700BettyNay, you perpetual puss†gg1698 generally a term, often of abuse, for a woman, but here specifically for a prostitute , I’ll fetch him out of the very bowels of thee.

701FranciscaHe never came so deep himself*n837 Obvious obscene reference. yet with all that he could do, and I scorn the threatening of a she-marmaset*n3797 ] marmaser †gg1699 a small monkey, usually used in a derogatory way for a contemptible male .

702Nicholas   Within*n3281 1659: (Within), set at the beginning of Nick's speech.    Why, Betty, Frank, you mankind carrions†gg3125 something disgusting and corrupt (OED carrion n, 6); but here, preceded by mankind, also implying that the prostitutes are human versions of flesh-eating birds or animals (OED carrion-crows) , you! I vow, open the door! Will you both kill one another, and cozen the hangman of his fees?

703BettyThou hadst been better have bit off the dugs†gg2785 breasts (by the early seventeenth century this term is becoming derogatory) of thy dam, thou pin-buttock†gg1700 as in All's Well that Ends Well 2.2, refers to a thin-buttocked person jade†gg532 on the analogy with an exhausted horse, a jade is an overused prostitute (or more crudely: a clapped-out tart) , thou, than have snapped†gg3126 (of animals) to make a quick or sudden bite at something; to feed on in this way (OED snap v, I 1a) a bit of mine from me.

704FranciscaHere’s that shall stay your stomach better than the bit you snarl for. Thou greedy brach*n841 A variant of bitch (OED hound n, 7), from which also a female beggar (OED beggar n, 8). , thou.

705Nicholas   Within*n3281 1659: (Within), set at the beginning of Nick's speech.    Why, wenches, are ye wild? Break open the doors.

706BettyThat I could split that devilish tongue of thine!

707FranciscaI have as good a spite at†gg3127 a particular instance of malignant or rancorous feeling directed towards a special object (OED 3a) as ill a member about thee*n842 The exact meaning is difficult to identify here and there may be a textual corruption. However, the sense is clear: the 'member' is the tongue and Francisca is as ready as Betty to split her rival’s in a fight. .

708NicholasHold, what’s the devil in ye?

709AnthonyAre ye so sharp-set, ye Amazonian trulls?†gg1701 a low prostitute or concubine; a drab, strumpet, trollop (OED) *n843 Anthony’s ridiculous combination, 'Amazonian trulls,' initiates the bathetic juxtaposition of epic reference and low behaviour that Nick will engage in so exuberantly in the following speech.

710Betty*n9179 This is an example of a press correction in the 1659 printing. Some copies (British Library BL 162.c.21, British Library BL 18536, and Bodleian Library, Oxford, Douce B 334) assign this speech to Belt, clearly misreading the manuscript. Others correct to 'Bett'. The British Library BL 18536 ms. annotator spots the error and corrects. Let me but make one pass†gg3128 in fencing, a lunge or thrust made with a sword or rapier (OED n4. 10a) at her.

711FranciscaPray let me go, and let her come.

712NicholasCan no blunter tools*n4592 'Tool' is often a term for a sword, and so appropriate here. But it is also a slang term for penis and the 'blunter tools' are a probably sexual joke at the expense of the prostitutes. than these serve to take down your furies?

713BettyLet me come but within nails’ reach of her.

714FranciscaLet me but try the strength of my teeth upon her.

716BettyDid he say so?

717FranciscaAnd must we two fall out for such a slanderous villain?

718AnthonyNo, agree, agree.

719NicholasBuss†gg1702 embrace, kiss and be friends. Buss, or I’ll baste ye both, I vow.

720BettyCome, sister, we’ll be in for ever now.

721FranciscaFor my part, sister, sure I was not out with you.

722BettyBut did he say he would kick us?

723AnthonyLo here, the man*n847 Anthony echoes a standard epic formula ('Lo, here the man...'), continuing Nick’s mock-heroic diction. His line is, appropriately, an iambic pentameter. that dares it not deny.

724CitizenBut do ye hear, gentlemen? I hope you will use me kindlier than so.

725NicholasThan how, Sir?

726CitizenThan to win all my money, and leave me at stake for the reckoning. Pray, do you pay the drawer for me, though I pay it you again.*n3143 Meaning, 'for I will repay you'. The use of 'though' (OED 4) may be provoked by the form of the Citizen's request to the young men: 'Pray do you pay the Drawer'.

727AnthonyWhat is it, drawer?

728DrawerThe gentlewomen and he had fourteen shillings in before you came.

729Nicholas’Tis a plain case, your cloak must answer it at the bar, sir. Drawer, away with it*n848 Unable to pay with money, the Citizen forfeits his cloak in payment of the outstanding debt. .Exit DRAWER with [CITIZEN’s] cloak.

730CitizenNay, but gentlemen –

731NicholasI vow, do but look after it, till we be gone, and these shall claw thine eyes out*n849 If you but look at your cloak until the rest of the company has left, the two punks will attack you. .

732CitizenWell, sir, I hope this quarter will not be always lawless*n850 Splendidly hypocritical, after a night with the whores in the tavern. .

733AnthonyDo you grumble, Master Cuffless*n851 The citizen is nowhere else called by this name. Though it may be the character’s name, it seems more likely to be a snide epithet, a caste insult. Generous cuffs marked higher social status; cuffless shirts labeled the wearer as an artisan. It is ironic that Anthony, whose own caste is uncertain, makes this joke. ?

734NicholasI vow, you shall have cuffs*n852 Nick puns to mean 'blows.' .

735BettyYes, that you shall.

736FranciscaCuts and slashes too before we part, sir.*n4593 Francisca too has a line of iambic pentameter here.

737CitizenYou will not murder me, will you?

738NicholasDamsels, forbear; and you, forbear your noise.*n4594 Nick takes control once more with iambic pentameter rhythm and obvious rhetorical patterning ('forbear ... forbear'). I vow, I’ll slit your whistle†gg3129 a jocular, colloquial name for the mouth or throat as used in speaking or singing (OED n. 2) else. You shall give him due correction civilly*n853 Nick harps on 'civil', drawing attention again to the difference in caste. , and we will make him take it civilly. Sit you down, sir.

739CitizenWhat will you do with me?

740NicholasI vow, mum†gg1683 be silent .

741ClotpollO, are ye here? Was it a brotherly trick, do ye think, to leave me to pay one reckoning twice? Or did I think never to be made a mouth more, after I had paid my swearing dinner, and am I now a greater mouth than e’er I was?

742NicholasMum, hold your tongue still in your mouth, lest I halifax*n854 No other such literary uses have been found, but probably refers to a Halifax blade, used in sheep shearing. Nick is threatening to cut off Clotpoll’s tongue if he persists in talking. it with your teeth.

