Slen. Ay, and ratolorum too; and a gentleman born, master parson; who writes himself armigero; in any bill, warrant, quittance, or obligation, armigero.

Shal. Ay, that I do; and have done any time these three hundred years.*

Slen. All his successors, gone before him, hath done't; and all his ancestors, that come after him, may they may give the dozen white luces in their

coat.

Shal. It is an old coat.

Eva. The dozen white louses do become an old coat well; it agrees well, passant: it is a familiar beast to man, and signifies love.

Shal. The luce is the fresh fish; the salt fish is an old coat.5

4 Shallow here identifies himself with "all his successors gone before him; an aristocratic way of speaking once common in England, and not wholly laid aside yet. Washington Allston was once the guest of an English nobleman who, though Shallow in nothing else, said he came over with William the Conqueror. We are indebted to Mr. Verplanck for this anecdote, and also for the information that Shallow's mode of speech, though common, is characteristic of him.

H.

5 This passage is exceedingly obscure, and perhaps no explanation can make it clear. Shallow is allowed on all hands to be a satire on Sir Thomas Lucy, the Poet's old Stratford enemy, whose coat-of-arms bore three luces, not a dozen, as stated by Slender; though one of the family had a coat marked in four divisions, with three luces in each. Luce is the old name for pike, of which there were two kinds, the fresh-water and the saltwater pike. The most probable explanation, then, seems to be this In the first place Slender blunders, calling them white luces, white being apparently used to denote the fresh-water pike; and Shallow, proud of his ancestry and therefore scorning the white luce, the fresh fish, corrects this blunder by saying, "It is an old coat," inferring that, because it is old, therefore it has the saltwater fish, not the fresh. Then Sir Hugh makes a double blunder, giving a white luce to an old coat, and mistaking luce for louse, the "familiar beast to man." And finally Shallow blunders, mistaking Sir Hugh's "familiar beast" for the white luce,

Slen. I may quarter, coz?

Shal. You may, by marrying.

Eva. It is marring indeed, if he quarter it.
Shal. Not a whit.

6

Eva. Yes, py'r-lady; if he has a quarter of your coat, there is but three skirts for yourself, in my simple conjectures: but that is all one. If Sir John Falstaff have committed disparagements unto you, I am of the church, and will be glad to do my benevolence, to make atonements and compremises between you.

Shal. The Council shall hear it: it is a riot.

Eva. It is not meet the Council hear a riot; there is no fear of Got in a riot: the Council, look you, shall desire to hear the fear of Got, and not to hear a riot take your vizaments in that.

7

Shal. Ha! o' my life, if I were young again, the sword should end it.

:

Eva. It is petter that friends is the sword, and end it and there is also another device in my prain, which, peradventure, prings goot discretions with it: There is Anne Page, which is daughter to master George Page, which is pretty virginity.

Slen. Mistress Anne Page? She has brown hair, and speaks small like a woman.8

and proceeds to correct him by saying, "The luce" (that is, the louse) that you speak of "is the fresh fish," and so does not "become an old coat well," such as mine is: for "the salt fish is an old coat."

H.

6 To quarter meant, in heraldic language, to have armorial bearings as an appendage to hereditary arms; as a man, by marrying, may add his wife's titles, if she have any, to his own. Sir Hugh, who must still be talking, however ignorant he may be of the matter in question, goes on from blunder to blunder, mistaking coat-of-arms for coat, and the quartering of heraldry for the cutting of a thing into four parts.

7 Advisement.

H.

8 To speak small means much the same as what old Lear so

Eva. It is that fery person for all the 'orld, as just as you will desire; and seven hundred pounds of monies, and gold, and silver, is her grandsire, upon his death's bed, (Got deliver to a joyful resurrections!) give, when she is able to overtake seventeen years old: it were a goot motion, if we leave our pribbles and prabbles, and desire a marriage between master Abraham and mistress Anne Page. Slen. Did her grandsire leave her seven hundred pound?

Eva. Ay, and her father is make her a petter penny.

Slen. I know the young gentlewoman; she has good gifts.

