of the Church, and would be glad to do my benevolence, to make atonements and compromises between you.' Shal. The Council fhall hear it; it is a riot. ; Eva. It is not meet, the Council hear of a riot there is no fear of Got in a riot: the Council, look you, fhall defire to hear the fear of Got, and not to hear a riot; take your viza-ments in that. Shal. Ha! o' my life, if I were young again, the fword fhould end it. Eva. It is petter that friends is the fword, and end it; and there is also another advice in my prain, which, peradventure, prings good difcretions with it; there is Anne Page, which is daughter to mafter George Page, which is pretty virginity. 4 Slen. Miftrefs Anne Page? fhe has brown hair, and fpeaks fmall like a woman'. Eva. It is that ferry perfon for all the orld, as juft as you will defire; and feven hundred pounds of monies, and gold and filver, is her grandfire upon his death's-bed (Got deliver to a joyful refurrections) give, when she is able to overtake feventeen years old: it were a good motion, if we leave our pribbles and prabbles, and defire a marriage between mafter Abraham and miftrefs Anne Page. Slen. Did her grand fire leave her feven hundred pounds? Eva. Ay, and her father is make her a petter penny. which is Daughter to and is the true reading. He ad Mafter Thomas Page,] The whole Set of Editions have negligently blunder'd one after another in Page's Chritian Name in this place; tho' Mrs. Page 'calls him George afterwards in at leaft fix feveral Paffages. THEOBALD. 5 Speaks SMALL like a woman.] This is from the Folio of 1623, mires her for the tweetnefs of her voice. But the expreffion is highly humourous, as making her speaking fmall like a woman one of her marks of diftinction and the ambiguity of Small, which fignifies little as well as low, makes the expreffion still more pleasant. WARBURTON. Slen. I know the young gentlewoman; fhe has good gifts. Shal. Seven hundred pounds, and poffibilities, is good gifts. Slen. Well; let us fee honeft Mr. Page: is Falstaff there? Eva. Shall I tell you a lie? I do defpife a liar, as I do defpife one that is falfe; or as I defpife one that is not true. The Knight, Sir John, is there; and, I befeech you, be ruled by your well-wishers. I will peat the door [Knocks.] for mafter Page. What, hoa? Got blefs your house here. SCENE II. Enter Mr. Page. Page. Who's there? Eva. Here is Got's pleffing, and your friend, and Juftice Shallow; and here's young mafter Slender; that, peradventures, fhall tell you another tale, if matters grow to your likings. Page. I am glad to fee your worships well. I thank you for my venifon, mafter Shallow. Shal. Mafter Page, I am glad to see you; much good do it your good heart: I wifh'd your venifon better; it was ill kill'd. How doth good mistress Page? and I thank you always with my heart, la ; with my heart. Page. Sir, I thank you. Shal. Sir, I thank you; by yea and no, I do. Page. I am glad to fee you, good mafter Slender. Slen. How does your fallow greyhound, Sir? I heard fay, he was out-run on Cotfale. Page. It could not be judg'd, Sir. Slen. You'll not confefs, you'll not confefs. Shal. That he will not 'tis your fault, 'tis your fault-'tis a good dog. Page. A cur, Sir. Shal. Sir, he's a good dog, and a fair dog; can there be more faid? he is good and fair.-Is Sir John Falstaff here? Page. Sir, he is within; and I would, I could do a good office between you. Eva. It is fpoke as a christian ought to speak. Page. Sir, he doth in fome fort confefs it. Shal. If it be confefs'd, it is not redrefs'd; is not that fo, mafter Page? He hath wrong'd me-indeed, he hath at a word, he hath-believe me-Robert Shallow, Efq; faith, he is wrong'd. Page. Here comes Sir John. SCENE III. Enter Sir John Falstaff, Bardolph, Nym and Pistol. Fal. Now, mafter Shallow, you'll complain of me to the Council? Shal. Knight, you have beaten my men, kill'd my deer, and broke open my lodge *. Fal. But not kifs'd your keeper's daughter. Shal. Tut, a pin; this fhall be answer'd. Fal. I will anfwer it ftrait: I have done all this. That is now anfwer'd. Shal. The Council fhall know this. Fal. 'Twere better for you, if. 