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these mad, mustachio, purple-hu'd malt-worms3: but with nobility, and tranquillity; burgomafters, and

great

no fix-penny friker fignifies, not one who would content himself to borrow, i. e. rob you for the fake of fix-pence. That to borrow was the cant phrafe for to feal, is well known, and that to ftrike likewife fignified to borrow, let the following paffage in Shirley's Gentleman of Venise confirm :

"Cor. You had beft affault me too.

“ Mal. I must borrow money,

"And that fome call a firiking, &c."

Again, in Glapthorne's Hollander, 1640:

"The only fhape to hide a ftriker in." STEEVENS.

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In Greene's Art of Coneycatching, 152, under the table of Cant Expreffions used by Thieves: the cutting a pocket or picking a purfe, is called ftriking." Again: "

who taking a proper youth to be his prentice, to teach him the order of ftriking and foifting." COLLINS.

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-malt-worms :-- -] This cant term for a tippler I find in the Life and Death of Jack Straw, 1593: "You shall purchase the prayers of all the alewives in town, for faving a malt-worm and a customer." Again, in Gammer Gurton's Needle. STEEVENS,

burgomafters, and great oneyers;] ]"Perhaps, oneraires, trustees, or commiffioners;" fays Mr. Pope. But how this word comes to admit of any fuch eonftruction, I am at a loss to know. To Mr. Pope's fecond conjecture," of cunning men that look fharp, and aim well," I have nothing to reply seriously: but choose to drop it. The reading which I have fubftituted, I owe to the friendship of the ingenious Nicholas Hardinge, Efq. A moneyer is an officer of the mint, who makes coin, and delivers out the king's money. Moneyers are alfo taken for bankers, or those that make it their trade to turn and return money. Either of these acceptations will admirably fquare with our author's context. THEOBALD.

This is a very acute and judicious attempt at emendation, and is not undeservedly adopted by Dr. Warburton. Sir Thomas Hanmer reads great owners, not without equal or greater likelihood of truth. I know not however whether any change is neceffary; Gads-hill tells the Chamberlain that he is joined with no mean wretches, but with burgomafters and great ones, or as he terms them in merriment by a cant termination, great oneyers, or greatone-éers, as we fay, privateer, auctioneer, circuiteer. This is, I fancy, the whole of the matter. JOHNSON.

By onyers, (for fo I believe the word ought to be written) I underftand publick accountants; men poffeffed of large fums of money belonging to the ftate.-It is the courfe of the Court of Exchequer,

when

great oneyers; fuch as can hold in; 5 fuch as will ftrike fooner than speak, and speak fooner than drink,

when the fheriff makes up his accounts for iffues, amerciaments, and mefne profits, to fet upon his head o. ni. which denotes oneratur nifi habeat fufficientem exonerationem: he thereupon becomes the king's debtor, and the parties peravaile (as they are termed in law) for whom he anfwers, become his debtors, and are discharged as with refpect to the king.

To fettle accounts in this manner, is ftill called in the Exchequer to ony; and from hence Shakespeare feems to have formed the word onyers.-The Chamberlain had a little before mentioned, among the travellers whom he thought worth plundering, an officer of the Exchequer," a kind of auditor, one that hath abundance of charge tooGod knows what." This interpretation

is further confirmed by what Gads-hill fays in the next scene:"There's money of the king's coming down the hill; 'tis going to the king's Exchequer." MALONE.

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-fuch as will firike fooner than speak; and speak fooner than drink; and drink fooner than pray:] According to the specimen given us in this play, of this diffolute gang, we have no reafon to think they were lefs ready to drink than fpeak. Befides, it is plain, a natural gradation was here intended to be given of their actions, relative to one another. But what has speaking, drinking, and praying to do with one another? We fhould certainly read think in both places inftead of drink; and then we have a very regular and humourous climax. They will firike fooner than speak; and fpeak fooner than think; and think fooner than pray. By which laft words is meant, that "though perhaps they may now and then reflect on their crimes, they will never repent of them." The Oxford editor has dignified this correction by his adoption of it. WARBURTON.

I am in doubt about this paffage. There is yet a part unexplained. What is the meaning of fuch as can hold in? It cannot mean fuch as can keep their own fecret, for they will, he fays, Speak fooner than think it cannot mean fuch as will go calmly to work without unneceffary violence, fuch as is ufed by long-ftaff firikers, for the following part will not fuit with this meaning; and though we should read by tranfpofition fuch as will speak fooner than frike, the climax will not proceed regularly. I must leave it as it is. JOHNSON. Such as can hold in, may mean, fuch as can curb old-father antic the law, or fuch as will not blab. STEEVENS.

!

Turbervile's Book on Hunting, 1575, p. 37, mentions huntsmen on horfeback to make young hounds "bold in and clofe" to the old

ones:

drink, and drink fooner than pray: And yet I lie; for they pray continually unto their faint, the commonwealth; or, rather, not pray to her, but prey on her; for they ride up and down on her, and make her their boots.

Cham. What, the common-wealth their boots? will fhe hold out water in foul way?

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Gads. She will, fhe will; juftice hath liquor'd her. We steal as in a caftle7, cock-fure; we have the receipt of fern-feed, we walk invifible.

