© University of Sheffield, 2010
The transcribed text is made freely available for non-commercial usage. Copyright, of the design and content, remains with the Royal Holloway, University of London and the University of Sheffield. Commercial exploitation of this material is prohibited without licence from the Royal Holloway, University of London and the University of Sheffield.

ACT FIVE
5.1n5688
[Enter] CLACK [and] MARTIN.

856ClackI have forgiven you. Provided that my niece be safely taken, and so to be brought home. Safely, I say, that is to say, unstained, unblemished, undishonoured; that is to say, with no more faults, criminal or accusativegg3722, than those she carried with her.

857MartinSir, I believe ―

858ClackNay, if we both speak together, how shall we hear one another? You believe her virtue is armour of proofn5466, without your counsel or your guard; and therefore you left her in the hands of rogues and vagabonds to make your own peace with me. You have it. Provided, I say, as I said before, that she be safe, that is to say, uncorrupted, undefiled; that is to say ― as I said before.

859MartinMine intent, sir, and my only way —

860ClackNay, if we both speak together, how shall we hear one another? As I said before. Your intent and your only way, you would ha’ said, was to run away with her, and that by her onlygg3723 instigation, to avoid the tie of marriage with Master Tallboy; that is to say, to shun the match that I had made for her; that is to say, rather to disobey me than to displease herself. Wherein — although she did not altogether transgress the law — she did both offend and prejudice me, an instrumentgg3084, nay, I may say, a pillargs708 thereof. And you, in assisting her, furthering, and conveying her away, did not only infringe the law, in an unlawful departure from your master, but in a higher point; that is to say, top and topgallowsn5467 high. I would ha’ found a jury should ha’ found it so.n5468

861MartinBut, sir, an’t please you —

862ClackMust we then both speak together? Have I not borne with thee to speak all thou pleasest in thy defence? Have I not broke mine own rule, which is to punish before I examine, and so to have the law the surer o’my side? And dost thou still persist? Hold your own peace, or, as I am a Justice of the King’sn5469, I will unsay what I said before, and set a currat lex n5470 at you, sirrah, that shall course you up the heavy hilln5471. Oh, is your tongue fallen into your leg now? Do not you know I have acquitted you? Provided — as I said before. Go your way in, and see that the gentlemen, who, I think, were got in sackgg483, christened in sack, nursed with sack, and fed up to gray hair with only sack; see, I say, that they want no sack.   MARTIN exits.   My son Oliver, I thank him, has brought me a pair of such guests —
Enter SENTWELL.

Oh, Master Sentwell! Good news?

863SentwellOf beggarly news, the best you have heard.

864ClackThat is to say, you have found my niece among the beggars. That is to say ―

865SentwellTrue, Sir Oliver, I found her ―

866ClackNow if we both speak together, who shall hear one another?

867SentwellI thought your desire was to be informed.

868ClackI can inform myself, sir, by your looks.n5668 I have taken a hundred examinations, i’my days, of felons and other offenders out of their very countenances, and wrote ’em down verbatimgg4441 what they would have said. I am sure it has served to hang some of ’em and whip the rest.

869Sentwell   [Aside]   Justice Clack still! He must talk all. His clackn5342 must only go.

870ClackBut to the point. You have found my niece. You have left her at your own house, not only to shiftgg654 her out of her disguise, but out of her shame to come nearer me, until I send her pardon.

871SentwellMost true, sir. But the company she was in ―

872ClackAgain! Do not I know the company? Beggars, rogues, vagabonds, and hedge–birds.

873SentwellBut do you know whom, or how many we have taken? And how the rest escaped?

874ClackA needless knowledge. Why should we take more than herself? Or how could you take those that could escape?
Enter Martin.

875MartinSir, the old gentlemen within sent me to wait upon you. Without you, they say, they need not my service.

876ClackTell ’em then I’ll wait on ’em presently.Exit MARTIN.

877SentwellBut, sir, we have taken with her such beggars, such rogues, such vagabonds, and such hedge–birds, since you call ’em so, as you never knew or heard of, though now the countriesgg1959 swarm with ’em under every hedge, as if an innumerable army of ’em were lately disbanded without pay. Hedge–birds, said you? Hedge–ladybirds, hedge–cavaliers, hedge–soldier, hedge–lawyer, hedge–fiddlers, hedge–poet, hedge–players, and a hedge–priest among ’em. Such we have taken for the principals. But to see how the multitude scaped us was more sport than pity. How, upon a watchwordgg4442 given, they in the instant vanished by more several ways than there were legs among ’em; how the cripples leaped over palesgg3724 and hedges; how the blind found their way through lakes and ditches; how a doxy flew with two children at her back and two more, perhaps, in her belly ―

878ClackA hedge–priest have you taken, say you?

879SentwellYes, sir, an old patrico, an ancient prophet, to tell fortunes and cozengg3551 our poor country people of their single moneygg3820.
Enter OLIVER.

880OliverSir, Master Oldrents, in that he enjoys notgg3725 your company, begins to doubt of his welcome.

881ClackWho led him into that doubt? I, or you that brought him hither?

882OliverSir, his own desire and love to you brought him hither. I but showed him the way.

883ClackYou reason fairly. Tell him I come.

884OliverPray, sir, be pleased to do so: for he says ―

885ClackNay, if we both talk together ―

886Oliver— who shall hear one another.Exit OLIVER.

887ClackBut are there players among the apprehended?

888SentwellYes, sir. And they were contriving to act a play among themselves, just as we surprised ’em, and spoiled their sport.

889ClackPlayers! I’ll pay them above all the rest.

890SentwellYou shall do well in that, to put ’em in stockgg3726 to set up again.

891ClackYes, I’ll put ’em in stocksn5472, and set ’em up to the whipping–post. They can act justices, can they? I’ll act a justice among ’em; that is to say, I will do justice upon them; that is to say ―

892SentwellPray, sir, be not severe. They act kings and emperors, as well as justices. And justice is blind, they say. You may therefore be pleased to winkgg2702 a little. I find that you have merry old gentlemen in your house that are come far to visit you. I’ll undertake that these players, with the help of their poet, in a device which they have already studied, and a pack of clothes which I shall supply ’em with shall give your guests much content and move compassion in you towards the poor strollsgg3727.

