1010CrosswillWhat has this coxscomb Cockbrain writ me here?n1053 Crosswill’s speech begins with two sentences of ten syllables, falling into something close to pentameter verse; after a short expostulation - 'What have I to do with him?' - the next sentence is 10 syllables also. The speech is clearly important for its revelation of a change in Crosswill’s views and for its concentration on issues of freedom, family, regulation, law and authority. It may be that Brome signals the speech by introducing it with a certain formality, through the echo of pentameter in the prose.
One of the questions exposed by the development of a workshop performance of this speech was when and to what extent Crosswill should address the audience. How internal should this soliloquy be? Robert Lister experimented with acknowledging the audience only two-thirds of the way into the speech (beginning with the sentence 'His son and my daughter should have married'); but he realised that this was unsustainable and that he had to address the audience from the outset. That he desires his absence be excused. What have I to do with him? When I send for him, let him come to me. That he is upon a point of discovery in a most excellent project for the weeding of this garden? What garden? What project? A project he says here for the good of the republic – repudding! This fellow has, instead of brains, a cobweb in his noddle, with little straws, feathers, and wings of dead butterflies hanging in it, that having motion by his airy fancy, there dance and keep a racket. ’Tis to teach women silence, or some such foolish impossibility. He is ambitious to be called into authority*n3860 Cockbrain wishes to be made a magistrate as a result of a notable success in reforming Covent Garden. The phrase is vaguely ecclesiastical and Pauline, though it does not occur in exactly this form in Paul's Epistles. The self-aggrandizing diction no doubt contributes to Crosswill's irritation. by notice taken of some special service he is able to do the state aforehand. But what great service he is able to do it, or which way to undertake it, falls not in the reach of my imaginationn7355 As Marion O'Connor pointed out, the word 'imagination' may be a key to what traps Crosswill into these flights of angry judgement and the gleeful humiliation of others. Crosswill has in the lines before this indulged himself with an extended portrait of Cockbrain as a madman; but in the course of this he has lost all sense of proportion and sight of Cockbrain's essentially benign character. . But good Master Crosswill, by your favour now, what reason have you to slight or wrangle at this man?n7352 Exploration of the speech raised the question of the location of the various emotional turning-points and, in particular, what triggers Crosswill's turn to introspection and painful self-consciousness. Robert Lister and Brian Woolland found that Crosswill has to overreach himself and discover, to his chagrin, that he has done so yet again. Crosswill delights in his extreme judgemental outbursts, but he is surrendering in this speech to the recognition that these moments can be disproportionately destructive.
At this point in the speech Crosswill turns from speaking aloud to having a conversation with himself, addressing and questioning himself in the third person. Hitherto he has almost been showing off to the audience, but he realises that -- not for the first time -- this has led him into a self-indulgent destructiveness. This honest Cockbrain, that has always been a constant friend to you, and officious in many good ways, and is a gentleman, not only of good descent and estate, but of a good disposition. And you two, Master Crosswill, by your leave, have always agreed like neighbours’ children. Aye, the devil was in’t, and now he vexes me again: we agreed in one point so well that we have undone a couple of our children by it, and hindered the getting of I know not how many more. His son and my daughter should have married. And on a sudden he and I both consented to a dislike of the match and broke it, and have both repented it an hundred times since. We agree very well in that point; and now is his son irrecoverably lost, and my daughter resolutely bent to be an ape-leader in Limbo*n1054 This is a variant of the common proverb, 'They that die maids lead apes in hell', found in Shakespeare and Donne and many other early modern texts. It is first found in George Gascoigne's The Adventures of Master F.J. (1572) and is still going strong in London jests: or, A collection of the choicest joques and repartees in 1685: 'A merry Fellow told an Old Batchelor of a strange Dream he had of him, the night before, for says he, I thought you was Dead and I thought I saw you behind Hell door, leading of a great Ape, and that Lucifer, coming in, and seeing you, did ask what that Old Fellow did there? To whom the Devil that attended you, told, you were an old Batchelor, and had never lost your Maiden-head: to whom Beelzebub said, Turn him ont [sic] again, thou dost him wrong, dost not see his Son in his hand there, that is so like him, that any one may know who was the Father of him (pp. 141-2, Joke 118).
The phrase and the jokes appear to be symptoms of the growing hostility to the unmarried state (particularly for women) in newly-Protestant England. The implications seem to be that unmarried women are 'leading men on' and teasing them sexually; and that the unmarried may be unchaste, given the contemporary lewd associations of the figure of the ape. When Brome uses the proverb in Jovial Crew, however, it is less negative: Meriel says that she 'will rather hazard my being one of the Devil's / Ape-leaders, than to marry while he is melancholy' (2.1).
Here, Limbo is substituted for Hell (I have not found another instance outside this play). Protestant denominations were more ambivalent or hostile to the concept of Limbo (Jean Calvin denied it outright) than Catholics. Crosswill's substitution seems to indicate that he cannot bring himself to condemn his daughter to eternal punishment, even in imagination or proverb, however irritated he is by her behaviour. . But what’s all this to the affliction I suffer in my sons, now? That one of them from a riotous boy, should grow into a puritanical woodcock*n1881 A woodcock was an easily caught bird and hence the term became a common insult in the early modern period. ; and the tother from a civil, well-qualified fellow, turned absolute ruffian. There, there, aye there’s the devil in’t. I could beat myself for getting such children.n7353 In a series of readings, Robert Lister performed Crosswill's final lines as revealing different degrees of self-knowledge, consciousness of his faults and responsibility, self-pity, vulnerability, and desolation. In these video extracts, the mood darkens.
In a full production, the darker versions would in all likelihood be rejected, as over-balancing the play. However, Robert Lister's performance of Crosswill's despair showed what has to lie behind an actor's more comedic presentation.

1011[Belt]*n3284 1659 has no Speech Prefix here.    [Aside]   See, see, my master, for want of other company fallen out with himself.   [Aloud]   And it please you, sir?

1012CrosswillIt does not please me, nor thou pleasest me, nor anything pleases me. The world’s bent to cross me, and thou shalt feel it.n7356 This speech is crucial to the beginning of the play's conclusion and depicts its central character undergoing a remarkable journey. It is well worth seeing Robert Lister perform the speech in its entirety, with excerpts from different readings. [CROSSWILL beats BELT]n7354 As Helen Ostovich pointed out, by now Belt's arrival is understood by the audience to mean that he is about to be beaten. Crosswill can externalise once more, taking his frustration and anger out on the servant.

1013BeltO, good sir!

