ACT FOUR
4.1*
n5241
The first scene of Act 4 returns us to the farcical interplay between Nehemiah, Lady Nestlecock, Ephraim, Whimlby, and Blith Tripshort. All continues to go badly in these marriage negotiations, with new disputes erupting between different characters every few lines.
n5241
[Enter] NEHEMIAH[, carrying a book and wearing a sword,] and EPHRAIM
758NehemiahEphraim, thou hast made me a man*n5085
Nehemiah begins the scene performing his newly-acquired adult masculinity, dressed with a sword, the accoutrement of the young gallant, and a book. However, this masculinity is closely connected with militant Christianity and draws on the character’s Old Testament name. In the Book of Nehemiah, the eponymous prophet rallies the Israelites to restore the walls of Jerusalem and urges each and every one of them to wear his sword and be ready to run to the place of battle immediately: 'As for the builders, each wore his sword girded at his side as he built, while the trumpeter stood near me. And I said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, "The work is great and extensive, and we are separated on the wall far from one another. At whatever place you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us." So we carried on the work with half of them holding spears from dawn until the stars appeared' (4:18-21).
Nehemiah's diction appears to be that of the miles Christi, the soldier of Christ, representing a heroic, militant Protestant Christianity. The iconography of sword and book is most notably associated with St Paul (drawing on the allegory of the Epistle to the Ephesians, where 'the sword of the spirit is the word of God'; the repetition of witness carries clear religious connotations; and Nehemiah is carrying 'this precious book, which I have gotten almost by heart already'. Inevitably, the audience thinks it must be the Bible, 'this precious book', and it seems clear that Nehemiah has undergone some sort of conversion, again of a Pauline character: 'When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things' (1 Corinthians 13.11). However, a few moments later, he reveals that the 'delicious book' is one of jests. This may not be the Bible; but Nehemiah treats it as gospel, failing to realize it is a jokebook and taking its contents as reliable information.
, both
without, witness this sword, and within,
witness this precious book*n8925
Nehemiah comes on with accoutrements that would remind the audience of many symbolic figures carrying a sword and a book, not least the hieratic images of various godly monarchs since the Reformation in England. The reference to the book being 'precious' particularly encourages the audience to think it is, perhaps, the Bible or some other edifying text.
, which I have gotten almost by heart already.
n5085
Nehemiah's diction appears to be that of the miles Christi, the soldier of Christ, representing a heroic, militant Protestant Christianity. The iconography of sword and book is most notably associated with St Paul (drawing on the allegory of the Epistle to the Ephesians, where 'the sword of the spirit is the word of God'; the repetition of witness carries clear religious connotations; and Nehemiah is carrying 'this precious book, which I have gotten almost by heart already'. Inevitably, the audience thinks it must be the Bible, 'this precious book', and it seems clear that Nehemiah has undergone some sort of conversion, again of a Pauline character: 'When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things' (1 Corinthians 13.11). However, a few moments later, he reveals that the 'delicious book' is one of jests. This may not be the Bible; but Nehemiah treats it as gospel, failing to realize it is a jokebook and taking its contents as reliable information.
n8925
759EphraimBut sir, beware you fall not back again
Into your childish follies: but go forwards
In manly actions, for non progredi id est regredi*n4781
St Bernard of Clairvaux's phrase, 'In via vitae non progredi regredi est' (Sermon 2 on the Feast of the Purification) had become proverbial: unless one is going forward, one is going backwards. This may seem a casual application, but later in the act Gabriella appears to refer to Bernard's famous work on the progress to self-knowledge and wisdom, De gradibus humilitatis et superbiae.
.
n4781
760NehemiahI know the meaning of that too, Ephraim:
that’s once a man and twice a child. But if I
turn child again, while I have teeth in my head, I’ll
give Mistress Blith leave to dig ’em out with sugar
plums, as she almost did these two of ’em yesterday,
with her knuckles. I would they stuck both in her
bum*n4806
Throughout this scene various characters, but especially Nehemiah, use phrases easily interpreted as bawdy or obscene. In particular, there appear to be veiled allusions to oral sex, which was particularly associated with the French.
for ’t, till I were married to her, and that shall be
shortly. They say I wo’ not turn boy again for that
trick.
n4806
761EphraimI hope you*n4807
The hierarchical relationship between Nehemiah and his family's servant is represented here by the fact that Nehemiah addresses Ephraim as 'thou', whereas the servant replies with 'you'.
will not.
n4807
762NehemiahThou*n4807
The hierarchical relationship between Nehemiah and his family's servant is represented here by the fact that Nehemiah addresses Ephraim as 'thou', whereas the servant replies with 'you'.
mayest be sure on’t, Ephraim; for if I
would turn boy again, I ha’ not wherewithal to set up
again. Thou sawst that, as soon as I had tasted the
sweetness of this delicious book here, I tore and burned
all my ballads as well the godly as the ungodly, in
my conscience as many as might have furnished three
Bartholomew Fairs*n5544
Nehemiah says that he had so many ballads, now destroyed, that he could have supplied three Bartholomew Fairs. But his reference to the Fair alerts the audience to his descent from Ben Jonson's similar character in the play Bartholomew Fair, Bartholomew Cokes.
; and then for love of this sword,
I broke and did away all my storehouse of tops, gigs,
balls, cat and catsticks, pot guns, key guns, trunks,
tillers,*n4808
All of these are popular 'games with things' in the period. The most informative text is Iona and Peter Opie, Children's Games with Things (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997). For tops (and gigs, another term for a top, as in 'whirligig') and games such as 'cat' and 'catsticks', see Chapter 10, 'Tops and Tipcat'; for balls, see Chapter 8, 'Ball-Bouncing'.
'Pot guns', 'key guns', 'trunks', 'tillers', are all forms of pea-shooters or catapults.
and all; and will I turn boy again, canst think?
Yet I am half sorry, being towards a wife, that I did not keep ’em for my children: some money might
have been saved by’t. And that is a manly and a good
husbandly consideration, I take it. But hang covetousness: there comes not a mouth into the world, but
there’s meat for’t*n5086
Nehemiah's new-found godliness (and what will subsequently be recognised as a parody of Puritan conversion rhetoric) continues with this proverb, trusting in divine providence. It is frequently found in English sources from Langland onwards.
; and if I find ’em not play games,
their mother will find friends that shall, for them and
herself*n4809
Nehemiah's meaning is innocent, but the audience knows that the 'friends' his putative wife will make will be lovers.
too.
n4807
n5544
n4808
'Pot guns', 'key guns', 'trunks', 'tillers', are all forms of pea-shooters or catapults.
n5086
n4809
763EphraimI’m glad to hear such good things to come from you,
And hope that now your judgment’s strong enough
To manage my affair. You know my mind, sir?
764NehemiahAmardla, Ephraim, ’twill be hard to compass.
For the old knight will never let me have his niece,
unless he have my mother. He means to truck†gg3414
to exchange
for
her, though. I confess, I had rather call thee father
than any man I know, yet I know not how to bring
it about, unless he marry her first; and then she be
weary of him, and take thee afterwards to mend her
match. I think it must be so, Amardla, Ephraim.
gg3414
765EphraimNow you fly out again: that’s as impossible, as ’tis unlawful.
766Lady Nestlecock Within. Neh? Neh?
767NehemiahPeace, my mother comes.
768Lady Nestlecock [Within] Neh? Neh?
Where are you, child? Neh?
769NehemiahI hear her neighing after me. I’ll do all I can
for thee, Amardla, Ephraim.
Enter LADY NESTLECOCK [carrying a dancing frog toy]
770Lady NestlecockLook you, son, what kind Sir Swithin has
sent you. A dancing frog*n4810
The fascination of the image - here a toy - of a dancing frog seems to stretch back in time and persists to the present day (for a modern example, see Quentin Blake's children's book, The Story of the Dancing Frog [1996]); no doubt this is to do with the frog's motion and long legs. But French people were popularly described as 'Frogs' by the 1630s, and the audience probably recognises the connection between dancing and Frenchness.
, you would think it were alive; and a ballad of burning the false prophets before
they be tried*n4811
No ballad that is an exact match has been found
. And another fearful one of the new
Antichrist*n4812
No ballad that is an exact match has been found
.
n4810
n4811
n4812
771NehemiahHang baubles, burn ballad. I am a man, and defy boy’s tricks.
772Lady NestlecockA sudden change, I pray it be good.
773NehemiahTell me of toys? I have a sword. Offer me
ballads? I have a book. Speak to me of Sir Swithin,
I’ll talk to you of Ephraim that gave me these blessings, and is fitter to be father, so he is, than the
foolishest knight of ’em all. [NEHEMIAH] reads.
774Lady NestlecockBless my son from too much learning. That
book has done him no good, I doubt. He talks and
looks so wildly o’the sudden.
775NehemiahA ha!
776Lady NestlecockWhat book is’t? Let me see it.
777NehemiahI’ll tell you first. It is a book all of bulls, jests
and lies. Collected by an A. S. Gent.*n4813
Nehemiah is reading The Booke of bulls, baited with two centuries of bold jests, and nimble-lies, or, A Combat betweene sence and non-sence, being at strife who shall infuse most myrth into the gentle-reader a treatise in variety of pleasure second to none ever yet printed in the English-tongue : wherein is contained nothing alreadie published / collected by A.S. Gent. (1636), probably by Robert Chamberlain.
This reference helps date the play, as Lucy Munro points out ('Richard Brome and The Book of Bulls: Situating The New Academy, or The New Exchange'). The reference makes sense only after the publication of the jestbook in 1636: 'The Book of Bulls [was] entered in the Stationers' Register to Frances Smith on 6 April 1636 and assigned to Daniel Frere, its eventual publisher, on 11 April 1636' (p. 127).
The cheesecake joke is number 216 (p. 96); the lobster joke is 217 (pp. 96-97).
There is probably an in-joke here. The likely author of the jest-book, Robert Chamberlain, is one of those who contributed commendatory verses to the 1640 edition of Brome's The Antipodes. Munro details other connections between Brome and Chamberlain (pp. 132-4).
Mother,
i’sooth, there be such things in it! If you never
read it, it is the rarest book that ever you read in
your life. Open it where you will, and you shall learn
something. As here now: one refusing to eat cheesecakes, was asked his reason. He told them he loved the
flesh well, but was afeard of the bones. Then here’s
the next to’t: one asking whence lobsters were
brought, his fellow replied, one might easily know their
country by their coat: they are fetch’t from the
Red Sea. Now would I might never eat more of ’em,
as well as I love ’em, if I knew what cheesecakes
were made of, or from whence lobsters came before.
n4813
This reference helps date the play, as Lucy Munro points out ('Richard Brome and The Book of Bulls: Situating The New Academy, or The New Exchange'). The reference makes sense only after the publication of the jestbook in 1636: 'The Book of Bulls [was] entered in the Stationers' Register to Frances Smith on 6 April 1636 and assigned to Daniel Frere, its eventual publisher, on 11 April 1636' (p. 127).
