817. far and sapa] The remainder of the line is an explanation of these words; yet it may be necessary to add that cocted is boiled.
818. Epicurean] So two eds. Quarto C. “Epicidean.”
819. Orata] Eds. and both MSS. “Crata.”—Sergius was so called from the fish orata or aurata: see Macr. (Sat. l. ii. c. xi. p. 361, ed. 1670), Pliny, Festus, &c.—Middleton, perhaps, intended only one of the names—“Sergius” or “Orata”—to stand in the line.
820. his successor Julian] Did Middleton confound Didius Julianus (who purchased the empire on the murder of Pertinax,) with Julian the apostate?
821. often] So both MSS. Eds. “after.”
822. triumphs] i. e. public shows.
823. the hogs which Scaliger cites] An allusion, perhaps, to the following passage: “Pinguescit autem longe magis sus: adeoque pinguescit, ut pene totus immobilis reddatur. Neque enim fabulosum est, in eorum clunibus excavare sibi mures foveas; non equidem ut nidificent, sed ut saginentur.” J. C. Scaliger De Subtilitate ad Cardanum, Exer.. cxcix. 2. p. 610, ed. 1634.
824. needle] i. e. nestle.
825. Cyrene’s governor] i. e. Magas: see Athenæus, l. xii. c. 12, t. iv. p. 544, ed. Schw.
826. Sanctius] So two eds. Quarto C. “Sauetius.”—Wanley states that Sanctius, “by the advice of Garsia King of Navarre, made peace with Miramoline King of Corduba, went over to him, was honourably receiv’d, and in his Court was cured by an herb prescribed by the Physicians of that King.” Wonders, &c., p. 47, ed. 1678. See also Grimeston’s (translation of Turquet’s) Historie of Spaine, p. 205, ed. 1612.
827. stunk] So both MSS. Eds. “strucke” and “stung.”
828. sure] So both MSS. Eds. “sir.”
829. kid, cabrito, calf, and tons] “Kid” and “cabrito,”—the latter a Spanish word—are, I believe, synonymous; tons means, perhaps, tunny-fish.
831. resolv’d] i. e. satisfied.
832. manchet] i. e. small loaf or roll of fine white bread.
834. voider] i. e. basket or tray, into which the trenchers, broken meat, &c., were swept from the table with a wooden knife.
835. in] So two eds. Quarto C. “on.”
836. faith] So two eds. Quarto C. “faiths.”
837. her] So two eds. Quarto C. “their.”
838. whom] So two eds. Quarto C. “which.”
839. there] So two eds. Quarto C. “within ’em.”
841. a] So two eds. Quarto C. “the.”
842. Epistle to Nicholas the first] B. Udalrici, Episcopi Augustani, pro conjugio clericorum ad Nicolaum primum, Romanum Pontificem, epistola, contains the following passage: “Sunt vero aliqui, qui sanctum Gregorium suæ sectæ sumunt adjutorium: quorum quidem temeritatem rideo, ignorantiam doleo. Ignorant enim, quod periculosum hujus hæresis decretum, a sancto Gregorio factum, condigno pœnitentiæ fructu postmodum ab eodem sit purgatum. Quippe quum die quadem in vivarium suum propter pisces misisset, et allata inde plus quam sex millia infantum capita videret; intima mox ductus pœnitentia ingemuit, et factum a se de abstinentia decretum, tantæ cædis caussam confessus, condigno illud, ut dixi, pœnitentiæ fructu purgavit, suoque decreto prorsus damnato, Apostolicum illud (1 Cor. 9. 7.) laudavit consilium: Melius est nubere, quam uri, addens ex sua parte, Melius est nubere, quam mortis occasionem præbere.” Appendix to Calixti de Conjugio Clericorum Liber, Pars ii. p. 550, ed. Henke.
843. B. Knight] One ed. and MS. Lansd. “B. K.[ing],” which may be right; B. B. Pawn presently says, “King taken.”
844. B. King] Two eds. and MS. Lansd. “B. Kt.”
845. We] So MS. Bridge. Eds. “I.”—Compare l. 25 of preceding page.
846. the bag, like hell-mouth] So MS. Bridge. Eds. “the bags mouth like hell.”
847. The bag opens, &c.] So MS. Lansd., except that it makes no mention of the Fat Bishop. Quarto C. “The Bagge opens the Bl. Side in it.” Two eds. “The Bag opens, the B. B. slides in it.”—The bag, probably, was either on one side, or at the back, of the stage, during the whole of the play: see notes pp. 366, 370.