743Clotpoll   [Aside]   “Halifax my tongue”. And “listen to a business”.[Writes in his notebook]

744NicholasDo you know this man?

745ClotpollYes, the City mouth we had tother night.

746NicholasThese are the Sisters that his lavish tongue so lewdly did deprave.

747ClotpollI cry them heartily mercy. Are you of the sweet Sisterhood? I hope to know you all, all the pretty mumpers†gg1647 a beggar, a mendicant; a person who sponges on others (OED), from the Dutch, Momper *n855 OED cites usages in The Weeding of Covent Garden but says the precise sense is unclear. Clearly, Brome's characters think that, as well as beggar, the word connotes prostitute. Here almost surely a sexually active woman, a prostitute, 'a goer' in colloquial modern English in the bury*n856 'Berry' is a colloquial form of 'borough' or 'burrow', closely connected terms. Clotpoll may mean 'all the prostitutes in the town', or 'all the prostitutes in the [coney-]burrow', with the obscene reference to female genitalia and rabbits; or he may mean both. here, before I have done. ’Tis true, I protest, he spake words of you, that such flesh and blood could not bear. He could not have spoken worse of mutton of a groat a quarter*n857 a cheap cut of meat, but 'mutton' means prostitute. .

748BettyAnd were we so fond†gg1469 foolish to fight for him?

749FranciscaBut now we’ll both be revenged upon the flesh of him.

750CitizenPray, let me speak with you.

751NicholasNo, they shall beat you first. And mark me well. Do thou but stir an hand or foot, or raise a voice that may be heard to the next room, we’ll cut thy weasand†gg1703 throat, windpipe . Now, wenches, take your course.

752BettyNay, you slave, we’ll mark you for a sheepbiter*n860 A malicious, shifty person; but here more specifically a whore-monger, as in John Tatham’s play, Love Crowns the End (1632), 25, 'since I came among these mutton-mongers - these sheep-eaters'. See John Tatham, The Fancies Theater (1640). .

753FranciscaWe’ll teach you how to scandalize.

754BettyHave I given you that you cannot claw off, you mongrel?

755ClotpollRare, I protest*n2971 Clotpoll's wide-eyed enjoyment of the attack on the Citizen is another indication of his unpleasant character. He exhibits a range of sociopathic attitudes and responses. .

756Citizen*n9180 This is another example of a press correction. Some copies print the Speech Prefix as 'Ciot.' (British Library BL 162.c.21; Bodleian Library, Oxford, 8o B 459(2) Linc.; National Art Library Dyce 25.E.44); others have this correctly as 'Cit.'. Oh!–Oh!–Oh!

757NicholasThere, there!n7330 Nick appears to be directing the prostitutes to attack the citizen in specific parts of his body. It seems likely they aim for his genitalia.

758FranciscaWe’ll claw thine ears off rather.

759CitizenOh!–Oh!–Oh!

760ClotpollO brave!

761CockbrainO outrage, most insufferable, all this goes into my black bookn2214 There is no suggestion that Cockbrain is actually writing in a notebook, but the similarity with Clotpoll does not tend to increase his dignity.
Cockbrain can here address the audience in an aside, drawing them into the scene while indulging his own pomposity. .

762NicholasTo him Bettie, at him Frank; there, whores, there.

763AnthonyFie, fie, forbear, enough, too much in consciencen861 Anthony is working himself up to intervene, being morally outraged by the attack. But Brome renders him risible by packing his speech with fs: 'Fie, fie, forbear, enough'. Jonson undermines Bonario when he prevents the rape of Celia in the same way in Volpone: 'Forbear, foul ravisher, libidinous swine, free the forced lady, or thou diest, impostor.' (3.7. 266). Like his master Jonson, Brome undermines his 'hero' by making him say 'forbear' instead of the more authoritative monosyllable, 'Stop'.
Nonetheless, Anthony's role -- both here and in maintaining moral order throughout the play -- is more than funny. One of this scene's problems explored with actors was how to render Anthony's role more prominent than the number of his lines would seem to permit. Without that, his status as a moral touchstone seems inconsequential. By making his asides directly to the audience and placing him at the front of the stage, audience awareness of Anthony's significance could be strengthened. .

764CockbrainThat young man has some pity yet.

765AnthonyI swear you shall no more.

766CockbrainAlas, good gentlemen, it is enough –

767NicholasI vow, do you prate? You shall have as much. Come, take the chair, sir, the braches*n9181 In the 1659 printing, this is set as 'breaches' (see [GLOSS gg5102]). But Nick is referring to the prostitutes as attacking dogs (Cockbrain himself will later refer to them as 'hell-hounds' [CG 4.1.speech780]. shall bait him too.n7331 Cockbrain's incautious intervention is another of the scene's turning-points. Nick rounds on him and thrusts him into the place vacated by the citizen, so that Cockbrain too can be bullied and hurt. Nick's response is dark and sadistic.

768CockbrainO, good gentlemen!

769NicholasI vow, they shall. To him and claw him, I’ll clapperclaw†gg1704 to claw or scratch with the open hand and nails; to beat, thrash, drub (OED) *n862 Nick may be playing on the diseased nature of the prostitutes, 'clap'. your sides else.

770CockbrainO me! What mean you?

771BettyHeyday! His beard comes off.

772AnthonyAnd his head too.*n4595 Clotpoll means that Cockbrain's wig has come off in the struggle. What rotten scab*n863 Scab is a term for the pox. Anthony playfully asks if the disguised Cockbrain is so far gone in venereal disease that he’s falling apart. is this?

773ClotpollI protest, they have pulled my pieced brother*n864 A 'pieced brother' in the sense that Cockbrain had paid Clotpoll’s pieces, his reckoning at the last tavern. This is the beginning of a series of different uses of piece and peace in this act, but it began with Cockbrain’s praise of 'yond magnificent Piece', the Piazza in Covent Garden, in Act 1, Scene 1. in pieces here.n7332 Clotpoll's lines can again be direct address to the audience, framing the action and drawing the audience in.

774NicholasI vow, some disguised villain, and but for doing the state so good service*n865 By delivering him alive as a spy to the authorities. , we would hang him presently without examination.

775Anthony   [Aside]   I know him. And you shall not touch him. Best is, he knows nor me. Good heaven, what braintrick has possessed him?*n866 The actor has to make decisions at this point about how much of this speech is an aside or direct address to the audience. Is all of it aside, or only after 'touch him'? Anthony’s next speech implies that Nick has not heard any of this one.

776NicholasI vow, what canst thou be?

