Chapter XXXV: Appendix

THE JOLLY PINDER OF WAKEFIELD WITH ROBIN HOOD, SCARLET AND JOHN.

In Wakefield there lives a jolly pindèr,
in Wakefield all on a green,
in Wakefield all on a green;

There is neither knight nor squire, said the pindèr,
nor baron that is so bold,
nor baron that is so bold;

Dare make a trespàss to the town of Wakefield,
but his pledge goes to the pinfold, &c.

All this be heard three witty young men,
'twas Robin Hood, Scarlet and John, &c.

With that they espy'd the jolly pindèr,
as he sat under a thorn, &c.

Now turn again, turn again, said the pindèr,
for a wrong way you have gone, &c.

For you have forsaken the king's high-way,
and made a path over the corn, &c.

O that were great shame, said jolly Robin,
we being three, and thou but one, &c.

The pinder leapt back then thirty good foot,
'twas thirty good foot and one, &c.

He leaned his back fast unto a thorn,
and his foot against a stone, &c.

And there they fought a long summer's day,
a summer's day so long, &c.

Till that their swords on their broad bucklèrs,
were broke fast into their hands, &c.

Hold thy hand, hold thy hand, said bold Robin Hood,
and my merry men everyone, &c.

For this is one of the best pindèrs,
that ever I tryed with sword, &c.

And wilt thou forsake thy pinder's craft,
and live in the green-wood with me? &c.

At Michaelmas next my cov'nant comes out,
when every man gathers his fee, &c.

I'll take my blew blade all in my hand
And plod to the green-wood with thee, &c.

Hast thou either meat or drink? said Robin Hood,
for my merry men and me, &c.

I have both bread and beef, said the pindèr,
and good ale of the best, &c.

And that is meat good enough, said Robin Hood,
for such unbidden guest, &c.

O wilt thou forsake the pinder his craft,
and go to the green-wood with me? &c.

Thou shalt have a livery twice in the year,
the one green, the other brown, &c.

If Michaelmas day was come and gone,
and my master had paid me my fee,
and my master had paid me my fee,

Then would I set as little by him,
as my master doth by me,
as my master doth by me.

NOTES

[1] In his _Elizabethan Drama_, ii. 376.

[2] As does Ingram in his _Christopher Marlowe and his Associates._

[3] Nash repeatedly bears witness to Greene's popularity. "In a night and a day would he have yarkt up a pamphlet as well as in seven year, and glad was that printer that might be so blest to pay him dear for the very dregs of his wit" (_Strange News_). Harvey condemns him for "putting forth new, newer, and newest books of the maker" (_Four Letters_). Greene remained popular long after his death. In Sir Thomas Overbury's "Character" of _A Chambermaid_, he tells us "She reads Greene's works over and over"; and Anthony Wood informs us that since Greene's time his works "have been mostly sold on ballad-mongers' stalls." In the introduction to Rowland's _'Tis Merrie when Gossips meete_ (1602), (_Hunterian Club Publications_, vol. i.) there is a dialogue indicating that Greene's works are still in demand. Ben Jonson in _Every Man out of his Humour_ (1599) alludes to Greene's works, whence one "may steal with more security," referring undoubtedly, as does Rowland, to the great mass of Greene's published work.

[4] Upon which Nash comments: "Let other men (as they please) praise the mountain that in seven years brings forth a mouse, or the Italianate pen, that of a packet of pilfries, affordeth the press a pamphlet or two in an age, and then in dignified array, vaunts Ovid's and Plutarch's plumes as their own; but give me the man, whose extemporal vein in any humour, will excel our greatest art master's deliberate thoughts; whose invention quicker than his eye, will challenge the proudest rhetorician, to the contention of like perfection, with like expedition."--(Prefatory Address to Greene's _Menaphon_.)

[5] "But I thank God that he put it in my head, to lay open the most horrible cosenages of the common Conny-catchers, Coseners, and Cross-biters, which I have indifferently handled in those my several discourses already imprinted. And my trust is that these discourses will do great good, and be very beneficial to the commonwealth of England."--_The Repentance of Robert Greene._

[6] It is regretfully that one recognises that Collins does not belong at the head of this list. The surprising defects of the long-awaited definitive edition of Greene must now speak for themselves; its manifest excellences are well able to do so.

