67. old is] Old ed. “old’s.”
68. He is] Old ed. “Hees.”
69. passions] “i. e. pathetic speeches.”—Gifford.
70. allow] i. e. approve.
71. both do] Old ed. “both do both.”
72. which] Old ed. “which that.”
73. Clean. And so it does;
The church-book overthrows it, if you read it well.] “Cleanthes
and the lawyer are at cross purposes. The latter observes,
that the church-book (by which he means the register
of births kept there) overthrows all demur; to which the
former replies, that it really does so, taking the holy Scriptures
for the church-book.
“To observe upon the utter confusion of all time and place, of all customs and manners, in this drama, would be superfluous; they must be obvious to the most careless observer.”—Gifford.
74. woman] Old ed. “women.”
75. law] Old ed. “lawfull.”
76. likelihood] Old ed. “livelihood.”
77. whose] Old ed. “which.”
78. as they may be supposed tedious] Old ed. “as it may be supposed is tedious.”
79. for the women] Old ed. “for the which are the women.”
80. past] Old ed. “to be past.”
81. they] Old ed. “to.”
82. and not for a full month, &c.] “The reader will see the necessity and the motive of this provision in the act towards the conclusion of the play.”—Gifford.
83. “Had acts of parliament, in Massinger’s days, been somewhat like what they are in ours, we might not unreasonably have supposed that this was wickedly meant as a ridicule on them; for a more prolix, tautological, confused piece of formality, human wit, or rather human dulness, could not easily have produced. As it stands in the old copy and in Coxeter, it is absolutely incomprehensible.”—Id.
84. do it] Old ed. “doot.”
85. woman] Old ed. “women.”
86. ’tis] Old ed. “his.”
87. now] Old ed. “nor.”
88. ———— if this hold, white heads will be cheap, And many watchmen’s places will be vacant;] “The authors could not forbear, even at this serious moment, to indulge a smile at the venerable guardians of the night, who in their time, as well as in ours, seem to have been very ancient and quiet.”—Gifford.
89. sorrow is] Old ed. “sorrowes.”
90. horse] Old ed. “horseback.”
91. where is] Old ed. “wheres.”
92. In’s secure quiet, &c.] So Gifford. The old ed. has,
93. sir] Old ed. “sit.”
94. weeping] “This is given by the modern editors as a marginal note; but the old copy makes it, and rightly, a part of the text.”—Gifford.
95. to prevent her] “i. e. to anticipate the period she had allotted to life.”—Id.
96. she will] Old ed. “sheel.”
97. there’s] Old ed. “there is.”
98. her] Old ed. “it.”
99. her] Old ed. “it.”
100. thrown] Old ed. “threw.”
101. she will] Old ed. “sheel.”
102. while] i. e. until.
103. Forgetest still] Old ed. “Still forgets.”
104. with] Old ed. “within.”
105. doubled now] Old ed. “now doubled.”
106. Cleanthes, never better] Old ed. “Never better, Cleanthes.”
107. strong] Old ed. “stronger.”
108. she is ... of’t] Old ed. “shees ... of it.”
109. allow] i. e. approve.
110. ’s] Old ed. “is.”
111. Buried my name in Epire, &c.] “This is obscure. Perhaps Leonides means, that he had so conducted himself in his native country (i. e. so raised his reputation there), that his memory would always live in the recollection of the people, unless he now quitted them for a residence elsewhere. The conclusion of this speech I do not understand.”—Gifford.]
112. on us] Old ed. “ons.”
113. with’t] Old ed. “with it.”
114. yet] Old ed. “yes.”
115. there is] Old ed. “theres.”
116. one] Old ed. “all one.”
117. at night] Old ed. “at night, my lord.”
118. and] i. e. if.
119. Old ed. “2.”
120. act] Old ed. “act, my lord.”
121. on] Old ed. “upon.”
122. where] i. e. whereas.
123. Wood] i. e. mad, raging: so M. Mason reads, for “Would” of the old ed. Gifford gives “Worried,” to perfect, as he says, the metre: but he forgot (what he elsewhere notices) that “aches” was formerly a dissyllable, and pronounced aitches.
124. pan’d hose] i. e. breeches (generally made full and bombasted) having panes or openings in the cloth, where other colours were inserted in silk, and drawn through.
125. bravery] “i. e. ostentatious finery of apparel.”—Gifford.
