ACT FIVE
5.1*
n11204
After the problem-solving rush of the previous scene, the fifth and final act slows pace as it sorts out the many remaining entanglements in the plot. Its first scene opens abruptly enough as OFFA, in violation of his previous promise to restrain his incestuous desires for three days, makes another attempt on his sister’s virtue. Just in time to save MILDRED from dishonour and/or death, EDITH enters to report the return from death of Anthynus – that is, Osric, unrecognised in his own royal person: like the Northumbrians, the West Saxons mistake the one man for the other. The women depart, giving Offa space for a brief soliloquy of devious and dastardly speculation. OSRIC enters, accompanied by his courtier ALFRID and a quintet of Offa’s household retainers, one of whom enters separately from the other four. Mistaking his royal guest for his own virtuous brother, Offa accuses him of murdering their father and orders the servants to attack. However, ARNOLD, the servant who has been distinguished from the others, refuses to shortcircuit due process of law, whereupon the new arrivals are escorted off to prison, there to await trial. Winding up the scene with another short soliloquy, Offa evinces satisfaction over the latest turn of events and concludes in a silly couplet. The second scene introduces three new characters: a CARPENTER, a MASON and a SMITH break into the subterranean chamber which they have built in Offa’s house. Brome builds in repeated reminders that the scene is dark; and, for reasons which he barely bothers to explain within the dramatic fiction, the trio are disguised as devils. Expecting to find treasure below the trap-door, the burglars instead bring up the two OUTLAWS whom Offa imprisoned there to starve to death. The darkness of the scene, the disguise of the burglars and the hunger of the prisoners occasion confusions. Intruders and prisoners resolve to depart the house together, but their departure is interrupted by the entrance of MILDRED, now pursued by EDITH, whom she persuades to accompany her in flight from Offa’s house and incestuous advances. Identities are again mistaken; and resolutions to escape are again made but then qualified by yet another entrance: this time it is made by OFFA, now losing his wits in wickedness and not seeing very well in the darkness. As the other seven characters slip by and exit ensemble, Offa remains to wind up the scene with another soliloquy, in which he determines merely to return to bed. The third scene returns to OSRIC, imprisoned with his travelling companion ALFRID, but now visited by ETHELSWIC and EDELBERT, who explain the displacement of his royal Northumbrian person by his aristocratic West Saxon double Anthynus. MILDRED arrives (with EDITH) to visit the prisoner. Thinking Osric to be Anthynus but also thinking Anthynus not to be her brother in blood, she has come to declare her love and to propose marriage, provided that he can prove that he has not committed parricide. He, recognising her as the subject of the portrait with which he became obsessed early in the play, replies in amorous kind. Within a dozen speeches (one of them indicating the presence of a priest in the next room), another wedding is about to take place, but Edith intervenes to say that Anthynus and Mildred are indeed siblings. The prison KEEPER enters to report that Queen Bertha has returned with her new husband, that Offa has gone mad, and that the prisoner is summoned to trial, for which all set off. The fourth scene, the last in the play, begins as the very first scene did, with BERTHA making a regal entry, to the sound of hautboys and in company with courtiers. This time, however, only two of the four courtiers are hers (KELRIC and ELKWIN): the other courtiers who enter with her are Northumbrian Lords (THEODWALD, EAUFRID, THEODRIC). This time, morever, Bertha is accompanied by a consort – who only appears to be the King of Northumbria. When ANTHYNUS reveals his true identity, Bertha defers to him as her husband. The KEEPER and a GUARD lead in the group who were last seen leaving prison, whereupon the Northumbrian courtiers all recognise OSRIC as their king. OFFA, bound in a chair, is carried on by ARNOLD and a SERVANT to rant about judicial corruption and to be reported to have accused himself of both the murder of Segebert and also the attempted rape of Mildred. Offa’s guilt in parricidal attempt – albeit not achievement – is confirmed by the entry of SEGEBERT with the HERMIT, the HERMIT’s SERVANT, OUTLAW 1, and JEFFREY: the Fool has found the others in the wilderness. (The identification of the Hermit as the exiled Alberto is despatched in two brief speeches.) Having delivered them to the court and discussed his reward with the Queen, Jeffrey departs with Offa and the madman’s two attendants. General pardon is granted to Outlaw 1 and his absent partners in crime. Queen Bertha proposes a month of hospitality and wedding festivity; King Osric accepts the invitation and implies a reciprocation; Anthynus gets the last word, which could stand as a summary description of tragicomic effect; and at least eighteen figures make the final exit.
n11204
Enter MILDRED [pursued by] OFFA.
667MildredHelp, help! Oh help!
668OffaYour cries will be in vain.
’Tis not in the power of any flesh but yours
To allay, or to prevent my heat of blood.
669MildredO you diviner powers that ordained chastity
To be a virtue, lend your strength to guard it!
670OffaThy cries shall be as fruitless as thy life
If thou offend’st me with ’em. Hear but this,
But to conceive a disobedient thought
Against my will. Canst thou without my favour†gg201
goodwill, kindness; partiality, approval, encouragement
gg201
Be better than a beggar?
671MildredYet a beggar
Is better than a whore.
672OffaHow canst thou judge
That knowst not what is either? Let a wench
That knows what’s what, or has been both, maintain it;
But this is from the purpose. I am so far
From casting of thee off to be a beggar,
As I intend to make thee my rich equal,
And not a whore, but wife. You know your Nurse
Has undertaken to find it lawful for us
To marry; and canst thou with modesty
Shall confer honour on thee for thy life?