777AnthonyCome, ’tis an honest fellow, that is only ashamed to run so base a course for his living in his own face*n867 Anthony suggests that Cockbrain is ashamed of being a low tavern singer and so does his job in disguise. . Poor man, I warrant his fear threatens his breeches shrewdlyn3852 Terrified of the coming attack, the disguised Cockbrain may lose control of his bowels. In keeping with the rest of the scene, which combines comedy with something much darker and sadistic throughout, Cockbrain's terror and its consequence can be played for broad humour. . But let’s away, and quickly, our stay is dangerous. Come, we forgot Mick Crosswill and the wenches.

778NicholasCome all away, then. Sirrah, thank this gentleman*n4596 Nick indicates that Anthony is the intercessor. , and pray for him at the end of your songs hereafter.

779ClotpollFarewell, friend piece. I’ll know you better now, before you have ’t*n8825 It is not immediately clear what 'it' refers to. Has Clotpoll picked up Cockbrain's false beard or wig? again.All exit except COCKBRAIN and CITIZEN

How is it with you, sir?

781CitizenO, I am very sore.n7333 Attention turns to the Citizen at the end of the scene: hurt, humiliated, pitiful, and potentially very funny.

782CockbrainIndeed, you are sorely handled. This may warn you out of such caterwaling†gg1706 crying like a cat in heat, but also lecherous (OED vbl.n, 1 and 2) company. You look like one more civil. And in hope you will be so, I’ll bring you to a barber†gg1707 a surgeon .

783CitizenAlas, my cloak.

785CitizenO Sir, in any thing, and thank you too, Sir.COCKBRAIN and CITIZEN exit together

786MihilA Paris il’y’a bien venu*n872 The play’s characters have a running joke about the ambiguity of Paris as a city and Paris as a tavern. . Here’s no bush at this door*n873 The bush is a traditional symbol for a wine shop or tavern. Unlicensed taverns and alehouses were a major issue in the Covent Garden area, with repeated and unsuccessful attempts to close them. The Paris Tavern appears to be unlicensed and to be concealing itself by not using the traditional advertising symbol. , but good wine rides post upon, I mean, the sign-post. Boy, get you down, and if Nick Rooksbill or any of his company ask for me, bring ’em up, d’ ye*n874 Mihil adopts his father's end-of-sentence question, demonstrating that he is a chip off the old block in his dealings with inferiors. hear?

787BoyI will, I will, sir.BOY exits

788MihilYou are welcome to Paris, brother Gabriel.

789GabrielIt is nevertheless a tavern, brother Mihil, and you promised and covenanted with me at the last house of noise and noisomeness, that you would not lead me to any more taverns.

790MihilLead you, brother? Men use to be led from taverns sometimes. You saw I did not lead you nor bring you to any that was more a tavern than the last, nor so much neither; for here is no bush you saw.

791Gabriel’Twas that betrayed and entrapped me. But let us yet forsake it.

792MihilPray, let us drink first, brother. By your leave, here’s to you.

793GabrielOne glassfull more is the most that I can bear. My head is very full, and laboureth with that I have had already.[GABRIEL drinks a toast]

794MihilThere, sir.   [Aside]   I’ll undertake one good fellow, that has but just as much religion as will serve an honest man’s turn, will bear more wine than ten of these giddy-brained Puritans, their heads are so full of whimsies†gg3130 A variant of 'whim': a capricious notion or fancy; a fantastic or freakish idea; an odd fancy (OED Whim n, 1 and 3) .

795Gabriel’Tis mighty heady, mighty heady, and truly I cannot but think that the over-much abuse of these outlandish liquors have bred so many errors in the Romish church*n875 Gabriel as a Puritan expresses his fear of Papistry. But ironically the Paris Tavern was one of those sometimes associated with covert French and Catholic property interests in Covent Garden. .

796MihilIndeed, brother, there is too much abuse made of such good creatures. Wine in itself is good, you will grant, though the excess be nought; and taverns are not contemptible, so the company be good.

797GabrielIt is most true, we find that holy men have gone to taverns, and made good use of ’em upon their peregrinations*n3853 Gabriel chooses a word from a religious or theological register. See OED peregrination n.1: orig. and chiefly Theol. The course of a person's life viewed originally as a temporary sojourn on earth (cf. sense 4b) and hence as a spiritual journey, esp. to heaven.
Brome draws on these associations also in naming the character Peregrin in The Antipodes. .

798MihilAnd cannot men be content to take now and then a cup, and discourse of good things by the way? As thus: brother, here’s a remembrance (if she be living, and have not lost her honour) to our cousin Dorcas.

799GabrielO, that kinswoman of ours. She was the dearest loss that e’er fell from our house.

800MihilPledge her, good brother.

801GabrielI do –

802Mihil   [Aside]   I hope ’twill maudlenize†gg1708 sobering or reforming *n876 There is an ironic ambiguity, here, in that Gabriel is to be reclaimed from Puritanism to a less extreme position, while Dorcas is to be reclaimed from prostitution. See OED Magdalen 2. In extended uses a. A repentant (female) sinner; esp. a reformed prostitute. him.

803GabrielBut have you never seen that miscreant that wronged her, since he did that same? They say you knew him.

804MihilAlas, suppose I had, what could be done? She’s lost, we see. What good could she receive by any course against him?*n2216 Mihil studiously avoids answering his brother, leaving unclear the degree of his knowledge of Nick's behaviour.

805GabrielIt had been good to have humbled him, though, into the knowledge of his transgression. And of himself for his soul’s good, either by course of law, or else in case of necessity, where the law promiseth no release, by your own right hand you might have smote him, smote him with great force, yea, smote him unto the earth, until he had prayed that the evil might be taken from him.

806Mihil   [Aside to the audience]   This is their way of loving enemies, to beat ’em into goodness.   [Aloud]   Well, brother, I may meet with him again, and then I know what to do.   [Aside]   If he knew him as I do now, what a religious combat were here like to be at Nick’s coming?

807BoySir, here’s a gentlewoman asks for Master Rooksbill.

808MihilThe travelled gallant, is’t not?

809BoyYes, sir, and the old black party*n2973 The boy may be referring to Madge's cleanliness, but calling her 'the old black party' recalls the play on devils and hell in the first act, where Nick called her 'infernal'. , her landlady with her. But they ask for nobody but him, sir.

810MihilSay he is here by all means, and bring ’em up.BOY exits

811GabrielWomen! Pray, brother, let’s avoid the place, let us fly it. What should we do with women in a tavern?

812MihilNo harm, assure yourself. Cannot we govern ourselves?

Nay, lady, stay, he will be here presently that you look for.

