© University of Sheffield, 2010
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A JOVIAL CREW
OR,
THE MERRY BEGGARS.

The Persons of the Play.


OLDRENTSn5339, an ancient esquire.
RACHEL, Oldrent’s daughter.
MERIEL, Oldrent’s daughter.
HEARTYn5340, his friend and merry companion, but a decayedgg84 gentleman.
SPRINGLOVE, stewardgg1371 to Master Oldrents.
RANDALL, a groom, servant to Oldrents.
CHAPLAIN to Oldrents
USHER to Oldrents
BUTLER to Oldrents
COOK to Oldrents
VINCENTn5341, [a] young gentlem[a]n.
HILLIARD, [another] young gentlem[a]n.
Master CLACKn5342, the Justicegs630 himself.
OLIVERn5343, the Justice's son.
AMYn5344, Justice Clack’s niece.
Master SENTWELL, friend to Justice Clack
Two other GENTLEMEN, friends to Justice Clack.
Master TALLBOYn5345, lover to the Justice’s niece.
MARTIN, the Justice's clerk.
AUTEM MORTgg3581, an old beggar-woman.
PATRICO, [the patriarch of the] beggars.
SOLDIER, [one of] four especial beggars.
LAWYER, [another of] four especial beggars.
COURTIER, [another of] four especial beggars.
SCRIBBLE, [another,] their poet.
Divers other beggars, fiddlers, piper, and mutes.
CONSTABLE.

Prologue.


1PrologueThe title of our play, A Jovial Crewn5336,
        May seem to promise mirth, which were a new
        And forcedgg3471 thing in these sad and tragic daysn5337
        For you to find or we express in plays.
        We wish you, then, would change that expectation,
        Since jovial mirth is now grown out of fashion,
        Or much not to expect. For now it chances
        (Our comic writer finding that romancesn5338
        Of lovers, through much travel and distress,
        Till it be thought no power can redress
        Th’afflicted wanderers, though stout chivalry
        Lend all his aid for their delivery,
        Till lastly some impossibility
        Concludes all strife and makes a comedy),
        Finding (he says) such stories bear the sway,
        Near as he could, he has composed a play
        Of fortune-tellers, damsels, and their squires,
        Exposed to strange adventures through the briars
        Of love and fate. But why need I forestall
        What shall so soon be obvious to you all,
        But wish the dullness may make no man sleep,
        Nor sadness of it any woman weep.
ACT ONE
1.1n5514
OLDRENTS [and] HEARTY enter.

3OldrentsIt has indeed, friend, much afflicted me.

4HeartyAnd very justly, let me tell you, sir,
        That could so impiously be curious
        Ton4185 tempt a judgement on you; to give ear,
        And faith too, by your leave, to fortune-tellers,
        Wizardsgg3472, and gipsies!

5OldrentsI have since been frighted
        With’t in a thousand dreamsn5346.

6HeartyI would be drunk
        A thousand times to bed rather than dream
        Of any of their riddle-me riddle-mesn4207.
        If they prove happygs631, so. If not, let’t go.
        You’ll never find their meaning till the eventn5347,
        If you suppose there was at all a meaning,
        As the equivocatinggg3473 devil had, when he
        Cozenedgg1611 the monk to let him live soul-freegg3474,
        Till he should find him sleeping between sheets.
        The warygg3475 monk, abjuringgg3476 all such lodging,
        At last, by overwatchinggg3477 in his study,
        The foul fiend took him napping with his nose
        Betwixt the sheet-leavesgg3478 of his conjuring book.
        There was the whimgg3573 or double meaning on’t.
        But these fondgg1469 fortune-tellers, that know nothing,
        Aim to be thought more cunning than their master,
        The foresaid devil, though truly not so hurtful.
        Yet trust ’em? Hang ’em! Wizards! Old blind buzzardsgg3479!
        For once they hitn5348, they miss a thousand times,
        And most times give quite contrary, bad for good,
        And best for worst. One told a gentleman
        His son should be a man-killer, and hanged for’t,
        Who after proved a great and rich physician,
        And with great fame i’th’ university
        Hanged up in picture for a grave examplen5349.
        There was the whim of that. Quite contrary!

7OldrentsAnd that was happy. Would mine could so deceive my fears!

8HeartyThey may, but trust not to’t. Another schemistgg3480
        Found that a squint-eyedgg3481 boy should prove a notablegg3482
        Pickpurse and afterwards a most strong thief,
        When he grew up to be a cunningn5350 lawyer,
        And at last died a judge. Quite contrary!
        How many have been marked out by these wizards
        For fools, that after have been prickedgg3483 for sheriffsn5352?
        Was not a shepherd-boy foretold to be
        A drunkard, and to get his living from
        Bawds, whores, thieves, quarrellers, and the like?
        And did he not become a suburb justicen5351?
        And live in wine and worship by the feesn5353
        Rackedn5354 out of such delinquentsgg3484? There’s the whim on’t.
        Now I come to you. Your figure-flingergg3485 finds
        That both your daughters, notwithstanding all
        Your great possessions, which they are co-heirs of,
        Shall yet be beggars. May it not be meant —
        If, as I said, there be a meaning in it —
        They may prove courtiers, or great courtiers’ wives,
        And so be beggars in lawn5355? Is not that
        The whim on’t, think you? You shall think no worse on’t.

9OldrentsWould I had your merry heart.

10HeartyI thank you, sir.

11OldrentsI mean the like.

12HeartyI would you had; and I
        Such an estate as yours. Four thousand yearly,
        With such a heart as mine, would defy Fortune
        And all her babbling soothsayersgg4374. I’d as soon
        Distrust in providence as lend a fear
        To such a destiny for a child of mine
        While there be sackgg483 and songs in town or country.
        Think like a man of conscience. Now I am serious!
        What justice can there be for such a curse
        To fall upon your heirs? Do you not live
        Free, out of law or grieving any man?
        Are you not th’only rich man lives unenvied?
        Have you not all the praises of the rich
        And prayers of the poor? Did ever any
        Servant or hireling, neighbour, kindred, curse you,
        Or wish one minute shortened of your life?
        Have you one grudging tenant? Will they not all
        Fight for you? Do they not teach their children,
        And make ’em too, pray for you morn and evening,
        And in their graces too, as duly as
        For king and realm? The innocent things would think
        They ought not eat else.

13Oldrents’Tis their goodness.

14HeartyIt is your merit. Your great love and bounty
        Procures from heaven those inspirationsgg4375 in ’em.
        Whose rent did ever you exact? Whose have
        You not remittedgg3486, when by casualties
        Of fire, of floods, of common dearth, or sickness,
        Poor men were brought behindhandgg3487? Nay, whose losses
        Have you not piously repaired?

15OldrentsEnough.

16HeartyWhat heriotsgg3203 have you ta’en from forlorn widows?
        What acre of your thousands have you rackedgg3488?

17OldrentsGood friend, no more.

