a tinker's wife within a mile where my land and living lies; and, having flown over many knavish professions, he settled only in rogue: some call him Autolycus. CLO. Out upon him! prig, for my life, prig: he haunts wakes, fairs, and bear-baitings. AUT. Very true, sir; he, sir, he; that's the rogue that put me into this apparel. CLO. Not a more cowardly rogue in all Bohemia; if you had but looked big and spit at him, he'd have run. AUT. I must confess to you, sir, I am no fighter; I am false of heart that way; and that he knew, I warrant him. CLO. How do you now? AUT. Sweet sir, much better than I was; I can stand and walk: I will even take my leave of you, and pace softly towards my kinsman's. CLO. Shall I bring thee on the way? Hath not been us'd to fear. Even now I tremble FLO. O, but, sir, PER. Your resolution cannot hold, when 't is Oppos'd, as it must be, by the power of the king; One of these two must be necessities, swoon, I think, To show myself a glass.] So Hanmer; and to our mind the emendation is so convincingly true, that we are astonished it should ever have been questioned. With these forc'd thoughts, I pr'ythee, darken not I be not thine: to this I am most constant, Lift up your countenance, as it were the day At upper end o' the table, now, i' the middle; on, And bid us welcome to your sheep-shearing, Sir, welcome! [TO POLIXENES. It is my father's will I should take on me The hostess-ship o' the day.-You're welcome, sir! [TO CAMILLO. Give me those flowers there, Dorcas.-Reverend sirs, The old copies have," sworne, I think." b Be merry, gentle!] Mr. Collier's annotator, in his rage for reformation, changes this to, "Be merry, girl." The meaning is obviously, Be merry, gentle one! POL. Then make your garden rich in gillyvors, And do not call them bastards. PER. Desire to breed by me.-Here's flowers for you: CAM. I should leave grazing, were I of your flock, And only live by gazing. PER. Out, alas! You'd be so lean, that blasts of January Would blow you through and through.-Now, my fair'st friend, I would I had some flowers o' the spring, that might Become your time of day; and yours, and yours, From Dis's waggon! daffodils, That come before the swallow dares, and take agillyvors,-] An ancient and popular form of "gilly flowers." b The marigold,-] The sun-flower. "Some calle it, Sponsus Solis, the Spowse of the Sunne, because it sleepes and is awakened with him."-LUPTON'S Book of Notable Things. e And the true blood which peeps fairly through it,-] Mr. Collier's annotator, as "necessary to the measure," proposes,— The winds of March with beauty; violets, dim, "which peeps so fairly," &c. But the rhythm does not require the addition; we need only make a slight transposition, and read,- "And the true blood which through it fairly peeps." d As little skill-] As little reason, &c. Here a Dance of Shepherds and Shepherdesses. POL. Pray, good shepherd, what fair swain is this Which dances with your daughter? SHEP. They call him Doricles; and boasts himself To have a worthy feeding: but I have it He looks like sooth. He says, he loves my daughter; I think so too; for never gaz'd the moon SERV. O master, if you did but hear the pedler at the door, you would never dance again after a tabor and pipe; no, the bagpipe could not move you: he sings several tunes faster than you'll tell money he utters them as he had eaten ballads, and all men's ears grew to his tunes. CLO. He could never come better: he shall come in: I love a ballad but even too well, if it be doleful matter merrily set down, or a very pleasant thing indeed, and sung lamentably. SERV. He hath songs for man or woman, of all sizes; no milliner can so fit his customers with gloves he has the prettiest love-songs for maids; so without bawdry, which is strange; with such : a That makes her blood look out:] Theobald's correction; the old text having,-" look on 't." The misprint was not uncommon: thus, in "Cymbeline,' Act II. Sc. 3, "Must wear the print of his remembrance out," and in "Twelfth Night," Act III. Sc. 4, "And laid mine honour too unchary out," where, in both instances, the old editions have " on 't." ba foul gap-] Mr. Collier's annotator would read,—a foul jape, that is, a broad jest; but a "foul gap " means a gross paren. delicate burdens of dildos and fadings: jump her and thump her; and where some stretch-mouth'd rascal would, as it were, mean mischief, and break a foul gap binto the matter, he makes the maid to answer, Whoop, do me no harm, good man; puts him off, slights him, with Whoop, do me no harm, good man. POL. This is a brave fellow. d c CLO. Believe me, thou talkest of an admirableconceited fellow. Has he any unbraided wares? SERV. He hath ribands of all the colours i' the rainbow; points, more than all the lawyers in Bohemia can learnedly handle, though they come to him by the gross; inkles, caddisses, cambrics, lawns; why, he sings 'em over, as they were gods or goddesses; you would think, a smock were a she-angel, he so chants to the sleeve-hand, and the work about the square on 't. CLO. Pr'ythee, bring him in; and let him approach singing. PER. Forewarn him that he use no scurrilous words in 's tunes. [Exit Servant. CLO. You have of these pedlers, that have more in them than you'd think, sister. PER. Ay, good brother, or go about to think. Enter AUTOLYCUS, singing. Lawn as white as driven snow; CLO. If I were not in love with Mopsa, thou shouldst take no money of me; but being enthralled as I am, it will also be the bondage of certain ribands and gloves. MOP. I was promised them against the feast; but they come not too late now. DOR. He hath promised you more than that, or there be liars. |