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Mrs. Ford. Heaven make you better than your thoughts!

: Ford. Amen. ›

Mrs. Page. You do yourself mighty wrong, master Ford. **

Ford. Ay, ay; I must bear it.

Eva. If there be any pody in the house, and in the chambers, and in the coffers, and in the preffes, heaven forgive my fins at the day of judgment !

Caius. By gar, nor I too; dere is no bodies.

Page. Fie, fie, mafter Ford! are you not afham'd? what fpirit, what devil fuggefts this imagination? I would not have your diftemper in this kind, for the wealth of Windfor Caftle.

Ford. "Tis my fault, mafter Page: I fuffer for it. Eva. You fuffer for a pad confcience: your wife is as honeft a 'omans, as I will defires among five thoufand, and five hundred too.

Caius. By gar, I fee 'tis an honeft woman.

Ford. Well;-I promis'd you a dinner :-Come, come, walk in the park: I pray you, pardon me; I will hereafter make known to you, why I have done this. Come, wife; come, miftrefs Page; I pray you pardon ine; pray heartily, pardon me.

dPage. Let's go in, gentlemen; but, trust me, we'll mock him. I do invite you to-morrow morning to my house to breakfaft; after, we'll a birding together; I have a fine hawk for the bufh: fhall it be fo?

Ford. Any thing.

Eva. If there is one, I fhall make two in the company.

bg Chius. If there be one or two, I fhall make-a de

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Eva.

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Eva. In your teeth-for fhame. Ford. Pray you go, mafter Page.. Eva. I pray you now, remembrance to-morrow on the loufy knave, mine hoft.

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: Caius. Dat is good; by gar, vit all my heart. Eva. A loufy knave; to have his gibes, and his mockeries. [Exeunt.

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Enter Fenton and Mistress Anne Page.

Fent. I fee, I cannot get thy father's love;
Therefore no more turn me to him, fweet Nan.
Anne. Alas! how then?

Fent. Why, thou must be thyself.
He doth object, I am too great of birth;

And that, my state being gall'd with my expence,
I feek to heal it only by his wealth :

Befides thefe, other bars he lays before me,
My riots paft, my wild focieties;;
And tells me, 'tis a thing impoffible
I fhould love thee, but as a property.
Anne. May be, he tells you true.

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Fent. No, heaven fo fpeed me in my time to come! Albeit, I will confefs, thy father's wealth

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In your teeth] This dirty restoration, was made by Mr. Theobald. Evans's application of the doctor's words, is not in the folio. STEEVENS.

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- father's wealth] Some light may be given to thofe who fhall endeavour to calculate the increate of English wealth-by ob ferving, that Latymer, in the time of Edward VI. mentions it as a proof of his father's profperity, That though but, a yeoman, be gave his daughters five pounds each for her portion. At the latter end of Elizabeth, feven hundred pounds were fuch a temptation to O courtship,

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Was the first motive that I woo'd thee, Anne:
Yet, wooing thee, I found thee of more value
Than ftamps in gold, or fums in fealed bags;
And 'tis the very riches of thyfelf

That now I aim at.

Anne. Gentle mafter Fenton,

Yet feek my father's love; ftill feek it, fir: 3 If opportunity and humbleft fuit

Cannot attain it, why then,Hark you hither. [Fenton and Mistress Anne go apart.

Enter Shallow, Slender, and Mrs. Quickly.

Shal. Break their talk, miftrefs Quickly; my kinfman fhall speak for himself.

Slen. I'll make a fhaft or a bolt on't: 'flid, 'tis but venturing.

Shal. Be not difmay'd.

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Slen. No, the fhall not difmay me: I care not for that, but that I am afeard.

Quic. Hark ye; mafter Slender would fpeak a word with you.

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Anne. I come to him.-This is my father's choice. O, what a world of vile ill-favour'd faults Look handfome in three hundred pounds a year!

[Afide. Quic. And how does good mafter Fenton? Pray you, a word with you.