673MildredWould you first spoil my honour to repair it?
674Offa’Tis mine when I contract for’t.
675MildredNot before
Our covenant is passed — that is, the priest
Has joined our hearts and hands.
676OffaBy this account,
Nor puts his nose into a house before
He buys the lease on’t. Leave your precise†gg2870
puritanical (from being scrupulous in religious observance)
folly,
gg2870
Madam Formality.†gg6183
propriety; conformity to established rule (OED 6)
Force me not to force thee!
gg6183
Yield with that very breath thou now drawest in,
Or it returns thy last.
Enter EDITH.
677EdithMy Lord, my Lord!
678Offa [Aside] This witch or devil haunts me!
679EdithO my Lord,
A miracle, a miracle!
680OffaWhat, with a mischief?*n11078
The prepositional phrase is a hostile expletive (OED mischief n, 2b): "damn it" or "damn you" would be equivalent. The contrast with Edith's proclamation of a `miracle' would be noticeable in performance.
n11078
681EdithYour brother is survived from death again!*n11138
That is, come back from death, returned from the dead. Edith uses the word `again' in its now-obsolete sense (OED adv, 1a) as `in the opposite direction; back'.
n11138
My Lord Anthynus is come home and safe,
The Heavens be praised!
682MildredOh, grant that it be true!
683Offa [To EDITH] Out, hag!
684EdithNay, run me in as far as you can if I lie,
685OffaWhat canst thou mean by this?
686EdithNay, what he means I knew not, for he denies his name,
Says he is not Anthynus but a Northumbrian gentleman,
And desires conference with my Lady Mildred
From the fine Lord was here (what call you him?)
The King’s great favourite; but if I am I,
If you are you, if anything be anything,
It is Anthynus.
687Offa [To MILDRED] Go you to your chamber,
And be not seen, I charge you. [To EDITH] Let him enter,
But first send in my servants.MILDRED [and] EDITH ex[it].*n11076
]Ex. Mildred.Ex.Edith. 1657 Quarto places this stage direction three lines earlier, to the right of the last (half-)line in Edith's speech.
n11076
That faced me down†gs1858
impudently maintained (OED face v, 3a); lied to my teeth
they killed him! May they be
gs1858
A year a-famishing! Have you tricks,†gs1860
stratagems, crafty or fraudulent devices (OED trick n, 1a)
Anthynus?
gs1860
How can he think, though he disguised his name
Or country, that we should not know his person?
What should his aim or drift be? Stay: perhaps
Against my father’s life and his, and thinks him dead,
So steals upon me thus as his own ghost,
But I’ll so fit†gs1125
match, meet (with the additional sense of doing so "fittingly", "aptly")
him —
gs1125
OSRIC [dressed as a pilgrim], ALFRID and four SERVANTS enter [through one stage doorway, and] ARNOLD [enters through the other stage doorway].*n11077
] Enter Osriick, Alfride, four Servants, at the other door Arnold. 1657 Quarto places this entrance half a line later -- after Osric's reaction to it.
n11077
It is most evidently he.
Some of your servants are pleased to make themselves
Merry with a pretended knowledge of me,
I do presume Your Honour cannot know me.
690OsricWhat means Your Honour?
691OffaIt is true, my honour
Cannot — nay, dares not — know thee for a brother,
Although mine eyes through tears of grief and anger
Discern the monster I have often called so.
692OsricThis is most strange.
693Offa [To SERVANTS] Look that he come not near me!
[To OSRIC] Perfidious†gs1861
treacherous
parricide,†gg1563
father-murderer
hast thou killed my father,
gs1861
gg1563
Destroyed the life that gave thee life, and now
Seek’st by surprise†gg6187
sudden attack (OED v. 1)
to take mine too?
gg6187
694OsricPray hear me.
695Offa [To SERVANTS] Upon him all at once! Hew him in pieces!
I’ll bear you out in’t.*n11079
Urging his attendants to fall upon the visitor whom he thinks to be Anthynus, Offa promises to support the attack (OED bear v, 12a). The audience may recall Offa's blustering cowardice in combat with the true Anthynus in [QE 2.3.speech283], where he also had numerical advantage.
He has killed your Lord.
n11079
696OsricForbear†gs712
cease, refrain (from)
your outrage.†gs1862
violent behaviour; insolence (OED n. 1a)
gs712
gs1862
698Offa [To SERVANTS] Villains, are they to be obeyed or I?
699ArnoldMy Lord, your judgement is too rash upon them.
You shall not so heap blood upon your head.
I loved my Lord your father, and do prize
His blood and memory, as becomes a servant
Of the best rank; and if at most and worst
My Lord Anthynus here stand guilty of
His father’s death, you must not be his judge,
Nor we his executioners.
700OffaAre you
Become my master, you old ruffian?
701ArnoldNo:
Your servant, sir, but subject to the law,
The law that must determine this man’s cause,
Not you, nor we, whatever he deserves;
We’ll find a prison for him.
702ServantAye, to prison with him!
704ArnoldPray heaven we be, as you may clear yourself:
That’s all the harm we wish you. [To OFFA] This must be
Your course, my Lord. Would you heap blood upon you?
705AlfridLet me but speak a word.
706ArnoldAs we go, twenty.