18HeartyThese are enough, indeed,
        To fill your ears with joyful acclamations
        Where’er you pass: ‘Heaven bless our landlord Oldrentsn4191,
        Our master Oldrents, our good patron Oldrents!’
        Cannot these sounds conjure that evil spirit
        Of fear out of you, that your children shall
        Live to be beggars? Shall Squire Oldrents’n4192 daughters
        Wear old rentsn5356 in their garments — there’s a whim too —
        Because a fortune-teller told you so?

19OldrentsCome, I will strive to think no more on’t.

20HeartyWill you ride forth for air then, and be merry?

21OldrentsYour counsel and example may instruct me.

22HeartySack must be had in sundry places too.
        For songs, I am provided.
SPRINGLOVE enters with books and papers;
he lays them on the table.

23Oldrents   [Aside]   Yet here comes one brings me a second fear,
        Who has my caregs632 the next unto my children.

24HeartyYour steward, sir, it seems, has business with you.
        I wish you would have none.

25OldrentsI’ll soon dispatch it,
        And then be for our journey instantly.

26HeartyI’ll wait your coming downn6567, sir.He exits.

27OldrentsBut why, Springlove,
        Is now this expeditiongs633?

28SpringloveSir, ’tis duty.

29OldrentsNot common among stewards, I confess,
        To urge in their accounts before the day
        Their lords have limitedgg2558. Some that are grown
        To hoary hairs and knighthoods are not found
        Guilty of such an importunitygg3490.
        ’Tis yet but thirty days, when I give forty
        After the half-year day, our Lady lastn5357.
        Could I suspect my trust were lost in thee,
        Or doubt thy youth had not ability
        To carry out the weight of such a charge,
        I, then, should call on thee.

30SpringloveSir, your indulgence,
        I hope, shall ne’er corrupt me. Ne’ertheless,
        The testimony of a fair dischargen5358
        From time to time will be encouragement
SPRINGLOVE turns over the several books to his master.
        To virtue in me. You may then be pleased
        To take here   [Showing him the pages]   a survey of all your rents
        Received, and all such other payments as
        Came to my hands since my last audit for
        Cattle, wool, corn, all fruits of husbandry.
        Then, my receipts on bonds, and some new leases,
        With   [Showing him the pages]   some old debts, and almost desperategs634 ones,
        As well from country cavaliers as courtiers.n6568
        Then here, sir,   [Showing him the pages]   are my several disbursementsgg4376,
        In all particulars for yourself and daughters,
        In charge of housekeeping, buildings, and repairs;
        Journeys, apparel, coaches, gifts, and all
        Expenses for your personal necessariesgg3491.
        Here,   [Showing him the pages]   servants’ wages, liveries, and curesgg3492.
        Here   [Showing him the pages]   for supplies of horses, hawks, and hounds.
        And lastly, not the least to be remembered,
           [Showing him the pages]   Your large benevolences to the poor.

31OldrentsThy charity there goes hand in hand with mine.
        And, Springlove, I commend it in thee that
        So young in years art grown so ripe in goodness.
        May their heaven-piercing prayers bring on thee
        Equal rewards with me.

32SpringloveNow here, sir,   [Showing him the pages]   is
        The balance of the severalgg798 accounts
        Which shews you what remains in cash which, added
        Unto your former bankgg3493, makes up in all —

33Oldrents   [Reading him the page]   Twelve thousand and odd pounds.

34SpringloveHere are the keys
        Of all. The chests are safe in your own closetgs635.

35OldrentsWhy in my closet? Is not yours as safe?

36SpringloveOh, sir. you know my suitgg3494.

37OldrentsYour suit? What suit?

38SpringloveTouching the time of year.

39Oldrents’Tis well-nigh May.
        Why, what of that, good Springlove?
[A] nightingale sings.

40SpringloveOh, sir, you hear I am called.

41OldrentsFie, Springlove, fie!
        I hoped thou hadst abjuredgg4377 that uncouth practice.

42SpringloveYou thought I had forsaken nature then.

43OldrentsIs that disease of nature still in thee
        So virulent? And notwithstanding all
        My favours, in my gifts, my cares, and counsels,
        Which to a soul ingrateful might be boasted?
        Have I first bred thee and then preferred thee from
        I will not say how wretched a beginning
        To be a master over all my servants,
        Planted thee in my bosom, and canst thou,
        There, slight me for the whistling of a bird?

44SpringloveYour reason, sir, informs you that’s no cause,
        But ’tis the season of the year that calls me.
        What moves her notes provokes my dispositiongg3495
        By a more absolute power of nature than
        Philosophy can render an account for.

45OldrentsI find there’s no expelling it, but still
        It will return. I have tried all the means,
        As I may safely think, in humanen5359 wisdom,
        And did, as near as reason could, assure me
        That thy last year’s restraintgg3496 had stopped for ever
        That running soregg4378 on thee, that gaddinggg4379 humour —
        When, only for that cause, I laid the weight
        Of mine estate in stewardship upon thee,
        Which kept thee in that year after so many
        Summer vagariesgs637 thou hadst made before.

46SpringloveYou kept a swallowgg3498 in a cage that while.
        I cannot, sir, endure another summer
        In that restraint with life: ’twas then my torment,
        But now my death. Yet, sir, my life is yours,
        Who are my patron: freely may you take it.
        Yet pardon, sir, my frailty, that do beg
        A small continuance of it on my knees.[He kneels.]

47OldrentsCan there no means be found to preserve life
        In thee but wandering like a vagabond?
        Does not the sun as comfortably shine
        Upon my gardens as the opener fields?
        Or on my fields as others far remote?
        Are not my walks and greens as delectable
        As the highways and commons? Are the shades
        Of sycamore and bowers of eglantinegg4380
        Less pleasing than of bramble or thorn hedges?
        Or of my groves and thickets than wild woods?
        Are not my fountain waters fresher than
        The troubled streams, where every beast does drink?
        Do not the birds sing here as sweet and lively
        As any other where? Is not thy bed more soft
        And rest more safe than in a field or barn?
        Is a full table, which is called thine own,
        Less curiousgs636 or wholesome than the scraps
        From others’ trenchersgg522, twice or thrice translatedgg3499?

48Springlove   [He rises.]n6569   Yea, in the winter season, when the fire
        Is sweeter than the air.

49OldrentsWhat air is wanting?

50SpringloveO sir, you’ve heard of pilgrimages;n10492 and
        The voluntary travels of good men?

51OldrentsFor penance, or to holy ends! But bring
        Not those into comparison, I charge you.

52SpringloveI do not, sir. But pardon me to think
        Their sufferings are much sweetened by delights
        Such as we find by shifting place and air.

53OldrentsAre there delights in beggary? Or, if to take
        Diversity of air be such a solace,
        Travel the kingdom over. And if this
        Yield not variety enough, try further,
        Provided your deportment be gentlegs638.
        Take horse, and man, and money: you have all,
        Or I’ll allow enough.
Nightingale, cuckoo, etc., sing.

54SpringloveOh, how am I confoundedgs691!
        Dear sir, retortgg3500 me naked to the world
        Rather than lay those burdens on me, which
        Will stifle me. I must abroad or perish!

