ACT V. SCENE I.

_A great hall in the Duke’s Palace._

_Enter_ GUARDIANO _and the Ward_.

GUAR. Speak, hast thou any sense of thy abuse? Dost thou know what wrong’s done thee? WARD. I were an ass else; I cannot wash my face but I am feeling on’t. GUAR. Here, take this caltrop[1110] then [_giving caltrop_], convey it secretly Into the place I shew’d you: look you, sir, This is the trap-door to’t. WARD. I know’t of old, uncle, since the last triumph;[1111] here rose up a devil with one eye, I remember, with a company of fireworks at’s tail. GUAR. Prithee, leave squibbing now: mark me, and fail not; But when thou hear’st me give a stamp, down with’t, The villain’s caught then. WARD. If I miss you, hang me: I love to catch a villain, and your stamp[1112] shall go current, I warrant you. But how shall I rise up and let him down too all at one hole? that will be a horrible puzzle. You know I have a part in’t, I play Slander. GUAR. True, but never make you ready for’t. WARD. No? my clothes are bought and all, and a foul fiend’s head, with a long, contumelious tongue i' the chaps on’t, a very fit shape for Slander i' th' out-parishes. GUAR. It shall not come so far; thou understand’st it not. WARD. O, O! GUAR. He shall lie deep enough ere that time, And stick first upon those. WARD. Now I conceive you, guardianer. GUAR. Away! List to the privy stamp, that’s all thy part. WARD. Stamp my horns in a mortar, if I miss you, and give the powder in white wine to sick cuckolds, a very present remedy for the headach. [_Exit._ GUAR. If this should any way miscarry now— As, if the fool be nimble enough, ’tis certain— The pages, that present the swift-wing’d Cupids, Are taught to hit him with their shafts of love, Fitting his part, which I have cunningly poison’d: He cannot ’scape my fury; and those ills Will be laid all on fortune, not our wills; That’s all the sport on’t: for who will imagine That, at the celebration of this night, Any mischance that haps can flow from spite? [_Exit._

_Flourish. Enter above[1113] Duke_, BIANCA, _Lord Cardinal_, FABRICIO, _other Cardinals, and Lords and Ladies in state_.

DUKE. Now, our fair duchess, your delight shall witness How you’re belov’d and honour’d; all the glories Bestow’d upon the gladness of this night Are done for your bright sake. BIAN. I am the more In debt, my lord, to loves and courtesies That offer up themselves so bounteously To do me honour’d grace, without my merit. DUKE. A goodness set in greatness; how it sparkles Afar off, like pure diamonds set in gold! How perfect my desires were, might I witness But a fair noble peace ’twixt your two spirits! The reconcilement would be more sweet to me Than longer life to him that fears to die.— Good sir— CAR. I profess peace, and am content. DUKE. I'll see the seal upon’t, and then ’tis firm. CAR. You shall have all you wish. [_Kisses_ BIANCA. DUKE. I've all indeed now. BIAN. But I've made surer work; this shall not blind me; He that begins so early to reprove, Quickly rid him, or look for little love: Beware a brother’s envy; he’s next heir too. Cardinal, you die this night; the plot’s laid surely; In time of sports death may steal in securely, Then ’tis least thought on; For he that’s most religious, holy friend, Does not at all hours think upon his end; He has his times of frailty, and his thoughts Their transportations too through flesh and blood, For all his zeal, his learning, and his light, As well as we, poor soul, that sin by night. [_Aside._ DUKE [_looking at a paper_]. What’s this, Fabricio? FAB. Marry, my lord, the model Of what’s presented. DUKE. O, we thank their loves.— Sweet duchess, take your seat; list to the argument. [_Reads._ _There is a Nymph, that haunts the woods and springs, In love with two at once, and they with her;_ _Equal it runs; but, to decide these things, The cause to mighty Juno they refer, She being the marriage-goddess: the two lovers They offer sighs, the Nymph a sacrifice, All to please Juno, who by signs discovers How the event shall be; so that strife dies: Then springs a second; for the man refus’d Grows discontent, and, out of love abus’d, He raises Slander up, like a black fiend, To disgrace th' other, which pays him i' th' end._ BIAN. In troth, my lord, a pretty, pleasing argument, And fits th' occasion well: envy and slander Are things soon rais’d against two faithful lovers; But comfort is, they’re not long unrewarded. [_Music._ DUKE. This music shews they’re upon entrance now. BIAN. Then enter all my wishes. [_Aside._

