119VincentI am overcome with admiration at the felicity†gs656 delight or pleasure they take!

120HilliardBeggars! They are the only people can boast the benefit of a free state in the full enjoyment of liberty, mirth, and ease, having all things in common and nothing wanting of nature’s whole provision within the reach of their desires. Who would have lost this sight of their revels†gs646 merry-making or festivity, usually with lively entertainment ?

121VincentHow think you, ladies? Are they not the only happy in a nation?

122MerielHappier than we, I’m sure,n10493 When we first started working on the extracts from this scene in the workshop, Helen Ostovich, the editor who had prepared the written text, wanted to explore the nature of the young women’s anger and laughter and to consider the transition between the two. She was interested in what kind of laughter it might be. As we worked on the extracts, however, what became increasingly intriguing was the issue of performance within the fictional world of the play, and how the laughter related to this; how the act of laughing became a kind of performance. This then begged the questions: who is performing for whom and why, and what are the possible functions of these ‘performances’ within the broader context of the play?

This line of experimentation began with discussions of Rachel’s line, “Does he think us whores, trow, because sometimes we talk so lightly as great ladies?” [JC 2.1.speech128]. After the actors had undertaken an initial read-through and discussed various textual issues, Brian Woolland, the director, encouraged Olivia Darnley (Rachel) to use the line playfully, as a trigger for the women to self-consciously perform the next few lines as they might imagine ‘great ladies’ to talk. This had the unforeseen effect of drawing attention to the silence of the men. Whilst the women do not verbally acknowledge the presence of the men in this section of the scene [JC 2.1.speeches125-131], it is important that the men remain theatrically active. As Michael Leslie (the editor who took on the role of Vincent in this enactment) commented, if the young women are impatient with their father’s constraint, what do they feel about Vincent and Hilliard (played by Alan Morrissey)? And what do the men feel about the women? The following extract shows this sense of lively game-playing between the women. In this version, the women draw apart from the men, moving downstage on Meriel’s line – “What’s that to absolute freedom…” (Speech 125). A few moments later Hannah Watkins delivers Meriel’s line, “What tales have been told him of us, or what he suspects, I know not… ” in hushed confidentiality. This creates a strong sense of the sisters egging each other on, performing for each other, excluding the men from the secrecy of their private world and separating themselves from others of their own social class. Brian Woolland thought that this stage positioning created poor sight lines for the audience, many of whom could not see the men’s reactions to the women, and (more importantly in the workshop context) limited the possibilities for unspoken interaction between the women and the men. He asked Hannah and Olivia to think about Meriel’s and Rachel’s intentions and the target for their play acting, so that they might not only perform to amuse each other but also as a more deliberate provocation to the men. The following video extract (which includes intervention from Brian) demonstrates how a slightly different organisation of the stage space enabled a richer, more nuanced and more precisely targeted performance, and created greater opportunities for the actors to experiment with language. In this enactment, for example, Rachel’s “Does he think us whores…?” is both a provocation to Hilliard and an invitation to Meriel to join with her in the game play.

All the actors found this staging more productive and during subsequent discussions, Olivia made an insightful observation, ‘a plot’s hatching which involves them (the men) and not just us’. A plot hatching is an interesting phrase in this context. The work we had done on performance and secrecy in this early extract from the scene served us well in preparation for the second. that are pent-up†gg3535 enclosed within narrow limits; closely confined; held in check or held back under pressure (OED 2) and tied by the nose*n5377 Metaphorically, this means confined like an animal in a stable; but in this particular case, not simply to a manger, but painfully to the constant filial duty of receiving and entertaining their father's guests. to the continual steam of hot hospitality*n5378 This image suggests the painful burning discomfort of the two daughters, who feel contrained to obey their father in what seems to them to be meaningless activity of entertaining guests they would rather not know. Conversation with such guests is merely hot air, uncomfortable and unengaging to their youthful spirits. here in our father’s house, when they have the air at pleasure in all variety.

123RachelAnd though I know we have merrier spirits than they, yet to live thus confined stifles†gg3536 suffocates us.

124HilliardWhy, ladies, you have liberty enough, or may take what you please.

125MerielYes, in our father’s rule and government, or by his allowance†gs647 permission . What’s that to absolute freedom such as the very beggars have, to feast and revel here today and yonder tomorrow, next day where they please, and so on still, the whole country or klngdom over? There’s liberty! The birds of the air can take no more.

