559 Slen. Miftrefs Ann Page? fhe has brown hair, and fpeaks fmall like a woman. Eva. It is that ferry perfon for all the orld, as juft as you will defire; and feven hundred pounds monies, and gold and filver, is her grandfire upon his death's-bed (Got deliver to a joyful refurrections) give, when she is able to overtake fevent.en years old; it were a good motion, if we leave our pribbles and prabbles, and defire a marriage between mafter Abraham and mistress Ann Page. Slen.Did her grand-fire leave her feven hundred pounds? Eva. Ay, and her father is make her a petter penny. Slen. I know the young gentlewoman; the has good gifts. Eva. Seven hundred pounds, and poffibilities, is good gifts. Shal. Well; let us fee honeft Mr. Page: is Falstaff there? Eva. Shall I tell you a lye 1 do defpife a liar, as I do defpife one that is falfe; or as I defpife one that is not true. The Knight, Sir John, is there; and, I beseech you, be ruled by your well-wishers. will peat the door [Knocks.] for mafter Page. What, hoa? Got blefs your house here. Enter Mr. Page. low b Page. Who's there?" Eua, Here is Got's pleffing, and your friend, and juftice Shallow; and here's young mafter Slender; that, peradventures, fhall tell you another tale, if matters grow to your likings.' you for Page. I am glad to fee your worships well. I thank my venifon, mafter Shallows. Shal. Mafter Page, I am glad to fee you; much good do it your good heart: I wish'd your venifon better; it was ill kill'd. How doth good mistress Page and I thank you always with my heart, la; with my heart. Page. Sir, I thank you. Shal. Sir, I thank you; by yea and no, I do. I Slen. Slen. How do's your fallow greyhound, Sir? I heard fay, he was out-run on Cotfale. Page. It could not he judg'd, Sir. Slen. You'll not confefs, you'll not confefs. Shal. That he will not, 'tis your fault, 'tis your fault; 'tis a good dog. Page. A cur, Sir. Shal. Sir, he's a good dog, and a fair dog; can there be more faid? 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 fpoke, as a chriftians ought to fpeak. Page. Sir, he doth in fome fort confefs it. Shal. If it be confefs'd, it is not redrefs'd; is not that fo, mafter Page? he hath wrong'd me; indeed, he hath; at a word, he hath; believe me, Robert Shallow Efquire faith, he is wrong'd. Page. Here comes Sir John. Enter Sir John Falstaff, Bardolph, Nym and Piftol. Fal. Now, mafter 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 kifs'd your keeper's daughter. Shal. Tut, a pin; this fhall be answered. Fal. I will answer it ftrait; I have done all this. That is now answer'd. Shal. The council fhall know this. Fal. 'Twere better for you, if 'twere not known in council; you'll be laugh'd at. Eva. Pauca verba, Sir John, good worts. Fal. Good worts good cabbage. Slender, I broke your head: what matter have you against me? Slen. Marry, Sir, I have matter in my head againft you, and against your cony-catching rafcals, Bardolph, Nym, and Piftol Bar. Bar, You Banbury cheese ! Nym.Slice, I fay; pauca, pauca: flice, that's my humour. Slen. Where's Simple, my man? can you tell, couf.n? Eva Peace: I pray you now let us underfland; there is three umpires in this matter, as I understand; that is, mafter Page; fidelicet, mafter Page; and there is myfelf; fidelicet, myfelf; and the three party is, laftly and finally, mine hoft of the garter. Page. We three to hear it, and end it between them. Eva. Ferry goot; I will make a prief of it in my note-book, and we will afterwards ork upon the caule with as great difcreetly as we can. 1 Fal. Piftol, Piftol. He hears with cars. Eva. The tevil and his tam! what phrafe is this, he hears with ear? why, it is affectations. Fal. Pistol, did you pick mafter Slender's purfe? Slen. Ay, by thefe gloves, did he; (or I would I might never come in mine own great chamber again elie,) of feven groats in mill-fixpences, and two Edward fhovel-boards, that coft me two fhilling and two pençe a-piece, of Yead Miller, by thefe gloves. Fal. Is this true, Pifol? Eva. No; it is falfe, if it is a pick-purfe. Pit. Ha, thou mountain foreigner!