813GabrielI will not glance an eye toward temptation.

814Mihil   [Aside]   I am amazed. Sure, I have seen this face, howe’er your habit and the course of time may give’t another seeming.

815Dorcas   [Aside]   Good angels, help my thoughts and memory. It is my kinsman Mihil. What’s the other that hides his face so?

816Mihil   [To DORCAS]   Do you turn away?

817Dorcas   [Aside]   It is my cousin Gabriel*n877 In the Globe 'Read not Dead' reading, the actress playing Dorcas made the mistake of calling Gabriel 'brother', suggesting that she was aware in some way that the relationship between Dorcas and Gabriel was closer than that of cousins. , strangely†gg231 very greatly (OED adv. 4); surprisingly, oddly, wondrously, unaccountably (OED adv. 5); (compare Jonson, Volpone, in which Peregrine, when asked how he likes the mountebank, replies, ‘Most strangely’) altered.

818Mihil   [To MARGERY]   Come hither you. I’ll make a little bold with you, thou that hast been a concealer of more sins in women’s actions than thou hast grizzled hairs.

819Dorcas   [Aside]   Sure, I will speak to him. He always loved me.

820Mihil   [To MARGERY]   Reveal a truth to me on my demand, now instantly, without premeditation. I’ll cut thy tongue out else*n878 Cutting out or slitting tongues is a recurrent threat in the play, as in Nick’s earlier reference to 'Halifax thy mouth' and Bettie and Francisca’s threat to split each other’s tongues. .

821MargeryWhat’s here to do? Do you think I am a devil that you make such conjurations over me?

822MihilI think thou art as true a servant of his as any bawd can be. But lie now if thou darest. How long have you known that gentlewoman*n879 Mihil immediately calls Dorcas a gentlewoman. ? And what do you know by her?

823Dorcas   [To GABRIEL]   Sir.

824MargeryHere’s a stir about nothing. I know nothing by her, not I. Nor whether she has anything or nothing*n880 A common obscene reference to male and female genitalia: thing and no thing. , that a woman should have by the report of knowledge of man, woman or beast, not I. She came to me but this morning, with a purpose to set me up in my new house as I hoped. But she has taken a course to make it honestly spoken of already, to my utter undoing; but she never comes within my doors again, as I hope to thrive by my trade hereafter.

825DorcasPray, look upon me, sir.

826MihilWas she so resolutely bent, and so soon altered?

827MargeryUpon the very first sight of the very first man that came into my house, the very first hour of my setting up in it.

828MihilWhat man was that?

829MargeryA shame take him, your roaring friend, Nick. I think she is enamoured of him or of something she guesses he has; and would fain play the honest woman with him, that never played honest man with woman in his life.

830Mihil   [Aside]   ’Tis she, and ’tis most wonderful.

831DorcasIf you knew who I were, you would not be so strange†gg2316 aloof, distant to me.

832MargeryAnd here she comes me a-hunting after him, like a fondling†gg3173 a foolish, childish, or innocent person , whilst half a dozen pieces might ha’ been gotten at home by this time, and she have had the halves of it in her purse by this time; if she would have done, as I thought, she would have done by this time.

833MihilAlas, poor Howlet*n2977 Mihil uses an affectionate diminutive of 'owl' (see also note 465) to commiserate with Madge; but the whole phrase recalls Shakespeare: 'Alas, poor Yorick' (Hamlet 5.1). .

834MargeryI sent whooping after the best guests*n9182 guest. Singular in the 1659 printing. that haunt my house, to have taken the first fruits of her conversation, and she would not see a man of ’em, to my undoing.

835MihilWell, leave thy hooting, Madge. And hold thy peace, thou shalt get*n3854 Mihil encourages Madge to remain silent by holding out the prospect of some sort of reward or prize if his strategem succeeds. by it.

836MargeryYes, I shall get a good name shortly, and this gear†gg1709 habits, manners (OED 1c; obsolete; rare) hold, and turn beggar, I shall.

837DorcasPray, sir, but one word.

838MihilSpeak to her, brother, ’tis our cousin Dorcas.

839GabrielWill you abuse me too? Is she not lost?

840MihilAnd will you not give her leave to be found again? His wine and her sudden apprehension*n3855 Gabriel's sudden realization that it is his cousin Dorcas. See [GLOSS gg3131] work*n9183 works. Singular in the 1659 printing. on him at once. Cousin, I’ll speak to you, though I confess the miracle of our meeting thus amazes me.

842MihilAll shall be well, good cousin, you shall have both hands and hearts to re-estate†gg1710 to reinstate, re-establish (very common in the seventeenth century) you in him. So that in fact you have not wronged that honour*n885 Always assuming that you have not gone further in vice since Nick abandoned you. , since he forsook you?

843DorcasOn my soul, I have not.

847MihilI hope it will work out his superfluous zeal and render him civil Christian again.*n887 Set as prose in the 1659 text, but this could easily divide into 12 and a 10 syllable line, the 12 syllable line being about superfluity

850MargeryBawds, did he say? How comes he to know me, trow?

852MihilHis purity and your disgrace fell on you both about a time, i’faith*n889 In 1659 this is 'I faith'. Two readings are possible, here: 'i’faith' and 'aye, faith'. .

853GabrielDo you swear by your FAITH?*n3147 So capitalized in 1659, indicating Gabriel's loud emphasis.

854MihilHe’s falling back again. Boy!*n3148 In the 1659 text this is set as a Speech Prefix, the compositor not realizing that Mihil is calling for an attendant and that his speech continues. Both the Folger Shakespeare Library B4872 and National Art Library Dyce 25.E.45 ms. annotators recognise the error. Some more wine! You will drink with our cousin, brother, will you not?

855BoyWhat wine is’t, gentlemen?

856GabrielYes, in a cup of sincere love.

857BoyWhat other wine you please, gentlemen, we have none such i’ th’ house*n890 As before, the tavern employees hear only orders for real wine, having no ear for imagery and metaphor. .

858MihilOf the same we had, sir.

859DorcasCall not for wine for us, cousin.

860MargeryAssuredly, we are no profane wine-bibbers, not we.

861GabrielModest, and well-spoken verily, she should be a sister or a matron†gg1711 a mature and respectable woman .

862MihilYes, yes, we’ll all drink for the good o’ th’ house. ’Tis upon putting down, they say, and more o’th neighbours*n892 The implication is that the Paris Tavern was about to be closed as unlicensed, along with a number of other unlicensed taverns in the same street and neighbourhood. This was indeed the order of the Privy Council. See introduction. . But, cousin, he knew you not today?

863DorcasNo, nor dreams of me.

