Chapter III: Part 3

DIONYSIUS. Bring forth Pithias, that pleasant companion,
Which took me at my word, and became pledge for Damon.
It pricketh[138] fast upon noon, I do him no injury,
If now he lose his head, for so he requested me,
If Damon return not, which now in Greece is full merry:
Therefore shall Pithias pay his death, and that by and by.
He thought belike, if Damon were out of the city,
I would not put him to death for some foolish pity:
But seeing it was his request, I will not be mock’d, he shall die;
Bring him forth.

_Here entereth_ SNAP.[139]

SNAP. Give place; let the prisoner come by; give place.

DIONYSIUS. How say you, sir; where is Damon, your trusty friend?
You have play’d a wise part, I make God a vow:
You know what time a day it is; make you ready.

PITHIAS. Most ready I am, mighty king, and most ready also
For my true friend Damon this life to forego,
Even at your pleasure.

DIONYSIUS. A true friend! a false traitor, that so breaketh his
oath!
Thou shalt lose thy life, though thou be never so loth.

PITHIAS. I am not loth to do whatsoever I said,
Ne at this present pinch of death am I dismay’d:
The gods now I know have heard my fervent prayer,
That they have reserved me to this passing great honour,
To die for my friend, whose faith even now I do not mistrust;
My friend Damon is no false traitor, he is true and just:
But sith he is no god, but a man, he must do as he may,
The wind may be contrary, sickness may let him,[140] or some
misadventure by the way,
Which the eternal gods turn all to my glory,
That fame may resound how Pithias for Damon did die:
He breaketh no oath which doth as much as he can,
His mind is here, he hath some let, he is but a man.
That he might not return of all the gods I did require,
Which now to my joy do[141] grant my desire.
But why do I stay any longer, seeing that one man’s death
May suffice, O king, to pacify thy wrath?
O thou minister of justice, do thine office by and by,
Let not thy hand tremble, for I tremble not to die.
Stephano, the right pattern of true fidelity,
Commend me to thy master, my sweet Damon, and of him crave liberty
When I am dead, in my name; for thy trusty services
Hath well deserved a gift far better than this.
O my Damon, farewell now for ever, a true friend, to me most dear;
Whiles life doth last, my mouth shall still talk of thee,
And when I am dead, my simple ghost, true witness of amity,
Shall hover about the place, wheresoever thou be.

DIONYSIUS. Eubulus, this gear is strange; and yet because
Damon hath fals’d his faith, Pithias shall have the law.
Gronno, despoil him, and eke dispatch him quickly.

GRONNO. It shall be done; since you came into this place,
I might have stroken off seven heads in this space.
By’r Lady, here are good garments, these are mine, by the rood!
It is an evil wind that bloweth no man good.
Now, Pithias, kneel down, ask me blessing like a pretty boy,
And with a trice thy head from thy shoulders I will convey.

_Here entereth_ DAMON _running, and stays the sword_.

DAMON. Stay, stay, stay! for the king’s advantage, stay!
O mighty king, mine appointed time is not yet fully pass’d;
Within the compass of mine hour, lo, here I come at last.
A life I owe, and a life I will you pay:
O my Pithias, my noble pledge, my constant friend!
Ah! woe is me! for Damon’s sake, how near were thou to thy end!
Give place to me, this room is mine, on this stage must I play.
Damon is the man, none ought but he to Dionysius his blood to pay.

GRONNO. Are you come, sir? you might have tarried, if you had been
wise:
For your hasty coming you are like to know the price.

PITHIAS. O thou cruel minister, why didst not thou thine office?
Did I not beg thee make haste in any wise?
Hast thou spared to kill me once, that I may die twice?
Not to die for my friend is present death to me; and alas!
Shall I see my sweet Damon slain before my face?
What double death is this? but, O mighty Dionysius,
Do true justice now: weigh this aright, thou noble Eubulus;
Let me have no wrong, as now stands the case:
Damon ought not to die, but Pithias:
By misadventure, not by his will, his hour is past; therefore I,
Because he came not at his just time, ought justly to die:
So was my promise, so was thy promise, O king,
All this court can bear witness of this thing.

DAMON. Not so, O mighty king: to justice it is contrary,
That for another man’s fault the innocent should die:
Ne yet is my time plainly expired, it is not fully noon.
Of this my day appointed, by all the clocks in the town.

PITHIAS. Believe no clock, the hour is past by the sun.

DAMON. Ah my Pithias, shall we now break the bonds of amity?
Will you now overthwart me, which heretofore so well did agree?

PITHIAS. My Damon, the gods forbid but we should agree;
Therefore agree to this, let me perform the promise made for thee.
Let me die for thee: do me not that injury,
Both to break my promise, and to suffer me to see thee die,
Whom so dearly I love: this small request grant me,
I shall never ask thee more, my desire is but friendly.
Do me this honour, that fame may report triumphantly,
That Pithias for his friend Damon was contented to die.

DAMON. That you were contented for me to die, fame cannot deny;
Yet fame shall never touch me with such a villainy,
To report that Damon did suffer his friend Pithias for him guiltless
to die;
Therefore content thyself, the gods requite thy constant faith,
None but Damon’s blood can appease Dionysius’ wrath.
And now, O mighty king, to you my talk I convey;
Because you gave me leave my worldly things to stay,
To requite that good turn, ere I die, for your behalf this I say,
Although your regal state dame Fortune decketh so,
That like a king in worldly wealth abundantly ye flow,
Yet fickle is the ground whereon all tyrants tread,
A thousand sundry cares and fears do haunt their restless head:
No trusty band, no faithful friends do guard thy hateful state,
And why? whom men obey for deadly fear, sure them they deadly hate.
That you may safely reign, by love get friends, whose constant faith
Will never fail, this counsel gives poor Damon at his death:
Friends are the surest guard for kings, gold in time does[142] wear
away,
And other precious things do fade, friendship will never decay.
Have friends in store therefore, so shall you safely sleep;
Have friends at home, of foreign foes so need you take no keep.
Abandon flatt’ring tongues, whose clacks truth never tell;
Abase the ill, advance the good, in whom dame virtue dwells;
Let them your playfellows be: but O, you earthly kings,
Your sure defence and strongest guard stands chiefly in faithful
friends:
Then get you friends by liberal deeds; and here I make an end.
Accept this counsel, mighty king, of Damon, Pithias’ friend.
O my Pithias! now farewell for ever, let me kiss thee, ere I die,
My soul shall honour thee, thy constant faith above the heavens
shall fly.
Come, Gronno, do thine office now; why is thy colour so dead?
My neck is so short, that thou wilt never have honesty in striking
off this head.[143]

DIONYSIUS. Eubulus, my spirits are suddenly appalled, my limbs wax
weak:
This strange friendship amazeth me so, that I can scarce speak.

