haviour vain, ridiculous, and thrafonical. He is too piqued, too spruce, too affected, too odd, as it were; too peregrinate, as I may call it.

Nath. A moft fingular and choice epithet.

[draws out his table-book. Hol. He draweth out the thread of his verbofity finer than the staple of his argument. I abhor fuch phanatical phantafms, fuch infociable and point-devife companions; fuch rackers of orthography, as do fpeak dout fine, when he should say doubt; det, when he fhould pronounce debt; d, e, b, t; not d, e, t: he clepeth a calf, cauf: half, hauf; neighbour vocatur nebour; neigh abbreviated ne: this is abominable, which we would call abhominable: it infinuateth me of (a) Infanity: Ne intelligis, Domine, to make frantick, lunatick?

Nath. Laus deo, bone, intelligo.

2

Hol. (b) Bone?————— bone, for bene; Prifcian a little fcratch'd; 'twill serve.

SCENE II.

Enter Armado, Moth and Coftard.

Nath. Videfne quis venit?

Hol. Video, & gaudeo.

this is abominable, &c.] He has here well imitated the language of the most redoubtable pedants of that time. On fuch fort of occafions, Jofeph Scaliger ufed to break out, Abominor, execror. Afinitas mera eft, impietas, &c. and calls his adverfary Lutum ftercore maceratam, Dæmoniacum retrimentum infeitia, Sterquilinium, Stercus Diaboli, Scarabæum, larvam, Pecus poftremum beftiarum, infame propudium, xálagua.

2 it infinuateth me of INFAMY:] There is no need to make the pedant worse than Shakespear made him; who, without doubt, wrote INSANITY.

[ (a) Infanie, Mr. Theobald-Vulg. infamy. ] [(b) Bone? bone for benè; Prifcian a little feratch'd. Mr. Theobald-Vulg. Bome boon, for boon. Prifcian a little fcratch.]

Arm.

Arm. Chirra.

Hol. Quare Chirra, not Sirrah?

Arm. Men of Peace, well encountred,

Hol. Moft military Sir, falutation.

Moth. They have been at a great feast of languages, and ftole the scraps.

Coft. O, they have liv'd long on the Alms-basket of words. I marvel, thy mafter hath not eaten thee for a word; for thou art not fo long by the head as bonorificabilitudinitatibus: thou art eafier fwallow'd than a flap-dragon,

Moth. Peace, the peal begins.

Arm. Monfieur, are you not letter'd?

Moth. Yes, yes, he teaches boys the horn-book: What is A B fpelt backward with a horn on his head? Hol. Ba, pueritia, with a horn added.

Moth. Ba, most filly fheep, with a horn. You hear his learning.

Hol. Quis, quis, thou confonant?

Moth. The third of the five vowels, if you repeat them; or the fifth, if I.

3

Hol. I will repeat them, a, e, I.-—

Moth. The fheep; the other two concludes it,

o, u.

Arm. Now by the falt wave of the Mediterraneum, a sweet touch, a quick venew of wit; fnip, fnap, quick and home; it rejoiceth my intellect; true wit. Moth. Offer'd by a child to an old man: which is wit-old.

Hol. What is the figure? what is the figure?

Moth. Horns.

Hol. Thou difputeft like an infant; go, whip thy
gigg.
Moth. Lend me your horn to make one, and I will

30, u.] A poor Conundrum, as Mr. Theobald truly calls it, reltored, by him, to its place.-Vulg. out.

whip

whip about your infamy circùm circà; a gigg of a cuckold's horn.

Coft. An' I had but one penny in the world, thou fhouldst have it to buy ginger-bread; hold, there is the very remuneration I had of thy mafter, thou halfpenny purse of wit, thou pidgeon-egg of discretion. O, that the heav'ns were fo pleased, that thou wert but my bastard! what a joyful father wouldst thou make me? go to, thou haft it ad dunghill; at the fingers' ends, as they fay.

