82 
The Animal-Lore of Shalcspeare’s Time. 
Ben Jonson mentions two of the most famous fighters who 
were named after their owners :— 
“ When Ned Whiting or George Stone were at the stake.” 
(The Silent Woman, iii. 1.) 
Bear-baiting was at this time considered not only a suit¬ 
able exhibition to be presented before the queen and her 
nobles, but the amusement was placed under the particular 
patronage of her Majesty. An order of the Privy Council 
in July, 1591, prohibited the performance of plays on 
Thursdays, because on Thursdays bear-baiting, and the like 
pastimes, had been usually practised; and an injunction 
to the same effect was sent to the Lord Mayor, wherein it 
is stated, “ That in divers places the players do use to 
recite their plays, to the great hurt and destruction of 
bear-baiting, and the like pastimes, which are maintained 
for her Majesty’s pleasure” (Nichols, Progresses, p. 438, 
note). The bears for the queen’s royal pleasure were 
kept at the Paris Garden, Bankside, Southwark, close to 
the river; and as the land lay somewhat low, probably 
when the tide rose higher than usual the bears found 
their quarters rather damp. 
“ It was the day what time the powerful moon 
Makes the poor Bankside creature wet its shoon 
In its own hall.” 
(Ben Jonson, Epigram 133.) 
Paris Garden was named after Robert de Paris, a noble¬ 
man of the time of Richard II., who had a house and 
garden on the same site. Crowley, a poet of the time 
of Henry VIII., describes these gardens as then existing. 
He says that exhibitions were held there on Sundays, 
and that the price of admission was one halfpenny. The 
popularity of the pastime in Elizabeth’s time caused the 
entrance fee to be raised. Lambarde tells us ( Perambu¬ 
lation of Kent, p. 248) that, in 1570, visitors to Paris 
Gardens were charged “ one pennie at the gate, another 