893ClackBut you know my way of justice —and that’s a sure way — is to punish ’em first and be compassionate afterwards, as I find ’em upon their examinationgs680.

894SentwellBut for your guests’ sakes, who, I know, do favour and affect the quality of actors very much, permit ’em, sir. It will enlarge your entertainmentgg3729 exceedingly.

895ClackAnd perhaps save me the expense of a runletgg3728 of sack the while. Well, sir, for that respect, and upon your undertaking that they shall please, I will proroguegg3730 my justice on the rogues. And so to my merry gentlemen, whom I will prepare to see their interlude against after suppergg3731. But pray, Master Sentwell, as you have found my niece, look to her and see her decently brought home.

896SentwellIn her own best apparel. But you must prorogue your displeasure to her too.

897ClackI will do so, until my scarce welcomen5473 guests be gone.
Enter RANDALL.

898RandallSir, my master sends you word, and plainly, that without your company, your entertainment stinks. He has commanded me saddle his naggg1234s and away to night. If you come not at once, twice, thrice, he’s gone presently before supper. He’ll find an host at an inn worth a hundred o’you.

899ClackGood friend, I will now satisfy your master, without telling him he has a saucy knave to his man.CLACK exits.

900RandallThank your worship.

901SentwellDo you hear, friend, you serve Master Oldrents.

902RandallI could ha’ told you that. And the best housekeeper my master is of any gentleman in the county he dwells in; and the best master to a man, as I, the worst of twenty, can say for him, and would be ashamed to say less.

903SentwellYour name is Randall.

904RandallForgi’ me! Are you so wise? You are too young to be my godsire. And I hope not old enough to be a witch. How know you that I am Randall? Were you ever at my master’s house i’ Nottinghamshire, or at Dunghillford where I was born?

905SentwellNo. But I have notesgs681 to know you by.

906RandallI was never twelve mile from thence i’ my life before this journey. God send me within kengg3838 of our own kitchen smoke again.

907SentwellYour master’s steward’s name is Springlove.

908RandallMaster Springlove, an’t please you. There is not an honester gentleman between thisn5669 and the head of him. And my heart’s with him, where’er he is. Know you him too?

909SentwellYes, and your master’s daughters too.

910RandallWhaw.n5474

911SentwellAnd that they are all from home, your master knows not where.

912RandallWhaw, whaw. Know you that too?

913SentwellYes, and the two young gentlemen that are with ’em, Master Vincent and Master Hilliard.

914RandallWhaw, whaw again. You know ’em all, I think. But know you where they all are?

915SentwellEven hereby, at my own house.

916RandallWhaw ―――

917SentwellAnd they knowing that your master is here, and Master Hearty too ―

918RandallWhaw, whaw.

919SentwellAnd yourself too. They directed me to find you, Randall, and bring you to ’em.

920RandallWhaw, whaw, whaw, whaw ―― Why do we not go then?

921SentwellBut secretly. Not a word to anybody.

922RandallMumgg1683 ― Will you go then?
MARTIN enters.

923MartinOh, Master Oldrent’s man. Pray let me entreat you into the buttery.

924Randall   [Ignoring MARTIN, he speaks to SENTWELL.]   Will you go, master gentleman?

925MartinIndeed it is my master’s desire, and he commanded me.

926Randall   [To MARTIN, indignantly]   Now, when it’s suppertime, did he? To fill my belly with thin drink to save his meat? It’s the manner in churls’n5475 houses. —   [To SENTWELL]   Will you go, master gentleman?

927MartinIn troth, my master is so merry with yours within ―

928RandallShite o’ your master. My master’s steward’s a better man. I’ll to him at this gentleman’s house, and all the rest. Whaw, whaw.

929Sentwell   [Aside to RANDALL]   Randall, you forget.

930RandallMum again then. Why would you not go then?SENTWELL and RANDALL exit.

931MartinThe man’s as mad as his master. The strangest strangers that ever came to our house!
Enter TALLBOY.

932TallboyWell, Martin, for confessing thy fault and the means thou madest whereby she is taken, I am friends with thee. But I shall never look upon her or thee ―― but with grief of mind, however I bear it outwardly. Oh ―――

933MartinYou bear it very manfully, methinks.

934TallboyAy, you think so, and I know so ―― But what I feel, I feel. Would one of us two had never both seen one another ――― Oh ―――

935MartinYou speak very good sense, sir. But does my master continue his merry humour with the old gentlemen within?

936TallboyYes. Justice Clack’s clack goes as merrily as any.

937MartinWell said, sir. Now, you speak merrily too. But I could say somewhat that would stillgg4443 him. And for your comfort, I’ll tell you. Mistress Amy is fallen in love with one of the beggars.

938TallboyThen have I nothing else to do, but to laugh at thee as long as I live. Ha, ha, ha ――― To let a beggar cozen thee of her. Ha, ha, ha! A beggar! I shall die merrily yet. Ha, ha, ha!
CLACK, OLDRENTS, HEARTY, [and] OLIVER enter.

939ClackA heygs963, boys, a hey! This is right; that is to say, as I would have it; that is to say ―

940TallboyA beggar! Ha, ha, ha! ―――

941MartinHa, ha, ha ―

942Clack   [Singing]   A hey, boys, a hey. They are as merry without as we were within. A hey, Master Oldrents, and Master Hearty! The virtue of your company turns all to mirth and melody,   [Singing]    with a hey trololly lolly lolly. Is’t not so, Master Hearty?

943OldrentsWhy, thus it should be. How was I deceived! Now I see you are a good fellow.

944OliverHe was never so before. If it be a lighteningn5670 before deathn4385, the best is, I am his heir.

945Tallboy [and] MartinHa ha ha ―――

946ClackAgain, boys, again; that is to say,   [Singing]    a hey, boys, a hey ―

947HeartyWhat is the motive of your mirth, nephew Martin? Let us laugh with you.