126. Push] This exclamation (which Gifford alters to Pish) is several times used by Middleton, as well as by other authors of his time: so Chapman;
127. And keep a better table than that, I trow.] “This wretched fellow is punning upon the word table, which, as applied to his father, meant a large sheet of paper, where precepts for the due regulation of life were set down in distinct lines; and as applied to himself—that he would keep a better house, i. e. live more sumptuously, than his father.”—Gifford.
128. cheese-trenchers] “Before the general introduction of books, our ancestors were careful to dole out instruction in many ways: hangings, pictures, trenchers, knives, wearing apparel, every thing, in a word, that was capable of containing a short sentence, was turned to account.... Saltonstall observes of one of his characters, that ‘for talke hee commonly uses some proverbial verses, gathered perhaps from cheese-trenchers.’ Pictures, by W. S.”—Id. See also my edition of Webster’s Works, III. 191, and note there.
129. Forfeit before] So Gifford: but I am not quite satisfied with his reading. Old ed. “Before surfet.”
130. You’ve] Old ed. “You have.”
131. and] i. e. if.
132. seven-and-fifty] “See p. 6.”—Gifford.
134. I’m] Old ed. “I am.”
135. Enter, &c.] The stage-direction in the old ed. is, “Enter Cleanthes and Hipolita with a hears.”
136. this] Old ed. “in this.”
137. I’ve] Old ed. “I have.”
138. condition] “i. e. on condition.”—Gifford.
139. the duke in sight] Old ed. “the dim sight.”—“The variation in the text is from a conjecture of Mr. M. Mason. I suppose the manuscript had only the initial letter of duke, and the printer not knowing what to make of d. in sight, corrected it into dim sight. These abbreviations are the source of innumerable errors.”—Id.
140. Him.] Old ed. “He.”
141. and] i. e. if.
142. Bailiff.] Old ed. “Bayly.”
143. and] i. e. if.
144. and] i. e. if.
145. doctors a’ the name. “He alludes to Dr. W. Butler, a very celebrated physician of Elizabeth’s days. The oddity of his manners, the singularity of his practice, and the extraordinary cures which he performed, raised many strange opinions of him. ‘He never’ (says Dr. Wittie) ‘kept any apprentices for his business, nor any maid but a fool, and yet his reputation thirty-five years after his death was still so great, that many empiricks got credit among the vulgar by claiming relation to him, as having served him, and learned much from him.’ He died at an advanced age in 1618.”—Gifford.
146. should] Old ed. “shall.”
147. I’ve] Old ed. “I have.”
148. to let him live still] Old. ed. “still to let him live.”
149. have] So Gifford. Old ed. “am,” which perhaps is right.
150. perfum’d] So Gifford. Old ed. “perform’d,” which may be right, in the sense of drest to perfection.
151. we know ... you young] Old ed. “you know ... your young.”
152. Simonides.] Old ed. “Mr. Simonides.”
153. We’ve] Old ed. “we have.”
154. I am] Old ed. “I’me.”
155. botcher] Old ed. “brother.”
156. wheezing] Old ed. “wheening.”
157. oft] Old ed. “often.”
158. quited] i. e. requited.
159. For] Old ed. “After.”
161. know] Old ed. “knowes.”
162. I’ve] Old ed. “I have.”
163. despatch’t] Old ed. “dispatch him.”
164. in] Old ed. “in your.”
165. it is] Old ed. “’tis.”
166. deduct it to days] “A Latinism, deducere, bring it down, or, reduce it to days. This absurdity of consulting the church-book for the age, &c. may be kept in countenance by Beaumont and Fletcher, vol. 6th, p. 248. Indeed there are several passages in this play that resemble some in the Queen of Corinth.”—Gifford.
167. sexton] Old ed. “sexton for that.”
168. Scirophorion ... Hecatombaion] Old ed. “Scirophon ... Hecatomcaon.”—“Scirophorion, Hecatombaion, and, soon after, December; what a medley! This miserable ostentation of Greek literature is, I believe, from the pen of Middleton, who was ‘a piece’ of a scholar.”—Gifford.
169. Gnotho] Old ed. “Gnothos.”
170. here’s a trick, &c.] “This alludes to those games, in which the low cards were thrown out; coats were what we call court cards. The end of serving-men, which occurs in the next speech, is the title of an old ballad.”—Gifford.
171. spoke] Old ed. “spak.”
172. Gnotho] Old ed. “Gnothos.”
173. if you do] “i. e. if you fare well.”—Gifford.
174. passionately] “i. e. plaintively, sorrowfully.”—Id.
175. and] i. e. if.
176. broker] Old ed. “brother.”
177. vow’d servants] Old ed. “servants vowd.”
178. Nor] Old ed. “Nay.”
179. hour] Old ed. “hour at least.”
