And nightly-meadow-fairies, look, you fing,. In emrold-tuffs, flow'rs purfled, blue and white, } Eva. Pray you, lock hand in hand, yourselves in or der fet: And twenty glow-worms fhall our lanthorns be,. Fal. Heav'ns defend me from that Welch Fairy, left he transform me to a piece of cheese ! Eva. Vild worm, thou waft o'er-look'd ev'n in thy birth. Quic. With trial-fire touch me his finger-end; Eva. A trial, come.—————— [They burn him with their tapers, and pinch him. Come, with this wood take fire. Fal. Oh, oh, oh ! Quic Corrupt, corrupt, and tainted in defire; About him, Fairies, fing a fcornful rhyme; And, as you trip, still pinch him to your time. Eva. It is right, indeed, he is full of lecheries and itiquity. The SONG. Fie on finful phantafy, · Fie on luft and luxury! Luft is but i' th' blood, a fire, Fed in heart, whofe flames afpire, As thoughts to blow them, higher and higher. Pinch him, Fairies, mutually; Pinch him for his villany. Pinch him, and burn him, and turn him about, Till candles, and ftar-light, and moon-fhine, be out. During this fong, they pinch him. Doctor Caius comes one way, and feals away a boy in green; Slender, another way, and he takes away a boy in white; and Fenton comes and feals away Mrs. Anne Page. A noife of hunting is made within. All the Fairies run away. Falfaff pulls off his buck's head, and rifes. SCENE V. Enter Page, Ford, Sc. They lay hold on him. Page. Nay, do not fly; I think, we've watch'd you now; Will none but Herne the hunter ferve your turn? Mrs. Page. I pray you, come; hold up the jeft no higher. Now, good Sir John, how like you Windfor wives? Ford. Now, Sir, who's a cuckold now? Mr. Brook, Falstaff's a knave, a cuckoldly knave; here are his horns, Master Brook; and, Mafter Brook, he hath enjoy'd nothing of Ford's but his buck-basket, his cudgel, and twenty pounds of money, which muft be paid to Mr. Brook; his horfes are arrefted for it, Mafter Brook. Mrs. Ford. Sir John, we have had ill luck; we could never meet. I will never take you for my love again, but I will always count you my deer. Fal. I do begin to perceive that I am made an afs. Ford. Ay, and an ox too: both the proofs are ex tant. Fal. And these are not Fairies? I was three or four times in the thought, they were not Fairies; and yet the guiltinefs of my mind, the fudden furprife of my powers, drove the groffnefs of the foppery into a receiv'd belief, in defpight of the teeth of all rhyme and reafon, that they were Fairies. See now, how wit may be made a jack-a lent, when 'tis upon ill employment? Eva. Sir John Falltaff, ferve Got, and leave your defires, and Fairies will not pinfe you. Ford. Well faid, fairy Hugh. Eva. And leave you your jealoufies too, 1 pray you. Ford. I will never miftruft my wife again, till thou art able to woo her in good English. Fal. Have I laid my brain in the fun and dry'd it, that it wants matter to prevent fo grofs o'er-reaching as this? am I ridden with a Welch goat too? Shall I have a coxcomb of frize? 'tis time I were choak'd with a piece of toafted cheefe. Eva. Secfe is not good to give putter; your pelly is all putter. Fal. Seefe and putter? have I liv'd to ftand in the taunt of one, that makes fritters of English? this is enough to be the decay of luft and late-walking through the realm. Mrs. Page. Why, Sir John, do you think, though we would have thruft virtue out of our hearts by the head and fhoulders, and have given ourselves without fcruple to hell, that ever the devil could have made you our delight? Ford. What, a hodge-pudding? a bag of flax? Page. Old, cold, wither'd, and of intolerable entrails? Ford. And one that is as flanderous as Satan? Ford. And as wicked as his wife? Eva. And given to fornications, and to taverns, and facks, and wines, and metheglins; and to drinkings, and fwearings, and ftarings, pribbles and prabbles? me; Fal. Well, I am your theme; you have the itart of I am dejected; I am not able to answer the Welch flannel; ignorance itself is a plummet o'er me; as you will. ufe me Ford. Marry, Sir, we'll bring you to Windsor to one Mr. Brook, that you have cozen'd of money, to whom you fhould have been a pander; over and above that you you have fuffer'd, I think, to repay that money will be a biting affliction. Mrs. Ford. Nay, husband, let that go to make amends: Forgive that fum, and fo we'll all be friends. Ford. Well, here's my hand; all's forgiven at last. Page. Yet be chearful, Knight; thou fhalt eat a poffet to-night at my houfe, where I will defire thee to laugh at my wife, that now laughs at thee. Tell her, Mr. Slender hath marry'd her daughter. Mrs. Page. Doctors doubt that; if Anne Page be my daughter, the is, by this, Doctor Caius's wife. [Afide. SCENE VI. Enter Slender. Slen. What hoe! hoe! father Page. Page. Son, how now? how now, fon, have you difpatch'd? Slen. Difpatch'd? I'll make the best in Gloucesterfhire known on't; would I were hang'd la, else. Page. Of what, fon? Slen. I came yonder at Eaton to marry Mistress Anne Page, and she's a great lubberly boy. If it had not been 'th' church, I would have fwing'd him, or he should have fwing'd me. If I did not think it had been Anne Page, would I might never ftir, and 'tis a post-master's boy. Page. Upon my life, then you took the wrong. Slen. What need you tell me that? I think fo, when I took a boy for a girl: if I had been marry'd to him, for all he was in woman's apparel, I would not have had him. Page. Why, this is your own folly. Did not I tell you, how you fhould know my daughter by her garinents? Slen. I went to her in white, and cry'd Mum, and she cry'd Budget, as Anne and I had appointed; and yet it was not Anne, but a post-master's boy. Eva. Jefhu! Master Slender, cannot you fee but marry boys? Page. O, I am vex'd at heart. What fhall I do? Mrs. Page. Good George, be not angry; I knew of your purpose, turn'd my daughter into green, and inVOL. I. Y deed deed the is now with the Doctor at the Deanry, and there married. SCENE VII. Enter Caius. Caius. Ver is Miftrefs Page? by gar, I am cozen'd; I ha' marry'd one garfoon, a boy; one peasant, by gar; a boy; it is not Anne Page; by gar, I am cozen'd. Mrs. Page. Why? did you not take her in green? Caius. Ay, be gar, and 'tis a boy; be gar, I'll raife all Windfor. Ford. This is ftrange! who hath got the right Anne? Page. My heart mifgives me; here comes Mr. Fenton. Enter Fenton, and Anne Page. How now, Mr. Fenton; Anne. Pardon, good father; good my mother, par don. Page. Now, Miftrefs, how chance you went not with Mr. Slender? Mrs. Page. Why went you not with Mr. Doctor, maid! Fent. You do amaze her: hear the truth of it. You would have married her moft fhamefully, Where there was no proportion held in love: The truth is, the and I long fince contracted, Are now fo fure, that nothing can diffolve us. Th' offence is holy, that the hath committed; And this deceit lofes the name of craft, Of difobedience, or unduteous title; Since therein fhe doth evitate and fhun A thoufand irreligious curfed hours, Which ferced marriage would have brought upon her. In love, the heav'ns themselves do guide the state; Fal. I am glad, though you have ta'en a special stand to strike at me, that your arrow hath glanc'd. Page. Well, what remedy? Fenton, Heav'n give thee joy. What cannot be efchew'd, must be embrac'd. Eva. I will alfo dance and eat plums at your wedding, Fal. |