[7] Writing in _Notes and Queries_, 1905.

[8] _Menaphon_ was probably written a year or so earlier, but Nash's address was probably dated from the year of publication.

[9] If we are to believe that _Edward III._ is Marlowe's play the reference of this passage to Marlowe is made certain, for Greene ridicules the words 'Ave Cæsar' that occur in the play. The only other play in which the words are known to occur is _Orlando Furioso_ by Greene himself. It would be too much to say that their use there is in ridicule of Marlowe, though even that is possible.

[10] It may be, though it is not certain, that Greene was attacking Marlowe in the epistle prefixed to his _Farewell to Folly_ (1591), in which he tells the gentleman students that his _Mourning Garment_ had been so popular that the pedlar found the books "too dear for his pack, that he was fain to bargain for the life of Tomliuclin to wrap up his sweet powders in those unsavoury papers." If "Tomliuclin" is a misprint for Tamburlaine this is Greene's most direct and spiteful attack on Marlowe.

[11] Gayley, _Representative English Comedies_, p. 410.

[12] _Orlando Furioso_, ii. 76-79; _Old Wives' Tale_, ii. 808-811.

[13] See Storojenko, Huth Library, vol. I., p. 235, and Gayley, _Representative English Comedies_, p. 412.

[14] Greene's satirical use in _Never too Late_ of the words "Ave Cæsar," which occur in _Edward III._, Act i. Sc. I, and his connecting of them with a cobbler, seem to constitute Fleay's case. The matter has already been mentioned in connection with Greene's jealousy of Marlowe. The latest editor of _Edward III._, C. F. Tucker Brooke, in _The Shakespeare Apocrypha_, ignores the supposition that the play may be by Marlowe and dismisses the theory that it was by two hands. He puts forward the claims of Peele, not, however, with great weight.

[15] And for another expression of the same idea see _Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay,_ p. 264.

[16] The refrain, "O, what is love! it is some mighty power," occurs with almost a lyric note in _George-a-Greene._

[17] _The Old Dramatists--Greene and Peele_, p. 603.

[18] For comment on this _see_ p. lviii.

[19] Though we accept the theory of the early composition of _A Looking-Glass_ we fail to follow the arguments of Fleay and Gayley, derived from the introduction of _Perimedes_ (licensed 29th March 1588), that in "the mad priest of the sun," mentioned in connection with Atheist Tamburlaine, Greene can have any reference to the priests of Rasni in Act iv. Scene 3. Certainly Greene could not have held up such tame heroics for comparison with Marlowe's vigorous declamation. Careful scrutiny fails to show that Greene was mentioning a work of his own. The mad priests of the sun would seem rather to be other products of the pen of Marlowe, or to be the work of some other dramatist, possibly Kyd, whom, with Marlowe, Greene was attacking. (_See_ Koeppel in Herrig's _Archiv_, 102, p. 357.)

[20] Particularly the parts of Adam, Smith, and Alcon. It is hard to suppose that Spenser in his line, "pleasing Alcon," in the _Tears of the Muses_ (1591), could have been referring to Lodge.

[21] As to date of the play we can say only that if Greene's it must be the last one of his extant workmanship. It would not be safe to draw conclusions from the mention of _George-a-Greene_ in Tarlton's _News out of Purgatory_, as Tarlton was probably alluding to the source of the narrative used by Greene. Nor does the mention of "martial Tamburlaine" in the first scene help further than to indicate that the play was written after 1587.

[22] This name was, however, quite common in this sense, Peele himself using it in his _Farewell_ and in _Polyhymnia_.

[23] The reference is to the edition in _The Shakespeare Apocrypha_.

[24] Compare this with a line in _James IV._ (Act ii. Sc. I). "Better, than live unchaste, to lie in grave."

[25] _See_ Gayley, _Representative English Comedies_, p. 422. Opinion to-day seems strongly to favour the theory that it was Nash to whom Greene referred in the famous passage in _A Groatsworth of Wit_, and not Lodge. Considerations of age, of personal association, of the comparative gifts of satire of Nash and Lodge strengthen this view. Nash helped Marlowe in the composition of a tragedy; why not Greene in the composition of a comedy?

[26] disdain: often used.

[27] Such repetition is common, see pp. 37, 188, 190.

