Fal. Is this true, Pistol? Eva. No; it is falfe, if it is a pick-purfe.. Pi. Ha, thou mountain-foreigner!-Sir John, and mafter mine, I combat challenge of this latten bilbo : 8 Word of denial in thy labras here; ? Word of denial: froth and fcum, thou lieft. Nym. Be advis'd, fir, and pafs good humours: I will fay, marry and was pulling out broad pieces (that have not seen the fun these many years) when I came away.' In Shadwell's Lancashire Witches, Vol. III. p. 232, the game is called Shuffle-board. It is still played; and I lately heard a man ask another to go into an alehoufe in the Broad Sanctuary, Weftminster,, to play at it.. That Slender means the broad billing of one of our kings, appears from comparing these words with the corresponding paffage in the old quarto: "Ay by this handkerchief did he ;-two faire fhovel-board fhillings, befides feven groats in mill fixpences." How twenty eight pence could be loft in mill-fixpences, Slender, however, has not explained to us. MALONE. 8 Pistol, feeing Slender fuch a flim, puny wight, would intimate, that he is as thin as a plate of that compound metal, which is called latten : and which was, as we are told, the old orichalc. THEOBALD. Latton is a mixed metal, made of copper and calamine. MALONE. The farcafm intended is, that Siender had neither courage nor ftrength, as a latten fword has neither edge nor fubftance. HEATH. Latten may fignify no more than as thin as a lath. The word in fome counties is ftill pronounced as if there was no b in it: and Ray, in his. Dictionary of North Country Words, affirms it to be fpelt let in the north of England. Faltbaff threatens, in another play, to drive prince Henry out of his kingdom, with a dagger of lath. A latten bilboe means therefore, I believe, no more than a blade as thin as a lab-a vice's dagger Theobald, however, is right in his affèrtion that latten was a metal. STFEVENS I believe Theobald has given the true fenfe of latten, though he is wrong in fuppofing, that the allufion is to Slender's thinness. It is rather to his fafinefs or weakness. TYRWHITT. 9 Word of denial in thy labras here;] I fuppofe it should rather be read: "Word of denial in my labras hear ;" that is, bear the word of denial in my lips. Thou lyft. JOHNSON We often talk of giving the lie in a man's teeth, or in his throat. Piftol chooses to throw the word of denial in the lips of his adverfary, and is fupPofed to point to them as he speaks. STEEVENS, marry trap, with you, if you run the nuthook's humour on me; that is the very note of it. Slen. By this hat, then he in the red face had it: for though I cannot remember what I did when you made me drunk, yet I am not altogether an afs. Fal. What fay you, Scarlet and John ? 3 Bard Why, fr, for my part, I fay, the gentleman had drunk himfelt out of his five fentences. Eva. It is his five fenfes: fie, what the ignorance is! Bard. And being fap, fir, was, as they fay, cashier'd; and fo conclufions pafs'd the careires.5 Slen. Ay, you fpake in Latin then too; but 'tis no matter: I'll ne'er be drunk whilft I live again, but in honest, civil, godly company, for this trick: if I be drunk, I'll be drunk with thofe that have the fear of God, and not with drunken. knaves.. Eva.. So Got 'udge me, that is a virtuous mind. Fal 2 When a man was caught in his own ftratagem, I suppose the exclamation of infult (was-marry) trap! JOHNSON. 3 The names of two of Robin Hood's companions; but the humour confifts in the allufion to Bardolph's red face; concerning which, fee The Second Part of Henry IV. WARBURTON. 4 I know not the exact meaning of this cant word, neither have I met with it in any of our old dramatic pieces, which have often proved the best comments on Shakspeare's vulgarifms.. Dr. Farmer, indeed, obferves, that to fib is to beat; fo that being fap may mean being beaten; and cafiered, turned out of company. STEEVENS. The word fap, is probably made from vappa, a drunken fellow, or a good-for-nothing fellow, whofe virtues are all exhaled. Slender, in his. anfwer, feems to understand that Bardolph had made ufe of a Latin word :: Ay, you fpake in Latin then too; as Piftol had just before. S. W. It is not probable that any.cant term is from the Latin; nor that the word in question was fo der ved, because Slender miftook it for Latin.. The mistake, indeed, is an argument to the contrary, as it shows his ignorance in that language. Fap however, certainly means drunk, as ap pears from the gloffaries. DoUCE. 5. I believe this ftrange word is nothing but the French cariere; and the expreffion means, that the common bounds of good behaviour were overpaffed.. JOHNSON. to pass the cariere was a military phrafe, or rather perhaps a term of the manege. STEEVENS. Bardolph means to say," and fo in the end he reel'd about with a circuitous motion, like a horfe, paffing a carier." To pass a carier was the technical term. MALONE. Fal. You hear all these matters denied, gentlemen'; you: hear it. Enter Miftrefs ANNE PAGE with vine; Miftrefs FORD and Mistress PAGE following. Page. Nay, daughter, carry the wine in; we'll drink within. [Exit ANNE PAGE.. Slen. O heaven! this is mistress Anne Page. Page. How now, mistress Ford? Fal. Miftrefs Ford, by my troth, you are very well met ? by your leave, good miftrefs. [kiffing her.. Page. Wife, bid this gentleman welcome:Come, we have a hot venifon pafty to dinner; come, gentlemen, I hope we fhall drink down all unkindness. [Exeunt all but SHAL. SLENDER and EVANS. Slen. I had rather than forty thillings, I had my book of Songs and Sonnets here : 6 Enter SIMPLE. How now, Simple! where have you been? I muft wait on myself, must 1? You have not The Book of Riddles about: you, have you? Sim. Book of Riddles! why, did you not lend it to AliceShortcake upon Allhallowmas laft, a fortnight afore Michaelmas? 