Nan Page, (my daughter) and my little fon,

And three or four more of their growth, we'll drefs
Like urchins, ouphes, and fairies, green and white,
With rounds of waxen tapers on their heads,
And rattles in their hands; upon a fudden,
As Falstaff, fhe, and I, are newly met,
Let them from forth a faw-pit rush at once
With fome diffused fong: upon their fight,
We two, in great amazednefs, will fly;
Then let them all encircle him about,
And fairy-like to pinch the unclean Knight;
And ask him why, that hour of fairy revel,
In their fo facred paths he dares to tread
In fhape profane?

Mrs. Ford. And 'till he tell the truth,
Let the fuppofed fairies pinch him round,
And burn him with their tapers.

Mrs. Page. The truth being known,

We'll all prefent ourselves; dif-horn the fpirit,
And mock him home to Windfor.

Ford. The children must

Be practis'd well to this, or they'll ne'er do't.

Eva. I will teach the children their behaviours; and I will be like a jack-anapes also, to burn the Knight with my taper.

Ford. This will be excellent. I'll go buy them vizards. Mrs. Page. My Nan fhall be the Queen of all the Fairies ; Finely attired in a robe of white.

Page. That filk will I go buy, and in that tire (24) Shall Mr. Slender steal my Nan away, [Afide. And marry her at Eaton. Go, fend to Falstaff ftraight.

(24) That filk will I go buy, and in that time

Sball Mr. Slender fleal, &c.] What! muft Slender steal Mrs. Anu, while her father goes to buy the filk fhe was to be drefs'd in? This was no part of the fcheme. Her garb was to be the signal for Slender to know her by. The alteration of a fingle letter gives us the Poet's reading. Tire is as common with our Poct, and other Writers of his age, as attire; to fignify, drefs. And my emendation is clearly juftified, by what Fenton afterwards tells the Hoft.

Her father means the fhall be all in white,
And in that drefs, when Slender fees bis time
To take her by the hand,

c.

Ford.

Ford. Nay, I'll to him again in the name of Brook ; he'll tell me all his purpose. Sure, he'll come.

Mrs. Page. Fear not you that; go get us properties and tricking for our Fairies.

Eva. Let us about it, it is admirable pleasures, and ferry honeft knaveries. [Exe. Page, Ford and Evans.

Mrs. Page. Go, Mrs. Ford, Send Quickly to Sir John, to know his mind. (25) [Exit Mrs. Ford.

I'll to the doctor; he hath my good will,
And none but he, to marry with Nan Page.
That Slender, tho' well landed, is an ideot;
And he my husband best of all affects:

The doctor is well mony'd, and his friends
Potent at court; he, none but he fhall have her;
Tho' twenty thousand worthier came to crave her.

[Exit.

SCENE, changes to the Garter-Inn.

Enter Hoft and Simple.

Hoft.WHAT would't thou have, boor? whats

thick-fkin; fpeak, breathe, discuss; briefs

fhort, quick, fnap.

Simp. Marry, Sir, I come to fpeak with Sir John Falftaff, from Mr. Slender.

Hojt. There's his chamber, his house, his castle, his ftanding-bed and truckle-bed; 'tis painted about with the ftory of the prodigal, fresh and new; go, knock and call; he'll speak like an anthropophaginian unto thee: knock, I tay.

Simp. There's an old woman, a fat woman gone up into his chamber; I'll be fo bold as ftay, Sir, 'till she come down; I come to speak with her, indeed.

(25) Send quickly to Sir John, to know his mind.] The whole fet of printed copies downwards have funk our messenger here into an adverb. Dame Quickly is the perfon intended to be fent to Sir John; and accordingly when we next find her with him, he tells him, he comes from the two parties; viz. Mrs. Ford and Mrs. Page.

Hoft.

Hoft. Ha! a fat woman? the Knight may be robb'd: I'll call. Bully-Knight! bully-Sir John! fpeak from thy lungs military art thou there? it is thine Hoft, thine Ephefian calls.

Falftaff, above.

Fal. How now, mine Hoft?

Hoft. Here's a Bohemian-Tartar tarries the coming down of thy fat woman: let her defcend, bully, let her defcend; my chambers are honourable. Fy, privacy? fy.

Enter Falftaff.

Fal. There was, mine Hoft, an old fat woman even now with me, but she's gone.

1

Simp. Pray you, Sir, was't not the wife woman of Brainford?

Fal. Ay, marry was it, muffel-fhell, what would you with her?

Simp. My mafter, Sir, my mafter Slender fent to her, feeing her go thro' the ftreet, to know, Sir, whether one Nym, Sir, that beguil'd him of a chain, had the chain, or no.

