849. Harebrain] Old eds. here, and the next speech, “Hargraue,” a name which Middleton had once given to this lady, and which he had neglected to alter in some parts of the MS. used by the printer: see also note, p. 404.
852. It was suspected much in Monsieur’s days] “By Monsieur’s days, I apprehend, the author means the time when the duke of Anjou resided in England. That prince, brother to Charles the Ninth, king of France, on the encouragement he had received from Queen Elizabeth, visited the English court in the year 1581, and expected to have been united to her majesty in marriage. The queen, however, after many affected delays, broke off the treaty; and the duke was obliged to return to his own country, with the disgrace of a direct refusal. Monsieur’s days are mentioned again in The Blacke Booke, 1604, sign. C. ‘—let mercers then have conscionable thumbs when they measure out that smooth glittering devil, sattin, and that old reveller, velvet, in the days of Monsieur, both which have devoured many an honest field of wheat and barley.’” Reed. The piece just cited is by Middleton, and will be found in the last vol. of the present work. So too in Marmyon’s Fine Companion, 1633, “Two or three dances, as old as Mounsier.” Sig. G 2.
853. queasy] i.e. squeamish.
854. know] So ed. 1640. First ed. “knew.”
857. and] i.e. if.
859. I’ve] Old eds. “I haue.”
860. Onyx cum prole, silexque] “From Propria quæ maribus.” Steevens.
861. pudding] i.e. tobacco made up in a particular form.
862. vild] Altered in the eds. of Dodsley’s Old Plays to the modern spelling “vile,” which destroys the (very poor) play on words.
863. waft] i.e. flavour.
865. Harebrain] Here, and throughout the scene, she and her husband are called “Hargraue” in the old eds.: see notes, pp. 388, 404.
866. likes me] “i.e. pleases me.” Reed.
867. assum’d thee formally] “i.e. assumed thy form.” Reed.
868. periwig] When this play was written, periwigs were much worn by ladies.
869. clips] “i.e. embraces.” Reed.
870. his] Old eds. “her.”
871. e’er] Old eds. “euer.”
872. e’er I’ve] Old eds. “euer I haue.”
873. and] i.e. if.
874. by your favour, ladies] "The players of James the First’s time seem to have been as censurable for addressing the audience as any of their successors since. This speech is evidently not intended for the bawd, who now enters alone. In the same manner sir Bounteous speaks to the auditors, when he says, ‘An old man’s venery is very chargeable, my masters; there’s much cookery belongs to’t.’ [p. 390.]" Reed.
875. peevish] i.e. foolish.
876. have] Old eds. “has.”
877. made women] i.e. women whose fortunes are made.
878. hole] i.e. hide.
879. She’ll] Old eds. “she will.”
880. restraint upon] So ed. 1640. First ed. “restraint on’t upon.”
881. maid] Old eds. “man.”
882. fear thee] “i.e. affright thee.” Reed.
884. no curious wooer] For “curious” Dodsley chose to substitute “furious!” and Reed remarks that "curious is probably the genuine reading; it may mean inquisitive, prying!"—No curious wooer is, no wooer that uses nice, elegant, elaborate phrase.
886. take her e’en] Old eds. “eene take her.”
887. hundred] So ed. 1640. First ed. “hundred pound.”
888. e’er] Old eds. “euer.”
891. Enter Sir Bounteous, &c.] Old eds. “Enter busilie Sir Bounteous Progresse for the feast.”
893. Harebrain] Here, and in the next speech of sir Bounteous, also in all the prefixes to Harebrain’s speeches in the following scene, the old eds. have “Shortrod;” one of the names which Middleton gave to the character, before he finally changed it to Harebrain: see note, p. 388.
894. share] See Mr. Collier’s remarks “on the payment of actors,” Hist. of Engl. Dram. Poetry, vol. iii. p. 427: there were whole sharers, three-quarter sharers, half sharers, &c.
896. your] So ed. 1640. First ed. “you.”
897. Mitre] See note, p. 240.—In justice to Reed (see note in the last ed. of Dodsley’s Old Plays), I must observe, that my copy of the first ed. has “Niter.”
898. Buz] So ed. 1640. First ed. “Buzy.”
899. Pox] Old eds. “post.”
900. pilfer] So ed. 1640. First ed. “Gilfer.”
901. thee] So ed. 1640. First ed. "him."
902. her] So ed. 1640. First ed. "him."
903. Whew, whew] So ed. 1640. First ed. "When, when," which, after all, may be right, as an exclamation of impatience for the performance of the play: see notes, vol. i. pp. 289, 361.
