THE DEMOISELLE,
OR, THE NEW ORDINARY.
A COMEDY
Dramatis Personæ [in order of appearance]
|
VERMIN,gg3865 an old usurer |
DRYGROUND,n5780 an old decayedgg84 knight |
ALICE, Vermin’s daughter |
[FIRST] SERVANT,n5781 [one of Vermin’s servants] |
WAT, Vermin’s son |
BUMPSEY,n5782 an old justicegs630 |
Mistressn5783 MAGDALEN,n5784 Bumpsey’s wife |
VALENTINE,n5785 Dryground’s son |
JANE, [Bumpsey’s] daughtern5796 |
Oliver, [a] gallant [and friend of Valentine] |
Ambrose, [a] gallant [and friend of Valentine] |
Sir AMPHILUS,n5797 a Cornish knight |
TREBASCO, Sir Amphilus his footman |
BROOKALL,n5798 a gentleman undone by Vermin |
PHYLLIS,n5799 a poor wenchgg285 |
Lawyers |
ATTORNEYn5800 |
FRIENDLY, a Templern5801 |
FRANCES,n5802 a young gentlewoman |
[SECOND]n5803 SERVANT, [one of Bumpsey’s servants] |
RABBLE |
[MEMBER OF RABBLE] |
[Two] SERGEANTS |
ELEANOR, [Phyllis’s mother] |
Prologue.
Author, or poet,n5804 nor beg to be installed
Sir Laureaten5805 – has sent me out t’invite
Your fancies to a
fullgg198 and
cleangs715 delight,
And bids me tell you that though he be none
Of those whose tow’ring Muses scale the throne
Of kings,n5806 yet his
familiargs716 mirth’s as good,
As if he’d writ
stronggs717 lines and had the fate
Of other fools for meddling with the state.n5808
Readers and
audientsgs718 make good plays or books;
’Tis appetite makes dishes, ’tis not cooks.
But let me tell you, though you have the power
To kill or save,
they’re tyrants that devourn5810
And princes that preserve. He does not aim
So much at praise, as pardon, nor does claim
And honour fills no belly, clothes no back.
And therefore you may see his main intent
Is his own welfare and your merriment.
Then often come, ’twill make us and him the
wetter,gg3877
We’ll drown the faults of this in one that’s better.
The scene, London.
ACT ONE
[Enter] VERMIN [and] DRYGROUND.n5814
Sir Humphrey Dryground.
5VerminAll well and good, all well and good. But now,
Sir Humphrey Dryground, let me counsel you.
You have already spent a fair estate,
A goodly, great estate – I do not taunt,
The purses of such wretches as thyself.
7VerminBut give me leave, now, fairly to admonish
You to a care how you do part with this.
You
spiritedgg3878 men call money dirt and mud;
I say it is the eel.
That foster it.
In such
sleekgs719 hands as yours, from whence it glides—
(As I before was saying), hold it fast.
‘Youth keep thy money fast
And tie it in thy purse,
For that must be thine only friend
For better and for worse.’n5817
And all that they
pretendgg3881 salvation by:
To give good
admonitiongg2656 with their money,
Though in their hearts they wish the quick
subversiongg758
Of all they deal with. This is all they plead
Against the curses of oppressèd souls:
‘Did not I warn you?’ ‘Did not I say, “take heed”?’
And so, and so forth. I must thank you, sir.
With you and all the world, and reap again
All that I formerly have sown, with profit.
We shall call shipwreck, shortly, sowing too.
Hark you, Sir Humphrey Dryground, may not I
Be privy ton5819 your project? Will you tell me,
Of all the treasure buried in the sands there?
And have a million yearly from the merchants
To clear the passage?
No, sir, my project is in the behalf
Of the poor gentleman you overthrew
By the
stronggg2592 hand of law, bribes, and oppression:
Brookall – do you know him, sir? – whose state you sucked,
That
wroughtgs722 him to a poverty that cries
And renders you the monster of our time
For avaricegg3886 and cruelty.
To his relief, to
waivegs723 the bitter curse
That will in time fall on you and your house.
25VerminOh ho! I now remember; you have reason!
That Brookall had a sister, whom you
vitiatedgg3887
In your wild
heatgs724 of blood, and then denied
Her promised marriage,
turned her offn5823 with child
A dozen years since, and since that never heard of.
By all
expiatory means.n5824 But thy
Unless (it comes from Heaven into my heart
To
movegg1799 thee to’t) thou tak’st a speedy
coursegs544
I’ll put thee
in the way.n5827 He has a son,
A
hopefulgg3892 youth, a student in the law,
If his poor father’s want of
meansgs377 have not
Declinedgs725 his
course;gs1571 give him thy only daughter,
And make his father’s own inheritance
And pray a blessing may go with it. And then
Thou may’st regain a Christian reputation,
Till age shall lead thee to a
quietgs726 grave.
Come, is’t a match? Will you
bestowgg3895 your daughter
On Brookall’s son, and make your way to Heaven
by’t?gg3896
To all such counsels.
I shall think of your counsel.
This parcel of thy land, I’ll keep from
wetting:gg3898[VERMIN produces] the mortgage.n5834
’Tis not in thee to turn an acre of it
Into pure liquor
for a twelvemonth’s day,n5836
And
break that day thy paymentn5837 and the sun
Sets not more suren5838 than all this land is mine.
My daughter! Ha!
Cann5841 ’t be in thought of man
To dream of such a
match?gs727 A wretch, a beggar?
Within there! Where’s my girl? What, Ally? Ally?
Enter ALICE.
That had I more than one I should run
wildcat;gg3902
Than one, I mean, to care for – that’s thyself,
My
sober,gs728 discreetgs729 daughter. Note my care,
Piled up for thee in
massygs730 sums of wealth,
Too weighty for thy weak consideration
To guess from whence it came, or how together
So laid in mountainous heaps.
As strange to me, as are the stony wonders
Persuades me ’twas your
thrift,gg3903 and that great blessing
That gives increase to honest
industry,gg3904
Drawn on it by your prayers and
uprightgg3905 life,
That
wroughtgs731 these heaps together.
’Tis well if thine with all thy
housewiferygg3906
Can keep ’em so! I thank thee for thy judgement
And charitable thoughts. But—
39VerminI say, thou art the only child I care for.
Thy brother (though I loath to call him so)
Not to be named but with my curse, a
wolfn5852
That tears my very bowels out.
His last, already, of my
meansgs377 and blessing.
May he be so, dost think? Could I but dream
His creditors, that have him
fast,gg255 could be
So
idlygs734 merciful, or that his youthful
ginggs735
Could
stretchgg3910 to get him out, I’ll lay, myself,
An action on him weightier than the strength
Of all their poor abilities could lift.
His
Jacks, his Toms, his Nams, Nolls, Gills, and Nuns,n5856
Should not release his carcass. If they did,
I’d force him to a trial for his life
To urge against your justice, only I
cravegg2469
Your
leavegg885 to grieve that I have such a brother.
My only, only child, and but in one command
Obey me further, all my estate is thine.
’Tis that I called thee for.
More than your daily blessing, but desire
To know what you’ll impose upon my duty.
47VerminThou shalt, and style thyself a lady by’t.
51VerminEven he; this day he comes to town.
Indeed, and shall be
matchlessgs740 still for me.
53Vermin [Aside] I like those blushes well:n5878 I read his welcome
Upon her cheeks.
But little land.
Enough to buy the best knight’s land, that is
A selling knight,n5879 in the west part of England.
With— oh, the
husbandrygg3919 that’s in him!
58AliceHow came he by his knighthood? Cost it nothing?
59VerminNo. He was one o’th’ cob-knights in the throng
When they were dubbed in clusters.n5881
Enter [FIRST] SERVANT.n5882
That you expect this day is come to town;
His man has brought ’s portmanteau.gg3920
The
welcomestgg3921 man alive is come to town!
Ally, my girl, my daughter, Lady Bride!
What title shall I give thee? Now
bestir you.n5883
To save his dinner.
Enter WAT disguised like a country serving-man.
Welcome, honest friend.
And how does the right worshipful Sir Amphilus?
62WatMy master is in health, sir, praised be
Go—n5884
A little weary,
or so,n5885 as I am of my
carriage,gs744
Which I must not lay down, but in the hands
Of your own worship.
63Vermin’Tis of weight and locked; I guess the worth,
And warrant him the safety under these keys.
But where’s thy master?
Tellinggs745 a little with the host, till I
Bring word from you.
Myself. You shall stay here, his chamber
Fittedgg3923 against he comes. Ally, bestir you,
And think no pains your trouble on this day;
Tomorrow’s sun shall light your wedding way.
[VERMIN] exit[s].n5887
66Alice [Aside] Unless some unexpected fate relieve me,
I shall be hurried to my
endlessgg3924 ruin.
67WatYou are sad,
methinks,gg3925 young mistress. I can tell you,
My master, when he comes, will make you merry.
The soul of mirth and music at command:
Money, the all-rejoicing
spirit.gs747 That
He’ll make you merry with. Nor that alone,
But dignity, which women prize
’bovegg2459 money.
You are a lady by’t:
markgg2220 that. And if
He has a weakness, which you reckon folly,
The thing which is of most esteem. You’ll be
His lady
regent,gg3928 rule all his, and him.
70AliceThis fellow talks not like a serving-man,
A
forty-shilling-wagesn5888 creature, but
Some disguised
spokesman.gg3929 What may be the
trickgg3930 on’t?
71WatYou cannot, in th’
estategg314 you are, imagine
What ’tis to be a wife to such a man.
72AliceNo more than you perceive the pains you loose
In
foolinggg3931 for him thus. But spare your breath
And take
this brief taste of his entertainment.n5889
First, know that I do know the man you speak of
To be a
covetousgg3932 miser, old and foolish,
Not worth in my estimation the worst meal
That ever he himself
paid three pence for.n5890
73WatWho do you mean? Sir Amphilus, my knight?
The ways he got his wealth by:
casualgg3934 matchesgs749
Of forty, fifty, and sometimes a hundred
For one, when
bounteousgg3935 Fortune (seldom failing
Men of his brain) cast all into his mouth
The
gudgeongs750 gaped for. And how
slightgg558 a thing
That have no faith but in their
ready money,gg1245
Nor love to worldly pleasures above those
There’s his delight indeed.
77WatBut
wedlock to his agen5895 will bring him home
To
choicergg3938 pleasures, and abandon such.
78AliceHis age is fit for nothing but to rock
Another’s child, and to rejoice
through spectaclesn6566
At the strong guess he has it is his own.
Him, and his
weightygs759 reasons to
confutegg3976 you—
And if thou
ow’stgg3977 him so much service, tell him,
Go back and tell him straight, save him the end
Of his intended journey. For to come
My father,
eregg1781 he shall enforce me take him
I’ll fly into the arms of one he hates.
83WatThese are the arms that must receive thee then.
Nay, be not
frighted,gg3978 sister; look, ’tis I.
[Takes] off his beard, etc.
Could not the comptergg3909 hold you?
My virtue was not to be so
obscured.gg3980
Noble Sir Humphrey Dryground, sister, was
To tell thee, sister! Thou must go with me.
But first, lend me some money. Borrow some
(And let it be a good sum) of my father,
My pockets and thine own, for we must hence.
86AliceWhat’s the meaning of all this?