707OffaAway with ’em![ARNOLD exits with OSRIC and ALFRID, guarded by SERVANTS.]*n11081
] Exeunt. [They go out.] Wood: Exeunt all except Offa.
n11081
I could have liked the other, shorter, way
Much better; but my knaves will have it thus.
Yet not to wrong ’em, simple honesty
May be in such sometimes as well as me.Exit [OFFA].
5.2
n11103
Giving no indication of scene divisions for Act 5 after the initial `Act. V.Scen.I.', 1657 Quarto does not mark a scene break here, nor does Wood add one. However, Offa's exit has completely depopulated the stage; and the time now changes (from day to night), while the venue shifts (from somewhere in Offa's household to somewhere else, probably belowstairs, there). The workshop session for this scene on 28 June 2007 culminated in a rough-costumed run-through. After only an hour's work with the actors and even on an inappropriate stage, this run-through demonstrated the comic structure and force of the scene so persuasively that the entirety of it has been incorporated into this edition The video material which is used with reference to particular points in the scene was recorded, without costumes, earlier in the same session.
n11103
The video material which is used with reference to particular points in the scene was recorded, without costumes, earlier in the same session. Enter CARPENTER, MASON, SMITH, [who are costumed as] devils*n11082
]in devils habits. 1657 Quarto's phrase implies the existence, not just of an established iconography for devils, but of recognisable costumes for actors playing them. Precisely where these thieving workmen may be supposed to have procured their outfits is not indicated, but this consideration is quite minor alongside other implausibilities in this scene. Such a costume appears to be represented on the illustrated title page of Thomas Middleton and William Rowley's masque The World Tossed at Tennis. Performed by the Prince Charles' (I) Men early in the 1620s, this masque was played by Beeston's Boys at the Cockpit/Phoenix in 1639. [On this point of costume, see R.A.Foakes, Illustrations of the English Stage 1580-1642 (London: Scolar Press, 1985), 120-1.] The workmen's devil costumes in The Queen's Exchange, however, must incorporate cloaks (or loose coats) for their concealment of Mildred and Edith later in the scene [QE 5.2.speech751]; and the masque image shows nothing of the sort.
[and bring with them]*n11141
] with
two dark-lanthorns,†gg6189
lanterns with slides or other arrangements by which light can be concealed (OED dark-lantern)
a pickaxe and a rope, with
an engine†gs1863
mechanical contrivance (OED 4)
fastened to a post,*n11200
In an article on `Descent Machinery in the Playhouses’, John Astington cites this scene as evidence `that a man could be lowered and lifted by a fairly simple portable device’ and speculates that Brome `perhaps took his idea from contemporary burglars’ techniques’. One device which Astington considers is `a crane arm (the “Post” ) and attached windlass’: this is rejected as `fairly awkward for two men to manage’. Astington thinks it `more likely that the “Engine” and “Rope” are blocks and tackle, and that the “Post ” is some kind of frame from which the tackle could be made to hang’ (Medieval & Renaissance Drama in England, 2 [1986], 123-4). Either device, however, would have to be capable of sustaining the weight of two men and would be cumbersome for the actors to carry as a personal prop. The syntax of the stage direction invites the hypothesis that the device awaits them onstage: `Enter Carpenter, Mason, Smith in Divels habits; two Lanthorns, a Pickaxe and a rope, with an Engine fastned to a post, and a bunch of picklocks.’ The prepositional phrase `with an Engine fastned to a post’ could function merely as an explanation of the rope which is part of their portable equipment. In their Dictionary of Stage Directions in English Drama 1580-1642 Alan Dessen and Leslie Thomson take this post to be `one of the stage posts or pillars supporting the heavens'. If that is what it is, however, then it is a late instance: this phrase from The Queen's Exchange is the next to latest example they give, William Rider's The Twins being the only other play from the 1630s to be cited for this sense. The presence of stage pillars in any of the theatres for which Brome is likely to have written The Queen's Exchange is far from certain, however, and it may be that in this instance the term designates some other architectural feature. (The frontispiece to Francis Kirkman’s The Wits appears to show a performance underway on a stage, which may be that of the Red Bull Theatre: the gallery above the stage in this image is divided by posts, two on either side.) The post might even have been a piece of stage furniture. (A woodcut on the title-page of the 1620 quarto imprint of Swetnam the Woman-hater Arraigned by Women, performed at the Red Bull, shows the trial scene in Act 4 of the play. The foreground of the image is dominated by an elaborately turned post, six to six and a half feet high, which forms part of the improvised bar at which Swetnam is arraigned. It also sees service as a tree.) On the other hand, the syntax of the stage direction also permits the hypothesis that the burglars do indeed carry on all their burgling gear: the latter half of the Carpenter’s long speech ([QE 5.2.speech 714]) would give them just about enough time to set up their engine, and his next speech ([QE 5.2.speech717]) could cue some quick testing of its safety. This hypothesis raises the problem of whether or not the burglars would dismantle the mechanism and carry it away when they exit: as two of them will each be concealing another actor under his costume, and trying to walk in tandem with that companion, their getting the engine offstage looks unlikely. However, if the thing were to remain onstage (a possibility on either hypothesis), then it might well be put to further use by the actor of Offa during his comically crazed soliloquy ([QE 5.2.speech769]) at the end of this scene.
and a bunch of picklocks.
n11082
n11141
gg6189
gs1863
n11200
708MasonPrithee, tread softly yet a little further, and we are safe.
710CarpenterI never knew thieves so timorous†gg2373
fearful
as you are.
