Fal. Now, the report goes, fhe has all the rule of her husband's purfe: fhe hath a legion of angels. Pift. As many devils entertain; and to her, boy,fay I. Nym. The humour rifes; it is good; humour me the angels. Fal. I have writ me here a letter to her; and here another to Page's wife, who even now gave me good eyes too, examin'd my parts with moft judicious Iliads; fometimes, the beam of her view guilded my foot; fometimes, my portly belly. Pift. Then did the fun on dung-hill fhine. [Afide. Nym. I thank thee for that humour. Fal. O, fhe did fo courfe o'er my exteriors with fuch a greedy intention, that the appetite of her eye did feem to fcorch me up like a burning-glafs. Here's another letter to her; fhe bears the purfe too; (6) fhe is a region in Guiana, all gold and bounty. I will be cheater to them both, and they fhall be Exchequers to me; they fhall be my East and West-Indies, and I will trade to them both. Go, bear thou this letter to miftrefs Page; and thou this to miftrefs Ford: we will thrive, lads, we will thrive. Pift. Shall I Sir Pandarus of Troy become ; Nym. I will run no bafe humour; here, take the (6) She is a region in Guiana, all gold and bounty.] If the tradition be true, as, I doubt not, but it is) of this play being wrote at Queen Elizabeth's command; this paffage, perhaps, may furnish a probable conjecture that it could not appear till after the year 1598. The mention of Guiana, then fo lately difcover'd to the English, was a very happy compliment to Sir Walter Raleigh, who did not begin his expedition for South America till 1595, and return'd from it in 1596, with an advantageous account of the great wealth of Guiana. Such an addrefs of the Poet was likely, I imagine, to have a proper impreffion on the people, when the intelligence of fuch a golden country was fresh in their minds, and gave them expectations of immenfe gain. Trudge, Trudge, plod away o' th' hoof, feek fhelter, pack! Pif. Let vultures gripe thy guts; for gourd, and And high and low beguiles the rich and poor,a Nym. I have operations in my head, which be ha mours of revenge. Pift. Wilt thou revenge? Nym. By welkin, and her ftar. Nym. With both the humours, I will difcufs the hamour of this love to Ford.) His dove will prove, his gold, will hold, Nym. My humour fhall not cool, I will incenfe Ford to deal with poifon; (8) I will poffefs him with myellowness;} 1 (7) Falstaff will Tearn the honour of the age.] What was this bonour, which he was to learn? Frugality? the retrenching his expences, and keeping only a boy to wait on him. Had the Editors been cut out for Collators, they might have obferv'd the old quarto's read, the humour of the age, i, e. the frugal fashion of the times. So in Much Ado about Nothing. The fabion of the world is to avoid caft, and you encounter it. And bonour and bumour, I have obferv'd, pare very often reciprocally : mistaken for one another in old English plays. (8) I will poffefs bim with jealoulies, for this revolt of mine is dangerous This is the reading of the modern editions; the old copies have it, yellowness; ie the symptom of jealousy. So. Beatrice, in Much Ado about Nothing, speaking of Claudio's having jealous fufpicions, fays: The Count is neither fad, nor fick, nor merry, nor well, but: sivil, Count; civil, as an orange; and fomething of that jealous. complexion. ATO If Nym fpeaks this of himself, Again, This revolt of mine, &c. he fpeaks very improperly, to call it a revelty when he is difcarded by 9233 The Merry Wives of WINDSOR, yellowness; for the revolt of mien is dangerous: that true humour. ཟིང རྒྱུ བ is my Pit. Thou art the Mars of male-contents: I fecond thee; troop on. cong vai squg erumur 15[Exeunt. SCENE changes to Dr. Caius's Houfe, ba Enter Miftrefs Quickly, Simple, and John Rugby. Quie. W the cafement, and fee if you can fee my 7HAT, John Rugby! I pray thee, go to mafter, mafter Doctor Caius, coming; if he do, i'faith, and find any body in the house, here will be old abufing of God's patience, and the King's Englif.g Rug. I'll go watch. Torud a diod [Exit Rugby. Quic. Go, and we'll have a poffet for't foon at night, in faith, at the latter end of a fea-coal fire. An honeft, willing, kind fellow, as ever fervant fhall come in house withal; and, I warrant you, no tell-tale, nor no breed-bate; his worft fault is, that he is given to pray'r; he is fomething peevish that way; but nobody but has his fault; but let that pafs. Peter Simple, you fay, your name is. Sim. Ay, for fault of a better. Quic. And