87Wat’Twill be too long to tell it here.
The
rascalgg3986 fool to whom my father gives thee
Is come to town, and should he now surprise thee,
Here in my father’s
power,gg3987 thy strength might fail thee;
How are my sister and myself
boundgg3989 to thee
That plottest this escape! Dispatch, good Ally,
88AliceWhy? Wither? What’s the matter?
89WatSay thou will have that
coxcomb,gs207 I’ll but kill thee,
And leave
theen5979 here, and all my care is over.
90AliceI’ll sooner die than have him.
91WatWhy do you not
shungs763 him then? O sweet Sir Humphrey,
In my disguise? In sending out my father
On
Tom Fool’s errand,n5981n5980 while a coach is sent
To the back door here? All to save my sister,
My thankless sister, here, from worse than rape!
But till the
wildfiregg2549 of my father’s passion
Shall be run out.
’Slid,gs764 I had
e’engs765 forgot!
Bear money with us, sister,
prettygs766 store.gs767
Who knows
occasions?gs768 Let him keep in pawn
My rich portmanteaugg3920 for’t.
95WatMore than he’ll thank me for. We’ll talk i’th’ coach.
In, in, and
furnish,gg3992 and so through the garden,
And,
whirr,gg3991 we are gone! If we should be prevented,
By this good steel,n5982 if I but hear one knock
I’ll make sure work o’ thee. I can but
trussgg3993 for’t;
There’s a fair end
on’sgs770 both. And what will he
Do with his money then? Look how thou stand’st!
If you respect your father, or the dog-master
To be your husband, better than me, then take
You your own course. Mine shall be known next
sessions.gg2415
96AliceBetter than you! Don’t you respect your father
Better than me?
97WatNo. If I do, let me be hanged for nothing,
And that would anger any man, I think.
’Slid,gs764 thou and I had one mother (which
We both take after), so had not he and we.
And he takes after nobody that I know.
He loves a
strangergs771 better than ’s own child,
And that man’s money better than that man,
The devil
’bovegg2459 all, I think. Thou dost not know
What coals we stand on.n5983
99WatWilt loose thyself with keeping
that?n5984 Is that
All, now? Away, away!
[Enter] BUMPSEY, DRYGROUND, VALENTINE, MAGDALEN, [and] JANE.n5988
102DrygroundDo but hear patiently, and
do your pleasure.n5990 I go not about to stop your
course,gs773 Master Bumpsey.
103BumpseyNor I yours, Sir Humphrey, nor your son’s here, nor his wife’s there. Only
this gentlewomann5991 in mine own
rightgs774 I may be bold
withal,gs363 while you depart my house, if you may be entreated, so. Is not this right? Is not this
plain?gs775
105BumpseyGood
whirly,gg3995 what can his worship speak? Or your wisdom
twattlegg3996 for him in this
causegg3997 that I do not understand already? Has not his son wedded our daughter? How
directly,gg3998 or
indirectly,gs777 who
meddlesgs778 with his match? Nay, more, has he not
beddedgg4001 her? How, directly or indirectly, who
meddlesgg4000 with that either? Let him have and hold,
possessgs779 (hmh!)gg4002 and enjoy, do his worst and make his best of her, though she be an heir,
I will not sue him out of her.n5992 No, I protest, were it
ante copulam,n5993 as it is
post,n5994 I would not
crossgs780 ’em. Is not this right and plain enough?
107BumpseyKeep your ‘brother’s and your ‘good’s to yourself, sir, I have no need of ’em. You are a knight, and a man of worship—
Whose noise grows from their hollow emptiness.
I could have matched my daughter here, that was,
Though in a
tradesman’sn6000 son, when your fair titles
Are but the shadows of your ancestry,
And you walk in ’em, when your land is gone,
Like the pale ghosts of dead nobility.n6001
Ha! Is’t not so? Is not this right and
plain?gs786
118BumpseyNay, I come up to you now, Sir Humphrey Dryground,
Up in a
pointgs788 of chivalry. You are a knight,
T’inherit that
dear-paid-forn6002 title, but—
You’ll give me leave to use my
plainness?gg4013
Which may hereafter
ladifygg4015 my daughter,
But where’s the land you once were lord of? Ha?
The goodly cornfields, meadows, woods and pastures
That must maintain the house, the gowns, the coach,
Withalgg1607 by
complementsgg4016 of horses, hawks, and hounds—
Besides the gardens, orchards, walks and fish-ponds?n6004
You, that had all these once in three fair lordships,
But a small pittance of
trois cents per annumn6005 –
Or ’t had had
wastedgg4022 too – which now maintains you
To wash your mouth with after, where you live
Confined in
Milford Lane,n6006 or
Fullers Rents,n6007
Or who knows where, it
skillsgg4025 not—
A lawful precedent for your
gamesomegg4026 son
To make my daughter happy in a marriage,
Though he had twice my fortunes?
128Jane [To VALENTINE] Now he’s coming.
Bear but with this, and if he offer not
More than you would request, I’ll lose your love.
Your son, sir, has my daughter, that must have,
And shall, my whole estate at my decease
(No law
exactsgg4028 it sooner). This estate
You safely may suppose
ten thousand pounds,n6011
Which I have got by
thriftygg4029 industry.
Only one thousand, I confess, my wifen6012
Improved my fortune with. Here’s the just sum.n6012[Produces the money.]n6013
I give her leave to give it to her daughter:
She may
endowgg4030 her husband with it. So,
Is not this plain? Now
notegg2768 me further, sir,
What I have left is my own, and you, sir, may
Withn6014 what is theirs take hence your son and daughter,
Till you shall hear old Bumpsey is deceased.
Then let him come, and challenge all
– that’s left –n6015
Meantime I know my
course.gs773
Are you pleased to speak, sir?n6022
Can you speak or not? If not, pray
telln6023 me so.
Her mother
for’t,gg2370 not me. Well, will you speak?
Your love and
favour.gg201
I would make this my suit—gg773
With re-acceptancen6025 of this thousand poundn6026
Your daughter and me
into your family.n6027
146BumpseyAnd why the thousand pound? Does ’t burn your fingers?
Out of his
little-leftgg4036 estate, will give us
Your future favour, so extend your
bounty,gs791
When age shall call upon you to dispose
Of all your fair possessions.
Strong probabilityn6031 in me to manage
A good estate, you trust me not with any.
After my death my whole estate, by showing
Me, in my lifetime, your good husbandry,
Y’ have
ta’engg2156 off half my purpose, for I meant
To have kept it in my power whether to leave her
Any or nothing, and perhaps (
d’yegg4038 hear)
By an odd course that I was thinking on
Half of that power I’ll put into your hands:
I’ll try what you can do with something.
I’ll give him instantly the
freegs798 possession
Of half I have. Now
mark:gs799 if you increase
Or keep that half, then,
doubtless,gg2966 I shall do
As well with
t’othergs800 for you. If you diminish
Or waste it all, I’ll do the like with my part.
And I’ll along with you in your own
course,gs773
And, as you play your game, you win or lose all:
Thrivegs801 and I’ll thrive; spend you, and I will spend;
Save, and I’ll save;
scatter,gg4042 and I’ll scatter.
Into the Thames,
make ducks and drakesn6034 with
pieces,gs737
I’ll do the like, till he has made a
matchgs802
Or no match of my daughter.n6035 There’s the
pointgs803
And the whole
substancegg4027 on’t.
Or be no
husbandgs804 for him, and so see
What’s mine out of the danger of his waste,
And have some
sportgs446 too for my money. Ha!
I love to do these things.
167MagdalenNay, but in one thing, Bump, let me advise you.
’Tis so
set down.gg4044 I know I shall be counted
But the truth is I love to do these things.
And so
God gi’ ye joy.n6036
And go well satisfied with this agreement.
And Val, take briefly this my
charge:gs807 you are now
A
husband,gs808 be a good one;
y’gg4046 have my blessing.
But
(hark you)gg5322 do you remember
’gainstgs809 the evening?
[Aside] These shall stay here. I’ll blindfold them with money,
And by a new way try if they can
gropegg4049
The right way into th’ world.n6040 [Aloud] Come your way.gg4050[They exit.]
Edited by Lucy Munro
gg3865
VERMIN,
a term used to refer to various kinds of ‘noxious or objectionable’ (OED n, 1) animals, including parasitic insects (OED n, 2); used more generally to refer to vile or depraved human beings (OED n, 3)
[go to text]
n5780
DRYGROUND,
‘Dry’ here means ‘withered’ (OED a, 2a) or ‘barren’ (OED a, 15a), referring to the fact that Dryground has wasted his resources and fortune, and to the mortgaging of his land which has just been concluded when the play opens.
[go to text]
gg84
decayed
fallen into ruin through loss of prosperity, health, or fortune; impaired, or reduced in quality or condition (OED 1)
[go to text]
n5781
[FIRST] SERVANT,
] Servants
[go to text]
n5782
BUMPSEY,
‘Bumpsey’ or ‘bumsy’ can mean tipsy or intoxicated (OED a.): OED quotes Tarlton’s Jests (London, 1613), ‘Tarlton being a-carousing, drunk so long to the watermen that one of them was bumpsy’ (sig. A2v), and John Taylor, The Nipping and Snipping of Abuses (London, 1614): ‘Straight staggers by a porter, or a carman / As bumsy as a fox’d flapdragon German’ (sig. K1v). His name therefore reflects the way in which Bumpsey becomes intoxicated by his own ideas, and it can be linked to Oliver’s description of him as a ‘free-cost drunkard’ [DM 2.1.speech183]. Bumpsey’s name may seem to modern audiences to have links with ‘bumptious’ (self-assertive or self-conceited), but the OED’s earliest example of this word dates from 1803.
[go to text]
gs630
justice
judge or magistrate (justice of the peace)
[go to text]
n5783
Mistress
] Mrs.
[go to text]
n5784
MAGDALEN,
Pronounced ‘Maudlin’; the name is often associated with drinking, and is used to refer to ‘repentant (female) sinners’, and especially prostitutes (OED n, 2a). Compare Brome’s The New Academy, in which the former servant and wife of Matchil is called Maudlin in the dramatis personae, although she is called Rachel in the play proper, and Brome and Heywood’s The Late Lancashire Witches, in which one of the witches is called Maud, a diminutive of Magdalen.
[go to text]
n5785
VALENTINE,
sweetheart (OED n, 2); Brome uses this name elsewhere, in The New Academy; in The Demoiselle it carries less irony in being applied to the newly-married man than it does as the name of the would-be seducer of the earlier play.
[go to text]
n5796
[Bumpsey’s] daughter
] his daughter
[go to text]
n5797
AMPHILUS,
the name of a Platonist philosopher who taught Epicurus, here used ironically
[go to text]
n5798
BROOKALL,
‘brook’ here means ‘endure’, or ‘put up with’ (OED brook v, 3)
[go to text]
n5799
PHYLLIS,
Phyllis’s name derives from the Greek for ‘foliage’ or ‘green bough’; the name, which is widely used in pastoral literature, suggests her innocence and is perhaps mildly ironic in view of her occupation as a beggar in London. In the dialogue, Phyllis twice refers to herself as ‘Nell’, a diminutive of her mother’s name, Eleanor; nowhere is she referred to as ‘Phyllis’. I have retained the octavo’s use of ‘Phyllis’ in speech prefixes, but there might be an argument for adopting ‘Nell’, even if we assume that this is a nickname.
