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hold in; fuch as will strike fooner than speak, and speak fooner than drink, and drink fooner than pray': And yet I lie; for they pray continually to their faint, the commonwealth; or, rather, not pray to her, but prey on her; for they ride up and down on her, and make her their boots. Cham. What, the common-wealth their boots will fhe hold out water in foul way?

Gads. She will, fhe will; juftice hath liquor'd her 2. coming down the hill; 'tis going to the king's Exchequer." The first quarto has-oneyres, which the fecond and all the fubfequent copies. made oneyers. The original reading gives great probability to Hanmer's conjecture. MALONE.

1-fuch as will frike fooner than speak; and speak fooner than drink; and drink fooner than pray:] According to the fpecimen given us in this play, of this diffolute gang, we have no reason to think they were lefs ready to drink than speak. Befides, it is plain, a natural gradation was here intended to be given of their actions, relative to one another. But what has fpeaking, drinking, and praying to do with one another? We fhould certainly read think in both places inftead of drink; and then we have a very regular and humourous climax. They will frike fooner tban freak; and speak fooner than think; and think fooner than pray. By which laft words is meant, that, though perhaps they may now and then reflect on their crimes, they will never repent of them." WARE. Such as can hold in, may mean, fuch as can curb old-father antic the law, or fuch as will not blab. STEEVENS.

I think a gradation was intended, as Dr. Warburton fuppofes. To bold in, I believe, meant to "keep their fellows' counfel and their own;" not to discover their rogueries by talking about them. So in Twelfth Night: "that you will not extort from me what I am willing to keep in." Gads-hill therefore, I fuppofe, means to fay, that he keeps company with fleady robbers; fuch as will not impeach their comrades, or make any discovery by talking of what they have done; men that will ftrike the traveller fooner than talk to him; that yet would fooner fpeak to him than drink, which might intoxicate them, and put them off their guard; and, notwithstanding, would prefer drinking, however dangerous, to prayer, which is the last thing they would think of.-The words however will admit a different interpretation. We have often in these plays, "it were as good a deed as to drink." Perhaps therefore the meaning may be, Men who will knock the traveller down fooner than speak to him; who yet will fpeak to him and bid him ftand, fooner than drink; (to which they are fufficiently well inclined ;) and laftly, who will drink fooner than pray. Here indeed the climax is not regular. But perhaps our author did not intend it thould be preferved. MALONE. 2 She will, she will; juftice bath liquor'd ber.] A fatire on chicane in courts of justice; which fupports ill men in their violations of the law, under the very cover of it. WARBURTON.

We

We fteal as in a caftle 3, cock-fure; we have the receipt. of fern-feed, we walk invifible.

Cham. Nay, by my faith; I think, you are more beholding to the night, than to fern-feed, for your walking. invifible.

Gads. Give me thy hand: thou shalt have a share in our purchase, as I am a true man.

Cham. Nay, rather let me have it, as you are a falfe thief. Gads. Go to; Homo is a common name to all men ".Bid the oftler bring my gelding out of the ftable. Farewel, you muddy knave." [Exeunt.

3 — as in a castle,] This was once a proverbial phrase. So, in the Little French Lawyer of Beaumont and Fletcher:

"That noble courage we have seen, and we
"Shall fight as in a caftle."

Perhaps Shakspeare means, we fteal with as much fecurity as the ancient inhabitants of caftles, who had thofe ftrong holds to fly to for protection and defence against the laws. So, in King Henry VI. A&t. III.

P. I. fc. i:

"Yes, as an outlaw in a caftle keeps,

"And ufeth it to patronage his theft." STEEVENS.

4- we have the receipt of fern-feed,] Fern is one of thofe plants which have their feed on the back of the leaf fo fmall as to escape the fight. Those who perceived that fern was propagated by femination, and yet could never fee the feed, were much at a lofs for a folution of the difficulty; and as wonder always endeavours to augment itself, they afcribed to fern-feed many ftrange properties, fome of which the ruftick virgins have not yet forgotten or exploded. JOHNSON.

So in B. Jonfon's New Inn:

"No medecine, fir, to go invifible,
"No fern-feed in my pocket.'

STEEVENS.

5- in our purchase,] Purchase was anciently the cant term for ftolen goods. So, in Henry V. A&t III: "They will steal any thing, and call it purchase." So, Chaucer:

"And robbery is holde purcbafe." STEEVENS.

6 Homo is a common name &c.] Cads-hill had promised as he was a true man; the Chamberlain wills him to promife rather as a falfe thief; to which Gads-hill anfwers, that though he might have reafon to change the word true, he might have fpared man, for bomo is a name common to all men, and among others to thieves, JOHNSON.

This is a quotation from the Accidence, and I believe is not the only one from that book, which therefore Mr. Capell fhould have added to his Sbakfperiana. L---.

See Vol. II. p. 254, n. 8; p. 268, n. 1; and Vol. III. p. 263, n.

I.

MALONE.

SCENE

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Enter Prince HENRY and POINS; BARDOLPH and PETO, at fome diftance.

Poins. Come, fhelter, fhelter; I have remov'd FalStaff's horfe, and he frets like a gumm'd velvet 7. P. Henry. Stand close.

Enter FALSTAFF.

Fal. Poins! Poins, and be hang'd! Poins!

P. Henry. Peace, ye fat-kidney'd rafcal; What a brawling doft thou keep?

Fal. Where's Poins, Hal?