55Oldrents   [Aside]   I will no longer strive to wash this Moorn5360,
        Nor breathe more minutes so unthriftily
        In civil argument against rude wind,
        But rather practise to withdraw my love
        And tender care (if it be possible)
        From that unfruitfulgg3501 breast, incapable
        Of wholesome counsel.

56SpringloveHave I your leave, sir?

57OldrentsI leave you to dispute it with yourself.
        I have no voicegs639 to bid you go or stay.
        My love shall give thy will pre-eminencegg3502;
        And leave th’effect to time and providence —He exits.

58SpringloveI am confounded in my obligation
        To this good man. His virtue is my punishment,
        When ’tis not in my nature to return
        Obedience to his merits. I could wish
        Such an ingratitude were death by th’law
        And put in present execution on me,
        To rid me of my sharper suffering.
        Nor but by death can this predominant sway
        Of nature be extinguished in me. I
        Have fought with my affectionsgs640, by th’assistance
        Of all the strengths of art and discipline —
        All which I owe him for in education too —
        To conquer and establish my observance,
        As in all other rules, to him in this,
        This inborn strong desire of liberty
        In that free course, which he detests as shameful,
        And I approve my earth’s felicityn6570,
        But find the war is endless, and must fly.
        What must I lose then? A good master’s love.
        What loss feels he that wants not what he loses?
        They’ll say I lose all reputation.
        What’s that, to live where no such thing is known?
        My dutygg3503 to a master will be questioned.
        Where duty is exacted it is none,
        And among beggars, each man is his own.
RANDALL and three or four servants enter with a great kettlegg4381, and black jacksgg3204, and a baker’s basket, all empty.
        Now, fellows, what news from whence you came?[The servants] exeunt with all.
RANDALL remains.

59RandallThe old wontedgs641 news, sir, from your guest house, the old barn. We have unloaden the bread-basket, the beef-kettle, and the beer bombardsgg3504 there amongst your guests, the beggars. And they have all prayed for you and our master, as their manner is, from the teeth outwardn5361; marry from the teeth inwards ’tis enough to swallow your alms, from whence I think their prayers seldom come.

60SpringloveThou shouldst not think uncharitably.

61RandallThought’s free, Master Steward, ann5362 it please you. But your charity is nevertheless notoriousgg3505, I must needs say.

62Springlove‘Meritorious’, thou meantst to say.

63RandallSurely, sir, no. ’Tis out of our curate’s bookn6571.

64SpringloveBut I aspire no merits, nor popular thanks. ’Tis well if I do well in it.

65RandallIt might be better though — if old Randall, whom you allow to talk, might counsel — to help to breed up poor men’s children, or decayed labourers past their work or travel, or towards the setting up of poor young married couples, than to bestow an hundred pound a year (at least you do that, if not all you get) besides our master’s bounty, to maintain in begging such wanderers as these, that never are out of their way; that cannot give account from whence they came, or whither they would; nor of any beginning they ever had, or any end they seek, but still to stroll and beg till their bellies be full, and then sleep till they be hungry.

66SpringloveThou art ever repininggg704 at those poor people! They take nothing from thee but thy pains: and that I pay thee for too. Why shouldst thou grudge?

67RandallAm I not bitten to it every day, by the six-footed bloodhoundsgg3506 that they leave in their litter, when I throw out the old, to lay fresh straw for the newcomers at night? That’s one part of my office. And you are sure, that though your hospitality be but for a night and a morning for one rabble, to have a new supply every eveningn6572. They take nothing from me indeed; they give too much.

68SpringloveThou art old Randall still! Ever grumbling, but still officiousgs642 for ’em.

69RandallYes, hang ’em, they know I love ’em well enough. I have had merry boutsgg3507 with some of ’em.

70SpringloveWhat say’st thou, Randall?

71RandallThey are indeed my pastime. I left the merry grigsgg3508 (as their provender has pricked ’emn5363) in such a hoighgg3509 yonder! Such a frolic! You’ll hear anon, as you walk nearer ’em.

72SpringloveWell, honest Randall. Thus it is. I am for a journey. I know not how long will be my absence. But I will presently take order with the cook, pantlergg3510, and butler for my wonted allowance to the poor. And I will leave money with thee to manage the affair till my return.

73RandallThen uprise Randall, Bailiegg3511 of the Beggars.n5364

74SpringloveAnd if our master shall be displeased (although the chargegg2323 be mine) at the opennessgg3517 of the entertainment, thou shalt then give it proportionably in money, and let them walk further.

75RandallPseugh! That will never do’t, never do ’em good. ’Tis the seat, the habitation, the rendezvousn5365 that cheers their hearts. Money would clog their consciences. Nor must I lose the music of ’em in their lodging.

76SpringloveWe will agree upon’t anon. Go now about your business.

77RandallI go. Bailie? Nay, Steward and Chamberlain of the Rogues and Beggars!He exits.

78SpringloveI cannot think but with a trembling fear
        On this adventure, in a scruple which
        I have not weighed with all my other doubts.
        I shall, in my departure, rob my master.
        Of what? Of a true servant. Other theft
        I have committed none. And that may be supplied,
        And better too, by some more constant to him.
        But I may injure many in his trustn5366,
        Which now he cannot be but sparinggg3512 of.
        I rob him too of the content and hopes
        He had in me, whom he had built and raised
        Unto that growth in his affection
        That I became a gladness in his eye
        And now must be a grief or a vexation
A noise and singing within.
        Unto his noble heart. But hark! Ay, there’s
        The harmony that drowns all doubts and fears.
        A little nearer ――
Song [from within].
        From hunger and cold who lives more free,
Or who more richly clad then we?
        Our bellies are full; our flesh is warm;
And against pride our rags are a charm.
        Enough is our feast, and for tomorrow
Let rich men caregs643; we feel no sorrow.
No sorrow, no sorrow, no sorrow, no sorrow.
Let rich men care; we feel no sorrow.

79SpringloveThe emperor hears no such music; nor feels content like this!
        Each city, each town, and every village,
Affords us either an alms or pillagegg4382.
        And if the weather be cold and raw
Then in a barn we tumblegg3513 in straw.
        If warm and fair, by yea-cock and nay-cockn5367,
The fields will afford us a hedge or a haycockgg3514.
A haycock, a haycock, a haycock, a haycock,
The fields will afford us a hedge or a haycock.

80SpringloveMost ravishing delight! But in all this
        Only one sense is pleased: mine ear is feasted.
        Mine eye too must be satisfied with my joys.
        The hoarding usurer cannot have more
        Thirsty desire to see his golden store
        When he unlocks his treasury than I
        The equipagegg3515 in which my beggars lie.
He opens the scene; the beggars are discovered in their postures; then they issue forth; and last the PATRICO.

81All BeggarsOur master, our master! Our sweet and comfortable master!

82SpringloveHow cheer, my hearts?

83ScribbleMost crousegg3516, most caperinglygg3518.
        Shall we dance, shall we sing, to welcome our king?
        Strike up, piper, a merry merry dance,
        That we on our stampersgg3519 may foot it and prancen5368,
        To make his heart merry as he has made ours,
        As lustickgg650 and frolic as lords in their bowers.
Music. Dance.