PITHIAS. O mighty king, let some pity your noble heart meve;
You require but one man’s death, take Pithias, let Damon live.

EUBULUS. O unspeakable friendship!

DAMON. Not so, he hath not offended, there is no cause why
My constant friend Pithias for Damon’s sake should die.
Alas, he is but young, he may do good to many.
Thou coward minister, why dost thou not let me die?

GRONNO. My hand with sudden fear quivereth.

PITHIAS. O noble king, show mercy upon Damon, let Pithias die.

DIONYSIUS. Stay, Gronno, my flesh trembleth. Eubulus, what shall I
do?
Were there ever such friends on earth as were these two?
What heart is so cruel that would divide them asunder?
O noble friendship, I must yield; at thy force I wonder.
My heart this rare friendship hath pierc’d to the root,
And quenched all my fury: this sight hath brought this about,
Which thy grave counsel, Eubulus, and learned persuasion could never
do.
[_To_ DAMON _and_ PITHIAS] O noble gentlemen, the immortal gods above
Hath made you play this tragedy, I think, for my behoof:
Before this day I never knew what perfect friendship meant.
My cruel mind to bloody deeds was full and wholly bent:
My fearful life I thought with terror to defend,
But now I see there is no guard unto a faithful friend,
Which will not spare his life at time of present need:
O happy kings, who in[144] your courts have two such friends indeed!
I honour friendship now, which that you may plainly see,
Damon, have thou thy life, from death I pardon thee;
For which good turn, I crave, this honour do me lend,
O friendly heart, let me link with you, to you[145] make me the
third friend.
My court is yours; dwell here with me, by my commission large,
Myself, my realm, my wealth, my health, I commit to your charge:
Make me a third friend, more shall I joy in that thing,
Than to be called, as I am, Dionysius the mighty king.

DAMON. O mighty king, first for my life most humble thanks I give,
And next, I praise the immortal gods that did your heart so meve,
That you would have respect to friendship’s heavenly lore,
Foreseeing well he need not fear which hath true friends in store.
For my part, most noble king, as a third friend, welcome to our
friendly society;
But you must forget you are a king, for friendship stands in true
equality.

DIONYSIUS. Unequal though I be in great possessions,
Yet full equal shall you find me in my changed conditions.
Tyranny, flattery, oppression, lo, here I cast away;
Justice, truth, love, friendship, shall be my joy:
True friendship will I honour unto my life’s end;
My greatest glory shall be to be counted a perfect friend.

PITHIAS. For this your deed, most noble king, the gods advance your
name,
And since to friendship’s lore you list your princely heart to frame,
With joyful heart, O king, most welcome now to me,
With you will I knit the perfect knot of amity:
Wherein I shall instruct you so, and Damon here your friend,
That you may know of amity the mighty force, and eke the joyful end:
And how that kings do stand upon a fickle ground,
Within whose realm at time of need no faithful friends are found.

DIONYSIUS. Your instruction will I follow; to you myself I do commit.
Eubulus, make haste to fet new apparel, fit
For my new friends.

EUBULUS. I go with joyful heart. O happy day! [_Aside._]
[_Exit._

GRONNO. I am glad to hear this word. Though their lives they do not
lese,
It is no reason[146] the hangman should lose his fees:
These are mine, I am gone with a trice.
[_Exit_.

_Here entereth_ EUBULUS _with new garments_.

DIONYSIUS. Put on these garments now; go in with me, the jewels of
my court.

DAMON _and_ PITHIAS. We go with joyful hearts.

STEPHANO. O Damon, my dear master, in all this joy remember me.

DIONYSIUS. My friend Damon, he asketh reason.

DAMON. Stephano, for thy good service be thou free.
[_Exeunt_ DION.[147]

STEPHANO. O most happy, pleasant, joyful, and triumphant day!
Poor Stephano now shall live in continual play:[148]
_Vive le roy_, with Damon and Pithias, in perfect amity.
_Vive tu_, Stephano, in thy pleasant liberality:[149]
Wherein I joy as much as he that hath a conquest won,
I am a free man, none so merry as I now under the sun.
Farewell, my lords, now the gods grant you all the sum of perfect
amity,
And me long to enjoy my long-desired liberty.
[_Exit._

_Here entereth_ EUBULUS _beating_ CARISOPHUS.

Away, villain! away, you flatt’ring parasite!
Away, the plague of this court! thy filed tongue, that forged lies,
No more here shall do hurt: away, false sycophant! wilt thou not?

CARISOPHUS. I am gone, sir, seeing it is the king’s pleasure.
Why whip ye me alone? a plague take Damon and Pithias! since they
came hither,
I am driven to seek relief abroad, alas! I know not whither.
Yet, Eubulus, though I be gone, here after time shall try,
There shall be found even in this court as great flatterers as I.
Well, for a while I will forego the court, though to my great pain:
I doubt not but to spy a time, when I may creep in again.
[_Exit._

EUBULUS. The serpent that eats men alive, flattery, with all her
brood,
Is whipp’d away in princes’ courts, which yet did never good.
What force, what mighty power true friendship may possess,
To all the world Dionysius’ court now plainly doth express:
Who since to faithful friends he gave his willing ear,
Most safely sitteth on his seat, and sleeps devoid of fear.
Purged is the court of vice, since friendship ent’red in,
Tyranny quails, he studieth now with love each heart to win:
Virtue is had in price, and hath his just reward;
And painted speech, that gloseth for gain, from gifts is quite
debarr’d.
One loveth another now for virtue, not for gain;
Where virtue doth not knit the knot, there friendship cannot reign;
Without the which no house, no land, no kingdom can endure,
As necessary for man’s life as water, air, and fire,
Which frameth the mind of man all honest things to do.
Unhonest things friendship ne craveth, ne yet consents thereto.
In wealth a double joy, in woe a present stay,
A sweet companion in each state true friendship is alway:
A sure defence for kings, a perfect trusty band,
A force to assail, a shield to defend the enemies’ cruel hand;
A rare and yet the greatest gift that God can give to man;
So rare, that scarce four couple of faithful friends have been,
since the world began.
A gift so strange and of such price, I wish all kings to have;
But chiefly yet, as duty bindeth, I humbly crave,
True friendship and true friends, full fraught with constant faith,
The giver of all friends, the Lord, grant her, most noble Queen
Elizabeth.