_Enter_ HYMEN _in a yellow robe_, GANYMEDE _in a blue robe powdered with stars, and_ HEBE _in a white robe with golden stars, each bearing a covered cup: they dance a short dance, and then make obeisance to the Duke, &c._

HYM. _To thee, fair bride, Hymen offers up Of nuptial joys this the celestial cup; Taste it, and thou shalt ever find Love in thy bed, peace in thy mind._ BIAN. We’ll taste you, sure; ’twere pity to disgrace So pretty a beginning. [_Takes cup from_ HYMEN, _and drinks_. DUKE. ’Twas spoke nobly. GAN. _Two cups of nectar have we begg’d from Jove; Hebe, give that to innocence, I this to love: Take heed of stumbling more, look to your way; Remember still the_ Via Lactea. [GANYMEDE _and_ HEBE _respectively offer their cups to the Duke and Cardinal, who drink_. HEBE. _Well, Ganymede, you’ve more faults, though not so known; I spill’d one cup, but you’ve filch’d many a one._ HYM. _No more; forbear for Hymen’s sake: In love we met, and so let’s part._[1114] [_Exeunt._ HYMEN, GANYMEDE, _and_ HEBE. DUKE. But, soft; here’s no such persons in the argument As these three, Hymen, Hebe, Ganymede; The actors that this model here discovers Are only four,—Juno, a Nymph, two lovers. BIAN. This is some antimasque[1115] belike, my lord, To entertain time.—Now my peace is perfect, Let sports come on apace. [_Aside._]—Now is their time, my lord: [_Music._ Hark you! you hear from ’em. DUKE. The Nymph indeed!

_Enter two Nymphs, bearing tapers lighted; then_ ISABELLA _as a Nymph, dressed with flowers and garlands, carrying a censer with fire in it: they set the censer and tapers on Juno’s altar with much reverence, singing this ditty in parts_:

_Juno, nuptial goddess, Thou that rul’st o’er coupled bodies, Tiest man to woman, never to forsake her, Thou only powerful marriage-maker, Pity this amaz’d affection! I love both, and both love me; Nor know I where to give rejection, My heart likes so equally, Till thou sett’st right my peace of life, And with thy power conclude this strife._ ISA. _Now, with my thanks, depart you to the springs, I to these wells of love._ [_Exeunt the two Nymphs._]— _Thou sacred goddess And queen of nuptials, daughter to great Saturn, Sister and wife to Jove, imperial Juno, Pity this passionate conflict in my breast, This tedious war ’twixt two affections; Crown me with victory, and my heart’s at peace!_

_Enter_ HIPPOLITO _and_ GUARDIANO _as shepherds_.