904. Fol. Excellent well, sir] So ed. 1640. Not in first ed.
905. and ne’er] So ed. 1640. First ed. “and speake nere”.
907. Har.] Old eds. in the prefixes to his speeches throughout this scene, “Shortrod:” see note, p. 404.
908. ycleped] i.e. called.
909. like a bold Beacham] As bold as Beauchamp is a proverbial expression, said to have originated in the valour of Thomas, first earl of Warwick of that name, “who (says Ray, after Fuller), in the year 1346, with one squire and six archers, fought in hostile manner with an hundred armed men, at Hogges in Normandy, and overthrew them, slaying sixty Normans, and giving the whole fleet means to land.” Proverbs, p. 219, ed. 1742.—Follywit, however, seems to allude to one of the characters in a celebrated drama, produced before 1600, called The bold Beauchamps, which is frequently mentioned by our early writers: it no longer exists. The author of the false Second Part of Hudibras, 1663, canto 1. (in some lines quoted by Collier, Hist. of Engl. Dram. Poetry, vol. iii. p. 425), attributes it to Heywood; but his authority is of little weight.
910. ah, hah] So ed. 1640. First ed. “ah.”
911. and] i.e. if.
912. send for him to a supper] “The custom for the prostitutes at a theatre afterwards to sup with the players, though not to invite them home to supper, is alluded to in Field’s Amends for Ladies, 1639 [act iii. sc. 4—first ed. in 1618]: a Drawer says, ‘I have been at Bess Turnup’s, and she swears all the gentlewomen went to see a play at the Fortune, and are not come in yet; and she believes they sup with the players.’” Collier.
913. two-penny room] Or two-penny gallery: see Collier’s Hist. of Engl. Dram. Poetry, vol. iii. p. 343.
914. full of gentlemen] That it was a common practice for youths of fashion to sit on stools upon the stage during the performance, is known from many passages of our old literature.
916. A] So ed. 1640. First ed. “Ha.”
918. ditch] i.e. worthless, vile. Ed. 1640 has “an excellent example for all dizzy constables.”
919. lets you] “i.e. hinders you.” Reed.
920. Gum.] So ed. 1640. First ed. “Nub.”
922. I’m ... I’m] Old eds. “I am ... I am.” This line makes a couplet with what follows.
923. Faith, they were some counterfeit rogues ... they said they’d play The Slip] “We have here a play upon words very common in our ancient writers, and which will be totally unintelligible, unless it is remembered that a slip was formerly the name of a piece of counterfeit money.... Robert Greene’s Thieves falling out, True Men come by their own: ‘And therefore he went and got him certain slips, which are counterfeit pieces of money, being brass, and covered over with silver, which the common people called slips.’” Reed. See also Gifford’s note on Ben Jonson’s Works, vol. vi. p. 77.
926. kneeling after the play] It was formerly the custom for the players, at the conclusion of the play, to kneel down and pray for their patrons: the royal companies for the king or queen, those of noblemen for the particular lord to whom they belonged.
928. How] So ed. 1640. First ed. “Home.”
930. A prize, a prize] Old eds. “a peece, a peece,” which in Dodsley’s Old Plays is altered to “a peace, a peace.”
931. I’ve] Old eds. “I haue.” This line is meant to form a couplet with the conclusion of Sir Bounteous’s speech and Harebrain’s question.
932. what is she for a fool] i.e. what fool is she: see Gifford’s note on B. Jonson’s Works, vol. iii. p. 397.
934. We’ve] Old eds. “We have.”
935. Exeunt omnes] Ed. 1640 has “Exeunt.
936. The Catch, &c.] Not found in first ed., is printed on the last leaf of ed. 1640.
937. Aristippus] A sort of wine: see Randolph’s drama called Aristippus, or the Jovial Philosopher, 1635.
938. The Life and Death of Mrs. Mary Frith. Commonly Called Mal Cutpurse. Exactly Collected and now Published for the Delight and Recreation of all Merry disposed Persons. London, 1662, 12mo. Prefixed to it is her portrait in a male dress (with an eagle, a lion, and an ape beside her), under which are these lines;
Of this rare and curious volume a portion at least seems to be authentic.
939. Note on Twelfth Night, act i. sc. 3,—Shakespeare (by Boswell), vol. xi. p. 357.
940. Note on id., ibid.
941. Smith’s Lives of Highwaymen, &c. vol. ii. p. 142, ed. 1719.
942. See a note, signed N., From a MS. in the British Museum, (what a reference!) in Dodsley’s Old Plays, vol. xii. p. 398, ed. 1780.