Can we expect a booty without boldness? Besides, have we not shapes†gs1864
costumes
if we were spied, able to fright better believers than my politic†gg5893
cunning, scheming
lord o’th’ house here?
gg2373
gs1864
gg5893
711MasonHark, prithee!
713SmithI pray it prove so.
714CarpenterPray on, I prithee. Prayers become this coat, like swearing in a surplice.†gg6191
loose, wide-sleeved vestment of white linen worn by clerics, choristers, and others taking part in church services (OED)
*n11105
The speaker and his companions are wearing devil outfits, so the analogy is ironic: praying when one is costumed as a devil is as indecorous as swearing when one is dressed for church services.
Tush, they are all, all the whole house, asleep, and I heard nothing as we passed
through it, but usual†gg6190
ordinary (OED adj. 3a)
sleepy sounds,
puffing and blowing, snorting, farting, and such like. Yes, I cry mercy,†gs1866
beg pardon (sarcastically)
as we passed by the butler’s chamber, I heard his bed crackle shrewdly,†gs1867
sharply, harshly (OED adv. 3)
and I doubt†gs1868
suspect (OED v. 6b)
the dairymaid
and he were jumbling of a posset together.*n11083
The literal statement is that the couple were shaking up a warm beverage incorporating milk, alcohol, sweetener and flavouings -- a kind of syllabub or eggnog. The figurative sense is of course that they were engaged in vigorous sexual copulation. The image is multiply appropriate: the dairymaid has an occupational association with milk products; the transferred sense of the verb `to jostle' as `to fuck' goes back to at least the early 15th century; and possets were variously associated with bedtime -- as soporifics, as aphrodisiacs, and as post-partum restoratives.
Come, now we
are safely arrived at the fountain of our hopes, the well of comfort. Smith, lay down
your picklocks:n11106
Picklocks are instruments for picking locks (OED): a ring of them is the only part of this team's burgling gear which is potentially noisy. When this possibility emerged in the workshop session on this scene, it was seen to serve both characterisation of the Smith and comic business: this soft-hearted coward, unable to to control his fearful trembling, persisted in noisily shaking his picklocks. See clip
they have done well their office in our passage hither. Mason, advance
your pickaxe, whilst the carpenter squares†gs1871
marks out in rectangular form (OED square v, 1c and 1d)
out our new work. Now, for the honour
of artificers! Here, here, here is the trap-door,*n11104
As for the first scene in the preceding act [QE 4.1.speech532], a functional trap is required for this scene.
the mouth of the rich mine,
which we’ll make bold to open. And let men of our occupations learn the way
that many grow rich by, and nobody knows how they come by their wealth.That is,
when they make such concavities as these, for rich men to hide their treasure in,
that they make also a privy way for themselves to come and take a share on’t.*n11107
The carpenter claims that it is common practice for builders to moonlight as burglars: returning to their own work as insider raiders, they secure access to subterranean treasuries via hidden routes which they have incorporated in these constructions.
gg6191
n11105
gg6190
gs1866
gs1867
gs1868
n11083
n11106
gs1871
n11104
n11107
715MasonThis covetous lord by this time has laid in an unknown deal of wealth, I warrant you.
716SmithBut we’ll not take away too much at once.
717CarpenterNo, we’ll but piddle:†gg6192
nibble; mess about (OED v. 1c and 1a)
we’ll not
take above†gs216
more than
a thousand
pounds*n11136
Wood points out that the Carpenter's estimate is `an anachronistic reference to Caroline currency'. According to the National Archives' online currency converter, £1000 in 1630 would now (17 August 2009) be worth £89,160.
tonight. ([CARPENTER] opens [entrance to trap]) So: I’ll go
down, and when I shake the rope, then crane me up again. Give me one of the lanthorns. [CARPENTER,
holding dark lantern with one hand and the rope with the other, positions himself to descend into the trap] So, so, so, let me down handsomely.†gs1136
carefully, gently (OED 3b)
I’ll
warrant†gg859
assure, promise
you money, the devil and all before
day yet. [CARPENTER drops out of sight.]
gg6192
gs216
n11136
gs1136
gg859
718SmithNay, if we get off clear*n11108
escape clean away
but with a thousand
pound amongst us, it will serve for drinking money till we come for more.
n11108
719MasonThis money will come luckily for a better purpose. I have three bastards at
nurse and a fourth in the panniers.*n11109
The speaker has fathered four illegitimate children by as many different women: three are young enough that they are still being breastfed, and a fourth is as yet in utero. Panniers being baskets or other containers used for transporting food or other commodities, the Mason's phrase is the equivalent of `a bun in the oven'. Middleton had embodied the joke in A Chaste Maid in Cheapside (performed [1612], printed 1630): a character identified only as `Wench' disposes of a unwanted infant by hiding it under a leg of mutton in a basket which she gets other characters to take from her.
The rope stirs. Pull lustily, this pull for
a thousand pound.
n11109
(OUTLAW [2] comes up.)
720SmithI fear ’tis light†gs1872
below standard weight (OED adj. 1b) -- and thus probably counterfeit or clipped coinage
gold:†gg6195
coin(s) made of gold; large sums of money (OED gold 1, 2a)
methinks he does not weigh so heavy as he went down. Comrade, what hast thou brought?