HIP. _Make me that happy man, thou mighty goddess!_ GUAR. _But I live most in hope, if truest love_ _Merit the greatest comfort._ ISA. _I love both With such an even and fair affection, I know not which to speak for, which to wish for, Till thou, great arbitress ’twixt lovers' hearts, By thy auspicious grace design the man; Which pity I implore!_ HIP. } _We all implore it!_ GUAR. } ISA. _And after sighs—contrition’s truest odours— I offer to thy powerful deity This precious incense_ [_waving the censer_]; _may it ascend peacefully!_— And if it keep true touch, my good aunt Juno, 'Twill try your immortality ere’t be long: I fear you’ll ne’er get so nigh heaven again, When you’re once down. [_Aside._ [LIVIA _descends, as_ JUNO, _attended by pages as Cupids_. LIV. _Though you and your affections Seem all as dark to our illustrious brightness As night’s inheritance, hell, we pity you, And your requests are granted. You ask signs, They shall be given you; we’ll be gracious to you: He of those twain which we determine for you, Love’s arrows shall wound twice; the later wound Betokens love in age; for so are all Whose love continues firmly all their lifetime Twice wounded at their marriage, else affection Dies when youth ends._—This savour overcomes me! [_Aside._ _Now, for a sign of wealth and golden days, Bright-ey’d prosperity—which all couples love, Ay, and makes love—take that;[1116] our brother Jove Never denies us of his burning treasure To express bounty._ [ISABELLA _falls down and dies_. DUKE. She falls down upon’t; What’s the conceit of that? FAB. As o’erjoy’d belike: Too much prosperity o’erjoys us all, And she has her lapful, it seems, my lord. DUKE. This swerves a little from the argument though: Look you, my lords. [_Shewing paper._ GUAR. All’s fast: now comes my part to tole him hither; Then, with a stamp given, he’s despatch’d as cunningly. [_Aside._ HIP. [_raising the body of_ ISA.] Stark dead! O treachery! cruelly made away! [GUARDIANO _stamps, and falls through a trap-door_. How’s that? FAB. Look, there’s one of the lovers dropt away too! DUKE. Why, sure, this plot’s drawn false; here’s no such thing. LIV. O, I am sick to the death! let me down quickly, This fume is deadly; O, ’t has poison’d me! My subtlety is sped, her art has quitted me; My own ambition pulls me down to ruin. [_Falls down and dies._ HIP. Nay, then, I kiss thy cold lips, and applaud This thy revenge in death. [_Kisses the body of_ ISABELLA. FAB. Look, Juno’s down too! [_Cupids shoot at_ HIPPOLITO. What makes she there? her pride should keep aloft: She was wont to scorn the earth in other shows; Methinks her peacocks' feathers are much pull’d. HIP. O, death runs through my blood, in a wild flame too! Plague of those Cupids! some lay hold on ’em, Let ’em not scape; they’ve spoil’d me, the shaft’s deadly. DUKE. I've lost myself in this quite. HIP. My great lords, We’re all confounded. DUKE. How? HIP. Dead; and I worse. FAB. Dead! my girl dead? I hope My sister Juno has not serv’d me so. HIP. Lust and forgetfulness have[1117] been amongst us, And we are brought to nothing; some blest charity Lend me the speeding pity of his sword, To quench this fire in blood! Leantio’s death Has brought all this upon us—now I taste it— And made us lay plots to confound each other; Th' event so proves it; and man’s understanding Is riper at his fall than all his lifetime. She, in a madness for her lover’s death, Reveal’d a fearful lust in our near bloods, For which I'm punish’d dreadfully and unlook’d for; Prov’d her own ruin too; vengeance met vengeance, Like a set match, as if the plague[s] of sin Had been agreed to meet here altogether: But how her fawning partner fell I reach not, Unless caught by some springe of his own setting,— For, on my pain, he never dream’d of dying; The plot was all his own, and he had cunning Enough to save himself: but' tis the property Of guilty deeds to draw your wise men downward; Therefore the wonder ceases. O, this torment! DUKE. Our guard below there!

_Enter a Lord with a Guard._

LORD. My lord? HIP. Run and meet death then, And cut off time and pain! [_Runs on a sword,[1118] and dies._ LORD. Behold, my lord, Has run his breast upon a weapon’s point! DUKE. Upon the first night of our nuptial honours Destruction play her triumph, and great mischiefs Mask in expected pleasures! ’tis prodigious! They’re things most fearfully ominous; I like ’em not.— Remove these ruin’d bodies from our eyes.

[_The Guard remove the bodies of_ ISABELLA, LIVIA, _and_ HIPPOLITO.