126RachelAnd then at home here, or wheresoever he comes, our father is so pensive†gg3537 gloomy, sad, melancholy ― What muddy spirit soe’er possesses him, would I could conjure’t out! ― that he makes us even sick of his sadness, that were wont to see*n5379 That is: who formerly would see. my gossips cock*n5381 This is the first of a series of games or dances that the girls used to perform for their father to make him laugh, in the days before he became melancholy. The literal reference here seems to be a display of locals (possibly godparents, but more likely familiar acquaintances, as in OED 2a) playing the ‘cock’, or behaving boastfully or defiantly; swaggering, strutting; bragging, tattling, or crowing over each other; or might refer to how local owners train or fight cocks (OED v1, 2, 7). In either definition, the girls imitate the behaviour as a game. The old-spelling text shows no apostrophe, but modern editors have indicated 'my gossip's cock', as though it were a reference to a neighbour's rooster. Such a reference seems out of line with the games and dances that follow in this list. It seems to be stretching the context on a point of grammar that simply is not clear. today; mould cockle-bread*n11646 John Aubrey, Remains (1688): 'Young wenches have a wanton sport which they call moulding of Cocklebread: viz. they get upon a table-board, and then gather up their knees and their Coates with their hands as high as they can, and then they wabble to and fro with their Buttocks as if they were kneading of Dowgh with their Arses, and say these words, viz. - "My Dame is sick and gone to bed And I'le go mould my Cockle-bread."' Brome, Jovial Crew, 2.1 has Rachel say she and her sister used to make their father laugh by dancing and performing bawdy jokes. An earlier reference to this lewd game appears in George Peele's The Old Wives Tale, when Zantippa goes to the well to draw a husband, and hears the head rising from the well recite: 'Fair maiden, white and red,/ Stroke me smooth, and comb my head, / And thou shalt have some cockell-bread' (666-68). Insulted, she breaks her pitcher over the head instead, but nevertheless gains a suitable husband. The idea of kneading dough with the buttocks was deemed a magic practice to secure a husband, and in Venice could bring the kneader before the Inquisition. ; dance clutterdepouch†gg3538 an old dance. It was possibly accompanied by continuous or repeated noise or clatter, but no description of the dance remains. and hannikin booby*n6589 This was an old country dance. A version called 'Half Hannikin' appears in John Playford, The English Dancing Master (1651), p. 43, and regularly reprinted. For a full description of this dance and the tunes associated with it, see The Dancing Master, 1651-1728: An Illustrated Compendium edited by Robert M. Keller (2000), available online at http://www.izaak.unh.edu/nhltmd/indexes/dancingmaster/ Accessed 23 February 2009.

A ‘longways’ dance like 'Half Hannikin' consists of a line of couples with the men on the left and the women on the right, initially facing forward. To ‘lead up all a D. forwards and back’, as in the Playford description, would mean that each couple, holding hands, dances a double forwards and a double backwards in a processional format. The double forwards would start on the left foot (L, R, L, together), and the double backwards would start on the right foot (R, L, R, together). Then that section is repeated, presumably to the same music. This action is a kind of refrain performed between the variations described next.

‘Sides all’, or ‘siding’, indicates that the couples turn towards each other and perform a double forward starting on the left towards one's partner in such a way that on the 'together' they are side by side, and then a double backwards starting on the right. There would be sides left first (with right shoulders closest to each other), then sides right (with left shoulders closest), in all amounting to four doubles.

‘Turn your own, or turn your we.’ means take both hands of your partner and make a 360 degree turn, usually clockwise. The next movement requires the man from the front couple and the woman from the back couple to step out of the dance briefly. The next man in the line, the second man, takes the first woman as his partner, and so on down the line. (This is a common way to enable people to dance with different partners.) The partners keep switching, and the man and woman who have been 'out' move back into the dance to allow others to stand out and change partners.

I am grateful to Emily Winerock, dance historian, for explaining the Playford steps to me. ; bind barrels; or do anything before†gs648 in front of him, and he would laugh at us.

127MerielNow he never looks upon us but with a sigh, or tears in his eyes, though we simper†gg3541 smile self-consciously or self-righteously never so sanctifiedly†gg3540 patiently, like saints . What tales have been told him of us, or what he suspects I know not ― God forgive him! I do ― but I am weary of his house.

128RachelDoes he think us whores, trow, because sometimes we talk as lightly as great ladies?*n6575 Rachel's question simply shows the fashion for vulgar language among the upper classes, whereas many of the middle and lower classes were applying a Puritan ethic to refined speech as a sign of godliness. I can swear safely for the virginity of one of us, so far as word and deed goes. Marry, thought’s free*n5383 This is proverbial. .

129MerielWhich is that one of us, I pray? Yourself or me?