The cheesecake joke is number 216 (p. 96); the lobster joke is 217 (pp. 96-97).
There is probably an in-joke here. The likely author of the jest-book, Robert Chamberlain, is one of those who contributed commendatory verses to the 1640 edition of Brome's The Antipodes. Munro details other connections between Brome and Chamberlain (pp. 132-4).
778Lady NestlecockIs this your book-learning? In troth, thou
mak’st me laugh.
779NehemiahLaugh on, good mother. And while you are
in the merry mood, let me speak a good word for Ephraim. I have a mind, f’sooth, because he has made
me a man, to make him my father, f’sooth.
780Lady NestlecockWhat, what! How now?
How durst you, sirrah, move my son in this? Ha.
781EphraimMadam –
782Lady NestlecockIt is but so? Ha!
783NehemiahPray, f’sooth, hear him speak. He can speak poetry, he says, as well as knight Whimlby. Speak,
Ephraim.
784EphraimMadam, Fair truth have told
That queens of old
Have now and then
Married with private men.
A countess was no blusher,*n4814
Ephraim refers to a recent scandal, the rapid remarriage of Francis Bacon's widow to her gentleman-usher, Sir John Underhill, less than two weeks after Bacon's death. The relationship between the two is probably the reason for the abrupt disinheriting of his wife at the end of Bacon's last will and testament: ‘Whatsoever I have given, granted, confirmed, or appointed to my wife, in the former part of this will, I do now, for just and great causes, utterly revoke and make void, and leave her to her right only’ (Works, 14.545).
n4814
To wed her usher.
Without remorse
A lady took her horse-
Keeper in wedlock.*n4815
Ephraim’s verse probably refers to the scandalous marriage of Frances Brandon (1517-1559), dowager duchess of Suffolk, to her Master of Horse, Adrian Stokes (1533-1581).
These did wisely know
n4815
Inferior men best could their work below.*n5200
There is an obvious pun on 'inferior' and 'below', and an equally bawdy reference.
n5200
785NehemiahMother, f’sooth, is it not fine?
786EphraimNay, madam, more than so,
I’ll further go.
787Lady NestlecockBut you shall not, sirrah. What? What, how
now? I’st but up and ride*n5087
A variant of the phrase commonly found in early modern texts, 'Nothing but up and ride' (Tilley N284), meaning sexual activity.
? Ha! Out of my doors,
thou varlet.
n5087
788NehemiahI must out too, then, mother, I am afraid,
oh*n4816
Nehemiah threatens to imitate his cousin Joyce: if his friend Ephraim is banished, he will leave in sympathy.
–
n4816
789Lady NestlecockGood Neh, be pacified, I’ll give him a better answer.
But not a word on’t now, sweet child, I pray thee.
Here comes Sir Swithin.
Enter WHIMLBY [carrying two marriage contract documents] and BLITH
790WhimlbyHa, ha, ha, madam, ha, ha, ha.[WHIMLBY] kiss[es LADY NESTLECOCK]
791Lady NestlecockAye, marry, Sir Swithen. This is better than ‘O Madam, O –’, when you washed your handkerchiefs in
the suds, and then to wring ’em out in poetry.
792WhimlbyMy tears with the memory of the dead are all
fallen into Lethe*n4817
In classical mythology, drinking from the river Lethe, one of the rivers of Hades, led to forgetting. The Greek root means 'forgetfulness'.
; and nothing but joy left in me,
since my hopes are confirmed in your lap. And hang poetry: I study profit now*n4818
Like Nehemiah, Whimlby has undergone a conversion, from being a man of sentiment, enveloped in grief and longing for his dead wife, expressing his melancholy in poetry, to being a man with an eye on the future and profit, speaking in prose.
. Therefore, look you,
madam, here is a draft of my marriage instrument to your lap*n5545
Whimlby clearly means that he has drawn up the legal document establishing the terms of the marriage. However, the fact that he places a copy in her lap is sexually suggestive and probably he means it to be so, to communicate his vigour and sexual dynamism, despite his age.
.
n4817
n4818
n5545
[WHIMLBY gives a marriage contract to LADY NESTLECOCK]
793Ephraim [Aside] His instrument being drawn, I must put up
my pipe*n4819
Ephraim means that if Whimlby has progressed as far as to draw up a marriage agreement, the legal instrument, then he may as well accept defeat and drop his poetic pose ('put up my pipe', meaning the instrument associated with pastoral). But, as ever in this scene, there is the hint of euphemism, and bawdy references to genitalia.
and be gone.Exit [EPHRAIM]
n4819
794WhimlbyAnd here is another draft for sweet Master
Nehemiah, for my niece Blith’s jointure.
[WHIMLBY gives a marriage contract to NEHEMIAH*n5546
Alternatively, Whimlby may give the second marriage contract to Lady Nestlecock, dramatising the lack of expectation that Nehemiah will participate in adult decision making.
]
n5546
795NehemiahO, but she says she will not have me.
796WhimlbyWhen did she say so?
797NehemiahNow, now, she spat the word out of her
mouth. And, I say, if she ha’ not me, you shall whine
both your eyes out before you have my mother, and
see ne’er the worse, I warrant you. A cross marriage*n5123
Neh. A crosse marriage An unnecessary, duplicate Speech Prefix has been removed. The ms. annotators of Folger Shakespeare Library B4872, National Art Library Dyce 25.E.45, and Newberry Library Y135.B779 delete this Speech Prefix.
, or no marriage, I say
still.
n5123
798Lady NestlecockI say so too, son; sweet boy, be content.
799WhimlbyBlith, you spoke well of him behind his
back, and made me think you loved him, and would
marry him.
800BlithBehind his back, I may do much to please you*n5088
Blith's phrase, as with so much else in this scene, is capable of a sexual construction. She may be implying that she could easily deceive a foolish husband such as Nehemiah. Later she says that the prospect of committing herself knowingly to a lifetime of such deceit fills her with despair.
.
But when I look upon him, he turns my stomach
worse than a fool*n4820
A milk or cream-based dessert, often incorporating pureed fruit. Here, the audience recognises the applicability of both meanings of 'fool'.
made of sour milk.
n5088
n4820
801Lady NestlecockMarry gip†gg3369
an intensitive; an exclamation of anger or remonstrance addressed to a horse; an expression of surprise, derision, or contempt addressed to a person; the equivalent of 'get out', 'go along with you' (OED)
, Mistress Queasy, my son’s as sweet
as you, I hope, and as wise as you. And sucked as sweet
milk as ever the good cow your mother gave.*n4821
Lady Nestlecock picks up on Blith's joke about Nehemiah being a fool made with sour milk, probably rightly recognises the aspersion thrown on her as the cow that gave the sour milk, and throws it back again at Blith. Most striking is the speed with which an apparently superior Lady Nestlecock has descended to such crude and tasteless insults. She disdains her brother Matchil's new bride as speaking still in the style of the kitchen, but it is clear here that she is no stranger to vulgarity. It raises again the question of just how 'gentle' Lady Nestlecock's origins are.
gg3369
n4821
802BlithHa, ha, ha.
803WhimlbyPatience, good madam.
[Enter EPHRAIM]*n5124
There is no stage direction for Ephraim's re-entry in 1659; he has left the stage a few lines earlier. But he not only speaks this line but is appealed to for help by Lady Nestlecock moments later.
n5124
804Ephraim [Aside] I hope the cross marriage is crossed. This is
untoward wooing.
805Lady NestlecockUds so! Do you flirt out†gg3415
to propel or throw with a jerk or sudden movement; often, to propel by a blow from the finger-nail released from the thumb; used in conjunction with away, off, out (OED flirt v, 1 trans[itive])
your unsavoury*n4822
Lady Nestlecock is probably using 'unsavoury' figuratively, but the audience cannot help but remember the fool made of sour milk and subsequent insults.
comparisons upon my son?
gg3415
n4822
806BlithFlirt not you at me, madam, lest I flirt your
milk-sop†gg3416
an effeminate or immature boy
under the snotty nose*n4823
Blith insults Nehemiah by saying he has mucus dripping unwiped from his nose, like a child. She threatens to 'flirt' him under the nose, meaning to flick him sharply with her finger.
here.
gg3416
n4823
[BLITH moves to touch NESTLECOCK under the nose]
807NehemiahYes, and I have a sword, and you ha’ got ne’er
a one.
808Lady NestlecockYou wo’ not, will you, ha! Do you fly at
him, ha!
809WhimlbyFear not, good madam.
810Lady NestlecockEphraim, save my boy.
811BlithHa, ha, ha –––
812WhimlbyShe shall not hurt him. Leave her to me, good
madam.
813Lady NestlecockI ever feared he was not long-lived, he was so
witty. And now I fear she will be the death of him.
I would not he should marry her for a million.
814NehemiahSay not so, mother. I love her better and better still. I never had play-fellow i’ my life, but we fell out and in*n5089
Nehemiah means that he and Blith quarrelled and made up, but the audience, as usual, perceives a potential sexual reference.
again.
And I must and will marry her, I take my death on’t aforehand.
n5089
815Lady NestlecockO me! He is bewitched to her.
816WhimlbyLeave all to me, dear madam.
817Lady NestlecockAs I am to you, I think, Sir Swithin.*n4824
Lady Nestlecock, reassured by Whimlby that he will render his niece compliant, continues from her previous line: 'O me! He is bewitched to her'. That, however, was an exclamation of fear and hostility. Now Lady Nestlecock, thinking that perhaps the cross marriages, and hence access to the wealth of Whimlby and his niece, can be recovered, suggests a benign form of enchantment, pulling the conversation back into the realm of love discourse.
n4824
818WhimlbyLet me alone with her. I’ll win her, and he
shall wear her*n4825
Whimlby uses part of the phrase 'to win and wear', meaning to have as a wife.
, fear not. As I was saying, madam, she
speaks as well of him behind his back, as your own
heart can wish. And told me she was content to marry him.
n4825
819Lady NestlecockBehind his back? Did she so?
820WhimlbyYes, truly, madam,
821NehemiahLo, you there, mother. Let her marry me behind
my back then: And when we are married, I’ll make
her stick to’t before my face,*n4826
As frequently the case in this scene, Nehemiah's phrasing is capable of bawdy interpretation.
I warrant you; or if she
will make back-play*n5090
Again, Nehemiah is only referring to Blith's conduct 'behind his back', but the audience hears sexual suggestions in phrases such as 'back-play' (compare Othello 1.1.118, 'making the beast with two backs', drawing on the familiar French and Italian proverb).
. I’ll play at nothing but backgammon with her.*n4827
Again, Nehemiah speaks of games but the audience, conscious of the prominent use of 'back' as a popular word for sexual potency and even, as a verb, for sexual intercourse, hears a different intention.
n4826
n5090
n4827
822Lady NestlecockWell, heaven bless thee, thou art but too good
for her.
823WhimlbySpeak gently, niece, I charge you.