[28] Use.

[29] Often used for "where," as "whenas" is used for "when."

[30] Boast.

[31] A false quantity.

[32] Another false quantity.

[33] Attained the position of.

[34] Simple, rude.

[35] Lest; often so used.

[36] Here and on p. 59 used in the sense of "neglect" or "refrain from."

[37] Care.

[38] It should be remembered that the scene divisions are not made by Greene.

[39] In Elizabethan writers this term is used in both genders to express general relationship. Here it means cousin.

[40] Strive, contend.

[41] Upbraid.

[42] Same as "vile."

[43] Resent.

[44] In the use of the descending throne, trap-door, property tomb, balcony and curtain, as well as in plastic use of scenes (pp. 42 and 248) Greene illustrates the best practice of his time.

[45] Advise.

[46] Here clearly a change of scene is supposed. Between the two scenes the Quarto has only this stage direction to Fausta: "Make as though you were a-going out, _Medea_ meet her and say." As some time is supposed to elapse between the two scenes they are here differentiated. Such is not the case in _George-a-Greene_ (p. 439) in which the action goes right on in two settings.

[47] Prepared.

[48] Among Elizabethan playwrights the use of the names of English institutions, prisons, cathedrals and inns, in foreign scene-settings, is quite common.

[49] Evidently a reminiscence of I Kings xviii. 27.

[50] Sex.

[51] A false quantity.

[52] Dyce's query "loadstar" is adopted instead of "load-stone" of the quarto.

[53] Over-scrupulous.

[54] Exult, strut.

[55] From this line we are made to conclude that Greene intended to write a second part of _Alphonsus of Arragon._

[56] Lover.

[57] Beat back.

[58] Degree.

[59] Beauty.

[60] Because.

[61] Dyce's suggestion is accepted instead of "either" of the quartos.

[62] Pearls.

[63] Foolish.

[64] In rearranging a corrupt text Dyce made "Clown" and "Adam" two distinct persons. It is clear from the first sentence in Act iv., Scene 4, that they are identical. Clown's first three speeches are given in the first four quartos to Smith, meaning Adam, the Smith's man. It should be noticed that First Ruffian calls Adam "smith," and "this paltry smith."

[65] The same pun occurs in _Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay_, Act IV., Scene I.

[66] Requite.

[67] Farcy.

[68] The Quartos designate the two latter as "_A young Gentleman and a poor Man_."

[69] Merchandise which the borrower took in lieu of part of the sum to be secured from the usurer.

[70] Counterpart, duplicate.

[71] Until.

[72] Grave, sober.

[73] Remilia and Alvida are assuming parts.

[74] A proverbial expression. Compare Shakespeare's Richard III., Act III. sc. 7: "Play the maid's part,--still answer nay, and take it."

[75] Through a trap in the stage.

[76] Destroyed.

[77] A form of endearment, equivalent to "pet."

[78] The Quarto reads, "Mark but the Prophets, we that shortly shows," etc. J. C. Smith suggests "Prophet's woe"; J. C. Collins, "Prophet, he," etc.

[79] An old form of "mess."

[80] "The term no doubt has reference to the sumptuary enactments regulating the breadth of the lace which was allowed to be worn."--COLLINS.

[81] Mock-velvet.

[82] Quarrelling, squabbling.

[83] Business.

[84] I bet my cap to a noble (a gold coin).

[85] Strong ale that makes men swagger and bluster.

[86] Sendal, "a kinde of Cypres stuffe or silke."--_Minsheu, Guide into the Tongues_, 1617. Sussapine is supposed by Collins to be a corruption of "gossampine," meaning a cotton cloth.

[87] Attending to.

[88] Toil.

[89] Intend.

[90] Prepared.

[91] Pieces of silver money.

[92] The quartos are unintelligible. This is the conjectural reading of Mr J. C. Smith, given in Collins' edition.

[93] Compassion.

[94] Rustic dialect for "I trow I taught."

[95] The quartos have "_Enters_ RADAGON _solus_."

[96] Straits.

[97] Drab.

[98] Printed "Satropos," but the word is a title and not a proper name.

[99] A faggot in a hostelry, which is kept alight by the guests.

[100] "Bird" is the young of an animal. Adam is talking euphuistical nonsense.