130RachelGood sister Meriel, charity begins at home*n5384 The phrase is proverbial. Rachel teases that she herself is a virgin, but she isn't so sure about Meriel. She will, however, accept it on faith 'charitably' that Meriel is still intact. . But I’ll swear I think as charitably of thee. And not only because thou art a year younger neither.

131MerielI am beholden to you. But for my father, I would I knew his grief and how to cure him, or that we were where we could not see it. It spoils our mirth†gs649 Gaiety or lightness of mood or mind, especially as manifested in laughter; merriment, hilarity. In early use also: a jest (obsolete). In some early uses, mirth has a connotation of ridicule or mockery (OED 4a), as in the saucy singing and dancing games of Rachel and Meriel [JC 2.1.speech126], deliberately performed for the pleasure of hearing their father laugh. A good personification of such mirth,including song, is Merrythought, in Beaumont's The Knight of the Burning Pestle (1607), a play which had enjoyed a revival in the 1630s by Beeston's Boys, the same company for whom Brome wrote. , and that has been better than his meat*n5382 solid food (OED 1a), for the nourishment of the body, as opposed to mirth, for nourishment of the spirit. to us.

132VincentWill you hear our motion†gs650 plan of action , ladies?

133MerielPshaw*n4274 ] This edition; Psew Q1. Although OED indicates that Pshaw was not in use until the late eighteenth century, clearly this spelling is a variant and means the same thing. , you would marry us presently out of his way, because he has given you a foolish kind of promise. But we will see him in a better humour first, and as apt to laugh as we to lie down*n5385 Does this mean to have sex? The comment seems to be in line with the girls' teasing each other over which of them is still a virgin. But the expression is also paired with 'laugh', suggesting a double reference both to the old card game, 'Laugh and lie down', and to marriage (Tilley, L92, cited in Haaker). , I warrant him.

134Hilliard’Tis like†gg2574 (adv) likely that course*n5386 That is, marriage. will cure him, would you embrace it.

135Rachel We will have him cured first, I tell you. And you shall wait that season and our leisure.

136MerielI will rather hazard†gs651 gamble, bet; risk my being one of the devil’s ape-leaders†gg3542 proverbially, a spinster or old maid (The leading of apes in hell is the opposite of the married woman's leading children in heaven (Tilley M 37). In The Taming of the Shrew, Katherina complains of her father's preference for Bianca: 'She is your treasure, she must have a husband,/ I must dance bare-foot on her wedding-day,/ And for your love to her lead apes in hell' (2.1.32-34).) than to marry while he is melancholy.

137RachelOr I to stay in his house to give entertainment to this knight or t’other coxcomb that comes to cheer him up with eating of his cheer*n5387 This sarcastic repetition of 'cheer' underscores the girls' resentment of unwelcome guests to their father's house; such parasitic guests fail to raise their host's spirits or draw him out of his melancholy, but they do enjoy his food and drink. ; when we must fetch ’em sweetmeats†gg475 sweet food such as sugared cakes or pastries, candied fruit or marzipan, or any other confectionary , and they must tell us, ‘Ladies, your lips are sweeter’, and then fall into courtship, one in a set speech taken out of old Breton’s works*n5388 The prose and poetry of Nicholas Breton (1545-1626), whose works include The Arbor of Amorous Devices (1597) and An old man's lesson and a young man's love (1605). , another with verses out of The Academy of Compliments*n5389 First published in 1638, the full title indicates the range of matter for would-be lovers: The Academy of Compliments, being the rarest and most exact way of wooing a maid or widow, ... With passionate love-letters, courtly sentences to express the elegance of love; ... Together with a choice collection of songs.' , or some or other of the new poetical pamphleteers, ambitious only to spoil paper and publish their names in print. And then to be kissed and sometimes slavered†gg3543 drooled over, or slobbered ― faugh!

138Meriel’Tis not to be endured. We must out of the house. We cannot live but by laughing, and that aloud and nobody sad within hearing.