What ail’st thou? Canst not speak? I hope thou wert not frighted.
gs1872
gg6195
721Outlaw [2]*n11110
]1.Outl. (Wood: Second Outlaw) Of the three Outlaws in Offa's employ during 2.2, the first was rescued by the Hermit and his Servant at the end of that scene. His companions, who said nothing in 2.2, are labelled 1 and 2 by 1657 Quarto when they speak in 4.1 and 5.2: they have been renumbered 2 and 3.
Oh help! Where am I? drawn from one hell into another? Ha!
n11110
722MasonCome, leave your fooling! What money have you?
723Outlaw [2]*n11110
]1.Outl. (Wood: Second Outlaw) Of the three Outlaws in Offa's employ during 2.2, the first was rescued by the Hermit and his Servant at the end of that scene. His companions, who said nothing in 2.2, are labelled 1 and 2 by 1657 Quarto when they speak in 4.1 and 5.2: they have been renumbered 2 and 3.
Had I the price of kingdoms, I’d give all but†gs29
only
for one bit of meat; but I have none.
n11110
gs29
724Smith’Slid,†gg576
a common seventeenth-century oath derived from an abbreviation of ‘God’s eyelid’ and the idea of the deity’s all-seeing eye
he would cozen†gs896
cheat, defraud
us. How do you look when you lie? Oh me!
gg576
gs896
725MasonWhat ailest thou?
726SmithThis is not he: it is a ghastly†gg6193
pale, death-like, wan; terrible (OED adj. 2 and 1a)
spirit.
gg6193
727Outlaw [2]*n11110
]1.Outl. (Wood: Second Outlaw) Of the three Outlaws in Offa's employ during 2.2, the first was rescued by the Hermit and his Servant at the end of that scene. His companions, who said nothing in 2.2, are labelled 1 and 2 by 1657 Quarto when they speak in 4.1 and 5.2: they have been renumbered 2 and 3.
What? Are you men?
n11110
728MasonYes, but we have played the devils till we have got a spirit betwixt us.*n11198
The Mason's speech is a metatheatrical reference to the story of an extra devil appearing among the actors during a performance of Dr.Faustus. The incident was supposed to have happened decades earlier, before Richard Brome's birth, even before Christopher Marlowe's death. However, William Prynne had invoked it as late as 1633 in his Histrio-Mastix, an attack on the stage with which Brome was evidently familiar. For the relevant passage from Prynne, see G.Wickham, H.Berry and W.Ingram, eds., English Professional Theatre, 1530-1660 (Cambridge University Press, 2000), 303.
n11198
729Outlaw [2]*n11110
]1.Outl. (Wood: Second Outlaw) Of the three Outlaws in Offa's employ during 2.2, the first was rescued by the Hermit and his Servant at the end of that scene. His companions, who said nothing in 2.2, are labelled 1 and 2 by 1657 Quarto when they speak in 4.1 and 5.2: they have been renumbered 2 and 3.
If you be men, help me to food, a little food.
n11110
730MasonWhat art thou that canst look thus pie-pecked, crow-trod, or sparrow-blasted?*n11137
The emaciated appearance of Outlaw 2 suggests to the Mason that the man has been attacked by birds (magpies, crows and sparrows) in unsuccessful competition for food.
Ha!
n11137
731Outlaw [2]*n11110
]1.Outl. (Wood: Second Outlaw) Of the three Outlaws in Offa's employ during 2.2, the first was rescued by the Hermit and his Servant at the end of that scene. His companions, who said nothing in 2.2, are labelled 1 and 2 by 1657 Quarto when they speak in 4.1 and 5.2: they have been renumbered 2 and 3.
Oh, I am pined†gg2188
wasted/exhausted by suffering (OED a)
with hunger!
n11110
gg2188
732MasonHere, stay†gg6194
sustain (OED v2. 1)
thy stomach: there’s a crust I brought to
stop the open mouth of the mastiff†gg2706
‘a breed of large, powerful dog with a broad head, drooping ears, and pendulous lips, used as a guard dog and for fighting’ (OED n. 1a)
if he had flown at us.
gg6194
gg2706
733Carpenter [shouting from within the trap] Oh, pull! Pull away!
734SmithThere he is now, I am sure.
735CarpenterI shall be devoured else.
736MasonWhat’s the matter, fellow?
737CarpenterTake his teeth out o’me! I cannot tell you else.
([MASON and SMITH] pull up CARP[ENTER, with] OUTL[AW 3] hanging on him.)
738MasonOh, cannibal! Wilt thou eat a carpenter?
739Outlaw [3]*n11111
]2.Outl. (Wood: Third Outlaw) Of the three Outlaws in Offa's employ during 2.2, the first was rescued by the Hermit and his Servant at the end of that scene. His companions, who said nothing in 2.2, are labelled 1 and 2 by 1657 Quarto when they speak in 4.1 and 5.2: they have been renumbered 2 and 3.
Oh, meat, meat, if you be men!
n11111
740MasonNo, we are devils, but here’s another crust for thee whate’er*n10361
] what e're
thou art. We have played the thieves to very good purpose.
n10361
741CarpenterHe has gnawed a piece of my flank out with’s teeth and missed very narrowly
certain members†gg5618
parts of the body; sexual organs
of more moment:†gg6196
importance (OED n. 5)
they’d have gone down glibn11112
The Carpenter puns on different senses of `glib' -- as an adverb meaning `easily' or `smoothly' and as a verb meaning `castrate'. The threat to the Carpenter's genitals was visible in the 29 June 2007 workshop session on this scene .
with him. Now,
in the Devil’s name, what are ye?
gg5618
gg6196
n11112
.
