till my mother be dead: But what though? yet I live like a poor gentleman born. ANNE. I may not go in without your worship: they will not fit, till you come. SLEN. I'faith, I'll eat nothing; I thank you as much as though I did. ANNE. I pray you, fir, walk in. SLEN. I had rather walk here, I thank you: I bruifed my fhin the other day with playing at fword and dagger with a mafter of fence, three veneys a woman. This is a fine inftance of Shakspeare's knowledge of WARBURTON. nature. 8 a mafter of fence,] Mafter of defence, on this occafion, does not fimply mean a profeffor of the art of fencing, but a person who had taken his master's degree in it. I learn from one of the Sloanian MSS. (now in the British Museum, No. 2530, xxvi. D.) which feems to be the fragment of a register formerly belonging to fome of our fchools where the "Noble Science of Defence," was taught from the year 1568 to 1583, that in this art there were three degrees, viz. a Master's, a Provoft's, and a Scholar's. For each of these a prize was played, as exercises are kept in universities for fimilar purposes. The weapons they used were the axe, the pike, rapier and target, rapier and cloke, two fwords, the two-hand fword, the baftard fword, the dagger and staff, the fword and buckler, the rapier and dagger, &c. The places where they exercised were commonly theatres, halls, or other enclosures fufficient to contain a number of spectators; as Ely-Place in Holborn, the Bell Savage on Ludgate-Hill, the Curtain in Hollywell, the Gray Friars within Newgate, Hampton Court, the Bull in BishopfgateStreet, the Clink, Duke's Place, Salisbury-Court, Bridewell, the Artillery Garden, &c. &c. &c. Among those who diftinguished themselves in this science, I find Tarlton the Comedian, who was allowed a mafter" the 23d of October, 1587 [I fuppofe, either as grand compounder, or by mandamus], he being ordinary grome of her majefties chamber," and Robert Greene, who " plaide his maister's prize at Leadenhall with three weapons," &c. The book from which these extracts are made, is a fingular curiofity, as it contains the oaths, customs, regula 66 for a dish of stewed prunes; and, by my troth, I cannot abide the smell of hot meat fince. Why do your dogs bark fo? be there bears i' the town? ANNE. I think, there are, fir; I heard them talked of. SLEN. I love the fport well; but I fhall as foon quarrel at it, as any man in England :-You are afraid, if you see the bear loose, are you not? ANNE. Ay, indeed, fir. SLEN. That's meat and drink to me now:1 I have seen Sackerfon loofe, twenty times; and 2 tions, prizes, fummonfes, &c. of this once fashionable fociety. K. Henry VIII. K. Edward VI. Philip and Mary, and Queen Elizabeth, were frequent fpectators of their skill and activity. STEEVENS. -three veneys for a dish &c.] i. e. three venues, French. Three different fet-to's, bouts, (or hits, as Mr. Malone, perhaps more properly, explains the word,) a technical term. So, in our author's Love's Labour's Loft a quick venew of wit." Again, in Beaumont and Fletcher's Philafter:-" thou wouldst be loth to play half a dozen venies at Wafters with a good fellow for a broken head." Again, in The Two Maids of More-clacke, 1609 "This was a pafs, 'twas fencer's play, and for the after veny, let r e use my fkill." So, in The Famous History, &c. of Capt. 7 ho. Stukely, 1605 "for forfeits and venneys given upon a wager at the ninth button of your doublet." : Again, in the MSS. mentioned in the preceding note, "and at any prize whether it be maifter's prize, &c. whofoever doth play agaynfte the prizer, and doth ftrike his blowe and clofe with all, fo that the prizer cannot ftrike his blowe after agayne, fhall wynne no game for any veneye fo given, althoughe it shold breake the prizer's head." STEEVENS. I That's meat and drink to me now:] Decker has this proverbial phrafe in his Satiromaftix: "Yes faith, 'tis meat and drink to me." WHALLEY. 