_The Last Song._

_The strongest guard that kings can have,
Are constant friends their state to save;
True friends are constant both in word and deed,
True friends are present, and help at each need;
True friends talk truly, they glose for no gain,
When treasure consumeth, true friends will remain;
True friends for their true prince refuseth not their death:
The Lord grant her such friends, most noble Queen Elizabeth._

_Long may she govern in honour and wealth,
Void of all sickness, in most perfect health;
Which health to prolong, as true friends require,
God grant she may have her own heart’s desire:
Which friends will defend with most steadfast faith,
The Lord grant her such friends, most noble Queen Elizabeth._

FINIS.

[1] [This preface was found among my father’s dramatic
collectanea, formed about 1850, and I have printed it
with a few additions.--_W.C.H._]

[2] It was acted on the 2d and 3d September 1566.

[3] [Warton’s “H.E.P.,” by Hazlitt, iv., 215-16.]

[4] “Annals of the Stage,” iii., 1.

[5] “British Bibliographer,” Introduction to the “Paradise
of Dainty Devices,” p. vi. The reader may also be
referred to Brydges’ “Restituta,” i., 367; “Brit.
Bibl.” i., 494; “Censura Literaria,” first edit. vii.,
350.

[6] [Warton’s “H.E.P.,” by Hazlitt,” iv., 215.]

[7] See “Nugæ Antiquæ,” vol. ii., p. 392, ed. 1804.

[8] [As to the song of the “Willow Garland,” mentioned
by Warton as by Edwards, see “H.E.P.” by Hazlitt, iv.,
216.]

[9] “History of English Poetry,” by Hazlitt, iv., p. 21.
[A writer in the “Shakespeare Society’s Papers,” vol.
ii., printed from what he supposed to be a fragment of
a later impression of this book the story of the
“Waking Man’s Dream,” which is also to be found
narrated in Burton’s “Anatomy of Melancholy,” 1621.]

[10] [See Warton’s “H.E.P.” by Hazlitt, iv., 214.
Warton is very positive in asserting that the first
edition was not in 1571, but in 1570, yet no such
edition is at present known. The play, however, having
been licensed in 1567 (Collier’s “Extr. from Stat.
Reg.” i., 166), it is extremely probable that it was
published even before 1570.]

[11] A specimen of the elegy on Edwards by Turbervile
printed in the editions of his poems in 1567 and 1570,
is here subjoined:

“Epitaph on Maister Edwards, sometime Maister of the
Children of the Chappell, and Gentleman of Lyncolnes
Inne of Court--

“Ye Learned Muses nine, and sacred Sisters all,
Now lay your cheereful Cithrons downe and to
lamenting fall.
Rent off those garlandes greene, doe laurel leaves
away,
Remove the myrtill from your browes, and stint on
strings to play;
For he that led the daunce, the chiefest of your
traine,
I meane the man that Edwards height, by cruell
death is slaine.
Ye courtyers chaunge your cheere, lament in
wailfull wise,
For now your Orpheus hath resignd, in clay his
Carcas lies.
O ruth, he is bereft, that whilst he liued heere,
For Poet’s Pen and passing Wit, could haue no
Englishe Peere.
His vaine in Verse was such, so stately eke his
stile,
His feate in forging sugred Songs with cleane and
curious file;
As all the learned Greekes and Romaines would
repine,
If they did live againe, to vewe his Verse with
scornefull eine.”

[12] Nature.

[13] _Authours_, first edition.

[14] _Spake_, second edition.

[15] Although it is obvious that great pains were taken
by Mr Reed and others (to say nothing of Dodsley) in
the collation of this dramatic piece, yet they left it
in a very imperfect state. In the course of it not less
than fifty important variations and errors have been
detected, consisting of words omitted, and words
accidentally inserted, independently of errors of the
press, for which of course an editor was not
responsible. It is hoped that it will be now found more
uniformly correct, although the editor can scarcely
flatter himself that the reprint may not be still found
defective.--_Collier._

[16] _Philosophie_, both editions. The alteration by Mr
Dodsley. [But Dodsley does not seem to have perceived
that by the change he converted the text into nonsense.
The original reads--

“Lovers of wisdom are termed philosophie.”

The emendation introduced was suggested by Mr Collier,
who remarks:] “In the next line the author expressly
speaks of _lovyng of wisdom_, as if intending to employ
the words he had used before.”

[17] [Scurrility.]

[18] _Great_, second edition.

[19] Omitted in second edition.

[20] _The_, second edition.

[21] Omitted in second edition.

[22] [The original has _consultat_.]

[23] A _Fletcher_ is a maker of arrows, from _fleche_
an arrow, Fr. The _Fletcher’s_ Company had several
charters granted to them, though at present, I believe,
they have only a nominal existence. Aristippus means to
say, that he differs as much in disposition from
_Carisophus_, as Jack the _arrowsmith_ varies in
quality from a _bolt_ or _arrow_ of his own
making.--_S._

[24] So, in [Fulwell’s] “Leke [will] to Leke, quoth the
Devil to the Collier” [1568]:

“There thou mayst be called a knave in grane,
And where knaves be scant thou mayst go for twayne.”

See a note on “The Two Gentlemen of Verona,” vol. i.,
edition 1778, p. 176.--_S._

[25] _i.e.,_ If he were hanged for it, he could not
tell one tale without telling two lies. Yet Mr Collier
would change _where_ to _were he_.

[26] This whole line is omitted in the later of the two
old copies, and as Mr Reed and his friend remarked in
their notes sometimes even the variation of letters, it
is singular that they should have passed over this
circumstance without observation.--_Collier._

[27] _Meane_, second edition.

[28] Ed. 1571 has _patron_.

[29] This was proverbial. See [Hazlitt’s] “Collection
of Proverbs,” p. 291.

[30] A proverbial expression often found in ancient
writers. Heywood has it: “Happy man, happy _dole_.” See
Dyce’s Glossary to his second edition of Shakespeare,
p. 201. _Dole_, Mr Steevens observes (Notes to “The
Taming of the Shrew,” act i., sc. 1), is any thing
dealt out or distributed, though its original meaning
was the provision given away at the doors of great
men’s houses. It is generally written _be his dole_,
though Ray, p. 116, gives it as in the second 4to _by_
his dole. Shakespeare also uses the phrase in “The
Merry Wives of Windsor.”