BIAN. Not yet, no change? when falls he to the earth? [_Aside._ LORD. Please but your excellence to peruse that paper, [_Giving paper to the Duke._ Which is a brief confession from the heart Of him that fell first, ere his soul departed; And there the darkness of these deeds speaks plainly, ’Tis the full scope, the manner, and intent: His ward, that ignorantly let him down, Fear put to present flight at the voice of him. BIAN. Nor yet? [_Aside._ DUKE. Read, read, for I am lost in sight and strength! [_Falls._ CAR. My noble brother! BIAN. O, the curse of wretchedness! My deadly hand is faln upon my lord: Destruction, take me to thee! give me way; The pains and plagues of a lost soul upon him That hinders me a moment! DUKE. My heart swells bigger yet; help here, break’t ope! My breast flies open next. [_Dies._ BIAN. O, with the poison That was prepar’d for thee! thee, Cardinal, ’Twas meant for thee. CAR. Poor prince! BIAN. Accursèd error! Give me thy last breath, thou infected bosom, And wrap two spirits in one poison’d vapour! Thus, thus, reward thy murderer, and turn death [_Kisses the dead body of the Duke._ Into a parting kiss! my soul stands ready at my lips, Even vex’d to stay one minute after thee. CAR. The greatest sorrow and astonishment That ever struck the general peace of Florence Dwells in this hour. BIAN. So, my desires are satisfied, I feel death’s power within me: Thou hast prevail’d in something, cursed poison! Though thy chief force was spent in my lord’s bosom; But my deformity in spirit’s more foul, A blemish’d face best fits a leprous soul. What make I here? these are all strangers to me, Not known but by their malice now thou’rt gone, Nor do I seek their pities. [_Drinks from the poisoned cup._[1119] CAR. O restrain Her ignorant, wilful hand! BIAN. Now do; ’tis done. Leantio, now I feel the breach of marriage At my heart-breaking. O, the deadly snares That women set for women, without pity Either to soul or honour! learn by me To know your foes: in this belief I die,— Like our own sex we have no enemy.[1120] LORD. See, my lord, What shift sh’as made to be her own destruction! BIAN. Pride, greatness, honours, beauty, youth, ambition, You must all down together, there’s no help for’t: Yet this my gladness is, that I remove Tasting the same death in a cup of love. [_Dies._ CAR. Sin, what thou art, these ruins shew too piteously: Two kings on one throne cannot sit together, But one must needs down, for his title’s wrong; So where lust reigns, that prince cannot reign long. _Exeunt omnes._

END OF VOL. IV.

LONDON: PRINTED BY LEVEY, ROBSON, AND FRANKLYN, 46 St. Martin’s Lane.

Footnotes

# 1:

_Kix_] Or _kex_ is a dry stalk, properly of hemlock. Why this name (which Middleton has used in another play, see vol. ii. p. 4) is given to Sir Oliver, the reader will presently discover.

# 2:

_Dahanna_] Old ed. in _Dram. Pers._, and more than once in the text, “Dahumma.”

# 3:

_virginals_] See note, vol. iii. p. 112.

# 4:

_Yes? you are_, &c.] Was not this speech originally verse, though the present state of the text will not admit of its being arranged as such?

# 5:

_board_] Old ed. “bord”—perhaps a misprint.

# 6:

_I ha'_, &c.] Qy. “Ay, ha’,” &c.? but compare p. 27, l. 13.

# 7:

_bracks_] i. e. breaks.

# 8:

_Hobson’s porters_] Hobson was the celebrated Cambridge-carrier, on whose death, in Jan. 1630-1, Milton, while a student at that university, composed a copy of verses. There are three epitaphs on Hobson in _Wit’s Recreations_, p. 249, reprint 1817; and his will, dated Dec. 1630, is printed in the _Coll. of Pieces_ appended to Peck’s _Memoirs of Cromwell_, p. 44. A tract, published in 1617, 4to, is called, from him, _Hobson’s Horse-load of Letters, or a President for Epistles_; and he is said (see _The Spectator_, No. 509,) to have given rise to the expression _Hobson’s choice_.

# 9:

_the Bell_] Qy. “the Bull?”

“He is not dead, but left his mansion here, Has left the _Bull_, and flitted to the Beare.” _First Epitaph on Hobson—Wit’s Recr._ p. 249.

“This memorable man [Hobson] stands drawn in fresco, at an inn, which he used in Bishopsgate-Street, with an hundred pound bag under his arm, with this inscription upon the said bag:

The fruitful mother of a hundred more.” The _Spectator_, No. 509.

# 10:

_tester_] i. e. sixpence: see note, vol. i. p. 258.