84SpringloveExceeding well performed.

85Scribble’Tis well if it like you, master. But we have not that rag among us that we will not dance off to do you service, we being all and only your servants, most noble sir. Command us therefore and employ us, we beseech you.

86SpringloveThou speak’st most courtly.

87LawyerSir, he can speak, and could have writ as well. He is a decayedgg84 poet, newly fallen in among us, and begs as well as the best of us. He learned it pretty well in his own profession before and can the better practise it in ours now.

88SpringloveThou art a wit too, it seems.

89SoldierHe should have wit and knavery too, sir, for he was an attorney till he was pitched over the bargg3520. And from that fall, he was taken up a knight o’ the postgg3521; and so he continued, till he was degraded at the whipping-postgg3522; and from thence he ran resolutely into this course. His cunning in the law and the other’s labour with the muses are dedicategg3523 to your service; and for myself, I’ll fight for you.

90SpringloveThou art a brave fellow, and speak’st like a commander. Hast thou borne arms?n5370

91CourtierSir, he has borne the name of a Netherland soldiern5371 till he ran away from his coloursgg3524, and was taken lame with lying in the fields by a sciatican5372. I mean, sir, the strappadon5373. After which, by a second retreat, indeed running away, he scambledgg3525 into his country, and so scaped the gallows; and then snapped up his living in the city by his wit in cheating, pimping, and such like arts, till the cartgg3526 and the pillorygg3141 showed him too publicly to the world. And so, begging being the last refuge, he entered into our society. And now lives honestly, I must needs say, as the best of us.

92SpringloveThou speak’st good language too.

93ScribbleHe was a courtier born, sir, and begs on pleasure, I assure you, refusing great and constant means from able friendsgg3527 to make him a staidgs644 man. Yet, the want of a leg notwithstanding, he must travel in this kind against all common reason, by the special policy of providence.

94SpringloveAs how, I prithee?

95ScribbleHis father, sir, was a courtier, a great court beggarn6573, I assure you; I made these verses of him and his son here.
        A courtier begged by covetisegg3528, not need,
        From others that which made them beg indeed.
        He begged till wealth had laden him with cares
        To keep for’s children and their children shares;
        While the oppressed, that lost that great estate,
        Sent curses after it unto their fate.
        The father dies (the world says) very rich;
        The son, being gotten while (it seems) the itch
        Of begging was upon the courtly sire,
        Or bound by fate, will to no wealth aspire,
        Though offered him in money, clothes, or meat,
        More than he begs or instantly must eat.
        Is not he heavenly blessed that hates earth’s treasure
        And begs, with ‘What’s a gentleman but’s pleasure?’
        Or say it be upon the heir a curse,
        What’s that to him? The beggar’s ne’er the worse.
        For of the general store that heaven has sent,
        He values not a penny till’t be spent.

96AllA Scribble, a Scribble!n5374

97LawyerWhat city or court poet could say more than our hedge muse-monger here?

98CourtierWhat say, sir, to our poet Scribble here?

99SpringloveI like his vein exceeding well, and the whole consortgs645 of you.

100LawyerConsort, sir?n6574 We have musicians too among us: true merry beggars indeed that, being within the reach of the lash for singing libelous songs at London, were fain to fly into our coveygg3529, and here they sing all our poet’s ditties. They can sing anything most tunably, sir, butgs307 psalms. What they may do hereafter under a triple treegg3530 is much expected. But they live very civilly and genteellyn4206 among us.

101SpringloveBut what is he there? That solemn old fellow that neither speaks of himself, nor anybody for him.

102LawyerOh, sir, the rarest man of all. He is a prophet. See how he holds up his prognosticatinggg3531 nose? He is divininggg3532 now.

103SpringloveHow? A prophet?

104LawyerYes, sir, a cunning-man and a fortune-teller: ’tis thought he was a great clerkgg3533 before his decay, but he is very closegs196, will not tell his beginning nor the fortune he himself is fallen from. But he serves us for a clergyman still, and marries us, if need be, after a new way of his own.

105SpringloveHow long have you had his company?

106LawyerBut lately come amongst us, but a very ancient stroll-all-the-land-overn5375, and has travelled with gipsies, and is a patricogg3534. Shall he read your fortune, sir?

107SpringloveIf it please him.

108PatricoLend me your hand, sir.
[He takes SPRINGLOVE's hand, and chants.]
        By this palm, I understand,
         Thou art born to wealth and land,
        And, after many a bitter gust,
         Shalt build with thy great grandsire’s dust.

109SpringloveWhere shall I find it? But come, I’ll not trouble my head with the search.

110LawyerWhat say, sir, to our crew? Are we not well congregated?

111SpringloveYou are a jovial crew, the only people
        Whose happiness I admire.

112SoldierWill you make us happy in serving you? Have you any enemies? Shall we fight under you? Will you be our captain?

113LawyerNay, our king.

114SoldierCommand us something, sir.

115SpringloveWhere’s the next rendezvouz?

116ScribbleNeither in village nor in town,
        But three mile off at Mapledown.

117SpringloveAt evening there I’ll visit you.
Song [sung by all the beggars].
        Come, come, away! The spring
        (By every bird that can but sing,
        Or chirp a note, doth now invite
        Us forth) to taste of his delight.
        In field, in grove, on hill, in dale;
        But above all the nightingale,
        Who in her sweetness strives t’ out-do
        The loudness of the hoarse cuckoo.
‘Cuckoo,’ cries he, ‘Jug, jug, jugn5376,’ sings she,
From bush to bush, from tree to tree.
Why in one place then tarry we?

        Come away! Why do we stay?
        We have no debt or rent to pay.
        No bargains or accounts to make;
        Nor land or lease to let or take;
        Or, if we had, should that reward us,
        When all the world’s our own before us,
        And where we pass, and make resort,
        It is our kingdom and our court?
‘Cuckoo,’ cries he, ‘Jug, jug, jug,’ sings she,
From bush to bush, from tree to tree.
Why in one place then tarry we?They exit singing.n5515

118SpringloveSo, now away.
        They dream of happiness that live in stategs511,
        But they enjoy it that obey their fate.He exits.