943. Biog. Hist. of Engl. vol. ii. p. 408, ed. 1775.
944. Note on Twelfth Night, act i. sc. 3,—Malone’s Shakespeare (by Boswell), vol. xi. p. 356.
945. This excellent comedy has been reprinted by Mr. Collier in a supplementary volume to Dodsley’s Old Plays.
946. “Mulsack the chimney-sweeper” is mentioned as one of Moll’s companions in her Life, p. 82.
947. were] Old ed. “was.”
948. termers] Here Reed cites a passage from Dekker’s Belman of London, concerning those rogues that “are called Termers and they ply Westminster-hall: Michaelmas Terme is their harvest:” see also my note, p. 107. I may observe, however, that termer did not always mean a person of ill repute: “with a countrey gentleman or Tearmer.” Greene’s Ghost Haunting Conicatchers, 1626, sig. D 3.
949. for sixpence] “The price of a play at this time.” Id.
950. and] i.e. if.
951. vast theatre] i.e. the Fortune, in Golden or Golding Lane, St. Giles’s, Cripplegate. It was built by Henslowe, and Alleyn (the founder of Dulwich College), in 1599-1600. It was eighty feet square on the outside, and fifty-five feet square within. It was destroyed by fire in 1621. See Collier’s Hist. of Engl. Dram. Poetry, vol. iii. p. 302.
952. beside] Old ed. “besides.”
953. a trencher] "At this time pewter was not introduced into common use. Our ancestors were content with wooden trenchers, and these were even to be found at the tables of our nobility and persons of good fashion. Among the orders for household servants, devised by John Haryngton, 1566, and renewed by his son, 1592, it is directed, ‘That no man waite at the table without a trencher in his hand, except it be uppon good cause, on paine of 1d.’ Nugæ Antiquæ, vol. ii. p. 267, ed. 1779. See also the Northumberland Household-Book, p. 354. Trenchers are still used in some colleges and inns-of-court, particularly in Lincoln’s-Inn." Reed.
954. falling bands] See note, p. 218.—“In Evelyn’s Discourse on Medals, 1697, p. 108, is the head of Charles I. crowned, in the garter-robes, and wearing a falling band; ‘which new mode,’ says Mr. Evelyn, ‘succeeded the cumbersome ruff: but neither did the bishops or judges give it over so soon, the Lord Keeper Finch being, I think, the very first.’” Reed.
955. ingeniously] i.e. sincerely: ingenious is frequently used for ingenuous by our old writers: “reasons ... which, I must ingeniously confesse, were both many and weighty.” Brathwait’s Honest Ghost, 1658, p. 46.
956. dined] Old ed. “dyed.”
959. that] Old ed. “that’s.”
960. Adam Bell] An outlaw, famous for his archery: see the beautiful ballad of Adam Bel, Clym of the Cloughe and Wyllyam of Cloudesle, of which the most correct text is in Ritson’s Pieces of An. Pop. Poetry.
961. naughty pack] In a note on this passage Reed says, “a pack was formerly a name given to a lewd woman,” and that “it was also sometimes applied to the male sex.” The fact is, naughty pack was a term of reproach applied commonly both to men and women.
962. fond] i.e. foolish.
963. baffle] Meant formerly to treat with insult, or mockery, or contempt. “Our names should be baffuld on euery booke-sellers stall.” Nash’s Pierce Pennilesse, sig. D 4, ed. 1595. “When he had baffuld mee in print throughout England.” Nash’s Haue with you to Saffron-walden, sig. T 2, 1596.
964. watermen] “Taylor the water-poet asserts, that at this time, between Windsor and Gravesend, there were not fewer than forty thousand watermen.” Reed.
965. goll] A cant term for hand—fist, paw.
968. minces tobacco] When this play was written tobacco was sold by apothecaries:
969. bankrout] i.e. bankrupt.
970. and] i.e. if.
971. striker] i.e. wencher.
972. as a naked boy in a phial] “I suppose he means an abortion preserved in spirits.” Steevens.
973. make] Old ed. “makes.”
975. bear her in hand] i.e. keep her in expectation.
976. and] i.e. if.
977. But is this, &c.] “She gives him money, and he pretends that he receives only tobacco from Mrs. Gallipot.” Collier.
978. drink] To drink (i.e. smoke) tobacco was a very common expression.