864MihilAnd the old one knows nothing, does she?

865DorcasNo, by no means.

866MihilShe can bewray†gg1968 to expose...by divulging secrets (OED archaic) nothing then. My brother knows not him. I only do for his fair sister’s sake, of which you may hear more hereafter; in the mean*n893 Mean=meantime , bear your self fair and free, as if you knew him not, and I’ll work him to your end, never fear it.

867DorcasYou are a noble spokesman.

868Margery   [Aloud]   Truly, you speak most edifyingly.

869MihilWell said. Give it to my brother. Drink to our cousin, brother.

870GabrielI will, and to that virtuous matron, whose care of her, I hope, tends unto good edification.   [Drinks]   Truly, the wine is good, and I was something thirsty.

871MargeryBest drink again then, sir.

872GabrielI will follow your motherly advice.Drinks.

873Mihil’Twill work anon, I hope.

874GabrielAnd you have travelled, cousin. I may suppose you brought this well-disposed gentlewoman from Amsterdam*n894 Amsterdam was well known both as a haven and centre for Separatists and as a notorious city of prostitutes; see Lotte van de Pol and Erika Kuijpers, 'Poor Women’s Migration to the City: The Attraction of Amsterdam Health Care and Social Assistance in Early Modern Times', Journal of Urban History 32 (2005), pp. 44-61 and Lotte van de Pol, Het Amsterdams hoerdom. Prostitutie in de zeventiende en achttiende eeuw [The Whores of Amsterdam] (1996). Foreign place names were often associated with London prostitution, as in the famous brothel, Holland's Leaguer, and the Paris Garden. with you. And this unto your welcome, hoping I shall be informed by you how the two zealous brethren thrive there that broke in St. Helen’s*n1009 This surely refers to an incident in Great St Helen’s in Bishopsgate, but no reference has yet been found. .

875MargeryOf that or anything, sir. Pray, drink again, sir.*n2219 This encouragement is probably directed to Gabriel.

876MihilYou jade you, hold your tongue.

877NicholasO, are ye here, gallants? I made all the haste I could, but was stayed, I vow, by the bravest sport, baiting of a fellow or two with our pussy-cats here. I could e’en find in my heart to marry ’em both for their valours.

878Dorcas   [Aside to MIHIL]   Those words are daggers.

879Mihil   [Aside to DORCAS]   I pray, dissemble your passion.

880NicholasWhat? Are you acquainted already, Mich?*n3151 In the 1659 text this is printed as a Speech Prefix, indicating a speech for Mihil. But the compositor has mistaken Nick's addressing of Mihil by his nickname and assigns the rest of Nick's speech to him. The Folger Shakespeare Library B4872 ms. annotator recognises the problem and corrects. Did I not tell thee she was a brave madona?

881MihilHow long have you had acquaintance*n1010 There may be a covert sexual meaning to 'acquaintance'. If so, Nick appears entirely unconscious of Mihil’s meaning. with her, Nick?

882NicholasNever saw her before this morning, I, standing upon her balcony.

883GabrielTruly, cousin, I think ’twas you that I saw today too, standing upon a balcony.

884NicholasYou spell†gg1712 speak; to discourse or to preach; to talk, converse, or speak (OED v1 intr.) very modestly, sir. Your brother, I take it. But did you call her cousin, sir?*n2220 The ambiguous application of the term 'cousin' seems acknowledged in this tense exchange.

885GabrielYes, sir, she is my cousin.

886Mihil   [Aside]   ’Twill out too soon.   [Aloud]   Why, Nick, thou knowest these kind of creatures call and are called cousins commonly*n1012 Cousin was often used as a name for an illicit lover, especially a prostitute, so again Mihil is using terms the relevance of which to this situation are understood more fully by the audience than by Nick. 'Common', to imply prostitution, is later used of Dorcas by Nick himself. At this point the roisterers and Gabriel enter the series of confusions concerning 'brothers' and fraternities: the religious brethren, the club brethren, those who frequent brothels. .

887NicholasYes, in their tribe. But I thought he had been too holy for them. But Dammy –

888GabrielO, fearfully profane!

889NicholasYou said you had a story to relate, of dire misfortune, and of unquoth†gg1713 unquoth probably means hitherto unspoken hearing. I come to hear your story. What stop you your ears at, sir?

890GabrielI dare not speak it but in thy reproof. Thou swearest G O D, D A M N*n4603 Gabriel spells it out letter by letter, to avoid blasphemy. In the 1659 printing this is represented quasi-phonetically: 'Gee o Dee, Dee a m'. thee, as I take it.

891NicholasI vow thou liest, I called her Dammy, because her name is Damyris.

892GabrielI say thou liest, her name is Dorcas, which was the name of an holy woman*n1014 Acts 9.36: 'Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which by interpretation is called Dorcas: this woman was full of good works and almsdeeds which she did'. .[GABRIEL draws his sword]*n1015 Gabriel, despite being a Puritan, must be carrying a weapon, and draws first, perhaps significantly in defence of his cousin’s honour. Though there is no stage direction in 1659 stating this action, Gabriel must do so to make sense of Mihil’s appeal to him to drop his weapon and avoid a fight.

893NicholasShall we have things and things*n2982 Though I can find no other usage, the meaning appears clear: come to blows. ? I vow![NICHOLAS] draw[s his sword]

894ClotpollAnd I protest![CLOTPOLL] draw[s his sword]

895Mihil   [Aside]   This will spoil all.   [Aloud]   Brother, I pray forbear.

896GabrielI may not forbear, I am moved for to smite him; yea, with often stripes to smite him; my zealous wrath is kindled, and he shall fly before me.

897DorcasLet me entreat you, sir.[MIHIL [restrains] GABRIEL*n1016 Prevents him from engaging in fight. 1659:'Mihil holds up Gabriel'. Gabriel has been drinking heavily and will later collapse, so to 'hold up' could mean that Mihil prevents him falling (OED hold v. 44a); but in this context it is more likely to mean restrain (OED hold v. 44d) though this is said to be an American usage only. However, hold 2a,d,e; and 7a all have this sense of restraining. ]

898Betty and FranciscaWhat fury’s this?