Again, in “Hudibras,” p. 1, c. 3, l. 637--

“Let us that are unhurt and whole,
Fall on, and _happy man be’s dole_.”

[31] _He_, first edition.

[32] _Bosome_, second edition.

[33] Original, _outwery_.

[34] _Seeketh_, second edition.

[35] _Grace_, second edition.

[36] _Quietly_, first edition.

[37] [i.e., So near _are they_.]

[38] To _contrive_ in this place signifies to wear
away, to spend, from _contero_, Lat. So in
Shakespeare’s “Taming of the Shrew,” act i., sc. 2--

“Please you we many _contrive_ this afternoon?”

Totum hunc _contrivi_ diem.--_S._ See also the Notes of
Dr Warburton and Dr Johnson on the above line in
Shakespeare.

[39] Taunts or sarcasms. See Johnson.--_N._

[40] _Plain-song_ is _planus cantus_, uniform
modulation. _Descant_ is musical paraphrase. See a Note
on “The Midsummer Night’s Dream,” vol. iii., p. 63; and
another on “King Richard III.” vol. vii., p. 6, edit.
1778.--_S._

[41] Spenser has this word which, as Dr Johnson observes,
appears to be the same as _winch_. It should seem to be
expressive of some slight degree of pain, and in this
instance to mean the same as if the speaker had said, I
care not a _fillip_.--_S._

[42] Dionysius the tyrant is said to have punished with
death one of his subjects for dreaming he had killed
him. This was hardly more iniquitous than the execution
of the gentleman, who having a white deer in his park,
which was killed by Edward the Fourth, wished the deer,
horns and all, in the belly of him that counselled the
king to kill it, _whereas in truth no man counselled
the king to it_: or than the attainder and execution of
Algernon Sydney, on the evidence of private and unpublished
papers, without any proof, or even a suggestion, of
their intended publication.”--_Principles of Penal
Law_, c. 11.

[43] _With crueltie_, second edition.

[44] _Through_, both editions. The alteration by Mr
Dodsley.

[45] _Is lyke unto a stage_, second edition.

[46] This sentence stands in the old copies, _Omnis
solum fortis patria_.--_Collier._ [But Mr Collier
printed _patriæ_.

[47] See [Hazlitt’s] “Proverbs,” p. [336.]

[48] The _seat_ means _the situation_. See, in Dr
Johnson’s Dictionary, instances of it from Raleigh,
Hayward, Bacon, and B. Jonson.--_N._

So Duncan, in “Macbeth,” says--

“This castle hath a pleasant _seat_.”

[49] This quotation is given as follows in both the old
copies--

“_Dic mihi musa virum captæ post tempora Trojæ,
Multorum homines mores qui vidit et urbes._”

Query--Was it meant by the author that Damon should
misquote?--_Collier._ [Surely not.]

[50] _This is he_, &c., first edition.

[51] _i.e._, Plentiful suppers, luxurious couches, and
the king’s purse full of gold at command. [In the
original this is printed so as to be absolute
nonsense.]

Aristippus was not intended for a blunderer.--_S._

[52] _Tyoe_, first edition.

[53] A cant term for be silent; _mum_ and _budget_ are
the words made use of by Slender and Ann Page in “The
Merry Wives of Windsor.”

[54] [To make up his plunder or prize-money. From the
old French _bouge_.]

[55] The first edition reads--

“I wyll lay _one mouth_ for you to Dionysius,” &c.,

which was altered in the second edition as it stands in
the text.--_Collier._

[56] A proverbial expression, of which it is difficult
to give a satisfactory explanation, though the meaning
of it is sufficiently obvious. A gentleman, who formerly
wrote in _The Gentleman’s Magazine_ under a feigned
name, supposes the word _cat_ should be changed to
_cate_; “an old word for a _cake_ or other _aumalette_,
which being usually _fried_, and consequently _turn’d
in the pan_, does therefore very aptly express the
changing of sides in politics or religion, or, as we
otherwise say, _the turning one’s coat_. _Gentleman’s
Magazine_, 1754, p. 66. Another writer, however, gives
the following [very absurd] explanation of it:--
“_Capitan_, to turn _capitan_, from a people called
_Catipani_, in _Calabria_ and _Apulia_, who got an ill
name by reason of their perfidy; very falsely by us
called _Cat in pan_.”--_Ibid._ p. 172.

[57] _Should_, second edition.

[58] _Commodity_ is interest. So in the former part of
this play, p. 198--

“They would honour friendship, and not _for
commodity_.”

and see “King John,” act ii., sc. 2--

“_Commodity_, the bias of the world.”

[59] [A rare word in this sense; for it appears to stand
for _blab_.]

[60] [Original reads _tunes_. The emendation was first
suggested by Mr Collier.]

[61] Regale sorta di strumento simile all’organo,
maminore.--Baretti _Dizion. Ital. ed Ing._ Bacon
distinguishes between _the regal_ and the organ in a
manner which shows them to be instruments of the same
class. “The sounds that produce tones are ever from
such bodies as have their parts and pores equal, as are
nightingale _pipes of regals_ or organs.”--_Nat. Hist._
cent, ii., sec. 102. But, notwithstanding these
authorities, the appellative _regal_ has given great
trouble to the lexicographer, whose sentiments with
regard to its signification are collected and brought
into one point of view by Sir John Hawkins, in his
“History of Music,” vol. ii., p. 448, from whence this
note is extracted. See also a note by the Hon. Daines
Barrington to “Hamlet,” act iii., sc. 2, in the edition
of Shakspeare, 1773, omitted in that of 1778.

[62] _Seeing_, second edit.

[63] _Should_, first edit.

[64] _Now_, first edit.

[65] _Unto_, second edit.

[66] [_Too_, first edit.]

[67] [_What_, both eds.]

[68] Crowd.

[69] “_King_” is omitted in the first edition, and
supplied by the second.--_Collier._

[70] _This_, first edition.

[71] [Old editions have, _where opinion simplenesse
have_, &c. Simpleness, ignorance--_i.e._, who have
deserved mercy, having offended from not knowing
better.]

[72] _Thrust_, first edition.

[73] [Old edit., _injurie_.]

[74] _Yeelde speedily_, second edition.

[75] _To pawne_, second edition.

[76] Folly. Thus Spenser, in his Sonnets,

“_Fondess_ it were for any, being free,
To covet fetters, though they golden be.”