8 6 Shal.. It cannot be fuppofed that poor Slender was himself a poet. He pro bably means the Poems of Lord Surrey and others, which were very popular in the age of Queen Elizabeth. They were printed in 1567, with this title: "Songes and Sonnettes, written by the right honourable Lord Henry Howard, late Earle of Surrey, and others." Slender laments that he has not this fashionable book about him, fuppofing it might have affifted him in paying his addrefles to Anne Page. MALONE. Under the title mentioned by Slender, Churchyard very evidently points out this book in an enumeration of his own pieces, prefixed to a collection of verfe and profe, called Churchyard's Challenge, 4to, 1593: "and many things in the booke of fanges and fonets printed then, were of my making." By then he means in Queene Maries raigne;" for Surrey was firft publifhed in 1557. STEEVENS. 7 This appears to have been a popular book, and is enumerated with others in The English Courtier, and Country Gentleman, 4to. 1586. REED. Sure, Simple's a little out in his reckoning, Allhallowmas is almoft five weeks after Michaelmas. But may it not be urged, it is defigned 8 Simple Shal. Come, coz; come, coz; we stay for you. A word with you, coz marry, this, coz; There is, as 'twere, a tender, a kind of tender, made afar off by fir Hugh here ;-Do understand me? you Slen. Ay, fir, you shall find me reasonable; if it be fo, L fhall do that that is reafon.. Shal. Nay, but understand me. Slen. So I do, fir. Eva. Give ear to his motions, mafter Slender: I will de fcription the matter to you, if you be capacity of it. Slen.. Nay, I will do as my coufin Shallow fays: I pray you, pardon me; he's a justice of peace in his country, fimple though I ftand here. Eva. But that is not the question; the question is concern, ing your marriage. Shal. Ay, there's the point, fir. Eva. Marry, is it; the very point of it; to mistress Anne Page. Slen. Why, if it be fo, I will marry her, upon any reafonable de rands. Eva. But can you affection the 'oman? Let us command to know that of your mouth, or of your lips; for divers philo fophers hold, that the lips is parcel of the mouth; 9-—Therefore, precifely, can you carry your good will to the maid ? Shal. Coufin Abraham Slender, can you love her? Slen. I hope, fir,-I will do, as it fhall become one that would do reafon.. Eva. Nay, Got's lords and his ladies, you must speak pof fitable, if you can carry her your defires towards her.. Shal Simple thould appear thus ignorant, to keep up the character? I think not. The fimpleft creatures (nay, even naturals) generally are very precife in the knowledge of feftivals, and marking how the feafons run and there. fore I have ventured to fufpe&t our poet wrote Martlemas, as the vulgar call it which is near a fortnight after All-Saint's day, i. e. eleven days,, both inclufive. THEOE ALD, This correction, thus feriously and wifely enforced, is-received by fir Thomas Hanmer; but probably Shakspeare intended to blunder. JOHNSON. 9 Parcel, in this place, feems to be ufed in the fame fenfe as it was both formerly and at prefent in conveyances. "Part, pare, or member of any eftate," are formal words still to be found in various deeds. Shal. That you muft: Will you, upon good dowry, marry her? Slen. I will do a greater thing than that, upon your requeft, coufin, in any reafon. Shal. Nay, conceive me, conceive me, fweet coz; what I do, is to pleasure you, coz: Can you love the maid? Slen. I will marry her, fir, at your request; but if there be no great love in the beginning, yet heaven may decrease it upon better acquaintance, when we are married, and have more occafion to know one another: I hope, upon familiarity will grow more contempt: but if you fay, marry her, I will marry her, that I am freely diffolved, and diffolutely. Eva. It is a fery difcretion answer; fave, the faul' is in the 'ort diffolutely: the 'ort is, according to our meaning, refolutely;-his meaning is good. Shal. Ay, I think my coufin meant well. Slen. Ay, or elfe I would I might be hang'd, la. Re-enter ANNE PAGE. Shal. Here comes fair miftrefs Anne:-Would I were young, for your fake, mistress Anne! Anne. The dinner is on the table; my father defires your worships' company. Shal. I will wait on him, fair mistress Anne. Eva. Od's pleffed will! I will not be abfence at the grace. well. Anne. The dinner attends you, fir. 2 Slen. I am not a-hungry, I thank you, forfooth :- Go, firrah, for all you are my man, go wait upon my coufin Shal. low: [Exit SIMPLE.] A juftice of peace fometime may be beholden to his friend for a man :-I keep but three men and a boy yet, 3 till my mother be dead: But what though? 1 yet live like a poor gentleman born. Anne. This paffage fhews that it was formerly the custom in England, as it is now in France, for perfons to be attended at dinner by their own fervants, wherever they dined. M. MASON. 3 As great a fool as the poet has made Siender, it appears, by his boast ing |