824BlithMadam, I hope your ladyship shall find me too
good for him,*n4828
Blith draws on ambiguities about being good - or, more so, too good for someone. Lady Nestlecock meant that Blith scarcely deserved her son, he was so virtuous. But 'being too good' means that one party will triumph over the other, and this is what Blith implies, despite her uncle's admonition to 'speak gently'. Whimlby has to re-interpret his niece's scarcely-veiled antagonism and threat in order to keep the peace.
if e’er he has me.
n4828
825Lady NestlecockHa, say you so?
826WhimlbyShe means in well-doing, Madam.
827Lady NestlecockNay then, I thank you, Mistress Blith, assuring you
that you shall be no way so good to him, but I will
be as good to you.*n4829
Barely mollified, Lady Nestlecock responds with a compliment that veils a threat: if you behave badly to my son, I will respond in kind.
n4829
828NehemiahAgreed again of all hands. But look how she
turns and keeps cut†gs694
vagina, genitals, 'cunt' (see Williams, A Dictionary of Sexual Language and Imagery in Shakespearean and Stuart Literature, p. 358)
like my sparrow.*n4830
Blith has turned away, which Nehemiah interprets as coyness. See OED cut n2: VIII. 35. Phrase. to keep one's cut, keep cut: a phrase of obscure origin, meaning something like: 'To keep one's distance, be coy or reserved'. Most of the later occurrences appear to refer to Skelton's Phyllyp Sparrowe, or at least to have the same origin. Obscure.
'Cut' is also a common term for vagina or 'cunt'. See Williams, Dictionary of Sexual Language and Imagery, p. 358. Nehemiah says that Blith will 'love me behind', and his meaning is surely innocent; but the audience recognises that Blith, in turning away, has offered herself like a bird (his 'sparrow') for penetration from behind.
She will be my back sweetheart still I see, and love me behind.
gs694
n4830
'Cut' is also a common term for vagina or 'cunt'. See Williams, Dictionary of Sexual Language and Imagery, p. 358. Nehemiah says that Blith will 'love me behind', and his meaning is surely innocent; but the audience recognises that Blith, in turning away, has offered herself like a bird (his 'sparrow') for penetration from behind.
829WhimlbyShe is yet raw†gg3417
unripened, unready, in a natural state not yet fashioned into something more sophisticated
, and has not much been abroad
to see the manners of the time, in which my melancholy has been her main hindrance. But, madam, there
is now that is worth all our sight and observation:
a new Academy where, they say, the newest and
most courtly carriage and behaviour is taught and practised both for young gentlemen and women. Have you
not heard on’t?
gg3417
830Lady NestlecockYes, Sir Swithin, and that the French tongue is
taught there with great alacrity; and my son is
wished thither; but soft, I warrant you*n5091
Lady Nestlecock seems to want to delay Nehemiah's encounter with the Academy and, especially, with the French language ('tongue'), but the implication is that she fears his sexual corruption there. The jokes on the 'French tongue' continue into Nehemiah's next speech.
.
n5091
831WhimlbyBut let him see it: at least in our company it
will embolden him. I mean to carry my niece thither.
I have been a lover of arts and exercises, and know
somewhat, since my youth. Pray, let us spend one hour
of this afternoon there.
832Lady NestlecockPardon me, good Sir Swithin.
833NehemiahBut he shall not, mother, if you love me, for
I mean to perfect my dancing there, and to learn
French there, for I mean when I am married to travel
into France. But I will first be perfect in the tongue. I
shall learn it the sooner when I am there, you know.*n5092
Everything Nehemiah says here literally applies to the desire for language acquisition, but it can be understood - by the audience if not the character - in sexual terms. The French were identified in this period with oral sex, so the desire to 'learn French' at the Academy, to become 'perfect in the tongue', and 'when I am married to travel into France' have obvious bawdy meanings.
Pray, let us go to th’ Acomedy,*n5201
Nehemiah's mispronunciation of an unfamiliar word draws attention to the resemblances between the new social venue of the Academy and the theatre in which the play is being performed, and also to the rule-based nature of both social interactions and comedy as a mode.
what dee call it?
n5092
n5201
834WhimlbyThe Academy.
835Lady NestlecockSay you so, son? Then come, Sir Swithin. Come,
Mistress Blith, we will all go.
836Blith [Aside] I’ll wait upon you, though my heart says
no.Exit [LADY NESTLECOCK, NEHEMIAH,
WHIMLBY, BLITH, and EPHRAIM]
WHIMLBY, BLITH, and EPHRAIM]
4.2*n5242
In this scene the play returns to the New Academy. Strigood's intentions have been discovered by the young people who have agreed to frustrate him. Joyce and Gabriela begin the scene with a curious dialogue in which they are certainly furious with Joyce's uncle but also revealing to each other the degree to which the young men's attentions were not unwelcome. Joined by Cash, and then by Strigood and the young men, the couples continue to negotiate while Strigood remains ignorant that Cash is betraying him.
The scene is then transformed by the arrival of Lady Nestlecock, Whimlby, Nehemiah, and Blith, who have come to see the Academy and perhaps enroll Nehemiah and Blith for lessons in sophistication. Performance is again emphasised, with different characters deploying sophisticated utterance and conduct in order to impress but also communicate underlying tensions. As usual this results in eruptions of anger from Lady Nestlecock. Much of the humour derives from double entendres, particularly Nehemiah's, and awareness of the potential sexual meanings of words and phrases.
In the middle of this Rachel, Valentine, and Erasmus join the party, resulting in hostility between Lady Nestlecock and her new sister-in-law. This is exacerbated by Valentine's realisation that Lady Nestlecock may be a marital prize for him, with the result that he begins to abandon Rachel, to her dismay.
n5242
The scene is then transformed by the arrival of Lady Nestlecock, Whimlby, Nehemiah, and Blith, who have come to see the Academy and perhaps enroll Nehemiah and Blith for lessons in sophistication. Performance is again emphasised, with different characters deploying sophisticated utterance and conduct in order to impress but also communicate underlying tensions. As usual this results in eruptions of anger from Lady Nestlecock. Much of the humour derives from double entendres, particularly Nehemiah's, and awareness of the potential sexual meanings of words and phrases.
In the middle of this Rachel, Valentine, and Erasmus join the party, resulting in hostility between Lady Nestlecock and her new sister-in-law. This is exacerbated by Valentine's realisation that Lady Nestlecock may be a marital prize for him, with the result that he begins to abandon Rachel, to her dismay.
Enter JOYCE and GABRIELLA [carrying masks]*n6994
Later in this scene, Strigood will command the young women to put on masks, to avoid detection by Lady Nestlecock, Joyce's aunt, who would otherwise recognise them.
n6995
This brief scene in which the two young women discuss their predicament and the young Frenchmen they have just met, converted from illicit lust, and agreed to marry, raises fascinating questions concerning its purpose and the choices to be made by the actors.
As Richard Cave noted, it could be dominated by exposition and thus be an impediment to the onward movement of the play, all the more regrettable since most of the information conveyed is already known to the audience. Exploring the scene with actors, however, revealed that by varying the degree to which the characters addressed each other and the audience considerable energy was conveyed.
This is not the only occasion when Brome has characters recapitulate information, for themselves but more importantly for the audience. As in The Weeding of Covent Garden, when two other young women, Katherine and Lucy, explain the plot to that point in the play [CG 3.2.speeches621-662], the purpose is less exposition than enabling the audience to set information in order and correct proportion, and to guide the audience in interpretation and emotional tone.
All agreed that there was a powerful point of transition, after which a fearful memory of their peril gave way to a more optimistic account of the forthcoming resolution in a double marriage.
The actors and director explored the scene in the workshop, settling ultimately on a staging that emphasised the young women's genuine fear at the outset but then traced the journey by which they turned away from the memory of their peril towards the prospect of marriage and a comedic resolution.
The young women will be commanded to wear masks later in the scene and so arrived carrying them. The actors explored the use of the masks with the director, Brian Woolland. Playing with concealment and revelation allowed the actors to shift between different tones: at times conveying shock and horror at Strigood's perfidy, then a subtle enjoyment of their slightly exaggerated terror, at times an almost roguish complicity.
n6994
n6995
As Richard Cave noted, it could be dominated by exposition and thus be an impediment to the onward movement of the play, all the more regrettable since most of the information conveyed is already known to the audience.
Exploring the scene with actors, however, revealed that by varying the degree to which the characters addressed each other and the audience considerable energy was conveyed. This is not the only occasion when Brome has characters recapitulate information, for themselves but more importantly for the audience. As in The Weeding of Covent Garden, when two other young women, Katherine and Lucy, explain the plot to that point in the play [CG 3.2.speeches621-662], the purpose is less exposition than enabling the audience to set information in order and correct proportion, and to guide the audience in interpretation and emotional tone.
All agreed that there was a powerful point of transition, after which a fearful memory of their peril gave way to a more optimistic account of the forthcoming resolution in a double marriage.
The actors and director explored the scene in the workshop, settling ultimately on a staging that emphasised the young women's genuine fear at the outset but then traced the journey by which they turned away from the memory of their peril towards the prospect of marriage and a comedic resolution.
The young women will be commanded to wear masks later in the scene and so arrived carrying them. The actors explored the use of the masks with the director, Brian Woolland.
Playing with concealment and revelation allowed the actors to shift between different tones: at times conveying shock and horror at Strigood's perfidy, then a subtle enjoyment of their slightly exaggerated terror, at times an almost roguish complicity.
837JoyceO mine own heart! How near were we both fallen
Into the gulf of ruin?n4831
Joyce and Gabriella burst on to the stage at the beginning of this scene using somewhat elevated, figurative, and rather clichéd language: 'gulf of ruin', 'main destruction'. The actors must choose whether to play their exchanges as innocently full of the apprehension of danger or, given the slightly melodramatic tone, as having an element of playfulness .
n4831
or, given the slightly melodramatic tone, as having an element of playfulness .
838GabriellaThanks for our delivery!
We were upon the brink of main†gs612
overwhelming, complete, total
destruction.*n4832
Joyce and Gabriella burst on to the stage at the beginning of this scene using somewhat elevated, figurative, and rather clichéd language: 'gulf of ruin', 'main destruction'. The actors must choose whether to play their exchanges as innocently full of the apprehension of danger or, given the slightly melodramatic tone, as playful.
gs612
n4832
839JoyceWas ever such a friend as this mine uncle?n7360
Again, the actors must choose here how horrified the characters are at the corruption and perfidy of Strigood. Are they somewhat amused, knowing they have escaped his machinations? Or are they genuinely horrified?
n7360
Pretending us his children too, and called us daughters
To those he bargained with to sell our maidenheads?
840Gabriella’Twas a most damnable practice! Fie upon him.
