Fal. I sit at ten pounds a week. Host. Thou'rt an emperor, Cæsar, Keisar, and Pheazar". I will entertain Bardolph; he shall draw, he shall tap: said I well, bully Hector? Fal. Do so, good mine host. Host. I have spoke; let him follow.-Let me see thee froth, and lime': I am at a word; follow. [Exit Host. Fal. Bardolph, follow him. A tapster is a good trade: an old cloak makes a new jerkin; a withered servingman, a fresh tapster. Go; adieu. Bard. It is a life that I have desired. I will thrive. [Exit BARD. Pist. O base Gongarian wight! wilt thou the spigot wields? Nym. He was gotten in drink is not the humour conceited? His mind is not heroic, and there's the humour of it. Fal. I am glad I am so acquit of this tinder-box : his thefts were too open; his filching was like an unskilful singer, he kept not time. Nym. The good humour is to steal at a minute's rest. 6 Cæsar, Keisar, and PHEAZAR.] We spell "Pheazar" as in the old copies, excepting the quartos 1602 and 1619, where it is printed Phesser. It may be, as Malone suggests, from the verb to pheeze (for which see Vol iii. p. 107; and Vol. vi. p. 59), or perhaps it is some proper name corrupted. We do not meet with it in other authors of the time. 7 let me see thee froth, and LIME:] In the quartos it stands "lime," in the folios liue, a very easy and probable misprint: we know from Shakespeare himself, that "lime" was fraudulently put into sack, as Steevens asserts, make it sparkle in the glass." 66 to 8 O base GONGARIAN wight! wilt thou the spigot wield?] This is the reading of the quartos 1602 and 1619, and there can be little doubt that it is right, if Steevens quotes a line from “an old bombast play” (of which he had omitted to note the title) correctly : "O base Gongarian! wilt thou the distaff wield." 66 The folios however have Hungarian, which would answer the purpose as well, but for the quotation by Steevens. Gongarian may only be a corruption of Hungarian ; but if it were known on the stage in the time of Shakespeare, on that account it would better become the mouth of Pistol. 9 His mind is not heroic, and there's the humour of it.] These words are from the quartos, and we have some doubts of the fitness of inserting them. Pist. Convey the wise it call. Steal? foh! a fico for the phrase! Fal. Well, sirs, I am almost out at heels. Pist. Why then, let kibes ensue. Fal. There is no remedy; I must coney-catch, I must shift. Pist. Young ravens must have food. Fal. Which of you know Ford of this town? Fal. No quips now, Pistol: indeed I am in the waist two yards about; but I am now about no waste; I am about thrift. Briefly, I do mean to make love to Ford's wife: I spy entertainment in her; she discourses, she carves, she gives the leer of invitation: I can construe the action of her familiar style; and the hardest voice of her behaviour, to be Englished rightly, is, “I am sir John Falstaff's." Pist. He hath studied her will', and translated her will; out of honesty into English. Nym. The anchor is deep will that humour pass? Fal. Now, the report goes, she has all the rule of her husband's purse; he hath legions of angels. Pist. As many devils entertain, and "To her, boy," say I. Nym. The humour rises; 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 most judicious œiliads': 10 CONVEY the wise it call.] "Convey" was a less objectionable term than steal, but meaning the same thing. See Vol. iv. p. 193. Vol. v. pp. 19. 292. He hath studied her WILL,] So the folios: the quartos read, well, but without the repetition, which seems to warrant "will" in the first instance. 2 with most judicious ŒILIADS:] Spelt illiads in the folio, 1623. The word occurs again in "King Lear," Vol. vii. p. 455, where it is spelt eliads in the folio, 1623. sometimes the beam of her view gilded my foot, some times my portly belly. Pist. Then did the sun on dunghill shine. Nym. I thank thee for that humour. Fal. O! she did so course o'er my exteriors with such a greedy intention, that the appetite of her eye did seem to scorch me up like a burning glass. Here's another letter to her: she bears the purse too; she is a region in Guiana, all gold and bounty. I will be cheater to them both3, and they shall be exchequers to me: they shall be my East and West Indies, and I will trade to them both. Go, bear thou this letter to mistress Page; and thou this to mistress Ford. We will thrive, lads, we will thrive. Pist. Shall I sir Pandarus of Troy become, And by my side wear steel? then, Lucifer take all! Nym. I will run no base humour: here, take the humour-letter. I will keep the 'haviour of reputation. Fal. Hold, sirrah, [to ROBIN,] bear you these letters tightly: Sail like my pinnace to these golden shores.