[77] Old editions read, Take heede: _for life wordly_, &c.

[78] Hinder me.

[79] [I do not understand the allusion. The sense seems
to be, I will beat you, come what may--I will put
_prudence_ in my purse or pocket.]

[80] [Originals have _colpheg you_.] I believe we should
read, _colaphize_--i.e., box or buffet. _Colaphiser_,
Fr. See Cotgrave’s “Dictionary.”--_Steevens._

[81] _i.e._, Loose companion. So Spenser--

“Might not be found a ranker _franion_.”

Again--

“A faire _franion_ fit for such a pheere.”--_S._

Again, in “The First Part of King Edward IV.,” sign. C,
p. 5: “Hees a _franke franion_, a merrie companion, and
loves a wench well.”

[82] See Note to “Gammer Gurton’s Needle,” vol. iii.,
p. 198.

[83] [_Stephano_ spelled backwards.]

[84] Read Κρητιξω. Vide Erasm. _Adag._ The _Cretans_
were famous for double-dealing. _Cretizare_, however,
is a word employ’d by lexicographers, instead of
mentiri.--_Steevens_.

[85] Crack-rope was a common term of contempt in old
plays.

“You codshed, you _cracke-rope_, you chattering pye.”
--_Apius and Virginia_, sign. B.

Again in that very rare play, “The Two Italian Gentlemen”--

“Then let him be led through every streete in the town,
That every _crackrope_ may fling rotten egs at the
clown.”

--_Collier_. [See also Tarlton’s “Jests,” 1611 (“Old
English Jest-Books,” ii., p. 211).]

[86] [Old edition, _which_.]

[87] [Old editions have _monckes_.]

[88] [Old editions have _pantacle_.] I suppose he means
to say a _pantofle_--_i.e._, a slipper. Perhaps he
begins his attack with a kick.--_S._ The second edition
reads--

“Even heere with a _faire_ pantacle I will you disgrace,”

an epithet not found in the oldest copy, and hardly
consistent with the supposition that _pantacle_ means
_pantofle_.--_Collier_. [Probably, a slap on the face.]

[89] _Geve_, second edition.

[90] More properly _touch-box_. While match-locks,
instead of fire-locks, to guns were used, the
_touch-box_, at which the match was lighted, was part
of the accoutrement of a soldier.

“When she his flask and _touch-box_ set on fire.”

Line of an author, whose name I cannot at this time
recollect.--_Steevens_.

[91] A Dottrel is a silly kind of bird which imitates
the actions of the fowler, till at last he is taken. If
the fowler stretches out a leg, the bird will do so to.
So, in Butler’s “Character of a Fantastic (_Remains_,
vol. ii., p. 132)”: “He alters his gate with the times,
and has not a motion of his body that (_like a
Dottrel_) he does not borrow from somebody else.” See
also Jonson’s “Devil is an Ass,” iv., 6, and Dyce’s
“Beaumont and Fletcher,” iii., 79, and v., 64.

[92] [Original here has _Cobex epi_. Colliers used to
be nick-named _Carry-coals_. See Hazlitt’s “Proverbs,”
p. 98.]

[93] [Do up, open.]

[94] [For the supply of the court, or _Bouche de la cour_.]

[95] _It was you_, first edition.

[96] _Doth_, second edition].

[97] _i.e._, A cast of that species of hawks that were
called _Merlins_.--_Steevens._ He calls them
[_merlins_, which he might perhaps have been supposed
to pronounce] _Murlons_ on account of their size.
_Merlins_ were the smallest species of hawks.
Turbervile says, “These _merlyns_ are very much like
the haggart falcon in plume, in seare of the foote, in
beake and talons. So as there seemeth to be no oddes or
difference at al betwixt them save only in the
_bignesse_, for she hath like demeanure, like plume,
and very like conditions to the falcon, and in hir kind
is of like courage, and therefore must be kept as
choycely and as daintly as the falcon.” The _merlin_
was chiefly used to fly at small birds; and Latham
says, it was particularly appropriated to the service
of ladies.

[98] _Father Grimme_, second edition.

[99] [Something seems to have dropped out of the text
here to this purport.]

[100] Adopted into the original text from the second
edition.--_Collier._

[101] [A play on the similarity between _rug_ and
_rogue_.]

[102] _What fault can you see heere?_ second edition.

[103] [Small casks, buckets.]

[104] _i.e._, Robin red breasts. Shakespeare uses
_ruddock_ for red breast in “Cymbeline.”--_S._ Again,
in Nash’s “Lenten Stuff,” 1599: “He eft soons defined
unto me, that the red herring was this old tickle cob,
or magister fac totum, that brought in the _red
ruddocks_, and the grummel seed as thick as oatmeal,
and made Yarmouth for Argent to put down the city of
Argentine.”

[105] _Hose at_, second edition.

[106] _Well_, first edition.

[107] [Luscious.]

[108] An intended mistake for _muscadine._--_S._

[109] _Jebit avow mon companion._ Both 4tos.--_S._

[110] _Ihar vow pleadge pety Zawne._ Both 4tos.
[_Zawne_ appears to be a loose application of _Zani_
quasi _noodle_, though here, perhaps, the meaning is
rather _mimic_.]

[111] _Was_, second edition.

[112] [Interrupt? See Nares, edition 1859, in v.]

[113] _Coppe_, in Chaucer, is used for the top of
anything, and here seems intended to signify the head,
or, as the common phrase is, a _hair-brained_ fellow.

[114] _Merie_, second edition.

[115] See “Gammer Gurton’s Needle,” vol. iii., p. 189,
note.

[116] [See Rimbault’s “Little Book of Songs and
Ballads,” 1851, p. 83.]

[117] _Benne_ is the French word for a sack to carry
coals. See Cotgrave.

[118] Bate me an ace, quoth Bolton, is among the
Proverbs published by Mr Ray. That gentleman adds, “Who
this _Bolton_ was I know not, neither is it worth
enquiring. One of this name might happen to say, _Bate
me an ace_, and, for the coincidence of the first
letters of the two words _Bate_ and _Bolton_, it grew
to be a proverb. We have many of the like original; as
_v.g._ Sup, Simon, &c., Stay, quoth Stringer, &c. There
goes a story of Queen Elizabeth, that being presented
with a Collection of English Proverbs, and told by the
author that it contained all the English Proverbs, nay,
replied she, _Bate me an ace, quoth Bolton_: which
Proverb being instantly looked for, happened to be
wanting in his Collection.” [See Hazlitt’s] “Proverbs,”
p. [80.] This story of Queen Elizabeth forms the point
of an epigram by H.P. (probably Henry Parrot) in a
collection called “The Mastive,” 1615--

“A pamphlet was of proverbs penn’d by Polton
Wherein he thought all sorts included were;
Until one told him, _Bate m’ an ace, quoth Bolton_:
Indeed (said he) that proverb is not there.”