[go to text]
gg285
wench
young woman
[go to text]
n5800
ATTORNEY
A legal professional who conducts litigation in the courts of Common Law and prepares the case for the barrister, or counsel, who argues the case in open court (OED attorney n1, 3).
[go to text]
n5801
Templer
i.e. member of the Inner or Middle Temple, two of London’s Inns of Court.
[go to text]
n5802
FRANCES,
Frances is only called by name by Dryground, and he always refers to her as ‘Frank’. These names are perhaps more sexually ambiguous to modern ears that they would have been to those of 1630s playgoers, when not only could ‘Frank’ be a nick-name for men or women, but the spelling of Francis and Frances was often interchangeable. (A modern equivalent of the use of ‘Frank’ in The Demoiselle would be ‘Fran’ or perhaps ‘Frankie’.)
Female characters called Frances or Francischina are referred to as ‘Frank’ in dialogue and/or stage directions in plays including The London Prodigal (King’s Men, c. 1604), Middleton’s The Puritan (Children of Paul’s, c. 1606), Chapman’s May-Day (Chapel Children, c. 1601); Marston’s The Dutch Courtesan (Queen’s Revels, c. 1604) and Shirley’s The Constant Maid (?Werburgh Street, Dublin, c. 1639). Female characters in Fletcher’s The Captain (King’s Men, c. 1612) and Middleton’s A Mad World my Masters (Children of Paul’s, c. 1605) are referred to only as ‘Frank’.
Sexually ambiguous characters whose names are variations on Frances or Francis appear in at least three plays that pre-date The Demoiselle. In May-Day Francischina disguises herself as a boy in order to pursue an affair with Angelo, while in Field’s Amends for Ladies (Queen’s Revels, c. 1611), Ingen’s brother, Frank, is required to dress as a woman. The complexity of Brome’s plot is most closely paralleled by that of Jonson’s The New Inn (King’s Men, 1629), in which audiences are led to believe that a boy named Frank is disguised as a woman named Laetitia, the name being chosen for that of one of the central characters’ lost sister; at the play’s conclusion, however, it is revealed that ‘Frank’ is really Laetitia, the lost sister. For further discussion of the links between The New Inn and The Demoiselle see the Introduction.
The name ‘Frances’ also has other relevant associations. As Williams (2: 540-1), points out, it is a common name for a whore in early modern texts, due to the associations of the word ‘frank’ with ‘free’. See Samuel Rowlands, The Letting of Humours’ Blood in the Head Vein (London, 1600), Epigram 20:
Frank in name, and frank by nature,
Francis is a most kind creature:
Herself hath suffered many a fall
In striving how to pleasure all. (sig. B5v)
The prostitutes in Brome’s own The Weeding of Covent Garden are called Betty and Francisca, and the latter is referred to as ‘Frank’ in dialogue and stage directions. See also the prostitute Frank Gullman in Middleton’s A Mad World My Masters; Cicely in Nabbes’s Tottenham Court (Prince Charles’s Men, 1633; published London, 1638) uses the name as a stereotypical one for a whore, declaring, ‘I am not the blade’s intelligence whether Frank or Moll remove their lodgings to ’scape the constables’ search and Bridewell’ (sig. B3v).
Intriguingly, Brome uses the name twice in The New Academy, a play closely associated with The Demoiselle: according to the dramatis personae, the real name of Lafoy’s son is Frances, although it is not used on stage, while Gabriella uses the name Frances when she is working in the academy, Cash asking the two young women, ’Ha’ not you changed your names / From Joyce and Gabriella to Jane and Frances?’ [NA 4.1.speech846].
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n5803
[SECOND]
] Servants
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gg3875
playmaker
playwright (a deliberately down-to-earth term)
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n5804
Our playmaker – for yet he won’t be called Author, or poet,
Brome (or the prologue on his behalf) deliberately disclaims terms which elevate the playwright’s activities to the status of literature. Bentley (Jacobean and Caroline Stage, 3: 66) speculates that Brome may have in mind playwrights such as William Davenant and Thomas Nabbes, both of whom had recently been described as ‘author’ on the title-pages of printed plays.
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n5805
Sir Laureate
The term refers in general to any poet distinguished for their excellence (OED laureate a, 2b), but Brome also refers specifically either to the jockeying for places in the race to succeed Jonson (who died in August 1637) as poet laureate to the court, or to the appointment of William Davenant to that post in December 1638. (See Bentley, Jacobean and Caroline Stage, 2: 66; Steggle, Richard Brome, 121-2.) Brome also includes digs at courtier-playwrights such as Davenant in other plays of this period, notably The Antipodes (see NOTE n3914) and The Court Beggar.
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gg198
full
abundant, satisfying (OED a, 6a)
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gs715
clean
pure, chaste (OED a, 4a); elegant, free from faults (OED a,7); ‘neatly made’, ‘not unwieldy’ (OED a, 10a); clever, skilful (OED a, 11)
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n5806
whose tow’ring Muses scale the throne Of kings,
This is another dig at courtier-playwrights such as Davenant.
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gs716
familiar
domestic, homely (OED a, 1a); well-known (OED a, 6); ordinary, in every-day use (OED a, 6b); homely, plain, easy to understand (OED a, 6c); affable, friendly (OED a, 7)
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gg3876
approved
commended, said to be good (OED ppl, 3; here the first citation is given as occurring in Milton’s Paradise Lost, first published 1667)
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n5807
understood,
a key word for Brome, who takes it from Jonson; cf. Jonson’s Epigram 1, ‘To the Reader’ (in Ben Jonson: Poems, ed. Ian Donaldson [London: Oxford University Press, 1975], 7): ‘Pray thee, take care, that tak’st my book in hand, / To read it well: that is, to understand.’
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gs717
strong
powerful or formidable (OED a, 7a), powerful or loud (as of a voice) (OED a, 13d); intense, uncompromising (OED a, 13i), firmly convinced (OED a, 13j); having a powerful effect, hard to resist or control (OED a, 16)
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n5808
As if he’d writ strong lines and had the fate Of other fools for meddling with the state.
This may be a reference to the Star Chamber trial of the ‘puritan’ writers John Bastwick, Henry Burton and William Prynne in 1637, after which all three men were fined, condemned to the pillory, and had their ears cropped. See Cyndia Clegg, Press Censorship in Caroline England (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008), 179-81. On the other hand, if the prologue has been amended for a revival, it may refer to the incident in which the author and performers in The Whore New Vamped, a Red Bull play, were called before the Privy Council because they ’have lately for many days together acted a scandalous and libellous play wherein they have audaciously reproached, and in a libellous manner traduced and personated, some persons of quality, and scandalized and defamed the whole profession of proctors belonging to the Court of the Civil Law, and reflected upon the present Government’ (Privy Council Register vol. 50, p. 653 (Charles I, vol XVI), transcribed from C.W. Wallace Papers, Huntington Library, Box 3, BI18; see also Bentley, Jacobean and Caroline Stage, 5: 1441-2). Another possible target might be another courtier poet, John Suckling (a target for Brome’s satire in 1637, when he printed his play Aglaura in folio rather than the customary quarto format), and his involvement (with Davenant) in a royalist scheme of May 1641 the second Army Plot, which aimed to free the imprisoned Earl of Strafford.
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gs718
audients
hearers or listeners (OED n.)
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n5810
they’re tyrants that devour
The image of the tyrant devouring his people was a conventional one, with biblical authority: the translators of the Bishops’ Bible comment that ‘the scriptures compare tyrants to cruel and huge beasts, which devour all that be weaker then they, and such as they may overcome’ (The Holy Bible Containing the Old Testament and the New [London, 1568), sig. CLVIIr [Ezekiel, 32.2.2]). The comparison of the audience to devouring tyrants also fits neatly into the line of culinary imagery developed in the prologue.
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n5811
Laurel,
laurel crowns or wreaths were traditionally as a symbol of distinction, especially in poetry
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gg2728
bays
a wreath of laurel or bay leaves: an emblem of victory or of distinction in poetry
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gg483
sack
white wine from Spain: sack is derived from 'sec', and usually meant a dry white wine; hence Falstaff's enjoyment of 'sack and sugar'
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gg3877
wetter,
more addicted to drink (OED wet a, 14b); cf. Thomas Nashe, Pierce Penniless his Supplication to the Devil (London, 1592): ‘inveigh against all men but those that keep a wet corner for a friend, and will not think scorn to drink with a good fellow and a soldier’ (p. 33, fol. 16); see also ‘wetting’ below [DM 1.1.speech31].
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n5812
1.1
Act 1 consists of two scenes, each of which introduces us to a family grouping. Scene 1 opens with an exchange between the decayed knight Sir Humphrey Dryground and the usurer Vermin; they have just agreed a deal in which Vermin has loaned Dryground money in exchange for a mortgage on his land. This was a conventional opening for a city comedy – we might compare, for instance, Thomas Middleton’s A Trick to Catch the Old One (Children of Paul’s, c. 1605), which opens with Witgood lamenting the loss of his lands. However, although Dryground looks like the familiar dramatic stereotype of a member of the gentry whose expenses exceed his income, it becomes clear that his ‘project’ is not a self-interested scheme, but one which aims to recover the fortune of another distressed gentleman, Brookall. Furthermore, Vermin’s mocking response to this plan informs the audience of the narrative’s pre-history: Dryground is keen to make (belated) amends to Brookall for his crimes against the latter’s sister, whom he seduced and then refused marriage. The plot thus recalls Brome’s earlier play The Sparagus Garden, in which the feud between Striker and Touchwood was provoked by Touchwood’s seduction of Striker’s sister; Brookall seems not to have thrown his sister out of doors, but she has nonetheless disappeared. The other plot element introduced in this scene is the planned marriage between Vermin’s daughter Alice and a Cornish knight, Sir Amphilus. Alice is wholly opposed to the match, and she escapes her father’s house with the assistance of her scapegrace brother, Wat, who appears in disguise as one of Sir Amphilus’ servants.
Scene 2 also focuses on a man’s thwarted desire to make a good marriage for his daughter. It features Bumpsey, a successful businessman who had hoped to marry his daughter Jane to a wealthy suitor but has instead just discovered that she has married Dryground’s son, Valentine (having apparently caught the pair in bed together). The marriage has the approval of Dryground, and of Bumpsey’s wife, Magdalen, and the scene focuses on the other characters’ attempts to reconcile Bumpsey to the match and to persuade him to make a suitable financial settlement on his daughter and her new husband.
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n5813
1.1
] ACT. I. Scene I.
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n5814
[Enter] VERMIN [and] DRYGROUND.
] Vermine, Dryground.
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n7608
You have your money, full a thousand pound,
Vermin may be holding a copy of the agreement and Dryground a purse containing the money he has just borrowed.
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n7607
And you have my mortgage.
i.e. you have my agreement that if I default on the loan you will get my estate.
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gg1085
tax
censure, accuse
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gg3878
spirited
lively, energetic (OED a, 2)
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gs719
sleek
plausible, specious (OED a, 3); also means 'perfectly smooth or polished' (OED a, 2), so Vermin may suggest that money slips through the hands of men like Dryground
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gg3879
oft-times,
often
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gs720
conceive
understand (OED v, 9c)
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n5817
‘Youth keep thy money fast And tie it in thy purse, For that must be thine only friend For better and for worse.’