'twere not known in. Council: you'll be laugh'd at. Eva. Pauca verba, Sir John, good worts. Fal. Good worts? good cabbage. Slender, I broke your head; what matter have you against me? 6 Slen. Marry, Sir, I have matter in my head against you, and against your cony-catching-rafcals Bardolph, Nym and Pistol. *This probably alludes to fome real incident, at that time well known. Bar. of Elizabeth, a common name for a cheat or fharper. Green, one of the firft among us who made a trade of writing pamphlets, Gg 4 publifhed "A Coneycatcher was in the time Bar. You Banbury cheese! Slen. Ay, it is no matteṛ. Pift. How now, Mephoftophilus? Nym. Slice, I fay; pauca, pauca: flice, that's my humour. Slen. Where's Simple, my man? can you tell, coufin? Eva. Peace: I pray you: now let us understand ; there is three umpires in this matter, as I understand; that is, mafter Page; fidelicet, mafter Page; and there is myfelf; fidelicet, myself; and the three party is, laftly and finally, mine Hoft of the Garter. Page. We three to hear it, and end it between them. Eva. Ferry goot; I will make a prief of it in my note-book, and we will afterwards ork upon the cause with as great difcreetly as we can. Fal. Piftol. Pift. He hears with ears. Eva. The tevil and his tam! what phrafe is this, he hears with ears? why this is affectations. Fal. Piftol, did you pick mafter Slender's purfe? Slen. Ay, by thefe gloves, did he; (or I would I might never come in mine own great chamber again elfe,) of feven groats in mill-fixpences, and two Edward fhovel-boards, that coft me two fhilling and two pence a-piece of read Miller, by these gloves. Fal. Is this true, Pistol? Eva. No; it is falfe, if it is a pick-purfe. and mafter mine. I Combat challenge of this latten bilboe: publifhed a detection of the frauds and tricks of Coneycatchers and Couzeners. Edward Shovelboards] By this term, I believe, are meant, brafs cafters, fuch as are ho veled on a board, with king Edward's face itamped upon them. Word of denial in thy Labra's here; * Nym. Be advis'd, Sir, and pafs good humours: I will fay marry trap with you, if you run the' bafe humour on me; that is the very note of it. 1 Slen. By this hat, then he in the red face had it; for tho' I cannot remember what I did when you made me drunk, yet I am not altogether an afs. Fal. What fay you, Scarlet and John?? Word, Latin, in Italic Characters, as if it was addrefs'd to Sir Hugh, and meant to call him pedantic Blade, on account of his being a Schoolmafter, and teaching Latin. But I'll be bold to fay, in This they do not take the Poet's Conceit. Piftol barely calls Sir Hugh Mountain-foreigner, becaufe he had interpos'd in the Difpute but then immediately demands the Combat of Slender, for having charg'd him with picking his Pocket. The old Quar to's write it Latten, as it fhould be, in the common Characters: And as a Proof that the Author defign'd This fhould be addrefs'd to Slender, Sir Hugh does not there interpofe one Word in the Quarrel. But what then fignifies latten Bilbo? Why, Piftel feeing Slender fuch a flim, puny, Wight; would intimate, that he is as thin as a Plate of that compound Metal, which is call'd látten: and which was, as we are told, the Old Orichalc. Monfieur Dacier, upon this Verfe in Horace's Epifle de Arte Poetica, Tibia non ut nunc Orichalcó vinita, &c. fays, C'est une espece de Cuivre de montagne, comme fon nam mefme le temoigne; c'est ce que nous appel- *Marry trap.] When a man was caught in his own ftratagem, I fuppofe the exclamation of infult was marry, trap! 9 Word of denial in thy Labra's here;] I fuppofe it should rather be read, Word of denial in my Labra's hear. That is, hear the word of denial in my lips, Thou lieft. I -bafe humour Read, pass the Nutbooks humour. Nuthcok was a term of reproach in the vulgar way, and in cant ftrain. In the fecond part of Hen. IV. Doll Tearsheet lays to the beadle, Nuthook, Nutbook, you lie. Probably it was a name given to a bailiff or catch pole, very odious to the common people. HANMER. 2 Scarlet and John ?] The names of two cf Robin Hood's companions; but the humour confifts in the allufion to Bardolph's red face; concerning which fee the fecond part of Henry the fourth. WARBURTON. Bard. |