--Sir John, and mafter mine, I combat challenge of this latten bilboe: (3) Word (3) I combat challenge of this Latin bilboe] Our modern Editors have diftinguifh'd this word, Latin, in Italie characters, as if it was addrefs'd to Sir Hugh, and meant to call him pedantic blade, on account of his being a schoolmaster, and teaching Latin. But I'll be bold to fay, in this they do not take the Poet's conceit Piftol barely calls Sir Hugh mountain-foreigner, becaufe he had interpos'd in the difpute: but then immediately demands the combat of Slender, for having charg'd him with picking his pocket. The old quarto's write it latten, as it should be, in the common characters: And, as a proof that the Author defign'd this fhould be addrefs'd to Slender, Sir Hugh does not there interpofe one word in the quarrel. But what then Word of denial in thy Labra's here; fignifies—————latten bilbo 2 Why, Piftol feeing Slender fuch fim puny, wight; would intimate, that he is as thin as a plate of that compound metal, which is call'd latten; and which was, as we are told, the old orichale. Monfieur Dacier, upon this verse in Horace's Epiftle de Arte Poetica, Tibia non ut nunė orichalco vivkła, &c, fays. Eft une espece de cuivre de montagne, come fon nom mefme le temoigne eft ce que nous appelons aujourd' buy du leton, "It is a fort of mountain-copper, as its very name imports, and which we at this time of day call latten." Scaliger upon Feftus had faid the fame thing. The Metallifts tell us, it is copper mingled with lapis calamiaris. The learned part of my readers will forgive me, if I attempt the correction of a paflage in Hefychius, upon the fubject of orichale, which has been tamper'd with, but not cur'd, I think, to fatisfaction. Ορείχαλκος, χαλκός, χρυσῷ ἐοικῶς, ἡ κρήνη ἀρχίχαλκος. (In the fri place, the feries and order of Hefychius fhew he meant to write his theme, Opixes, without the diphthong.) Sopingius has conjec tured, the laft word fhould be aupixarxes. But what then has uphin to do here? Orichalcum does not fignify a fountain; nor does Vibius Sequefter. or any body elfe to my knowledge, tell us of any fountain lake, or fpring, that bore fuch a name. Perhaps, the whole fhould be thus pointed and reform'd : Ὀρίχαλκος, χαλκός χρυσῷ έσπως κ sipapace σb. afxn. xarxóc. Orichalcum, æs auri æmulum; vel comp fi tum quoddam principium cujus, æs. Orichalc, a fort of brafs like gold; or a compound me al, the foundation of which was brafs. Stephanus, de urbibus, tells us of a stone produc'd at Andeira, which, mingled with braís, became ericbale. KPA E'IZ xaλ, 'Ofɛlxa noc yiyveral. Strabo is the foundation for what Stephanus fays; who, fpeaking of this ftone, adds, If it be burnt with a certain earth, it melts to a counterfeit filver: which earth, having brass mingled with it, comes to that compounded metal which some call crichalc. & mpooλαβῦσα χαλκὸν τὸ καλέμενον γίνεται ΚΡΑΜΑ, ἅτινες ορείχαλκον a. The old gloffaries likewife have, aurichalca, upoμativa: which Junius in his book, de plura vererum, corrects to KPA MA T1: But Martinius, I find, difapproves of the correction. Thefe quotations, I think, are fomewhat in fupport of the conjecture I have offer'd. A word to the paffage quoted from Strabo,1 and I fhall dif mifs this criticifm. Cafaubon very justly objects to the tautology of τὸ καλέμενον, & ὅτινες καλᾶσι. He thinks, either fomething is wanting after nahuevov: or that it fhould be expung'd. If I am not mistaken, Strabo might have wrote, with the change only of one letur, τὸ καλὸν μὲν ὄν γίνεται κράμα, ferpulchra quidem ft mixtura : i. e. a most beautiful compound is produced. The orichalc, we know, was fo bright a metal, that, as Ifidore fays, it had the fplen dor of gold, and the hardness of brafs: and Pliny tells us, was put under some chryfolites, as a foil, to affist their lustre, Slen. Slen. By thefe gloves, hnd mar, Sir, Nym. Be and pafs good humours: I fay trap with you, if you run the base humour on me; that is the very note of it. Slen. By this hat, then he in the red face had it; for tho' I cannot remember what I did when you made me drunk, yet I am not altogether an afși style that Fal. What fay you, Scarlet and John? Bard. Why, Sir, for my part, I fay, the gentleman had drunk himself out of his five fentences. Eva. It is his five fenfes fy, what the ignorance is! Bard. And being fap, Sir, was, as they say, cashier'd ; and fo conclufions paft the car-eires. Slen. Ay, you fpake in Latin then too; but 'tis no matter; I'll never be drunk whilst I live again, but in honeft, 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 udg me, that is a virtuous mind. Fal. You hear all thefe matters deny'd, gentlemen, you hear it. Enter Miftrefs Ann Page, with winewsong mak Page. Nay, daughter, carry the wine in; we'll drink withing (4096633:[Exit Ann Pagry Slen. O heav'n! this is miftrefs Ann Page. 4734 20M Page. How now, miftrefs Ford ? welk Fal. Mitrefs Ford, by my troth, you are very well met; by your leave, good miftrefs. Kiffing here 3.Page. Wife, bid thefe gentlemen welcome come we have a hot venifon pafty to dinner; come, Agentlan men; I hope, we fhall drink down all unkindness, ali [Exe. Fål. Page, &&c. Manent Shallow, Evans, and Slender Slen. I had rather than forty fhillings, I had my book of fangs and fonnets here. |