899NicholasGreat damboys*n1017 Referring to the eponymous hero of George Chapman’s popular play, Bussy D’Ambois (c. 1603/4). But Nick here engages in this little rodomontade to cast a heroic light on the fact that he is running away from a fight. shrink, and give a little ground*n1018 A pentameter; Gabriel’s next line is 11 syllables. Dorcas’s is 2, then Gabriels’ is 7. So it could be set thus: NICHOLAS Great Damboys shrink, and give a little ground.
GABRIEL I will pursue him in mine indigna-
tion. DORCAS O me! GABRIEL And beat him into Potsherds. The suggestions of the iambic-pentameter line contribute to the air of mock-heroic here. .[NICHOLAS, ANTHONY, BETTY, and FRANCISCA] exit

900GabrielI will pursue him in mine indignation.*n3149 Gabriel's next two speeches, together with Dorcas's interjected 'O Me!' add up to 30 syllables, three lines of pentameter. Again, Brome is indicating - this time rather satirically - an elevated emotional content, at least in Gabriel's mind.

901DorcasO me!

902GabrielAnd beat him into potsherds†gg1714 a fragment of a broken earthenware pot; a broken piece of pottery *n1019 Gabriel again uses a vaguely religious diction, perhaps recalling Isaiah 45.9. .

903MargeryNow he has banged the pitcher*n1020 Drunk the whole pitcher of alcohol. , he may do anything.

904MihilPray, brother, be persuaded.

905ClotpollA Brother to be so controlled?*n1021 Clotpoll seems disconcerted at Nick’s rapid exit from the field, not the courageous action he had expected of a member of the Brotherhood of the Blade. But he’s also remarking on Gabriel being restrained by his real brother, Mihil. Gabriel, meanwhile, thinks in terms of religious Brethren.

906MihilYou, sir, put up your steel-stick*n1022 His sword; a disdainful euphemism. .

907ClotpollI desire but to know first if he be a Brother.

908MihilYes, marry is he, sir.

909ClotpollSir, I am satisfied. So let him live.*n1023 Clotpoll disguises his own disinclination to engage in combat with a furious opponent by claiming that fellowship prevents his fighting and killing Gabriel. [Sheathes his sword][CLOTPOLL exits]*n9061 There is no stage direction here in the 1659 printing. However, Clotpoll is included among those who re-enter a few lines later.

910GabrielPray give me leave to ask you, do these men take part with the brethren?

911MihilYes, and are brothers a little disguised, but for some ends.

912GabrielSome state-occasions?

913MihilMere intelligencers†gg1715 one who conveys intelligence or information; one employed to obtain secret information, an informer, a spy, a secret agent , to collect up such and such observations, for a great Separatist†gg3132 one who advocates ecclesiastical separation; one who belongs to a religious commmunity separated from the Church or from a particular church; a member of any of the sects separated from the Church of England; in the 17th c. (hence in mod. use Hist., with capital S) applied chiefly to the Independents and those who agreed with them in rejecting all ecclesiastical authority outside the individual congregation (OED a and n, 1) that is now writing a book against playing at barlibreak†gg1716 a country game, much used for sexual connotation (see The Changeling (1622) 5.3.164: 'I coupled with your mate/At barley-break; now we are left in hell') , moulding of cocklebread*n1026 John Aubrey, Remains (1688): 'Young wenches have a wanton sport which they call moulding of Cocklebread: viz. they get upon a table-board, and then gather up their knees and their Coates with their hands as high as they can, and then they wabble to and fro with their Buttocks as if they were kneading of Dowgh with their Arses, and say these words, viz. - "My Dame is sick and gone to bed And I'le go mould my Cockle-bread."' Brome, Jovial Crew, 2.1 has Rachel say she and her sister used to make their father laugh by dancing and performing bawdy jokes. An earlier reference to this lewd game appears in George Peele's The Old Wives Tale, when Zantippa goes to the well to draw a husband, and hears the head rising from the well recite: 'Fair maiden, white and red,/ Stroke me smooth, and comb my head, / And thou shalt have some cockell-bread' (666-68). Insulted, she breaks her pitcher over the head instead, but nevertheless gains a suitable husband. The idea of kneading dough with the buttocks was deemed a magic practice to secure a husband, and in Venice could bring the kneader before the Inquisition. , and such like profane exercises*n1027 Mihil is persuading his brother that the Philoblathici are disguised fellow Puritans, gathering evidence on pastimes and sports as part of the campaign against them. .

914GabrielTruly, such exercises are profane exercises that bear the denomination of good things ordained for man’s use, as barley, cockles, and bread. Are such things to be made sports and play-games? I pray you, let me see these brethren again, to make my atonement with them. And are those sisters too, that were with them?

915MihilO, most notorious ones, and are as equally disguised to be as rank spies as the other. S’lid, man, and they should be taken for such as they are, they would be cut off presently. They came in this mad humour to be merry with you for my sake.

916GabrielPray let ’em come again, I shall not be well until I have rendered satisfaction*n1028 Gabriel means to reconcile with them, but there are obvious sexual double entendres given that some of the riotous crew are prostitutes and that he will indeed begin to behave lewdly with them later in the scene. .

917MihilYou must do as they do then, or they will think you are a spy upon them.

918GabrielI will be as merry as they. Let wine be given unto us.

919MihilMore wine, boy, and bid ’em all come in.Exit BOY

920DorcasAlas, cousin, let him drink no more.

921MihilFear nothing, cousin, it shall be for his good and yours, as I will order it.

922MihilAll welcome, not any repetition, but begin anew*n1029 Let’s start over and not pick up the quarrel .

923GabrielI will begin it, two glasses: it shall be a faithful salutation to all the brothers and sisters of –

924ClotpollThe Blade and the Scabbard.[Drinks a toast]

925NicholasIt shall go round.

926AnthonyI’ll swear you do not well to let him drink so.

927MihilWell said, civil roarer*n1030 This may be spoken contemptuously to Anthony, but it is more likely an aside. Mihil’s oxymoron - 'civil roarer' - comments on Anthony’s lack of real essence of the roarer and his citizen status. .

928GabrielLet it go round, go to, you are a wag. I know what you mean by the blade and the scabbard.

929ClotpollWho could have thought this had been such a Brother?

930GabrielNay, who could have thought you had been of the brethren?

931NicholasBrethren, sir? We are the Brothers.

932GabrielYea, the disguised ones.

933NicholasHow? Disguised ones?

934MihilDo not cross him again. If thou dost, and I do not maul thee! Yes, brother, these are virtuous men howe’er they seem.

935NicholasI vow, I have so much virtue*n1031 Playing on the different meanings of virtue, the religious and 'virtú', being nobly strong and manly. as to rebuke thee for lying. But we are Brethren, sir, and as factious as you, though we differ in the grounds; for you, sir, defy Orders*n3856 Nick puns on the different meanings of 'order'. The riotous young men defy the orders of the civil magistracy; and the Separatist puritans defy the orders of the established church and, indeed, refuse to acknowledge the hierarchy of the church. See [GLOSS gg3133]. , and so do we; you of the Church, we of the civil magistrate; many of us speak i’th’ nose, as you do; you out of humility of spirit, we by the wantonness of the flesh*n1032 Syphilis, contracted through sexual activity, eats away at the bridge of the nose. ; now in devotion we go beyond you, for you will not kneel to a ghostly father, and we do to a carnal mistress.

