As things acquainted and familiar to us ;~~~~~ Our coronation done, we will accite, As I before remember'd, all our state: [Exeunt. SCENE III. Glofterfhire. The Garden of Shallow's Houfe. Enter FALSTAFF, SHALLOW, SILENCE, BARDOLPH, the Page, and DAVY. SHAL. Nay, you fhall fee mine orchard: where, in an arbour, we will eat a laft year's pippin of my own graffing, with a difh of carraways, and fo forth;7-come, coufin Silence;-and then to bed. 7 a difh of caraways, &c.] A comfit or confection fo called in our author's time. A paffage in De Vigneul Marville's Melanges d' Hiftoire et de Litt. will explain this odd treat: "Dans le dernier fiecle ou l'on avoit le gout delicat, on ne croioit pas pouvoir vivre fans Dragées. Il n'etoit fils de bonne mere, qui n'eut fon Dragier; et il eft reporté dans l'hiftoire du duc de Guife, que quand il fut tué à Blois, il avoit fon Dragier à la main." WARBURTON. Mr. Edwards has diverted himself with this note of Dr. Warburton's, but without producing a happy illuftration of the paffage. The dish of caraways here mentioned was a difh of apples of that name. GOLDSMITH. Whether Dr. Warburton, Mr. Edwards, or Dr. Goldsmith, is in the right, the following paffage in Decker's Satiromaftix has left undecided: FAL. 'Fore God, you have here a goodly dwelling, and a rich. SHAL. Barren, barren, barren; beggars all, beg By this handful of carraways I could never abide to fay grace. -by thefe comfits we'll let all flide." "By these comfits and these carrȧways; I warrant it does him good to fwear.". you." I am glad, lady Petula, by this apple, that they please That apples, comfits, and caraways, at least were diftinct things, may be inferred from the following paffage in the old black letter interlude of The difobedient Child, no date: "What running had I for apples and nuttes, "What callying for bitkettes, cumfettes, and carowaiês." Again, in How to chufe a good Wife from a bad, 1602': "For apples, carrawaies, and cheese." There is a pear, however, called a caraway, which may be corrupted from caillouel, Fr. So, in the French Roman de la Rofe: "Ou la poire de caillouel.”, Chaucer, in his verfion of this paffage, fays: "With caleweis," &c. STEEVENS. It would be eafy to prove, by several instances, that caraways were generally part of the defert in Shakspeare's time. See particularly Murrel's Cookery, &c. A late writer however afferts that caraways is the name of an apple as well known to the natural inhabitants of Bath, as nonpareil is in London, and as generally affociated with golden pippins. He obferves also that if Shakspeare had meant comfits he would have faid, a difh of laft year's pippins with carraways."-With a dish, &c. clearly means fomething diftinct from the pippins. Jackson's Thirty Letters, 8vo. Vol. II. p. 42. REED. The following paffage in Cogan's Haven of Health, 4to. bl. 1. 1595, will at once fettle this important queftion: "This is a confirmation of our ufe in England, for the ferving of apples and other fruites laft after meales. Howbeit we are wont to eate carawaies or bitkets, or fome other kind of comfits or feedes together with apples, thereby to breake winde ingendred by them and furely it is a very good way for students.' STEEVENS. gars all, fir John:-marry, good air.&-Spread, Davy; fpread, Davy; well said, Davy. FAL. This Davy ferves you for good ufes; he is your ferving-man, and your husbandman.9 SHAL. A good varlet, a good varlet, a very good varlet, fir John.-By the mafs,' I have drunk too much fack at fupper :-A good varlet. Now fit down, now fit down:-come, coufin. SIL. Ah, firrah! quoth-a,-we shall And praife heaven for the merry year; And ever among fo merrily.3 [Singing. barren, barren; beggars all,-good. air.] Juftice Shallow alludes to a witticifm frequent among rufticks, who, when talking of a healthy country, pleasantly obferve: "Yes, it is a good air, more run away than die." HOLT WHITE. 