841JoyceAnd had the monsieurs been as capable
Of our virginities, as he was of
Their moneys, how had we then resisted?*n4833
Joyce means that, if the young men had been as immoral and without scruple as her uncle Strigood, who had already received money from Galliard and Papillion for the opportunity to be first to fornicate with the two women, or if the young men had been morally capable of rape, how could Joyce and Gabriella have resisted. See OED capable a. 1 and 5 b
n4833
842GabriellaBy Venus, mine own heart, my gentleman
Came up so close to me, that if my voice
Had not been stronger than mine arms – O me!
I tremble for it yet – I had been vanquished.
843JoyceBut did you note the virtue of the gentlemen?n6996
In exploring the scene with actors and editors, this was recognised as the turning point of the exchange. The characters turn from horror to appreciation of their future husbands' nobleness; the actors turned from speaking only to each other and now addressed the audience directly, drawing the audience into what constitutes the first glimpse of the play's comedic conclusion. At this point the scene becomes (in Brian Woolland's phrase) 'a real journey'.
n6996
The characters turn from horror to appreciation of their future husbands' nobleness; the actors turned from speaking only to each other and now addressed the audience directly, drawing the audience into what constitutes the first glimpse of the play's comedic conclusion. At this point the scene becomes (in Brian Woolland's phrase) 'a real journey'. When they were sensible of our fears and tears,
How gently they desisted, and with what humanity?
When they perceived how we had been betrayed,
They pitied our conditions; and wooed honestly
Our loves in way of marriage? Provided that
Our births and fortunes might no way disparage
Theirs, being free and generous*n5093
That they are as yet uncontracted in marriage and of noble birth (French: genereux, sense derived from the Latin, generosus, from genus, 'race', specifically here '[noble] race').
.*n4834
The condition for the offers of marriage is that Joyce and Gabriella are socially and financially of the right status for two young men who are free to marry and of gentle rank.
n5093
n4834
844GabriellaI confess
I love ’em both so well, that if they prove –
As they pretend they are – not*n5135
(As they pretend they are not) As the Newberry Library Y135.B779 ms. annotator notices, the closing parenthesis mark must be misplaced here. Actors cannot speak parentheses and so the sense of insertion has been indicated with dashes; the terminal dash has been moved.
our inferiors
n5135
In blood and worth – I would take either of ’em.n6997
At least to the modern ear, the young women's willingness to take either of the young men as a husband (and they report that the young men feel the same) is disconcerting. It is, however, essential to the play's conclusion, in that this breeziness enables incestuous unions to be avoided. This is probably a moment at which the lack of realism in the comedy is thoroughly evident to the audience; we are complicit with Brome in suspending disbelief for the sake of an amusing plot.
n6997
845JoyceTroth, mine own heart, ’tis just the same with me.
I care not which I have. And mark a sympathy:
How equally all our affections strike.
We both love them, they both love us alike.
But peace. Cash, though he has done us good service,
Must not know all.
Enter CASH
How goes it within, Cash?
846CashAnd why Cash, pray? Ha’ not you changed your names
From Joyce and Gabriella to Jane and Frances?*n4835
The two names Joyce and Gabriella have taken are often associated with prostitutes in this period.
n4835
And is not your uncle Strigood now become
Your father, by the name of Master Lightfoot*n4836
Strigood's assumed name is clearly appropriate to a dancing master, but it has a hint of the Satanic: Lucifer, the carrier of light. Gabriella has labelled his conduct 'damnable practice' earlier in the scene.
,
n4836
The nimble dancing master? And must I still
Carry the name of Cash? And having lost
My nature too, in having no cash left?
Pox o’the dice, call me Master Outlash*n4837
Cash's assumed name is a form of the verb, to outlash. See OED outlash v: out lashing n. rare (a) extravagance, excess (obs[cure]); (b) an act of lashing or striking out, citing Randle Cotgrave, A Dictionary of the French & English tongues (1611): 'Desreiglemént [sic], ... immoderatenesse, immodestie, lavishnesse, outlashing'; 'Irregularité, unrulinesse, disorder, outlashing'.
.
n4837
847JoyceMy father will fetch you home with an inlash*n4838
Joyce modifies the name, warning that her father will whip Cash home when he finds him.
n4838
One o’ these days.
848CashBut after you, fair mistress.*n4839
Cash points out that Joyce's position is not much better, since her father is likely to whip her home too as a run-away.
n4839
Now to your question for the squires*n4840
squares. It is hard to make sense of the sentence with the reading as printed in 1659, but emendation to 'squires within' enables Cash to refer to the young men. The annotator of Folger Shakespeare Library B4872 also proposes this emendation.
within.
n4840
850CashYour father Lightfoot, you forget again.
There’s a drawn match made*n5094
The failure to bring things to a conclusion means that there was no 'winner' and Strigood has therefore lost his fee for providing the young French gallants with English virgins to deflower. See OED drawn, ppl. a 3: Of a battle or match: Undecided. The origin of this usage is said to be uncertain, but here the possibility suggested of derivation from 'withdrawn' is appropriate. Finding the young women to be trapped and without intention of becoming prostitutes, the gallants withdraw.
: for the monsieurs
n5094
Have ta’en their money again and you have still
Your maidenheads, I hope. But to have heard
The coil†gg1034
fuss, noisy row
they kept, the wrangle†gg3418
an angry and noisy dispute
, and the stir†gg1446
active or energetic bustle of a number of persons (or animals); commotion, excitement (OED n. 1, 2 and 3)
,
gg1034
gg3418
gg1446
And how the young blades put the old one to’t,
Would ha’ perplexed you more*n4841
Confused, a meaning close to the etymology, Latin per=thoroughly, Latin plectere=to plait or interweave
than keeping of
n4841
Your maidenheads from men you love.
851GabriellaYou cannot tell that.*n4842
Gabriella's cryptic response alludes to the real temptation both young women admitted to at the opening of the scene.
n4842
852CashO, how the old man chafes that you would offer*n4843
Would dare to, had the temerity to (OED offer v 5b)
n4843
To make you moan to ’em to move their pity,
And not to make his bargain good; and then
How they put home his baseness to him, to make sale
Of his own blood and honour in his children–––
They knew, they said, some parents in their country,
After their children were turned whores, would share
To live upon the profits, but to sell
Their souls before they were damned, fie, fie, fie, fie–––*n4844
The shocking point made by the young men is that French parents are much more virtuous and honourable: they might agree to share the proceeds of their daughters' prostitution, but they would not initiate the transaction, selling their daughters' virginities.
n4844
Til he confessed indeed you were none of his,
But children of some friends of his deceased,*n4844
The shocking point made by the young men is that French parents are much more virtuous and honourable: they might agree to share the proceeds of their daughters' prostitution, but they would not initiate the transaction, selling their daughters' virginities.
n4844
Left to his care for breeding; which he had*n4844
The shocking point made by the young men is that French parents are much more virtuous and honourable: they might agree to share the proceeds of their daughters' prostitution, but they would not initiate the transaction, selling their daughters' virginities.
n4844
Plenteously given, and thought it might seem reasonable*n4844
The shocking point made by the young men is that French parents are much more virtuous and honourable: they might agree to share the proceeds of their daughters' prostitution, but they would not initiate the transaction, selling their daughters' virginities.
n4844
To raise his money out of you again.*n4844
The shocking point made by the young men is that French parents are much more virtuous and honourable: they might agree to share the proceeds of their daughters' prostitution, but they would not initiate the transaction, selling their daughters' virginities.
n4844
853JoyceWhat an old devil is this?
854CashBaser and baser still.
The monsieurs cried, and swore if they could find
Your parents were gentle and virtuous,
Being their first loves, they would marry you,
To free you from this miserable thraldom.
855GabriellaBrave, honest Gentlemen.
856[Cash]*n5136
Gab. As several ms. annotators note, this speech is misassigned.
Be advised though, mistress.
n5136
857JoyceI hope I shall.
858CashBeware of travellers. Many pass abroad
For picking pockets.
859JoyceAnd some, you know, at home
For cozening†gg3419
cheating, fooling
their masters.*n4847
Again, Joyce challenges Cash by reminding him that he too is on the run, even though he is still in London, for having stolen from his master Matchil. His argument against Papillion fatally undermines that for himself as an alternative husband.
gg3419
n4847
860CashYou are pleased.*n4848
Defeated, Cash responds by saying that Joyce has made an effective joke at his expense. He responds with an appeal that, from its jokiness, reveals that he recognises the hopelessness of his position, though he still holds out hope when he meets his master again at the beginning of Act 5.
n4848
But you have known my love; for Gabriella,
Let ’em share her betwixt ’em. You and I
Made one, may soon make peace with the old man
At home.
861JoyceO rogue!*n5095
Throughout the scene the actor playing Joyce must decide how to play the relationship with Cash. Is she censorious? Coquettish? Indulgent?
I’ll tell you more anon, Cash.
n5095
Enter STRIGOOD, PAPILLION, and GALLIARD
862StrigoodCome gentlemen, Monsieur Papillion.
And Monsieur Galliard, all friends, all friends.
863PapillionAgreed, agreed, sir.
864GalliardAnd agree for me.
Agree poor tout.
865StrigoodCheer up your faces, girls.
’Twas but my trial of your chastity.
And since you have stood firm, I am proud of you.
Trust me, ’twas but to try you.
866GalliardOui, oui, all but for try. Tresmont*n4849
Trimount in the 1659 printing. Galliard refers to the dance, the 'Tresmont', punning on the 'tres' and 'try'. As well as referring to a dance, however, the term suggests sexual 'mounting', as becomes clear later in the speech.
, tresmont.
n4849
No more, but all for try: no man can tinck,
But ’twas too very moshe*n5547
This spelling represents Galliard's French accented pronunciation of 'much'.
to take two hundred
n5547
Crowns for two pusillages†gg3420
thing of no consequence or value, (derived from French)
, no, no, was but
gg3420
For try: but and she had not squeek and scrash*n4850
Scratch. This edition keeps the typographical indications of Galliard's heavily-accented English.
too
n4850
Like to de leetel chat, I had Tresmont
One, two, tree, five time, for all your try.
867StrigoodWhat’s passed let be forgot. According to
Agreement, gentlemen, you’re now content
To join with us in academic fellowship,
And for your pastime profess art and science*n6168
Strigood confirms that the two young Frenchmen will retain their gentry status: they undertake the teaching tasks for pastime, not as professionals.
,
n6168
As we do for our profit: you’re expert,
I find, and shall win wonder of our nation,
To your own much delight out of their follies.
868CashAnd then for gamesters, gentlemen, if you’ll play,
I’ll bring ye those shall venture money enough.
869PapillionWe are planted to our wish.*n4851
Having found their intended brides and expecting to make money gambling with the soon-to-arrive guests, Papillion and Galliard have all they wish.
n4851
870GalliardAll very good,
All very good; but I would see thee first*n5096
Galliard's meaning is clear: before making money by playing cards with inexperienced gamblers, he would like to see the women who come to the Academy. But as written his phrase does not make complete sense. Is this a representation of his rather weak command of English or an error in the text?
,
n5096
What ladies will come here to practise compliment.
871StrigoodYou are still hot upon the female, Monsieur Galliard.