[101] A leathern bag or bottle for wine.

[102] _White_ is an epithet of endearment.

[103] A lease by word of mouth.

[104] "Drabler, an additional piece of canvas, laced to the bottom of the bonnet of a sail, to give it greater depth."--(N. E. D.)

[105] Bisa; the north wind.

[106] Cotton-cloth, or bumbast.

[107] Press, similar to "mease" for "mess," p. 102.

[108] Ready.

[109] Companion, therefore--equal.

[110] Axis.

[111] Confound, therefore to destroy.

[112] Adyt; the innermost sanctuary of a temple.

[113] "The ale" here means the ale-house, as it does in Shakespeare's _Two Gentlemen of Verona_ (II. 5).

[114] A famous comic trick in the early plays. Adam is a late figure of the Vice type. Compare _Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay_ (V. 2) in which Miles is carried off on a Devil's back.

[115] Bold, brave.

[116] An instrument used by pick-pockets in cutting purses.

[117] To shave or cut, therefore to pillage, plunder.

[118] To draw, to pour; here used in the sense of "to fill."

[119] Let all the standing-bowls go round.

[120] This is the emendation by J. C. Smith, given in Collins' edition, of the unintelligible "Lamana" of the quartos.

[121] A reminiscence of Kyd's _Spanish Tragedy_ (Scene XII), in which Hieronimo enters with a poniard and a rope.

[122] Decoys.

[123] Know not.

[124] A very faithful paraphrase of chapter 4 of the book of _Jonah_.

[125] Wide breeches, here breeches pockets.

[126] The head of a red-herring. The term may have become synonymous with the fish itself. Adam's meaning cannot be said to be very clear.

[127] I could endure.

[128] A fine white bread.

[129] Breeches.

[130] The quartos give "Lepher," which is unintelligible. This reading is Dyce's conjecture. It is of little moment that these places are not plains but mountains.

[131] Own.

[132] The title in the quartos was "The History of Orlando Furioso, one of the Twelve Peers of France."

[133] Judgment.

[134] "To man" is a term in falconry, and means to accustom to man, to make tractable.

[135] Cuirasses.

[136] A false quantity.

[137] Dominion.

[138] Here as elsewhere improperly used as the name of a place.

[139] These four lines occur nearly verbatim towards the end of Peele's _Old Wives' Tale_, ll. 885-8.

[140] Pearls.

[141] Cliffs.

[142] Same as French _rebattre_, beat back.

[143] An allusion to the recent repulse of the Spanish Armada.

[144] Blasts.

[145] Giglot, a wanton woman.

[146] Thraso and Gnatho were well-known characters in the _Eunuchus_ of Terence, and references to them are very common in the works of Elizabethan writers.

[147] Hurled, dashed to pieces.

[148] In his _Francesco's Fortunes_ Greene satirizes "Ave Cæsar" as it occurs in _Edward III._, presumably by Marlowe.

[149] Love.

[150] Confounded, dismayed.

[151] At this point the Alleyn manuscript begins.

[152] The first four of these lines are, with the exception of the last half of the first line, from the 117th stanza of the twenty-seventh Canto of Ariosto's _Orlando Furioso_; the other four are from the 121st stanza of the same Canto.

[153] A corrupt passage is here supplemented by words from the Alleyn manuscript.

[154] A streamer attached to a lance.

[155] See _Odyssey_ X. 302, and following. A stock reference in Euphuism.

[156] A phrase signifying excess; probably "understanding" should be supplied.

[157] Mad.

[158] Another false quantity.

[159] The designation in the quartos is "the Clown."

[160] Makes Canopus look dark.

[161] Fiddler is undoubtedly played by Tom, the clown who had before played Angelica. See the next speech.

[162] Apprehend, take in.

[163] Signifying that the actor could extemporise as he chose. _Ad lib., ad libitum_ would now be the direction.

[164] The Muses.

[165] A corrupt passage is here supplemented by four lines from the Alleyn manuscript.

[166] An interesting reminder of the exigencies of Elizabethan stage technique. The scenes represent different localities, but as Sacripant dies at the end of a scene, his body remains on the stage until removed by the best means possible.

[167] Silly-minded.

[168] Amiss, fault.

[169] In spite of, notwithstanding.

[170] Orlando is adapting his language to his disguise.