848. King] So two eds. Quarto C. “King’s.”
849. given us the bag] i. e. cheated, or rather, put a trick on us: a colloquial phrase, common in our old writers.
850. 'Sfoot, this Fat Bishop] Quarto C. “This Blacke Bishop.” Other eds. “Sfoot this blacke Bishop.” MS. Lansd. “This Fat Black Bishop.” MS. Bridge. “Slid this fat Bishop.”
851. squelch’d] i. e. crushed. So two eds. Quarto C. “quelch’d.”
853. so] So MS. Bridge. Not in eds.
854. But I shall] So MS. Bridge. Eds. “I’em (and “I’me”) sure to.”
855. greatness ever] After these words MS. Bridge. has,
which does not connect well with the rest of the speech.
856. Room for, &c.] I have not ventured to insert a stage-direction here, being doubtful which character is meant by the “olive-coloured Ganymede.”
857. cease] Though there is no corresponding rhyme to this word, it does not appear that a line has dropt out, the sense being complete.
858. yield] Old ed. “yields.”
859. improve] i. e. prove.
860. Nothing new there] My attempt to restore the prose speeches in this scene to the blank verse in which they appear to have been originally written, proved on the whole so unsuccessful, that I now give them as exhibited in the 4to. The text of the play is, I believe, corrupted throughout: and perhaps the reader, when he meets with sundry passages which are scarcely metrical, will be of opinion that I ought more frequently to have left the prose of the old edition undisturbed.
861. the Standard] See note, vol. i. p. 438; but I find nothing in Stow to illustrate the present passage.
862. brave] i. e. finely dressed.
863. farcels] Is, perhaps, a word formed from the verb farce (to stuff), though I have not elsewhere met with it.
864. do] Old ed. “does.”
865. George] Old ed. “Franck.”
866. foxed] i. e. drunk.
867. Artillery Garden] “A field enclosed with a bricke wall, without Bishopsgate.” Stow’s Annales, p. 1084, ed. 1631: see, too, his account of “The practise in the Artillery Garden reuiued [in 161O],” ibid. p. 995. At a later period, “the practice” was generally held in Moorfields: vide Stow’s Survey, b. iii. p. 70, ed. 1720.
868. fustian and apes breeches] May be right, though I cannot explain it: but qy. “Naples breeches”? In The Rates of Marchandizes (reign of James I.) various sorts of “Naples Fustians” are mentioned.
869. the Quest-house] Was generally the chief watch-house in a parish: to it those were brought who were taken up by the common watchmen; and there, I believe, about Christmas, the aldermen and citizens of the ward used to hold a quest, to inquire concerning misdemeanours and annoyances. Some parishes in London still have Quest-houses; St. Giles, Cripplegate, for instance. From the present passage it would seem that gambling was sometimes carried on there.
870. voyage to Guiana] i. e., I presume, the first voyage, under Raleigh, in 1595: there were three voyages to Guiana; see Southey’s excellent Lives of Brit. Admirals, vol. iv. pp. 257, 317, 324.
873. bevers] i. e. potations—(the word generally means—refreshments between meals.)
875. reclaim] i. e. tame.
876. set up my rest for] i. e. stand upon, take my chance with: a metaphor from the game of primero: see the long article in Nares’s Gloss. (Rest, to set up.)
877. and] i. e. if.
878. sumner] i. e. apparitor.
880. felfare] A corruption of fieldfare.
881. even there] Old. ed. “ever there.” Qy. “even then”?
882. Have you drunk, &c.] After arranging the whole of this scene as blank verse, I found it so intolerably rugged and halting, that, with the exception of a few speeches, I have thrown it again into prose.
883. And] i. e. if.
884. dead pays] i. e. pay continued to soldiers who were dead, taken by dishonest officers for themselves.
885. rushes] With which the floor was strewed.
886. changeling] i. e. fool.
888. and] i. e. if.
889. resolve] i. e. inform, satisfy.
890. and] i. e. if.
891. table] i. e. palm of the hand.
893. brave] i. e. fine.
896. carnadine] Or carnardine—“Is,” says Steevens, who quotes the present passage, “the old term for carnation.” Note on Shakespeare’s Macbeth, act ii. sc. 2.
897. tabine] A sort of wrought silk: see in v. The Rates of Marchandizes, &c. in the reign of James I. Old ed. “Tobine.”
