Chapter 89

this Tour too brown?’ During the reign of Mary II and particularly in the time of Anne a Tower meant almost exclusively the high starched head-dress in vogue at that period.

p. 116 _beat the hoof_. To go packing; to trudge off on foot. _Dic. Canting Crew_ (1690), ‘Hoof it or beat it on the Hoof--to walk on foot.’ Pad the hoof is a yet commoner expression. These and similar slang are still much used.

p. 117 _finical_. According to the _N.E.D_. the use of finical as a verb is a nonce word only found in this passage.

p. 119 _lead Apes in Hell_. To die an old maid. A very common expression. It will be remembered that Beatrice had something to say on the subject. --_Much Ado About Nothing_, Act ii, I.

p. 122 _Docity_. Gumption, cf. note (p. 340), Vol. II, p. 441, _The Feign’d Curtezans_.

p. 123 _Don Del Phobos_. The adventures of the Knight of the Sun and his brother Rosiclair belong to the Amadis school of romance. They were published in two volumes, folio, at Saragossa, 1580, under the title _Espejo de principes e cavalleros; o, Cavallero del Febo_. The first part of this romance was translated into English by Margaret Tiler, _The Mirrour of Princely deedes and Knighthood_ (4to, 1578), other portions appearing subsequently. The whole four parts, translated from the original Spanish into French, appeared in eight volumes, and an abridged version was made by the Marquis de Paulmy. The Amadis cycle long remained immensely popular.

p. 129 _Gad-bee in his Brain_. As we now say ‘a bee in his bonnet’. For ’.ad-bee’ cf. Holland’s _Pliny_ (1601) I, 318. ‘The bigger kind of bees ... and this vermin is called _Oestrus_ (i.e. the gad-bee or horse fly).’ cf. _The Lucky Chance_, ii, II: ‘The Gad-Bee’s in his Quonundrum’ and note on that passage infra. For the idea compare ‘brize-stung’ (= crazed).

p. 142 _Cockt_. Set his hat jauntily. A very frequent phrase.

p. 146 _Slashes_. Bumpers. From the idea of vigour contained in ‘slash’. The word is extremely rare in this sense and perhaps only found here. But cf. Scottish (Lothian) ‘slash’ = a great quantity of broth or any other sorbile food.

p. 148 _what the Devil made me a ship-board_? cf. Géronte’s reiterated complaint ‘Que diable allait-il faire dans cette galère?’--_Les Fourberies de Scapin_ (1671), ii, VII; and the phrase in Cyrano de Bergerac’s _Le Pédant Joué_ (1654): ‘Ha! que diable, que diable aller faire en cette galère?... Aller sans dessein dans une galère!... Dans la galère d’un Turc!’--Act ii, IV. In France this phrase is proverbial.

p. 156 _glout thy Eyes_. Scowl; frown. Glout (without ‘thy Eyes’. is very common in this sense. cf. Note (p. 201), Vol. II, p. 433.

p. 160 _an Antick_. A fantastic measure. This is a favourite word with Mrs. Behn.

p. 165 _Aquinius his Case_. This is, I take it, some confused allusion to the great Dominican Doctor, S. Thomas Aquinas, who was regarded as being the supreme Master of scholasticism and casuistry. Casuistry must be taken in its true and original meaning--the balancing and deciding of individual cases.

p. 175 _Bantring and Shamming_. Banter = to chaff or make fun of, at this time a new slang word. It is almost certain that the verb, which came into use about 1670, was a full decade earlier than the noun. In 1688 the substantive ‘Banter’ was up-to-date slang. For the verb _vide_ D’Urfey’s _Madam Fickle_ (1676), Act v, I, where Zechiel cries to his brother: ‘Banter him, banter him, Toby. ‘Tis a conceited old Scarab, and will yield us excellent sport--go play upon him a little--exercise thy Wit.’ cf. Swift, _Apology_ (1710), _Talke of a Tub_: ‘Where wit hath any mixture of raillery, ‘tis but calling it banter, and the work is done. This polite word of theirs was first borrowed from the bullies in Whitefriars, then fell among the footmen, and at last retired to the pedants.’