Edited by Helen Ostovich, Eleanor Lowe, Richard Cave, Elizabeth Schafer


n5339   OLDRENTS The name implies a substantial income based on landed property, in this case a gentleman's estate passed down to heirs over time. In terms of title, a gentleman by definition is a man from an old family that has enjoyed landed property for at least three generations. Haaker suggests that because Oldrents allows his tenants to pay the old rent, instead of the new doubled or tripled rate, he earns his name. See also Hearty's comments on Oldrents' kindness to his tenants [JC 1.1.speech14]. [go to text]

n5340   HEARTY full of kindly sentiment or goodwill, affectionate, cordial, genial (OED 3a) but also merry or blithe (3b) as suits his character in the play. [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]

gg1371   steward 'he that keepeth the store of houshold' (John Baret, An Alveary or Triple Dictionary, in English, Latin, and French [1574]; in LEME); like a butler, the steward is in charge of purchasing and dispensing for, as well as managing generally, the house in which he is employed [go to text]

n5341   VINCENT In Greene's Conny-catching II.Biij, the vincent in thieves' cant is 'the simple man that stands by and not acquainted with cosenage'; that is, a dupe (OED), a suggestion pertinent to Vincent, who often seems to be the butt of jokes or the one who does not get the joke. [go to text]

n5342   CLACK Contemptuous term for the tongue, implying noisy speech, senseless or continuous chatter (OED n8, 6; see quotation for 1641, citing this play). [go to text]

gs630   Justice judge or magistrate (justice of the peace) [go to text]

n5343   OLIVER a name offering a romance allusion to The Song of Roland; Oliver and Roland were inseparable friends and unbeatable in combat. [go to text]

n5344   AMY The name means friend in French, and the old-spelling text spells it Amie, more specifically girl-friend, beloved. [go to text]

n5345   TALLBOY A tall man is one who is valiant, skilful, and strong; when applied to a boy, the name becomes paradoxical or mocking. [go to text]

gg3581   AUTEM MORT married woman (thieves' cant) [go to text]

n5336   A Jovial Crew This play was Brome's last before the closing of the theatres in 1642. [go to text]

gg3471   forced not spontaneous (OED forced, ppl. a, 2a) [go to text]

n5337   these sad and tragic days Brome refers to the apparently current preference for historical or tragic plays that supported the royalist cause; for example, the plays of Henry Glapthorne's Albertus Wallenstein(1639), or William Cartwright, The Royal Slave (1636). This remark is also a comment on the political state of the country, on the verge of civil war. [go to text]

n5338   romances This genre of knightly adventure, damsels in distress, male friendship, and feats of magical strength against a monstrous or foreign enemy has been popular since The Canterbury Tales and Arthurian legends. The Queen's Men included such crowd-pleasers in many of their plays of 1583-1603, including Clyomon and Clamydes and The Old Wives Tale (Peele). Shakespeare's and Fletcher's The Two Noble Kinsmen also falls into the romance genre, as do other of Shakespeare's late plays. Beaumont's The Knight of the Burning Pestle burlesques the style and content of such plays; and Jonson's Bartholomew Fair also parodies the romance plot in the rivalry over the hand and rescue of Grace, a plot traduced and travestied in the in-set puppet-show, Hero and Leander. [go to text]

n5514   1.1 Act 1 is one long scene that takes place on Oldrents' estate, near the barn used as charitable housing for beggars. This scene explains and illustrates two conflicts that instigate the subsequent actions of the play. First, Oldrents, despite his wealth, his benevolence to others, and his two healthy daughters, is severely depressed. He has been given a prophecy warning that his two daughters will become beggars, and he cannot understand how this state of affairs could happen or how he might prevent it. As a result, although he keeps a merry companion in his house, his friend Hearty cannot cheer him up or reason him out of his doldrums. The second conflict has to do with Oldrents' relationship with his foster-son Springlove, who acts as his steward. Although Oldrents has given Springlove every advantage a gentleman can confer, Springlove insists on becoming a 'traveller' in the spring, joining a crew of beggars as they wander about the countryside. Springlove does not neglect his duties; indeed, he gives us a very clear list of all the functions he performs in Oldrents' household [JC 1.1.speech30], and he is careful to leave a substitute in charge during his absence. The real issue is the larger question of Nature or Nurture: which is the more important influence in our lives? Springlove is grateful to Oldrents for his education and his job, but he feels he has a higher duty to life itself -- the lure of the spring, the pleasures of the new season as enjoyed by sleeping in the open and touring the countryside by foot, opening himself up to what is free and available to all -- including love and sexual adventures. Oldrents, on the other hand, believes that Springlove should be considering the place of a gentleman and his duty to his benefactor. In effect, he tries to cage Springlove's spirit -- meaning well by it, paternalistically, as though Oldrents' view were the superior attitude -- but as Springlove warns him, you cannot cage a swallow [JC 1.1.speech46]. Birds must obey the seasons and so must Springlove. Oldrents fails in his effort to force Springlove to act like other people of his class and obey the laws of society, instead of the laws of nature. The final third of Act 1 gives us a demonstration of what Springlove enjoys about the jovial crew of beggars, although there is no attempt to hide the sometimes desperate hunger and deprivation they suffer as the lowest rung on the social ladder, so low that we might say that they are not even on the ladder at all. The beggars maintain a cheerful attitude, however, and express their warmth within their group in song, in music and dancing, in sharing whatever they have, whether food, drink, money, or love, and in enduring the loss of whatever they cannot have. The impermanency of their lives makes them disdain mere things and prefer their 'family' which includes newborns, young people and old, all sticking together no matter what and enjoying their freedom to do without what other 'normal' people think they must have. [go to text]

n4185   To ] Yo Q1. [go to text]

gg3472   Wizards wise women and wise men, or cunning-men and -women, good or healing witches associated with fortune-telling and hence with gipsies [go to text]

n5346   dreams Wise-women were thought able to interpret dreams; see, for example, Lyly’s Mother Bombie 3.4, in which the servant Lucio has his dream interpreted by the titular wise-woman. [go to text]

n4207   riddle-me riddle-mes riddles or enigmatic prophecies. Hearty uses the verb as a noun; see OED riddle v1, 2b, which demonstrates the common 'riddle me, riddle me' reduplicated form that was part of a popular catch-phrase in guessing games, sometimes expressed as 'riddle me my riddle' (2a). [go to text]

gs631   happy accurately foretold [go to text]

n5347   till the event until what was predicted actually occurs. [go to text]

gg3473   equivocating lying, prevaricating; delibertately deceiving with double meanings or ambiguities [go to text]

gg1611   Cozened beguiled, deceived [go to text]

gg3474   soul-free without having to pay for his sins by losing his soul to the devil (nonce-word, not in OED) [go to text]

gg3475   wary cautious [go to text]

gg3476   abjuring renouncing or repudiating [go to text]

gg3477   overwatching exhausting himself with excessively late or all-night vigils [go to text]

gg3478   sheet-leaves pages [go to text]

gg3573   whim pun [go to text]

gg1469   fond foolish [go to text]

gg3479   buzzards ignorant people (figuratively) (OED n1, 2) [go to text]

n5348   once they hit for every time they predict correctly. [go to text]

n5349   a grave example This example of the predicted homicide who turns out to be a celebrated doctor makes a pointed comment on physicians as responsible for their patients' deaths. The pun on 'grave' as serious and as burial emphasizes the double meaning which Hearty denies making. [go to text]

gg3480   schemist astrologer, one who draws horoscopes (OED 1) [go to text]

gg3481   squint-eyed sly by implication of deformed sight [go to text]

gg3482   notable excellent, eminent; in the negative sense, notorious [go to text]

n5350   cunning That is: clever, skilful. The analogy between thief and lawyer implies a sameness of outlook, as with the physician and murderer above, although again Hearty does not admit to dealing in double meanings himself. [go to text]

gg3483   pricked selected from a list by marking beside the name [go to text]