Fal. I fpake with the old woman about it.

Simp. And what fays he, I pray, Sir?

Fal. Marry, fhe fays, that the very fame man, that beguil'd mafter Slender of his chain, cozen'd him of it. Simp. I would, I could have spoken with the woman herfelf; I had other things to have spoken with her too, from him.

Fal. What are they? let us know,
Hoft. Ay, come; quick.

·Simp. I may not conceal them, Sir.

Fal. Conceal them, or thou dy'st.

Simp. Why, Sir, they were nothing but about miftrefs Ann Page; to know, if it were my mafter's fortune to have her or no.

Fal. 'Tis, 'tis his fortune.

Simp. What, Sir?

Fal. To have her, or no: go; fay, the woman told me fo.

Simp. May I be fo bold to fay fo, Sir?

Fal. Ay, Sir; like who more bold.

Simp. I thank your worship: I fhall make my fnafter glad with thefe tidings. [Exit Simple. Hoft. Thou art clarkly; thou aft clarkly, Sir John: was there a wife woman with thee?

Fal. Ay, that there was mine Heft; one, that hath taught me more wit than ever I learn'd before in my life; and I paid nothing for it neither, but was paid for my learning.

Enter Bardolph.

Bard. Out, alas, Sir, cozenage! mere cozenage. Hoft. Where be my horfes? fpeak well of them, varletto.

Bard. Run away with the cożeners; for fo foon as I came beyond Eaton, they threw me off from behind one of them in a flough of mire, and fet fpurs, and away; like three German devils, three Doctor Fauftus's.

Hoft. They are gone but to meet the Duke, villain; do not fay they be fled; Germans are honest men. Enter Evans.

Eva. Where is mine Host?

Hot. What is the matter, Sir?

toa. Have a care of your entertainments; there is a friend o'mine come to town, tells me, there is three cozen-jermans that has cozen'd all the Hofts of Readings, of Maiden-head, of Celebrook, of horfes and money. I tell you for good will, look you; you are wife, and full of gibes and vlouting-flocks, and 'tis not convenient you should be cozen'd; fare you well. [Exit. Enter Caius

Caius. Ver' is mine Hoft de Jarteer?

Heft. Here, mafter Doctor, in perplexity and doubtful dilemma.

F

Caius. I cannot tell vat is dat ; but it is tell-a-me, dat you make a grand preparation for a Duke de Jamany; by my trot, der is no Duke, dat the court is know, to come: I tell you for good will; adieu. [Exit. VOL. I.

Hoft.

Hoff. Hue and cry, villain, go! affift me, Knight, I am undone; fly, run, hue and cry! Villain, I am undone! [Exit.

Fat. I would, all the world might be cozen'd, for I have been cazeried and beaten too. If it fhould come to the ear of the court, how I have been transformed, and show mayo transformation hath been wafh'd and cudgel'd, they would melt me out of my fat, drop by drop, and liquor fishermens boots with me. I warrant, they would whip me with their fine wits, "till I were as creft-faln as a dry'd pear. I never profper'd fince I forfwore myself at Primero. Well, if my wind were but long enough to fay my prayers, I would repent.Enter Mistress Quickly. 197

Now, whence come you? Quie. From the two parties, forfooth. 10 bo baud & Fal. The devil take one party, and his dam the other, and fo they fhall be both beftow'd. I have fuffered more for their fakes, more than the villainous inconftancy of man's difpofition is able to bear.

Quic. And have not they fuffer'd? yes, T warrant, fpeciously one of them; miftrefs Ford, good heart, is beaten black and blue, that you cannot fee a white fpot about her. 100

Fal. What tell'it thou me of black and blue? I was beaten myself into all the colours of the rainbow; and I was like to be apprehended for the witch of Brainford; but that my admirable dexterity of wit, counterfeiting the (26) action of a wood woman,

(26) Action of an old woman,] This reading is no great compliment to the fagacity of our former Editors, who could content them felves with words, without any regard to the reasoning. What! was it any dexterity of wit in Sir John Falstaff, to counterfeit the action of an old woman in order to escape being apprehended for a witch? Surely, one would imagine, this was the readiest means to Bring him into fuch a fcrape: for none but old women have ever been fufpected of being witches. The text must certainly be reftor'd, as I have corrected it, a zoood woman; i, e. a crazy, frantick woman; one too wild, and fi ly, and unmeaning, to have either the malice, or mischievous fubtlety of a witch in her. I have already explain'd, and prov'd the use of this term, in one of my notes on the Two Gentlemen of Verona. deliver'd