For ‘shamming’ cf. Wycherley’s _The Plain Dealer_ (1674), iii, I, where the Lawyer says to Manly: ‘You ... shammed me all night long.’ ’.hammed!’ cries Manley, ‘prithee what barbarous law-term is that?’ ’.hamming ...’ answers the lawyer, ‘’.is all our way of wit, Sir.’ And Freeman explains ‘Shamming is telling you an insipid dull lie with a dull face, which the sly wag the author only laughs at himself; and making himself believe ‘tis a good jest, puts the sham only upon himself.’

p. 176 _Dumfounding_. A rude and rough form of practical joking. The players ‘dumfounded’ each other with sudden blows stealthily dealt. cf. Shadwell’s The True Widow (1678), Act iv, I. Prig in the theatre says: ’.ou shall see what tricks I’ll play; ‘faith I love to be merry’. (Raps people on their backs, and twirls their hats, and then looks demurely, as if he did not do it.) The pit, often a very pandemonium, was the chief scene of this sport. Dryden, prologue to _The Prophetess_ (1690), speaks of the gallants in the theatre indulging freely in

That witty recreation, called dumfounding.

p. 176 _stum’d Wine_. To stum wine is to renew dead and insipid wine by mixing new wine with it and so raising a fresh fermentation. cf. Slang (still in common use) ‘stumer’, a generic term for anything worthless, especially a worthless cheque.

p. 176 _Grisons_. A ‘grison’ is a servant employed on some private business and so dressed in gray (gris) or a dark colour not to attract notice. cf. Shadwell’s _The Volunteers_ (1693), Act ii, sc. I: ‘_Sir Nich_. I keep grisons, fellows out of livery, privately for nothing but to carry answers.’

THE LUCKY CHANCE.

p. 183 _Laurence, Lord Hyde_. This celebrated statesman (1641-1711) was second son of Edward Hyde, first Earl of Clarendon. The Dedication must have been written in 1686 when, wavering between the Catholic Faith and Protestantism, he was still high in favour with the King. 4 January, 1687, he was dismissed from court owing to his persistent refusals to be received into the Church.

p. 183 _The Abbot of Aubignac_. François Hédelin, Abbé D’Aubignac, a famous critic and champion of the theatre, was born at Paris, 4 August, 1604. Amongst his best known works are: _Térence justifié_ (4to, 1646, Paris), an attack on Ménage; _La Practique du théâtre_ (4to, 1669, Paris); and _Dissertations concernant le poëme dramatique en forme de remarques sur les deux tragédies de M. Corneille, intitulées_ Sophonisbe _et_ Sertorious (12mo, 1663, Paris). He died at Nemours, 27 July, 1676.

p. 185 _Dr. Davenant_. Charles Davenant, LL.D, (1656-1714), eldest son of Sir William Davenant. He sat for St. Ives, Cornwall, in the first parliament of James II, and was appointed, along with the Master of the Revels, to license plays.

p. 185 _Sir Roger L’Estrange_. The celebrated Tory journalist, pamphleteer and censor was born in 1616. He had ever been a warm defender of James II, and upon this monarch’s accession was liberally rewarded. 21 May, 1685, a warrant was issued directing him to enforce most strictly the regulations concerning treasonable and seditious and scandalous publications. After the Revolution he suffered imprisonment. He died 11 December, 1704.

p. 185 _Mr. Killigrew_. Charles Killigrew (1655-1725), Master of the Revels, was son of Thomas Killigrew by his second wife Charlotte de Hesse. He had been appointed Master of the Revels in 1680, patentee of Drury Lane Theatre in 1682. He was buried in the Savoy, 8 January, 1724-5.

p. 186 _Mr. Leigh_. Antony Leigh, the famous comedian, who created Sir Feeble Fainwood. The scene referred to is Act iii, sc. II, where it must be confessed that, in spite of her protestation, Mrs. Behn gives the stage direction--Sir Feeble ‘throws open his Gown, they run all away, he locks the Door.’

p. 186 _Oedipus_. Dryden and Lee’s excellent tragedy was produced at Dorset Garden in 1679. Betterton created Oedipus and his wife Jocasta. It was extraordinarily popular, as, indeed, were all the plays Mrs. Behn marshalls forth in this preface. The scene particularly referred to is