Monsieur Papillion here flies over ’em.*n4852
Punning on Papillion's name (butterfly), Strigood checks Galliard by pointing out that his friend's concentration has moved on from their female companions to the upcoming exploitation of the Academy's customers.
n4852
Enter HANNAH
872HannahHa, ha, ha, what will this world come to?*n5097
Hannah, along with Erasmus, is the closest the play comes to a trustworthy moral touchstone, but her role in running the Academy is dubious at best. Here she enters laughing at the follies of humankind, as she prepares to welcome fools to be exploited by Strigood.
n5097
873StrigoodLandlady, the news?
874HannahThe old will to’t as well as the young, I see.
875StrigoodTo what landlady? [STRIGOOD] takes [HANNAH] aside. And that while the young men and maids court and confer at tother side.
876HannahTo fashion following: a reverend lady
Of fifty five and a knight of threescore
And upwards are come hither to learn fashion.
877StrigoodDo you know their names?
878HannahYes, yes: and them is that begets my wonder.
’Tis the Lady Nestlecock and one Sir Swithin Whimlby.
879StrigoodWit be merciful unto us.
880HannahThe lady’s man’s without, who came to know
if the house were ready to entertain ’em. Do you
know’em, Master Lightfoot?
881StrigoodI have heard o’th’ lady. Cash, see if it be Ephraim.
He cannot know thee.*n5098
Ephraim will not be able to recognise Cash in his disguise.
Let him not away [CASH] looks out [of a window]*n6169
[He looks out
n5098
n6169
By any means, his not return to them may keep ’em*n4853
Strigood hopes that Ephraim's disappearance may so trouble Lady Nestlecock and her party that they will not enter the Academy, thus avoiding the risk of discovery.
*n5099
Ephraim's failure to return may so disturb Lady Nestlecock and her party that they do not enter the Academy. The logic of this may not bear close attention.
n4853
n5099
back.
882Cash’Tis he, I see him hither.
883StrigoodLandlady, is your husband come from ducking?
884HannahYes, overjoyed with the good sport he has had.
885[Strigood]*n5137
There is no speech prefix before this line, but it is clearly not a continuation of Hannah's preceding speech; it is Strigood's response, as several ms. annotators notice.
He’ll play th’ good fellow*n4854
Camelion will act as a jovial host
, then. Entreat him, Cash.
n5137
n4854
To help thee, put a cup or two upon
That fellow; and hear’st me, spice his cup,*n4855
Strigood quickly specifies which cup is to be tampered with: Ephraim's. But his need to specify suggests that Cash might think this refers to the cup of that 'good fellow', Camelion, who is in any case to be plied with alcohol. All this suggests that there are designs on Hannah.
n4855
I mean, grave Ephraim’s cup, with this same powder.
[STRIGOOD gives CASH a packet of powder]
’Twill lay him asleep, and quickly.
886CashI know the trick on’t. Exit [CASH]
887StrigoodAnd landlady, when the knight and lady come,
Say we are ready for ’em.
888HannahThat I shall, sir,
[Exit HANNAH]
889Papillion [Aloud] ’Tis then an absolute contract, I am yours.
890JoyceAnd I am yours as firm as faith can bind.
891GalliardTo which we are de witness. Be so for us.
I am her husband, and she is my wife.
Speak you.
892Gabriella’Fore Heaven, I do acknowledge it.
But sir, the church must be observed.
893GalliardFor that,
We’ll send for one minister that shall marry
Us all at once. One kiss till then shall serve. [GALLIARD] kiss[es GABRIELLA]
894Strigood’Twas well done, monsieurs: I no sooner turn
My back, but you are on the damsels’ lips.
895Galliard [Aside to Gabriella] A leetle in de honest way will serve,
But he shall know no-ting*n4856
Once more, an auditory pun on 'nothing'/'noting' may be operative here in Galliard's pronunciation. The options are several, ranging from 'know nothing' to 'no noting'.
.
n4856
896StrigoodOn with your masks, maids,
For here are some at hand will put us to’t.
897Joyce’Tis not my father, nor my lady aunt?
898StrigoodI cannot promise you. Be bold and safe.
Bear it out bravely, or our school breaks up
Immediately, and we are broke for ever.
899GabriellaThat’s enough
To make a coward fight and, mine own heart,
We must stand stoutly to’t, we lose our loves else.
900JoyceWell, I am armed.
901GabriellaAnd I.
902StrigoodFall into compliment. [JOYCE and GABRIELLA put their] masks on
Enter WHIMLBY, LADY NESTLECOCK, NEHEMIAH, and BLITH
903Lady NestlecockI muse we lost my man thus.
904NehemiahBy your leave, sir,
Are you the regent*n4857
The head of an educational institution. OED only cites one previous English use (Philip Stubbes, Anatomy of Abuses [1583]) before this instance. Significantly, this is the title used for the head of his new academy by Francis Kynaston. See The Constitutions of the Museum Minervae (1636), passim.
of this Academy?
n4857
905StrigoodI am, sir.
907StrigoodYes, sir, and all professors of court-discipline*n4858
Manners, primarily associated with the royal court, but of value in all forms of human assemblies and courts, enabling the smooth and harmonious conduct of interpersonal relations, whether these are to do with the law (law courts), power negotiations, or negotiations between lovers.
'Court' is a word of rich and wide meaning. Etymologically, it means enclosure, a word related to 'hortus', a space enclosed as a garden and therefore for cultivation, and 'cohort', a defined group.
,
n4858
'Court' is a word of rich and wide meaning. Etymologically, it means enclosure, a word related to 'hortus', a space enclosed as a garden and therefore for cultivation, and 'cohort', a defined group.
By the most accurate, yet more familiar
Rules, than have ever yet been taught by any,
For quick instruction both of young and old.
908WhimlbyYou promise very fairly. For us old ones,
We know and could have done things in our youth,
Which still we have a mind to; but we leave,
The practice to our young ones. Here’s a pair
Would fain be at it. We’ll pay their admittance.*n5101
Whimlby's speech is shot through with doubles entendres, culminating in his endorsement of Nehemiah and Blith as eager learners: 'Here's a pair / Would fain be at it'.
n5101
909Lady NestlecockBut I’d be glad to see first, by your leave,
Some probability of what they shall learn.
910StrigoodAnd reason good, good madam. Pray, observe there*n5548
Strigood tells not only the onstage audience but also that in the theatre to pay attention to a performance of approved manners, of the latest French fashion, but also of the pan-European transformation of polite conduct that had been ititiated by Desiderius Erasmus in his De civilitate morum puerilium (1530). Brome represents the paradoxical nature of the interchanges exemplified in the New Academy: they are laughable because so obviously stylised and unnatural; and yet they are successful in achieving the smoothing-over of potential disturbances in social interactions. For the growing intensity of early modern attention to polite conduct and language, see Norbert Elias, The Civilizing Process; for a sophisticated exploration of this in England, see Anna Bryson, From Courtesy to Civility: Changing Codes of Conduct in Early Modern England (1998). Anthony Fletcher applies this specifically to the creation of gender identities in Gender, Sex, and Subordination in England, 1500-1800 (1995).
.
n5548
911Papillion
Fair star of courtship, my unworthy humble self, a professed servant to the integrity
of beauty, makes this clear testimony of your merits, that every eye that sees you
owes you his heart for tribute, and that unjustly your beholders live, that live
not in your service.
912NehemiahMother f’sooth, is not this French?*n5102
Nehemiah is thoroughly impressed by Papillion's speech, elaborate to the point of incomprehensibility.
n5102
913Lady NestlecockPeace, child. Hear more on’t.
914JoyceNoble sir, you are so exactly deserving in the
opinion of all righteous judgements, that the least syllable of your fair testimony is able to re-edify the ruins of a decayed commendation.
915WhimlbyThe best that ever I heard, since I wooed my
Grissel.
916StrigoodWas not that a sweet bout, sir?
917WhimlbyYes, yes, it puts me in mind of some sweet
bouts I had with one before I married her.
918Strigood [Aside] Has he married my sister*n5103
Strigood misinterprets Whimlby's paean to his dead wife and memory of their sweet wooing as referring to his sister, Lady Nestlecock. This aside may be incredulous: can he speak so affectionately when he has married that foolish shrew, my sister?
, trow?
n5103
919PapillionI am forced to give you over, madam, you have
such a preventing and preoccupying*n4859
Papillion's romance diction is using 'prevent' and 'preoccupy' in etymologically precise ways: he has been defeated by Joyce in this battle of wits because she is always ahead of him (the stress on 'pre').
wit in all things.
n4859
920NehemiahThat goes like English*n4860
Nehemiah characteristically misses the point: the verbal sparring of Papillion and Joyce has been anything but 'like English'.
, Mistress Blith. I could
learn some of that, methinks.
n4860
921BlithBest tell your mother so; she may rejoice*n5104
Blith has not yet met Matchil's daughter Joyce, so this irony cannot be intended by her. But the audience realises that there is a contrast here between the cousins Nehemiah and Joyce.
at it.
n5104
922StrigoodThere, lady, was a taste of sweet compliment between persons equally affected. May it please
you now to let your son pass upon†gg3128
in fencing, a lunge or thrust made with a sword or rapier (OED n4. 10a)
*n4861
The phrase 'pass upon' [GLOSS gg3128] is drawn immediately from discourses on fencing: Nehemiah is to try his skill in a contest of wits with Gabriella. But the phrase has many connotations that may shade the meaning here. It is used for the giving of verdicts in law courts of different kinds and it is associated with deception and conning. In the 'court' of the Academy, a series of judgements will be made and verdicts given; most characters involved are, in some way, seeking to dupe others.
this damsel?
Who being to her a stranger, and raw, as I imagine,
in courtship, shall meet with reprehension. That may be for his instruction.
gg3128
n4861
923Lady NestlecockDo, Neh, speak to her.
924WhimlbyPut off your hat and say –
925NehemiahWhat! and her mask on?
926Lady NestlecockThat was well said. Why are they masked, I
pray, sir?
927StrigoodWe are commanded it by the policy of wise
authority; for fear young heirs might fall in love
with ’em, and sink their fortunes.
928Lady NestlecockYou have well satisfied me.
929NehemiahWhat should I say to one I never saw?
930WhimlbyWhen I was young and bold, I would have
said, 'Lady, you are most auspiciously encountered'. And
speak it boldly.
931NehemiahLady, you are most suspiciously accoutred*n5105
Though Nehemiah is mangling the phrase suggested by Whimlby, he is, ironically, speaking the truth: Gabriella is dressed suspiciously in that she is masked, and he would be right to be wary of the motives behind the masking.
, I
speak it boldly.
n5105
932WhimlbyAuspiciously encountered, man.
933NehemiahAuspiciously encountered woman, I say.
934GabriellaI commiserate your encounter. ’Tis a most
hungry, verminous, impoverished word, sir. It seems you
are a stranger by’t, to the innovation of courtship.
