K. Henry. Are these things then neceffities? And that fame word even now cries out on us : War. It cannot be : Rumour doth double, like the voice and echo, To comfort you the more, I have receiv'd K. Henry. I will take your counsel : And were these inward wars once out of hand, [Exeunt. Changes to fuftice Shallow's Seat in Enter Shallow and Silence, Juftices; with Mouldy, Shal. C COME on, come on, come on; give me your hand, Sir; an early stirrer, 7 by the rood. And how doth my good coufin Silence? Sil. Good morrow, good coufin Shallow. Shal. And how doth my coufin, your bed-fellow? and your fairest daughter, and mine, my god-daughter Ellen? 7 By the rood. i. . the cross. Mr. Pope. Sil. Sil. Alas, a black ouzel, cousin Shallow. Shal. By yea, and nay, Sir, I dare say, my cousin William is become a good fcholar: he is at Oxford ftill, is he not? Sil. Indeed, Sir, to my coft. Shal. He must then to the Inns of Court fhortly: I was once of Clement's-Inn; where, I think, they will talk of mad Shallow yet. Sil. You were call'd lufty Shallow then, cousin. Shal. I was call'd any thing, and I would have done any thing, indeed, too, and roundly too. There was I, and little John Doit of Staffordshire, and black George Bare, and Francis Pickbone, and Will Squele a Cot'swold man, you had not four fuch fwinge-bucklers in all the Inns of Court again: and I may fay to you, we knew where the Bona-Roba's were, and had the best of them all at commandment. Then was Jack Falstaff, (now Sir John) a boy, and page to Thomas Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk. Sil. This Sir John, coufin, that comes hither anon about Soldiers? Shal. The fame Sir John, the very fame: I faw him break Schoggan's head at the Court-gate, when he was a crack, not thus high; and the very fame day I did fight with one Sampfon Stockfish, a fruiterer, behind Grays-Inn. O the mad days that I have spent! and to see how many of mine old acquaintance are dead? Sil. We fhall all follow, coufin. Shal. Certain, 'tis certain, very fure, very fure: Death (as the Pfalmift faith) is certain to all, all shall die. How a good yoke of Bullocks at Stamford Fair? Sil. Truly, coufin, I was not there. Shal. Death is certain. Is old Double of your town living yet? Sil. Dead, Sir. Shal. Dead! fee, fee, he drew a good bow: and dead? he fhot a fine fhoot. John of Gaunt loved him well, 8 well, and betted much mony on his head. Dead! he would have clapt in the clowt at twelve fcore, and carried you a fore-hand fhaft a fourteen and fourteen and a half, that it would have done a man's heart good to fee.-- How a fcore of ewes now? Sil. Thereafter as they be: a fcore of good ewes may be worth ten pounds. Shal. And is old Double dead? S C E N E IV. Enter Bardolph, and Page. Sil. Here come two of Sir John Falstaff's men, as I think. Shal. Good morrow, honeft gentlemen. Bard. I befeech you, which is Juftice Shallow ? Shal. I am Robert Shallow, Sir, a poor Efquire of this Country, one of the King's Juftices of the peace : what is your good pleasure with me? Bard. My captain, Sir, commends him to you: my captain Sir John Falstaff; a tall gentleman, by heav'n! and a moft gallant leader. Shal. He greets me well: Sir, I knew him a good back-fword man. How doth the good Knight? may I ask, how my lady his wife doth? Bard. Sir, pardon, a foldier is better accommodated than with a wife. Shal. It is well faid, Sir; and it is well faid, indeed, too: better accommodated-it is good, yea, indeed, is it; good phrases, furely, are, and ever were, very commendable. Accommodated it comes of accommodo; very good, a good phrase. 8 Clapt in the clout] i. e. hit the white mark. Bard. 9 Very good, a good phrafe.] Accommodate was a modish term of that time, as Ben Johnson informs us: You are not to caft or wring for the perfumed terms of the time, as accommodation, complement, fpirit, &c. but use them properly in their places as VOL. IV. S others. Bard. "Pardon me, Sir, I have heard the word. "Phrafe, call you it? by this day, I know not the "phrafe: but I will maintain the word with my fword, "to be a foldier-like word, and a word of exceeding "good command. Accommodated, that is, when a "man is, as they fay, accommodated; or, when a "man is, being whereby he may be thought to be "accommodated, which is an excellent thing. Shal. It is very juft: look, here comes good Sir John. Give me your good hand: give me your Worfhip's good hand: trust me, you look well, and bear your years very well. Welcome, good Sir John. Fal. I am glad to fee you well, good mafter Robert Shallow Mafter Sure-card, as I think,Shal. No, Sir John, it is my coufin Silence; in Commiffion with me. Fal. Good mafter Silence, it well befits, you should be of the peace. Sil. Your good Worship is welcome. Fal. Fie, this is hot weather, gentlemen; have you provided me here half a dozen of fufficient men? Skal. Marry, have we, Sir: will you fit? Fal. Let me fee them, I beseech you. Shal. Where's the roll? where's the roll? where's the roll? let me fee, let me fee, let me fee: fo, fo, fo, fo: yea, marry, Sir. Ralph Mouldy: let them appear as I call: let them do fo, let them do fo. Let me fee, where is Mouldy? others. Discoveries. Hence Bardolph calls it a word of exceeding good command. His definition of it is admirable, and highly fatirical: nothing being more common than for inaccurate speakers or writers, when they fhould define, to put their hearers off with a fynonimous term; or, for want of that, even with the fame term differently accommodated; as in the inftance before us. Moul Moul. Here, if it please you. Shal. What think you, Sir John? a good limb'd fellow: young, strong, and of good friends. Fal. Is thy name Mouldy? Moul. Yea, if it please you. Fal. 'Tis the more time thou wert us'd. Shal. Ha, ha, ha, most excellent, i'faith. Things, that are mouldy, lack ufe: very fingular good. Well faid, Sir John, very well faid. Fal. Prick him. Moul. I was prickt well enough before, if you could have let me alone: my old dame will be undone now for one to do her husbandry, and her drudgery; you need not to have prickt me, there are other men fitter to go out than I. Fal. Go to: peace, Mouldy, you fhall go. Mouldy, it is time you were spent. Moul. Spent? Shal. Peace, fellow, peace: ftand aside: know you where you are? for the other, Sir John.-Let me fee: Simon Shadow. Fal. Ay, marry, let me have him to fit under: he's like to be a cold foldier. Shal. Where's Shadow? Fal. Shadow, whofe fon art thou? Fal. Thy mother's fon! like enough; and thy father's fhadow: fo the fon of the female is the fhadow of the male: it is often fo, indeed, but not of the father's fubftance. Shal. Do you like him, Sir John? Fal. Shadow will ferve for fummer; prick him; for we have a number of fhadows do fill up the mufterbook. Shal. Thomas Wart. Fal. Where's he? S 2 Wart. |