742SmithUntil their crusts be done they cannot tell us.
743MasonCome, I do suspect the subtlety†gg5072
craftiness, cunning
of this cruel politic†gs1032
cunning, scheming, crafty
lord. Would we were well out
on’s house. No noise, my masters, and we’ll bring you to meat enough;
and then we’ll hear your story, and tell our own. A word more here may cost all our lives.
gg5072
gs1032
744SmithTake up your tools and lead the way.
745[Mason]*n11139
] Smith 1657 Quarto brackets the entrance of Edith and Mildred with speeches by the Smith. This second speech better befits the Mason, whose minimal characterisation includes a concern, voiced even from his first utterance, about noise levels: see [QE 5.2.speech708], [QE 5.2.speech743]and [QE 5.2.speech747].
Come, softly, softly then.
n11139
Enter MILDRED and EDITH.*n11140
1657 Quarto presents this stage direction a line earlier, between [QE 5.2.speech744] and [QE5.2.speech745].
n11140
746MildredI will away this night.
747MasonPeace, hark.
748EdithBut Madam!
749MildredHad you the only tongue of all persuasion,
So much I prize my life, and honour more,
I would not miss this opportunity
For all that you could say.
750SmithAre not these sprites?†gg6197
disembodied spirits, ghosts; supernatural beings, fairies (OED spright n1, 2)
gg6197
751CarpenterNo evil ones, I’ll warrant: they are so white.*n11113
Although it may be a comment on their feminine complexions, the line suggests that Mildred and Edith are costumed in linen shifts.
Hark a little more.
n11113
752EdithTo night he’s troubled ’bout Anthynus coming,
753MildredThat trouble keeps him waking, and I fear
Will rather spur him forwards than withhold him.
754SmithThey talk, methinks; but I cannot hear what for shaking.
755CarpenterTake heed thou dost not jingle thy picklocks! ’Slid, they’ll
ring up the house like a ’larum bell.
756EdithWell, since you are so resolute, would we
Were out of the house, since*n11114
] once 1657 Quarto reading makes no sense, and this emendation assumes a plausible misreading of manuscript letter formation.
if we be taken,
n11114
As the market goes, can save our lives.*n11115
1657 Quarto presents this speech as verse, but breaks the lines after: of the; price of; save. Wood prefers prose.
n11115
757CarpenterGood, I have found what sprites†gg6197
disembodied spirits, ghosts; supernatural beings, fairies (OED spright n1, 2)
they be.
They must needs be the wenches that I suspected were in the butler’s chamber,
and made the stiff standing bedstead*n11116
A standing bedstead is a term, now obsolete, for a high bedstead, as distinguished from a truckle-bed (OED standing ppl a, 5b). The word `stiff' functions as an adverb in this phrase, where it generates an obvious innuendo on the participial adjective `standing' as `erected' (penis).
that I set up but last week, crack like a wicker chair. Ah rogues! I heard ye.
gg6197
n11116
758Edith [Noticing the presence of the men] Oh me! We are undone and taken!
759MasonI’m glad ’tis no worse.
760Carpenter [To the women] Peace,†gg667
(int.) be quiet; keep calm
if you have a mind to ’scape out o’th’ house alive!
gg667
761MildredCome, Nurse, my fear is over: if they
Be men, and bring us out o’th’ house,
They cannot be so dangerous as he I ’scaped.
762CarpenterDid he so put thee to’t, my little bustlepate?*n11117
This appears to be a `hapax legomenon' -- a word of which only one instance is recorded. This is the only instance given by the OED, where it is tentatively defined as `?a bustling person'. It appears to be a nonce coinage by the Carpenter.
What a stout blade’s*n11118
That is, `energetic fellow', with a figurative innuendo as `strong penis': either way, the Carpenter is teasing the women about the sexual prowess of the butler from whose bed he thinks them to have come.
this butler!
n11117
n11118
763MildredThese are good fellows, Nurse.
764CarpenterYes, faith, and fear you nothing for all our devilish outsides. If we ’scape
out o’ the house, you ’scape; and if we fail, our necks are sure to
hang by ’t; and so on therefore*n11199
] there afore (Emendation follows Wood) OED lists `afore' as a variant of `fore' or `for' in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.
once more in the name of darkness.
n11199
(Ent[er] OFFA [with] light and dagger.)*n11119
(Ent.Offa, light and Dagger.)1657 Quarto presents this stage direction two lines later, in the middle of Offa's first speech. The relocation, which follows Wood, is for the benefit of readers. It is possible, however, that Offa starts speaking offstage and becomes visible as he utters the threat which is his third line. The dagger that the stage direction puts in his hand would be appropriately ominous, and the light that the direction also requires him to carry would sustain the indication of darkness onstage. From the beginning of this scene, darkness has been signalled by the dark lanterns that are specified for the burglars at their entry: see the stage direction after [QE 5.2.speech707]. No particular kind of light being indicated for Offa, a candle seems probable, but a torch is also possible.
n11119
765OffaIf my attempt now fail, may my repulse
It is decreed she sleeps with me or death.
766Outlaw [2]*n11110
]1.Outl. (Wood: Second Outlaw) Of the three Outlaws in Offa's employ during 2.2, the first was rescued by the Hermit and his Servant at the end of that scene. His companions, who said nothing in 2.2, are labelled 1 and 2 by 1657 Quarto when they speak in 4.1 and 5.2: they have been renumbered 2 and 3.