This song also appears in George Powell’s A Very Good Wife (first performed 1693; printed London, 1693), where it is sung by Hickman, a linen draper, as he refuses to give the hero, Courtwit, the money he owes to him. The text appears as:
Youth keep, oh keep thy money fast,
And tie it in thy purse,
For that must be thy friend at last,
For better, and for worse. (p. 4)
The setting appears to be lost. See Restoration Theatre Song Archive, compiled by Anthony W. Butler, with the assistance of Tracey Caulfield, Felicity Henderson and Harold Love, Item GPAVGW2. The song is not mentioned in Julia K. Wood’s 'Music in Caroline Plays', unpublished PhD thesis, University of Edinburgh, 1991, the most extensive survey of Caroline theatre music. Powell draws extensively on Brome’s plays in A Very Good Wife, closely adapting material taken from The City Wit and The Court Beggar, and he probably takes the song directly from The Demoiselle.
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n5818
Aye,
] I
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gg3880
scripture,
sacred writings (OED n, 1d); motto (OED n, 3)
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gg3881
pretend
lay claim to, profess to have (OED v, 3); intend, plan (OED v, 10); aspire to, have pretensions to (OED v, 12)
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gg2656
admonition
warning, 'authoritative counsel' (OED)
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gg758
subversion
ruin, overthrow
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gg193
venture
enterprise, commercial speculation
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gs182
project
something projected or proposed for execution; a plan, scheme (OED n, 5a)
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gg3882
Out upon
curses upon (in modern-day English this would mean something like ‘to hell with’)
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gg63
Fie,
exclamation of disgust or reproach
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gg3883
out,
an exclamation expressing grief, abhorrence, or indignant reproach: alas!, woe is me!; get out!, curses upon you! (OED out int, 1)
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gg3002
Prodigal
extravagant, recklessly wasteful
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n5819
Be privy to
share in the knowledge of, become accessory to (OED privy a, 4a)
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n5820
on it?
i.e. of it
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gs721
in
truly; indeed
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n5821
Goodwins?
Goodwin Sands, ‘A shoal off the coast of Kent between the Isle of Thanet and the S. Foreland’ (Sugden, Topographical Dictionary, 227, s.v. Goodwin Sands), which was a notorious site of shipwrecks. Cf. The Merchant of Venice, 3.1.1-5: ‘Antonio hath a ship of rich lading wrecked on the narrow seas – the Goodwins I think they call the place – a very dangerous flat, and fatal, where the carcases of many a tall ship lie buried, as they say’. Also mentioned in Heywood, The Four Prentices of London (?Admiral’s Men, c. 1594?; printed London, 1615): ‘Were ye the four young London prentices, / That in the ships were wracked on Goodwins’ sands?’ (sig. I4v).
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gg3884
blow.
(n) attack, act of hostility (OED n1, 3)
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gg2592
strong
powerful; severe
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gs722
wrought
shaped, moulded: in this context means something like 'reduced' or 'transformed'
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gg3528
covetise
covetousness; excessive desire for the acquisition and possession of wealth; especially of possessing what belongs to another (OED 2)
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gg3885
to
‘To the highest or utmost degree; to the extremity; to the utmost’ (OED n, 19)
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gg3886
avarice
greed, desire to acquire and hoard wealth (OED)
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gs723
waive
shun; escape (OED v1, 6a)
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gg3887
vitiated
corrupted, spoiled (OED)
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gs724
heat
rage, ardour; passion, lust
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n5823
turned her off
That is: dismissed her, sent her away (OED turn v, 74b).
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gg3888
Is’t
is it
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gg3889
know
have sexual intercourse with (OED v, 7)
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gg3890
ruthful
lamentable, piteous (OED a, 2)
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n5824
expiatory means.
ways of making amends
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n5825
Inhuman
] inhumane (could be modernised as either ‘inhuman’ or ‘inhumane’)
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n5826
inexpiable
That is: cannot be atoned for (OED inexpiable a, 1).
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gg1799
move
persuade, convince
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gs544
course
line (course) of action, procedure (but with the suggestion too of a planned series of actions or medical prescriptions to effect a cure)
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gg3891
threefold
consisting of three parts; three times as great
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gg462
restitution.
'The action of restoring or giving back something to its proper owner, or of making reparation to one for loss or injury previously inflicted' (OED 1a).
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n5827
in the way.
i.e. on that path, in the right direction
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gg3892
hopeful
promising, ‘giving promise of success or future good’ (OED a, 2a)
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gs377
means
resources (especially financial)
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gs725
Declined
decayed, debased (OED ppl.)
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gs1571
course;
programme of study (OED n, 23a)
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gg3893
unrighteously
unjustly, wrongfully (OED)
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gg3894
usurped
seized, possessed unjustly (OED ppl. 1)
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gs704
dowry,
the money or property which the wife brings to her husband; the portion given with the wife (OED dowry n, 2; dower n2, 2)
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gs726
quiet
peaceful, undisturbed; free from agitation (of the conscience, etc.) (OED a, 10)
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gg3895
bestow
give in marriage (OED v, 4)
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gg3896
by’t?
by it: on account of it, because of it
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n5831
adder’s ears
Adders were assumed to be deaf; Brome also uses this comparison elsewhere, in The Weeding of Covent Garden, in which Gabriel declares ‘Mine ears shall be that of the adder against the song of the serpent’ [CG 2.2.speech394].
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n5833
break your day
That is: fail to keep your arranged time for payment (OED break v, 15e).
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gg3898
wetting:
being drenched with, or converted into, alcohol; cf. ‘wetter’ in the Prologue [DM 1.1.speech2]
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n5834
[VERMIN produces] the mortgage.
] The Mortgage.
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n5836
for a twelvemonth’s day,
i.e. until a day twelve months from now
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n5837
break that day thy payment
fail to make your payment on that day
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n5838
the sun Sets not more sure
i.e. as surely as the sun will set
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n5841
Can
can it
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gs727
match?
husband; marriage
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gg3900
morn.
morning
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gg3901
startle-brain,
thing that upsets the brain (OED); this is OED’s only example, and I have not been able to find another: the word may be Brome’s invention
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gg3902
wildcat;
mad or demented (OED 2; this is OED’s only example)
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gs728
sober,
moderate, avoiding excess (OED a, 1); abstemious (OED a, 2); serious, staid (OED 5a)
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gs729
discreet
prudent, cautious (OED a, 1)
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gs730
massy
solid and heavy; ‘wrought in solid pieces’ (OED a, 1a)
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n5846
the stony wonders On Salisbury Plain
Alice is referring to Stonehenge, which was well known in early modern England. In Ancient Funeral Monuments Within the United Monarchy of Great Britain, Ireland, and the Islands Adjacent (London, 1631), John Weever writes, ‘So here in England, the interments of the dead were anciently far out of all towns and cities, either on the ridges of hills, or upon spacious plains, fortified or fenced about, with obelisks, pointed stones, pyramids, pillars, or such like monuments; for example, England’s wonder upon Salisbury plain, called Stonehenge, the sepulchre of so many Britains, who by the treachery of the Saxons, were slain there at a parley.’ (p. 6). Given the context of the origin of her father’s wealth, Alice may also be thinking of Salisbury Plain’s reputation as a haunt of robbers and highwaymen. Brome also refers to Salisbury Plain in The New Academy, where Valentine, asked if he can read, says ‘I had done ill to venture on Salisbury Plain else’, meaning that he would have to be able to read his neck-verse and claim benefit of clergy to avoid being hanged [NA 5.2.speech1163].
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gs1569
duty
reverence (for you); moral obligation (to you)
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gg3903
thrift,
industry, labour (OED n, 1 1b); economical management, frugality (OED n, 1 3a)
[go to text]
gg3904
industry,
effort, diligence
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gg3905
upright
honourable, honest
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gs731
wrought
worked, moulded
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gg3906
housewifery
management of household affairs, housekeeping (OED 1); thrift, economy (OED 1b)
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gs732
stranger
foreigner; someone unconnected by family ties
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gs733
blood,
family, kindred, children
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n5852
wolf
This alludes to the supposed savagery of the wolf.
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n5853
Your money.
Alice suggests that Vermin’s avarice, not his son, is the ‘wolf’ that tears at him.
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gg3907
reprobate,
someone rejected by God or lost in sin (OED n, 1); ‘an abandoned or unprincipled person’ (OED n, 2)
[go to text]
gs377
means
resources (especially financial)
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gg3908
turned,
converted
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gg3909
compter!
an obsolete spelling of ‘counter’ (a prison attached to a local magistrate’s court): used specifically in the seventeenth century to refer to London’s debtors’ prisons (OED compter; OED counter n3, 7)
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gg255
fast,
secure
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gs734
idly
carelessly, frivolously
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gs735
ging
company, gang (OED n, 3); cf. Jonson, The New Inn: ‘I would not willingly / See, or be seen, to any of this ging, / Especially the lady.’ (Michael Hattaway, ed., The New Inn [Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1984], 1.5.45-7)
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gg3910
stretch
strain their abilities (OED v, 20)
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n5856
Jacks, his Toms, his Nams, Nolls, Gills, and Nuns,
Common nicknames for John (Jack), Thomas (Tom), Ambrose or Abraham (Nam), Oliver (Noll), Gilbert (Gill); ‘Nuns’ was a slang term for prostitutes (OED n1, 2).
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gg3911
roaring
(a) noisy, riotous
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gs736
fry
crowd of young or insignificant people (OED fry n1, 4b)
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n5857
blade-brandishing
That is: sword-wielding; swords were supposed to be carried only by those with a rank of gentleman or above, but in the 1630s the word ‘blade’ was associated with young gallants (known as ‘blades’) and, in particular, with gangs of riotous young men. Vermin has in mind a gang like the ‘Brothers of the Blade and Baton’ in Covent Garden Weeded.
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gg3912
mates,
companions, comrades
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gs737
pieces
coins, especially the unite of James I, a coin first issued in 1604, with a value of 20 shillings; OED says that these coins rose to a value of 22 shillings in 1611 (OED n.), but in 3.1 [DM 3.1.speech477] Wat assumes that a piece is worth 20 shillings
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gg3913
pilfered
stole
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gg3915
counting-house.
building, room or office used for business (OED c)
[go to text]
n5858
He shall up.
i.e. on the gallows, to be hanged.
[go to text]
gs738
forfeit
give up
[go to text]
gg2469
crave
ask, beg
[go to text]
gg885
leave
permission
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n5877
defy the name of brother in him,
i.e. deny that he has any claim to be your brother.
[go to text]
gg3917
Love
Cupid: the personification of love
[go to text]
gg3918
matchless
peerless, incomparable
[go to text]
gs1570
term?
one of the four periods of the year during which London’s law courts were active
[go to text]
gg776
on’t
of it
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gs741
matchless
incomparable in a negative sense: there is no other knight like him
[go to text]
gs740
matchless
without a match; i.e. without a wife
[go to text]
n5878
I like those blushes well:
Vermin reads Alice’s dismay as maidenly reticence.
[go to text]
n5879
A selling knight,
i.e. a knight who is forced to sell his lands.
[go to text]
n5880
He’s well in years.