948OldrentsWas that spoke like my friend, Hearty? Lack we motives to laugh? Are not all things, anything, everything to be laughed at? And if nothing were to be seen, felt, heard, or understood, we would laugh at it too.

949ClackYou take the loss of your mistress merrily, Master Tallboy.

950TallboyMore merrily than you will take the finding of her. Ha, ha, ha ――― A beggar! Ha, ha, ha ―――

951ClackCan I be sad to find her, think you?

952MartinHe thinks you will be displeased with her and chide her.

953ClackYou are deceived, Master Tallboy; you are widegg4444, Master Tallboy; above half your lengthgg4445, Master Tallboy. Law and justice shall sleep, and mirth and good fellowship ride a circuitgg4446 here tonight. A hey, Master Oldrents, a hey, Master Hearty, and a hey, son Oliver, and a hey, nephew Tallboy that should ha’ been, and a hey, my clerk Martin, and a hey for the players. When come they? Son Oliver, see forgg3839 Master Sentwell, that is no readier with his new company.

954TallboyPlayers! Let us go see too. I never saw any players.TALLBOY [and] MARTIN exit.

955OliverThis is the first fit that ever he had of this disease. And if it be his last, I say, as I said before, I am his heir.He exits.

956OldrentsBut is there a play to be expected and acted by beggars?

957ClackThat is to say, by vagabonds; that is to say, by strolling players. They are upon their purgationn5477. If they can present anything to please you, they may escape the law, that is, a hey! If not, tomorrow, gentlemen, shall be acted Abuses Stripped and Whippedn5479 among ’em. With a hey, Master Hearty, you are not merry.
SENTWELL enters.

And a hey, Master Sentwell, where are your Dramatis Personaen5671, your Prologusgg3841, and your Actus Primusgg3842, ha? Ha’ they given you the slipgg4447, for fear of the whip? A hey!

958SentwellA word aside, an’t please you ―
SENTWELL takes CLACK aside, and gives him a paper.

959OldrentsI have not known a man in such a humour.

960HeartyAnd of his own finding! He stole it, indeed, out of his own bottles, rather than be robbed of his liquor. Misers use to tipple themselves so.n5672

961Oldrents He does so outdo us, that we look like staidgg1794 men again, Hearty, fine sober things.

962HeartyBut how long will it last? He’ll hang himself tomorrow for the cost we have put him to.

963OldrentsI love a miser’s feast dearly. To see how thin and scatteringgg3843 the dishes stood, as if they feared quarrelling.

964HeartyAnd how the bottles, to scape breaking one another, were brought up by one at oncen5673!

965OldrentsHow one of the serving-men, untrained to wait, spilled the white brothn5480!

966HeartyAnd another, stumbling at the threshold, tumbled in his dish of rouncivalsgg3736 before him.

967OldrentsAnd most suitable to the niggardliness of his feast, we shall now have an entertainment, or play, presented by beggars.

968ClackSend ’em in, Master Sentwell.   SENTWELL exits.   Sit, gentlemen, the players are ready to enter.n10497 And here’s a bill of their playsn5674. You may take your choice.

969OldrentsAre they readygg1036 for them all in the same clothesn5481? Read ’em, good Hearty.

970HeartyFirst, here’s The Two Lost Daughters.

971OldrentsPut me not in mind of the two lost daughters, I prithee. What’s the next?

972HeartyThe Vagrant Steward.

973OldrentsNor of a vagrant steward. Sure some abuse is meant men5675.

974HeartyThe old Squire and the Fortune–teller.

975OldrentsThat comes nearer me. Away with it!

976HeartyThe Beggar’s Prophecy.

977OldrentsAll these titles may serve to one play of a story that I know too well. I’ll see none of them.

978HeartyThen here’s The Merry Beggars.

979OldrentsAy, that, and let ’em begin.
TALLBOY and OLIVER enter.

980TallboyThe players are coming in. And Mistress Amy and your man Martin are to be actors among ’em.

981ClackA hey then for that too. Some merry device, sure.   A flourishgg1096 of shawmsgg3737.   Hark! The beggars’ oboes! Now they begin.

982OldrentsSee, a most solemn prologue.
Enter Poet [SCRIBBLE] for Prologue.

983[Scribble.]To knight, to squire, and to the gentles here,
        We wish our play may with content appear.
        We promise you no daintygg355 wit of court,
        Nor city pageantryn6681, nor country sport;
        But a plain piece of action, short and sweet,
        In story true. You’ll know it when you see’t.[Scribble exits.]

984OldrentsTrue stories and true jests do seldom thrive on stages.

985ClackThey are best to please you with this though, or a hey with a whip for them tomorrow.

986OldrentsNay, rather than they shall suffer, I will be pleased, let ’em play their worst.
A flourish. PATRICO enters with LAWYER, habited like Oldrents.

See our patrico among ’em.

987HeartyThat offered you a doxy in the barn.

988PatricoYour children’s fortunes I have told,
        That they shall beg ere they be old.
        And will you have a reason why?
        ’Tis justice in their destiny. ―

989ClackJustice, ha! Are you meddling with justices already?

990PatricoYour grandfather, by crafty wile
        Of bargaining, did much beguilegg2192
        A thriftlessgg3844 heir of half the lands
        That are descended to your hands;
        And, then, by law, not equityn5676,
        Forced him and his posterity
        To woe and shameful beggary.

991LawyerThat was no fault of mine, nor of my children.

992PatricoBut our forefathers’ debts and crimes,
        Although forbornegg3738 till future times,
        Are not so paid. But what needs more?
        I wish you happy in your store.He exits.

993OldrentsDost note this, Hearty?

994HeartyYou said you would be pleased, let ’em play their worst.
LAWYER walks sadly, beats his breast, etc. To him, SOLDIER, like Hearty, enters and seems to comfort him.

995OldrentsIt begins my story, and by the same fortune–teller that told me my daughters’ fortunes, almost in the same words. I know him now. And he speaks in the play to one that personates me, as near as they can set him forth.

996ClackHow like you it, sir? You seem displeased. Shall they be whipped yet? A hey, if you say the word.

997OldrentsOh, by no means, sir! I am pleased.

