penny poet, whose first making was the miserable stolne story of Macdoel, or Macdobeth, or Macsomewhat.” In the Returne from Parnassus—dialogue, “_Phil._ What, M. Kempe, how doth the Emperour of Germany? _Student_. God save you, M. Kempe: Welcome from dancing the morrice ‘over the Alpes.’ _Kempe_. Is it not better to _make a foole of the world as I have done_ than to be fooled of the world as you schollers are.” There is also that well-known allusion to “our fellow Shakespeare putting them all down, I and Ben Jonson too, and giving him a purge that made him beray his credit” (whatever that may mean). Also p. xiv, “The Travailes of the Three English Brothers, Sir Anthony, Sir Thomas, and Sir Robert Shirley, as it is now play’d by Her Majesties Servants,” the following scene is supposed to take place at Venice:—“_Servant_. An Englishman desires accesse to you. _Sir Anthony_. What is his name? _Servant_. He calls himself Kempe. _Sir. Ant._ Bid him come in; Welcome, honest Will, and what good new plays have you?” etc. Nash also speaks of Kemp as being at Bergamo, and an Englishman from Venice meeting him there and having a conversation on the “order and maner of our plays.” These allusions, whether feigned or otherwise, show there were communications going on between her Majesties players and foreign parts, which were understood to be connected with “new plays” and “plays of note.”