n5352   sheriffs The same ambiguity operates here with the equation between fools and sheriffs. Generally, in plays and pamphlets if not in fact, the greatest dunce in any parish was named constable; and a constable may rise to political success as the head of a policing service, especially if he does not have the means to pay the fine that would excuse him from office. [go to text]

n5351   suburb justice judge who deals with cases in the suburbs (of London) as a place of inferior, debased, and licentious habits of life (frequent in the 17th century). Such cases involved prostitution, theft, and brawling. Since judges traditionally sat upon woolsacks, the association with shepherds is another source of double meanings. [go to text]

n5353   fees fines, but here implying bribes. [go to text]

n5354   Racked extorted, by analogy to the torture of the rack, by which the victim’s limbs were pulled apart at the joints to force disclosures. In this case, however, the judge pockets the money for excusing the crime. [go to text]

gg3484   delinquents defaulters, or those who fail to pay their debts [go to text]

gg3485   figure-flinger horoscope-deviser [go to text]

n5355   beggars in law that is, courtiers who are always begging for a privilege, or a position in the government or at court. [go to text]

gg4374   soothsayers literally, truth-tellers (OED 1); more usually, persons who claim or pretend to the power of foretelling future events (OED 2) [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' [go to text]

gg4375   inspirations infusions into the mind or soul; theologically, the immediate influences or actions of God upon the human mind or soul (OED 2) [go to text]

gg3486   remitted forgiven debt; abstained from exacting payment [go to text]

gg3487   behindhand in arrears or debt [go to text]

gg3203   heriots feudal services, especially handing over the best chattels or livestock from the property of deceased tenants (LEME); originally heriots consisted of weapons, horses, and other military equipments, restored to a lord on the death of his tenant(OED 2) [go to text]

gg3488   racked charged excessive rent, known as rack-rent [go to text]

n4191   Oldrents ] This edition; Old-rent Q1. The name is so spelled on the next line (twice). [go to text]

n4192   Oldrents’ ] This edition; Oldrent's Q1. [go to text]

n5356   old rents shabby tears or rips (pun on the family name). [go to text]

gs632   care affectionate concern [go to text]

n6567   your coming down Reception rooms in early modern houses, especially on estates of the well-to-do, tended to be on the first floor, one storey up from the main entrance. The master's 'office' would also be on an upper floor. [go to text]

gs633   expedition haste in getting business settled [go to text]

gg2558   limited appointed, designated [go to text]

gg3490   importunity irksome, unreasonable, or unseasonable insistence on being early [go to text]

n5357   our Lady last Accounts were usually settled twice a year, at Michaelmas (29 September) and at Lady Day (25 March). Springlove is presenting his accounts 30 days after Lady Day (25 April) instead of waiting for the full 40-day period allowed for assembling and checking accounts (5 May). [go to text]

n5358   discharge Springlove is playing on the word charge, or burden of trust, in Oldrents' previous speech. Springlove here means disburdening himself as 'the act of freeing from obligation, liability, or restraint' (OED 4a) or a general release from duty; punning on a dismissal from service or employment (OED 4c), but only temporarily, so that he can travel, as is his habit every spring. Oldrents knows this request is forthcoming and is trying to avoid hearing and accepting it. [go to text]

gs634   desperate irreclaimable, as in desperate debt, a ‘bad’ debt (OED 3) [go to text]

n6568   As well from country cavaliers as courtiers. Such debts were incurred by supporters of the Royalist cause, at one time in making a show at court, but by 1641 in raising what money they could find to pay an army or otherwise shore up the the king's government. Supporters of the Royalist cause were called 'Cavaliers'. [go to text]

gg4376   disbursements money paid out to cover bills of various kinds [go to text]

gg3491   necessaries indispensable items, necessities [go to text]

gg3492   cures medical treatments (OED n1, 5) [go to text]

gg798   several various [go to text]

gg3493   bank amount or stock of money, originally referring to the table on which such money was counted, and then to the office in which such money was held (OED n3, II; and Cotgrave, in LEME) [go to text]

gs635   closet 'little chamber, or wardrobe, wherein one keeps his best, or most esteemed, substance' (Cotgrave, in LEME) [go to text]

gg3494   suit request or petition [go to text]

gg4377   abjured foresworn, renounced, repudiated [go to text]

gg3495   disposition inclination or humour of the mind as well as the constitution of the body (Cotgrave, in LEME) [go to text]

n5359   humane Characterized by gentle, civil, well-intentioned behaviour towards others as befits a man or woman. Obsolete (OED 1). Haaker replaces this original word with 'human' which implies merely secular or mundane (as opposed to divine, or animal) behaviours observable in mankind. See 'civil argument' below at [JC 1.1.speech55]. [go to text]

gg3496   restraint abridgement of liberty (OED 2c) [go to text]

gg4378   running sore (literally) a sore that is discharging matter, or suppurating; especially of the eyes or nose, commonly occurring in cattle; (figuratively) a constant nuisance or irritation; a long-lasting trouble or problem (OED running, ppl a, 4) [go to text]

gg4379   gadding that gads or gads about, wandering, straggling (OED ppl) [go to text]

gs637   vagaries wanderings, departures, or strayings from the ordered, regular, or usual course of conduct, decorum, or propriety (OED 3a) [go to text]

gg3498   swallow migratory bird popularly regarded as a harbinger of summer (OED 1a) [go to text]

gg4380   eglantine sweet-briar rose, a flowering vine similar to honeysuckle, often used to entwine garden houses or bowers, because of its sweet scent and associations with romance [go to text]

gs636   curious exquisitely prepared, dainty, delicately flavoured (OED 7b) [go to text]

gg522   trenchers plate or piece of wood (flat or circular) on which food was served (OED II 2) [go to text]

gg3499   translated transformed or re-used as leftovers in another dish [go to text]

n6569   [He rises.] This stage direction is tentative; the word 'Yea' may signal that Springlove rises to his feet. He may rise at any point during Oldrents' argument in [JC 1.1.speech47], or at any time up to [JC 1.1.speech52], where his impatience with Oldrents' controlling voice make him openly disagree. He may delay rising until speech 54 [JC 1.1.speech54] and his heartfelt cry, 'Oh, how am I confounded!', as he hears the birdsong offering the alternative argument. [go to text]

n10492   O sir, you’ve heard of pilgrimages; Video Our initial interest in the workshop was focused on an extract from [JC 1.1.speeches50-58], exploring some of the ways in which the inner tensions in Springlove and Oldrents might manifest themselves. Both men are deeply torn. Springlove is in the grip of his annual desire to leave his master and go ‘wandering’. Whilst he “must abroad or perish,” he does not want to be rude to his master or cause him pain. Oldrents, too, is being pulled in different directions. Part of him wants to insist that the young man, the only ‘son’ he has, stays at home and is not exposed to the dangers of travelling. At the same time, however, he does not want to offend Springlove, fearing that if he upsets him he will never return.