1014CrosswillIs it not so, sir, was not that dunce Gabriel a most notorious wild thing before he steered a religious course? But then he run so full a sail that he passed†gg1718 a nautical term: to go beyond a defined point and was beyond the line of religion before he was aware; and as he passed it under the torrid Zone of Zeal, the calenture†gg1073 a disease incident to sailors within the tropics, characterized by delirium in which the patient, it is said, fancies the sea to be green fields, and desires to leap into it: used figuratively (OED 2) took him o’the pate, that he is mad with it, and as far beyond religion now as it is to it.

1015BeltSir, there’s hope that he may be fetched half way back again by your fatherly advisement, and become a sound man.

1016CrosswillAnd then was not Mihil so civil, that he made me even sick to see him? And now is he flown out as far into riot t’other way.

1017BeltBut he, sir, will appear a present comfort to you, he is reclaimed already; you shall never see such a reformation in a gentleman.

1018CrosswillWhat’s this you tell me? Ha!

1019BeltHe has cast off his long-curled hair and all.

1020CrosswillHe had been better have cut his head off! Where is he?

1021BeltBelow, sir, and a gentlewoman with him, but very much afraid to appear to you. I never saw a man so timorsome†gg3139 subject to or characterized by fear; timorous, timid (OED adj. 1) .

1022CrosswillDo you think it fit that I should go down to him, or he come up to me, sir, ha?

1023BeltI’ll fetch him.   [Aside]   Here’s a life!Exit

1024CrosswillI charged he should not come at this house too, for fear he might be catched with this mechanic fellow’s daughter, though her portion be a round†gg3140 of a sum of money: large, considerable in amount (OED 8a) one. And let him take heed he look not at her.

Bless me! What changeling is this? He’s in his brother’s cut†gg1977 fashion (OED n2. III 17a) *n3861 Mihil's wig gives him the appearance of having had his long hair cut in the style associated with Puritans. .

1025MihilSir, – Sir –

1026CrosswillWould you speak with any here, sir, do you know me? I know not you, I assure you.

1027MihilThe sense of your late displeasure, sir, has so humbled me into the knowledge of myself, that on the wings of true obedience, I flew after you to make a child’s submission at your feet, to crave your pardon for my riotous transgression, and to ask your blessing.

1028CrosswillA delicate speech, pray take it for fashion's sake. But if I know how to look towards thee –

1029MihilPray, sir, bestow it really upon me.

1030CrosswillGod bless thee, I say, and so much many honest men bestow daily on sons that are none of their own. If thou be’st mine, how camest thou thus like a fellow that had narrowly scaped the pillory†gg3141 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) , and bragged in the publication of his ears? Not an hair left to hide them*n1058 Crosswill teases Mihil about his short hair, in the fashion of the Puritans and his brother Gabriel. He also suggests that he looks like somone who has escaped worse possible punishments, including having his ears cut. The most famous case of this, close to contemporary with this play, is that of William Prynne (1600-1669), whose ears were lightly cut (the removal was more thorough when he was again punished in 1637) on 7 May 1634, while he stood in the pillory, for criticising women's participation in acting and by implication that of Queen Henrietta Maria. Crosswill says his son looks like someone who has had his hair cut short so that people can see his ears are intact.
The resemblances to Prynne's punishment could indicate a topical reference and so date the play to after May 1634. This seems late for first composition, but it is always possible that lines were added to take advantage of a much talked-about event. On the other hand, the modern fame of Prynne's case should not suggest that others were not subject to mutilation. Dr. Alexander Leighton (c.1570-1649) had one of his ears removed, as well as his nose slit, for sedition in 1630. His portrait print by Wenceslas Hollar (1641) proudly shows the profile with the removed ear. .

1031MihilTo show my readiness to reform my life, sir. And yet a willingness withal to live, as well, as civilly, in which I am in all humility to prefer a suit to you. You know, sir, I am but a younger brother*n1060 Mihil has no hopes of inheriting an adequate estate while his elder brother, Gabriel, is alive. It is his responsibility to earn or, a better solution, marry money. By the end of the century, the choice to enter commercial life, particularly in overseas trading, would be more acceptable. Mihil has instead been admitted to one of the Inns of Court, technically embarking on a professional career in the law, though we have seen Crosswill recoil at the decline in status that would mean even for his younger son. But Mihil seems ahead of his father here in adapting to social change: he may not work in commerce, but he aims to marry commercial money. See Susan E. Whyman, 'Land and Trade Revisited: The Case of John Verney, London Merchant and Baronet, 1660-1720' London Journal 22 (1997)16-32. The possibility that Gabriel may die and Mihil inherit is lost on no-one, a situation commonly contemplated in the period (Whyman, p. 18). Though Whyman's study is principally concerned with the post-Restoration period, this play clearly shows the same issues to be present in the 1630s, with some of the same solutions, at least in embryo. See also Joan Thirsk, 'Younger Sons in the Seventeenth Century' History 54 (1969), 358-377, whose emphasis on sibling tension is qualified by Linda Pollock in 'Younger Sons in Tudor and Stuart England' History Today 39 (1989), 23-29. .

1032CrosswillWhat will this come to?

1033MihilHere is a widow*n1566 Mihil follows the cynical suggestion of John Earle in Micro-cosmographie. Or, A peece of the world discouered in essayes and characters (1628), in the character of the Younger Brother: 'The only thing that may better his fortunes, is an art he has to make a Gentlewoman, wherewith he baits now and then some rich widow, that is hungry after his blood' (C5r). , sir, a gentlewoman of great estate, and of a well-known life. Ancient she is, and has had husbands. How many?

1034MargeryFour, truly, sir.

1035MihilFour, sir, I would not lie. Of which the worst spoke well of her on’s deathbed.

1036[Crosswill]*n3155 1659 misassigns this speech to Madge. The annotator of Folger Shakespeare Library B4872 also makes this emendation. What’s that to me or thee? Come to the point.

1037MihilI have all wooed and won her, sir, and crave but your goodwill to marry her. I have brought a churchman and a kinsman to give†gg2009 give away in marriage her.*n1564 Neither this threatened marriage nor any of those that do take place among the play’s characters is celebrated onstage. Nor are any held in a church following the officially-approved pattern of banns. All are 'private' or 'clandestine'. Such marriages were more prevalent in London than the rest of England, relying on licences from the ecclesiastical authorities, and rapidly increased in number in the years before the outbreak of the Civil Wars. Jeremy Boulton summarises possible reasons for this, a number of which could apply to the marrying couples in this play: 'This increasing taste for private weddings suggests that significant sociological changes may have been taking place within metropolitan society. Resort to private or secret weddings has been linked to a wish to thwart parental or parish opposition to intended unions, to attempts to conceal bridal pregnancy, to a wish to save on the costs of wedding feasts and other ancillary 'charges' and to avoid a public ceremony not being 'willing to have their affairs declar'd to all the world in a public place, when for a guinea they may do it snug and without noise'. Marriages by licence enabled couples to marry quickly, to conceal large discrepancies in age, to marry in times prohibites by the Anglican church, such as Lent or Advent and it has even been argued that by avoiding a public wedding couples could avoid having embarrassing surnames read out in church' ('Itching after Private Marryings? Marriage Customs in Seventeenth-century London' London Journal 16 (1991), 15-34; p. 26).