936MihilI’ll stop your mouth, you said you came to be merry.

937NicholasYes, I vow, and brought fiddlers along, but they must play i’ th’ next room*n4988 Gabriel's violence gives good reason for keeping the musicians separate, but this is clearly also a way of managing the resources of the playhouse, avoiding the need to bring the fiddlers on stage. , for here’s one breaks all the fiddles that come in his reach. Come, sir, will you drink, dance, and do as we do?

938GabrielI’ll drink, I’ll dance, I’ll kiss, or do anything, any living thing with any of you, that is brother or sister. Sweetheart, let me feel thy coney*n1033 Female genitalia. To whom should Gabriel say this, however? One of the whores? Or to Dorcas, a more shocking and disturbing image. .

939Mihil   [Aside]   Aye, now he’s in.   [Aloud]   Play, fiddlers.*n1034 In 1659 this is all set as a single line spoken by Mihil: 'I now he's in. Play Fidlers. Dance'. McClure retains this setting: 'Aye, now he's in. Play fiddlers! Dance!' It is conceivable that Mihil is commanding music and dancing, but it seems more likely that Mihil calls for music ('Play, fiddlers') and then there is a Stage Direction ('Dance'), which the compositor has failed to recognize. Gabriel has said in the previous speech that he will dance.

All bravely perform’d, admirably well done, &c.*n3152 In 1659, this is set as a continuation of Mihil's speech, a response to the dancing. McClure proposes that 'All' is a Speech Prefix. This is attractive but a radical proposal, and it seems unnecessary.

940NicholasI vow, thou art a Brother after my own heart.To GABRIEL*n1035 Set to the right of Nick's speech, it is not clear whether this applies to Nick’s line or the women’s, or both, since all are talking here to Gabriel. .

941Betty, Francisca, and Margery*n9185 In the 1659 printing, this line is given the Speech Prefix 'Women'. Dorcas surely does not join in. We cannot commend you enough, sir.

942GabrielThis done in civil sort among ourselves, I hope, will prove no scandal to a brother.

943Nicholas’Twill prove an honour to our faction.

944GabrielI thirst to do it honour.

945ClotpollGive him some wine, he thirsts.

946MihilThou little dapper thing*n3857 Literally someone neat and well-dressed, 'dapper' is used in this period contemptuously for someone aspiring to fashion; by the eighteenth century, a kind of minor fop (see [GLOSS gg3134]. Mihil's contempt is intensified by the use of 'thing'. Brome may expect his audience to remember Ben Jonson's Dapper in The Alchemist. , thou, hold thy peace.

947AnthonyThou seest he can scarce stand.

949NicholasBrave!

950GabrielSuch an employment now would make me famous, for my sufficiency of art in arms*n1038 Again, very close to pentameter. .

951NicholasI vow, this man has hidden things in him.

952MihilHe had*n3153 1659: has as brave a warlike spirit, man, before his precise humour tainted it*n1039 Again, very close to pentameter. , as ever breath’d in Hector.

953NicholasI vow, then, a good, orderly diet of nothing but sack for a week together would revive it in him, and bring it to good again.

954MihilI hope ’tis done already.

955AnthonyHow do you, sir?

956GabrielI fear some Jesuitical*n2985 Gabriel associates everything wrong and evil with Catholicism and here, in particular, the feared and demonized Jesuits (Society of Jesus). Ironically, contemporary conspiracy theorists suspected the more outrageous independent protestants, such as the Quakers (Society of Friends) and the Jesuits of being one and the same. , fumes have invaded my brainpan. All, methinks, goes whirly, whirly, whirly.

957AnthonyBest lie down upon a bed. Drawer!

958GabrielSoldiers must not be curious*n1040 Must not be particular about the comfort of where they sleep - anything horizontal will do for him to lie on. . A bench or anything.

959DrawerThe gentleman may have a bed here, an’t please you. But, sir, there’s an old angry gentleman below, that asks for you, and by all description for that mortified*n1041 The drawer puns on various meanings of mortify: to shame and to render unconscious. See OED, mortify, v 7 and 1. gentleman. And will by all means press into your room here.

960MihilIt is my father.

961Dorcas   [Aside to MIHIL]   O me! What shall I do?

962Margery, Betty, and FranciscaWe shall all be clapped up*n1042 They mean 'be imprisoned' (OED clap v1 11), but the audience will also think of sexual disease (OED clap v2). .

963Mihil   [Aside to DORCAS]   Fear nothing, veil your face a little.   [Aloud]   Who is with him?

964DrawerNobody but his old servingman, that it seems discovered you. You may put this gentleman into this inner room, and keep the key yourself. I know not what charge*n3858 The meaning here is obscure. 'Charge' could mean money, expense, or liability (financial and otherwise); or it could mean energy or force. he has about him.

965MihilAdmirable honest fellow.

966DrawerAnd you may tell your father he is gone, for he is gone, you see*n1044 The witty Drawer suggests another pun: they can equivocate, saying Gabriel is gone, for he is far gone in drink; and he is mentally gone, in that he is no longer conscious. .

967NicholasI vow, a wit.

968DrawerNow, if you’ll be civil*n1045 If you want to be civil or are prepared to be civil. , I may bring him up to you; if not, because he is your father, we’ll thrust him out of doors, an’t please you.

969MihilNotable rascal. Well, sir, let him up. I know how to fit†gg1616 (v) punish accordingly (OED v1. 12) him.

970Dorcas   [Aside to MIHIL]   But this delays my business, cousin, and will, I fear, frustrate my hopes.

971Mihil   [Aside to DORCAS]   Nor hinder anything. I’ll warrant thee, he’s thine.   [Aloud]   Play, fiddlers, t’other dance.

972NicholasI vow!

973ClotpollWill you? I protest!

974AnthonyYou are not wild?*n1046 This probably means, 'You aren’t mad, are you?', Anthony, cautious citizen’s son that he is, is questioning the wisdom of Mihil’s behaviour. Madge says to the whores, 'Come on, if he’s prepared to do this, surely it’s up to us to play and dance with a bit of confidence'.

975MargeryCome, wenches, if he venture in his father’s sight, shame take us and we blush.[Fiddlers heard playing offstage] [They] Dance.

976Crosswill*n3283 The 1659 text gives this speech to both Crosswill and Belt, a compositor's error.    [Aside to BELT]   And I had not sold all my land to live upon my money in town here, out of danger of the statute, I would give thee a copyhold*n1047 Tenure of lands belonging to a manor. for this discovery.