In our first read-throughs, the objective of each character was clear but too simple: Springlove (Alan Morrissey) wanted to leave, Oldrents (Hannah Watkins) wanted him to stay. This does not do justice to the complexity of Brome’s characterisation and it is also dramatically less interesting than if the struggle for both men is as much with themselves as it is with the other. Brian Woolland, the director, encouraged both actors to take their time, to allow the characters to be more tentative, with the intention of enabling them (and the audience) to get a stronger sense of the internal dialogue – not in the interests of developing an inappropriately psychological characterisation, but because the play itself is so centrally concerned with these debates between individual liberty and the restraint of social and civil responsibilities. Whilst this was certainly effective, Brian felt that each character’s objectives were still being played as if the only obstacle to prevent them achieving what they wanted was external, that is the other character’s resistance, when there is also an internal obstacle. He asked the actors to read from earlier in the scene, starting at Speech 34 (‘Springlove: Here are the keys / Of all …’). We then discussed those moments in the extract where either character felt their resistance to the other’s objective becoming uncertain or unstable. We agreed that a pivotal moment occurs after [JC 1.1.speech39], where Brome gives the stage direction, ‘[A] nightingale sings’. Fortunately, Olivia Darnley (an actor working with us for the day, but not taking a role in this particular scene) was able to produce a remarkable birdsong imitation. Helen Ostovich described Springlove’s response to the sound of the bird as the revelation of an involuntary impulse: he is ‘confounded’. The two occasions when birdsong is heard give crucial glimpses into Springlove’s inner turmoil.

In the subsequent discussions, Brian Woolland asked the actors to use the analogy of a parent talking to a son or daughter who was keen to go on a gap year prior to starting at university. Whilst this was useful in getting at a sense of both characters’ internal conflicts, Julie Sanders and Richard Cave noted that the analogy did not recognise the extent to which begging, and indeed poverty, was extremely dangerous in mid seventeenth century England – not least because the laws against beggars in this period were so punitive. Indeed, whilst various analogies were explored in discussion, the social and political specificity of the scene became increasingly evident. The following extract is from an enactment of the whole episode. It is not surprising that, for both characters, the internal tensions are most evident when they engage in direct address to the audience. This is not only where each character articulates most clearly the discomfort of his position, but, by talking directly to the audience, removes himself, physically and emotionally, from the social constraints of the master / servant relationship. Whilst this realisation of a substantial extract from the scene achieved something of Helen Ostovich’s aims in that it revealed the inner tensions in both characters, it begged a number of significant questions about the relationship between acting style and social specificity. One area for useful further exploration might have been in the physical contact between the two men. When Oldrents puts his hand on Springlove’s shoulder , there is a strong, if momentary, sense that this is both a sign of friendship and an assertion of ownership, with the timing of the gesture reinforcing Oldrents’ rhetorical question, “Are not my (Hannah’s emphasis) walks and greens as delectable as the highways…?” [JC 1.1.speech47].

There is another moment in the extract, however, where Springlove puts his hand on Oldrents’ knee. The gesture seems too familiar, given Springlove’s social position. It is not that the physical contact is ‘wrong’ either theatrically or historically, but that the inappropriateness of it needs to be more marked – perhaps with a look of surprise on the part of Oldrents and a hint of embarrassment from Springlove, or at least a momentary recognition that he might have overstepped a social boundary. It is easy to imagine such an interaction (and how much more clearly it could be signalled if the actors were in period costumes that marked their social status). Pressures of time regrettably prevented us from exploring such moments in as much detail as we would have liked. The enactment does, however, reveal the extent to which the exchange between Oldrents and Springlove exposes the inner tensions that drive not only these two characters but the play itself. [go to text]

gs638   gentle as befits a gentleman in demeanour [go to text]

gs691   confounded dumbfounded, flabbergasted; so surprised and confused that a person loses for the moment any presence of mind, or discernment of what to do [go to text]

gg3500   retort cast or throw out (OED 7b) [go to text]

n5360   to wash this Moor The expression 'to wash an Ethiope white' suggests to do the impossible. Jonson plays on this phrase in The Masque of Blackness (1605) and The Masque of Beauty (1608). [go to text]

gg3501   unfruitful barren (of spirit or mind), incapable of learning or returning benefits, unprofitable (as an investment) [go to text]

gs639   voice (n) expression of choice or preference; right to vote (OED 3a, b) [go to text]

gg3502   pre-eminence primacy; superiority [go to text]

gs640   affections powerful controlling emotions that overwhelm reason [go to text]

n6570   my earth’s felicity the joy. good fortune, or blessing of my earthly life. Springlove sees his desire to live free on the open road as a gift that honours him, not the 'shameful' dishonour of which Oldrents speaks. [go to text]

gg3503   duty submission, deference, or respect to a superior [go to text]

gg4381   great kettle large pot or cauldron used for heating water or other liquids; in this case, beef-broth [go to text]

gg3204   black jacks large leather jugs for beer, etc. coated externally with tar (OED n2, 1) [go to text]

gs641   wonted customary, usual [go to text]

gg3504   bombards leather jugs or bottles for liquor; black jacks; probably so named from some resemblance to the early cannons. Obsolete except for historical references (OED 3a) [go to text]

n5361   from the teeth outward That is, lip service only. [go to text]

n5362   an ] and Q. Early modern spelling did not distinguish between 'and' meaning 'in addition', and 'an' meaning 'if'. [go to text]

gg3505   notorious in a positive sense, well known, commonly or generally known; in the negative, flagrantly sinful [go to text]

n6571   out of our curate’s book This statement is not clear, but seems to mean that Springlove's charity goes beyond what the curate or minister might preach. Perhaps it is simply a comment on the curate's 'fire-and-brimstone' style of assessing behaviour, compounded by Randall's inability to distinguish between the positive and negative senses of the word 'notorious', a word he hears frequently in sermons read to the parish in church. [go to text]

gg704   repining grudging, grumbling [go to text]

gg3506   six-footed bloodhounds fleas and lice (Haaker) [go to text]

n6572   a new supply every evening Randall comments on the constant flux in the population in 1641, as civil unrest and rumblings of war make people flee one area for more secure positions elsewhere -- citizens and families, as well as those planning to be soldiers for one side or the other. [go to text]

gs642   officious eager to serve, help, or please; attentive, obliging, kind (OED 2) [go to text]

gg3507   bouts rounds of drinking, but may include rounds of any activity (wrestling, dancing, singing, sexual encounters) [go to text]

gg3508   merry grigs extravagantly lively people, full of frolic and jest (OED grig n1, 5) [go to text]

n5363   as their provender has pricked ’em as their food and drink has urged them to express uninhibited joy. [go to text]

gg3509   hoigh riot of excitement [go to text]

gg3510   pantler panter, formerly baker; servant in charge of the bread or pantry in a large household [go to text]

n5364   Then uprise Randall, Bailie of the Beggars. Randall echoes the phrasing usually conferred on a gentleman receiving a knighthood or other courtly title. That is, if the situation were similar to knighting, then Springlove, as the officer in charge conferring the title, would offer this statement. 'Uprise', meaning stand up, is now used only in law-courts, as a courtesy to judges, or in the royal presence. [go to text]

gg3511   Bailie steward; one who has jurisdiction or delegated authority in a specific office [go to text]

gg2323   charge (n) cost, expense [go to text]

gg3517   openness open-handedness (Haaker) [go to text]