1038CrosswillWhy so, what needs two words then? Do you think I can deny you?

1039Mihil   [Aside]   If he does grant it, ’tis the first request that e’er he granted in his life. Sure the old match-maker, the devil, thinks I am in earnest to marry this beast. And puts a readiness in his hand*n1061 See OED put v1: Where a person (or thing) is put to some condition 25a a. To place in, bring into, or reduce (a person or thing) to some state or condition; as,...readiness to forward it.

1040CrosswillWidow, you are welcome.   [To MIHIL]   Why call you not your priest? Or tarry, sir, let me question you but a little. Do you think seriously you love this widow?*n1062 Mihil challenges his father by appearing unconcernedly to opt for marriage without affection, basing his choice solely on financial advantage. See the introduction for the transition in this period towards marital alliances being based on the desire of the partners and on affection.

1041MihilBetter than many men love their wives, I am persuaded.

1042Crosswill’Tis very well. What children have you, widow?

1043MargeryNever had any, sir.

1044CrosswillVery well still.

1045MihilNor ever like to have any, sir, that’s the comfort. We shall live at the less charge†gg113 trouble, expense, responsibility (OED n. 11) .*n3862 Mihil provocatively matches his father's perversity, turning the common idea that children are the comfort of age into the assertion that his prospective wife's infertility will be a comfort, because children would be expensive.
Mihil's motive was known and reprehended in this period. The religious writer William Gouge explicitly condemns as 'a very evil disposition' those who choose not to have children: 'It is to be discontent at Gods blessing'. In Gouge's list of those who are so discontented, the second is 'Others for that end marry such as are past Child-bearing' (A learned and very useful commentary on the whole epistle to the Hebrews [Book 3], p. 43 [Ffff 2r].

1046CrosswillThou art a covetous and a preposterous knave! Wouldst thou bury up thy youth in barren ground? Dost seek after wealth, and not after issue? Dost love to feed on other men’s leavings? Or travel only in a beaten path? Ha!

1047MihilA man goes certainest on his journey so, sir, and less trouble it is, you know, to go in at a great gate, than a narrow wicket*n1064 Mihil’s metaphor has a crude, physical application. Again, he is challenging his father by the stark light this language throws on the choices being made. .

1048CrosswillYou have said enough, sir, and delight to cross me; but I’ll cross you for once, and lay a cross upon you, shall perhaps carry you to your grave.*n3863 Crosswill plays on the first syllable of his own name and on the many meanings of cross (here principally to counter or thwart; to place something in opposition, to 'lay a cross'), recognising that Mihil is attempting to manipulate his father through his perverse nature and determining to respond in kind. Go, fetch your priest.

1049Mihil   [Aside]   I’ll face it as far as I dare. I hope I shall have the grace to pull my hand from the book*n3864 Mihil hopes that he will refuse to marry Madge at the last minute, removing his hand from the prayerbook and not uttering the binding vow. But he is not sure he has the courage that would require. when it comes so far.Exit

1050CrosswillWidow, you are resolved to have him too?

1051MargeryBefore all men i’ th’ world, by your fair leave, sir.

1052CrosswillYou shall not have him.

1053MargeryWithout your free consent, I will not.

1054Crosswill   [Aside]   I am resolv’d I’ll do it. And ’twill be the best cross trick that e’er I did in my life.   [Aloud]   Pray let me speak in some more private with you.

1055Margery   [Aside]   If I but ’scape Bridewell*n3865 Bridewell, originally a royal palace, was given by Edward VI to the City of London as a 'hospital' or place of refuge. It became known especially as a prison for prostitutes (and, because they were concentrated there, a red light district). Prostitutes were sometimes called 'Bridewell birds' in this period. The term 'Bridewell' was increasingly used figuratively to mean prison in general, like Clink, originally the prison in Southwark; but here Madge probably means she hopes to avoid detention in the original Bridewell. , I care not.*n1065 This may be an aside or direct address to the audience. [CROSSWILL and MARGERY] exit

1056MihilNow, Tony, she is thine own. Now, sister Kate, he’s thine. The priest has pronounced it. I say, Amen to ’t. And heaven give you joy.

1057KatherineNow you have done the best brotherly office that ever made a sister happy.

1058AnthonyAnd the friendliest to a friend. We have been casting for it, sweet, this twelve month and, Heaven pardon me, I vowed never to take acquaintance of my father till ’twere effected. Although I know of late he has been willing.

1059KatherineAnd so is mine, I know, but yet he swore that I should match myself before he knew ’t, or I should never marry.

1060MihilYou’ll find him of another mind towards me, and force me into wedlock presently.

1061KatherineYou have ta’en the likeliest course that could be. But what is your disguised woman, brother?

1062MihilWhat you shall never know, sister, I hope.

1063CrosswillCome, sir, I have broken off the match with your widow; and she’s content to leave you as she found you. And now take me this pretty, simpering, plump-lipped, ruddy-cheeked, white-necked, long-fingered virgin in handn1066 Crosswill once more appears to be more excited by his son’s bride than is entirely comfortable. The character's delight in verbalising his appreciation of Lucy's body was splendidly caught in the workshop reading. , or I will swinge†gg2010 (v) beat you, sirrah, look to ’t. If you cannot live civilly with a young wife, you cannot but be mad with an old, I think. Besides, she’s a friend’s daughter of mine, and prepared by her discreet father here to love you. Come, and kiss her, quickly, sirrah.

1064MihilI cannot do ’t for all the wealth in the world.

1065CrosswillHow’s that?

1066MihilKiss a maid I never saw above twice in my life?

1067CrosswillHe will have me think him a bastard, do I what I can. Canst thou see a maid twice and not kiss her?

1068MihilYes, twenty times, sir, and not kiss her, or if once, not above, sir.

1069CrosswillBut you shall kiss her above and belown1067 Again, Crosswill is on the verge of obscenity, commanding Mihil to kiss Lucy 'above and below'. The phrase continues, 'in every room of the house', but the audience has already responded to a bawdier meaning: cunnilingus. This became readily apparent in the workshop reading of the scene
This may seem anachronistic. Oral sex is hard to document in periods before the present and the greater explicitness of the age of the internet. Oral sex is traditionally frowned upon in the West and condemned as sinful; and cunnilingus does not even appear in the most famous early modern works of pornography, such as Aretino's I modi. But Brome's master, Ben Jonson, shows considerable interest (evidenced in his marginalia) in the vocabulary of oral sex found in Martial's poems (see Lowenstein); and John Donne's 'Love's Progress' is close to explicit about kissing 'another forest', though editors rarely, if ever, explicate the passage. Donne notes that 'going down' from the beloved's head may lead to 'shipwreck': one may 'no further get'. So the lover is advised to start from the feet and progress upwards towards a woman's other 'mouth':
Rich nature hath in women wisely made
Two purses, and their mouths aversely laid.
On Donne and other poets' references to oral sex, see David Renaker. , sir, and in every room o’ th’ house, sir, before you part. Stand fair, pretty one.