Old
[go to text]
gs742
lusty
healthy, strong, vigorous, valiant
[go to text]
gg3919
husbandry
management of a household, thrift (OED n, 4)
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n5881
He was one o’th’ cob-knights in the throng When they were dubbed in clusters.
On 17 July 1603, shortly after his accession to the throne of England, James I ordered that all people with an income of at least £40 per year were to be knighted or face fines. There were about 550 knights in the 1590s, but by the end of the first year of his reign James had tripled their number. See Linda Levy Peck, Court Patronage and Corruption in Early Stuart England (London: Routledge, 1993), 32. The word ‘cob’ can mean ‘miser’ (OED n.1 1.b), so Vermin may be saying that Sir Amphilus got his knighthood on the cheap, being knighted to avoid a fine rather than paying for the honour. There may also be a pun on ‘cob-nuts’, which leads into ‘clusters’ in the following line.
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n5882
Enter [FIRST] SERVANT.
] in the octavo this stage direction (‘Enter Servant’) is placed in the margins [DM 1.1.lines207-208].
[go to text]
gg3920
portmanteau.
case or bag used for travelling (OED n, 1)
[go to text]
gg3921
welcomest
most welcome
[go to text]
n5883
bestir you.
busy yourself, get moving
[go to text]
gs743
thrift;
frugality, stinginess
[go to text]
gg3922
rid
ridden
[go to text]
n5884
Go—
This may be a bowdlerism in the octavo, or it may be Wat’s attempt to swallow a swear-word that would not be ‘in character’ for the servingman.
[go to text]
n5885
or so,
Or the like.
[go to text]
gs744
carriage,
action of carrying
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n5886
Holborn
A major road running west from the City of London to Covent Garden, and one of the major entrances to London. Its many taverns included the George and Blue Boar, the Castle, the Old Bell, the Sun, the Bear and the Black Bull (Sugden, Topographical Dictionary, 252, s.v. Holborn). Sugden notes that it was ‘a great lawyers’ quarter’, as Inns of Court and Chancery surrounded it to the north and south; it was also close to the Middle and Inner Temple, the location for much of The Demoiselle. It supposedly had a reputation for activities connected with the sex trade: in Lording Barry’s Ram Alley (King’s Revels, 1607-8; printed London, 1611), Constantia says of her Boutcher, her lover,
what makes he here
In the skirts of Holborn, so near the field,
And at a garden house? ’A has some punk,
Upon my life. (sig. B1r)
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gs745
Telling
talking, gossiping (OED tell v, 15); counting out pieces of money (OED tell v, 22a)
[go to text]
gg3923
Fitted
prepared
[go to text]
n5887
[VERMIN] exit[s].
] Exit.
[go to text]
gg3924
endless
unending, eternal; infinite
[go to text]
gg3925
methinks,
it seems to me
[go to text]
gs746
As
because
[go to text]
gs747
spirit.
life-blood, breath of life (OED n, 1); ‘brisk or lively quality in things’ (OED n, 14a)
[go to text]
gg2459
’bove
above
[go to text]
gg2220
mark
(v) pay attention to, observe
[go to text]
gg3926
open
free from obstruction; unrestricted; clear
[go to text]
gg3927
sovereignty,
rule, supremacy, authority
[go to text]
gg3928
regent,
ruling, governing, controlling (as sovereign)
[go to text]
n5888
forty-shilling-wages
Forty shillings was widely assumed to be a wage earned by more lowly kinds of servants. In Greene’s Tu Quoque (Queen Anna’s Men, c. 1611; printed London, 1614), Staines tells Bubble, ‘I am humble in body, and dejected in mind, and will do your worship as good service for forty shillings a year, as another shall for three pounds’ (sig. B4v). In one of the inset Antipodean sequences in Brome’s Antipodes, the gentleman offers Byplay ‘To mend thy wages t’other forty shillings / A year, for thy true care of me’ [AN 2.2.speech333]. For commentary see [NOTE n1548].
[go to text]
gg3929
spokesman.
representative, mouthpiece
[go to text]
gg3930
trick
stratagem, crafty or fraudulent device (OED n, 1a); hoax, practical joke (OED n, 2a); thoughtless or stupid act (OED n, 2b)
[go to text]
gg314
estate
(n) condition of existence (OED n, 1a); status, position in the world (OED n, 3a); ‘condition with respect to worldly prosperity, fortune’ (OED n, 2a)
[go to text]
gg3931
fooling
acting like a fool
[go to text]
n5889
this brief taste of his entertainment.
That is: an example of the kind of welcome I will give him.
[go to text]
gg3932
covetous
greedy, grasping, avaricious
[go to text]
n5890
paid three pence for.
This suggests Sir Amphilus’s frugality: three pence would be a small amount for someone of his social standing to pay for a meal.
[go to text]
gs748
squire,
someone ranking immediately below a knight in the feudal system (OED n, 1a); personal attendant or servant (OED n, 1c); a contemptuous term for a servant (OED n, 1d); pimp (OED n, 4b)
[go to text]
gg3933
qualities,
character traits (OED n, 2a); accomplishments or attainments (OED n, 2b); ranks or positions in society (OED n, 4a)
[go to text]
gg3934
casual
produced by chance, fortuitous (OED a, 1a); uncertain, not to be relied on (OED a, 2); uncertain, precarious (OED a, 5a)
[go to text]
gs749
matches
contests on which Sir Amphilus has placed bets (see OED n1, 6b)
[go to text]
gg3935
bounteous
generous, full of goodness (OED a, 1)
[go to text]
gs750
gudgeon
a small fresh-water fish (Gobio fluviatilis), which was often used for bait (OED n1, 1); therefore used to refer to someone gullible, who ‘will bite at any bait or swallow anything’ (OED n1, 2a)
[go to text]
gg558
slight
mean, insubstantial, lowly, small, trifling
[go to text]
gs751
base
contemptible, degraded, unworthy; inferior, unrefined
[go to text]
gg3936
worldlings
people devoted to earthly pleasures
[go to text]
gg316
study
(v) seek to achieve (OED v, 11); in this context also suggests ‘plot for’
[go to text]
gg3937
scrape
gather together or hoard up money (OED v, 5c)
[go to text]
gg1245
ready money,
cash
[go to text]
n5891
Nor love to worldly pleasures above those Poor cobblers use.
Alice claims that Sir Amphilus enjoys lower-class leisure pursuits that should be beneath him socially (and Wat defines them in the following lines).
[go to text]
n5892
duck-hunting:
Duck-hunting was a popular sport in many parts of London in the seventeenth century, often associated with citizens. In Brome’s The New Academy, the ‘city shop-keeper’ Ralph Cameleon is passionately fond of duck-hunting (like Sir Amphilus, he keeps his dog in Turnbull Street), and in Jonson’s Every Man in his Humour (Chamberlain’s Men, 1598) Stephen aspires to learn about hawking, asking, ‘Because I dwell at Hogsden, I shall keep company with none but the archers of Finsbury? Or the citizens that come a-ducking to Islington ponds? A fine jest i’faith! ’Slid, a gentleman mun show himself like a gentleman.’ (C.H. Herford, Percy and Evelyn Simpson, eds., Ben Jonson, 11 vols. [Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1925-52], vol. 3, 1.1.47-51). William B. Boulton (The Amusements of Old London: Being a Survey of the Sports and Pastimes, Tea Gardens and Parks, Playhouses and Other Diversions of the People of London from the 17th to the Beginning of the 19th Century, 2 vols. [London: John C. Nimmo, 1901]) notes, ‘The ducking-pond was a small affair, and boarded to the height of the knee round its edges to prevent the excited spectators from falling in in their eagerness to follow the incidents of the sport.’ (2: 251). The duck was pinioned so that it could not fly away, and was put into the water and hunted by one or more spaniels; its only escape from the dogs was to dive underwater. Sugden states that the principal duck-ponds were in the suburbs to the north of the City of London: on Islington Green, in the Back Road, near White Conduit House, and in East Lane (Topographical Dictionary, 158, s.v. Ducking-Pond); there were others in Mayfair and south London.
There may also be a double entendre here, since ‘duck’ can also refer to a woman, and especially a whore (Williams, 1: 423); cf. Richard Brathwaite, Barnabee’s Journal (London, 1638): ‘dainty Ducks ... Wenches that could play the wantons’ (sig. V1r).
[go to text]
n5893
dunghill-scarab.
In addition to referring to a beetle (especially those thought to live in dunghills), ‘scarab’ was used as an insult: cf. Jonson, The Alchemist (King’s Men, 1610), in which Face tells Subtle ‘You might talk softlier, rascal’, to which Subtle responds, ‘No, you scarab, / I’ll thunder you in pieces’ (The Alchemist, ed. F.H. Mares [London: Methuen, 1967], 1.1.59-60).
[go to text]
n5894
water-dog-knight!
A knight obsessed with water dogs: dogs trained to retrieve wildfowl, often spaniels or poodles. In Of English Dogs: The Diversities, the Names, the Natures, and the Properties, trans. Abraham Fleming (London, 1576), John Caius writes of the Water Spaniel: 'This kind of dog is properly called Aquaticus, a water spaniel, because he frequenteth and hath usual recourse to the water where all his game and exercise lieth, namely waterfowls, which are taken by the help and service of them, in their kind. And principally ducks and drakes, whereupon he is likewise named a dog for the duck, because in that quality he is excellent' (sig. C4v).
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n5895
wedlock to his age
i.e. marriage to someone as old as him.
[go to text]
gg3938
choicer
more select or sophisticated
[go to text]
n6566
through spectacles
Williams (3: 1281) notes that spectacles are part of the iconography of the fool and of the 'erotic fool', the cuckold.
[go to text]
gg1900
slight
(v) disregard, treat with disrespect
[go to text]
gs758
strangely
‘In an unfriendly or unfavourable manner; with cold or distant bearing’ (OED adv. 2); very greatly (OED adv. 4); surprisingly, oddly, wondrously, unaccountably (OED adv. 5)
[go to text]
gs759
weighty
telling, potent (OED a, 4a); earnest, solemn (OED a, 6)
[go to text]
gg3976
confute
overcome
[go to text]
n8759
nor weigh, nor see him,
That is: not weigh, nor see him. (The first ‘nor’ here now sounds archaic, but would not have done so in the 1630s.)