139VincentWe are for any adventure with you, ladies. Shall we project†gg3544 plan or design a scheme for (OED v1, 1a) (often used by Brome to suggest a scam or cheat of some kind) a journey for you? Your father has trusted you and will think you safe in our company, and we would fain be abroad upon some progress†gs652 an expedition or travel, usually following a specific route and ending in a specific place (OED 6b). with you. Shall we make a fling†gg3545 dash off impulsively, rush away impetuously (OED 3) to London, and see how the spring appears there in the Spring Garden*n5390 This was a fashionable resort at the southwest corner of what is now Trafalgar Square, originally designed as a garden house retreat for royalty, and then opened to the public (Haaker). In the pleasure garden was a 'spring' or fountain built in the Elizabethan period as a mechanical curiosity, triggered by pedestrians. Charles I turned the garden into a bowling-green in 1630 with an expensive tavern, which was closed four years later because of unlawfully high prices, 'continual bibbing and drinking wine all day under the trees; [and] two or three quarrels [duels] every week. It was grown scandalous and insufferable' (letter from Mr. Gerrard to Lord Strafford). Aside from bowling and drinking, the garden also kept a small collection of animals: the State Papers contain an 'order dated January 31, 1626, for £75 5s. 10d. a year to be paid for life to Philip, Earl of Montgomery, "for keeping the Spring Gardens, and the beasts and fowls there."' After a rival New Spring Garden opened nearby, the original Spring Garden tavern eventually re-opened and remained open during the interregnum and the reign of Charles II. 'The Mall and Spring Gardens', Old and New London: Volume 4 (1878), pp. 74-85. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=45184 Date accessed: 22 December 2008 , and in Hyde Park*n11648 Hyde Park was a new, fashionable leisure resort consisting of pleasure gardens, open in the spring and summer seasons and used for walking, horse-racing, and coach races. See James Shirley's play from 1632, Hyde Park. to see the races, horse and foot: to hear the jockeys crack†gs653 talk big, boast, brag (OED v, 6a) , and see the Adamites run naked*n5391 Adamites were a dissenting sect of nonconformists who flourished briefly under Cromwell. They believed in nudity as a manifestation of Adam and Eve's state of innocence before the fall; they also rejected marriage as hypocritical, and allegedly stripped in order to pray. But verifiable records of this sect are not available, and most information relies on gossip of 1641, when Adamites became a titillating hot topic largely as an allegedly female-dominated group, and evidence of their existence disappears after 1650. They are not the only dissenters to use nudity as a public statement: Ranters and Quakers also did so, and were presumed to follow the Adamite practice. That is, zealous nakedness was stereotyped. See David Cressy, Travesties and Transgressions in Tudor and Stuart England: Tales of Discord and Dissension (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000). afore the ladies?

140RachelWe have seen all already there, as well as they, last year.

141HilliardBut there ha’ been new plays since.

142RachelNo. No! We are not for London.

143HilliardWhat think you of a journey to the Bath*n5392 This city in north-east Somerset got its name from the naturally occurring hot springs revered by the ancient Celts and Romans (who built a temple to Minerva there), and the destination of choice for the sick, since the springs were considered to be curative. The city fell into disrepair frequently during its long history, but revived interest during the Elizabethan and Stuart eras led to its popularity in the eighteenth century. then?

144RachelWorse than t’other way. I love not to carry my health where others drop their diseases. There’s no sport i’that.

145VincentWill you up to the hilltop of sports, then, and merriments, Dover’s Olympics or the Cotswold games*n5393 Annalia Dubrensia. Upon the yeerely celebration of Mr. Robert Dovers Olimpick Games upon Cotswold-Hills (1636), compiled and published by Matthew Walbancke, contains poems by Drayton, Jonson, and Heywood, among many others, all lauding Robert Dover, an attorney from Barton-on-the-heath in Warwickshire, for resurrecting the Cotswold Games of the Elizabethan period. The contests included a variety of athletic exercises (leaping, throwing the bar) and field sports (greyhound coursing). A copy of the text is available on the EEBO database. ?

146MerielNo, that will be too public for our recreation†gg3546 (place for) pastime or amusement . We would have it more within†gg3547 among (prep.) ourselves.

147HilliardThink of some course yourselves then.n10494 Helen Ostovich had suggested in advance that her interest in this workshop was primarily in the acting challenge, asking how the women make their plans ‘aside’, with only their laughter audible to the men, who try to figure out what they are laughing at. The scene involves Rachel and Meriel bursting out in laughter as they prepare their plan in whispers; then laughing uncontrollably as they try to explain their plan to the men. In this workshop, the casting remains the same as before: Alan Morrissey as Hilliard, Michael Leslie (an editor) as Vincent, Hannah Watkins as Meriel, Olivia Darnley as Rachel.