mafter Slender's your mafter for Paños (-) Sim. Ay, forfooth. Quic. Does he not wear a great round beard, like a glover's paring-knife? his mater. The old copies read, as I have reftor'd in the text: and the revolt of mine, I take to fignify the change of complexion. Ands then Nym muft mean, I will make him fojealous, till he changes colour with its working; and then it will break out into fome vio. lent effects, that will be dangerous to Falfaff For mine (or mien, a5 it is more generally written,) does not only fignify, the air, geflure, and bearing of any perfon; but likewife the look and turn of counte nance; oris fpecies; nativa vultus compofitio:-- Kafage bon, ou mauvais, q'on fait paraitre aux gens felon qu'ils nous plaifent, &c, as Richelet explains it: that look, sor turn of countenance, which we fhew to people, according as they pleafe us, or not. Our Author, in other places, takes notice of the change of colour to be a symptom of anger, envy, &c. as it certainly is in nature, according to the springd of that paffion which excites it. Sim Sim. No, forfooth; he hath but a little wee-face, with a little yellow beard, (9) a Cain-colour'd beard. Quie. A foftly-fprighted man, is he not? Sim. Ay, forfooth; but he is as tall a man of his hands, as any is between this and his head: he hath fought with a warrener. Quic. How fay you? oh, I fhould remember him; does he not hold up his head, as it were? and strut in his gate? Sim. Yes, indeed, does he. Quic. Well, heav'n fend Ann Page no worfe fortune! Tell master parfon Evans, I will do what I can for your mafter: Ann is a good girl, and I wish Enter Rugby. Rug. Out, alas here comes my mafter. Quic. We fhall all be fhent; run in here, good young man; go into this clofet; huts Simple in the clofet. He will not ftay long. What, John Rugby! John! what, John, I fay; go, John, go enquire for my mafter; I doubt, he be not well, that he comes not home and down, down, a-down a, &c. : [Sings. Enter Doctor Caius. Caius. Vat is you fing? I do not like des toys; pray you, go and vetch me in my clofet un boitier verd a box, a green-a box; do intend vat I fpeak Pa box. Quick. Ay, forfooth, I'll fetch it you. a-green-a I am glad, he went not in himself; if he had found the man, he would have been horn-mad. [Afide. Caius. Fe, fe, fe, fe, ma foi, il fait fort chaud; je me'n vaie à la cour-la grande affaire. Quic. Is it this, Sir? Caius. Ouy, mettez le au mon pocket; Depêchez, quickly; ver is dat knave Rugby? '(9) A cane-colour'd beard.] Thus the latter Editions. I have reffor'd with the old copies. Cain and Judas, in the tapestries and pictures of old, were represented with yellow beards. Quic. What, John Rugby! John! Rug. Here, Sir. Caius. You are John Rugby, and you are Jack Rugby; come, take-a your rapier, and come after my heel to the court. Rug. 'Tis ready, Sir, here in the porch. Gaius. By my trot, I tarry too long: od's me: Que ay je oublié? dere is fome fimples in my clofet, dat I will not for the varld I fhall leave behind. Quic. Ay-me, he'll find the young man there, and be mad. Caius. O diable, diable! vat is in my closet? villaine, Larron! Rugby, my rapier. [Pulls Simple out of the cloft. Quic. Good mafter, be content. Caius. Wherefore fhall I be content-a?. Quic. The young man is an honeft man. Caius. What fhall de honeft man do in my closet ? dere is no honeft man, dat fhall come in my clofet. Quic. I beseech you, be not fo flegmatick; hear the truth of it. He came of an errand to me from parfon Hugh. Caius. Vell. Sim. Ay, forfooth, to defire her to Quic. Peace, I pray you. Caius. Peace-a your tongue, fpeak-a your tale. Sim. To defire this honeft gentlewoman, your maid, to fpeak a good word to miftrefs Ann Page for my mafter in the way of marriage. Quic. This is all, indeed-la; but I'll ne'er put my finger in the fire, and need not. Caius. Sir Hugh fend-a you? Rugby, (10) baillez me fome paper; tarry you a little-a-while. (10) Ballow me fome paper;] Thus all the editions hitherto: and, I fuppofe, the Editors thought this a defign'd corruption of the word borrow. But are we to imagine the Poet's doctor had not a fcrap of paper in his house, but must send out to borrow fome? As Caius is reprefented a Frenchman, and generally fpeaks half French, half Eng life, it is much more probable to believe, our Author wrote, baillez me fome paper, i. e. fetch, bring, give me to.ne, So the French fay, baillez la main, give me your hand; bailler, une oeillade, to give one the wink, &c. Quic |