- And high and low beguile the rich and poor. 3 - I will be CHEATER to them both,] i. e. Escheater. See Vol. iv. p. 383. 4 The the HUMOUR of THIS age,] The folio has honor and the: few misprints were more frequent than honor for "humor," and vice versa. Falstaff probably alludes to the fashion or "humor" of being attended by a skirted page. quartos warrant "the humor of this age ;" but, nevertheless, "honor" the right word, and the misprint that of the quartos. 3 for GOURD, and FULLAM holds, may be And HIGH and Low] The cant names of various kinds of false dice, "gourds," (or gords), "fullams," "low" men, and "high" men, being mentioned by many writers of the time. Tester I'll have in pouch, when thou shalt lack, Base Phrygian Turk. Nym. I have operations, which be humours of re venge. Pist. Wilt thou revenge? Nym. By welkin, and her star. Pist. With wit, or steel? Nym. With both the humours, I: I will discuss the humour of this love to Page'. 8 How Falstaff, varlet vile, His dove will prove, his gold will hold, Nym. My humour shall not cool: I will incense Page to deal with poison; I will possess him with yellowness, for the revolt of mine' is dangerous: that is my true humour. Pist. Thou art the Mars of malcontents: I second thee; troop on. [Exeunt. • I have operations,] "In my head,” add the quartos, but without any improvement of the sense. 7 this love to PAGE.] So the quartos, and so the fact, as afterwards appears. In the folio 1623, Ford seems to have been accidentally printed for Page. Possibly Shakespeare originally intended that Nym should "discuss the humour" of Falstaff's love to Ford, while Pistol took the same course with Page. 8 And I to Ford] Here the folio 1623, consistently with its former error, inserts Page for Ford. The double error was not corrected in any of the later folios. 1 for the revolt of mine] "The revolt of mine" is my revolt, a very clear sense, without supposing, with Steevens, that mien was intended by "mine." By "revolt of mien," other commentators also understand revolt of countenance, Nym is referring to his revolt from Falstaff, which now he adds, "is my true humor." No difficulty would probably ever have arisen, if Nym had said, “for this revolt of mine is dangerous." SCENE IV. A Room in Dr. CAIUS'S House. Enter Mrs. QUICKLY, SIMPLE, and RUGBY. Quick. What, John Rugby!—I pray thee, go to the casement, and see if you can see my master, master Doctor Caius, coming: if he do, i̇' faith, and find any body in the house, here will be an old abusing2 of God's patience, and the king's English. Rug. I'll go watch. [Exit RUGBY. Quick. Go; and we'll have a posset for't soon at night, in faith, at the latter end of a sea-coal fire. An honest, willing, kind fellow, as ever servant shall come in house withal; and, I warrant you, no tell-tale, nor no breed-bate: his worst fault is, that he is given to prayer; he is something peevish that way, but nobody but has his fault; but let that pass. Peter Simple, you say your name is? Sim. Ay, for fault of a better. Quick. And master Slender's your master? Sim. Ay, forsooth. Quick. Does he not wear a great round beard, like a glover's paring-knife? Sim. No, forsooth: he hath but a little wee face, with a little yellow beard; a Cain-coloured beard'. Quick. A softly-sprighted man, is he not? 2 here will be an OLD abusing] In Vol. ii. p. 270, "old" is used in the same way as an augmentative: it was very common so to employ it. 3 he is something PEEVISH that way:] Here, as in many other places, "peevish" means foolish, silly. See Vol. ii. pp. 150. 162; Vol. iii. p. 348, &c. 4 - a CAIN-coloured beard.] In the folios, it is spelt "Caine coloured," with a capital, as if the allusion were to Cain; who being a murderer, was, like Judas, usually represented with a red, or sandy beard. On the other hand the quartos read "kane coloured," which means merely that Slender's beard was of the colour of cane. VOL. I. |