551. Tai.] Old ed. “Purs.”
552. and] i.e. if.
553. thine] Old ed. “mine.”
554. will be ever one] Old ed. “will be ever be one.”
555. again] i.e. against.
556. Hist] Old ed. “Pist.”
558. Pur. &c.] Old ed. “All.”
559. and] i.e. if.
562. hatcht] i.e. engraved.
565. snibbed] i.e. snubbed—a form of the word which sometimes occurs.
566. Haff, &c.] So old ed.—the spelling being intended to express the broken utterance of the speaker.
567. Fie, &c.] The old ed. gives this speech, “Fie ath these,” &c., without any prefix.
569. come] Old ed. “comes.”
570. word] i.e. motto.
571. Gol.] Old ed. “Purs.,” which the next speech of Pursenet shews to be wrong: but, perhaps, the prefix should be “Fulk.”
572. Fit.] Old ed. “Fulk.”
573. disgest] Frequently found in our old writers for digest.
574. cross-biter] i.e. cheater.
575. royals ... as many with spurs, &c.] i.e. spur-royals—gold coins (with a star on the reverse resembling the rowel of a spur) worth fifteen shillings.
576. Sec. D. What’s, &c.] Old ed. gives “Drawer, what’s to be done, sirs?” as part of Goldstone’s speech.
577. near all] i.e. touches all nearly—if, indeed, that be the right reading. Old ed. “meere all.”
579.
580. yon] i.e. yonder.
581. Here, sir] Not knowing how this second piece of knavery is managed (see note, p. 251), I have not attempted to supply any stage-directions. Goldstone seems to have removed the goblet from the place where it “hung” (see p. 261), and to have hid it somewhere, till all except himself and Fulk had left the room.
583. be ready] i.e. dress himself: compare p. 224 and note.
585. I’m] Old ed. “I am.”
586. Combe Park] Lands so called in the parish of Kingston upon Thames: see Manning and Bray’s Hist. of Surrey, vol. i. p. 401.—In The Black Book (reprinted in the last vol. of Middleton’s Works), Lucifer makes “a high thief on horseback” the “keeper of Combe Park.”
588. Scene II.] Here in the old ed. no new scene is marked: after Pursenet had spoken the words “there will I meet him,” and thrown a scarf over his face (see what follows), the audience were to suppose that the stage represented Combe Park: vide note, p. 147.
589. ne’er] Old ed. “never.”
590. injury] So in The Wisdome of Doctor Dodypoll, 1600;
592. any] Has a word, which followed this, dropt out?
593. covetous] Old ed. “courteous.”
596. fire-drakes] i.e. a sort of fire-works.
597. thy] Qy. “my.”
598. pasture] Qy. “pastime.”
599. her] Old ed. “him.”
600. hist] Old ed. “pist.”
601. and] i.e. if.
603. I’ve] Old ed. “I have.”
604. know] Old ed. “knowes.”
605. standing] A word that followed this seems to have dropt out.
607. I’m] Old ed., “I am.”
608. Enter Fitsgrave and Gentleman] Old ed. “Enter two Gentlemen:” but one of them is certainly Fitsgrave, who has put into the hands of his companion the letter which Pursenet had dropt: see the last line of sc. ii. of this act. Besides, the first speaker here declares that he has found “three of the gallants;” and Fitsgrave, in act iv. sc. 5, says,
609. shame] Qy. “charm.”
610. faints] Old ed. “faires.”
611. and] i.e. if.
612. Yea, at your book so hard] Perhaps it is hardly worth noticing, that, in the Third Part of Henry VI., act v. sc. 6, Gloster says to Henry,
613. Ex for ex] Can this expression mean “ecce, for example?”
614. and] i.e. if.
615. are] Old ed. “were.”
616. Mitre-night] See note, p. 248.—Had the giving of suppers to these ladies at the Mitre grown now to a custom?
617. struggling] Old ed. “he thumps.”
618. lined] May be right,—but qy. “limed.”
619. a chrisom] i.e. an infant,—one who dies within the month of its birth, and is buried in the chrisome, a white cloth, an emblem of Christian innocency, which was thrown over it at baptism, and which it was to wear till the mother came to be purified, when the cloth was returned to the church.
Before the Reformation, in the old baptismal office, the chrisom cloth was put on the child’s head, to prevent, according to Ducange in Chrismate, the holy oil (χρισμα) from running off.
Compare Shakespeare’s Henry V. act ii. sc. 3, where dame Quickly says of Falstaff, "’a made a finer end, and went away an it had been any christom child."
620. watchet] i.e. light blue.
621. Enter a Servant, &c.] The old ed. (in which the commencement of act iv. is marked much earlier, see note, p. 263) has, “In the midst of the musick enter one bringing in,” &c.
622. Wigmore’s galliard] Is frequently mentioned by our early writers: see a galliard minutely described, note, vol. i. p. 65.