1070LucyI know not how to do ’t.

1071RooksbillYou were not best let me instruct you. I can be angry too.

1072LucyHis back side’s towards me.

1073CrosswillTurn yourself, sirrah, or I’ll turn you. Go to, bend your body a little and be hanged.   [MIHIL and LUCY kiss]   So, now come your way, and say after your little Sir John†gg3170 a familiar or contemptuous appellation for a priest: from SIR as rendering the Latin word, dominus, at the Universities (OED John n, 3) here, "I, Mihil, take thee, Lucy,” &c. As learning shall enable him to proceed without book*n4267 This is close to being a clandestine marriage and it may be that the Parson has come without a book or other items usual to the marriage ceremony in order to avoid detection. .

1074RooksbillPray let ’em do it in the next chamber, they are too bashful afore us. There are witnesses enough. Go all in, I pray you.

1075MihilWidow, will you give me leave to obey my father?

1076MargeryWith all my heart, and say Amen to the marriage.[Exit all but CROSSWILL and ROOKSBILL]*n7357 There is no stage direction here, but a few lines later the 1659 text has 'Enter all again'. Immediately before this inserted stage direction, Rooksbill has said, 'Go all in, I pray you', indicating that all will take part in the marriage offstage as witnesses.
One of the most striking effects here, as Liz Shafer pointed out during the workshop, is the rapid emptying of the crowded stage space, leaving Crosswill and Rooksbill alone. Their isolation and confrontation are rendered all the more powerful by the contrast, as the young people depart taking the noise and energy with them.

1077CrosswillI think I shall have my will at last upon one of my rebellious offspring.

1078RooksbillAnd now, pray give me leave, sir, to let you know how happy I do hold myself in this marriage. I did like this son better than the other before. And now I like him better then I did at my former view of him, by some reformation that I do observe in him. And I do not a little rejoice in the honour I may have to call you brother*n1069 Rooksbill's unfortunate comment, pointing out that he and Crosswill are now allied through their children’s marriage, continues the joking about different versions of fraternity. .

1079Crosswill   [Aside]   That very word brother out of his mouth has turned my stomach*n2996 Crosswill again shows his kinship with the roistering young men. His vehement reaction to terms that express family relationship -- he calls his daughter a 'she-thing' in the first scene -- suggests a profound alienation. Like Clotpoll and Nick, there is something sociopathic here. . I must pull all in pieces again. And yet, let me see these young bloods when they are set on ’t; if they do not marry, they will do worse. Let ’em e’en go on now.

1080RooksbillYou may easily conceive, sir, what a comfort it will be unto me that, I now growing old, and having, I give praise for ’t, wealth enough, and no child that I make account of but this one daughter, may, before I die, see grandchildren that I may have by her sufficiently provided for. Be they more or less in number, they may have enough.*n1070 Rooksbill is usually so taciturn, so short of sentence. Here, emotion and enthusiasm tempt him to try a long speech; he becomes completely tied up in subordinate clauses.

1081Crosswill   [Aside]   There he is again, he calls my grandchildren that shall be, his grandchildren. Am I a gentleman, and can hear this? If it be not too late, I’ll spoil the getting of your grandchildren.

1082All.Heaven give you joy. Heaven give you joy.

1083CrosswillWhat, are you married?

1084ParsonI do pronounce them man and wife.

1085Anthony, Margery, and KatherineAnd we are witnesses.

1086CrosswillWhat remedy?

1087Mihil and LucyWe are, and crave your blessings.

1088Crosswill and RooksbillAll blessings be upon you.[All greet each other in celebration]*n1071 1659: (all salute). This is set as part of Crosswill and Rooksbill's shared speech, but is a Stage Direction. See OED Salute v. 2: To greet with some gesture or visible action conventionally expressive of respect or courteous recognition.

1089CrosswillBut you, sir, Master Bridegroom.

1090MihilI’ll only gratify†gg245 reward; give a gratuity, especially as a reward, payment or bribe; to pay for services (OED v. 2) the minister.

1091CrosswillDo so, and pay him well. It is, perhaps, for the dearest fault that e’er thou didst.

1092Mihil   [Gives money to the PARSON]   There’s for your pains, sir. Madge, there’s for you.   [Gives money to MARGERY]   Enough to purchase thee a licence to sell ale, tobacco, and strong-water*n3393 Kaufmann (p. 70) uses this line to date the writing of the play to before Oxtober 1633, 'for on that date a royal proclamation was issued "for preventing abuses growing by the unordered retailing of tobacco ..."'. again in Codpiece Row*n455 Southwark was notorious from the fourteenth century on as the location for a thriving sex trade. It was outside the complete control of the London city authorities, on land controlled by the Bishops of Winchester. Codpiece Row, however, was in Whitechapel and was a notorious street for brothels. It appears in Thomas Middleton's Middle Temple Masque (1619), in Dr. Almanac's censure of Shrovetuesday (a day on which apprentices attacked brothels and other places of entertainment): 'Tis in your charge to pull downe Bawdyhouses, To set your Tribe aworke, cause spoyle in Shorditch, And make Dangerous Leake there, deface Turnbul, And tickle Codpiece Rowe, ruine the Cockpit, the Poore Players ne're thriud in't, a my Co[n]science some Queane pist vpon the first Bricke.' See Jerzy Limon, 'A silenc'st bricke-layer': an allusion to Ben Jonson in Thomas Middleton's 'Masque' Notes and Queries, Dec 1994 v41 n4 p512(3) , for here will be no dwelling for thee, I see that. Now, brother*n1073 Mihil and Anthony are now, in addition to being members of the fraternity of the Philoblathici, brothers-in-law through the marriage of Katherine and Anthony. Anthony, go you all back to the company we left, and see that my instructions be followed concerning my brother Gabriel, Nick, and his Dammy.

1093AnthonyAll, all.

1094KatherineShall he go from me?

1095MihilYes, but you shall follow him presently, trust to me, sister. Go, take no leave of ’em. I’ll bring ’em upon you presently.[Exit ANTHONY, MARGERY, KATHERINE, and the PARSON]

1096CrosswillAre you at leisure now, sir, to tell me of your brother?

1097MihilYes, to my grief, sir, praying you may have patience.