[171] Splendid.

[172] "A kinde of Cipres stuffe or silke." Minsheu, _Guide into the Tongues,_ 1617.

[173] Outstripped.

[174] Hunting-dogs.

[175] A coarse woolen cloth.

[176] For _alamort_: dejected.

[177] Pearls.

[178] Cliffs.

[179] Rarer.

[180] Made that woman blush. That, etc.

[181] Pocket.

[182] Pass by, outstrip.

[183] Be you assured.

[184] The magical five-rayed star used as a defence against demons.

[185] Care not for.

[186] Guests.

[187] Confounded.

[188] In Bacon's day Brasenose College was not in existence.

[189] Bargain.

[190] Edward could not have fought before Damascus.

[191] Swaggering.

[192] Equivalent to "'swounds," "God's wounds."

[193] Tied by love.

[194] A glass which reflects magically distant or future events and scenes.

[195] Leathern wine-jugs.

[196] "After Bacon and Edward had walked a few paces about (or perhaps towards the back of) the stage, the audience were to suppose that the scene was changed to the interior of Bacon's cell."--DYCE.

[197] "Perhaps the curtain which concealed the upper stage ... was withdrawn, discovering Margaret and Bungay standing there, and when the representation in the glass was supposed to be over, the curtain was drawn back again."--DYCE.

[198] An allusion to the proverb, "Early up and never the nearer."

[199] Breviary, portable prayer-book.

[200] Bullies.

[201] Skeltonical verse.

[202] A term of endearment.

[203] Loose shoes.

[204] The allusion is to Alexander Barclay's English version (1509) of Sebastian Brant's _Narrenschiff_.

[205] "An expression borrowed from the author whose style is here imitated--

"_Construas hoc,_
_Domine_ Dawcocke!
'Ware the Hauke, Skelton."--DYCE.

[206] A prison in the old north gate of Oxford, so named after one of the moods of the third syllogistic figure.

[207] A dance resembling the waltz or polka.

[208] Overturned; literal transference from the Latin.

[209] Nourishing to cattle, productive.

[210] Laden.

[211] Trismegistus.

[212] Porphyry.

[213] An atom compared with.

[214] Possibly the reference is to Lutetia (Paris) rather than Utrecht, which was not yet a university town.

[215] Love-kindling looks.

[216] "The salt-cellar, generally a very large and massive one, stood in the middle of the table; guests of superior rank always sat above it towards the upper part of the table, those of inferior rank below it towards the bottom."--COLLINS.

[217] Spices.

[218] Dried plums.

[219] Sugar plums.

[220] Protuberant.

[221] Cliffs.

[222] The stage direction is, "_Enter Friar Bacon drawing the curtains, with a white stick, a book in his hand,_" etc.

[223] Greene uses the same pun in _A Looking Glass_, Act I. scene 2.

[224] A watchman's pike or halbert.

[225] Miles' blundering reminiscences of "Cunctator."

[226] Miles is here punning on "coursed."

[227] Beyond all measure.

[228] These are discovered in the upper stage just as Margaret and Friar Bungay were discovered in Act. II. scene 3.

[229] Venture.

[230] A bout.

[231] Dyce suggests that Greene here meant "scholars." Gayley suggests that Bacon may have taken the glass.

[232] Britons.

[233] _Mutton_ is a cant term for a prostitute.

[234] _Welt_ and _guard_ are synonymous: without facing or ornament, as these are against the statute.

[235] A pack.

[236] "The 'curtana' or 'pointless sword' of mercy; the 'pointed sword' of justice; the 'golden rod' of equity."--GAYLEY.

[237] Here begins a compliment to Queen Elizabeth.

[238] The complete title of the 1598 edition was, "The Scottish History of James the Fourth, Slain at Flodden. Intermixed with a pleasant comedy, presented by Oberon King of Fairies."

[239] "A technical term for the burlesque dance of an anti-masque, and there being several performers takes a plural verb."--W. W. Greg, _Modern Language Review_, I., p. 248.

[240] Collins defines this, after Skeat, as a stableman, a stable-cleaner.

[241] My quiet.

[242] I'll make.

[243] Erewhile. Greene's Scottish dialect is not very accurate.

[244] Advise.

[245] Contradict.

[246] Sword, dagger.