623. the chamber] After these words the stage-direction in the old ed. is, “The musicke plaies on a while, then enter Tailbee his man after trussing him.”
625. now down] Old ed. “nowne.”
626. that’s] Old ed. “whats.”
628. Take] Old ed. “Takes.”
630. lead] Old ed. “lend.”
632. Gol.] Old ed. “Bung.”
633. fig-frails] i.e. fig-baskets.
634. steaks] Compare vol. i. p. 336, where, as the present passage shews, the reading “steaks of velvet” is right.
637. and] i.e. if.
638. filed] i.e. polished.
639. men’s] Qy. "mends"—i.e. helps.
641. ram’s head] As a crest, I suppose.
642. I’d know] Old ed. “I knew.”
643. Do you walk, sir?] Is in the old ed. the conclusion of Pursenet’s speech, whose exit with the Boy is not marked. As we subsequently learn (see pp. 297, 298) that the sharper had succeeded in his design on Pyamont’s gold, by falling into a pretended swoon, I cannot help suspecting that a portion of this scene has dropt out, and that the incident of the swoon took place here on the stage, after Pursenet had tried all other means of surprising Pyamont’s caution.
646. and] i.e. if.
649. Why, ye shall see a pretty story of a humour] These words are given to Bungler in the old ed.
650. stay] Old ed. “stray.”
651. maple-faced] Whether this epithet is to be explained rough-faced, or brown-faced, or broad-faced, seems doubtful: see Gifford’s note on B. Jonson’s Works, vol. vi. p. 156.
652. goldsmith] When this drama was written, and indeed long after, goldsmiths acted as bankers:
Trainst. I have been with my goldsmith, and am well furnished to start hence.” Sir E. Howard’s Man of Newmarket, 1678, act i. sc. i.
654. a good caudle, &c.] Here again (see note, p. 151), Middleton seems to consider caudle and a cullis as the same thing. According to ancient receipts, fine gold and orient pearl are among the ingredients of the latter.
655. are] Old ed. “is.”
656. I’d] Old ed. “I would.”
657. conveyance] i.e. sleight of hand,—a delicate term for stealing.
658. I’ve] Old ed. “I have.”
659. carkanet] i.e. a collar of jewels, a necklace.
661. goldsmith] Old ed. “goldsmits.”
662. leese] i.e. lose—(lose sight of Goldstone, I presume).
663. and] i.e. if.
665. I’ve] Old ed. “I have.”
666. and] i.e. if.
667. Let go, ’tis] Old ed. “lets go this.”
668. I’m glad in my soul, sir] In the old ed. this speech is followed by a word printed in italics,—"Gnawes,"—which I presume is a stage-direction.
670. look, a’ ’s way] Old ed. “lookt asway.”
672. Admirable] Old ed. “Admirall.”
674. stag’d, &c.] Old ed. “sta’gde? why what lacks Bowser, are you too well, too safe, an absolute scholler.”
676. Pur. Little master Bouser, &c.] Old ed. “All. Little maister Bowser, sweete maister Bowser welcome ifaith.”
677. properties] i.e. necessaries for the scene: in strict theatrical language, however, the term is applied to things, not to persons.
678. and] i.e. if.
679. A Chamber] The commencement of the scene would lead us to suppose that the place of action is Primero’s house: but that Fitsgrave’s friends should conceal themselves in a gallery there, to watch the proceedings of “the gallants,” is surely somewhat absurd.
680. twilight, twitter-lights] Are, I believe, synonyms; and perhaps one of them ought to be struck out of the text. The latter is a word of rare occurrence; but we find it in our author’s More Dissemblers besides Women, “Come not till twitter-light,” act iii. sc. 1; and in the old play called Wily Beguilde, “What mak’st thou heere this twatter light?” Sig. E 3, ed. 1623.
681. You have a privilege from your hat, &c.] An allusion to some regulation about dress, which I cannot explain: the reader may turn to Strutt’s Dress and Habits, &c., vol. ii. p. 316.
683. others] Old ed. “us.”
684. Third C.] Is perhaps the “Novice.”
685. When that good news, &c.] Is given to “3.” in old ed.
686. Goldstone, &c.] So the lines are divided in the old ed.: the measure is lost in the corruption of the text.
687. So will I] Is given to “3.” in old ed.; but the Third Court. had “set her affections” on Tailby.
688. Here’s my, &c.] Is given to “4.” in old ed.
689. Bun.] Old ed. "3."—but Bungler, as we find, is one of the party.
690. First G. What’s this? Sec. G. Fooh, &c.] One speech, given to “1.” in old ed.
692. high-men] A cant term for false dice loaded so as always to produce high throws.
694. unvalued] i.e. invaluable.
697. be contained] i.e. restrain yourselves—be not so impatient.
698. First the, &c.] Given as part of Pursenet’s speech in old ed.
699. Right, sir] Given to Fitsgrave in old ed.