998SoldierSad for the words of a base fortune–teller?
        Believe him! Hang him. I’ll trust none of ’em.
        They have all whimsgg3573 and double double meanings
        In all they say.

999OldrentsWhom does he talk or look like now?

1000HeartyIt is no matter whom. You are pleased, you say.

1001SoldierHa’ you no sack i’th’ house? Am not I here?
        And never without a merry old song!
[He] sing[s].
        Old sack, and old songs, and a merry old crew,
        Will fright away cares when the ground looks blue.

        And can you think on gipsy fortune–tellers?

1002LawyerI’ll think as little of ’em as I can.

1003SoldierWill you abroad then? But here comes your steward.
SPRINGLOVE enters to LAWYER.

1004OldrentsBless me! Is not that Springlove?

1005HeartyIs that you that talks to him, or that coxcomb I, do you think?n5677 Pray let ’em play their play. The Justice will not hinder ’em, you see; he’s asleep.

1006SpringloveHere are the keys of all my chargegg1561, sir. And
        My humble suit is that you will be pleaed
        To let me walk upon my known occasionsgg547 this summer.

1007LawyerFie! Canst not yet leave off those vagranciesgg4448?
        But I will strive no more to alter nature.
        I will not hinder thee, nor bid thee go.

1008OldrentsMy own very words at his departure!

1009HeartyNo matter. Pray attend.

1010LawyerCome, friend, I’ll take your counsel.LAWYER and SOLDIER exit.

1011SpringloveI’ve striven with myself to alter nature in me,
        For my good master’s sake, but all in vain;
        For beggars, cuckoo–like, fly out again,
        In their own notes and season.
RACHEL, MERIEL, VINCENT, [and] HILLIARD enter.

1012RachelOur father’s sadness will not suffer us
        To live in’s house.

1013MerielAnd we must have a progressgg2992.

1014VincentTh’ assurance of your loves hath engaged us —

1015Hilliard— to wait on you in any course.

1016RachelSuppose we’ll go a–begging.

1017Vincent [and] HilliardWe are for you.

1018SpringloveAnd that must be your course, and suddenly,
        To cure your father’s sadness, who is told
        It is your destiny — which you may quit
        By making it a trick of youth and wit.
        I’ll set you in the way.

1019All fourBut how? But how?
All talk aside.

1020OldrentsMy daughters and their sweethearts too. I see
        The scope of their design and the whole drift
        Of all their action now with joy and comfort.

1021HeartyBut take no notice yet. See a whimgs964 more of it. But the mad rogue that acted me, I must make drunk anon.

1022SpringloveNow! Are you all resolved?

1023All fourAgreed, agreed!

1024SpringloveYou beg to absolve your fortunen5678, not for need.They exit.

1025OldrentsI must commend their act in that. Pray thee let’s call ’em and end the matter here. The purpose of their play is but to work my friendship or their peace with me; and they have it.

1026HeartyBut see a little more, sir.
RANDALL enters.

1027OldrentsMy man Randall too! Has he a part with ’em?

1028RandallThey were well set a work, when they made me a player. What is that I must say? And how must I act now? Oh! that I must be steward for the beggars in master steward’s absence, and tell my master he’s gone to measure land for him to purchase.

1029OldrentsYou, sir. Leave the work you can do no better — I can forbear no longer — and call the actors back again to me.

1030RandallWith all my heart. And glad my part is so soon done.He exits.
PATRICO enters.

1031PatricoSince you will then break off our play,
        Something in earnest I must say,
        But let affected rhyming go.
        I’ll be no more a patrico.
        My name is Wrought-on ―― Start not.n5679 But, if you
        Desire to hear what’s worth your best attention
        More privately, you may draw nearer me.
OLDRENTS goes to him.

1032HeartyHear no more fortunes.

1033OldrentsYou shall give me leave.

1034PatricoI am grandson to that unhappy Wrought-on
        Whom your grandfather craftily wroughtgg1029 out
        Of his estate. By which all his posterity
        Were, since, exposed to beggary. I do not charge
        You with the least offence in this. But now
        Come nearer me, for I must whisper to you.
PATRICO takes OLDRENTS aside.
        I had a sister, who among the race
        Of beggars was the fairest. Fair she was
        In gentle blood and gesture to her beauty,
        Which could not be so clouded with base clothing
        But she attracted love from worthy persons,
        Which, for her meanness, they expressed in pity,
        For the most part. But some assaulted her
        With amorous, though loose, desires, which she
        Had virtue to withstand. Only one gentleman —
        Whether it were by her affection, or
        His fate, to send his blood a–begging with her,
        I question not — by her, in heat of youth,
        Did get a son, who now must call you father.

1035OldrentsMe?

1036PatricoYou. Attend me, sir. Your bounty, then,
        Disposed your purse to her, in which besides
        Much money — I conceive by your neglectn6682 —
        Was thrown this holy relic. Do you know it?

1037OldrentsThe agnus deigg3740 that my mother gave me
        Upon her death–bed! Oh, the loss of it
        Was my sore grief! And now, with joy, it is
        Restored by miracle! Does your sister live?

1038PatricoNo, sir. She died within a few days after
        Her son was born, and left him to my care;
        On whom, I, to this day, have had an eye
        In all his wanderings.

1039OldrentsThen the young man lives!
SPRINGLOVE, VINCENT, HILLIARD, RACHEL, [and] MERIEL enter.

1040PatricoHere with the rest of your fair children, sir.

1041OldrentsMy joy begins to be too great within me!
        My blessing and a welcome to you all.
        Be one another’s, and you all are mine.

1042Vincent [and] HilliardWe are agreed on that.

1043RachelLong since. We only stood till you shook off your sadness.

1044MerielFor which we were fain to go a–begging, sir.

1045OldrentsNow I can read the justice of my fate, and yours —

1046Clack   [Aside, awakening]   Ha! Justice? Are they handling of justice?

1047OldrentsBut more applaud great providence in both.

1048Clack   [To HEARTY]   Are they jeering of justices? I watched for that.

1049Hearty   [To CLACK]   Ay, so methought. No, sir. The play is done.
SENTWELL, AMY, OLIVER, [and] MARTIN enter.