’Sdeath!†gg3647
mild oath, meaning by God's death
It is he!
n11110
gg3647
767Outlaw [3]*n11111
]2.Outl. (Wood: Third Outlaw) Of the three Outlaws in Offa's employ during 2.2, the first was rescued by the Hermit and his Servant at the end of that scene. His companions, who said nothing in 2.2, are labelled 1 and 2 by 1657 Quarto when they speak in 4.1 and 5.2: they have been renumbered 2 and 3.
Let us fall to†gs443
set to work, make a start
and beat him.
n11111
gs443
768CarpenterAs you can hope for meat again, or life,
Look big,n11120
Outlaw 2 having just proposed to throw himself upon Offa in revenge, the Carpenter here calls for quiet and tells the Outlaws to express their aggression only in their manner of looking at Offa as they slide noiselessly by him. In the 29 June 2007 workshop session on this scene, discussion of the blocking of this exit threw up the suggestion that the Carpenter's command can also refer to the appearance of the burglars who hide the women under their devil costumes . Such doubletalk is characteristic of the Carpenter's speech: see [NOTE n11112].
and use no words; and so glide by.
n11120
. Such doubletalk is characteristic of the Carpenter's speech: see [NOTE n11112].
[MASON and SMITH hide MILDRED and EDITH under their
devil costumes, and then CARPENTER, MASON, SMITH, MILDRED, EDITH, OUTLAW 2 and OUTLAW 3 all proceed to exit.] n11121
] (Hide the women under their habits, and so Exeunt all but Offa.) (Wood: The women hide under their habits; exeunt all the others except Offa.) 1657 Quarto presents this stage direction later, three lines into Offa's speech (see after [QE 5.2.line3601]), and Wood does not move it. The reasons for resituating the direction are that (i) it is cued by the immediately preceding speech by the Carpenter, and (ii) the fourth line of Offa's speech suggests that the others are gone or going. The stage direction calls for business, and the exit requires seven people to depart: this will all take time, the more so when silence must be ostentatiously, and doubtless unsuccessfully, attempted. The 29 June 2007 workshop session on this scene relished the counterpointing of that exit with the first four lines of Offa's speech .
n11121
.
769OffaThe night, the place, her fate, and my desire,
Do all conspire unto my wish’d advantage.
And so I come, coy†gg4360
shy, disdainful
damosel.†gs1875
alternative form of `damsel', here used as a mock-respectful term of address to a young, unmarried woman
gg4360
gs1875
Ha! How? Why? Where? Who? Or what can you or I be?
They are all gone, and I am tottering left
Upon an earthquake.*n11122
Offa's speech evinces problems with walking, and in performance these would be visually explained. The minimal explanation is that he is stumbling around in the dark, a circumstance of which the lantern in his hand will be a reminder. He may collide with the winch which the burglars have used and may not have removed. He may step upon an imperfectly fastened trapdoor. Wood suggests that Offa is `possibly showing the effects of drinking or derangement'. The latter condition is likely: at his next appearance Offa will be under physical restraint as a lunatic, and his speech at this point is none too sane. Drunkenness, however, is virtually the only vice which the play does not elsewhere impute to this absurdly overstated villain.
Gentle!†gs1876
(adverbial use) gently, slowly, softly
Holla!†gg6198
Stop! Cease! (OED int, 1)
Holla!
n11122
gs1876
gg6198
Set†gg6199
start off, begin to move (OED v1. 106)
not too hard, old Ops,*n11123
An ancient Roman divinity, Ops personified the riches -- mineral as well as vegetable -- of the earth.
thou’lt shake thy rider*n11124
Offa speaks as if he were uncertainly seated on a frisky horse: Wood suggests that he is `perhaps playing the part of the gallant knight on horseback to Mildred's "damsel"'. The joke may be that the actor is simply sitting on the ground, or he may have more or less mounted the mechanism which the burglars have used for descent into his treasure-chamber. (See [NOTE n11200].) The latter possibility would position Offa near the trapdoor through which he explicitly fears falling.
gg6199
n11123
n11124
Through thy chinky†gg6201
full of fissures or cracks
wrinkles†gg6202
ridges (OED wrinkle n1, 2b and 2c)
into Limbo.*n11125
Limbo was the posthumous destination of good people (such as virtuous adults who died before the Christian era and innocent infants who died unbaptised thereafter) who missed heaven through bad timing rather than any individual fault of their own. Offa being anything but good, he is using the term in two of its extended senses: insofar as he is insanely addressing a pagan deity, Ops, it signifies Hades (OED 1c); and insofar as he is guiltily remembering the subterranean chamber to which he had consigned the outlaws, it signifies an unfavourable place of neglect or oblivion (OED 2b).
gg6201
gg6202
n11125
So, so, so! Holla, holla, gentle earth!
Open not here, not near that part of thee
That has but now disgorged those famished ghosts,
That with the Furies would have beckoned me*n11126
Offa's lines certainly indicate that he has glimpsed Outlaws 1 and 2, whom he believes to have died of starvation in their subterranean trap and whom he has therefore seen as ghosts. The lines also strongly suggest that he has caught sight too of the Outlaws’ companions in flight through the dark and that he has construed the three burglars in their devil costumes as the Furies, avenging spirits who in classical Greek mythology paid special attention to bloodcrimes within families.
n11126
Along to hell with ’em. So, let me down.