The immediate problem to address was the divided focus of the scene (a recurrent feature of Brome’s dramaturgy). In the earlier part of the scene Vincent and Hilliard are silent, although, as we discovered, it is important that the audience are conscious of the extent to which they are being deliberately excluded by the women. In this section, they may be far more active, but the young women’s exuberance is likely to become the focus of an audience’s attention. It is, however, essential that the audience is as aware of the men’s growing discomfort as it is of the women’s effervescent scheming; essential for the dynamic of the comedy and essential for the dialectic of the play. The following video extract is from an early read through. In separating themselves from the men, the women move downstage left, which takes them closer to the video camera. This gives a slightly false sense of foregrounding the women, but the dynamic of the episode is already becoming clear. The men remain relatively static, stolid even, but we are always conscious of their presence. This is partly because of the way that Meriel and Rachel regularly refer across to the men. It is worth noting, in particular, the moments when Rachel has her back to the men. She looks over her shoulder, Meriel follows her lead and points at the men. In terms of character motivation for these gestures, the women are imagining the way that their plans might involve the men; but this is also fine stage craft on the part of Hannah and Olivia: the frequent glances and gestures to the men direct the audience to their reactions and ensure that their own giggling does not pull the focus entirely away from Vincent and Hilliard.

As we reflected on this read-through, Richard Cave initiated a discussion about the sexual innuendo in the scene, wondering about the extent to which the women were aware what they were saying, whether it was a conscious attempt to intimidate and embarrass the men or a sign of their own naïveté. Olivia felt that they were not ‘purposeful puns’, that the sexual innuendo emerged without the women really knowing what they were saying, arguing that if the innuendo were conscious they would need to be less caught up in the excitement of formulating the plan, and that the laughter was itself an indication of their ingenuousness. Alan made the point that the problem for an actor was that you frequently needed to imply sexual innuendo for the audience without compromising the integrity of the characterisation. One way of dealing with this can be seen in the following extract from the next read-through. What is worth noting here is the way that the body language and childlike gestures of the women create a sense that even if they are not really aware of the implications of what they are saying and planning, they recognise it as ‘naughty’ and deliberately encourage each other in this naughtiness.

The discussion then turned to the women’s announcement of their plan, and it was suggested that the element of performance in this might be developed. As Helen Ostovich noted, the business of two people trying to tell a story (“You tell. No you tell. No you tell...”) is an old comic routine that appears in numerous plays of the period (and subsequently). In this instance, it contributes to the sense of the women taunting the men, playing a game to make them (and us) wait for the announcement. It also had the unexpected effect of differentiating between the two male characters. When we first started this workshop both men seemed similarly dull, their main function in the scene being as foils to the volatile impulsiveness of the women. By developing the comic routine of the announcement, however, we began to notice that the characters of Vincent and Hilliard were revealed through subtle differences in their reactions to the Meriel and Rachel. Look, for example, at the way the two men respond in this short extract. Vincent’s line “Oh, is that all?” betrays his diffidence and exasperation with the situation, whereas Hilliard seems amused and intrigued, if a little anxious. Vincent may repeat Hilliard’s line “When?” in this version, but his tone is very different. After this read through Alan Morrissey observed that he was now getting a much stronger sense that while Meriel and Rachel were furtively hatching their plot about joining the beggars, both men were assuming that they were going to talk about sex; and that their different reactions to this is what is beginning to distinguish the two men. If Vincent fears that every time one of the women comes forward, they are going to broach the subject of sex, Hilliard is excited, if a little wary.

Richard Cave observed that although the characters were becoming much more distinctive, the grouping of the quartet on the stage (with all four bunched together) did not really reflect the complexity of the interaction. The following extract (which includes a brief break in the action as the actors and director work out more specific moves on the stage) is from the final read-through of the episode.. In this version, Hilliard asks, “When” in excited anticipation; Vincent’s echo is now an expression of anxiety; and there is something very defensive about his line, “Oh, is that all?” Hilliard’s tentative enthusiasm also has an effect on the women. In earlier versions, when the women tried to make their announcement, the dominant sense was of girls playing a game for each other. In this version, there is something much more coquettish about them: as each steps forward only to retreat immediately, it is at least partly in response to Hilliard. The movement, as Rachel pairs up with Hilliard and Rachel runs round to make sure that Vincent does not escape, creates a sense that the men have been physically as well as metaphorically ambushed. As Alan said earlier in the workshop, “It feels like the women are driving the men into adulthood, however unconsciously”

Although our intention when we embarked on this workshop had been primarily to explore the mechanics and the theatrical dynamics of young women’s laughter and its effect on the men, we found that what had appeared on paper to be a relatively simple use of comic effects to introduce exposition was richer and more complex than any of us had imagined. Taken together, these two workshops on the opening scene of Act 2 echoed many of the deeper themes of the play, which is centrally concerned with role-play, performance and identity. We are for you upon any way, as far as horse and money can carry us.

148VincentAy, and if those means fail us, as far as our legs can bear, or our hands can help us.

149RachelAnd we will put you to’t†gg3548 test you, see if you mean what you say . Come aside, Meriel ― They go aside and whisper together.

150Vincent   [To HILLIARD]   Some jeer†gs654 (n) scoff, or taunt (OED n2, 1) , perhaps, to put upon us.