[go to text]
gg2484
weigh,
consider
[go to text]
gg3977
ow’st
owe
[go to text]
gg1268
Hither
here (to this place)
[go to text]
gg2500
hence.
away from here
[go to text]
gg1781
ere
before
[go to text]
gs760
in
serious
[go to text]
gg3978
frighted,
afraid
[go to text]
gg3979
Beshrew me
curse me, evil befall me (a not entirely serious curse: compare ‘hang me’) (OED v, 3b)
[go to text]
gg3909
compter
an obsolete spelling of ‘counter’ (a prison attached to a local magistrate’s court): used specifically in the seventeenth century to refer to London’s debtors’ prisons (OED compter; OED counter n3, 7)
[go to text]
gg3980
obscured.
hidden, disguised
[go to text]
gg3981
frank
free from obligation, unconditional (OED a2, 1d); liberal, generous (OED a2, 2)
[go to text]
gg3982
enfranchiser.
someone who enfranchises, or sets free (OED; earliest citation is 1632)
[go to text]
gg3983
supply,
(v) provide, furnish
[go to text]
gs761
supply
(v) satisfy the wants of (OED v1, 8)
[go to text]
gg3984
Th’art
thou art
[go to text]
gg3985
dispatch.
make haste, get a move on
[go to text]
gg3986
rascal
(a) wretched, mean (OED a, 2), with implications of low class status
[go to text]
gg3987
power,
authority, dominion
[go to text]
n5976
at a sure guard.
i.e. be alert, be on your guard
[go to text]
gs762
sure
firm, immovable (OED a, 5)
[go to text]
gg3988
guard.
posture of defence (in sword-fighting, etc.) (OED n, 3a)
[go to text]
gg3989
bound
obliged, indebted (OED a2, 7a)
[go to text]
n5977
the
] thee
[go to text]
n5978
by th’ way.
i.e. on the way
[go to text]
gs207
coxcomb,
fool, from the hat in the shape of a cock’s comb worn by jesters (see the professional fool in Queen and Concubine)
[go to text]
n5979
thee
] the
[go to text]
gs763
shun
escape from (OED v, 2a and 4a); flee from (OED v, 6a); avoid encountering (OED v, 3); keep away from (OED v, 6b)
[go to text]
gg1141
slighted
treated contemptuously, with indifference
[go to text]
gg3990
delivery?
action of setting free, deliverance (OED 1a)
[go to text]
n5980
Tom Fool’s errand,
A profitless undertaking (cf. OED ‘a fool’s errand’ [errand 2c]). OED glosses ‘tom-fool’ as a ‘quasi-proper name … a man mentally deficient; a half-witted person’ (n, a) and someone who acts the part of a fool in a play, or a laughing-stock (n, b) (the earliest citation in OED of the latter from 1650). The expression is the origin of present-day English ‘tomfoolery’.
[go to text]
n5981
errand,
] Errant
[go to text]
gg1313
whither
(to whatever) place; where
[go to text]
gg127
hard by,
close by
[go to text]
gg2549
wildfire
furious or destructive fire (OED 1), used figuratively to refer to a destructive force (OED 5a); also used for a mixture of highly inflammable substances set on fire and used in warfare (OED 3)
[go to text]
gs764
’Slid,
an oath, deriving from ‘God’s eyelid’. See Jonathon Green, Cassell’s Dictionary of Slang (London: Cassell & Co., 1998), s.v. ’slid! excl.
[go to text]
gs765
e’en
even: just now; completely
[go to text]
gs766
pretty
considerable, abundant (OED a, 4a)
[go to text]
gs767
store.
supply
[go to text]
gs768
occasions?
circumstances, situations (OED occasion n1, 6a); the course of events (OED occasion n1, 6b); needs, necessities, requirements (OED occasion n1, 9)
[go to text]
gg3920
portmanteau
case or bag used for travelling (OED n, 1)
[go to text]
gs769
stuff
textile material, cloth (see OED n1, 5b); property, household goods (OED stuff n1, 1g)
[go to text]
gg3992
furnish,
supply what is necessary (OED v, 5a)
[go to text]
gg3991
whirr,
seems to mean ‘hurrying along’, ‘moving swiftly’, or ‘flying’ (see OED v, 1b: ‘To carry or hurry along, to move or stir, with a rushing or vibratory sound’; OED v, 2: ‘To move swiftly in some way (rush, fly, dart, flutter, turn, etc.) with a continuous vibratory sound, as various birds, rapidly revolving wheels, bodies flying quickly through the air, etc.’)
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n5982
By this good steel,
Wat is referring to the sword that he wears: he may draw it here, or he may put his hand on the hilt.
[go to text]
gg3993
truss
be tied up (i.e. imprisoned) or hanged
[go to text]
gs770
on’s
of (or for) us
[go to text]
gg2415
sessions.
series of sittings or meetings of a court (OED session n, 3a); judicial sittings (OED n, 4)
[go to text]
gs764
’Slid,
an oath, deriving from ‘God’s eyelid’. See Jonathon Green, Cassell’s Dictionary of Slang (London: Cassell & Co., 1998), s.v. ’slid! excl.
[go to text]
gs771
stranger
someone unconnected by family ties
[go to text]
gg2459
’bove
above
[go to text]
n5983
What coals we stand on.
i.e. how dangerous the basis of our family’s wealth and/or our inheritance is.
[go to text]
gg3994
look to
look after
[go to text]
n5984
that?
i.e. the house
[go to text]
gs772
precious
beloved (OED a, 1a); costly (OED a, 2) (the meaning could be shifted depending on the delivery of the line by the actor playing Alice)
[go to text]
n5985
[They exit.]
] Exeunt.
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n5986
1.2
Video
In this scene Brome switches to another strand of his narrative, and another family group. Again, our attention is on a mature man, and a father, and although there are some similarities between Bumpsey and Vermin, the successful citizen and businessman is a rather different proposition to the usurious Vermin. Both are seemingly self-made men, who have gained their wealth through their own labour, but Brome draws a distinction between Bumpsey, who gained his (enormous) fortune of £10,000 through what he calls his ‘thrifty industry’ [DM 1.2.speech129], and Vermin, whose fortune has been ground out of other men’s estates. Similarly, both are concerned to marry their daughters to well-off men, but Bumpsey’s concern is not with status but with solid worth; he tells Dryground, ‘land-lordship’s real honour, / Though in a tradesman’s son, when your fair titles / Are but the shadows of your ancestry’ [DM 1.2.speech116]. Bumpsey has only a daughter, whereas Vermin proclaims that his daughter is his only child because of his desire to disown his son. Another important difference in the presentation of the two men lies in the presence of Magdalen, Bumpsey’s wife, in this scene. Vermin never speaks of his late wife, and she is only mentioned as a means for Wat and Alice to assert their difference from their father, Wat declaring ‘thou and I had one mother (which / We both take after), so had not he and we. / And he takes after nobody that I know’ [DM 1.1.speech97]. Valentine’s mother is also dead, and although Phyllis’s mother finally appears at the end of the play she does not have much dramatic impact in her own right. In a play otherwise notable for the (not untypical in early modern drama) absence of mothers, the presence of Magdalen, and her desire to support her daughter’s choice of marriage-partner, is therefore significant.
The scene opens shortly after Bumpsey has discovered the secret marriage between Jane and Valentine, and it centres on his reaction to the marriage and the attempts of Jane, Valentine, Magdalen and Dryground to bring about a financial settlement that will benefit the young couple. The other characters attempt to manipulate Bumpsey in various ways, but Bumpsey never quite loses control: at the start of the scene he dominates linguistically, humiliating Dryground by pointing out at length his financial and parental shortcomings; it is noticeable that for the first 113 lines of the scene, beyond Dryground’s brief and sporadic attempts to intervene, the others characters’ responses are entirely in asides. Later, he seems to be manoeuvred by Magdalen into changing his mind about giving money to Jane and Valentine, but he quickly disconcerts her with his proposal not only to give half of his estate to Valentine, but also to mimic the younger man’s spending.
Our workshop on this scene focused on this latter section, from ‘But here’s the substance of’t’ to Bumpsey exclamation ‘And so God gi’ ye joy’ [DM 1.2.speech168], the point at which he finally utters the words conventionally addressed to a newly married couple. See this extract for a run-through of the whole sequence. The extract captures nicely Bumpsey’s volatility and his ability to adapt to a new situation: this is a man who is not used to being disconcerted; we also see a man who is used to responsibility reacting to events that are out of his control by abjuring that responsibility. Part of the comedy of this sub-plot lies in Brome’s presentation of Bumpsey as an elderly (and thus rather incongruous) prodigal. Unlike Vermin, he is rarely entirely unsympathetic; indeed, his increasingly generosity is a counter-point to the steadfast miserliness of the other man. Despite the focus on Bumpsey, however, the presentation of Magdalen is also important, as it suggests not only the relationships within the Bumpsey household, but exactly what is at stake in Bumpsey’s sudden willingness to squander his money: his widow’s livelihood. Magdalen has more to say in this scene than Jane, but it may be difficult for an actor playing her to signal her shifts of tone and attitude effectively, especially as during the middle part of the scene she is being deliberately obstructive in the hope of making Bumpsey listen to Valentine. Her aside to Dryground [DM 1.2.speech153] is crucial, as it suggests a complacency which is rudely undermined by Bumpsey’s new plan. The remaining member of the Bumpsey family, Jane, has comparatively few lines, and we get the impression that Bumpsey is deliberately avoiding talking to her directly. Nonetheless, her presence on the stage is crucial, and a range of effects might be created in performance depending on the physical proximity (or lack of it) between her and other characters. For instance, in this photograph from the workshop on this sequence [IMAGEDM_1_1], we see Jane seated, detached somewhat from Valentine and the action of the scene. In contrast, in this photograph [IMAGEDM_1_2] she is more integrated into the action, standing alongside Valentine. For much of this sequence Jane and Dryground act as an onstage audience, and although they say little their reactions may be crucial guides for the spectators. For more detailed comments on these issues see below, and for further discussion of familial relationships in The Demoiselle see the introduction.
[go to text]
n5987
1.2
ACT. I. Scene II.
[go to text]
n5988
[Enter] BUMPSEY, DRYGROUND, VALENTINE, MAGDALEN, [and] JANE.
Bumpsey, Dryground, Valentine, Magdalen, Jane.
[go to text]
n5989
needs not,
is not necessary
[go to text]
n5990
do your pleasure.
Do as you please.
[go to text]
gs773
course,
method of proceeding, way of acting (OED n, 22a)
[go to text]
n5991
this gentlewoman
i.e. Magdalen
[go to text]
gs774
right
legal, equitable or moral title to possess (OED n1, 9a): i.e. that of the husband over the wife
[go to text]
gs363
withal,
substituted for ‘with’ (OED prep.)
[go to text]
gs775
plain?
evident, obvious (OED a1, 7); simple, clear, unambiguous (OED a1, 9); free from ambiguity, straightforward, direct, blunt (OED a1, 12)
[go to text]
gs776
worship
a title of honour, used to address people of high status (OED n, 5a)
[go to text]
gg3995
whirly,
not in OED; it may be short for ‘whirligig’, meaning a fickle, giddy or inconstant person (OED n, 3a); see also ‘whirl’, to make giddy, or to put into a whirl or tumult (OED v, 7)
[go to text]
gg3996
twattle
chatter, babble (OED v, 1)
[go to text]
gg3997
cause
affair, business (OED n, 10); in legal discourse, the subject of a lawsuit, or the case made by one of the parties (OED n, 7)
[go to text]
gg3998
directly,
plainly, evidently (Crystal and Crystal, Shakespeare’s Words, s.v. directly); straightforwardly (OED adv, 1b); completely (OED adv, 4); without any intervention or intermediary (OED adv, 5)
[go to text]
gs777
indirectly,
wrongly, dishonestly (OED adv. 1.b); with an intermediary (OED adv. 2) (Bumpsey may be referring to Magdalen’s apparent connivance at the marriage of Valentine and Jane)
[go to text]
gs778
meddles
interferes; ‘meddle’ can also mean ‘to have sex with’ (Williams, 2: 870), and the pun seems to bring Bumpsey on to that subject in his next accusation
[go to text]
gg4001
bedded
had sexual intercourse with
[go to text]
gg4000
meddles
interferes
[go to text]
gs779
possess
hold, enjoy (OED v, 1b); take possession of (OED v.,5a); have sexual intercourse with (OED v, 5b)
[go to text]
gg4002
(hmh!)
a variation on inarticulate exclamations such as ‘hum’ and ‘hem’, which can be used to express hesitation, embarrassment or dissatisfaction (see OED hum, int.; hem, int. A)
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n5992
I will not sue him out of her.