935NehemiahWhat should I say to that now?
936Lady NestlecockHe’s a weak scholar, forsooth, and would be glad
to learn.
937GabriellaThe acknowledgement of his weakness is the
first grease of gradation to perfection, and his gladness the scaling-ladder of resolution*n5106
The progress to perfection or the attainment of a particular objective is frequently imaged as the ascent of a ladder, most particularly in the 'scala d'amore', the ladder of love. This is the rhetoric of Neoplatonic love, in fashion at the court under the influence of Henrietta Maria and Charles I. Gabriella says that the frank acknowledgement of weakness is the first rung on the ladder to success in learning the courtly arts; these will include the art of loving. But Act 4 began with a version of the Latin phrase, 'non progredi id est regredi', adapted from St Bernard of Clairvaux. Bernard's first text, and one of his best-known works, uses the image of the ladder, De gradibus humilitatis et superbiae, in which gaining true wisdom is a process of humbly coming to know oneself. Gabriella says that Nehemiah is cheerfully surrendering to the knowledge of his own ignorance, and that that is the essential first step to wisdom.
.
n5106
938NehemiahPray, f’sooth, can you teach me a compliment
to offer you sugar-plums, and eat ’em myself, to
save my manners and my plums too?*n5107
Once more, Nehemiah's words, though crass, puncture the balloon of courtly euphemism. His naiveté draws the veil concealing the purposes of inflated diction, saying that he wants to know how to formulate speeches that appear to offer something while ensuring that the thing of value does not get taken away from him.
n5107
939Lady NestlecockWhat a wag it is!
940GabriellaWhat walking dunghill is this, made of the
dust swept from the house of ignorance!
941Lady NestlecockWhat, what! How now, ha? You are a flapse*n5108
A woman of loose character. OED, citing only this instance, offers 'an impudent fellow' for the distinct word 'flapse', but it is more likely that Lady Nestlecock's use is a variant of 'flap'. See OED flap n. 9. dial[ect]. or slang. A woman or girl of light or loose character, citing James Mabbe's translation of the semi-anonymous Spanish text from 1499, The Tragicomedy of Calisto and Melibea, best known as the Celestina; Mabbe's translation was printed in 1631 as The Spanish bawd, represented in Celestina: or, The tragicke-comedy of Calisto and Melibea Wherein is contained, besides the pleasantnesse and sweetnesse of the stile, many philosophicall sentences, and profitable instructions necessary for the younger sort: shewing the deceits and subtilties housed in the bosomes of false seruants, and cunny-catching bawds: 'Fall to your flap, my Masters, kisse and clip' (9. 110); and 'Come hither, you foule flappes' (9. 112).
to term my son so, ha!
n5108
942StrigoodO, good madam, this is but school-play*n5109
Given the similarity to William Hawkins's Apollo Shroving (see Introduction), one wonders whether the knowledgable part of Brome's audience is supposed to laugh at an in-joke here: it is indeed a school play, written for Hawkins's students.
.
n5109
943Lady NestlecockI’ll put her by her school-tricks and not*n9168
'no only' in 1659 printing
only unmask, but unskin her face too, and she come over my heir apparent with such Billingsgate*n4862
Billingsgate Market in Lower Thames Street was the home until 1982 of London's principal fish market. It was notorious for foul and abusive language and the name became shorthand in the seventeenth century for aggressive and profane vituperation.
compliments.
n9168
n4862
944PapillionSweet Madam, no harm was meant, and nothing said in earnest. ’Twas merely but school practice, but to show the sweet young gentleman how he
might be subject to the scorn of court, before he be
seen in compliment.
945Lady NestlecockSay you so?
946Papillion’Twas told your ladyship before, that by reprehension he might find instruction.
947WhimlbyRight, madam; for no fencer learns his
science before he receive some hits and knocks too.
Oh, I have had many.
948Lady NestlecockNay, I am satisfied, and pray that my rash error may prove pardonable, lady.
949GabriellaRather let me implore your mercy, madam –
950Strigood’Tis well, ’tis well. Let’s hear an interchange
or two now, of complimental acknowledgement of courtesies passed betwixt ladies, for the edification of
this fair one, who seems not yet to have ta’en notice
of us, but looks o’the ground still.
951Blith’Tis not to find a fescue†gg3756
a straw, rush, twig; a small piece of straw (OED)
, sir, among the rushes*n4863
The rhythm, alliteration, and pithy punch of this phrase make it likely to be well-known phrase or proverb, but no other instances of its use have been found.
,
gg3756
n4863
To pick out a lesson in your criss-cross-row of compliment.
952StrigoodSharp and sudden. She has a good wit, I see.
953WhimlbyObserve, good Blith, observe.
954GabriellaCan your poor servant express acknowledgement enough, lady, for favours so incessantly heaped
upon her, besides the accumulation of many secret benefits?
955JoyceI cannot but admire, madam, your noble and
illustrious gratitude, that can give beauty to benefits
of so low a birth and condition.
956WhimlbyO, my Grissel comes to my mind again, she
was the gratefullest woman.
957GabriellaIf such favours, madam, should pass under an
humble name, honour would grow idle, and a thankful
nature be beguiled of her employment.
958JoyceYou’ll make my zeal hereafter too bashful, to
serve your most curious acknowledgement.
959BlithCurious acknowledgement! There was a thread
drawn out.*n4864
Blith's ironic praise draws attention to the tendency to elaborate circumlocution in the courtly phrases traded by Joyce and Gabriella. She implies that this has been stretched - drawn out - to the point of breaking. Her metaphor of cloth and weaving is used in a contemporary work by William Hawkins, Apollo Shroving, a play written for his school pupils and printed in 1627, in which Lala, 'a woman spectator', complains about excessive latinate and romance diction: 'Here's linsey-woolsy fustian, where every English thread is overcast with a thick woollen woof of strange words, which have so deep a nap, that the plain ground cannot be seen' (p. 8).
n4864
960GabriellaI am bound by many kindnesses, madam, to celebrate the fair memory of you; as the trouble of your
coach twice in one day, besides those inestimable
jewels, the monkey and dormouse your ladyship
sent me.
961NehemiahI would you could lend me a sight of ’em, forsooth; I love such things devoutly.
962JoyceYou do but open a privy door*n4865
Blith's mocking response again uses the difference between a literal meaning of privy (private) and the colloquial and specific meaning, a lavatory or place for excretion, and hence smelly: 'Fagh'.
to my thankful
remembrance, madam, for the bounty of your squirrel
and paraquitoe.
n4865
963BlithFagh, shut that privy door.*n4865
Blith's mocking response again uses the difference between a literal meaning of privy (private) and the colloquial and specific meaning, a lavatory or place for excretion, and hence smelly: 'Fagh'.
n4865
964NehemiahAnd shut in the squirrel and the paraquitoe
to be stifled, shall she? O, that I could see ’em!
965StrigoodNow madam, and sir knight, is not this neat
and handsome?
966WhimlbyTruly, truly, ’tis most admirable pretty.
967StrigoodNay, if you heard our lectures, saw our dances,
Relished our music and harmonious voices,
Observed our rules for fashion and attire,
Our many exact postures and dimensions*n4867
Strigood's description of the skills taught in his Academy includes the artful arrangement of the body and the length of time ('dimensions') the requisite postures should be maintained for most pleasing effect.
,
n4867
Fit to be used by way of salutation,
Of courtesy, of honour, of obeisance,
To all degrees of man or womankind,
From the low bent of vassalage, to the head
Of towering majesty, you should admire.
968Lady NestlecockBut do you read and teach all these to your
scholars?
969StrigoodStand forth, Monsieur Galliard.
Enter ERASMUS, VALENTINE, and RACHEL
Stay, w’are interrupted.
Up maids, and quickly; or ’tis not your masks
Can keep you undiscovered. Go, be ready
With music and your voices, when I call to ye.
Exit JOYCE and GABRIELLA
970Lady NestlecockWhy are we interrupted? Pray proceed.
971NehemiahMother, it is my naughty aunt, so ’tis.
972Lady NestlecockNo matter, son, we’ll take no notice of her.
I wonder at the boldness of the drudge though.
[LADY NESTLECOCK turns her back on RACHEL]
973RachelI can turn tail†gg3421
to turn away, run away, a term drawn from falconry
too, as well as the great lady, ha.
gg3421
[RACHEL turns her back on LADY NESTLECOCK]
974ValentineAnd do so, mistress, give her a broadside†gg3757
the discharge of all the armaments on one side of a ship
.
gg3757
Well said, we’ll make our party good, I warrant you.*n5138
It is conceivable that this line should be spoken by someone other than Valentine - Rachel, perhaps. No ms. annotator makes the change, however.
n5138
975ErasmusSir, we have heard your fame, and love your arts,
And pray that our ambition be excused,
Which drew on our intrusion.
976StrigoodTo me and to the place you are all welcome.
977Valentine [to LADY NESTLECOCK] And so to all I hope, chiefly to you,
Good madam dowager, hoping in good time
I may get good by doing much good upon you.*n4868
Valentine seizes his chance to attract the widow Lady Nestlecock, seeking to marry her fortune. Throughout, his speech suggests physical, sexual meanings, barely remaining acceptable in public: 'How likes your lap, my compliment?'
n4868
How likes your lap, my compliment?*n4869
Valentine deploys exaggerated, sexualised phrasing, flattering Lady Nestlecock with the attentions of a younger man.
n4869
978Lady NestlecockDo you bring your rude companions to affront me?
[Rachel]*n4870
These two sentences are set as part of Lady Nestlecock's preceding speech, but the reference to cinders seems to be what provokes Valentine's succeeding comment, 'Still in the kitchen dialect', which must be spoken to someone other than Rachel, about her phraseology.
Are you so hot? You stir up your cinders before
they be caked*n5550
This must be a proverbial phrase, though no other instances have been found. Rachel means that Lady Nestlecock is making assumptions, counting her chickens before they are hatched.
.
n4870
n5550
980Valentine [Aside to LADY NESTLECOCK] Still in the kitchen-dialect.
981RachelNo ruder than yourself, ha.
982Valentine [Aside to LADY NESTLECOCK] I brought her, Madam,
T’ advance my suit to you.
983Lady NestlecockWill you see me abused, Sir Swithin?
Look to your niece, the t’other talks to her.
984WhimlbyKind merry gentlemen, madam. When I
was young I would have done the like. Their coming hither was as ours was, to note th’ instructions
That are taught here. Pray, sir, proceed, on with your
exercise, that we may all be edified.
985StrigoodWe shall do so, sir.
986ValentineBut sir, your gentlewomen,
That passed upon our entrance, where are they?
987StrigoodSir, they were called in haste to private practice
With some great ladies in an upper room.
988Valentine [Aside] Umm – private practice. Well, I shall know all.
989StrigoodAnd they being absent, we shall for the present
Only deliver by these gentlemen
A song, a dance, and then
And all most fairly welcome. Speak, Monsieur Galliard,
The heads of our chief arts. Your silence, pray you.