1098CrosswillTo your grief, sir? He is not dead then? Younger brothers seldom grieve for their elders’ death.

1099MihilPray bear it as you may, sir. I left him in an heavy plight. And let me speak it with sorrow, he lay speechless.

1100RooksbillAlack-a-day, good gentleman.   [Aside]   My son-in-law, perhaps, is heir already.

1101CrosswillAnd hast thou been here all this while fooling or wiving, all’s a matter,*n1074 All’s the same, it makes no difference and left thy brother in danger? Ha!

It can but grieve you, sir. My wife and sister, together with myself, will go. Or, if it please, my father Rooksbill here, because his power in this quarter is available.

1103CrosswillGo, show the way. I’ll go in person, I. My son’s my son.

1104MihilNay, pray, sir.

1105CrosswillYes, ’cause you have a wife, you shall control me. Will you go on, sir?

1106MihilWell, I’ll bring you to him, sir.

1107LucyWhat was your widow, sir? She stunk of aquavitae†gg484 a term from alchemy to refer to unrefined alcohol fearfully.

1108MihilI’ll tell thee as we go. Kiss.*n1076 Here, this is set as an imperative, spoken by Mihil to his new wife. It could be a Stage Direction, meaning that Mihil is to kiss Lucy. Possibly, he could be intended to kiss his father Crosswill in reconciliation; but his attention is on Lucy and her question as they leave the stage about Madge's identity. In 1659, as here, it forms part of Mihil's speech; McClure sets it as a Stage Direction. All exit

1109NicholasWhat a drunken sot was I, that knew thee not all this while? I vow, thy story pities me. I’ll marry thee, and turn*n1077 Probably in effect a contraction of 'return' (see OED turn v 21). He does not think he can or will live with her. thee to thy friends, for I am sure I have none that will keep thee for my sake.

1110DorcasI ask no further satisfaction of you, than to be honested by marriage. I’ll work for a poor living.

1111NicholasPrithee, Mun, seek me a priest.

1112ClotpollI have no acquaintance in their function, I.

1113DorcasMy cousin Mihil said he would bring or send one.

1114Nicholas   [Aside]   There’s no starting*n1078 No escaping. Mihil, now married to Lucy who has hitherto been supporting Nick, controls access to funds - the blackmail has been reversed. . That Mihil has a fist over me*n3866 The meaning is clear, here, though no exactly corresponding uses of this phrase have been found: Mihil is blackmailing Nick into this marriage because he has the power to reduce him to penury. . I vow, and thou wert not his kinswoman, thou should to the Common*n1080 The common sexual property of prostitution. Nick is saying that, were it not for the financial hold Mihil has over him, he would let Dorcas go down the route of prostitution. Samuel Pepys on one occasion calls Covent Garden 'Common-garden' (Diary, 9 p. 151). yet.

1115ClotpollFather, how come you hither?

1116DriblowDid not the company send for me?

1117NicholasI vow, not we.

1118DriblowThe City-mouth, that pecked us at my lodging last night, came to me with an abominable scratched face, and warned me on a business*n1081 The Captain has been told that he is needed at the tavern on an unspecified matter of business. hither.

1119NicholasI smell some trick.

1120ClotpollSome treachery upon the Brotherhood, perhaps.*n8827 Fool though he is, Clotpoll correctly senses the danger here; Nicholas's confidence, expressed in the next line, is misplaced.

1121NicholasTimorous thing! What, in our own quarter?

1122DriblowIf you doubt any thing, ’tis best remove. The fellow was sorely handled.

1123NicholasI would but see the carcass of authority prance in our quarter, and we not cut his legs off*n3867 Otherwise subdued in the scene so far, the entrance of Captain Driblow and Clotpoll produces a final show of braggadocchio from Nick, who shows off with blood-curdling threats to those who seek to curb the riotous behaviour of the gang of young men. Anthony's entrance with the clergyman to perform Nick's marriage with Dorcas immediately deflates him. .   Enter ANTHONY, PARSON[, KATHERINE, and MARGERY]   *n1082 In Octavo of 1653 the stage direction appears after this speech, but it has here been moved up a line. Welcome, Tony. What, hast thou brought the word here to pass for the reckoning*n1083 Nick uses the tavern speech of settling of accounts, but with heavy irony. The irony goes further than they know, however, since Cockbrain is at the door hoping to bring all the mischief-makers to a reckoning with the law. ?

1124AnthonyCome, you must make a wedding-night on’t, Nick; Mihil will go no less.

1125NicholasMy vow is passed, and before you, sir, I confirm it. This is my wife. Anon, you shall perform the holy ceremony.

1126Anthony’Tis well. Pray, sir, retire yourself to the next room there awhile, and stay you with him, lady.   [Exit PARSON and DORCAS]   But what do you with Gabriel? Is it not time to wake him yet?

1127Clotpoll’Tis now upon the point, h’ as slept two hours.

1128NicholasFather, you’ll see a brave experiment upon a gentleman that has been a youth.

1129ClotpollAnd of the Philoblathici, as we are now.

1130NicholasAnd since was grown one of the reformed, and we are now in practice to retrieve, and bring him back to his first condition.

1131AnthonyHave you followed all Mihil’s directions?

1132NicholasHitherto we have. First, you saw he was laid defunct in sack; next, in his sleep we have accoutred him in martial habiliments; and now we mean to wake him with alarms shall affright the silly humour out of him, and render†gg3142 restore (OED v. I 3) him his warlike faculty, or our art fails.

1133AnthonyWhere be the wenches?

1134ClotpollThe Sisters of the Scabbard, there’s the sport on’t. They have their parts to play*n1084 The play has constantly drawn audience attention to its own theatricality and the characters’ persistent 'playing' and disguise. Here, the prostitutes have their own roles, their parts; but their roles involve them 'playing upon' Gabriel. upon him too. But for his drink now when he wakes, you said you would have a bottle of the woman’s what do you cal’t yonder? The Medea.*n3353 In classical mythology, Medea gave Aeson a magic potion to rejuvenate him.

1135DriblowWhat? The charmed liquor that Medea brewed to make old father Aeson young again? Must that renew his youthful spirit in him?*n1085 Close to iambic pentameter, and set as such in 1659.

1136NicholasNo, sack will do better. When he wakes he will be very dry, then a quart-draught of good Canary will so screw†gg3143 to produce or attain with effort (OED v. 7) him up. ’Tis time ’twere now in practice. So, softly, softly. We must but half wake him at first.

1137GabrielO, some small drink.

1138NicholasHere, drink it off, sir.[GABRIEL] drinks

1139GabrielSurprised by th’ enemy, whilest we have played the sluggard in our tents!*n1086 Gabriel’s return to martial pursuits may be a joke about Charles I’s enthusiasm for citizen militias. Cp. Jonson’s contemporary satire in The New Inn. [GABRIEL lays about him]

1140Driblow, Nicholas, and ClotpollHold, Captain, hold, we are your soldiers.

