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Shal. Ay, coufin Slender, and Cuftalorum.

Slen. Ay, and Rato-lorum too; and a gentleman born, mafter parfon, who writes himself Armigero in any bill, warrant, quittance, or obligation, Armigero.

Shal. Ay, that I do, and have done any time these three hundred years.

Slen. All his fucceffors, gone before him, have don't; and all his ancestors,. that come after him, may; they may give the dozen white luces in their coat. Shal. It is an old coat.

Eva. The dozen white lowfes do become an old coat well; it agrees well, paffant; it is a familiar beaft to man, and fignifies love.

Shal. The luce is the fresh-fish, the falt-fifh is an old coat.
Slen. I may quarter, coz.

Shal. You may by marrying.

Eva. It is marring, indeed, if he quarter it.

Shal. Not a whit.

Eva. Yes, per-lady; if he has a quarter of your coat, there is but three skirts for yourself, in my fimple conjectures; but that is all one: if Sir John Falstaff have committed difparagements upon you, I am of the church, and will be glad to do my benevolence, to make atonements and compromises between you.

Shal. The council fhall hear it; it is a riot.

Eva. It is not meet, the council hear of a riot; there is no fear of Got in a riot: the council, look you, fall defire to hear the fear of Got, and not to hear a riot; take your viza-ments in that.

Shal. Ha! o' my life, if I were young again, the

fword fhould end it.

Eva. It is petter that friends is the fword, and end it; and there is also another device in my prain, which, peradventure, prings good difcretions with it: there is Ann Page, (2) which is daughter to mafter George Page, which is pretty virginity.

(2) which is daughter to mafter Thomas Page,] The whole fet of editions have negligently blunder'd one after another in Page's chriftian name in this place; tho' Mrs. Page calls him George afterwards in at least fix feveral paffages.

Slen.

Slen. Miftrefs Ann Page? fhe has brown hair, and fpeaks fmall like a woman.

Eva. It is that ferry perfon for all the orld, as just as you will defire; and even hundred pounds of monies, and gold and filver, is her grandfire upon his death's-bed (Got deliver to a joyful refurrections) give, when he is able to overtake feventeen years old: it were a good motion, if we leave our pribbles and prabbles, and defire a marriage between master Abraham and mistress Ann Page.

Slen.Did her grand-fire leave her feven hundred pounds? Eva. Ay, and her father is make her a petter penny. Slen. Iknow the young gentlewoman; fhe has good gifts. Eva. Seven hundred pounds, and poffibilities, is good gifts.

Skal. Well; let us fee honeft Mr. Page: is Falf of there? Eva. Shall I tell you a lye ? I do defpife a liar, as I do defpife one that is falfe; or as I defpife one that is not true. The Knight, Sir John, is there; and, I befeech you, be ruled by your well-winners. peat the door [Knocks.] for mailer Page. What, hoa? Got blefs your houfe here.

Enter Mr. Page.

Page. Who's there?

I will

Eva. Here is Got's pleffing, and your friend, and juftice Shallow; and here's young mafter Slender; that, peradventures, fhall tell you another tale, if matters grow to your likings.

Page. I am glad to fee your worships well. I thank you for my venifon, mafter Shallow.

Shal. Mafter Page, I am glad to fee you; much good do it your good heart: I wish'd your venifon better; it was ill kill'd. How doth good mistress Page? and I thank you always with my heart, la; with my heart.

Page. Sir, I thank you.

Shal. Sir, I thank you; by yea and no, I do.
Page. I am glad to fee you, good mafter Slender.

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Slen. How do's your fallow greyhound, Sir? I heard fay, he was out-run on Cotfale.

Page. It could not be judg'd, Sir.

Slen. You'll not confefs, you'll not confess. Shal. That he will not, 'tis your fault, 'tis your fault; 'tis a good dog.

Page. A cur, Sir.

Shal. Sir, he's a good dog, and a fair dog; can there be more faid ? he is good and fair. Is Sir John Falstaff here?

Page. Sir, he is within; and I would, I could do good office between you.

Eva. It is fpoke, as a chriftians ought to fpeak. Shal. He hath wrong'd me, mafter Page.

Page. Sir, he doth in fome fort confefs it.

Shal. If it be confefs'd, it is not redrefs'd; is not that fo, mafter Page? he hath wrong'd me; indeed, he hath; at a word, he hath; believe me, Robert Shallow Efquire faith, he is wrong'd.

Page. Here comes Sir John.

Enter Sir John Falstaff, Bardolph, Nym and Pistol. Fal. Now, mafter Shallow, you'll complain of me to the King?

Shal. Knight, you have beaten my men, kill'd my deer, and broke open my lodge.

Fal. But not kifs'd your keeper's daughter.

Shal. Tut, a pin; this fhall be answered.

Fal. I will anfwer it ftrait: I have done all this. That is now anfwer'd.

Shal. The council fhall know this.

Fal. 'Twere better for you, if 'twere not known in council; you'll be laugh'd at.

Eva. Pauca verba, Sir John, good worts.

Fal. Good worts? good cabbage. Slender, I broke your head: what matter have you against me?

Slen. Marry, Sir, I have matter in my head againft you, and against your cony-catching rafcals, Bardolph, Nym, and Piftol.

Bar.

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Bar. You Banbury cheese!

Slen. Ay, it is no matter.
Pit. How now, Mephoftophilus?
Slen. Ay, it is no matter.

