money on Thursday: thou shalt have a cap to-morrow, A merry song, come: it grows late, we'll to bed. Thou 'It forget me, when I am gone. Dol. By my troth thou 'It set me a weeping, an thou sayest so: prove that ever I dress myself handsome till thy return.. -Well, hearken the end. Fal. Some sack, Francis. P. Hen. Poins. Anon, anon, sir.2 [Advancing. Fal. Ha! a bastard son of the king's?3-And art not thou Poins his brother?4 P. Hen. Why, thou globe of sinful continents, what a life dost thou lead? Fal. A better than thou; I am a gentleman, thou art a drawer. P. Hen. Very true, sir; and I come to draw you out by the ears. Host. O, the Lord preserve thy good grace! by my troth, welcome to London.-Now the Lord bless that sweet face of thine! O Jesu, are you come from Wales? Fal. Thou whoreson mad compound of majesty,-by this light flesh and corrupt blood, thou art welcome. [Leaning his hand upon DoL. Dol. How! you fat fool, I scorn you. Poins. My lord, he will drive you out of your revenge, and turn all to a merriment, if you take not the heat.5 P. Hen. You whoreson candle-mine, you, how vilely only somewhat lower than the waist. See Florio's Italian Dict. 1598: "Semicinto. A garment coming lower than the belly; also half-girt, as we may say a half-kirtle." Malone. 2 Anon, anon, sir.] The usual answer of drawers at this period. So, in The Discoverie of the Knights of the Poste, 1597: "wherefore hee calling, the drawer presently answered with a shrill voyce, anon, anon, sir." Reed. 3 Ha! a bastard &c.] The improbability of this scene is scarcely balanced by the humour. Johnson. 4- Poins his brother?] i. e. Poins's brother, or brother to Poins; a vulgar corruption of the genitive case. Ritson. 5—if you take not the heat.] Alluding, I suppose, to the proverb, "Strike while the iron is hot." So again, in King Lear: "We must do something, and i' the heat." Steevens. 6 candle-mine,] Thou inexhaustible magazine of tallow. Johnson did you speak of me even now, before this honest, virtuous, civil gentlewoman? Host. 'Blessing o' your good heart! and so she is, by my troth. Fal. Didst thou hear me? P. Hen. Yes; and you knew me, as you did when you ran away by Gads-hill: you knew, I was at your back; and spoke it on purpose, to try my patience. Fal. No, no, no; not so; I did not think, thou wast within hearing. P. Hen. I shall drive you then to confess the wilful abuse; and then I know how to handle you. Fal. No abuse, Hal, on mine honour; no abuse. F. Hen. Not! to dispraise me;" and call me-pantler, and bread-chipper, and I know not what? Fal. No abuse, Hal. Poins. No abuse! Fal. No abuse, Ned, in the world; honest Ned, none. I dispraised him before the wicked, that the wicked might not fall in love with him:-in which doing, I have done the part of a careful friend, and a true subject, and thy father is to give me thanks for it. No abuse, Hal; —none, Ned, none;-no, boys, none. P. Hen. See now, whether pure fear, and entire cowardice, doth not make thee wrong this virtuous gentlewoman to close with us? Is she of the wicked? Is thine hostess here of the wicked? Or is the boy of the wicked? Or honest Bardolph, whose zeal burns in his nose, of the wicked? Poins. Answer, thou dead elm, answer. Fal. The fiend hath pricked down Bardolph irrecoverable; and his face is Lucifer's privy-kitchen, where he doth nothing but roast malt-worms. For the boy,-there is a good angel about him; but the devil outbids him too. 8 7 Not! to dispraise me;] The Prince means to say, "What! is it not abuse to dispraise me," &c. Some of the modern editors read-No! &c. but, I think, without necessity. So, in Coriolanus : "Com. He'll never hear him. "Sic. Not?" There also Not has been rejected by the modern editors, and No inserted in its place. Malone. P. Hen. For the women, Fal. For one of them,-she is in hell already, and burns, poor soul! For the other, I owe her money; and whether she be damned for that, I know not. Host. No, I warrant you. Fal. No, I think thou art not; I think, thou art quit for that: Marry, there is another indictment upon thee, for suffering flesh to be eaten in thy house, contrary to the law; for the which, I think, thou wilt howl. Host. All victuallers do so: What's a joint of mutton or two, in a whole Lent? 3 P. Hen. You, gentlewoman, Fal. His grace says that which his flesh rebels against. Host. Who knocks so loud at door? look to the door there, Francis. 8 outbids him too.] Thus the folio. The quarto readsblinds him too; and perhaps it is right. Malone. 