1050SentwellSee, sir, your niece presented to you.
SPRINGLOVE takes AMY [to CLACK].

1051ClackWhat, with a speech by one of the players? Speak, sir, and be not daunted. I am favourable.

1052SpringloveThen, by your favour, sir, this maiden is my wife.

1053ClackSure you are out o’your partn5482. That is to say, you must begin again.

1054SpringloveShe’s mine by solemn contract, sir.

1055Clack   [To AMY]   You will not tell me that. Are not you my niece?

1056AmyI dare not, sir, deny’t; we are contractedgg3741.

1057ClackNay, if we both speak together, how shall we hear one another?

1058MartinI must disprovegg3742 the contract.

1059TallboyThat is my part to speak.

1060SentwellNone can disprove it. I am witness to it.

1061ClackNay, if we all speak ― as I said before.

1062OldrentsHear me for all then. Here are no beggars — you are but one, patricon5680 — no rogues, nor players, but a select company to fill this house with mirth. These are my daughters; these their husbandsn5483; and this that shall marry your niece, a gentleman, my son. I will instantly estate him in a thousand pound a year to entertain his wife, and to their heirs for ever. Do you hear me now?

1063ClackNow I do hear you. And I must hear you. That is to say, it is a match. That is to say ― as I said before.

1064TallboyAnd must I hear it too ――― Oh ―――

1065OldrentsYes, though you whine your eyes out.

1066HeartyNephew Martin, still the child with a suck–bottlegg4449 of sack.   [To TALLBOY]   Peace, lambn6683, and I’ll find a wife for thee.

1067OldrentsNow, patrico, if you can quit your function,
        To live a moderate gentleman, I’ll give you
        A competent annuityn5681 for your life.

1068PatricoI’ll be, withal, your faithful beadsmangg3743; and
        Spend my whole life in prayers for you and yours.

1069ClackAnd now, Clerk Martin, give all the beggars my free passn6684, without all manner of correction; that is to say, with a hey, get ’em gone.

1070Oliver   [To VINCENT]   Are not you the gentleman that challenged me in right of your friend here?[Indicating HILLIARD]

1071VincentYour inspection’s good, sir.

1072Rachel   [To OLIVER]   And you the gentleman, I take it, that would have made beggar–sport with us, two at once.

1073MerielFor twelvepence apiece, sir.

1074OliverI hope we all are friends.

1075Springlove   [To OLDRENTS]   Now, on my duty, sir, I’ll beg no more,
        But your continual love and daily blessing.

1076OldrentsExcept it be at court, boy, where if ever I come, it shall be to beg the next fool–royal’s placen5485 that falls.

1077SpringloveA begging epilogue yet would not be,
        Methinks, improper to this comedy.

Epilogue.n5689


1078EpilogueThough we are now no beggars of the crew,
        We count it not a shame to beg of you.
        The justice here has given his pass free
        To all the rest unpunished; only we
        Are under censure, till we do obtain
        Your suffragesgg3745 that we may beg again
        And often in the course we took today,
        Which was intended for your mirth; a play,
        Not without action and a little wit.
        Therefore we beg your passn5484 for us and it.

F I N I S.

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


n5688   5.1 The final act of the play is one long scene at Justice Clack's house, where visitors congregate and the truth is revealed through the device of a play-within-a-play.

One character does not come off too well: Martin has run away from the beggars in order to reach Justice Clack first with a confession, and perhaps prejudice the justice towards the first version of the story he hears. Clack forgives Martin for eloping with his ward, provided Amy returns in the same condition as when she left, intact and still marketable as a bride. Sentwell arrives to announce that Amy is safe, but when he tries to explain the true identities of the arrested beggars, Clack refuses to listen -- partly because of interruptions from Martin, Oliver, and Randall, all trying to get Clack to attend to his guests, Oldrents and Hearty, before they leave in a huff.

The movement of the comedy is towards laughter. Tallboy cheers up considerably when Martin tells him that Amy is now engaged to a beggar. He laughs immoderately. Similarly, Justice Clack laughs, drinks, and sings with Hearty and Oldrents, and decides to acquit the beggars if they put on a good play. The play-within-the-play retells the plot of Oldrents' prophecy about his daughters, but the patrico also reveals new information about Oldrents' grandfather and about Oldrents' own youthful indiscretion. The play-within collapses when Randall forgets his lines, at which point the the patrico uncovers his own true identity and Springlove's as well. Oldrents is happy with this ending of the play-within and the play proper, with all the couples happily betrothed and ready to begin married life as adults. We still don't know which suitor either Meriel or Rachel is marrying but we know Hilliard and Vincent are pleased. The actual pairing does not seem to matter, although a production choice might make the couples clear to an audience at last. [go to text]

gg3722   accusative accusatory, or containing an accusation or charge [go to text]

n5466   armour of proof That is: impenetrable or inviolable condition or state. 'Proof' here means a condition of having successfully stood a test, or the capability of doing so; proven or tested power, strength, etc. (originally and chiefly of armour and arms). Hence figuratively and in extended use: impenetrability, invulnerability (OED proof 9a). Amy's virginity, in other words, cannot be forced by any assailant. [go to text]

gg3723   only sole [go to text]

gg3084   instrument "a person made use of by another [...] for the accomplishment of a purpose" (OED n, 1b); an agent, tool [go to text]

gs708   pillar significant supporter of the weight (of the law) [go to text]

n5467   top and topgallows That is, a hanging threat (by analogy to the expression 'top and topgallant', short for topsail and topgallant sail of a ship); hence figuratively, with all sails set, in full array or career (OED top n1, 9c). In Justice Clack's summing up of the situation, he gives dire warning that Martin is criminally liable to the utmost penalty of the law for running away with Amy and for being derelict in his duty to his employer. Neither is a hanging offence in English law, unless it could be proved that Martin kidnapped her and stole goods or money from his employer at the same time. [go to text]