# 11:

_gear_] i. e. matter.

# 12:

_What is’t you lack_] See note, vol. i. p. 447.

# 13:

_marks_] A mark was 13_s._ 4_d._

# 14:

_wound_] Qy. “sound?”

# 15:

_serve_] Old ed. “serues.”

# 16:

_pick_] i. e. _peak_—grow meagre.

# 17:

_Turn not_, &c.] Corrupted text, I believe; the whole speech having been originally verse.

# 18:

_O turn, sir, turn_ There appears to be some grievous corruption here. Perhaps for “_turn_” we ought to read “Tim,”—of whom Yellowhammer proceeds to speak: the hopeful youth is certainly not present; he does not arrive from Cambridge till act iii. sc. 2.

# 19:

_What is’t you lack_] See note, vol. i. p. 447.

# 20:

_rules_] i. e. sports, games: compare in vol. ii. p. 124, “how go the squares?” and see Steevens’s note on the word “night-rule,” Shakespeare’s _Mid.'s Night’s Dream_, act iii. sc. 2, and Douce’s _Illust. of Shak._, vol. i. p. 192.

# 21:

_wittol_] i. e. tame cuckold.

# 22:

_gaudy-shops_] i. e. shops where they sell _gauds_, finery.

# 23:

_Gresham’s Burse_] i. e. the Royal Exchange, built by Sir Thomas Gresham.

# 24:

_think’s_] i.e. _think_ these things _is_ mine—an expression which, on account of the metre, cannot be altered.

# 25:

_where_] i. e. whereas.

# 26:

_string_] Old ed. “strings.”

# 27:

_meet_] Old ed. “meets.”

# 28:

_and_] i. e. if.

# 29:

_Put on_] i. e. put on your hat.

# 30:

_God-den_] A corruption of _Good even_.

# 31:

_Thus do I rid myself of fear_, &c.] An imperfect couplet: compare vol. i. p. 424, vol. ii. p. 7, vol. iii. p. 52, &c.

# 32:

_will_] Old ed. “willes”—but a rhyme is intended here.

# 33:

_gear_] i. e. stuff.

# 34:

_progress_] i. e. the travelling of the sovereign and court to different parts of the kingdom.

# 35:

_snaphance_] “A spring-lock to a gun or pistol; a fire-lock, which term, as _snaphance_ sometimes was, is since given to the gun itself.” Nares, _Gloss._ in v., where see more concerning the word. The metaphorical sense in which the lady uses it is sufficiently obvious.

# 36:

_mutton_] See note, vol. iii. p. 102.

# 37:

_have_] Old ed. “has.”

# 38:

_promoters_] See note, p. 31.

# 39:

_passion_] i. e. sorrow.

# 40:

_Touch. jun._] Old ed. “_Lady._”

# 41:

_mark ... for thirteen shillings fourpence_] A play on words: see note, p. 10.

# 42:

_I cannot do withal_] i. e. I cannot help it: see Gifford’s note on Ben Jonson’s _Works_, vol. iii. p. 470, and my note on Webster’s _Works_, vol. iii. p. 215.

# 43:

_kersten_] A corruption of _Christian_.

# 44:

_And that’s worth_, &c.] Thus in old ed.;

“I'le about it. And that’s worth all sweet Husband.”

# 45:

_Before Allwit’s house_] If the reader, during the earlier part of this scene, should wonder why I have not placed it _within_ the house, he will presently see the reason. Perhaps, indeed, as there was no painted moveable scenery when the play was written, the author might have meant the audience to suppose that the stage represented a chamber, until the entrance of the Promoters, when it was suddenly to be taken for a street. See notes, vol. ii. pp. 142, 147.

# 46:

_o’erthrows_] Qy. “o’ergrows?”

# 47:

_Dahanna_] Old ed. here “Dahumma:” see note, p. 4.

# 48:

_Promoters_] “Be those which in popular and penall actions do deferre the names, or complaine of offenders, having part of the profit for their reward.” Cowell’s _Interpreter_, ed. 1637, in v.—But the Promoters in our play do more than inform,—they execute the law.