Hol. Oh, I fmell falfe latine, dunghill for unguem. Arm. Arts-man, præambula; we will be fingled from the barbarous. Do you not educate youth at the charge-house on the top of the mountain? Hol. Or, Mons the hill.

Arm. At your fweet pleasure, for the mountain.
Hol. I do, fans queftion.

Arm. Sir, it is the King's most sweet pleasure and affection, to congratulate the Princess at her Pavilion, in the pofteriors of this day, which the rude multitude call the afternoon.

Hol. The pofterior of the day, moft generous Sir, is liable, congruent, and measurable for the afternoon: the word is well cull'd, choice, sweet, and apt, I do affure you, Sir, I do affure.

Arm. Sir, the King is a noble gentleman, and my familiar; I do affure you, my very good friend; for what is inward between us, let it pafsI do befeech thee, remember thy curtefie-I beseech thee, apparel thy head, and among other importunate and moft ferious defigns, and of great import indeed too-but let that pais:- -for I muft tell thee, it will please his Grace (by the world) fometime to lean upon my poor fhoulder, and with his royal finger thus dally with my excrement, with my muftachio; but fweet heart, let that pafs. By the world, I recount no fable; fome certain fpecial honours it pleaseth

his Greatness to impart to Armado, a foldier, a man of travel, that hath feen the world; but let that pafs the very all of all is - -but fweet heart, I do implore fecrecy -that the King would have me present the Princefs (fweet chuck) with fome delightful oftentation, or fhow, or pageant, or antick, or fire-work. Now, understanding that the Curate and your sweet self are good at fuch eruptions, and fudden breaking out of mirth, (as it were) I have acquainted you withal, to the end to crave your affiftance.

Hol. Sir, you fhall present before her the nine Worthies. Šir, as concerning fome entertainment of time, fome show in the pofterior of this day, to be rendred by our affiftants at the King's command, and this moft gallant, illuftrate and learned gentleman, before the Princess: I say, none fo fit as to present the nine Worthies.

Nath. Where will you find men worthy enough to present them?

Hol. Joshua, your felf; this gallant man, Judas Macabeus; this fwain (because of his great limb or joint) fhall pafs Pompey the great; and the page, Hercules.

Arm. Pardon, Sir, error: he is not quantity enough for that Worthy's thumb; he is not fo big as the end of his club.

Hol. Shall I have audience? he fhall prefent Hercules in minority: his Enter and Exit fhall be ftrangling a fnake; and I will have an apology for that purpose.

Moth. An excellent device: for if any of the audience hifs, you may cry; "well done, Hercules, "now thou crufheft the fnake;" that is the way to make an offence gracious, tho' few have the grace to do it.

Moth. Thrice-worthy gentleman!
Arm. Shall I tell you a thing?
Hol. We attend.'

Arm. We will have, if this fadge not, an Antick. I beseech you, follow.

Hol. Via! good-man Dull, thou haft spoken no word all this while.

Dull. Nor understood none neither, Sir.

Hol. Allons; we will employ thee.

Dull. I'll make one in a dance, or fo: or I will play on the taber to the Worthies, and let them dance the hay.

Hol. Moft dull, honeft, Dull, to our Sport away.

SCENE

[Exeunt,

III.

Before the PRINCESS'S Pavilion.

Enter Princess, and Ladies. Prin.WEET hearts, we shall be rich ere we depart, If Fairings come thus plentifully in.

A lady wall'd about with diamonds!-
Look you, what I have from the loving King.

Rof. Madam, came nothing elfe along with That?
Prin. Nothing but this? yes, as much love in
rhyme,

As would be cram'd up in a fheet of paper,
Writ on both fides the leaf, margent and all;
That he was fain to feal on Cupid's name.

Rof. That was the way to make his God-head wax,
For he hath been five thousand years a boy.
Cath. Ay, and a fhrewd unhappy gallows too.
Rof. You'll ne'er be friends with him; he kill'd
your fifter.

Cath. He made her melancholy, fad and heavy, And fo fhe died; had fhe been light, like you, Of fuch a merry, nimble, ftirring fpirit,

She