180. beguile] Old ed. “beguild.”
181. and] i. e. if.
182. fault] “i. e. misfortune.”—Gifford.
183. and] i. e. if.
184. discover’d] Old ed. “discoverd gentlemen.”
185. grinning] Old ed. “ginny.”
186. and] i. e. if.
187. cannot] Old ed. “can’t.”
188. one] Old ed. “one and.”
189. horse-trick] “Some rough curvetting is here meant, but I know not the precise motion. The word occurs in a Woman killed with Kindness. ‘Though we be but country fellows, it may be, in the way of dancing, we can do the horse-trick as well as the serving-men.’ A. 1.”—Gifford.
190. and] i. e. if.
191. and] i. e. if.
192. trillibubs.] “This seems to be a cant word for any thing of a trifling nature.”—Gifford.
193. First Courtier dances a galliard] The stage-direction in old ed. is “A Gailliard Laminiard.”—“A galliard is described by Sir John Davis as a swift and wandering dance, with lofty turns and capriols in the air; and so very proper to prove the strength and activity of Lysander. It is still more graphically described, as Mr. Gilchrist observes, in Burton’s Anat. of Melancholy: ‘Let them take their pleasures, young men and maides flourishing in their age, fair and lovely to behold, well attired and of comely carriage, dancing a Greeke Galliarde, and, as their dance required, kept their time, now turning, now tracing, now apart, now altogether, now a curtesie, then a caper, &c., that it was a pleasant sight.’ Fol. 1632.”—Gifford.
194. go] Old ed. “ago.”
195. vennies] or venues, i. e. assaults, bouts, turns.
196. a flap-dragon] Was a raisin, plum, &c., and sometimes even a candle’s end, made to float in a shallow dish, or glass, of brandy, or other liquor, from which, when set on fire, it was to be snatched by the mouth and swallowed. Gallants in former days vied with each other in drinking off flap-dragons to the healths of their mistresses.
197. it is] Old ed. “’tis.”
198. you] Old ed. “with you.”
200. —— with a trick] “Lysander gives them all harsh names—here he bestows one on Simonides, which the delicacy or fear of the old publisher would not permit him to hazard in print: tant mieux.”—Gifford.
201. “This stuff is not worth explaining; but the reader, if he has any curiosity on the subject, may amply gratify it by a visit to Pantagruel and his companions on the Isle Ennasin. Below, there is a miserable pun upon hair—the crossing of an hare was ominous.”—Id.
202. and] i. e. if.
203. the scotomy] Old ed. “scotony.”—“The scotomy (σκοτωμα) is a dizziness or swimming in the head.”—Id.
205. go] Old ed. “goes.”
206. You] Old ed. “It.”
207. are] Old ed. “are all.”
208. back] Old ed. “black.”
209. ——for’t had been safer Now to be mad, &c.] “Minus est insania turpis. There are many traits of Massinger in this part of the scene.”—Gifford.
210. has] i. e. he has—an elliptical expression frequent in our early poets.
211. thou’rt] Old ed. “thou art.”
213. consort] i. e. company of musicians.
214. Gnotho] Old ed. “Gnothoes.”
215. foot] Old ed. “foole.”
216. we have Siren here ... ’twas Hiren, the fair Greek] In Shakespeare’s Henry IV., Part II. Act ii. Sc. 4., Pistol exclaims, “have we not Hiren here?” and the same (or nearly the same) words occur in several other old plays. They seem to be a quotation from a (now-lost) drama by Peele, called The Turkish Mahomet and Hiren the Fair Greek. See the commentators on the passage of Shakespeare just cited, and my Account of Peele, &c. p. xxxv., prefixed to his Works, sec. ed.
217. Gnotho] Old ed. “Gnothoes.”
218. She grew longer, &c.] “This miserable trash, which is quite silly enough to be original, has yet the merit of being copied from Shakspeare.”—Gifford.
219. avoirdupois] Old ed. “haberdepoyse.”
221. wizards] Old ed. “vizards.”
222. Gnotho] Old ed. “Gnothoes.”
224. This stage-direction in old ed. stands thus: “The Dance of old women maskt, then offer to take the men, they agree all but Gnothoes: he sits with his Wench after they whisper.”
225. Gnotho] Old ed. “Gnothoes.”
226. a mermaid] “The mermaids of the writer’s time had succeeded to the Syrens of the ancients, and possessed all their musical as well as seductive qualities. Mermaid also was one of the thousand cant terms which served to denote a strumpet; and to this, perhaps, Agatha alludes.”—Gifford.