9 and burns, poor soul!] This is Sir T. Hanmer's reading. Undoubtedly right The other editions had-she is in hell already, and burns poor souls. The venereal disease was called, in those times, the brennynge, or burning. Johnson. 1 for suffering flesh to be eaten &c.] By several statues made in the reigns of Elizabeth and James I, for the regulation and observance of fish-days, victuallers were expressly forbidden to utter flesh in Lent, and to these Falstaff alludes. I conceive that the Hostess, by her answer, understands him literally, without the covert allusion suspected by Mr. Malone; [see n. 3] for she must have been too well acquainted with the law to mistake his meaning, and wit seems not to have been her talent. Douce. 2 all victuallers do so:] The brothels were formerly screened, under pretext of being victualling houses and taverns. So, in Webster and Rowley's Cure for a Cuckold: "This informer comes into Turnbull Street to a victualling house, and there falls in league with a wench, &c.—Now, Sir, this fellow, in revenge, informs against the bawd that kept the house," &c. Again, in Gascoigne's Glass of Government, 1575: "-at a house with a red lattice you shall find an old bawd called Panderina, and a young damsel called Lamia.” Barrett, in his Alvearie, 1580, defines a victualling house thus: "A tavern where meate is eaten out of due season.” Steevens. 3 What's a joint of mutton or two, in a whole Lent?] Perhaps a covert allusion is couched under these words. See Vol. II, p. 147, n. 2. Malone. Enter PETO. P. Hen. Peto, how now? what news? Peto. The king your father is at Westminster; I met, and overtook, a dozen captains, P. Hen. By heaven, Poins, I feel me much to blame, So idly to profane the precious time; When tempest of commotion, like the south Give me my sword and cloak:-Falstaff, good night. [Exeunt P. HEN. POINS, PETO, and BARD. Fal. Now comes in the sweetest morsel of the night, and we must hence, and leave it unpicked. [knocking heard] More knocking at the door? Re-enter BARDOLPH. How now? what's the matter? Bard. You must away to court, sir, presently; a dozen captains stay at door for you. Fal. Pay the musicians, sirrah. [to the Page]-Farewel, hostess;-farewel, Doll.-You see, my good wenches, how men of merit are sought after: the undeserver may sleep, when the man of action is called on. Farewel, good wenches:-If I be not sent away post, I will see you again ere I go. Dol. I cannot speak;-If my heart be not ready to burst:-Well, sweet Jack, have a care of thyself. Fal. Farewel, farewel. [Exeunt FAL. and BARD. Host. Well, fare thee well: I have known thee these twenty nine years, come peascod-time; but an honester, and truer-hearted man,-Well, fare thee well. Bard. [within] Mistress Tear-sheet, Host. What 's the matter? Bard. [within] Bid mistress Tear-sheet come to my master. Host. O run, Doll, run; run, good Doll.4 [Exeunt. 4 O run, Doll, run; run, good Doll.] Thus the folio. The quarto reads-0 run, Doll run; run: Good Doll, come: she comes blubber'd: Yea, will you come, Doll? Steevens. ACT III.....SCENE 1.5 A Room in the Palace. Enter King HENRY, in his Nightgown, with a Page. K. Hen. Go, call the earls of Surrey and of Warwick; But, ere they come, bid them o'er-read these letters, And well consider of them: Make good speed. [Exit Page. How many thousand of my poorest subjects Why rather, sleep, liest thou in smoky cribs, And hush'd with buzzing night-flies to thy slumber; And lull'd with sounds of sweetest melody? O thou dull god, why liest thou with the vile, 5 Scene I.] This first scene is not in my copy of the first edition. Johnson. There are two copies of the same date, and in one of these the scene has been added. They are in all other respects, alike. It should seem as if the defect in this quarto was undiscovered till most of the copies of it were sold, for only one that I have seen contains the addition. Signature E consists of six leaves. Four of these, exclusive of the two additional ones, were re-printed to make room for the omission. Steevens. 6reads: Sleep, gentle sleep,] The old copy, in defiance of metre, O sleep, O gentle sleep. The repeated tragic O was probably a playhouse intrusion. Steevens. 7 A watch-case, &c.] This alludes to the watchman set in garrison-towns upon some eminence, attending upon an alarum-bell, which was to ring out in case of fire, or any approaching danger. He had a case or box to shelter him from the weather, but at his utmost peril he was not to sleep whilst he was upon duty. These alarum-bells are mentioned in several other places of Shakspeare. Hanmer. |