That is: I will not attempt to have the marriage annulled (with sexual innuendo on ‘out of her’).
[go to text]
n5993
ante copulam,
That is: before sexual intercourse (Latin). In the absence of legal divorce, it was very difficult to annul a marriage after sex had taken place.
[go to text]
n5994
post,
after (Latin)
[go to text]
gs780
cross
oppose, contradict
[go to text]
n5995
brother
The fathers of a married couple were sometimes referred to as brothers-in-law, and might address one another as ‘brother’; Dryground tentatively claims kinship with Bumpsey, which the latter rejects.
[go to text]
n5996
He will speake all himself.
i.e. he will not let anyone else speak.
[go to text]
gs781
plain
simple, unpretentious (OED a1, 13); frugal, unostentatious (OED a1, 14); ordinary, unsophisticated (OED a1, 16); humble, not high-ranking (OED a1, 16); candid, frank, free from duplicity, blunt (OED a1, 11)
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n5997
Aye,
] I
[go to text]
gg4003
run on.
keep going
[go to text]
gg4004
alliance,
union through marriage, kinship (OED n, 1)
[go to text]
n5998
to run beyond himself?
i.e. to wear himself out, or to overtake himself.
[go to text]
n5999
bring himself about,
i.e. to reverse his opinion or change his own mind.
[go to text]
gg859
warrant
assure, promise
[go to text]
gs782
joined
connected, united (i.e. through the marriage of Valentine and Jane), possibly with a pun on ‘jointure’, the part of a husband’s estate that is assigned to his wife on marriage or on his death
[go to text]
gg4006
houses
families, lineages, especially those of high status
[go to text]
gg4007
sound,
(n) significance (OED n3, 4a); echo, a hollow noise, without significance (OED n3, 4e)
[go to text]
gg4008
baronetess
the wife of a baronet; this is the only early example in OED, and I have been unable to trace any others
[go to text]
gg4009
reversion,
right of succession after the death of the current holder of the title
[go to text]
gs783
substantial
firmly established, solid, of firm value (OED a, 10); in legal discourse, ‘Belonging to or involving essential right, or the merits of a matter’ (OED a, 5b); wealthy (OED a, 12a); of good standing or status (OED a, 13); consisting of solid material (OED a, 14); not imaginary, true (OED a, 15)
[go to text]
gs784
fair
desirable; considerable; unobstructed
[go to text]
gg4010
lordships.
the status and material goods of lords (by implication the goods gained from lords)
[go to text]
n11562
land-lordship’s
The status connected with owning land. Compare Bumpsey’s attitude towards land and status with that of Vermin generally in 1.1.
[go to text]
n6000
tradesman’s
] Trades-man Son
[go to text]
n6001
the shadows of your ancestry, And you walk in ’em, when your land is gone, Like the pale ghosts of dead nobility.
Bumpsey argues that without the land that should underpin noble status the titles themselves are empty words.
[go to text]
gs786
plain?
evident, obvious (OED a1, 7); simple, clear, unambiguous (OED a1, 9); straightforward, direct, blunt (OED a1, 12): Bumsey probably intends the first or second meaning, but Dryground interprets his behaviour as the third
[go to text]
gs787
privilege
special licence or right (in this case, to speak as he likes in his own house)
[go to text]
gs788
point
issue, argument (OED n1, 10); puns on the meaning of ‘point’ in heraldry, where it refers to ‘One of nine recognized locations on a shield which serve to determine the position of a charge, etc.; a charge or device occupying such a location; also: one of a number of horizontal sections of different tinctures into which a shield may be divided, esp. a section at the base of a shield divided from the rest’ (OED point n1, 8d)
[go to text]
gg4012
baronet
the lowest hereditary rank in the English peerage, instituted in 1611 for the purpose of paying for the plantation of Ulster in northern Ireland; a baronetcy initially cost £1095, and although James I originally promised to limit their number to 200, Charles I continued to create them in the early years of his reign, and by 1629 there were just under 300; after 1628-9, however, what Kevin Sharpe calls 'the traffic in titles' was abruptly halted (see Sharpe, The Personal Rule of Charles I, second edition (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1995), 419; Peck, Court Patronage and Corruption, 32-3)
[go to text]
gs789
to boot:
in addition, moreover
[go to text]
n6002
dear-paid-for
expensive, bought at a high cost
[go to text]
gg4013
plainness?
openness, honesty, bluntness
[go to text]
gg4014
Freely.
willingly, unreservedly (OED adv, 1a)
[go to text]
n6003
bought honour,
The rank of baronet cost £1095, a very substantial sum (equivalent to roughly £93,951 in today’s money).
[go to text]
gg4015
ladify
make a lady of
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gg1607
Withal
along with the rest
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gg4016
complements
qualities or amounts that complete (OED n, 4a); complementing accessories (OED n, 6)
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gg4017
warrens,
‘piece[s] of land enclosed and preserved for breeding game’ (OED warren n1, 1a); also used, as now, to refer to a piece of land used for breeding rabbits (OED warren n1, 2a)
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n6004
The goodly cornfields, meadows, woods and pastures That must maintain the house, the gowns, the coach, Withal by complements of horses, hawks, and hounds— Where be the parks, the warrens, herds and flocks? Besides the gardens, orchards, walks and fish-ponds?
Bumpsey catalogues the features that he thinks belong to the kind of country estate that Dryground inherited but has now lost.
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gg4018
’Od’s pity,
an exclamation meaning ‘for the pity of God’ (‘’od’ is a corruption of ‘God’, often found in oaths). Brome is fond of ‘’od’s pity’, using it in The Demoiselle, The Lovesick Court, The Northern Lass and The Sparagus Garden; it is not common elsewhere, although Shakespeare uses ‘’od’s pittikins’ in Cymbeline (4.2.293)
[go to text]
gg4019
wrought on
manipulated
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gg4020
tonied
cheated or swindled; OED cites only The Demoiselle for ‘tony’ as a verb, but notes the connection with the noun, ‘a foolish person; a simpleton’ (Tony, n1, 1), which may have its origin in Middleton and Rowley’s The Changeling (first performed by Lady Elizabeth’s Men in 1622, and revived by Queen Henrietta Maria’s Men in 1635; in 1639 it was owned by Beeston’s Boys)
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n6005
trois cents per annum
That is: three hundred a year (French/Latin).
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gs790
providence
foresight; divine intervention (Bumpsey is probably being ironic)
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gg4021
entailed
settled so that it cannot be bequeathed to anyone else, or used by anyone else (OED entail v2, 1)
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gg4022
wasted
been consumed or spent needlessly or lavishly (OED waste v, 9)
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gg4023
proportion
quantity (OED n, 7)
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gg4024
smoke
(n) tobacco smoke
[go to text]
gg483
sack
white wine from Spain: sack is derived from 'sec', and usually meant a dry white wine; hence Falstaff's enjoyment of 'sack and sugar'
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n6006
Milford Lane,
A street running off the Strand to the south towards the river, to the west of the city of London. Milford Lane appears to have been a sanctuary for debtors. In an apparently autobiographical epigram in A Strappado for the Devil: Epigrams and Satires Alluding to the Time (1615), Richard Brathwaite writes,
Where shall I fly to? ’las I know not where,
For Milford Lane is grown too monstrous dear.
No, there I must not go, for know you how
That place is styled? The gallants’ rendezvous. (55)
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n6007
Fullers Rents,
A court ‘opposite the end of Chancery Lane, leading from Holborn into Gray’s Inn Walks’ (Sugden, Topographical Dictionary, 211, s.v. Fuller’s Rents). It was mainly occupied by taverns and inns, and was a haven for debtors and other fugitives. See also Careless's comment in A Mad Couple Well Matched: 'I need no more ensconcing now in Ram Alley, nor the sanctuary of Whitefriars, the forts of Fuller’s Rents and Milford Lane, whose walls are daily battered with the curses of bawling creditors' [MC 2.2.speech337].
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gg4025
skills
matters (OED skill v1, 2b)
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n6008
Must I hear this too? Now he has almost done.
These lines might be delivered as a whispered exchange between Dryground and Magdalen, or Valentine and Jane might also be included. Given that the smooth flow of Bumpsey’s speech is uninterrupted, it seems likely that he hears neither line.
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gg3919
husbandry
management of a household, thrift (OED n, 4)
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gg4026
gamesome
merry, playful (OED); but with a pun on ‘game’, meaning sexual act, and ‘gamester’, someone who indulges in sexual play
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n6010
But here’s the substance of ’t, you have my daughter.
Video
The tone of these lines can be varied, as these two different readings from the workshop demonstrate. In the first extract, Bumpsey is self-satisfied and relatively jovial. In the second, in contrast, there is a degree of anger and reproach, especially towards the end of the speech; this is underlined by the way in which Alan Morrissey (reading Bumpsey) physically disengages himself from the rest of the group at the end of the speech.
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n6009
But here’s the substance of ’t,
As Alan Morrissey (reading Bumpsey) commented during the workshop, this is a ‘great line’ for an actor, coming as it does after Bumpsey has been setting out his position in inordinate detail, and it is recalled in ‘There’s the point / And the whole substance on’t’ below [DM 1.2.speech164].
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gg4027
substance
what the speech amounts to (OED 11a); essence (OED 14); puns on possessions, estate, fortune (OED 16)
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gg4028
exacts
demands, extorts
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n6011
ten thousand pounds,
£10,000 would be worth around £850,000 in today’s money.
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gg4029
thrifty
economical, provident (OED a, 4)
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n6012
Only one thousand, I confess, my wife
Bumpsey gained £1000 as Magdalen’s dowry; he now returns it to her, saying that she is free to give it to Jane (which would mean that it would become Valentine’s property) if she pleases. £1000 would have the spending power of around £85,000 in today’s currency.
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n6012
Improved my fortune with. Here’s the just sum.
Bumpsey gained £1000 as Magdalen’s dowry; he now returns it to her, saying that she is free to give it to Jane (which would mean that it would become Valentine’s property) if she pleases. £1000 would have the spending power of around £85,000 in today’s currency.
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n6013
[Produces the money.]
Video
There is no stage direction in the octavo. In the workshop on this sequence we used a purse, but it would also be possible to have Bumpsey count out notes or coins, or to produce a cheque or credit-card, depending on the period in which a production is set. In the workshop extract, Bumpsey presents the purse to Magdalen, and she holds it in front of her, ensuring that it holds the audience’s attention, until she gives it to Jane on ‘Now chop in with him’ [DM 1.2.speech130].
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gg4030
endow
enrich, furnish (OED v, 3b)
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gg2768
note
(v) observe, pay attention to
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n6014
With
] Which
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n6015
– that’s left –
Video
] -- that’s left; the punctuation in the octavo suggests that the final words on this line may be spoken in aside, or as a qualification of the previous statement. See this extract from the workshop on this sequence
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gs773
course.
method of proceeding, way of acting (OED n, 22a)
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gg4031
chop in
intervene, break in (OED chop v 1, 8)
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gg4032
apt
given, inclined, prone (OED a, 4b)
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n6016
you know how apt He is to cross you in these moods.