# 49:

_corps_] A plural: compare vol. ii. p. 135, l. 6, and p. 162, (note 310).

# 50:

_golls_] A cant term for hands,—fists, paws.

# 51:

_colon_] i. e. hunger—properly, the largest of the intestines.

# 52:

_a foutra for_] Equivalent to—a fig for: the expression is used by Pistol in Shakespeare’s _Henry IV. P. Sec._ act v. sc. 3.

# 53:

_Turnbull Street_] A corruption of _Turnmill Street_, near Clerkenwell: repeatedly mentioned in our early dramas as the residence of dissolute persons of both sexes.

# 54:

_band_] Not a misprint for _hand_.—Old ed. “Band.”

# 55:

_Queenhive_] A corruption of _Queenhithe_.

# 56:

_Branford_] Or _Brainford_—an old and corrupt form of Brentford.

# 57:

_trussing him_] i. e. tying his points: see note, vol. iii. p. 319.

# 58:

_kursning-day_] i. e. christening-day.

# 59:

_and_] i. e. if.

# 60:

_come_] Old ed. “comes.”

# 61:

_beholding_] i. e. beholden—a form common in old writers.

# 62:

_Enter from the house_, &c.] The direction in old ed. is, “_Enter Midwife with the Child, and the Gossips to the Kursning._” That the christening did not take place at home appears from the opening of the second scene of the next act.

# 63:

_it_] i. e. the precedence.

# 64:

_And_] i.e. if.

# 65:

_Here’s no_, &c.] See note, vol. i. p. 169.

# 66:

_receiv’d baffling_] i. e. put up with insult: see note, vol. ii. p. 449.

# 67:

_A bed-chamber_, &c.] Old ed. “_A Bed thrust out vpon the Stage, Allwit’s wife in it, Enter all the Gossips._”

# 68:

_kursen_] i.e. christened.

# 69:

_Amsterdam_] See note, vol. i. p. 205.

# 70:

_Ey’d_] Old ed. “Ey’s.”

# 71:

_spiny_] i.e. slender.

# 72:

_'postle-spoons_] i. e. apostle-spoons,—the usual gift of sponsors at christenings—spoons of silver, sometimes gilt, the handle of each ending in the figure of an apostle.

# 73:

_Judas with the red beard_] Judas Iscariot, according to the common notion, had red hair and beard, and was so represented in tapestries and pictures: see note, vol. i. p. 259.

# 74:

_come_] Old ed. “comes.”

# 75:

_go_] Old ed. “goes.”

# 76:

_and_] i. e. if.

# 77:

_mar’l_] i. e. marvel.

# 78:

_fitters_] i. e. pieces,—small fragments.

# 79:

_Bucklersbury_] When this play was written, was chiefly occupied by druggists; at whose shops, it appears, sweetmeats were to be purchased. “Go into _Bucklersbury_ and fetch me two ounces of preserved melons.” _Westward Ho_,—Webster’s _Works_, vol. iii. p. 19.

# 80:

_and_] i. e. if.

# 81:

_Lady Kix_] Old ed. has merely “Lady:” but such is the prefix to all the speeches of Lady Kix throughout the play; and see p. 27, l. 13.

# 82:

_towards_] i. e. in preparation.

# 83:

_cattle_] i. e. the Welsh _runts_, of which we hear more afterwards.

# 84:

_fresh-woman_] A term invented by Tim,—corresponding to _freshman_, one lately come to the university, and unacquainted with its customs.

# 85:

_lin_] i. e. cease.

# 86:

_Dunces_] i.e. the schoolmen,—properly the disciples of _Duns_ Scotus: see Todd’s Johnson’s _Dict._ in v. _Dunce_.

# 87:

_beholding_] See note, p. 40.

# 88:

_Pissing-conduit_] A little conduit, which ran a small stream, near the Royal Exchange.

# 89:

_rushes_] With which, previous to the introduction of carpets, the floors were strewed.

# 90:

_shittle-cork_] The proper form of the word—now corrupted to _shittle-cock_.

# 91:

_bankrout_] i. e. bankrupt.

# 92:

_And lay him level_, &c.