Eva. Seven hundred pounds, and possibilities, is goot gifts.

Shal. Well, let us see honest master Page: Is Falstaff there?

Eva. Shall I tell you a lie? I do despise a liar, as I do despise one that is false; or, as I despise one that is not true. The knight, Sir John, is there; and, I beseech you, be ruled by your well-willers. I will peat the door [Knocks] for master Page. What, hoa! Got pless your house here!

touchingly says over his dying Cordelia: "Her voice was ever soft, gentle, and low; an excellent thing in woman." So also in Chaucer :

"The company answered all, With voice sweet entuned, and so small, That methought it the sweetest melody."

H.

In the modern editions this and the following speeches of Slender are strangely taken away from him and given to Shallow. There being no apparent cause why they should not belong to the owner, we concur with Collier and Verplanck in restoring them as they are in the original. It seems to be a part of Slender's character, that his fancy begins to take fire as soon as he learns the girl is rich.

H.

Enter PAGE.

Page. Who's there?

Eva. Here is Got's plessing, and your friend, and justice Shallow: and here young master Slender; that, preadventures, shall tell you another tale, if matters grow to your likings.

Page. I am glad to see your worships well: I thank you for my venison, master Shallow.

Shal. Master Page, I am glad to see you: Much good do it your good heart! I wish'd your venison better; it was ill kill'd: — How doth good mistress Page?—and I thank you always with my heart, with my heart.

la;

Page. Sir, I thank you.

Shal. Sir, I thank you; by yea and no, I do. Page. I am glad to see you, good master Slender, Slen. How does your fallow greyhound, sir? L heard say, he was outrun on Cotsall.10

Page. It could not be judg'd, sir.

Slen. You'll not confess, you'll not confess.

Shal. That he will not; 'tis your fault, 'tis your fault: —"Tis a good dog.

11

Page. A cur, sir.

Shal. Sir, he's a good dog, and a fair dog; can

10 The Cotswold hills in Gloucestershire were once quite famous for rural sports. Shallow in Henry IV. speaks of "Will Squele, a Cotswold man;" as if it were something of a distinction to be born there. Perhaps it was the Cotswold games that educated Will up into that remarkable company of which the Justice says, "You had not four such swinge-bucklers in all the inns of court again." We learn from Warton that these games continued till the grand Rebellion broke up every liberal establishment."

H.

11 Fault was anciently much used for misfortune. Shallow here very politely tries to arrest the unpleasant course of speech which Slender persists in taking.

H.

there be more said? he is good, and fair. Is Sir John Falstaff here?

Page. Sir, he is within; and I would I could do a good office between you.

Eva. It is spoke as a Christians ought to speak.
Shal. He hath wrong'd me, master Page.
Page. Sir, he doth in some sort confess it.

Shal. If it be confessed, it is not redressed: is not that so, master Page? He hath wrong'd me; indeed he hath; at a word, he hath ;- believe me:Robert Shallow, Esquire, saith he is wronged. Page. Here comes Sir John.

Enter Sir JOHN FALSTAFF, BARDOLPH, NYм, and PISTOL.

Fal. Now, master Shallow; you'll complain of me to the king?

Shal. Knight, you have beaten my men, kill'd my deer, and broke open my lodge.

Fal. But not kiss'd your keeper's daughter? 12 Shal. Tut, a pin! this shall be answer’d.

Fal. I will answer it straight; - I have done all this: That is now answer'd.

Shal. The Council shall know this.

Fal. "Twere better for you, if it were known in counsel: you'll be laugh'd at.

Eva. Pauca verba, Sir John; goot worts.

Fal. Good worts? 13 good cabbage! - Slender, I head: What matter have you against me?

broke your

12 Scott in Kenilworth suggests that this was part of the charge made against the Poet by Sir Thomas Lucy. Council and counsel, just below, are probably a quibble, the one meaning the StarChamber, the other being used in the sense of secresy. Sir Thomas seems to have gained nothing by his proceedings against the Poet but the honour of being " laughed at."

13 Worts was the ancient term for all the cabbage kind.

H.