898. eyne] i. e. eyes.
900. And] i. e. if.
901. vent] i. e. vend.
904. gummed] “Velvet and taffeta,” says Nares, “were sometimes stiffened with gum, to make them sit better.” Gloss. (in Gumm’d velvet.)—Brathwait gives another reason for the use of gum;
905. How] Old ed. “for how.”
906. stript] i. e. striped: why I have not altered the old spelling will appear from what follows.
907. stript and whipt too] An allusion, perhaps, to the celebrated poetical work of Wither, entitled Abuses Stript and Whipt.
908. the open part, which is now called the placket] Another passage which disproves the assertion of Nares: see notes, vol. ii. p. 497, vol. iii. p. 241.
909. con him thanks] i. e. feel thankful to him: see Richardson’s Dict. in v. Con.—Tyrwhitt thinks the expression equivalent to the French sçavoir gré. Gloss. to Chaucer’s Cant. Tales.
912. Why, when] A frequent expression of impatience: see notes, vol. i. pp. 289, 362.
914. innocent] i. e. foolish, silly.
915. cauterizer] So old ed. afterwards (p. 454): here “cauterize.”
916. luxinium] Occurs twice afterwards; and (p. 466) Ralph plays on the word: but qy. “lixivium”?
917. bolsters] In Vigon’s Workes of Chirurgerie, 1571, various kinds of bolsters are described, that “must be applyed in hollowe vlcers,” &c. fol. cxiii.
919. subeth] “Subée: espèce d’apoplexie.” Roquefort, Gloss. de la Lang. Rom. in v.
921. If it please you, &c.] I suspect that the whole of this scene was originally written in blank verse: see note, p. 421.
922. bondage] Here old ed. has a stage-direction “Grasps the skain between his hands”—i. e. the feigned page was to hold it so that his hands might seem to be fettered.
923. condition] i. e. disposition, nature.
924. next your leisure] Old ed. “your leisure next.”
925. believe] Qy. “receive”?—See first line of this scene.
926. yield] Old ed. “yields.”
927. fancy] i. e. love.
928. corrupt a] Old ed. “a corrupt.”
929. the body not] Old ed. “not the body.”
930. bush] An allusion both to the bush carried by the man in the moon, and to the tavern-bush: see note, p. 177.
931. os coxendix] Comes nearest to the reading of old ed. “Oscox-Index:” but qy. “os coccygis”?
932. In your shop, &c.] Compare p. 442 of this vol., and p. 482 of vol. i.
933. retargé] i. e. retardé: see Cotgrave in v.
935. luxinium] See note, p. 451.
936. cacokenny] Qy. “cacochymy”“cacochymy”
937. United] Old ed. “the united.”
938. wife] There can be no doubt that this speech was originally verse, however awkwardly, in the present state of the text, it may read as such: the answer of George is intended to rhyme with the second line.
939. toward] i. e. at hand.
940. as] Old ed. “is.”
941. Sir, I do now, &c.] Were not this speech, and the two preceding speeches of sir F. Cressingham, originally blank verse? see note, p. 421.
942. wild benefits of nature] This expression occurs in Webster’s Dutchess of Malfi; see my edition of his Works, vol. i. p. 253: but it may be traced to Sir P. Sidney; “to have for food the wild benefits of nature.” Arcadia, b. iv. p. 426, ed. 1633.
943. move] Old ed. “moves.”
944. their] Old ed. “your.”
945. Maria ... Edw.] Old ed. “1 Childe” ... “2 Childe.” We learn their names from an earlier scene, p. 442.
946. grutched] i. e. grudged.
947. wainscot-gown] If there be no misprint here, means, perhaps, a gown with a waving pattern: see Richardson’s Dict. in v. Wainscot: but qy. “waistcoat-gown”?
948. cannot away with] i. e. cannot endure.
950. Scene II] Here, instead of marking a new scene, the old ed. has “Exeunt. manet Knaves-bee”; and the audience were to imagine that, when the others had gone out, the stage represented the interior of Knavesby’s house: see note, p. 291.
952. burst] Perhaps a couplet was intended here.
953. new] Qy. “new thoughts”?
955. bugle-brow’d] i. e. horned: bugle meant several kinds of horned cattle,—the bull, buffalo, &c.
956. byrlakins] i. e. by our lady-kin (the diminutive of lady.)
958. the other] Old ed. “the t’other.”
959. towards] i. e. at hand.