P. Hen. He is walk'd up to the top of the hill; I'll go feek him. [pretends to feek Poins. Fal. I am accurft to rob in that thief's company: the rafcal hath removed my horse, aud tied him I know not where. If I travel but four foot by the fquire 8 further afoot, I fhall break my wind. Well, I doubt not but to die a fair death for all this, if I 'scape hanging for killing that rogue. I have forfworn his company hourly any time this two and twenty years, and yet I am bewitch'd with the rogue's company. If the rafcal have not given me medicines to make me love him, I'll be hang'd; it I could not be elfe; I have drunk medicines.-Poins!Hal!-a plague upon you both!-Bardolph !-Peto!I'll ftarve, ere I'll rob a foot further. An 'twere not as good a deed as drink, to turn true man, and to leave these rogues, I am the verieft varlet that ever chew'd

7 like a gumm'd velvet.] This allufion we often meet with in the old comedies. STEEVENS.

8

-four foot by the fquire] i. e. four feet by a foot rule. JOHNSON. See Vol. II. p. 417, n. I. MALONE.

The fame phrafe occurs in the Winter's Tale: " not the worst of the three but jumps twelve foot and a half by the fquire." STEEVENS. 9-medicines to make me love bim,] Alluding to the vulgar notion of love-powder. JOHNSON.

rob a foot further.] I will not go a foot further to rob. STEEV.

with

with a tooth. Eight yards of uneven ground, is threescore and ten miles afoot with me; and the ftony-hearted villains know it well enough: A plague upon't, when thieves cannot be true to one another! [They whistle.] Whew!-A plague upon you all! Give me my horse, you rogues; give me my horfe, and be hang'd.

P. Hen. Peace, ye fat-guts! lie down; lay thine ear clofe to the ground, and lift if thou canst hear the tread of travellers.

Fal. Have you any levers to lift me up again, being down? 'Sblood, I'll not bear mine own flesh fo far afoot again, for all the coin in thy father's exchequer. What a plague mean ye, to colt 2 me thus ?

P. Hen. Thou lieft, thou art not colted, thou art uncolted.

Fal. I pr'ythee, good prince Hal, help me to my horse; good king's fon.

P. Hen. Out, you rogue! fhall I be your oftler?

Fal. Go, hang thyfelf in thy own heir-apparent garters 3! If I be ta'en, I'll peach for this. An I have not ballads made on you all, and fung to filthy tunes, let a cup of fack be my poifon+: When a jeft is fo forward, and afoot too,-I hate it.

Gads. Stand.

Enter GADS-HILL.

Fal. So I do, against my will.

2 to colt] is to fool, to trick; but the prince taking it in another fenfe, oppofes it by uncolt, that is, unhorfe. JOHNSON.

In the first of thefe fenfes it is ufed by Nafhe, in Have with you to Saffron Walden, &c. 1596: "His mafter fretting and chaffing to be thus colted of both of them, &c." STEEVENS.

3

-beir-apparent garters!] "He may hang himself in his own garters," is a proverb in Ray's Collection. STEEVENS.

4 An I bave not ballads made on you all, and fung to filthy tunes, let a cup of fack be my poifon :] So in the Rape of Lucrece:

Shall have thy trefpafs cited up in rhimes,

"And fung by children in fucceeding times."

Again in Anthony and Cleopatra:

-faucy lictors

"Will catch at us like ftrumpets, and fcald rbimers

"Ballad us out of tune."

MALONE.

Poins. O, tis our fetter: I know his voice.

Bard. What news 5?

Gads. Cafe ye, cafe ye; on with your vifors; there's money of the king's coming down the hill, 'tis going to the king's exchequer.

Fal. You lie, you rogue; 'tis going to the king's tavern. Gads. There's enough to make us all.

Fal. To be hang'd.

P. Hen. Sirs, you four fhall front them in the narrow lane; Ned Poins and I will walk lower: if they 'fcape from your encounter, then they light on us.

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Peto. How many be there of them?

Gads. Some eight, or ten.

Fal. 'Zounds! will they not rob us?

P. Hen. What, a coward, fir John Paunch?

Fal. Indeed, I am not John of Gaunt, your grandfather; but yet no coward, Hal.

P. Hen. Well, we leave that to the proof.

Poins. Sirrah Jack, thy horfe ftands behind the hedge; when thou need'ft him, there thou shalt find him. Farewel, and fland fast.

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Fal. Now cannot I ftrike him, if I should be hang'd. P. Hen. Ned, where are our disguises?

Poins. Here, hard by; ftand close.

[Exeunt P. HENRY and POINS. Fal. Now, my mafters, happy man be his dole, fay I; every man to his bufinefs.

5 Bardolph. What news ?-] In all the copies that I have seen Poins is made to fpeak upon the entrance of Gads-hill thus:

O, is our fetter; I know bis voice.-Bardolph, what news? This is abfurd; he knows Gads-hill to be the fetter, and afks Bardolph what news. To countenance this impropriety, the latter editions have made Gads-hill and Bardolph enter together, but the old copies bring in Gads-hill alone, and we find that Falstaff, who knew their stations, calls to Bardolph among others for his horfe, but not to Gads-hill, who was pofted at a diftance. We should therefore read:

61

Poins. 0, 'tis our fetter, &c.

Bard. What news?

Gads. Cafe ye, &c. JOHNSON.

bappy man be bis dole,] See Vol. I. p. 264, n. 5. and Vol. II.

p. 262, n. S. MALONE.

The portion of alms diftributed at Lambeth palace gate is at this day called the dole. Sir J. HAWKINS.

Enter

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