977Belt   [Aside to CROSSWILL]   I thank your worship, and truly ’tis a goodly sight, methinks, an’t please your worship.

978CrosswillI’m glad it likes you. Heigh, excellent good again. Heigh, heigh, what an happiness may fathers boast, that can bring their children up to this.    Dance ends*n2223 1659:(Dance ended)    I cry ye mercy, gentlemen all, ha! I am sorry I interrupted your serious, private occasions.

979NicholasWould you speak with any here, sir?

980MihilIt is my father, gentlemen.

981CrosswillThy father? Hold thy peace! Dar’st thou use thy father thus? To spend thy time thus? Ha! Is this place fit for the son of a gentleman of quality? Ha! Why dost not answer me, does this company sort†gg3135 to answer or correspond to, to befit or suit (OED 8) with thy reputation? Ha!

982MihilSir, the company –

983CrosswillHold thy peace, I say. Or are these exercises allowable for a gentleman, that ever said or heard grace at his father’s table? Answer me that.

984MihilAn’t please you, sir.

985CrosswillHold thy peace when I bid thee.

986NicholasThe company, sir, offends not you, I hope. You see the worst of us.

987CrosswillIn good time, sir. You are the distracted gentlemen, I take it, that asked him if he would moot†gg2784 to complain, argue, plead, discuss, dispute, esp. in a law case; to bring an action to court, to litigate (OED v. 1 and 2a); later, specifically to debate a hypothetical case, to take part in a moot (the OED cites this usage by Brome) tonight? Is this your mooting†gg2784 to complain, argue, plead, discuss, dispute, esp. in a law case; to bring an action to court, to litigate (OED v. 1 and 2a); later, specifically to debate a hypothetical case, to take part in a moot (the OED cites this usage by Brome) ? Do you put cases†gg1717 vagina, punning on 'a thing fitted to contain or enclose something else; a receptacle or holder; a box, chest, bag, sheath, covering, etc.; in very early use a reliquary' (OED case n1, 1a) to your wenches, or they to you?

988NicholasI vow, thy father talks too much.

989CrosswillWhich are the better lawyers? Ha!

990MargeryBut that*n1049 Were it not that you are his father, sir, and an old man, and he an honest young gentleman, and our friend, we would tell you.

991CrosswillI thank you for him, yes truly, heartily; and for your good opinion of him, heartily. Pray keep him amongst you while you have him, for I’ll ha’ no more to say to him, I. Is your invectives against drinking, wenching, and the abomination of the times come to this? Is this your spending of time more precious than money? Is it you that knows not what to do with money but to buy books and were drawn with such unwillingness to a tavern? Ha! You shall graze upon Littleton’s Commons*n3352 Crosswill refers again to the lawbooks Mihil should have been reading as a student in the Inns of Court, here Thomas de Littleton's treatise on land tenure, one of the most popular of all textbooks until the nineteenth century. Crosswill puns on 'Commons' as also common land, for grazing. , or eat nothing but books, an’t please you, for any exhibition†gg2806 OED 1. a. Maintenance, support. Obs. [Cf. late L. exhibitio et tegumentum = ‘food and raiment’ (Forcellini).].
In modern English this usage survives in the scholarships sometimes given by Oxford and Cambridge colleges (OED 3. a. Pecuniary assistance given to a university student). thou ever get’st from me – And in that faith thou hast lost a father.   [To BELT]   Come, sir, you have brought me to a goodly sight here; would any villain but thyself have showed his master light to see so much woe? Thy coxcomb†gg105 head; fool shall yet pay for’t.

992BeltOh sir, oh!

993CrosswillThis was your trim†gg990 fine, neat, smart (clever) sight, was it?

994BeltOh!

995CrosswillBut well remembered. Pray, where’s your brother? My son, I would say, for I know no brother or father thou hast. Where is Gabriel?

996MihilHe is not here, sir.

997CrosswillDid you not tell me, sirrah, he was here?

998BeltI told you then too much. I feel it here*n3150 1659 assigns this speech to Crosswill. Several ms. annotators see the error and correct. .

999Mihil*n3150 1659 assigns this speech to Crosswill. Several ms. annotators see the error and correct. He was here, sir, but he is gone, sir.

1000CrosswillSo, so, he’s lost. He must be cried*n1051 Sought through proclamation of his being lost. See OED cried, ppl. a. , or we shall never find him.

1001MihilI’ll warrant you, I’ll find him yet tonight, sir. Pray, gentlemen, pay you the reckoning. I’ll wait upon my father home.

1002CrosswillWas that spoke like a son of mine? Must others pay your reckoning, and I in place? Take that, and do not make me mad.   [CROSSWILL gives MIHIL money]   And why should you home with me, I pray, sir?

1003MihilBecause, sir, it grows dark, and ’tis the worst way as it is about the town, so many odd holes*n4598 Mihil's literal meaning is that his father may fall in the poor streets of Covent Garden, but there is probably also a sexual pun concerning prostitution. Certainly Mihil teases his father into his usual competitiveness in his response: 'Do not think me worse at it in the dark than yourself, I beseach you'. Even if Crosswill is not taking this sexually, the audience is surely conscious of the double entendres. a man may slip into. Pray take me with you, sir.

1004CrosswillPray take no care for me, sir, and let the way be as it is. Do not think me worse at it in the dark than yourself, I beseech you.*n8826 Crosswill appears to mean no more than that he can find his way home unharmed by night as well as his son. But the audience may hear an obscene double entendre, that Crosswill can have his way with a lady of the night just as well the young blades. But you talked of the reckoning: pray let not the want of money for that hinder the search of your brother.   [CROSSWILL gives MIHIL more money]   There’s towards your pains for that; and so for a farewell to you and your friends here; till I hear thou keepest better company, let me hear no more of thee.CROSSWILL and BELT exit

1005MihilThere was no way to get this money and be rid of him, but to offer him my service. He would have driven me out before him else. But come, let’s see my brother that went to sleep in so warlike a passion. I hope he’ll wake in a better.

1006NicholasMun Clotpoll, thou art dull.

1007ClotpollNo, I protest, but struck with admiration at the old blade’s†gg649 smart, fashionable young men, so called from the swords or rapiers they carried as signs of their prowess (although such a reference to gallants was often familiarly laudatory, just as frequently it was contemptuous) humour.

1008NicholasCome, Dammy and the rest, be merry. I vow, we’ll sup together, and so at last hear all thy dismal†gg3136 disastrous, calamitous (OED dismal a, 3) story.