[247] Never the nearer: a favourite phrase with old writers.

[248] Some words are wanting here.

[249] Hold you your chattering.

[250] Decoys.

[251] Hold back.

[252] "To" is here used in the sense of "compared with."

[253] Tablets, memorandum books.

[254] My soul.

[255] Dwelt.

[256] Greene probably intended a Scotch dialect form of "lovely."

[257] The player was expected to extemporise until off the stage.

[258] The scene between Bohan and Oberon may properly be entitled "Chorus," as such scenes appear at the end of each act with the exception of the fifth. The relationship of the three dumb shows with the play as a whole and with each other has not been explained. In many places the text is hopelessly corrupt.

[259] The entire passage is so corrupt as to be unintelligible.

[260] Manly's readjustment of a corrupt passage, based upon a suggestion by Kittredge, has been accepted.

[261] The song is not inserted. It was not necessarily composed by the author of the play.

[262] Frown.

[263] Words that describe you.

[264] Cozener's terms.

[265] Prepared, ready.

[266] What then?

[267] Gnatho is the parasite in the _Eunuchus_ of Terence. Here and elsewhere in this play the name refers specifically to Ateukin.

[268] Printed "Gnatho."

[269] Silent.

[270] The text of this Chorus is very corrupt.

[271] A piece of money worth from 6_s._ to 10_s._ Puns upon the several meanings of the word were frequent.

[272] Strike, beat.

[273] ϕιλαυτία, self-love, Collier's emendation of a meaningless passage in the quartos.

[274] The word "gentlemen" is addressed to the audience.

[275] An Irish coin below the value of the earliest shilling, so called from having a harp on it.

[276] Babbler, chatterer.

[277] Strut.

[278] This lyrical passage was undoubtedly sung.

[279] See _Æneid_ XII., 411; a favourite allusion of the Euphuists.

[280] Again addressed to the audience.

[281] A church seat for loungers, the original in Carfax Church, Oxford. To sit on Pennyless Bench indicated extreme poverty.

[282] Kittredge's emendation. For the unintelligible "lakus" of the quarto one would accept Collier's conjecture "Jack-ass," were it not for the fact, enunciated by Collins (after N. E. D.), that this word was unknown before the eighteenth century.

[283] Collier's emendation for "a rapier and dagger," it being clear that Slipper has miscalled the weapons.

[284] So also in the quarto, line 5, scene v. of this act, French "oui" is spelled "wee."

[285] Shrew.

[286] Love.

[287] The sword of Sir Bevis of Southampton; the common synonym for a sword.

[288] Manly's suggested emendation of the meaningless "His grave, I see, is made," of the quarto.

[289] Revive, resuscitate him.

[290] Waiting for.

[291] "To the speeches of the King of England throughout this scene is prefixed _Arius_. Collier remarks, _History of English Dramatic Poetry_, iii. 161, 'It is a singular circumstance that the King of England is called _Arius_, as if Greene at the time he wrote had some scruple in naming Henry VIII. on account of the danger of giving offence to the Queen and Court.'"--COLLINS.

[292] Pillage, plunder.

[293] Tried, skilled.

[294] Then.

[295] From this point the scene is confused.

[296] Grimaces.

[297] Truest love of all.

[298] By dramatic convention this speech should belong to the King of Scots.

[299] One who impounds stray cattle.

[300] Lower.

[301] Inroad.

[302] In ballad style, though not found in the ballad "The Jolly Pinder of Wakefield."

[303] Affections.

[304] For "enjoin."

[305] A woman who sells "souce" or brine for pickling.

[306] "Allusions to velvet as being costly, fine, and luxurious are very common in the Elizabethan writers."--COLLINS.

[307] Pay the penalty for.

[308] Lose.

[309] Here the scene may be supposed to have changed, although George has not left the stage. In the quarto the scene runs on without break.

[310] Through a door at the back of the stage.

[311] Love.

[312] Colour, complexion.

[313] The stage direction in the quarto is: Enter a Shoemaker sitting upon the stage at work: Jenkin to him.

[314] Beggar.

[315] Bold, brave.

[316] See the ballad printed in the Appendix.

[317] Dear.

[318] Derived first from the language of the chase, this phrase probably came to mean "dogs of all kinds."

[319] Confound.