151Hilliard   [To VINCENT]   What think you of a pilgrimage to St. Winifred’s Well*n5394 This seventh-century shrine in Holywell, Flintshire, North Wales, commemorates the death and resurrection of Winifred, who was beheaded when she refused to marry a local chieftan. The spring that arose from the spot where her head fell was said to have healing waters; it is the oldest continuously operated and visited pilgrimage destination in the United Kingdom. The site is mentioned in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and may be familiar to modern readers of Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael mysteries. ?

152VincentOr a journey to the wise woman at Nantwich*n5395 This market town in Cheshire is situated 17 miles southeast of Chester. It is not famous for a wise woman; Brome is probably punning on the 'wich'-sound. , to ask if we be fit husbands for ’em?

153HilliardThey are not scrupulous†gg3549 prone to hesitate or doubt; distrustful (OED 1b) in that, we having had their growing loves up from our childhoods, and the old squire’s good will before all men.

154Rachel [and] MerielHa, ha, ha! ――

155Vincent   [To HILLIARD]   What’s the conceit†gg1526 conception, fancy, whim, clever trick , I marvel?

156Rachel [and] MerielHa, ha, ha, ha! ――

157HilliardSome merry one, it seems.

158RachelAnd then, sirrah†gs655 comical address to saucy young person, male or female; in this instance, to a saucy younger sister Meriel   [Whispering to MERIEL]   ―― Hark again ― ha, ha, ha! ―

159Vincent   [To HILLIARD]   How they are taken with it!

160MerielHa, ha, ha! ― Hark again, Rachel.[Whispering]

161HilliardSome wonderful nothing, sure. They will laugh as much to see a swallow fly with a white feather imped†gg3550 grafted, implanted in her tail.

162VincentThey were born laughing, I think.

163Rachel [and] MerielHa, ha, ha! ――

164Vincent   [To HiILLIARD]   If it be not some trick upon us, which they’ll discover in some monstrous shape, they cozen†gg3551 deceive, dupe, beguile, impose upon (OED 2) me.   [Loudly, to the ladies]    Now, ladies, is your project ripe? Possess us with the knowledge of it.

165RachelIt is more precious than to be imparted upon a slight demand.

166HilliardPray, let us hear it. You know we are your trusty servant†gg999 professed lover, one attentive to the desires of a beloved s.

167VincentAnd have kept all your counsels†gg3554 secrets (OED n, 5, especially 5d) ever since we have been infant playfellows.

168RachelYes, you have played at all kinds of small game with us; but this is to the purpose. Ha, ha, ha! ――

169HilliardIt seems so by your laughing.

170RachelAnd asks a stronger tongue–tie†gg3552 oath of silence, of the 'cross my heart and hope to die' variety that children swear by than tearing of books, burning of samplers, making dirt-pies, or piss and paddle in’t.

171VincentYou know how and what we have vowed: to wait upon you any way, any how, and any whither.

172MerielAnd you will stand to’t?

173HilliardAy, and go to’t with you, wherever it be.

174MerielPray tell’t ’em, sister Rachel.

175RachelWhy, gentlemen ― ha, ha! ― Thus it is ―― Tell it you, Meriel.

176VincentOh, is that all?

177Meriel   [To RACHEL]   You are the elder. Pray tell it you.

178Rachel   [To MERIEL]   You are the younger. I command you tell it. Come, out with it! They long to have it.

179HilliardWhen?

180VincentWhen?

181MerielIn troth, you must tell it, sister; I cannot! Pray begin.

182RachelThen, gentlemen, stand your ground†gg3553 maintain your position, take a firm stand; (colloquially) 'hold onto your hats' .

183VincentSome terrible business, sure!

184RachelYou seemed e’en now to admire the felicity*n5396 Rachel is deliberately baiting Vincent by quoting his word back at him. See [JC 2.1.speech119]. of beggars.

185MerielAnd have engaged yourselves to join with us in any course.

186RachelWill you now with us, and for our sakes turn beggars?

187MerielIt is our resolution and our injunction†gg3754 the action of enjoining or authoritatively directing; an authoritative or emphatic admonition or order (OED 1) on you.

188RachelBut for a time and a short progress.

189MerielAnd for a spring-trick of youth, now, in the season.

190Vincent   [To HILLIARD]   Beggars! What rogues†gg3555 mischievous rascals (common as a playful term of reproof or reproach, though perhaps not so playful here); (literally) vagrants, and hence appropriate usage (OED 5 and 1) are these?

191Hilliard   [To VINCENT]   A simple trial of our loves and service!