1141GabrielY’ are mutineers, and have disturbed my rest. And I’ll do martial justice on you all.

1142NicholasI vow, hold, are you mad?

1143GabrielKnow you not discipline? Or are you grown rebellious in the camp. I’ll teach you warfare.

1144DriblowYou have conjured a fury into him to beat us into fitters†gg1261 tatters .

1145ClotpollMy pate†gg904 head bleeds for’t, I protest.

1146GabrielI’ll make you know command.

1148GabrielWhat, have we women for our martial music?

1149ClotpollNone but the she-trumpet, a neighbour here, and her sister, that was drum-major to my country Amazons, that pulled up the enclosures to lie all in Common*n1089 As before, the joke plays on 'common' as a term for prostitution; but Clotpoll is also referring to the 'Rising in the West' (1628-31) against enclosures in the Forest of Dean. There, some of the leaders of the disturbances adopted the persona of 'Lady Skimmington', adding transgressive gender reversal to their other challenges to the authorities. (See Underdown, Revel, Riot, and Rebellion, pp. 110-111.)
If this association is correct, Clotpoll's 'my country Amazons' identifies him as coming from the West of England like Crosswill, forming another connection between them. .

1150GabrielIs the enemy i’th’ field?

1152GabrielYou are my lieutenant, you my ancient†gg2798 a corruption of ensign: a low-rank commissioned officer, one who carried the ensign , and you two my sergeants; and you must know the commander you serve under to be none of those letter-carriers*n3868 An official who carries letters or messages. Gabriel is contrasting those who hold military rank but perform no combat duties with those whose titles denote actual fighting. that know not so much as the terms of discipline, what a flanker†gg2786 either a fortification protecting the flank; a cannon placed to do so; or a soldier stationed on the flank is, nor a ravelin†gg2787 in fortifications, an outwork consisting of two faces which form a salient angle, constructed beyond the main ditch and in front of the curtain (OED) is. Nor a petard†gg2788 a small bomb made of a metal or wooden box filled with powder, used to blow in a door, gate, etc., or to make a hole in a wall (OED 1a) is. Nor a curtain†gg2789 the plain wall of a fortified place; the part of the wall which connects two bastions, towers, gates, or similar structures (OED 4a) is. Nor a bulwark†gg3144 a fortification is. Nor a bastile†gg2790 a tower or bastion of a castle; a fortified tower; a small fortress (OED 1) is. Nor a counterscarp†gg2791 the outer wall or slope of the ditch, which supports the covered way; sometimes extended to include the covered way and glacis (OED 1) is. Nor a casemate†gg2792 a vaulted chamber built in the thickness of the ramparts of a fortress, with embrasures for the defence of the place; 'a bomb-proof vault, generally under the ramparts of a fortress, used as a barrack, or a battery, or for both purposes' (Stocqueler 1853; OED 1) is. A gabion†gg2793 a wicker basket, of cylindrical form, usually open at both ends, intended to be filled with earth, for use in fortification and engineering (OED 1) is. Nor any least*n1091 1659: left. The compositor appears to have misread. word of fortification. How can such fresh-water captains*n3869 Again, Gabriel contrasts those holding the naval title of captain but who have never been to sea with those who have actually commanded a ship in salt water. Of course, his own martial quality is all in words and the make-believe of militia training. command?

1153All.Right noble Colonel. He shall be our Colonel.

1154ClotpollOne soldier made up of sack is worth as many as would drink a fresh water river dry.

1155GabrielI knew men of abilities should at last be put in action.*n1092 The common complaint of the men of action, that policy was not warlike enough

1156All.O noble Colonel.

1157GabrielWhat would an upstart militaster†gg3145 a soldier without military skill or knowledge (OED cites only Brome's uses, here and in The Antipodes) now, that knew no rudiments of discipline, nor art of war, do in a sudden service? Or say, when I know how to have my ordnance†gg3146 artillery for discharging missiles (OED n. 2) planted here, my cavalry mounted here, my battery-discoverer†gg3147 one who detects the placement of an opposing force's ordnance on such a point, my trenches cut thus, my mine carried thus, my gabions†gg2793 a wicker basket, of cylindrical form, usually open at both ends, intended to be filled with earth, for use in fortification and engineering (OED 1) raised thus. Here my parapet, there my pallisado†gg2794 a variant of pallisade; originally, a fence made of wooden pales or stakes fixed in the ground, forming an enclosure or defence; subsequently also, a fence made of metal railings (OED: 1a) o’th’ top of that. The enemy made saultable†gg3148 assaultable, capable of being attacked (OED saultable a, 1) six hundred paces there. And I draw out my musketeers to flank ’em in their trenches here, while my pikes and targeteers†gg3149 a footsoldier armed with a target or light, round shield advance to the breach†gg3150 a gap in fortifications made by an opposing force's battery there. What would Captain My-Lord’s-Man, or Sergeant-Major My-Lady’s Kinsman*n3870 Again, Gabriel disdainfully contrasts himself, a fantasy soldier, with those who have obtained their rank and command through nepotism or favouritism. , sent in by honourable favour, do or say in such an expedition?†gg3151 a sending or setting forth with martial intentions; a warlike enterprise (OED n. 2)

1158All.Braver and braver still.

1159ClotpollThis goes beyond the Blade and the Battoon.

1160GabrielOr how would their brains lie in their breeches, when the able captain leads up his men in the head of a troop bravely, charges with his shot†gg3152 (collect. sing.) soldiers armed with muskets or other firearms (rarely with bows); small shot: troops furnished with small arms as distinguished from artillerymen (OED n. III 21a) , makes a stand with his pikes, does execution with his sword, the cannon playing, the drum beating, the shot thumping, the ensigns waving, the arms clashing, the air rending, dust and smoke clouding, blood raining? And then to bring up such a division to fight, make good such a ground, relieve such a squadron, fetch off such a loss, reinforce the ranks that are broken? March on, come off. Beat the bessognes†gg2795 a variant of bisogne: 'bisongne, a filthie knaue, or clowne; a raskall, bisonian, base humoured scoundrell’ (Cotgrave; the OED cites this line) that lie hid in the carriages†gg3153 military transport vehicles, as in 'gun-carriage' . O, the renowned life of a worthy commander!

1161NicholasSound drum and trumpet.*n2225 1659: 'Drum and Trumpet. An Alarm' set as part of Nick's speech.

1162All.A Colonel, a Colonel.

1163CrosswillWhither hast thou brought me? Does thy brother lie speechless in this house? Ha! What in the name of tumult can these be?

1164MihilPray, sir, attend, you will be pleased anon.

