p. 255. p. 256. his knave's costard":- head. "To shallow rivers," &c. : - These lines are from a poem printed in the Passionate Pilgrim, 1599, as Shakespeare's, and in England's Helicon, 1600, as Marlowe's, to whom it undoubtedly belongs, as good Izaak Walton tells us. Sir Hugh, in his agitation, misquotes them, and mingles with them a line from the old metrical version of the 137th Psalm - -"When as we sate in Babylon." 66 [for missing your meetings, &c.]":-These words in brackets are from the quarto. They are necessary to Dr. Cuius' next speech. -- "Guallia and Gaul": The words of the folio are "Gallia and Gaule," those of the quarto "Gawle and Gawlia." Hanmer suggested "Gallia and Wallia," and Mr. Collier gives "Gallia and Guallia;" both great and needless deviations from the authentic text. "[Give me thy hand, terrestrial; so:]"- These words, accidentally omitted in the folio, are found in the quarto. 66 SCENE II. shoot point-blank twelve score: Although by the construction this means twelve score miles, it has not been hitherto explained that Ford means twelve score yards. That was the usual distance for long-bow shooting; and in the phraseology of the archery grounds ' yards' was dropped. 66— shall cry aim" : - to encourage a phrase of the archery field. 66 'tis in his buttons": - Evidently an equivalent to the phrase, 'tis in his breeches'; but attempts both needless and futile have been made to connect it with a custom of divining the success of love by means of the flower called bachelor's buttons.' p. 258. " SCENE III. the whitsters": - i. e., white-sters, bleachers. my eyas-musket! eyas is a young hawk; and Warburton pointed out that 'musket' is from the Italian "muschetto," a diminutive species of hawk. A puppet, the use of which appears in these lines from Ben Jonson's Tale of a Tub, Act IV. Sc. 2: "on an Ash-we'nesday Where thou didst stand sixe weekes the Jack of Lent p. 258. "Have I caught thee," &c. : first line of the second song in phel and Stella: : - Falstaff makes use of the Sir Philip Sidney's Astro "Have I caught my heavenly jewel arched beauty of the brow":- - The quarto has "arched bent." 66 the ship-tire, the tire-valiant": — - The ship-tire was a headdress flaunting with ribbons, as a ship with streamers. It has been more than needlessly proposed to read tire-vailant,' tire-volant,' and 'tire-velvet,' for "tirevaliant." The quarto has tire-vellet.' "[By the Lord]": - Omitted from the folio on account of the statute of 3 Jac., before mentioned. 66- smell like Bucklersbury" : — In Bucklersbury were apothecaries' shops where simples were sold. 66 66 the Counter-gate":- The Counter was a prison the reek of a lime kill":— Thus both folio and quarto, which the editors have hitherto changed to "lime kiln." Mr. Halliwell speaks of 'kill' as archaic. It is in common use in America. Mr. H. also speaks of truckle beds as among the things that were! 66 behind the arras": - Tapestry, first made at Arras in France, was hung from the unplastered walls of our ancestors' rooms, upon tenter-hooks. It was a comfortable and a- - convenient fashion. "I love thee":- The quarto adds, "and none but thee," words which have almost universally been retained by editors; but, as Mr. Collier asks, if they are to be included, why reject any part of that edition ? 66 where's the cowl-staff? look, how you drumble" : John Florio defines Bi-collo," a cowle-staff, to carie behind and before with, as they use in Italy to carry two buckets at once." To drumble, is to drone lazily around. earth him. 66 The original has what,' as Ritson what was in the basket": "who," which is clearly a mistake for pointed out, Ford not having suspected that any person was in the basket. Indeed, the company generally do not hear him ask any such question at all; but Falstaff afterwards says, (Sc. 5,) that Ford asked the servants" once or twice what they had in the basket." p. 265. p. 269. p. 273. SCENE IV. three hundred pounds a year" :- Equal to about fifteen hundred pounds, or seven thousand five hundred dollars now, or rather before the gold of California and Australia was discovered. come cut and long-tail" :- This phrase has been explained to mean 'persons of every degree,' (compared to long and short tailed dogs or horses,)- a sense in which it was undoubtedly used; but in its present connection with Slender's declaration, that he would maintain his mistress "like a gentlewoman," "under the degree [of the wife] of a squire," I cannot but believe that the existence of the slang phrase produced a misprint, and that we should read "court cut and long tail:". as in Eastward Hoe, by Chapman, Jonson. and Marston, we have, "So I have onely two daughters The one must be ladyfied, forsooth, and be attir'd just to the court cut and long tail." the text of the original has a clear meaning, I do not feel authorized to change it. ་ But as 66- happy man be his dole": - An obsolete phrase, meaning 'let his lot, [that which is doled to him] be happy.' 