n5468   I would ha’ found a jury should ha’ found it so. A surprising admission from a judge! By his own admission, Justice Clack states that he would criminally influence a jury (whether by bribery or fear is not clear) to hang Martin. Even if Amy did concoct the plan of running away and forced Martin to help her, he is still guilty of assisting her and of abandoning his duty to his employer. Clack's words are hypothetical, however, since Martin's return and confession mitigate his 'crimes'. [go to text]

n5469   Justice of the King’s That is, Justice of the King's Bench, a judge in the former court of record and the supreme court of common law in the kingdom, in which originally the sovereign presided. [go to text]

n5470   currat lex Latin: legal term for maximum penalty; that is, the death sentence. [go to text]

n5471   course you up the heavy hill That is: pursue you to the gallows. Although the play takes place in Nottinghamshire, the colloquialism, "the heavy hill", is referring to London's steep ascent up which convicts travelled, usually by cart, on their way to execution at Tyburn. See, for example, Jonson's Bartholomew Fair in which Ursula warns Knockem that his criminal activities will lead him to 'groan out of a cart, up the heavy hill' (2.3.5). [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]

n5668   I can inform myself, sir, by your looks. Clack's refusal to listen to anyone else talk is an echo of Morose in Jonson's Epicoene, or the Silent Woman (1609), also a play written for a boys' company (Children of the Queen's Revels, at Whitefriars). Morose refused to let his servants speak at all; they had to bow or signal with their hands to demonstrate agreement or disagreement, a frequently inadequate mode of communication. [go to text]

gg4441   verbatim word for word; in the exact words of the original [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]

gg654   shift change [go to text]

gg1959   countries counties; rural regions outside of London/Middlesex and Westminster; generally, neither court nor city [go to text]

gg4442   watchword password, or prearranged signal [go to text]

gg3724   pales fences [go to text]

gg3551   cozen deceive, dupe, beguile, impose upon (OED 2) [go to text]

gg3820   single money small change [go to text]

gg3725   enjoys not does not have the pleasure or benefit of (OED 4a) [go to text]

gg3726   in stock in possession of capital [go to text]

n5472   in stocks The use here is punning on the obsolete instrument of punishment, consisting of two planks set edgewise one over the other (usually framed between posts), the upper plank being capable of sliding up and down. The person to be punished was placed in a sitting posture with his ankles confined between the two planks, the edges of which were furnished with holes to receive them. Sometimes there were added similar contrivances for securing the wrists (OED 8a). [go to text]

gg2702   wink shut one's eyes; fail to see, connive (OED v1, 5a) [go to text]

gg3727   strolls (n) strollers or ramblers [go to text]

gs680   examination judicial inquiry. [go to text]

gg3729   entertainment hospitality [go to text]

gg3728   runlet cask or vessel of varying capacity; or the quantity of liquor contained therein [go to text]

gg3730   prorogue defer, postpone [go to text]

gg3731   against after supper as soon as supper is over, or shortly after supper [go to text]

n5473   scarce welcome That is: barely welcomed. Not a criticism of his guests, this statement shows that Clack wants to entertain them properly and spend time with them. [go to text]

gg1234   nag small horse or pony [go to text]

gs681   notes intelligence, warning, information (OED n2, 11b) [go to text]

gg3838   ken range of sight or vision (OED n1, 2) [go to text]

n5669   between this Randall makes a gesture here, possibly to his heart, which he mentions in the next sentence. He may point to his own head before mentioning Springlove's, but he's giving Springlove credit for brains, and himself credit for loyalty. His point is that, aside from Randall himself, no man more honest than Springlove exists. [go to text]

n5474   Whaw. This comment suggests one of two performance choices. (1) A mocking sound, used progressively by Randall in subsequent speeches to indicate that Sentwell talks too much, seems too 'knowing' for Randall's taste, and is making Randall very impatient to get to the point of this conversation. (2) A yokel's surprise at what Sentwell knows about Randall and the family he works for. In Lancashire Witches, this same sound uttered by Parnell indicates shrieks of unexpected delight at the prospect of her marriage to Lawrence. [LW 1.2.speeches179-189] [go to text]

gg1683   Mum be silent [go to text]

n5475   churls’ That is: rustics' or peasants', but used as a term of disparagement or contempt: appropriate for base or mean-minded people. [go to text]

gg4443   still (v) silence [go to text]

gs963   hey or 'A hey', an exclamation of approval or excitement, frequent as a musical refrain [go to text]

n4385   a lightening before death This refers to an exhilaration or revival of the spirits which is supposed to occur in some instances just before death (OED lightening, vbl. n.2, 1b). The old-spelling text has lightning, and the word is taken over into Haaker's modern text, but this expression does not refer to a thunderstorm. [go to text]

n5670   lightening ] This edition; lightning Q1. Haaker follows Q1 by retaining this spelling, but the reference is not to weather. [go to text]

gg4444   wide astray in opinion or belief, mistaken (now expressed by the full phrase, wide of the mark) (OED a, 10b) [go to text]

gg4445   above half your length more than half the extent of space within which it is possible to reach or act upon something (playing here on the name Tallboy, suggesting the extent by which he has missed Clack's meaning) [go to text]

gg4446   ride a circuit circle around on horseback; ride at regularly recurring times, as a judge does when he travels on circuit to assizes held in various localities [go to text]

gg3839   see for look for, try to find (OED see v, 19) [go to text]

n5477   purgation This refers to the action of clearing themselves from an accusation or suspicion of crime or guilt (OED 6). [go to text]

n5479   Abuses Stripped and Whipped This refers to a satire by George Wither, printed in 1613. [go to text]

n5671   Dramatis Personae Latin: Cast List; literally, the Persons of the Play. In effect. Clack is asking where the actors are. [go to text]

gg3841   Prologus Latin: the actor who gives the Prologue to the play. On the early modern stage, he usually wore a black cloak to cover his costume for the role he performs next in the play proper. [go to text]

gg3842   Actus Primus Latin: Act One. [go to text]

gg4447   given you the slip evaded or escaped from you; eluded, stolen off or slipped away from you unperceived [go to text]

n5672   He stole it, indeed, out of his own bottles, rather than be robbed of his liquor. Misers use to tipple themselves so. Clack's eccentric behaviour arises from his over-consumption of his own wine, drinking it himself instead of generously supplying his guests. Misers often get drunk on that avaricious basis. [go to text]