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Shal. She's coming to her, coz. O boy, thou hadft a father!

courtship, as made all other motives fufpected. Congreve makes twelve thousand pounds more than a counterbalance to the affectation of Belinda. No poet would now fly his favourite character at lefs than fifty thoufand. JOHNSON.

If opportunity and humbleft fiit] Dr. Thirlby imagines, that our author with more propriety wrote:

261 If importunity and bumbleft fuit.

I have not ventur'd to disturb the text, becaufe it may mean, "If the frequent opportunities you find of folliciting my father, and Your obfequiouinefs to him, cannot get him over to your party, &c." THEOBALD.

Slen.

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Slen. I had a father, miftrefs Anne; my uncle can tell you good jefts of him :-Pray you, uncle, tell mistress Anne the jeft, how my father ftole two geefe out of a pen, good uncle.

Shal. Miftrefs Anne, my coufin loves you.

Slen. Ay, that I do; as well as I love any woman in Glocestershire.

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Shal. He will maintain you like a gentlewoman. Slen. Ay, that I will, come cut and long-tail, under the degree of a 'fquire.

Shal. He will make you a hundred and fifty pounds jointure.

Anne. Good mafter Shallow, let him woo for himself. Shal. Marry, I thank you for it; I thank you for that good comfort. She calls you, coz: I'll leave you. Anne. Now, mafter Slender.

--

Slen. Now, good mistress Anne.

...Anne. What is your will?

Slen. My will? od's heartlings, that's a pretty jeft, indeed! I ne'er made my will yet, I thank heaven; I am not fuch a fickly creature, I give heaven praise. Anne. I mean, mafter Slender, what would you with me?

Slen. Truly, for mine own part, I would little or nothing with you: Your father, and my uncle, have

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come cut and long tail, i. e, come poor, or rich, to offer himself as my rival. The following is the origin of the phrafe. According to the foreft laws, the dog of a man, who had no right to the privilege of chace, was obliged to cut, or late his dog, amongst other modes of difabling him, by depriving him of his tail. A dog fo cut was called a cut, or curt-tail, and by contraction cur. Cut and long-tail therefore fignified the dog of a clown, and the dog of a gentleman. STEEVENS.

come cut and long tail,-] I can fee no meaning in this phrafe. Slender promifes to make his miftrefs a gentlewoman, and probably means to fay, he will deck her in a gown of the court cut, and with a long train or tail. In the comedy of Eafeward Hoe, is this paffage: The one must be ladyfied forfooth, and be attired just to the court cut and long tayle;" which feems to justify our reading- - Court cut and long tail. SIR J. HAWKINS.

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made motions: if it be my luck, fo; if not, happy man be his dole! They can tell you how things go, better than I can: You may ask your father; here he comes.

Enter Page, and Miftrefs Page.

Page. Now, mafter Slender :-Love him, daughter

Anne.

Why how now! what does mafter Fenton here? You wrong me, fir, thus ftill to haunt my house: I told you, fir, my daughter is difpos'd of.

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Fent. Nay, mafter Page, be not impatient.

Mrs. Page. Good after Fenton, come not to my child.

Page. She is no match for you.
Fent. Sir, will you hear me?
Page. No, good master Fenton,

Come, mafter Shallow ;-come, fon Slender; in :Knowing my mind, you wrong me, mafter Fenton. [Exeunt Page, Shallow, and Slender.

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Quic. Speak to miftrefs Page.

Fent. Good miftrefs Page, for that I love your daughter

In fuch a righteous fashion as I do,

Perforce, againft all checks, rebukes, and manners, I must advance the colours of my love,

And not retire: Let me have your good will.

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Anne. Good mother, do not marry me to yon' fool. d Mrs. Page. I mean it not; Ifeck you a better husband. Quic. That's my mafter, mafter doctor.

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Anne. Alas, I had rather be fet quick i'the earth, "And bowl'd to death with turnips.

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Mrs.

TM 5 happy man be bis dole!] A proverbial expreffion. See Ray's collection, p. 116. edit. 1737.

STEEVENS.

Anne. Alas, I had rather be fet quick the earth,

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And bowl'd to 'death with turnips.] Can we think the speaker would thus ridicule her own imprecation? We may be fure

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