[119] [Sacks of coal, more properly, _benters_, as just
above.]

[120] In the former edition, Mr Dodsley had altered
this to _pay mee wel_.

[121] [Urine.]

[122] _Aloue_, French is to allow, to approve, to
praise. I know of no other word that resembles that in
the text. _Alosed_, in Chaucer, is _praised_.--_S._
[Possibly, _Hallo, hallo!_ may be the true reading.]

[123] From the manner in which this expression is used
by Sir John Harington, in “The Anatomie of the
Metamorphosis of Ajax,” 1596, sig. L, 7, it seems as
though it was intended for a sallow hue. “Both of a
complexion inclining to the oriental colour of a
_Croyden sanguine_.”

[124] The 4tos read _Pallarrime_. The razors of Palermo
were anciently famous. They are mentioned in more than
one of our old plays, and particularly in “The Wounds
of Civill War,” by Thomas Lodge, 1594, “Neighbour
sharpen the edge tole of your wits upon the whetstone
of indiscretion, that your wordes may shine like _the
rasers of Palermo_.”--_S_.

[125] He means a _pestilence_ quean.--_S._

[126] _A pestle of porke_--_i.e._, gammon of
bacon.--_Minsheu._

[127] _Trimly_, second edition.

[128] [_i.e._, Dionysius, to which Dodsley changed it.]

[129] _Bonns_, both 4tos.

[130] Sometimes called New Queen Street, where there
seems to have been the sign of _the three Cranes_. Ben
Jonson mentions this place in “The Devil is an Ass,”
act. i. sc. 1.

“From thence shoot the bridge child, to _the Cranes
of the Vintry_,
And see there the gimblets how they make their entry!”

Stow says it was a place of some account for the
Costermongers who had warehouses there; and it appears
from Dekker’s “Belman of London,” sig. E 2, that the
beggars of his time called one of their places of
rendezvous by this name. [See Herbert’s edition of
Ames, p. 367-8.]

[131] _These_, first edition.

[132] _Vaunted_, second edition.

[133] _Increased is_, old editions.

[134] _Streams_, second edition.

[135] [_None such_, old editions. The meaning seems to
be, a perfect friend:--_’tis a world to seek one
such_.]

[136] Both the old copies have it “_my_ state to moan,”
which may be right, and the substitution [to _thy_,
which was made in the earlier editions] should not have
been made without notice.--_Collier._

[137] Whether I will or not. See Note 23 to “Grim the
Collier of Croydon.”

[138] _i.e._, It _rideth fast_ upon noon. The word is
used by Spenser and many of our ancient writers.

[139] With Pithias in his custody, and Stephano, as is
evident from the rest of the scene.--_Collier._

[140] Hinder him.

[141] _Doth_, both 4tos.

[142] _Doo_, first edition. The reading of both the old
copies in this place is

“_Golden time_ doo wear away.”

If it were worth while to remark the difference between
_doo_ and _doos_, it might have been as well not to
make the change in the text without notice, although it
is probably right.--_Collier._

[143] _i.e._, Thou wilt derive no _credit_ from
striking off a head so disadvantageously placed for the
purpose of decollation. _Honnetete_, French, anciently
signified _fame_ or _reputation_ in the dexterous
execution of any undertaking, whether honourable or the
contrary. _Honesty_ seems here to be used with the
French meaning.--_Steevens._ In this instance the
author appears to have had before him the speech which
Sir Thomas More made at his execution. Hall, in his
“Chronicle,” p. 226, says, “Also the hangman kneled
doune to him askyng him forgiuenes of his death (as the
maner is), to whom he sayd I forgeue thee, but I
promise thee that thou shalt neuer haue _honestie of
the strykyng of my head, my necke is so short_.”

[144] The two old copies have it,

“O happie kinges _within_ your courtes,” &c.--_Collier._

[145] _Two to_, second edition.

[146] _No reason_, first edition.

[147] This direction means that Dionysius, Damon,
Pithias, and all others go out, excepting
Stephano.--_Collier._

[148] [Old copies, _joy_.]

[149] [Freedom.]

APPIUS AND VIRGINIA.

[The reader does not probably require to be told that Chaucer has taken up the story of the “Wicked Judge Appius” in the “Doctor of Physic’s Tale,” and there is a drama by Webster on the same subject, written many years before it was published in 1654, and included in all the editions of that writer’s works.]

THE PLAYERS’ NAMES.[150]

VIRGINIUS.
MATER.
VIRGINA.
HAPHAZARD.
MANSIPULUS.
MANSIPULA.
SUBSERVUS.
APPIUS.
CONSCIENCE.
JUSTICE.
CLAUDIUS.
RUMOUR.
COMFORT.
REWARD.
DOCTRINA.
MEMORY.

MR COLLIER’S PREFACE.

The “Tragical Comedy of Appius and Virginia” deserves especial notice, as probably [one of] our earliest extant dramatic productions publicly represented, the plot of which is derived from history. Sackville’s “Ferrex and Porrex” was acted before the Queen at Whitehall, and Edwards’ “Damon and Pithias” also at Court, while the interlude of “Thersites” merely adopts the name of a historical personage as an indication of character, without reference to any events in which he was concerned. “Appius and Virginia” is besides curious as holding a middle station between the old moralities and historical plays [while it still retains the allegorical character in some degree].

The performance was printed in 1575, but acted most likely as early as 1563. The initials R. B. on the title-page would apply to more than one writer about that date. It is a work of great rarity, the only known copy being in the British Museum. It would be singular therefore that it has hitherto almost escaped notice, were it not evident that there are so many plays in the Garrick Collection which have never been read by the editors of Shakespeare. Mr Malone makes one reference to “Appius and Virginia” in a note on “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” but he misquotes both the words and the date.