_Get but his wife_, &c.] I may just notice, that by “him” is meant Sir Walter Whorehound—by “his wife,” Sir Oliver Kix’s wife.

# 93:

_and_] i. e. if.

# 94:

_common-place_] i. e. common-pleas: compare vol. ii. p. 336, and note.

# 95:

_go_] Old ed. “goes.”

# 96:

_out-cry_] i. e. an auction (announced by the common _crier_).

# 97:

_pranking up_] i. e. decking out.

# 98:

_her_] Old ed. “their.”

# 99:

_And_] i. e. if.

# 100:

———] So old ed.

# 101:

_figient_] i.e. fidging, fidgetty.

# 102:

_this_] A table or chair, perhaps.

# 103:

_wife_] Old ed. “wifes.”

# 104:

_rationalis_] Old ed. “rationalibus.”

# 105:

_dici_] Old ed. “dicere”—Middleton, I fear, having written “diceri.”

# 106:

_haberdines_] Perhaps Tim alludes to some childish sport: a kind of cod, generally salted, was called _haberdine_.

# 107:

_sir-reverence_] See note, vol. i. p. 171.

# 108:

_mar’l_] i. e. marvel.—I have deviated but slightly from the old ed. in arranging the lines of this speech. The probability is, that the genuine text has not come down to us.

# 109:

_kiff nor kin_] A not uncommon corruption of kith nor kin.

# 110:

_runts_] i. e. cattle of a small size.

# 111:

_Rider’s Dictionary_] _A Dict. Engl. and Lat., and Lat. and Engl._, by John Rider, first printed 1589, was a work once in great repute at Oxford.

# 112:

_tu virgo_, &c.] Old ed. “abundis:” as, in the next speech of Tim, the old ed. has “abundat,” I should have supposed, but for the lady’s reply “abundand_is_,” and what has been previously said of her wealth, that Middleton wrote here, “tua, _virgo, Wallia ut opibus_ abundat _maximis_.”

# 113:

_simul et ... parato_] Old ed. “simule ... parata.” I am by no means satisfied with my alterations; indeed, I do not quite understand the drift of Tim’s oration.

# 114:

_cog_] i.e. lie, deceive, wheedle.

# 115:

_proceeded_] i. e. taken a degree.

# 116:

_and_] i. e. if.

# 117:

_Welsh._ [_sings_] Old ed. “Musicke and Welch Song,”— the words probably being adapted to some Welsh air.

# 118:

_Cupid is Venus'_, &c. . . . . . . . . _To keep a lady’s lips in play_] This portion of the song, with two additional lines, occurs in our author’s _More Dissemblers besides Women_, vol. iii. p. 574.

# 119:

_thought_] Old ed. “taught:” but see vol. iii. p. 575.

# 120:

_lose it_] Qy. “lost is?”

# 121:

_I can do somewhat_] Here, it would seem, from what Yellowhammer says on entering, that Tim either kisses the Welshwoman, or proceeds to sing.

# 122:

_a' life_] i. e. as my life, extremely.

# 123:

_Resolve_] i. e. satisfy, inform.

# 124:

——] So old ed.

# 125:

——] So old ed.

# 126:

_Poulters ... conies_] i.e. Poulterers ... rabbits.

# 127:

_wittol’s_] i.e. tame cuckold’s.

# 128:

_Cato_] i.e. the _Disticha de Moribus_, to which the name of Cato is prefixed.

# 129:

_Corderius_] Old ed. “Cordelius.”

# 130:

_kursen’d_] i. e. christen’d.

# 131:

_mark_] See note, p. 10.

# 132:

_anno_——] The player, perhaps, was to fill up the date.

# 133:

_lay_] See note, vol. ii. p. 11.

# 134:

_Blackfriars_] i. e. Blackfriars' Theatre.

# 135:

_gill_] i. e. wanton.

# 136:

_up on_] Old ed. “_vp_ vpon.”

# 137:

_tongue_] i. e. perhaps, suit—if it be not a misprint.

# 138:

_first_] Old ed. “at _first_.”

# 139:

_she smiles_] Qy. “_she smiles_ [on you],” for the measure?