990GalliardThe first is the due carriage of the bodyn6941
The first line of Galliard's speech alerts the audience to the fact that this is to be a tour de force display of the body itself as a chief accessory of the man of fashion.
Discourses of instruction on contemporary courtly culture frequently treat dancing and deportment together. The principal example is François de Lauze, Apologie de la danse (1623), which is dedicated to George Villiers, at that time Marquess (later duke) of Buckingham. Before giving physical instructions, Lauze outlines his philosophy of the dance, making grand claims for the importance of bodily deportment in the creation of a civil society: 'Seneque dict, que si la nature nous a donne l'estre nou sommes redeuables a l'estude de la vertu du bien estre, & i'ose sans rougir enchirer la dessus que le seul exercice de la danse peut non seulment arracher les mauuaises actions qu'vne negligente nourriture auroit enracinee, mais donner encore vn maintien & vne grace que nous disons entregent, & que ie peux appeller proprement le bel estre, chose tout a faict necessaire a quiconque veut rendre son port & son abort agreable dans le monde' (Seneca said that, since Nature has given us our Being, we owe to her the study of the science of Well-Being, and I dare, without blushing, to elaborate thereupon. For the sole exercise of the dance is able, not only to eradicate the bad actions which a negligent upbringing has ingrained, but gives a decorum and a grace which we call Civility, and which I am able to call properly le bel estre (elegant presence), a thing absolutely necessary to whosoever wishes to render his deportment and his approach agreeable in society' (Apologie de la danse ed. and tr. Joan Wildeblood [London: Frederick Muller, 1952], pp. 67-69). As well as instructing in dancing, Lauze gives directions for bows, reverences, and obeisances, like Galliard drawing precise attention to the placement of the hand and carriage of the body.
Brome's character takes his place in a long tradition of foreigners represented on the English stage with greater and lesser degrees of criticism. Many of the terms Galliard uses in this speech ('reverence', 'obeisance') are to be found in books of instruction on dance and deportment, such de Lauze's Apologie de la danse (1623) and satirised in a work like the earl of Newcastle's The Variety (1649; possibly performed in 1641).
Exploring the speech with actors, the speech was tried in two substantially different ways: with one actor speaking the lines while another demonstrated the postures; and again with a single actor both speaking and displaying . The presence of an onstage audience was crucial, but so equally was direct acknowledgement of the audience in the theatre.
Even without the actors' memorising the lines and in the conditions of a first reading, it was clear in exploring the scene that the speech offers the actor the opportunity to dominate the conclusion of Act Four with a bravura display. Actor or actors occupied the centre of attention, archly toying with an implicit sexuality that becomes more explicit by the line. The onstage audience, suitably furnished, provides the actor with each successive property mentioned in the speech: coat, callet, black-bag, perrule, girdle-glass, and black patches. The physical fluency of the display matches the verbal energy of the speech, driven forward by lists, repetitions, and the confident structure of a practised 'spiel'.
Involvement of the audience in the theatre allowed the actors to emphasise the degree to which this speech is a highpoint of the play's commentary on the underlying purposes of the cultivation of fashionable manners and clothing. The actors could play with the implication that members of the audience, ostensibly there for innocent entertainment, might themselves be engaging in display, not least with sexual intent.
,
n6941
Discourses of instruction on contemporary courtly culture frequently treat dancing and deportment together. The principal example is François de Lauze, Apologie de la danse (1623), which is dedicated to George Villiers, at that time Marquess (later duke) of Buckingham. Before giving physical instructions, Lauze outlines his philosophy of the dance, making grand claims for the importance of bodily deportment in the creation of a civil society: 'Seneque dict, que si la nature nous a donne l'estre nou sommes redeuables a l'estude de la vertu du bien estre, & i'ose sans rougir enchirer la dessus que le seul exercice de la danse peut non seulment arracher les mauuaises actions qu'vne negligente nourriture auroit enracinee, mais donner encore vn maintien & vne grace que nous disons entregent, & que ie peux appeller proprement le bel estre, chose tout a faict necessaire a quiconque veut rendre son port & son abort agreable dans le monde' (Seneca said that, since Nature has given us our Being, we owe to her the study of the science of Well-Being, and I dare, without blushing, to elaborate thereupon. For the sole exercise of the dance is able, not only to eradicate the bad actions which a negligent upbringing has ingrained, but gives a decorum and a grace which we call Civility, and which I am able to call properly le bel estre (elegant presence), a thing absolutely necessary to whosoever wishes to render his deportment and his approach agreeable in society' (Apologie de la danse ed. and tr. Joan Wildeblood [London: Frederick Muller, 1952], pp. 67-69). As well as instructing in dancing, Lauze gives directions for bows, reverences, and obeisances, like Galliard drawing precise attention to the placement of the hand and carriage of the body.
Brome's character takes his place in a long tradition of foreigners represented on the English stage with greater and lesser degrees of criticism. Many of the terms Galliard uses in this speech ('reverence', 'obeisance') are to be found in books of instruction on dance and deportment, such de Lauze's Apologie de la danse (1623) and satirised in a work like the earl of Newcastle's The Variety (1649; possibly performed in 1641).
Exploring the speech with actors, the speech was tried in two substantially different ways: with one actor speaking the lines while another demonstrated the postures
; and again with a single actor both speaking and displaying . The presence of an onstage audience was crucial, but so equally was direct acknowledgement of the audience in the theatre. Even without the actors' memorising the lines and in the conditions of a first reading, it was clear in exploring the scene that the speech offers the actor the opportunity to dominate the conclusion of Act Four with a bravura display.
Actor or actors occupied the centre of attention, archly toying with an implicit sexuality that becomes more explicit by the line. The onstage audience, suitably furnished, provides the actor with each successive property mentioned in the speech: coat, callet, black-bag, perrule, girdle-glass, and black patches. The physical fluency of the display matches the verbal energy of the speech, driven forward by lists, repetitions, and the confident structure of a practised 'spiel'. Involvement of the audience in the theatre allowed the actors to emphasise the degree to which this speech is a highpoint of the play's commentary on the underlying purposes of the cultivation of fashionable manners and clothing. The actors could play with the implication that members of the audience, ostensibly there for innocent entertainment, might themselves be engaging in display, not least with sexual intent.
The proper motion of the head, hand, leg,
To every several degree of person,
From the peasant unto the potentate;
To your inferiors how and when to use the nod,
The hum, the ha, the frown, the smile,
Upon the fit occasion; and to your equals,
The exactest, newest, and familiar motions
Of eye, of hand, of knee, of arm and shoulder,
That are in garbe, in congee, cringe, or shrug,*n4872
Garbe = graceful and stylish bearing
Congee = ceremonious leave taking
Cringe = a deferential obeisance. In William Hawkins's Apollo Shroving Gingle says, 'No man can be a compleat Gentleman till he have learnt their [the French] cringes and crinkling i' th' hams' (p. 59).
Shrug = a movement of one or more shoulders. In William Hawkins's Apollo Shroving Gingle is told by his master Complement that 'you have not got [your shrug] perfect yet', and he explains: 'A hundred to one you shrugged with but one shoulder' and recommends that he buy a second mirror, so that 'you may at once see your motion in your shrug both before and behind' (p. 71). He explains, 'there are diverse kinds of shrugs, there is the Miser's shrug ...; there is the Beggar's shrug .... There is a winter shrug .... There is a drowsy shrug .... And lastly, there is a gentle Italian shrug. ... The last and only gentle shrug, is the Italian shrug. ... That shrug is performed by lifting up both shoulders exactly together with one uniform motion, somewhat swift, and holding them a while in suspense, with the neck somewhat couching, and the chin thrust out, then the shoulders are to be let down again, as it were by a double pulley, with a slow motion, which by degrees vanished. And if you will accomplish it with a grace, you must all the while cast your eyes into a leering posture' (pp. 71-72). This is a fine description of a motion well known still (as a Gallic shrug); it is doubtless this Galliard will be teaching.
n4872
Congee = ceremonious leave taking
Cringe = a deferential obeisance. In William Hawkins's Apollo Shroving Gingle says, 'No man can be a compleat Gentleman till he have learnt their [the French] cringes and crinkling i' th' hams' (p. 59).
Shrug = a movement of one or more shoulders. In William Hawkins's Apollo Shroving Gingle is told by his master Complement that 'you have not got [your shrug] perfect yet', and he explains: 'A hundred to one you shrugged with but one shoulder' and recommends that he buy a second mirror, so that 'you may at once see your motion in your shrug both before and behind' (p. 71). He explains, 'there are diverse kinds of shrugs, there is the Miser's shrug ...; there is the Beggar's shrug .... There is a winter shrug .... There is a drowsy shrug .... And lastly, there is a gentle Italian shrug. ... The last and only gentle shrug, is the Italian shrug. ... That shrug is performed by lifting up both shoulders exactly together with one uniform motion, somewhat swift, and holding them a while in suspense, with the neck somewhat couching, and the chin thrust out, then the shoulders are to be let down again, as it were by a double pulley, with a slow motion, which by degrees vanished. And if you will accomplish it with a grace, you must all the while cast your eyes into a leering posture' (pp. 71-72). This is a fine description of a motion well known still (as a Gallic shrug); it is doubtless this Galliard will be teaching.
In common courtesy or compliment.
Lastly, for your addresses to superiors.
The honours†gs941
obeisance; bows or curtsies (OED honour n, 5b; obsolete)
, reverence†gs942
a gesture indicative of respect; an obeisance; a bow or curtsy (OED reverence n, 2)
, or obeisances†gg4394
an act or gesture expressing submission or deferential respect, usually a bending or prostration of the body; a respectful salutation; a bow or curtsy (OED obeisance n, 3)
,
gs941
gs942
gg4394
Proper unto the quality or estate
Of person whatsoever. And so much
For carriage and behaviour. In the next place
You shall have rules for the more graceful wearing
Of your apparel, with the natural reasons
Why some man’s hat does better in his hand
Than on his head, and why his coat hangs neater
Upon his elbow, than upon his back,
As also reasons for tunes*n5110
The exact meaning of this phrase is elusive. 'Tune' may be being used figuratively, with the sense of 'holding a tune' or being 'in' or 'out of tune'. Galliard moves from the fashions of outward dress -- the mysteries of why clothes look well on some people but awkward on others -- to something more obviously critical, the 'reasons for ... marriages'. Perhaps the reasons for marriage are as mysterious, even arbitrary, as those for various fashions, including the reasons why certain tunes or songs suddenly become popular.
'For tunes' is set as two words in the original. But does the audience also hear 'fortunes'? In this play, most of the marriages are based on the need to marry money.
bringing up,
n5110
'For tunes' is set as two words in the original. But does the audience also hear 'fortunes'? In this play, most of the marriages are based on the need to marry money.
