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.
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 “abundandis,” 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.
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.
132. anno——] The player, perhaps, was to fill up the date.
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.
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.
162. and] i. e. if.
163. saw] Old ed. “say.”
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.
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,
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 act v.
180. reading] By this direction we are to understand, perhaps, that John is looking on a paper which he afterwards gives to Constanza (“this paper tells you more,” p. 128); for, surely, the rhyming lines now spoken by him are a soliloquy.
181. ennoble] Old eds. “enable.”
182. keep] Old eds. “keeps.”
183. float] i. e. flow, flood.
184. conjure] Old eds. “conjures.”
185. temption] Altered by the editor of 1816 to “temptation;” and, I believe, with similar inconsiderateness, by myself, in a prose passage of one of the preceding plays, though I cannot recollect where.
186. and] Qy. “of?”
187. fegary] i. e. vagary.
188. Of the sweet voyage, &c.] Here the editor of 1816, “to complete the measure,” prints,
and a little after,
but I apprehend that the speeches of Roderigo, “You’re pleasant,” and “Not I,” make up the lines.
189. lin’d] Qy. “lim’d?”
190. I have, &c.] The editor of 1816, boldly deviating from the old eds., gives,
which, as he thinks, “improves the measure without affecting the sense.”
191. pullen] i. e. poultry.
192. the arts of Cocoquismo and Germania, &c.] Alvarez proceeds to explain his meaning; but I may just observe that Cocoquismo should perhaps be Cacoquismo, formed from the Spanish caco, a pickpocket (unless indeed it has some affinity with the phrase hacer cocos, to wheedle), and that Germania signifies, in that language, the jargon of the gipsies: see Neuman’s Span. and Engl. Dict. in vv.
193. pickaroes] i. e. rogues.—“Picaro, knavish, roguish,” &c. Neuman’s Span. and Engl. Dict. in v.
195. defy] i. e. reject, renounce.
196. teniente] “Teniente de una compania, lieutenant of a company.” Neuman’s Span. and Engl. Dict. in v.
198. grandees] Old eds. “grandos,” which, perhaps, the author wrote.
199. We shall ... short] One speech in old eds., with the prefix “Both.”
200. tweezes] i. e. tweezers.
201. marvedi] Or maravedi—“an extremely small [copper] Spanish coin.” Editor of 1816.
202. blank “Blanquilla, doit, a very small coin.”coin.” Neuman’s Span. and Engl. Dict. in v.—Blanks “are said to be coins struck by Henry V. in France, of baser alloy than sterling [silver], and running for eightpence. They were called Blanks or Whites from their colour.” Ruding’s Ann. of the Coinage, vol. ii. p. 8, ed. 4to.
203. pullen] i. e. poultry.
204. Valladolid ... Cordova] Old eds. “Vallidoly ... Cordica.”
205. Rochelle] “In the time of our poets, seems to have been a general asylum for those persecuted Protestants who knew not where to go; and Alvarez intimates that the whole world was equally open to people of their description, who had no settled home.” Editor of 1816,—whether rightly or not, I cannot determine.
206. sack-buts] See the same play on the meanings of the word—musical instruments and buts of sack—in vol. i. p. 177.
207. the] Editor of 1816, “thee.”
208. bubbers] Which Nares (Gloss. in v.) would alter to “lubbers”—is (see Grose’s Class. Dict. of Vulg. Tongue, in v.) a vulgarised form of bibbers, Constanza having used the word butt in the double sense of mark and liquor-vessel.
209. gave aim] See note, vol. ii. p. 335. The editor of 1816 wrongly follows the reading of ed. 1661, “give.”
211. woman’s] Old eds. “womens.”
212. try that conclusion] i. e. make that experiment.
213. alcumy] Or alchemy—a sort of base mixed metal (supposed originally to have been formed by the alchemist). Compare vol. ii. p. 249, “here be the tavern beakers, and here peep out the fine alchemy knaves.”
214. in musses] “i. e. to make a scramble of.” Editor of 1816.
215. sakers] “A species of hawk.” Editor of 1816.
217. None but myself, &c.] Here the editor of 1816 thinks that “perhaps the performer who personated Pretiosa [Constanza] had before met with applause in Antonio, the character in The Changeling that gives name to the piece.”
219. cogs] i. e. teeth of the wheels.
220. cummin-seeds] Were used for luring pigeons to a dove-cote.
221. mother Bumby] Or Bomby—was a wise or cunning woman of great celebrity, who told fortunes, cast waters, &c. Lilly wrote a comedy called Mother Bombie (first ed. 1594), in which she figures.
222. yon] Old eds. “you.”
224. nuncle] i. e. uncle—contracted from mine uncle.
226. be] Old eds. “been.”
227. do you wish me blind] “The whitish spots in the eye, arising from the small pox or other causes, and occasioning blindness, are still frequently called pearls.” Editor of 1816.
229. then] A MS. addition, ibid.
230. Soto. Do, master, and I'll run division behind your back
231. maunders] “i. e. speaks obscurely [rather,—whines], as beggars do. [See note, vol. ii. p. 536.]” Editor of 1816.
232. Const., Car., &c.] Old eds. “Omnes.”
233. thy] Old eds. “thee.”
234. a pistolet] A play on the word—which meant both a small coin and a small pistol.
235. Alv., Car., &c.] Old eds. “Omnes.”
236. told] Qy. “trowed?”
237. task] Old eds. “taste” and “tast.”
238. turn gipsy] “Vincent and Hilliard are required by Rachel and Meriel, in the Jovial Crew of Brome, to give a similar proof of their affection.” Editor of 1816. If there be any imitation in the case, it is on the part of Brome.
239. [heaven with] So the editor of 1816. There is certainly some imperfection in the line.
240. Mar.] Old eds. “Ped.”
241. Here comes, &c.] To this line old eds. prefix Die., which in copy of the first 4to (see note, p. 109) is rightly drawn through with a pen.
242. when] The editor of 1816 follows the reading of ed. 1661, “then.”