There is internal evidence that it was publicly represented; and with reference to this point, we find in one place a curious instance of the ancient simplicity of the construction of an open stage, and of the directions to the actors: “Here let Virginius go about the scaffold.” This was the “scaffold hie” on which Herod, according to Chaucer [“Miller’s Tale”] was accustomed to rant. Hawkins [Orig. Engl. Dr. I. vii.] tells us that this temporary erection, in Parfre’s “Candlemas Day,” was called “the _Stage_,” but he erred from misquotation. In the following piece we are expressly informed that _Haphazard_ was the _Vice_, regarding which character see Douce’s “Illustr. of Shakesp.” ii., 304, &c.[151]

[In the former edition nearly all the corruptions of the old copy, which was edited and printed with the grossest carelessness, were allowed to remain. A few still stand which baffle our ingenuity.]

THE PROLOGUE.

Qui[152] cupis æthereas et summas scandere sedes,
Vim simul ac fraudem discute, care, tibi.
Fraus hic nulla juvat, non fortia facta juvabunt:
Sola Dei tua te trahet tersa fides.
Qui placet in terris, intactæ paludis instar,
Vivere Virginiam nitore, virgo, sequi:
Quos tulit et luctus, discas [et] gaudia magna,
Vitæ dum Parcæ scindere fila parent.
Huc ades, O virgo pariter moritura, sepulchro;
Sic ait, et facies pallida morte mutat.

Who doth desire the trump of fame to sound unto the skies,
Or else who seeks the holy place where mighty Jove he lies,
He must not by deceitful mind, nor yet by puissant strength,
But by the faith and sacred life he must it win at length,
And what she be that virgin’s life on earth would gladly lead
The floods that Virginia did fall I wish her to read:
Her dolor and her doleful loss, and yet her joys at death:
Come, Virgins pure, to grave with me, quoth she with latest breath.
You Lordlings, all that present be this Tragedy to hear,
Note well what zeal and love herein doth well appear:
And, ladies, you that linked are in wedlock bands for ever,
Do imitate the life you see, whose fame will perish never.
But Virgins you, O Ladies fair, for honour of your name.
Do lead the life apparent here to win immortal fame.
Let not the blinded God of Love, as poets term him so,
Nor Venus with her venery, nor lechers, cause of woe,
Your Virgins’ name to spot or file: dear dames, observe the
life[153]
That fair Virginia did observe, who rather wish[ed] the knife
Of father’s hand her life to end, than spot her chastity:
As she did wail, wail you her want, you maids of courtesy.
If any by example here would shun that great annoy.
Our Author would rejoice in heart, and we would leap for joy.
Would gods that our endeavours may as well to please your ears,
As is our author’s meaning here, then were we void of fears.
But patiently we wish you bear with this our first attempt,
Which surely will to do our best, then yield us no contempt:
And as you please in patient wise our first for to receive,
Ere long a better shall you win, if God do grant us leave.

APPIUS AND VIRGINIA.

_Enter_ VIRGINIUS.

Before the time that fortune’s lot did show each fate his doom,
Or bird or beast, or fish or fowl, on earth had taken room,
The gods they did decree to frame, the thing is ended now,
The heavens and the planets eke, and moist from air to bow.
Then framed they the man from mould and clay, and gave him time to
reign,
As seemed best their sacred minds to run and turn again,
They framed also, after this, out of his tender side
A piece of much formosity with him for to abide.
From infancy to lusty youth, and so to reign awhile,
And well to live, till Œtas he unwares do him beguile.
Therewith to see these gifts of them on grounded cave to view,
And daintily to deck them up, which after they may rue.
Therefore I thank the gods above that yield to me such fate
To link to me so just a spouse, and eke so loving mate.
By her I have a virgin pure, an imp of heavenly race
Both sober, meek and modest too, and virtuous in like case:
To temple will I wend therefore to yield the gods their praise,
For that they have thus luckily annexed to my days.
But stay: behold the peerless sparks, whereof my tongue did talk,
Approach in presence of my sight: to church I deem they walk.
But stay I will, and shroud me secretly awhile
To see what wit or counsel grave proceedeth from their style.

_Here entereth_ MATER _and_ VIRGINIA.

The pert and pricking prime of youth ought chastisement to have,
But thou, dear daughter, needest not, thyself doth show thee grave:
To see how Phœbus with his beams hath youth so much infested,[154]
It doth me woe to see them crave the thing should be detested.[155]
I draw to grave and nought can leave of thee to be desired,
As much as duty to thy dear, as reason hath required:
My sovereign[156] lord and friendly pheer[157] Virginius, father
thine,
To nurse as doth become a child, when bones are buried mine.

VIRGINIA.[158] Refell your mind of mourning plaints, dear mother,
rest your mind,
For though that duty dainty were, dame nature will me bind
So much to do; and further force of Gods that rule the skies,
The Globe,[159] and eke the Element, they would me else despise.

MATER. Then if the gods have granted thee such grace to love thy
sire,
When time shall choose thee out a make, be constant, I require:
Love, live, and like him well, before you grant him grace or faith,
So shall your love continue long, experience thus he saith.

VIRGINIA. I grant, dear Dame, I do agree,
When time shall so provide;
But tender youth and infancy
Doth rather wish me bide.
What, should I lose Diana’s gift
And eke the spring to shun,
By which Acteon fatally
His final race did run?
Should I as abject be esteemed
Throughout Parnassus hill,
Or should my virgin’s name be filed,
It were too great a skill.
But yet it is unspotted, lo,
Right well I do conceive,
When wedlock doth require the same,
With parents’ love and leave:
Yet obstinate I will not be,
But willing will me yield,
When you command, and not before,
Then duty shall me shield.

VIRGINIUS. Ah gods, that rule and reign in heavens, in seas, in
floods, in lands,
Two couples such, I surely deem, you never made with hands.
Ah gods, why do ye not compel each dame the like to show,
And every imp of her again her duty thus to know?
I cannot stay my tongue from talk, I needs must call my dear.
O spouse, well-met, and daughter too, what news? how do you cheer?

MATER. O dear Virginius, joy to me, O peerless spouse and mate,
In health, I praise the gods, I am, and joyful for thy state.

VIRGINIUS. Virginia, my daughter dear,
How standeth all with thee?

VIRGINIA. Like happy state, as mother told.

VIRGINIUS. Like joyful sight to me.[160]
By the gods, wife, I joy me that have such a treasure,
Such [a] gem and such [a] jewel, surmounting all measure:
Such a happy spouse, such a fortunate dame,
That no blot or stain can impair her fame,
Against such an imp and graff of my tree,
As clear doth surmount all others that be.