And marriages, together of the fashions
Of man and woman, how his callet†gg3422
a variant of 'calotte', meaning a small decorative cap (though Brome perhaps intends us to hear a feint pun on 'callet', a scold or lewd woman)
, and her
gg3422
Black-bag*n4873
No contemporary definition of the 'black bag' has been found, but the term appears frequently in contemporary literary texts (I am grateful to Lucy Munro for adding numerous instances to the few I had collected). It appears to be the term for a woman's black head covering, as seen in a number of representations, serious and satirical, of women's fashions [IMAGE DM_3_1]. From the references in this play, the fashion seems to be French in origin. As well as Dr. Munro, I am grateful to Susan North of the Victoria and Albert Museum for her attempts to trace the 'black bag' in early seventeenth-century clothing and for her advice on further research; and to Jenny Tiramani.
came on together*n5111
The rapid repetition of 'came' seems emphatic and Galliard's instances all seem close to synecdoche, bringing the attributes of men and women together in order to suggest sexual union, often illicit: 'his walking in the streets without a cloak / And her without a man came up together'.
; how his pocketcomb,
n4873
n5111
To order her black pashes†gg3424
probably a variant spelling of 'patch' or 'pache': a small piece of black velvet attached to the skin as an ornament or to cover an unsightly blemish; these pashes or patches were becoming popular and fashionable in England in the early seventeenth century
, came together;
gg3424
How his walking in the streets without a cloak
And her without a man came up together;
Of these, and of a hundred more the like,
We shall demonstrate reasons and instructions
Shall render you most graceful in each fashion.
The next are skills in instruments, song, and dancing.
991StrigoodEnough, those shall be made familiar to you
SONG.*n5202
No song text is given in the original. The singers are offstage, singing from above, and the plot gives reasons for this: Joyce and Gabriella might be recognised by Joyce's father, Matchil, even though they would be masked.
Brome may, however, be making use of the structure of the playhouse and the sensory experience of sound coming from different parts of the playing area, as he sometimes does in other plays. This scene is one in which a wide variety of different kinds of performance experiences is offered to the audience, both onstage and in the auditorium: dialogue, music, and dance. Having the song heard but the singers not seen at stage level may help Brome to highlight the variety.
n5202
Brome may, however, be making use of the structure of the playhouse and the sensory experience of sound coming from different parts of the playing area, as he sometimes does in other plays. This scene is one in which a wide variety of different kinds of performance experiences is offered to the audience, both onstage and in the auditorium: dialogue, music, and dance. Having the song heard but the singers not seen at stage level may help Brome to highlight the variety.
992WhimlbyAdmirable pretty, still.
993ErasmusAre these your gentlewomen’s voices, sir?
994StrigoodThey are.
995ValentineWhat, do you keep ’em up like nuns*n5112
Strigood has already been said to be suspected of popery.
,
n5112
To sing and not be seen?
996StrigoodNot always, sir.*n4874
Strigood hints that the women may sometimes be available, clearly for sexual liaisons.
n4874
But may it please ye, gentlemen and ladies,
Now to observe the practice of our feet
In active dancing.
997NehemiahThat came I to learn,
And to speak French: do you think, sir, you can bring
My mouth to handle the French tongue*n4875
As before, Nehemiah's wish to learn to speak French is expressed in ways that make his desire seem more sexual.
handsomely?
n4875
998Lady NestlecockHe’s apt to learn, sir, I can tell you that.
999GalliardYes, I shall bring his mout to it. But his mout
is yet a leetel too wide*n4876
To be wide-mouthed is to be a boaster, a loud-mouth, impolite and unsophisticated.
. But he shall have some of de water dat de woman use for anoder ting*n4877
Galliard seems to suggest that forcing Nehemiah to drink some water used by women to wash their genitalia would force him to purse his lips, thus getting him to pronounce French better.
, to bring it better together; and he shall speak like de Fransh
Lady*n8923
Galliard's whole speech has been leading up to this moment, when he insults Nehemiah by likening him to a woman.
.
n4876
n4877
n8923
1000NehemiahPray, sir, if you can, like the lady’s daughter of
Paris, properly.*n6590
Nehemiah's innocent enthusiasm is comedic in that he ignores the seeming suggestion of prostitution and the implicit insult to his masculinity in suggesting that he will speak like a Parisian woman.
n6590
1001Erasmus [Aside to VALENTINE] Now Val, thou knowest the way*n5113
Erasmus agrees with Cash's earlier statement that the way to manipulate Lady Nestlecock is by gross flattery of her idiot son Nehemiah. He urges Valentine to seize the opportunity to ingratiate himself.
.
n5113
1002ValentineI wonder, sir, ’mongst all your arts and sciences
You have so little judgement in a face.
Does his mouth appear wide to you? What false glass
Are your eyes made of?
1003[Galliard]*n5126
Gab The compositor has misread Gal., assigning this speech to Gabriella; it should be Galliard's, as he begins to react to Valentine's aggression. The National Art Library Dyce 25.E.45 ms. annotator makes this emendation.
What you mean?*n5127
The phrase continues Galliard's broken English and so is unamended.
n5126
n5127
1004ErasmusNay, friend.
1005StrigoodPray, sir, take no offence. Here was none meant.
1006ValentineSlander is no offence, then. He has injured,
By breathing an aspersion on that face,
The life of beauty, and the soul of sweetness.
Wide mouth Y –.*n4878
It is not clear what is meant here by the typographical symbol 'Y'. It could represent an in instruction to the actor to make a wide-mouthed face; it could suggest that the actor say 'why ...?'. Or it could be the beginning of 'yourself', which would explain Galliard's response.
n4878
1007GalliardBegar, Monsieur, you shall no point out mouth,
no, nor out-face the Frensh man with your great bullbeef and mustard English looks*n5552
Galliard here deploys a stereotype, used particularly by the French, of the English as 'les Rosbifs', drawing on their presumed diet of roast beef. This stereotype is adopted by the English enthusiastically in the early eighteenth century, as in Henry Fielding's song 'The Roast Beef of Old England', from The Grub Street Opera (1731) and William Hogarth's satiric print contrasting the fat and vigorous English with the scrawny and malnourished French, The Gate of Calais (1748), which used the first line of Fielding's song as its popular title. Most accounts of the stereotype reach no further back than the turn of the eighteenth century, but Galliard's insult demonstrates its currency considerably earlier.
.
n5552
1008ErasmusNay, gentle Val, forbear.
1009ValentineI’ll stop
Against a tittle of his face or person.
But as he is an ignorant stranger and
I must respect the company, I forbear.
1010Lady NestlecockHowever, sir, I can but thank your love in t.
1011Erasmus [Aside] Now it works in her.
1012ValentinePardon my plainness, madam.
I never was so ta’en with masculine beauty.
And till I win a woman that is like him,
Or has been like him, I can but languish.
1013Lady NestlecockThey told me I was like him, when I was
younger*n8924
There may be a theatrical joke here: both Lady Nestlecock and Nehemiah are being played by boys, probably of much the same age.
. Aside
n8924
And let me tell you, you’re a comely gentleman.
And be you but as honest as you’re handsome, you deserve well.
1014ValentineUmm, ’tis a hard matter to bring those ends together.
1015NehemiahMother, f’sooth, here’s a man now for you to
make my father
Beyond the knight or Ephraim!
1016Lady NestlecockWere I free from the old knight, I could look
well upon him.
1017Rachel [Aside to VALENTINE] Come, servant, come away.*n4880
Rachel has realised that Valentine is abandoning her for Lady Nestlecock, a better and likelier prize. She tries to control him using the 'mistress / servant' rhetoric of courtly love, without success.
n4880
1018Valentine [Aside to RACHEL] By no means, mistress, I do but sooth her up
If you out-stay her not, you lose your honour.
She’ll brag she has out-looked you, if you start.*n5556
Valentine goads Rachel into staying to continue the argument by telling her that whoever leaves first in effect concedes defeat. Rachel is determined not to lose status in the confrontation with her new sister-in-law.
n5556
1019Rachel [Aside to VALENTINE] Nay, and she go to that, I hope I can
Look as ill favouredly as herself, or a better
Woman than she, and stay in spite of her, ha.
1020Valentine [Aside to RACHEL] ’Tis well done, mistress. [Aloud to LADY NESTLECOCK] Madam, shall I tell you?
But I would pray you not to storm, but laugh
At it: she says you are no match for me.
1021Lady NestlecockHa, ha, ha.
1022Valentine [Aside to LADY NESTLECOCK] And knowing I aim at none but some great widow,
Tells me she knows her husband’s but short-lived.
I fear she means to break his heart.
1023Lady Nestlecock [Aside to VALENTINE] Say you so?
1024Valentine [Aside to LADY NESTLECOCK] No words, good madam.
1025WhimlbyYet more whispering*n5114
Whimlby, like Rachel, has realized that Valentine and Lady Nestlecock are engaging in sexual negotiation and that he is losing the attention of his prospective bride.
.
n5114
Pray, madam, let us go. Niece, come away,
For I fear, madam, as you wisely doubted,
This is no company for us.
1026Lady NestlecockSir, I hope
I am not yet so tied, but I may safely
Use my own freedom. I’ll go when I please.
1027WhimlbyO Grissel, Grissel, when would’st thou have
said so?
1028Blith [Aside] Love’s power, I hope, hath won on destiny
T’appoint this day for my delivery.
1029ErasmusNay, good Sir Swithin – ladies – we have yet
Dancing to come, and a collation promised.
Enter CAMELION
1030StrigoodYes, gallants, now we’re ready, we but stayed
for this fourth man here.
1031ValentineO, Camelion,
Where is your wife? I hope your jealousy
Locks her not up.
1032CamelionPish, Honi soit. I hate it.
No, she has been preparing of a banquet,
Which now is ready for you, worthy Master Lightfoot,
And your fair company. Jealousy! I defy
The base horn ague*n4881
the disease of being in fear of a wife's infidelity. The association of cuckoldry and horns was such that Cuckold's Point (or Haven), a few miles downriver from the City of London, was marked with a pole topped by animal horns, a frequent reference in literature of the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods. See
, Master Askal, I.
n4881
1033Lady NestlecockWhat does he call you? Rascal?
1034ValentineAskal, madam,
My name is Askal. But the R in master
Runs into’t so, that sometimes it sounds doubtful.
I must be knighted, Euphoniœ gratia.*n4882
For the sake of euphony or pleasantness of sound
n4882
Sir Valentine Askal will come fairly off.
1035CamelionNow note me, Master Askal, and tell me, if ever
jealous man come so lightly off?
Dance.
Enter HANNAH*n6170
Hannah's entry has been moved. In the 1659 edition she enters before the stage direction for the dance.
n6170
1036HannahSir, your collation stays.
1037Strigood’Tis well. Gallants and ladies,
Wilt please you enter?
1038[Joyce, Gabriella, Cash, Papillion, Galliard, Whimlby, Lady Nestlecock, Nehemiah, Blith, Erasmus, Valentine, and Rachel]*n6960
1659: 'Omn.'
Agreed, agreed, of all sides.All exit
n6960
Edited by Michael Leslie