192Rachel   [To VINCENT and HILLIARD]   Are you resolved upon’t? If not, goodbye. We are resolved to take our course.

193Meriel   [To VINCENT and HILLIARD]   Let yours be to keep counsel.

197Vincent Oh, I conceive your begging progress is to ramble out this summer among your father’s tenants; and ’tis in request†gg3556 that is, the fashionable thing to do among gentlemen’s daughters to devour their cheesecakes, apple pies, cream, and custards, flapjacks†gg4383 pancakes, sometimes made with sliced apples on top or folded in (apple-jacks) , and pan-puddings†gg3562 heavy savoury puddings baked in a pan .

198MerielNot so, not so!

199HilliardWhy, so we may be a kind of civil beggars.

211Vincent   [To HILLIARD]   ’Fore Heaven I think they are in earnest, for they were always mad.

212Hilliard   [To VINCENT]   And we were madder than they, if we should lose ’em.

213Vincent   [To HILLIARD]   ’Tis but a mad trick of youth, as they say, for the spring, or a short progress; and mirth may be made out of it, knew we how to carry it.

214RachelPray, gentlemen, be sudden†gg3559 decide quickly . Hark, you hear the cuckoo?

215HilliardWe are most resolutely for you in your course.

216VincentBut the vexation is how to set it on foot.

217RachelWe have projected it.*n5401 That is, we have come up with the idea. The implication is that the two men have to come up with the practical course of action (the 'means' they mention next) to achieve it. Now if you be perfect and constant lovers and friends, search you the means.   [To MERIEL]   We have puzzled ’em.

218Meriel   [To RACHEL]   I am glad on’t. Let ’em pump†gg3560 make a persistent effort or exert themselves with hard thinking .

219VincentTroth, a small stock will serve to set up withal. This doublet sold off o’ my back might serve to furnish a camp-royal†gg3561 great number, originally a military term describing a great body of troops (OED camp n2, 2c) of us.

220HilliardBut how to enter or arrange ourselves into the crew will be the difficulty. If we light raw and tame amongst ’em (like cage-birds among a flight of wild ones) we shall never pick up a living, but have our brains pecked out.

221VincentWe want instruction dearly.

222HilliardOh, here comes SpringLove. His great benefactorship among the beggars might prefer†gg1920 advance, promote, favour us with authority into a ragged regiment presently. Shall I put it to him?

223RachelTake heed what you do. His greatness with my father will betray us.

224VincentI will cut his throat then. ―   [To SPRINGLOVE]    My noble Springlove, the great commander of the maunders†gg3563 beggars and king of canters†gg3564 rogues and vagabonds who speak the ‘cant’ or special language of thieves; one of the ‘canting crew’ , we saw the gratitude of your loyal subjects, the large tributary†gg3565 paying tribute content they gave you in their revels.

225SpringloveDid you, sir?

226HilliardWe have seen all with great delight and admiration.

227SpringloveI have too, kind gentlemen and ladies, and overheard you in your quaint†gs659 ingenious design, to new create yourselves out of the worldly blessings and spiritual graces heaven has bestowed upon you, to be partakers and co-actors too in those vile courses, which you call delights, ta’en by those despicable and abhorred creatures.

229RachelHe grows zealous in the cause. Sure he’ll beg indeed.

And, for the delight thou tak’st in beggars and their brawls, thou canst not but think they live a better life abroad than we do in this house.

235SpringloveI have sounded your faith, and I am glad I find you all right. And for your father’s sadness, I’ll tell you the cause on’t. I overheard it but this day in his private discourse with his merry mate, Master Hearty. He has been told by some wizard that you both were born to be beggars ―

236AllHow? How!

237Springlove― for which he is so tormented in mind that he cannot sleep in peace, nor look upon you but with heart’s grief.

238VincentThis is most strange.

The sentence of your fortune does not say that you shall beg for need, hungry or cold necessity*n6577 ] Q. I have retained Q's wording, although it might seem that 'need, hunger, or cold necessity' might have been Brome's intention. On the other hand, in Q he is expanding on 'need' as 'necessity', further described as either 'hungry or cold'; I see no need to emend for three nouns, when the phrase makes sense as it stands. . If therefore you expose yourselves on pleasure into it, you shall absolve your destiny nevertheless, and cure your father’s grief. I am overjoyed to think on’t, and will assist you faithfully.

245AllHa, ha, ha!

247AllA Springlove, a Springlove!

249AllA Springlove! A Springlove!

251AllWe follow thee ―They exit.