1165GabrielA still march now. So, I have lost a great many of my men. But courage yet, you poor remainder of my scattered troops. Stand. Qui va la†gg3154 French: a military challenge: who goes there? ? An ambuscado†gg3155 an ambush or a force waiting to ambush (OED's etymology: an affected refashioning of 'ambuscade' after the Spanish) of the enemy. Alarm! Lieutenant, charge in with your shot. Now, gentlemen, for the honour of Covent Garden, make a stand with your pikes; in to the short sword; well fought, take prisoners. Sound a retreat now. Fair†gg2190 healthy, free from corruption , fair i’ th’ coming off†gg3156 a coming off the field of action; a finish-up, a conclusion; an issue (OED 1) . So, ’twas bravely performed*n1093 In keeping with the theatricality, Gabriel compliments the performance of military manoeuvres. .

1166ClotpollMust we not fall to rifling†gg2807 two possible meanings: to shoot with a rifle (OED rifle v3, 2a); or to affect strongly or injuriously; to break or strip off (OED Rifle v2, 5); the first sense, 'to shoot with a rifle' is not recorded before the nineteenth century *n3888 Literally, Clotpoll is continuing the military terminology. But the audience probably also hears 'rifling' in the sense of stealing or plundering, alluding to the petty criminality of the gang. now, Colonel?

1167MihilPart fair on all sides, gentlemen.

1168GabrielWhat’s this, a vision? Sure, I do ail something†gg3157 am somewhat unwell .

1169CrosswillIs’t possible it is thou? Art thou run mad as far as hell the tother way now?

1170RooksbillMy wicked, caitiff†gg2796 (expressing contempt, and often involving strong moral disapprobation) a base, mean, despicable 'wretch', a villain (OED 3), often also implying misery and wickedness , reprobate son is here too. Pray, let me flee. I am but a dead man else*n1094 Rooksbill sees them armed and fears the worst from his alienated son, Nick. .

1171MihilYou shall receive no harm, sir. Lay by your arms, my masters. I bring none but friends.

1172NicholasThou canst not make that good, my father’s there.

1173MihilI’ll make him friends with thee. Go and dispatch*n1095 Effect the marriage of Nick and Dorcas. But the choice of word 'dispatch' is both in keeping with the military activities of the scene and ominous. within.

1174AnthonyI’ll see it done, and take our new made brides with us for witnesses.Exit NICHOLAS, ANTHONY, KATHERINE, and LUCY

1175RooksbillHas his shame yet taught him to shun my sight.

1176MihilAnd shall return him instantly your comfort.

1177RooksbillImpossible, impossible.

1178MihilAttend the event.

1181CrosswillWhat can those women*n3874 The prostitutes Betty and Frank (Francisca) who accompanied Gabriel on to the stage, encouraging and participating in his performance of martial bravado. that appear like furies be in this action?

1182MihilThey were but used as properties*n3875 The women are represented figuratively as 'props': OED n. 5. Theatre and Film. Any portable object (now usually other than an article of costume) used in a play, film, etc., as required by the action; a prop.
Mihil's diction again emphasises the theatricality of the events staged in the play, contributing to intensifying audience awareness of the play as drama. to give new motion to this mortified†gg3159 insensible or impervious condition*n3876 Mihil suggests that in his Puritan state, Gabriel was figuratively dead; he has been brought back to life through intoxication and the performance of militia activity. But 'motion' also means theatrical performance (particularly puppetry) in this period. .

1183CrosswillI know not what to say to anything; there is some spell upon me too. My anger has forsook me. What are those men that bear a countenance as if they stood indifferently affected to Bedlam†gg3160 the popular term for the Bethlehem Hospital, where the insane were incarcerated; hence a term for chaos and lack of order and Bridewell*n3865 Bridewell, originally a royal palace, was given by Edward VI to the City of London as a 'hospital' or place of refuge. It became known especially as a prison for prostitutes (and, because they were concentrated there, a red light district). Prostitutes were sometimes called 'Bridewell birds' in this period. The term 'Bridewell' was increasingly used figuratively to mean prison in general, like Clink, originally the prison in Southwark; but here Madge probably means she hopes to avoid detention in the original Bridewell. *n3877 unsure as to whether they are insane (Bedlam) or criminal (Bridewell) ?

1186VintnerO tarry, gentlemen, we are all undone else. If you make not your peace before you stir, both you and I must suffer.

1187DriblowWhat’s the matter?

1188VintnerThe magistrates and officers with their bill-men†gg261 soldiers armed with bills, which are weapons varying from ‘a simple concave blade with a long wooden handle, to a kind of concave axe with a spike at the back and its shaft terminating in a spear-head’ (OED bill n1, 2) have ta’en us by surprise. They are i’ th’ house.

1189BettyO me! The Blue Gown College*n1098 Blue gowns were the recognised costume of a licensed beggar. However, in Thomas Middleton and Thomas Dekker’s The Honest Whore (1604) the whores are accompanied by a beadle in a blue gown. !

1190FranciscaWheels and whips!*n4599 Frank imagines being subject to 'carting' as a punishment. I feel what we must go to. Did not I say our stay was dangerous?

1191ClotpollDid not I say there was some subtle practice upon the Philoblathici? And that we were betrayed hither?

1192VintnerThere’s no escaping forth. And gentlemen, it will but breed more scandal on my house, and the whole plantation†gg3161 a settlement, a colony, often in an overseas territory *n3878 The Vintner describes the Covent Garden development as a plantation because it is on hitherto scarcely populated land, outside both the City of London and the royal district of Westminster. Brome has him return to the diction used in the play's first scene. here, if now you make rebellious uproar. Yield your weapons, and welcome justice but like subjects new, and peace will follow.*n2174 Once more, this speech echoes iambic pentameter rhythm.

1193ClotpollBut where’s Nick? Where’s Tony?

1194MihilThey shall yield up their weapons. So do you.

1195DriblowYes, yes, ’tis best.

1196ClotpollShall we, sir, shall we?

1197MihilYes, sir, you shall.

1198ClotpollSo, sir, I will then, not the Blade alone, but for your more security, the Battoon. There see my arms forthcoming.[CLOTPOLL surrenders his sword and battoon]Exit [Captain DRIBLOW and CLOTPOLL]*n3286 1659: Exeunt. Driblow and Clotpoll appear to leave the stage, yet Cockbrain appears to refer to Driblow as present when he comes on to the stage a few lines later. According to the Stage Direction, he enters accompanied by the Citizen, the Watch, and Madge; in this edition they are joined by Driblow and Clotpoll.

1199Mihil   To the VINTNER   Say they shall have fair welcome.Exit [VINTNER]*n3159 1659: Exeunt. But, as McClure notes, only the Vintner seems to exit here.

   [To ANTHONY]   What, are they married?

