Fal. Hang him, mechanical salt-butter rogue! I will stare him out of his wits; I will awe him with my cudgel: it shall hang like a meteor o'er the cuckold's horns: master Brook, thou shalt know, I will predominate o'er the peasant, and thou shalt lie with his wife. Come to me soon at night: - - Ford's a knave, and I will aggravate his stile; thou, master Brook, shalt know him for knave and cuckold: - come to me soon at night.

[Exit. Ford. What a damned epicurean rascal is this! — My heart is ready to crack with impatience. Who says, this is improvident jealousy? My wife hath sent to him, the hour is fixed, the match is made. Would any man have thought this? - See the hell of having a false woman! my bed shall be abused, my coffers ransacked, my reputation gnawn at; and I shall not only receive this villainous wrong, but stand under the adoption of abominable terms, and by him that does me this wrong. Terms! names! Amaimon sounds well; Lucifer, well; Barbason', well; yet they are devils' additions, the names of fiends: but cuckold! wittolcuckold the devil himself hath not such a name. Page is an ass, a secure ass; he will trust his wife, he will not be jealous; I will rather trust a Fleming with my butter, parson Hugh the Welchman with my cheese, an Irishman with my aqua-vitæ bottle, or a thief to walk my ambling gelding, than my wife with herself: then she plots, then she ruminates, then she devises: and what they think in their hearts they may effect, they will break their hearts but they will effect. Heaven be

6- and I will aggravate his stile;] Add more titles to those he already enjoys.

7 · Amaimon— Barbason,] The reader who is curious to know any particulars concerning these dæmons, may find them in Reginald Scott's Inventarie of the Names, Shapes, Powers, Governments, and Effects of Devils and Spirits, of their several Segnories and Degrees.

8 wittol-cuckold!] One who knows his wife's falsehood, and is contented with it: - from witțan, Sax. to know.

praised for my jealousy! - Eleven o'clock the hour; I will prevent this, detect my wife, be revenged on Falstaff, and laugh at Page. I will about it; better three hours too soon, than a minute too late. Fie, fie, fie! cuckold! cuckold! cuckold!

[Exit.

SCENE III.

Windsor Park.

Enter CAIUS and RUGBY.

Caius. Jack Rugby!

Rug. Sir.

Caius. Vat is de clock, Jack?

Rug. 'Tis past the hour, sir, that sir Hugh promised

to meet.

Caius. By gar, he has save his soul, dat he is no come; he has pray his Pible vell, dat he is no come: by gar, Jack Rugby, he is dead already, if he be come.

Rug. He is wise, sir: he knew, your worship would kill him, if he came.

Caius. By gar, de herring is no dead, so as I vill kill him. Take your rapier, Jack; I vill tell you how I vill kill him.

Rug. Alas, sir, I cannot fence.

Caius. Villainy, take your rapier.

Rug. Forbear; here's company.

Enter Host, SHALLOW, SLENDER, and PAGE.

Host. 'Bless thee, bully doctor.

Shal. Save you, master doctor Caius.

Page. Now, good master doctor!

Slen. Give you good-morrow, sir.

Caius. Vat be all you, one, two, tree, four, come

for?

Host. To see thee fight, to see thee foin 9, to see thee traverse, to see thee here, to see thee there; to see thee pass thy punto, thy stock', thy reverse, thy distance, thy montánt. Is he dead, my Ethiopian? is he dead, my Francisco2? ha, bully! What says my Æsculapius? my Galen? my heart of elder3? ha! is he dead, bully Stale? is he dead?

Caius. By gar, he is de coward Jack priest of the vorld; he is not show his face.

Host. Thou art a Castilian king, Urinal! Hector of Greece, my boy?

Caius. I pray you, bear vitness that me have stay six or seven, two, tree hours for him, and he is no come.

Shal. He is the wiser man, master doctor: he is a curer of souls, and you a curer of bodies; if you should fight, you go against the hair of your professions; is it not true, master Page?

5

Page. Master Shallow, you have yourself been a great fighter, though now a man of peace.

Shal. Bodykins, master Page, though I now be old, and of the peace, if I see a sword out, my finger itches to make one: though we are justices, and doctors, and churchmen, master Page, we have some salt of our youth in us; we are the sons of women, master Page.

9

Page. 'Tis true, master Shallow.

Shal. It will be found so, master Page. Master

to see thee foin,] To foin was the ancient term for making a thrust in fencing, or tilting.

1

thy stock,] Stock is a corruption of stocata, Ital., from which language the technical terms that follow are likewise adopted. my Francisco ?] He means, my Frenchman.

2

3

my heart of elder?] It should be remembered, to make this joke relish, that the elder tree has no heart.

4 Castilian] An opprobrious term, and perhaps a popular slur upon the Spaniards, who were held in great contempt after the business of the armada.

against the hair, &c.] We now say, against the grain.

doctor Caius, I am come to fetch you home. I am sworn of the peace; you have showed yourself a wise physician, and sir Hugh hath shown himself a wise and patient churchman: you must go with me, master doctor. Host. Pardon, guest justice: A word, monsieur Muck-water."

Caius. Muck-vater! vat is dat?

Host. Muck-water, in our English tongue, is valour, bully.

Caius. By gar, then I have as much muck-vater as de Englishman: Scurvy jack-dog priest! by gar, me

vill cut his ears.

Host. He will clapper-claw thee tightly, bully.
Caius. Clapper-de-claw! vat is dat?

Host. That is, he will make thee amends.

Caius. By gar, me do look, he shall clapper-de-claw

me; for, by gar, me vill have it.

Host. And I will provoke him to't, or let him wag. Caius. Me tank you for dat.

Host. And moreover, bully, - But first, master guest, and master Page, and eke cavalero Slender, go you through the town to Frogmore.

Page, Sir Hugh is there, is he?

[Aside to them.

Host. He is there: see what humour he is in; and I will bring the doctor about by the fields: will it do well?

Shal. We will do it.

Page. Shal. and Slen.

Adieu, good master doctor.
[Exeunt PAGE, SHALLOW, and
SLENDER.

Caius. By gar, me vill kill de priest; for he speak for a jack-an-ape to Anne Page.

Host. Let him die: but, first, sheath thy impatience; throw cold water on thy choler: go about the fields with me through Frogmore; I will bring thee where mistress

6 Muck-water. ] i. e. drain of a dung-hill.

Anne Page is, at a farm-house a feasting: and thou shalt woo her: Cry'd game, said I well??

Caius. By gar, me tank you for dat: by gar, I love you; and I shall procure-a you de good guest, de earl, de knight, de lords, de gentlemen, my patients.

Host. For the which, I will be thy adversary towards Anne Page; said I well?

Caius. By gar, 'tis good; vell said.

Host. Let us wag then.

Caius. Come at my heels, Jack Rugby.

[Exeunt.

ACT III.

SCENE I.-A Field near Frogmore.

Enter Sir HUGH EVANS and SIMPLE.

Eva. I pray you now, good master Slender's servingman, and friend Simple by your name, which way have you looked for master Caius, that calls himself Doctor of Physick?

Sim. Marry, sir, the city-wards, the park-ward, every way; old Windsor way, and every way but the town

way.

Eva. I most fehemently desire you, you will also look that way.

Sim. I will, sir.

Eva. 'Pless my soul! how full of cholers I am, and trempling of mind! I shall be glad, if he have deceived me:-how melancholies I am!-I will knog his urinals about his knave's costard, when I have good opportunities for the 'ork-'pless my soul ! [Sings.

7 ·Cry'd game, said I well?] An exclamation of encourage

ment.

8

the city-ward,] i. e. towards London.