Cham.

ones: fo Gads-hill may mean, that he is joined with fuch companions as will hold in, or keep and stick close to one another, and fuch as are men of deeds, and not of words; and yet they love to talk and speak their mind freely better than to drink. TOLLET. She will, he will; juftice hath liquor'd her. -] A fatire on chicane in courts of juftice; which fupports ill men in their violations of the law, under the very cover of it.. WARBURTON.

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—as in a caftle;] This was once a proverbial phrase. So, in the Little French Lawyer of Beaumont and Fletcher: "That noble courage we have feen, and we "Shall fight as in a caftle."

Perhaps Shakespeare means, we fteal with as much fecurity as the ancient inhabitants of caftles, who had those strong holds to fly to for protection and defence against the laws. So, in K. Hen. VI. P. I. act III. fc. i:

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"Yes, as an outlaw in a caftle keeps,

"And useth it to patronage his theft." STEEVENS.

we have the receipt of fern-feed,] Fern is one of those plants which have their feed on the back of the leaf so small as to efcape the fight. Those who perceived that fern was propagated by femination, and yet could never fee the feed, were much at a lofs for a folution of the difficulty; and as wonder always endeavours to augment itself, they afcribed to fern-feed many strange properties, fome of which the ruftick virgins have not yet forgotten or exploded. JOHNSON.

This circumftance relative to fern-feed is alluded to in B. and Fletcher's Fair Maid of the Inn:

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had you Gyges' ring, "Or the herb that gives invifibility?" Again, in B. Jonfon's New Inn:

"No

Cham. Nay, by my faith; I think, you are more beholden to the night, than to fern-feed, for ing invifible.

your walkGads. Give me thy hand: thou fhalt have a fhare in our purchase 9, as I am a true man.

Cham. Nay, rather let me have it, as you are a falfe thief.

1

Gads. Go to; Homo is a common name to all men.-Bid the oftler bring my gelding out of the ftable. Farewel, you muddy knave.

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[Exeunt.

Poins. Come, fhelter, shelter; I have remov'd Falftaff's horfe, and he frets like a gumm'd velvet'. P. Henry. Stand clofe.

"No medicine, fir, to go invifible,

"No fern-feed in my pocket."

Again, in P. Holland's Tranflation of Pliny, b. xxvii. ch. 9: Of ferne be two kinds, and they beare neither floure nor feed." STEEVENS. -purchase,] Is the term ufed in law for any thing not inherited but acquired. JOHNSON.

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in our purchase] Purchase was anciently the cant term

for ftolen goods. So, in fury V. act III:

"They will steal any thing, and call it purchase.” So, Chaucer:

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"And robbery is holde purchafe." STEEVENS.

Homo is a name &c.] Gads-hill had promifed as he was a true man; the Chamberlain wills him to promise rather as a falfe thief; to which Gads-hill anfwers, that though he might have reafon to change the word truc, he might have spared man, for homo is a name common to all men, and among others to thieves. JOHNSON.

2

like a gumm'd velvet.] This allufion we often meet with in the old comedies. So, in the Malecontent, 1606: "I'll come among you, like gum into taffata, to fret, fret." STEEVENS.

Enter

Enter Falstaff.

Fal. Poins! Poins, and be hang'd! Poins! P. Henry. Peace, ye fat-kidney'd rafcal; What a brawling doft thou keep?

Fal. What, Poins! Hal!

P. Henry. He is walk'd up to the top of the hill; I'll go feek him.

Fal. I am accurft to rob in that thief's company: the rafcal hath remov'd my horfe, and ty'd him I know not where. If I travel but four foot by the fquare further afoot, I fhall break my wind. Well, I doubt not but to die a fair death for all this, if I 'fcape hanging for killing that rogue. I have forfworn his company hourly any time this two and twenty year, and yet I am bewitch'd with the rogue's company. If the rafcal have not given me 4 medicines to make me love him, I'll be hang'd; it could not be elfe; I have drunk medicines.-Poins!-Hal!-a plague upon you both!-Bardolph !-Peto !-I'll ftarve ere I'll rob a foot further. An 'twere not as good a deed as

3 four foot by the fquare] The thought is humourous, and alludes to his bulk: infinuating, that his legs being four foot afunder, when he advanced four foot, this put together made four foot fquare. WARBURTON.

I am in doubt whether there is so much humour here as is fufpected: Four foot by the square is probably no more than four foot by a rule. JOHNSON.

Dr. Johnfon is certainly right. Bishop Corbet fays in one of his poems:

"Some twelve foot by the fquare." FARMER.

All the old copies read by the quire, which points out the etymology-efquierre, Fr. The fame phrafe occurs in the Winter's -not the worst of the three, but jumps twelve foot and a half by the fquare." STEEVENS.

Tale:

4

medicines to make me love him,] Alluding to the

vulgar notion of love-powder. JOHNSON.

rob a foot further.

-] This is only a flight error, which yet has run through all the copies. We fhould read-rab

a foot.

So we now fay-rub on. JOHNSON.

Why may it not mean, I will not go a foot further to rob?

STEEVENS.

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