gg1794   staid free from flightiness, serious in conduct [go to text]

gg3843   scattering placed far apart [go to text]

n5673   by one at once That is: one at a time. [go to text]

n5480   white broth This refers to a light-coloured broth, like a vegetable or chicken broth. [go to text]

gg3736   rouncivals large type of garden or field pea, thought to originate in the foothills of the Pyrenees [go to text]

n10497   Sit, gentlemen, the players are ready to enter. Video The final scene in A Jovial Crew is a play-within-a-play. Our central interests in trying to stage this in the workshop was to explore the pacing of the scene and to consider how the play within the play might be directed in relation to the theatre audience and the onstage audience of Oldrents (played by Keith Bartlett), Hearty (Mike Burrell) and Clack (Joseph Thompson). We were also interested, as so often in these workshops, in exploring possible shifts of tone. Given the very large cast required, two actors had to take on two or more roles: Lachlan McCall played the Lawyer (habited like Oldrents) and Tallboy; Jenny McEvoy played the Poet, the Soldier and Randall. Editors (Michael Leslie and Eleanor Lowe) and visitors to the workshop (Libby Worth and Kate Napier) also had to take on some roles. For the sake of clarity, we also decided that some basic costuming would be useful, partly to signify the different characters that Lachlan and Jenny played, and also to distinguish between characters playing themselves and playing a role in The Merry Beggars, the play-within-the-play.

Structurally, a key moment in the scene comes when Randall enters and is paralysed by stage fright. This is the point at which the play-within collapses; and the tone of the scene shifts away from being predominantly comic. Finding an appropriate playing style for this was crucial in our development of the scene. To whom are Randall’s questions addressed? (“What is that I must say? And how must I act now?”) To himself? As asides to the onstage audience? To the theatre audience? Or a combination of these? In this video clip from an early run-through, Randall refers to the onstage audience, and then voices his internal anxieties before addressing the theatre audience. Although this creates an interesting dynamic between on-stage and off-stage audiences, it still does not mark the moment as pivotal. Brian Woolland, the director, asked Jenny to make much more of the character’s nervousness. This clip shows Jenny trying this out for the first time. Here, the character’s references to on-stage and off-stage audiences become a manifestation of his internal struggle with the difficulties of performance. Randall’s crippling anxiety is painful enough to trigger Oldrents’ decision to put an end to the performance. Jenny’s pacing of this marks an important transition in the scene, and also breaks the rhythm most effectively. Immediately after this, Patrico abandons his role as patriarch of the beggars and reveals himself as Wrought-on. Thereafter the revelations come thick and fast.

Teasing out Randall’s embarrassment at being asked to take on a role in the play-within-the-play also proved to be very useful in developing an appropriate playing style for other characters who perform in The Merry Beggars. We wanted to create a sense of amateurishness about the play within the play; but also to distinguish between different levels and styles of performance and self-consciousness. As Brian said to Alan Morrissey, playing Springlove, for example, “He’s a great actor when he’s improvising, but he’s a hopeless actor when he’s got a script.” This is exemplified in an inventive piece of comic business developed between Springlove and The Lawyer. Springlove and Patrico are the characters who change most noticeably as they shift from the roles they take in The Merry Beggars to their ‘real’ selves. The following video clips show the change in Patrico. The first is taken from his first appearance in The Merry Beggars. The second shows his confidential exchange with Oldrents soon after he has revealed himself as the ‘unhappy Wrought-on’.

In many of our workshops, we found that a scene which had looked relatively straightforward on the page proved far more complex in the workshop situation than we had anticipated. In the case of this scene, we were very pleasantly surprised to find that the opposite applied: on paper it had seemed logistically very difficult and dominated by convoluted plot revelations. In practice, once we had established clarity of meaning, and experimented with the levels of performance, we discovered that it had a delightful rhythm, in which Brome uses a range of comic devices to punctuate the complex dénouement. The video clip which follows is taken from our final run-through of the scene. It gives a good sense of Clack's interruptions and the relationship between the play-within-the-play and the onstage audience.

We now know (though the original audience and performers could not) that this was one of the last plays to be staged before the closing of the theatres and the outbreak of civil war. We wondered in our preparations for this workshop whether it would be possible for our enactment to hint at the imminence of devastating social upheaval. It may be that an alert reader can indeed see allusions to the world about to be turned upside down in the exchange between Oldrents and the Patrico, or in Springlove’s sudden change of status; but the question remains open. It is, however, not hard to imagine a fully realised theatrical production of the play in which many of the earlier scenes (with their remarks about ‘the court going a-begging’ and references to the violent oppression of those in extreme poverty) hint at something far darker than is suggested by this witty and light-hearted conclusion. [go to text]

n5674   a bill of their plays That is: the list of plays the actors are prepared to perform. The guests are to choose the one they want to see. The mechanicals in A Midsummer Night's Dream are also part of a list of plays to be presented before Theseus as part of the wedding celebrations of Act 5. [go to text]

gg1036   ready dressed [go to text]

n5481   all in the same clothes That is, without costume-changes. Oldrents seems astonished that a company of actors can put on several different plays without wardrobe assistance. [go to text]

n5675   some abuse is meant me That is: some particular satire is intended against me. The question of whether plays were attacking or mocking particular members of the state or church establishment was frequently the reason for interrogation in the Star Chamber or arresting actors and/or playwrights, as Jonson knew to his cost. [go to text]

gg1096   flourish a burst of horns or trumpets, a fanfare [go to text]

gg3737   shawms mediæval musical instruments of the oboe class, having a double reed enclosed in a globular mouthpiece [go to text]

gg355   dainty valuable, excellent; rare [go to text]

n6681   city pageantry Civic entertainments, similar to modern parades but more elaborate, took place to celebrate a lord mayor's investiture, or the arrival of a special visitor, such as a member of the royal family or a foreign guest of state. The route such entertainments followed tended to be a circuit of the city (that is, the square mile of London itself within the walls) stopping at key places like the Guildhall, the Exchange, or Paul's Cross, where a display of some kind, including music, poetry, dance, and elaborate costumes and sets, would praise the city and the guest so homoured. Middleton wrote several civic entertainments, as did Dekker and other playwrights. [go to text]