MATER. Nay, rather, dear spouse, how much is my case,
To be now advanced by such happy grace,
Doth daily distil: my husband so loving,
Granting and giving to all thing behoving,
Joying in me and in the fruit of my womb:
Who would not requite it, the gods yield their doom,
And if it be I, the gods do destroy me,
Rather than sin so sore should annoy me.

VIRGINIUS. O wife, refell thy wishing for woe,
Myself thy fau’t right well do know:
And rather I wish myself to be slain
Than thou or thy daughter ought woe should sustain.

VIRGINIA. O father, my comfort, O mother, my joy,
O dear and O sovereign, do cease to employ
Such dolorous talking, where dangers are none:
Where joys are attendant, what needeth this moan?
You matron, you spouse, you nurse and you wife,
You comfort, you only the sum of his life:
You husband, you [sweet]heart, you joy, and you pleasure,
You king and you kaiser too, her[161] only treasure:
You father, you mother, my life doth sustain,
I your babe, I your bliss, I your health am again.[162]
Forbear then your dolor, let mirth be frequented,
Let sorrow depart, and not be attempted.

VIRGINIUS. O wife, O spouse, I am content.

MATER. O husband.

VIRGINIA. O father, we do consent.
[_Sing here._

_All sing this._

_The trustiest treasure in earth,[163] as we see,
Is man, wife, and children in one to agree;
Then friendly and kindly let measure be mixed
With reason in season, where friendship is fixed._

VIRGINIUS [_sings_].

_When nature nursed first of all, young Alexander learned,
Of whom the poets mention make, in judgment so discerned,
O, what did want, that love procured, his vital end well near?
This is the hope, where parents love their children, do not fear_,

_All sing this._

_The trustiest treasure in earth, as we see
Is man, wife, and children, &c._

MATER [_sings_].

_What[164] time King Nisus would not let his daughter to be taught,
Of any one correcting hand to virtue[165] to be brought,
She, void of duty, cut his locks and golden tresses clear,
Whereby his realm was overrun, and she was paid her hire._

_All sing this._

_The trustiest treasure in earth, as we see,
Is man, wife, and children, &c._

VIRGINIA [_sings_].

_When Dædalus from Crete did fly
With Icarus his joy.
He nought regarding father’s words,
Did seek his own annoy:
He mounted up into the skies,
Whereat the gods did frown.
And Phœbus sore his wings did fry,
And headlong flings him down._

_All sing this._

_The trustiest treasure in earth, as we see,
Is man, wife, and children, &c._

VIRGINIUS [_sings again_].

_Then sith that partiality doth partly discord move,
And hatred oftentimes doth creep, where overmuch we love;
And if we love no whit at all, the faming trump will sound,
Come, wife, come, spouse, come, daughter dear, let measure bear the
ground._

_All sing this._

_The trustiest treasure in earth, as we see,
Is man, wife, and children in one to agree;
Then friendly and kindly let measure be mixed
With reason in season, where friendship is fixed._
_Exeunt._[166]

_Here entereth_ HAPHAZARD _the Vice_.

Very well, Sir, very well, Sir; it shall be done,
As fast as ever I can prepare:
Who dips[167] with the devil, he had need have a long spoon,
Or else full small will be his fare.
Yet a proper gentleman I am, of truth:
Yea, that may ye see by my long side-gown:
Yea, but what am I? a scholar, or a schoolmaster, or else some youth.
A lawyer, a student, or else a country clown:
A broom-man, a basket-maker, or a baker of pies,
A flesh or a fishmonger, or a sower of lies?
A louse or a louser, a leek or a lark,
A dreamer, a drumble,[168] a fire or a spark?
A caitiff, a cutthroat, a creeper in corners,
A hairbrain, a hangman, or a grafter of horners?
By the gods, I know not how best to devise,
My name or my property well to disguise.
A merchant, a May-pole, a man or a mackerel,
A crab or a crevis, a crane or a cockerel?
Most of all these my nature doth enjoy;
Sometime I advance them, sometime I destroy.
A maid or a mussel-boat, a wife or a wild duck?
As bold as blind bayard, as wise as a wood-cock.
As fine as fi’pence, as proud as a peacock,
As stout as a stockfish, as meek as a meacock.
As big as a beggar, as fat as a fool,
As true as a tinker, as rich as an owl:
With hey-trick, how troll, trey-trip and trey-trace,
Troll-hazard with a vengeance, I beshrew his knave’s face;
For tro and troll-hazard keep such a range,
That poor Haphazard was never so strange:
But yet, Haphazard, be of good cheer,
Go play and repast thee, man, be merry to-yere.[169]
Though victual be dainty and hard for to get,
Yet perhaps a number will die of the sweat:[170]
Though it be in hazard, yet happily I may,
Though money be lacking, yet one day go gay.

_Enter_ MANSIPULUS.

When, Maud, with a pestilence! what, mak’st thou no haste?
Of barberry[171] incense belike thou wouldest taste!
By the gods, I have stayed a full great while:
My lord he is near at hand by this at the church-stile,
And all for Maud mumble-turd, that mangpodding madge,
By the gods, if she hie not, I’ll give her my badge.

[_Enter_ MANSIPULA.]

MANSIPULA. What, drake-nosed drivel, begin you to flont?
I’ll fry you in a faggot-stick, by Cock, goodman lout.
You boaster, you bragger, you brawling knave,
I’ll pay thee thy forty-pence, thou brawling slave
My lady’s great business belike is at end,
When you, goodman dawcock, lust for to wend.
You cod’s-head, you crack-rope, you chattering pie,
Have with ye, have at ye, your manhood to try.
[_Beat and hustle him._]

HAPHAZARD. What! hold your hands, masters. What! fie for shame, fie!
What culling, what lulling, what stir have we here?
What tugging, what lugging, what pugging by the ear.
What, part and be friends, and end all this strife.

MANSIPULUS. Nay, rather I wish her the end of my knife.

MANSIPULA. Draw it, give me it, I will it receive,
So that for to place it I might have good leave:
By the gods, but for losing my land, life and living,
It should be so placed he should have ill-thriving.

MANSIPULUS. By the gods, how ungraciously the vixen she chatteth.

MANSIPULA. And he even as knavishly my answer he patteth.

HAPHAZARD. Here is nought else but railing of words out of reason,
Now tugging, now tattling, now muzzling in season.
For shame! be contented, and leave off this brawling.

MANSIPULUS. Content, for I shall repent it for this my
tongue-wralling.