Nym.Slice, I fay; pauca, pauca: slice,that's my humour. Slen. Where's Simple, my man? can you tell, cousin? Eva. Peace: I pray you now let us understand; there is three umpires in this matter, as I understand; that is, mafter Page; fidelicet, mafter Page; and there is myfelf; fidelicet, myfelf; and the three party is, laftly and finally, mine hot of the garter.

Page. We three to hear it, and end it between them. Eva. Ferry goot; I will make a prief of it in my note-book, and we will afterwards ork upon the caufe with as great difcreetly as we can.

Fal. Piftol,

Piftol. He hears with ears.

Eva. The tevil and his tam! what phrafe is this, he hears with ear? why, it is affectations.

Fal. Piftol, did you pick mafter Slender's purfe? Slen. Ay, by thefe gloves, did he; (or I would I might never come in mine own great chamber again elfe,) of feven groats in mill-fixpences, and two Edward fhovel-boards, that coft me two fhilling and two pence a-piece, of read Miller, by these gloves.

Fal. Is this true, Piftol?

Eva. No; it is falfe, if it is a pick-purfe.

Pift. Ha, thou mountain foreigner!—Sir John, and mafter mine,

I combat challenge of this latten bilboe: (3) Word

(3) I combat challenge of this Latin bilboe] Our modern Editors have diftinguifh'd this word, Latin, in Italic characters, as if it was addrefs'd to Sir Hugh, and meant to call him pedantic blade, on account of his being a schoolmafter, and teaching Latin. But I'll be bold to fay, in this they do not take the Poet's conceit Pifol barely calls Sir Hugh mountain-foreigner, becaufe he had interpos'd in the dif pute: but then immediately demands the combat of Slender, for having charg'd him with picking his pocket. The old quarto's write it latten, as it should be, in the common characters: And, as a proof that the Author defign'd this fhould be addrefs'd to Slender, Sir Hugh does not there interpofe one word in the quarrel. But what then

L 4

fignifies

10

Word of denial in thy Labra's here;

Word of denial; froth and fcum, thou ly'ft.

fignifies- -latten bilbo? Why, Pistol feeing Slender fuch a flim' puny, wight; would intimate, that he is as thin as a plate of that compound metal, which is call'd latten: and which was, as we are told, the old orichalc. Monfieur Dacier, upon this verfe in Horace's Epiftle de Arte Poetica,

Tibia non ut nunc orichalco vincta, &c.

fays, Eft une espece de cuivre de montagne, come fon nom mefme le temoigne, c'est ce que nous appelions aujourd' buy du leton. "It is a fort of "mountain-copper, as its very name imports, and which we at this "time of day call latten." Scaliger upon Feftus had faid the fame thing. The Metallifts tell us, it is copper mingled with lapis calamiraris. The learned part of my readers will forgive me, if I attempt the correction of a paffage in Hefyckius, upon the fubject of orichale, which has been tamper'd with, but not cur'd, I think, to fatisfaction. Ορείχαλκος, χαλκός, χρυσῷ ἐοικῶς, ἡ κρήνη ἀρχίχαλκος. (In the frf place, the feries and order of Hefychius fhew he meant to write his theme, 'Opixanxos, without the diphthong.) Sopingius has conjectured, the last word fhould be aufixadaos. But what then has apáva to do here? Orichalcum does not fignify a fountain; nor does l'ibius Sequefer, or any body elfe to my knowledge, tell us of any fountain, Jake, or fpring, that bore fuch a name. Perhaps, the whole fhould be thus pointed and reform'd : Ὀρίχαλκος, χαλκός χρυσῷ ἐοικως· spáμa apxn, xaλnós. Orichalcum, æs auri æmulum; vel compofitum quoddam; principium cujus, œs. Orichalc, a fort of brafs like gold; or a compound metal, the foundation of which was braís. tephanus, de urbibus, tells us of a stone produc'd at Andeira, which, mingled with brafs, became er chalec. ΚΡΑΘΕῚΣ χαλκῷ, Ορείχαλο xes yiyera. Strabo is the foundation for what Stephanus fays; who, 1peaking of this stone, adds, If it be burnt with a certain earth, it melts to a counterfeit filver: which earth, having brafs mingled with it, comes to that compounded metal which fome call orichalc. ʼn moc. λαβᾶσα χαλκὸν τὸ καλέμενον γίνεται ΚΡΑΜΑ, ἵτινες ὀρείχαλκον καλᾶσι. The old gloffaries likewife have, aurichalca, xpareativa s which Junius in his book, de pictura veterum, corrects to KPA'MA TI: But Martinius, I find, difapproves of the correction. quotations, I think, are fomewhat in fupport of the conjecture I have offer'd. A word to the paffage quoted from Strabo, and I fhall difmifs this criticifm. Cafaubon very juftly objects to the tautology of τὸ καλέμενον, & ἵτινες καλῦσι. He thinks, either fomething is wanting after nahéμevov: or that it fhould be expung'd. If I am not mistaken, Strabo might have wrote, with the change only of one Jetter, τὸ καλὸν μὲν ὄν γίνεται κράμα, perpulchra quidem fit mixtura: i. e. a most beautiful compound is produced. The orichalc, we know, was fo bright a metal, that, as Ifidore fays, it had the splendor of gold, and the harcnefs of brafs: and Pliny tells us, it was put under fome chryfolites, as a foil, to affift their luftre.

Thefe

Slen.

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