" The son of Lord Hunsdon, George Carey, second Lord Hunsdon,
after his father's death (in 1596) also inherited the patronage of the
actors, and for almost a year they had to content themselves with being
called "Lord Hunsdon's Men," until Lord Hunsdon became lord chamberlain,
like his father, and allowed the company to resume the title of "The
Lord Chamberlain's Servants," 1597. This name the actors retained until
the accession of King James, in 1603, after which they were promoted to
the title of "The King's Players"; this title put them in the first
rank, which, indeed, they had long held in reality, and which they kept
till the suppression of the playhouses in 1642.
It is no slight task for one who desires to study theatrical affairs in
the time of Shakespeare, to make himself acquainted with the varying
names of the companies of actors; but without such knowledge it would be
very difficult to pursue the thread of the history even of the leading
companies.
About the year 1590 our company received an addition in the person of a
young man, who was not only a skilled and useful actor, but who also
possessed the accomplishment of being able to adapt older plays to the
taste of the times, and even proved to have the gift of writing
tolerably good plays himself, though older and jealous colleagues might
hint at their not being altogether original.
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