Jane claims that Madgalen can manipulate Bumpsey because he is liable to automatically do the opposite of whatever she suggests; her statement also hints that they have been accustomed to manoeuvring him in this manner.
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gs780
cross
oppose, contradict
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n6017
Dear, worthy, honoured, sir—
It is not clear whether Valentine’s intervention is part of Jane and Magdalen’s plan, or whether it threatens to derail it. If it is the latter, Magdalen quickly adapts to the changed circumstances, persuading Bumpsey to listen to Valentine by suggesting that he should not listen to him.
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n6018
Sh’t, sh’t, sh’t.
Video
Bumpsey is attempting to block out what Valentine is saying: he may put his hands over his ears or, as in this extract from the workshop on this scene, hold up a hand to indicate that the younger man should stop speaking.
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n6019
Woman,
A deliberately brusque form of address.
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n6021
Aye, Bump. Let us go our way, and let them take theirs a’ God’s name.
Video
Magdalen is at this point playing a role, performing the opposite of her true feelings in an attempt to manipulate Bumpsey. In this extract from the workshop, a shift in Olivia Darnley’s tone and style of performance is clear, as is the effect of her role-playing on Alan Morrissey’s Bumpsey, who quickly takes offence and changes his mind about hearing Valentine.
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n6020
Aye,
] J
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gg4033
a’
in
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gg4018
’Od’s pity!
an exclamation meaning ‘for the pity of God’ (‘’od’ is a corruption of ‘God’, often found in oaths). Brome is fond of ‘’od’s pity’, using it in The Demoiselle, The Lovesick Court, The Northern Lass and The Sparagus Garden; it is not common elsewhere, although Shakespeare uses ‘’od’s pittikins’ in Cymbeline (4.2.293)
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n6022
Are you pleased to speak, sir?
Video
The comedy in this part of the sequence lies in Bumpsey’s constant re-iteration of his desire to hear Valentine speak, which actually prevents the younger man from speaking. See this extract from the workshop for a demonstration of how it might work in performance: Alan Morrissey’s Bumpsey keeps control of the conversation, but Hannah Watkins’ Valentine gradually gains in confidence.
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gg4034
fiddlestick.
something insignificant: ‘fiddlestick’ is often substituted for another word when a remark is repeated scornfully (OED n, 2)
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n6023
tell
] yell
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gg2370
for’t,
for it
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gg4035
firm
steadfast, determined (OED a, 6a)
[go to text]
gg201
favour.
goodwill, kindness; partiality, approval, encouragement
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gs381
work
bring about; stir; urge; manipulate
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gg773
suit—
(n) petition, supplication
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n6024
Would I could hear it once.
This line is especially ironic, as Bumpsey has spent much of the scene refusing to allow the other characters to have their say.
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n6026
With re-acceptance of this thousand pound
Video
This is a key moment in the scene, as Valentine’s action disconcerts Bumpsey, who expects Valentine to behave in a manner suiting the grasping prodigal he thinks he is, and it provokes his new course of action. He apparently sees something in Valentine that he did not expect to see, something that distinguishes him from his spendthrift father, and decides to test him further. In this extract from the workshop on this scene, Valentine takes the purse from Jane and gives it back to Bumpsey; this means that we still pay attention to Jane, and her claim to her mother’s money, even as it is passed from one man to another; in an earlier version, Valentine had already taken the purse from Jane when he moved to speak to Bumpsey on ‘Dear, worthy, honoured sir’ [DM 1.2.speech131]. In this version Bumpsey is more obviously taken aback by Valentine’s offer.
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n6025
re-acceptance
i.e. taking back.
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n6027
into your family.
That is: into Bumpsey’s household.
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n7177
[Valentine]
] the speech prefix is missing in the octavo
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gg376
meat
food of any kind, not necessarily just flesh, fowl, or fish
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gg4036
little-left
diminished
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n6028
A hundred yearly
In terms of spending power, this is equivalent to approximately £8500 in today’s currency.
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gg1257
necessaries.
essential items
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n6029
[Dryground]
Video
] Bump. Although this speech is attributed to Bumpsey in the octavo, it seems more effective and makes more sense if it comes from Dryground. Contrast this version from the workshop on this scene, with Dryground delivering the line, with this version from the first read-through, where the line is spoken by Bumpsey.
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gs791
bounty,
kindness, generosity
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n6030
Humh! A pretty odd speech this!
Video
In this workshop reading of the scene, this is the point at which Bumpsey begins to devise his plan for his money. His plan seems to be driven by a desire both to test Valentine and, as he states below, to find an entertaining way of putting into action a pre-existing plan to spend all of his estate before his death, and so ensure that there is nothing left for Valentine and Jane to inherit.
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gs792
pretty
clever, crafty, ingenious (OED a, 1); fairly, very (OED adv, 1a)
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gs793
odd
remarkable (OED a, 7a); singular (OED a, 7b); peculiar, eccentric, unexpected (OED a, 9a)
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gg776
on’t.
of it
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n6031
Strong probability
high likelihood
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gs794
point
proposition, idea (OED n1, 10a)
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n6032
Mark him now, Sir Humphrey.
Video
Magdalen’s aside demonstrates the complicity and, possibly, forward planning between her and Sir Humphrey; it can also signal her complacent satisfaction with the way things are progressing immediately before Bumpsey announces his plan, which disconcerts her and seems to pull her out of the role that she has been playing. In the lines that follow, she interjects with increasing desperation, but unfortunately for her, Bumpsey is now reacting against her true feelings rather than assumed ones. Compare these two versions of the sequence from this line to Bumpsey’s ‘God gi’ ye joy’ [DM 1.2.speech168]. In the first, Magdalen is initially sitting beside Jane, from which position she delivers her aside to Sir Humphrey, but she first stands (on ‘Half? What mean you half?’ [DM 1.2.speech155] and then moves across to Bumpsey (on ‘Pray be advised.’ [DM 1.2.speech159]). In the second version, all the actors are standing, and Magdalen is initially positioned beside Bumpsey. She moves across to Sir Humphrey for her aside, then moves to stand beside Jane during Bumpsey’s speech. She is initially slower to take Bumpsey seriously, and there is a nice progression in which she gets more serious and Bumpsey (more volatile and less jovial in this version) gets more lighthearted.
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gs795
right,
legal, equitable or moral title to possess (OED n, 1 9a)
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n6033
By husbanding of nothing.
Punctuation here follows the octavo; other options would be an exclamation mark or a question mark.
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gg4037
husbanding
managing; saving up or storing
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gg2156
ta’en
taken
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gg4038
d’ye
do you
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gg4039
ha’
have
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gg1781
ere
before
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gs796
Even
precisely (OED adv. 6)
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gs797
deal
behave (OED v, 19); act, proceed (OED v, 20); distribute or bestow (OED v, 4a); negotiate (OED v, 12)
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gg4040
deals
does business, trades (OED v, 13); behaves (OED v, 19); acts, proceeds (OED v, 20)
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gg2413
’gainst
against
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gs798
free
unrestricted, unrestrained
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gs799
mark:
pay attention
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gg2966
doubtless,
without doubt, unquestionably, certainly
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gs800
t’other
the other (of two) (OED A. 1)
[go to text]
gg4041
do’t.
do it
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gs773
course,
method of proceeding, way of acting (OED n, 22a)
[go to text]
gs801
Thrive
be successful, prosper
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gg4042
scatter,
squander
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n6034
make ducks and drakes
(1) play a game in which participants skim a flat stone over a body of water, trying to make it bounce as many times as possible before it sinks (OED duck and drake 1); (2) throw away carelessly, squander (OED duck and drake, 2)
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gs737
pieces,
coins, especially the unite of James I, a coin first issued in 1604, with a value of 20 shillings; OED says that these coins rose to a value of 22 shillings in 1611 (OED n.), but in 3.1 [DM 3.1.speech477] Wat assumes that a piece is worth 20 shillings
[go to text]
gs802
match
a (financially) advantageous wife
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n6035
match Or no match of my daughter.
A common formulation; compare the title of Beaumont and Fletcher’s A King and No King (King’s Men, c. 1611).
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gs803
point
proposition, idea (OED n1, 10a); main subject or focus of a discussion (OED n1, 10b); objective, aim (OED n1, 10c); conclusion (OED n1, 11)
[go to text]
gg4027
substance
what the speech amounts to (OED 11a); essence (OED 14); puns on possessions, estate, fortune (OED 16)
[go to text]
gg4043
husband
manager of an estate; someone who manages his affairs well; marriage partner
[go to text]
gs804
husband
manager of an estate; someone who manages his affairs well
[go to text]
gs446
sport
entertainment, amusement, recreation, diversion (OED n1, 1a)
[go to text]
gs773
course,
method of proceeding, way of acting (OED n, 22a)
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gg3995
whirly.
not in OED; it may be short for ‘whirligig’, meaning a fickle, giddy or inconstant person (OED n, 3a); see also ‘whirl’, to make giddy, or to put into a whirl or tumult (OED v, 7)
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gg4044
set down.
settled, as if it has been put down in writing; decided
[go to text]
gs793
odd
remarkable (OED a, 7a); singular (OED a, 7b); peculiar, eccentric, unexpected (OED a, 9a)
[go to text]
gs805
humorous
capricious, whimsical (OED a, 3); suffering from an imbalance of bodily humours (in old-fashioned physiology, the four chief fluids of the body, blood, phlegm, yellow bile and black bile) (OED a, 2)
[go to text]
gs207
coxcomb
fool, from the hat in the shape of a cock’s comb worn by jesters (see the professional fool in Queen and Concubine)
[go to text]
gg2370
for’t
for it
[go to text]
n6036
God gi’ ye joy.
Video
‘God give you joy’ was commonly said to newly married couples, so by using it here Bumpsey signals that he has at last accepted the marriage between Jane and Valentine. In one version from the workshop on this sequence he spreads his arms; in another he addresses the comment directly to the young couple.
[go to text]
gg4045
take my leave,
leave you; bid you farewell
[go to text]
gs806
business,
affairs, concerns, tasks to attend to
[go to text]
gs807
charge:
instruction (i.e. about his responsibilities)
[go to text]
gs808
husband,
marriage partner; manager of an estate
[go to text]
gg4046
y’
you
[go to text]
gg5322
(hark you)
listen to me
[go to text]
gs809
’gainst
against: in preparation for
[go to text]
gg4047
nets
traps, means of catching or securing someone or something (OED n1, 1b)
[go to text]
gg4048
fare you well.
farewell, goodbye
[go to text]
n6037
At your pleasure,
as you please
[go to text]
n6038
At your own good time,
i.e. whenever you wish
[go to text]
n6039
DRYGR[OUND exits].
Exit Drygr.
[go to text]
gg4049
grope
feel their way, as if they are in the dark
[go to text]
n6040
I’ll blindfold them with money, And by a new way try if they can grope The right way into th’ world.
At the end of this long sequence in which Bumpsey’s motives have been unclear, he suggests that his actions are aimed at educating his daughter and his new son-in-law.
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gg4050
Come your way.
come along
[go to text]
© University of Sheffield, 2010
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