2 Sackerfon- Seckarfon is likewife the name of a bear in the old comedy of Sir Giles Goofecap. STEEVens. Sackerfon, or Sacarfon, was the name of a bear that was exhibited in our author's time at Paris-Garden in Southwark. VOL. V. D have taken him by the chain: but, I warrant you, the women have fo cried and fhriek'd at it, that it pafs'd: 3-but women, indeed, cannot abide 'em ; they are very ill-favoured rough things. Re-enter PAGE. PAGE. Come, gentle mafter Slender, come; we ftay for you. SLEN. I'll eat nothing, I thank you, fir. PAGE. By cock and pye,4 you fhall not choose, fir: come, come. SLEN. Nay, pray you, lead the way. PAGE. Come on, fir. SLEN. Miftrefs Anne, yourself shall go firft. ANNE. Not I, fir; pray you, keep on. SLEN. Truly, I will not go firft; truly, la: I will not do you that wrong. See an old collection of Epigrams [by Sir John Davies] printed at Middlebourg (without date, but in or before 1598 :) "Publius, a ftudent of the common law, "To Paris-garden doth himself withdraw ;- Sacarfon probably had his name from his keeper. So, in the Puritan, a comedy, 1607: "How many dogs do you think I had upon me? Almoft as many as George Stone, the bear; three at once." MALONE. 3 that it pafs'd:] It pafs'd, or this paffes, was a way of fpeaking cuftomary heretofore, to fignify the excefs, or extraordinary degree of any thing. The fentence completed would be, This paffes all expreffion, or perhaps, This passes all things. We ftill ufe paffing well, paffing ftrange. 4 WA ARBURTON. By cock and pye,] This was a very popular adjuration, and occurs in many of our old dramatic pieces. See note on Act V. fc. i. K. Henry IV. P. II. STEEVENS. ANNE. I pray you, fir. SLEN. I'll rather be unmannerly, than troublefome: you do yourself wrong, indeed, la. [Exeunt. SCENE II. The fame. Enter Sir HUGH EVANS and SIMPLE. EVA. Go your ways, and afk of Doctor Caius' house, which is the way: and there dwells one mistress Quickly, which is in the manner of his nurse, or his dry nurse, or his cook, or his laundry, his washer, and his wringer. SIMP. Well, fir. EVA. Nay, it is petter yet:give her this letter; for it is a 'oman that altogether's acquaintance with mistress Anne Page: and the letter is, to defire and require her to folicit your mafter's defires to mistress Anne Page: I pray you, be gone; I will make an end of my dinner; there's pippins and cheese to come. Exeunt. not 5or his laundry,] Sir Hugh means to fay his launder. Thus, in Sidney's Arcadia, B. I. p. 44, edit. 1633 : only will make him an Amazon, but a launder, a fpinner," &c. STEEVENS. 6 that altogether's acquaintance-] The old copy reads altogethers acquaintance; but should not this be "that altogether's acquaintance," i. e. that is altogether acquainted? The English, I apprehend, would ftill be bad enough for Evans. TYRWHITT. I have availed myfelf of this judicious remark. STEEVENS. SCENE III. A Room in the Garter Inn.. Enter FALSTAFF, Hoft, BARDOLPH, NYM, FAL. Mine hoft of the Garter, HOST. What fays my bully-rook?? Speak schollarly, and wifely. of FAL. Truly, mine host, I must turn away fome my followers. HOST. Difcard, bully Hercules; cafhier: let them wag; trot, trot. FAL. I fit at ten pounds a week. HOST. Thou 'rt an emperor, Cæfar, Keifar, and Pheezar. I will entertain Bardolph; he fhall draw, he fhall tap: faid I well, bully Hector? I 7 my bully-rook?] The fpelling of this word is corrupted, and thereby its primitive meaning is loft. The old plays have generally bully-rook, which is right; and fo it is exhibited by the folio edition of this comedy, as well as the 4to. 1619. The latter part of this compound title is taken from the rooks at the game of chefs. STEEVENS. Bully-rook feems to have been the reading of fome editions: in others it is bully-rock. Mr. Steevens's explanation of it, as alluding to chefs-men, is right. But Shakspeare might poffibly have given it bully-rock, as rock is the true name of these men, which is foftened or corrupted into rook. There is seemingly more humour in bully-rock. WHALLEY. 8 Keifar,] The preface to Stowe's Chronicle obferves, that the Germans ufe the K for C, pronouncing Keyfar, for Cæfar, their general word for an emperor. ToLLET. and Pheezar.] Pheezar was a made word from pheeze. "I'll pheeze you," fays Sly to the Hoftess, in The Taming of the Shrew. MALONE. I Said I well,] The learned editor of the Canterbury |