n5365   the seat, the habitation, the rendezvous That is, this particular estate owned by Oldrents and managed by Springlove. The beggars love the place, not the mere food and drink. [go to text]

n5366   I may injure many in his trust This 'scruple' about leaving Oldrents' service is a fear that Oldrents will now not trust Springlove's replacement, because Springlove has betrayed Oldrents' expectations. [go to text]

gg3512   sparing reticent or restrained; frugal [go to text]

gs643   care (v) worry, feel anxious [go to text]

gg4382   pillage robbery; usually, plundering, sacking, or looting a place, especially in war [go to text]

gg3513   tumble perform or dance acrobatically; hence to have sexual intercourse (OED 9a) [go to text]

n5367   If warm and fair, by yea-cock and nay-cock If the weather be right, yes or no. The additional of '-cock' suggests the weathercock usually found on top of barns, the haycock, and the continuing sexual allusion to tumbling in straw. [go to text]

gg3514   haycock haystack, a conical heap of hay in the field (OED) [go to text]

gg3515   equipage state or condition of being equipped or furnished with what is needful [go to text]

gg3516   crouse in high spirits (OED 3) [go to text]

gg3518   caperingly as in dancing, in which to caper is to leap vigorously and prance [go to text]

gg3519   stampers feet [go to text]

n5368   foot it and prance That is: dance and caper. [go to text]

gg650   lustick merry, as from drinking (obsolete, from Dutch) [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]

gg3520   pitched over the bar disbarred [go to text]

gg3521   knight o’ the post notorious perjurer; one who got his living by giving false evidence (OED) [go to text]

gg3522   whipping-post post set up, usually in a public place, to which offenders were tied to be whipped (OED) [go to text]

gg3523   dedicate dedicated (obsolete past participle) [go to text]

n5370   Hast thou borne arms? Have you been a soldier (literally, Have you carried weapons)? [go to text]

n5371   Netherland soldier England's primary support for the Netherlands lasted up to 1587/88, and after the sinking of the Spanish Armada the English ceased to take active interest in protecting the Netherlands, especially after they eventually set up as a republic in 1608 under the impressive leadership of Johan van Oldenbarneveldt. Although this leader feared an English invasion, he made diplomatic overtures both to Elizabeth in 1598 and James in 1605. But when van Oldenbarneveldt tried to establish complete independence of Holland from the rest of the Netherlands and from any remaining Spanish influence, he was defeated in 1618 in a bloodless coup, and executed in The Hague in 1619. Fletcher and Massinger's play for the King's Men at the Globe, Sir John van Olden Barnevelt (1619), represents him as guilty of treason, although the script is otherwise sympathetic to him. Unless Brome's character is very old (71 years old, as Oldenbarnevelt was at his death?), or unless he was recruited as a mercenary, he is unlikely to have served as a Netherland soldier. The Dutch states were rivals of England commercially with the success of the Dutch East India Company (est. 1602), and spent much of the seventeenth century fighting over primacy on the seas. [go to text]

gg3524   colours flag, ensign, or standard of a regiment (plural was generally used because of heraldic significance) [go to text]

n5372   a sciatica An attack of sciatica, a pain in the great sciatic nerve and its branches, beginning at the hip joints and running down the back and outside of leg to the ankle. This soldier, in other words, did not fall because of wounds in battle, but because of illness caused by a weak lower back. [go to text]

n5373   strappado This form of torture was used to extort confessions: the victim's hands were tied across his back and secured to a pulley; he was then hoisted from the ground and let down half way with a jerk. This torture was also used as a form of military punishment (OED 1b), perhaps putting this 'soldier' in another light as derelict in his duty and possibly treacherous. [go to text]

gg3525   scambled made shift, found means somehow, possibly unscrupulously [go to text]

gg3526   cart a two-wheeled vehicle used to convey prisoners, such as vagrants, bawds, and whores, through the streets for increased public exposure to their chastisement, usually whipping (OED 2c) (sometimes the offender, wearing only a shirt or smock, was tied to the back of the cart and whipped through the streets by the beadle) [go to text]

gg3141   pillory a device for punishment, usually consisting of a wooden framework mounted on a post, with holes or rings for trapping the head and hands, in which an offender was confined so as to be subjected to public ridicule, abuse, assault, etc.; punishment of this kind (OED 1) [go to text]

gg3527   friends close companions, or relatives [go to text]

gs644   staid dignified and serious in demeanour or conduct, socially acceptable and financially secure. [go to text]

n6573   court beggar See Brome's play of that title, The Court Beggar (1638). [go to text]

gg3528   covetise covetousness; excessive desire for the acquisition and possession of wealth; especially of possessing what belongs to another (OED 2) [go to text]

n5374   A Scribble, a Scribble! A cheer celebrating Scribble's efforts. The same style of cheer was also used for political amd military rallying cries for support. [go to text]

gs645   consort fellowship or company gathered together for a specific purpose (the term is often used of a group of musicians) [go to text]

n6574   Consort, sir? The question puns on consort meaning company, and consort meaning a musical group usually composed of instruments and voices. Scandalous singers performing topical satires on anyone excluding the royal family were, according to David Cressy, very common: 'no target was immune from derision. Profane ballads were "cried up and down" the streets of London' (England on Edge, 331). A gentleman who repeated a song heard in Newmarket Assizes disparaging the Parliament was sent to Fleet Prison; West Country taverns enjoyed broadsheets of ballads deriding the leaders in Westminster; and rude songs about Parliament were served up with dinner in many London ordinaries. [go to text]

gg3529   covey family or party (figurative meaning) based on a brood of birds [go to text]

gs307   but except [go to text]

gg3530   triple tree gallows (Haaker), based on its three parts [go to text]

n4206   genteelly This edition; gentily Q1. Thomas Heywood also used this spelling in 1637 in Royal King III. Eiijb, 'Such onely gentile are that can maintaine gentily.' (OED genteelly, first citation). [go to text]

gg3531   prognosticating foretelling, predicting, or prophesying. Prognostications were often included in printed almanacks so that people could do their own horoscopes and work out good and bad days for special occasions [go to text]

gg3532   divining prophesying, foretelling. soothsaying [go to text]

gg3533   clerk cleric [go to text]

gs196   close secretive, sometimes with the implication of stingy, niggardly (OED a. and adv, 7 and 8) [go to text]

n5375   stroll-all-the-land-over Haaker; no hyphens in Q. [go to text]

gg3534   patrico hedge-priest, vagabond priest. [go to text]

n5376   Jug, jug, jug imitative representation of one of the notes of the nightingale. In the jovial crew's song, the male voice cries cuckoo and the female cries jug, with double meaning. The cuckoo is a vagabond bird, one that impregates his partner and flies away; the female cuckoo lays her eggs in another bird's nest, before she too flies away, abandoning their young. The nightingale's cry is a term of endearment, like sweetheart, but also the derogatory name given to a common whore, whose cry solicits a paying partner. [go to text]

n5515   They exit singing. ] Exeunt Cantantes. Q1. [go to text]

gs511   state pomp and ceremony [go to text]

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