Lucio. O, fir, you are deceived. DUKE. 'Tis not possible. L'UCIO. Who? not the duke? yes, your beggar of fifty; and his ufe was, to put a ducat in her clack-difh the duke had crotchets in him: He would be drunk too; that let me inform you. : DUKE. You do him wrong, furely. Lucio. Sir, I was an inward of his :3 A shy fellow Again, in Howe's Abridgment of Stowe's Chronicle, 1618, p. 363: in the month of February divers traiterous perfons were apprehended, and detected of moft wicked confpiracie againft his majeftie: the 7th of Sept. certaine of them wicked fubjects were indicted," &c. MALONE. 2 clack-difh:] The beggars, two or three centuries ago, ufed to proclaim their want by a wooden-difh with a moveable cover, which they clacked, to fhow that their veffel was empty. This appears from a paffage quoted on another occafion by Dr. Grey. Dr. Grey's affertion may be fupported by the following paffage in an old comedy, called The Family of Love, 1608: “Can you think I get my living by a bell and a clack-dish?” "By a bell and a clack-dish? how's that?" "Why, by begging, fir," &c. Again, in Henderfon's Supplement to Chaucer's Troilus Grefféid: "Thus fhalt thou go a begging from hous to hous, and And by a flage direction in the Second Part of K. Edward IV. 1619: Enter Mrs. Blague very poorly, begging with her basket and a clap-dish. There is likewife an old proverb to be found in Ray's Collection, which alludes to the fame cuftom: "He claps his difh at a wrong man's door." STEEVENS. 3 an inward of his:] Inward is intimate. So, in Daniel's Hymen's Triumph, 1623: "You two were wont to be moft inward friends." Again, in Marston's Malcontent, 1604: "Come we must be inward, thou and I all one. : STEEVENS. was the duke: * and, I believe, I know the cause of his withdrawing. DUKE. What, I pr'ythee, might be the cause? LUCIO. No, pardon; 'tis a fecret must be lock'd within the teeth and the lips: but this I can. let you understand,—The greater file of the fubject' held the duke to be wife. DUKE. Wife? why, no queftion but he was. LUCIO. A very fuperficial, ignorant, unweighing fellow. DUKE. Either this is envy in you, folly, or miftaking; the very ftream of his life, and the bufinefs he hath helmed, muft, upon a warranted need, give him a better proclamation. Let him be but teftimonied in his own bringings forth, and he fhall appear to the envious, a scholar, a ftatefman, and a foldier: Therefore, you speak unskilfully; or, if your knowledge be more, it is much darken'd in your malice. LUCIO. Sir, I know him, and I love him. DUKE. Love talks with better knowledge, and knowledge with dearer love. A fhy fellow was the duke:] The meaning of this term may be beft explained by the following lines in the fifth A&t: "The wicked'ft caitiff on the ground, "May feem as fhy, as grave, as juft, as abfolute," &c. MALONE. The greater file of the fubject-] The larger lift, the greater number. JOHNSON. So, in Macbeth: 6 unweighing] i. e. inconfiderate. So, in The Merry Wives of Windfor: "What an unweighed behaviour hath this Flemish drunkard pick'd out of my converfation," &c. STEEVENS. -the bufinefs he hath helmed,] The difficulties he hath beer'd through. A metaphor from navigation. STEEVENS. 7 LUCIO. Come, fir, I know what I know. DOKE. I can hardly believe that, fince you know not what you fpeak. But, if ever the duke return, (as our prayers are he may,) let me defire you to make your answer before him: If it be honest you have spoke, you have courage to maintain it; I am bound to call upon you; and, I pray you, your name? LUCIO. Sir, my name is Lucio; well known to the duke. DUKE. He fhall know you better, fir, if I may live to report you. LUCIO. I fear you not. DUKE. O, you hope the duke will return no more; or you imagine me too unhurtful an oppofite. But indeed, I can do you little harm: you'll forfwear this again. LUCIO. I'll be hang'd firft: thou art deceived in me, friar. But no more of this: Canft thou tell, if Claudio die to-morrow, or no? DUKE. Why fhould he die, fir? LUCIO. Why? for filling a bottle with a