252RandallWell, go thy ways.*n5407 The whole of [JC 2.2.speech 252] seems to be based on the similar servant-debate with an invisible devil in The Merchant of Venice (2.2) when Launcelot Gobbo resolves to quit his current master Shylock, and acquire a job with Bassanio, who has just borrowed a large sum in order to woo Portia in Belmont. If ever any just or charitable steward was commended, sure thou shalt be at the last quarter day*n5408 This refers (figuratively) to the last judgement, when God decides who goes to heaven and who to hell. The English calendar marked four quarter days a year for meeting payments for rent and other costs: traditionally Lady Day (March 25), Midsummer Day (June 24), Michaelmas (Sept. 29), and Christmas (Dec. 25). Since the play takes place in spring, the next quarter day or 'end of this quarter' would be June 24. . Here’s five and twenty pounds for this quarter’s beggar-charge. And, if he return not by the end of this quarter, here’s order to a friend to supply for the next. If I now should venture for the commendation of an unjust steward and turn this money to mine own use! Ha! Dear devil, tempt me not. I’ll do thee service in a greater matter. But to rob the poor! A poor trick: every churchwarden†gg4384 a lay honorary officer of a parish or district church, elected to assist the incumbent in the discharge of his administrative duties, to manage such various parochial offices as by custom or legislation devolve upon him, and generally to act as the lay representative of the parish in matters of church-organization (OED) can do’t. Now something whispers me that my master, for his steward’s love, will supply the poor as I may handle the matter. Then I rob the steward, if I restore him not the money at his return. Away, temptation, leave me! I am frail flesh; yet I will fight with thee. But say the steward never return. Oh, but he will return. Perhaps he may not return. Turn from me, Satan; strive not to clog my conscience. I would not have this weight upon’t for all thy kingdom.

The devil and I have strained courtesy these two hours about it. I would not be corrupted with the trust of more than is mine own. Master Steward gave it me, sir, to order it for the beggars. He has made me steward of the barn and them while he is gone, he says, a journey to survey and measure lands abroad about the countries. Some purchase, I think, for your worship.

271Oldrents   [To RANDALL]   The poor’s charge shall be mine. Keep you the money for him.

274RandallI have not had it so many minutes, as I have been in several minds about it, and most of them dishonest.

275OldrentsGo then, and give it to one of my daughters to keep for Springlove.

288RandallOn foot, sir, two hours since, with the two gentlemen, their lovers. Here’s a letter they left with the butler. And there’s a muttering†gg3576 rumour in the house.

294RandallI’ll be as merry as the charge that’s under me.*n6579 That is, Randall will enjoy himself as much as the beggars who are under his 'charge' or supervision in Springlove's absence. Their laughter and singing can be heard from off-stage.

The beggars, sir. Do’e hear ’em in the barn?

297HeartyThe straw*n5557 Hearty's understanding of what he sees as Randall's pun is not readily communicable now. He may be thinking of straw as something of trifling value or importance; or of such expressions as 'lay a straw' = stop, desist; or 'there a straw!' = here I will stop; or perhaps to straw as an exclamation at a worthless act or event (OED n1, 7a, 9b, 7c). The meaning is not clear, and the other characters do not take Hearty up on it. ! That’s very proper there. That’s Randall’s whim.

322Hearty’Tis a good vote, Sir Patrico, but you are too grave. Let us hear and see something of your merry grigs†gg3508 extravagantly lively people, full of frolic and jest (OED grig n1, 5) that can sing, play gambols†gg3606 leaps or springs in dancing or sporting; capers; more generally, frolicsome merrymaking (OED 2a and 2c) , and do feats.

328Autem MortGo fiddle, Patrico, and let me sing. First set me down here on both my prats†gg3609 buttocks . Gently, gently, for cracking of my wind, now I must use it. Hem, hem.

How think you, sir? Or what? Or why do you think at all, unless on sack†gg483 white wine from Spain: sack is derived from 'sec', and usually meant a dry white wine; hence Falstaff's enjoyment of 'sack and sugar' and supper-time? Do you fall back? Do you not know the danger of relapses?

342OldrentsGood Hearty, thou mistak’st me. I was thinking upon this Patrico. And that he has more soul then a born beggar in him*n5560 Another clue to Patrico's identity, not revealed until the end of the play. The implication here is that Oldrents half-recognizes something in the Patrico, and is trying to explain it to himself. .

343HeartyRogue enough, though, to offer us his what– d’e–call’ts, his doxies! ’Heart and a cup of sack, do we look like old beggar–nigglers†gg3624 men who have sex with beggar-women ?

344OldrentsPray forbear that language.

345HeartyWill you then talk of sack, that can drown sighing? Will you in to supper, and take me there your guest? Or must I creep into the barn among your welcome ones?