# 140:

_darken_] Old ed. “darkens.”

# 141:

_stand_] Old ed. “stands.”

# 142:

_O too_] I can make nothing else of the “ho to” of old ed.

# 143:

_have_] Old ed. “hath.”

# 144:

_seven_] i. e. the seven children: see p. 73, l. 6 from bottom.

# 145:

_wittol_] i. e. tame cuckold.

# 146:

_with part_] Qy. “any _part_”—for the measure?

# 147:

_wittols_] i. e. tame cuckolds.

# 148:

_push_] See note, vol. i. p. 29.

# 149:

_you taught me_, &c.] Does he allude to the foolish game called _A thing done_, &c.? See B. Jonson’s _Cynthia’s Revels_—_Works_, vol. ii. p. 306, ed. Giff.

# 150:

_Ovid_] Qy. “Ovidius”—for the measure?

# 151:

_joy_] Old ed. “ioyes.”

# 152:

_cast_] i. e. contrived.

# 153:

_Recorders_] i. e. flageolets.

# 154:

_epitaphs pinned on it_] According to the custom of the time.

# 155:

_music-room_] On the present stage-direction Mr. J. P. Collier (_Hist. of Engl. Dram. Poetry_, vol. iii. p. 447) founds a conjecture, which, to me at least, is not quite satisfactory—viz. that as in our early theatres the boxes were called _rooms_, one of them was probably appropriated to the musicians.

# 156:

_What nature could there shine_] i. e., perhaps, what good qualities, &c.—A friend conjectures “shrine.”

# 157:

_First Mour._] Old ed. prefixes “All” to the speeches which I have assigned to different mourners.

# 158:

_Touch. jun._] Old. ed. “T. S.”

# 159:

_First Mour._] Old ed. “All” (see note in preceding page): but as Mistress Allwit spoke last, the speech perhaps belongs to her husband, though in this scene old ed. gives the abbreviation of his name “Allw.”

# 160:

_prevent_] i. e. anticipate.

# 161:

_Knights' ward_] See note, vol. i. p. 392.

# 162:

_and_] i. e. if.

# 163:

_saw_] Old ed. “say.”

# 164:

_Brainford_] See note, p. 37.

# 165:

_runts_] See note, p. 66.

# 166:

_Flectere_, &c.] Virg. _Æn._ vii. 312.

# 167:

_falleris_] Old ed. “falacis.” Compare p. 62, where Tim says “_falleris_ sane.”

# 168:

——] So old ed.

# 169:

_Scene, Madrid_, &c.] Old eds. “The Scene, Allegant” [i. e. Alicant].

# 170:

_borachio_] i. e. drunkard. “A _borachio_ is a vessel made of skins, in which wine is kept in Spain.” Editor of 1816.

# 171:

_for gentlemen_] First ed. “for a gentlemen.” Ed. 1661, “for a’ gentleman.”

# 172:

_be_] So ed. 1661. Not in first ed.

# 173:

_Madrill_] i. e. Madrid—a form of the word repeatedly found in our early writers.

# 174:

_alablaster_] See note, vol. i. p. 281.

# 175:

_is_] Old eds. “are.”

# 176:

_penance_] i. e. penitence.

# 177:

_Live_ Is one of several important corrections made with a pen in a copy of the first 4to, by some early possessor, who, as he has also inserted some additions to the text, had, in all probability, seen a manuscript of the piece.—Both eds. “Lay,” which, before the copy just mentioned came into my hands, I had altered to “Play.”

# 178:

_lodgings_] Must mean his apartments in Fernando’s house: see p. 106, l. 1.

# 179:

_Exit Louis_, &c.] At p. 115, Diego tells Louis,

“_as we parted_, I perceiv’d A walking thing before me,” &c.;

but I cannot help suspecting (as there was no painted moveable scenery when this drama was written: see notes, vol. ii. pp. 142, 147, and p. 29 of the present vol.), that as soon as Diego had said, “I this way,” the audience was to imagine a change in the place of action; and, perhaps, after these words, he made his exit “at one door,” and “entered presently at the other:” see note on the commencement of the 2d sc. of