66 SCENE V. a posset of sack": -The old copies have "a pottle," which has been hitherto received without question, although clearly a misprint for "a poffet." See Note on "sherris sack." 2 King Henry IV., Act IV. Sc. 3. "And [how] sped you, sir? -The folio has only "And sped you, sir? and some editors make no change, for the reason that "sped" in itself is sufficient. It is sufficient for a question; but not for one which admits "very illfavouredly" as an answer. Thus, "Have they not sped? Have they not divided the prey?" Judges v. 30. The quarto gives us the text. 66 in her invention": - The quarto has 'by,' which has been generally adopted. But the change is worse than needless; for it was not by "Ford's wife's [supposed] distraction," but in it, that Falstaff was conveyed into the buck-basket, and "in her [Mrs. Page's] invention" suits with the use of prepositions in Shakespeare's day. 66 By the Lord]": — - Omitted from the folio, as before. horns to make me mad": -The folio has "one," plainly a mistake for me,' as Mr. Dyce pointed out. misprint is common. The p. 278. " : doubt, considering the spirit of the Scene, that Shakespeare, alert. a good sprag memory : - Sprack, i. e., — ready, SCENE II. his old lunes" : - lunacy, frenzy. The folio has "lines," the quarto "vein :" it is possible that the former is a misprint for the latter. The text is the happy conjecture of Theobald, the word being twice used by Shakespeare in the same sense, and in one of these instances (Troilus and Cressida, Act II. Sc. 3,) the same typographical error having occurred. Mr. Knight retains "lines" as meaning 'humours,' 'courses;' and Mr. Halliwell does the same, regarding lines' and 'lunes' as the same word differently spelled! "Peer out, peer out!" - Poor Ford is thinking of a rhyme sung by children to get a snail to thrust out his horns. "Peer out, peer out, peer out of your hole, Or else I'll beat you as black as a coal.” "If you go out," &c. :— In the folio this speech is assigned to Mrs. Ford, to whom it clearly cannot belong. In the sketch it is Mrs. Page who warns Falstaff of his danger. Malone restored the speech to her. 66 the fat woman of Brentford": - Called "Gillian of Brentford in the quarto. She seems to have been an actual personage, and, from co itemporary anecdotes of her, to have had the reputation of a witch. See Dodsley's Old Plays, Vol. IX., p. 16. Mr. Collier's ed., 1825. 66 her thrum'd hat :- A thrummed hat was made of weaver's thrums. p. 279 "we cannot misuse him enough": - The original folio omits him' evidently by accident. It was inserted in the folio of 1632. "Youth in a basket! Malone having found" You youth in a basket, come cut here!" in another part of the corresponding Scene in the sketch, foisted it into the text in this passage; and it even appears in Mr. Singer's last edi tion ! 66 66 there's a knot, a ging":— a gang. his wife's leman":- a lover of either sex, though generally the female. nal omits 1632. ་་ 66 p. 282. 66 - let him not strike the old woman : -The originot,' which was first inserted in the folio of you ronyon!" — From the French rogne, a scab.' fee simple-fine and recovery waste :- It is hardly necessary to say that these are law terms, the first expressing, as Ritson says, the largest estate, and the second the strongest assurance known to English law. SCENE III. "Sir, the Germans desire," &c. : The first folio has, "the Germane desires;" and, just after, " Ay, sir; I'll call him," instead of them :' manifest errors. There is some reason for believing that these Germans were the Count of Mümplegart, afterward Duke of Wurtemburg, and his retinue. He visited England in 1592, as Mr. Knight was the first to show, and went to Windsor. Mr. Knight produces an order from Lord Howard, then Lord Chamberlain, that he, the German, should pay nothing for his post horses. But that, thought mine Host, supposing this were really the German Duke, hardly justified those of his suite in running away with the animals. The date of this visit cannot be received as an argument for the early production of the play; for such an advent would be dated from and gossiped about in a town like Windsor for ten years and more. 66 we say. they must come off" SCENE IV. - pay, come down, as and takes the cattle": blasts, bewitches. "[Disguis'd like Herne, &c.]": - This line is from the quarto; it, or an equivalent, having been accidentally omit VOL. II. U |