9 and your husbandman.] Old copy-husband. Corrected by Mr. Rowe. I am not fure that the emendation is neceffary. "He was a wife man, and a good," was the language of our author's time. See alfo Falftaff's preceding speech. I MALONE. By the mafs,] So, in Springes for Woodcocks, a collection of epigrams, 1606, Ep. 221: 3 "In elders' time, as ancient custom was, "But when the male went down, (as others note,) and females dear, &c.] This very natural character of Justice Silence is not fufficiently obferved. He would fcarcely speak a word before, and now there is no poffibility of stopping his mouth. He has a catch for every occafion : When flesh is cheap and females dear. FAL. There's a merry heart!-Good mafter Silence, I'll give you a health for that anon. SHAL. Give mafter Bardolph some wine, Davy. DAVY. Sweet fir, fit; [Seating BARDOLPH and the Page at another table.] I'll be with you anon :moft fweet fir, fit.- Mafter page, good master page, fit: proface! 4 What you want in meat, we'll Here the double fenfe of the word dear muft be remembered.Ever among is ufed by Chaucer in The Romaunt of the Rofe: "Ever among (fothly to faine) "I fuffre noie and mochil paine." FARMER. 3 And ever among fo merrily.] Of the phrafe-ever among, I find an example in the old MS. romance of The Sowdon of Babyloyne: "Thai eten and dronken right inowe, "And made myrth ever among : "But of the Sowdon fpeke we nowe It is obfervable that this phrase, in both inftances, is applied to the purpose of feftivity. STEEVENS. 4 - proface!] Italian from profaccia; that is, much good may it do you. HANMER. Sir Thomas Hanmer (fays Dr. Farmer) is right, yet it is no argument for his author's Italian knowledge. Old Heywood, the epigrammatist, addressed his readers long before : "Readers, reade this thus: for preface, proface, So, Taylor, the Water-poet, in the title of a poem prefixed to his Praife of Hempfeed: "A preamble, preatrot, preagallop. preapace, or preface; and proface, my mafters, if your ftomach ferve." Decker, in his comedy of If this be not a good Play_the Devil is in it, makes Shackle-foule, in the character of Friar Rush, tempt his brethren " with choice of dishes :" "To which proface; with blythe lookes fit yee." I am ftill much in doubt whether there be fuch an Italian word as profaccia. Baretti has it not, and it is more probable that we received it from the French; proface being a colloquial have in drink. But you must bear; The heart's all.+ [Exit. SHAL. Be merry, mafter Bardolph ;—and my little foldier there, be merry. . SIL. Be merry, be merry, my wife's as all; 5 [Singing For women are fhrews, both fhort and tall: Be abbreviation of the phrafe.-Bon prou leur face, i.é. Much good may it do them. See Cotgrave, in voce Prou. To the inftances produced by Dr. Farmer, I may add one more from Springes for Woodcocks, a collection of epigrams, 1606, Ep. 110: "Proface, quoth Fulvius, fill us t'other quart." And another from Heywood's Epigrams: "I came to be merry, wherewith merrily "Proface. Have among you," &c. 66 Again, in Stowe's Chronicle, p. 528: -the cardinall came in booted and spurred, all fodainly amongst them, and bade them proface." STEEVENS. So, in Nafhe's Apologie for Pierce Penniless, 1593: "A preface to courteous minds, as much as to fay proface, much good may it do you! would it were better for you!" Sir T. Hanmer, (as an ingenious friend obferves to me,) was mistaken in fuppofing profaccia a regular Italian word; the proper expreffion being buon pro vi faccia, much good may it do you! Profaccia is, however, as I am informed, a cant term afed by the common people in Italy, though it is not inserted in the best Italian dictionaries. MALONE. 4 -The heart's all.] That is, the intention with which the entertainment is given. The humour confifts in making Davy act as master of the house. JOHNSON. 5 my wife's as all;] Old copy-has all. Dr. Farmer very acutely obferves, that we should read-my wife's as all, i. e. as all women are. This affords a natural introduction to what follows. STEEVENS. 'Tis merry in hall, when beards wag all,] Mr. Warton, |