1200AnthonyYes, as fast as troth*n3879 A truncation of troth-plight, the swearing of a marriage oath. and holy words can bind ’em.

1202Nicholas   [NICHOLAS kneels]   Even unto the earth, sir, and, humbled with as true a penitence as son can be for wronging of a father, I beg your pardon and blessing.

1203CrosswillGive it him, brother Rooksbill, I dare say ’twill make him a good man.

1204RooksbillHeaven make him so. My blessing and my prayers shall not be wanting.

1205CrosswillWhat? My niece Dorcas made an honest woman?

1206GabrielWas that the man that wronged my cousin Dorcas?

1207MihilYes, and has now made ample recompence.

1208CitizenHere they are altogether, sir.

1209CockbrainLay hands on all. First on that old ruffian*n1101 The Captain. , the incendiary, that sets the youthful bloods on fire here with his infernal discipline. Next, take his sons, there’s one*n1102 Clotpoll or Nick. , that young blade there. Have I now got within ye, gentlemen? Will you have songs ex tempore? Know ye me now? Ah ha! I’ll be called the Weeder of this Garden. Take up those she-weeds there. I have the rank one here. I took her straggling†gg3162 wandering, straying, often used of vagrants or vagabonds in my round†gg3163 customary circuit, walk, or course; the beat or course traversed by a watchman, constable (OED n1. 15) e’en now.

1210RooksbillMy tenant, I take it, Mistress Margery Howlet*n3891 Madge's soubriquet, 'little owl', is used as her surname. .

1211Crosswill   [To MIHIL]   Your widow, sir, I think.

1212Mihil   [To CROSSWILL]   But for a shift†gg3164 an expedient, an ingenious device for effecting some purpose (OED n. III 3a) , sir, now you know my aim.

1213MargeryO good your worship, as you came of a woman –

1214CockbrainPeace, Circe*n3890 ] Circes *n1103 Cockbrain labels Madge as the bewitcher and perverter of youth, an undercurrent throughout much of the play, associating her with the enchantress Circe (best known from Homer's Odyssey), who turned her victims into swine. , cease thy charms. What cluster†gg3165 a number of persons, animals, or things gathered or situated close together; an assemblage, group, swarm, crowd (OED n. 3a) have we here, now? O, here’s another of the sons of noise.

1215RooksbillThat’s my son now*n1104 Rooksbill claims Mihil, his new son-in-law , sir, by your leave, and I’ll bail him.

1216CockbrainWhat, Master Rooksbill, are you here? What woman’s this?

1217CrosswillMy niece, sir, his son’s wife. And I’ll bail her.

1218CockbrainWhat, Master Crosswill, you among this ging†gg3116 (disdainful) 'a company of armed men, a troop, army, host', in keeping with the military performance (OED 1); too? How will you ’scape commitment†gg3166 being sent to prison ?

1219CrosswillWhy, Master Cockbrain? How his brains crow now.

1220CockbrainWho’s here? Your daughters too? But what are these?

1221CrosswillI hope they’ll prove my sons, and be indifferent men*n1106 Crosswill is drawing on the theological category of adiaphora, things indifferent, not essential to faith. So here, Crosswill wants his sons to be moderate in hair-length, ecclesiastical allegiance, and conduct. in time, sir, by that time their hair may grow, or be reduced to an indifferent length.

1222Mihil   [MIHIL removes his short–haired wig]*n1107 Mihil must have been wearing a wig, to disguise his long hair, and he removes it here. Gabriel’s next speech, while he may not be wearing a real wig, suggests that putting on a costume and putting on a character are the same.    That’s done on me already, sir.

1223CrosswillNow he looks as like a rogue as e’er he did again.

1224GabrielAnd, sir, for me, now that my cousin is restored, and the wild fury of my wine abated, I do you the obedience of a son, acknowledging my former formal habit*n4600 Gabriel may here reveal that his long hair has been concealed all along beneath a short-haired wig. was more of stubborness than true devotion. For which I beg your pardon.

1225CrosswillThere’s more deceit under these half footballs than in whole pudding-bags†gg3167 a bag or mould in which a pudding is boiled; figuratively (and in extended use), anything reminiscent of this in form or function (OED n. 1) *n3880 With his short-haired wig Mihil's head had looked like half a football. Also, the structure of such a wig would have resembled a half-ball. Crosswill's indulgent criticism is that he had contrived more deception as a half sphere than could have been contained in a whole one. Crosswill's plural ('footballs') may give credence to the idea that Gabriel has also removed a wig. . Well, boys, be you indifferent sons, neither too hot nor too cold. I have found a fault in myself, I confess. I will reform it, and be an indifferent father.

1226CockbrainO, here’s the man I sought, whom, I confess, I am half sorry to commit with the rest, because I found him civiller.

1227Anthony   [Removes his disguise]   Hoping you will not slake†gg3168 to slacken or diminish that good opinion, I’ll now come nearer to you. And since here is such a convention of love and joy, I hope my offering of a son’s true duty may find indulgency.

1228CockbrainWhat? My son Anthony?

1229CrosswillHow? How? Your son that should have had my daughter? Come hither, Kate. Now, if thou lov’st him, take him. Are you content, friend Cockbrain?

1230CockbrainO, sir, most happily.

1231CrosswillWhy run you not together?

1232AnthonyIt is too late, or needless now for me to marry her.

1233CrosswillIs’t come to that? And if I do not swinge†gg2010 (v) beat him – Are you too good, sir, for my daughter?

1234AnthonyI do not say so, sir.

1235CrosswillHousewife, do you like him?

1236KatherineNo more than he does me, sir.

1237CrosswillGet you together, or I’ll swaddle†gg3169 to bind together; but also to beat soundly (OED 3) you both into one, you perverse fools.

1238AnthonySir, the truth is, we are married already.

1239Katherine’Tis so, indeed, sir.

1240CrosswillHeyday! Who am I, trow? How durst you do it without my consent?

1241KatherineI had your consent, sir: you commanded me to take my choice in whom I pleased before you would take notice.

1242CrosswillI cannot abide this wrangling. Give you joy.

1243CockbrainJoy and my blessing on you. Why, I know not whom to commit now.

1244CrosswillYou have done the Commonwealth a special piece of service the while with your state-brains. But let us make a night of this, I pray.

1245CitizenSir, the parties have given me satisfaction, and I am content they be released.*n1108 A metatheatrical statement for the audience at the end of a satisfactory comedy.

1246CrosswillThere’s an honest fellow now, and looks like one that would be beaten every day for ready money.   [To DRIBLOW, CLOTPOLL, BETTY, FRANCISCA, and MARGERY]   Go now, while ye are well, and be seen no more in this precinct†gg2405 area of government, parish .

1247Driblow, Clotpoll, Betty, Francisca, and MargeryNever, and ’t please your worships, never.