tun-difh. I would, the duke, we talk of, were return'd again : this ungenitur'd agent? will unpeople the province with continency; fparrows muft not build in his houfe-eaves, because they are lecherous The duke yet would have dark deeds darkly anfwer'd; he would never bring them to light: would he were 6 -oppofite. ] i. c. opponent, adverfary. So, in King Lear: thou waft not bound to answer "An unknown oppofite." STEEVENS, ungenitur'd agent - This word feems to be formed from genitors, a word which occurs in Holland's Pliny, tom. ii. p. 321, 560, 589, and comes from the French génitoires, the genitals. TOLLET. return'd! Marry, this Claudio is condemn'd for untruffing. Farewell, good friar; I pr'ythee, pray for me. The duke, I fay to thee again, would eat mutton on Fridays. He's now pait it; yet; and I fay to thee, he would mouth with a beggar, though fhe finelt brown bread and garlick: fay, that I faid fo. Farewell. [Exit. DUKE. No might nor greatnefs in mortality Can cenfure 'scape; back-wounding calumny The whiteft virtue ftrikes: What king so strong, Can tie the gall up in the flanderous tongue! But who comes here? Enter ESCALUS, Provoft, Bawd, and Officers. ESCAL. Go, away with her to prifon. BAWD. Good my lord, be good to me; your honour is accounted a merciful man: good my lord. ESCAL. Double and treble admonition, and flill 8 mutton. eat mutton on Fridays.] A wench was called a laced THEOBALD. So, in Doctor Fauftus, 1604, Lechery fays: "I am one that loves an inch of raw mutton better than an ell of Friday stock-fish" STEEVENS. 9 He's now paft it; yet,] Sir Thomas Hanmer reads-He is not. paft it yet. This emendation was received in the former edition, but feems not neceffary. It were to be wished, that we all explained more, and amended lefs. JOHNSON. If Johnfon underflood the paffage as it ftands, I wish he had explained it. Το me, Hanmer's amendment appears abfolutely neceffary. M. MASON. I have inferted Mr. M. Mafon's remark and yet the old reading is, in my opinion, too intelligible to need explanation. 2 STEEVENS. though he felt brown bread and garlick:] This was the phrafeology of our author's time. In the Merry Wives of Windfor, Mafter Fenton is faid to "Smell April and May," not "to fmell of," &c. MALONE. forfeit in the fame kind? This would make mercy fwear, and play the tyrant.* t PROV. A bawd of eleven years continuance, may it please your honour. BAWD. My lord, this is one Lucio's information against me: mistress Kate Keep-down was with child by him in the duke's time, he promifed her marriage; his child is a year and a quarter old, come Philip and Jacob: I have kept it myself; and fee how he goes about to abuse me. ESCAL. That fellow is a fellow of much licence:___ let him be called before us.-Away with her to prifon: Go to; no more words. [Exeunt Bawd and Officers.] Provost, my brother Angelo' will not be alter'd, Claudio muft die to-morrow: let him be furnished with divines, and have all charitable preparation if my brother wrought by my pity, it fhould not be fo with him. PROV. So please you, this friar hath been with him, and advised him for the entertainment of death. ESCAL. Good even, good father. 3 forfeit ] i. c. tranfgrefs, offend; from the French forfaire. STEEVENS. 4 mercy fwear, and play the tyrant.] We should read fwerve,· i. e. deviate from her nature. The common reading gives us the idea of a ranting whore. WARBURTON. 1 There is furely no need of emendation. We fay at prefent, Such a thing is enough to make a parfon fwear, i. e. deviate from a proper refped to decency, and the fandity of his character. The idea of fwearing agrees very well with that of a tyrant in our ancient myfteries. STEEVENS. I do not much like mercy fwear, the old reading; or mercy fwerve, Dr. Warburton's correction. I believe it fhould be, this would make mercy fevere. FARMER. We ftill fay, to fwear like an emperor; and from fome old book, of which I unfortunately neglected to copy the title, I have noted— to fwear like a tyrant. To fwear like a termagant is quoted elfewhere. RITSON. |