gg2192   beguile cheat [go to text]

gg3844   thriftless wasteful, improvident, spendthrift (OED 3) [go to text]

n5676   by law, not equity The speaker is distinguishing between what is 'just' in a court of law, and what is 'fair' in terms of natural justice generally. But he also puns on different legal courts. In England the common law (based on precedent) and statute law were balanced by the law of equity, which might supersede common and statute law verdicts when they conflicted with the principle of equity. This provision was important in cases for which the law did not provide adequate remedy, or in which its operation would have been unfair. These decisions, however, were taken as precedents, and thus ‘equity’ early became an organized system of rules, not less definite and rigid than those of legal precendent or statute law. In England, equity was formerly administered by the Court of Chancery; but since 1873 all the branches of the High Court administer both ‘law’ (common and statute) and ‘equity’, it being provided that where the two differ, the rules of equity are to be followed (OED equity 4a). [go to text]

gg3738   forborne tolerated; not enforced, pressed, insisted on, or exacted, especially in terms of paying back (OED forbear v, 9) [go to text]

gg3573   whims pun [go to text]

n5677   Is that you that talks to him, or that coxcomb I, do you think? That is, is the Lawyer playing the role of 'Oldrents' and the Soldier playing the part of 'Hearty'? Hearty is apparently being sarcastic: can Oldrents not distinguish between play-acting and real life? [go to text]

gg1561   charge (n) task, duty, commission (OED n, 12) [go to text]

gg547   occasions opportunities [go to text]

gg4448   vagrancies actions of roaming abroad or wandering about from place to place [go to text]

gg2992   progress a journey undertaken by the monarch and his/her court (usually during the summer months, as a kind of holiday; but often to avoid residing in London during a time of year when plague was prevalent) [go to text]

gs964   whim excentric reference to fanciful creation [go to text]

n5678   to absolve your fortune That is: resolve or clear up your fate, so that what was predicted can no longer happen. [go to text]

n5679   Start not. Don't be startled. Don't panic. [go to text]

gg1029   wrought (literally) moulded, shaped; (in context) persuaded [go to text]

n6682   I conceive by your neglect I gather through your indifference or carelessness. That is, the patrico assumes that Oldrents had no real feeling for the girl, and simply tossed money at her to salve his sense of gentlemanly propriety. [go to text]

gg3740   agnus dei literally, lamb of God: a figure of a lamb bearing a cross or flag, sometimes a badge to be sewn on one's clothes, and sometimes encased in crystal and worn as a pendant, testifying to faith in Christ [go to text]

n5482   out o’your part That is, forgetting or mixing up one's lines; not following the script accurately. [go to text]

gg3741   contracted formally betrothed, or engaged (in the early modern period, this contract was as binding as a marriage, especially if accompanied by the ritual of handfasting) [go to text]

gg3742   disprove invalidate [go to text]

n5680   you are but one, patrico That is, you, patrico, are the only beggar. [go to text]

n5483   husbands That is, betrothed husbands. [go to text]

gg4449   suck–bottle bottle with a nipple on it, as an infant or orphaned animal like a lamb, calf, or colt might be given; also, a tippler [go to text]

n6683   lamb This is a mocking endearment. It is likely that Hearty addresses Tallboy, still weeping like a child over the loss of his bride; but Martin has also lost a bride, and is drinking far too much for solace, as Hearty points out. [go to text]

n5681   A competent annuity That is, an annual allowance sufficient for living costs of a man of his (former) class. [go to text]

gg3743   beadsman man paid or endowed to pray for others; a pensioner charged with the duty of praying for the souls of his benefactor [go to text]

n6684   my free pass That is: my warrant to go free. In effect, it's a 'get out of jail' card, allowing the beggars to leave the area without penalty or record. [go to text]

n5485   to beg the next fool–royal’s place That is, to petition the Court of Wards (established by Henry VIII, and suppressed under Charles II) to take custody of an idiot (or a minor or an heiress). Although the keeping of fools was considered a charitable practice, the allowances and financial rights could lead to abuses. The acquisition of minors or heiresses under the Court of Wards certainly led to many abuses, since the guardian had to power to arrange the marriage of the ward, and if the ward refused the spouse on offer, the guardian was entitled to keep a significant part of the inheritance (as perhaps was Clack's hope in his attempt to force Amy to marry Tallboy). Because Oldrents thinks he has been a fool in his treatment of Springlove and his daughters, he is suggesting that he be placed as a fool-royal himself in the Court of Wards. But his real object here is to safeguard his own estate for his heirs, and keep his distance from political matters at court. [go to text]

n5689   Epilogue. Spoken by Springlove, with the rest of the cast still on stage. Springlove repudiates the beggar-label for all the actors, with one condition: the 'jury', composed of members of the audience, must give the final verdict on their release with applause. This legal-style summing-up echoes Jonson's The Alchemist, where Jeremy/Face, as the Epilogue, asks the jury/audience to applaud for the actors' release from criminal charges. Ending a play with a prayer of some kind is traditional: see, for example, the Epilogue of The Tempest, in which applause and cheers give the characters gentle breezes which will waft them back to Italy. The Epilogue of Antipodes displays the same image. [go to text]

gg3745   suffrages votes in support of or an opinion in favour of some persons or actions (OED 4) [go to text]

n5484   pass This usage of the word is punning on (1)permission, or warrant to travel, as in line 3 of this Epilogue, which refers to Justice Clack's free pass to the beggars; (2)approval, shown in applause. In this repetition of the word, the actors beg a free pass, or round of applause, for themselves and for their play, in return for giving the audience mirth. [go to text]

© University of Sheffield, 2010
The transcribed text is made freely available for non-commercial usage. Copyright, of the design and content, remains with the Royal Holloway, University of London and the University of Sheffield. Commercial exploitation of this material is prohibited without licence from the Royal Holloway, University of London and the University of Sheffield.