I must not follow yet, but sleep and think upon’t.
But first creep back to bed, as nothing were.Exit [OFFA].
5.3*n11127
Giving no indication of scene divisions for Act 5 after the initial `Act. V.Scen.I.', 1657 Quarto does not mark a scene break here, nor does Wood add one. Offa's exit, however, has completely depopulated the stage. The fictional place has moved to a prison, which may or may not be within Offa's household but is certainly not where the burglars broke in in the previous scene. The figures who proceed to enter include Osric: last seen being escorted off to prison [QE 5.1.speech707], he now complains of being in prison [QE 5.3.speech772]; and mention will be made of an adjacent room in which a priest is singing catches with prisoners [QE 5.3.speech791]. And as there are no indications of darkness, the fictional time has also moved on.
n11127
770OsricYou have told me wonders, which have pierced my soul
With horror and amazement. Yet I must confess,
In all that I am like to suffer, Heaven is just,
[Whose]*n11129
]Whilst (Emendation posits an easy misreading of manuscript letter formation.)
wrath my wilfulness has pulled upon me.
n11129
Yet pardon, since thou gav’st me that affection
This uncouth*n11142
] unquoth (Emendation follows Wood's note.) OED does not recognise 1657 Quarto spelling: the sense here is `unfamiliar, unaccustomed, strange' (OED a, 2).
way, with which I have not strayed
n11142
Further than love might lead an human*n10309
] humane (according to the OED, a possible spelling from the 15th century to the 18th century)
frailty.
n10309
771EthelswicYou do consider well, my Lord, and we
Still with your kingly reason.
772OsricYes, and fall
Upon our present business. There you find me
Out of a spacious kingdom of mine own,
Shut in a narrow prison, whilst the brother
Of her whose love I came to seek has married
The Queen I might have had, before I have seen
773EthelswicMy Lord, for that before you left the Court
The sight of her would cure you, feigned your letters
Which fetched the Queen, then banished us the Court,
Before we could take notice. We had been
Strong†gs1880
flagrantly guilty (OED adj. 11e)
traitors else†gs122
otherwise
to let that match go forwards;
gs1880
gs122
That brings the news o’th’ King’s and Queen’s approach
Arrived here in the city.
775EthelswicYes, yes, and though he told us who he was,
The overwise lords imputed that to his madness.
776OsricIt seems he was not so mad but he could take
The Queen into my bed—
777EthelswicWhere she liked him so well
That she now brings him home unto her own,
Still thinking him your person—
Accused of parricide; but I will not
Reveal myself till trial.
Ent[er] MILDRED [and EDITH].*n11145
Mildred's arrival is left unexplained. Wood, who does not divide this scene from its predecessor, amplifies 1657 Quarto with `Mildred comes out from hiding' here within Osric's speech ([QE 5.3.speech778]) and then provides an identical direction for Edith after [QE 5.3.speech792]. However, (1)there is nothing in the dialogue to indicate that, let alone where, either lady may have been hiding since their escape together from Offa's clutches; and (2) there is also nothing to indicate that they have parted from each other's company since then. Edith has to observe the amorous exchange between Mildred and Anthynus: she interrupts them when a marriage begins to appear imminent ([QE 5.3.speech791]).
n11145
Now all my sufferings are turned into delightful recreations.†gs1881
pleasures, entertainments, comforts
gs1881
Fairest of virgins, welcome! Marvel not
That at first sight I knew you, when my heart
Wears the impression of your portraiture;
And all my intellectual faculties
Bow to no other object but your beauty.
779MildredO Sir, lay by this high†gs1882
grave, serious (OED adj. 6b)
dissimulation;†gs1883
dissembling; feigning
gs1882
gs1883
For though I find you now are not my brother —
Her virtue like the sun will clear the mist
Of error we were lost in.
781MildredNot Anthynus?
Yes, the bright sun discovers not a truth
More evident than that you are Anthynus
Nor ever shined on man I loved so well,
Or hoped to marry, since you are not my brother.
782OsricI understand not this.
783MildredIndeed I came
To tell you so, and could you clear your hand
Of the foul stain of blood you are accused of,
Were I sole monarchess†gg6209
female ruler, queen
of all this island,*n11147
Anglo-Saxon England was divided into different kingdoms. Their number contracted, from seven to two, by fits and starts across half a millennium, in which The Queen’s Exchange is not at all precisely located. (The fact that the play mentions only the kingdoms of the Northumbrians and the West Saxons is no help: these two were the longest-lived.) The system did not, however, extend to the entire island. Even as it contradicts dramatic fact, then, Mildred's hypothesis exceeds historical fact: she is not queen, and reign over all the island was beyond the reach of any Anglo-Saxon monarch. At the same time, of course, she speaks to the situation of Stuart kings.
gg6209
n11147
I’d kneel to beg a bride’s place in your bed.
784OsricIf I can clear myself?
785MildredNay, mark me further:
If you clear not yourself, I’ll not outlive you
To call to mind the man that I so loved
Butchered his father. Though he were not mine,
I loved him as a father. Oh, good Heaven,
How good, how reverend a man was he?
786OsricWeep not, but hear me, or hear me though you weep!
I am not Anthynus.
787MildredI may say as well
I do not love you.
788OsricI never had an hand
In blood of any man.
789MildredProve that, I am yours.
790OsricFetch me a priest.
791EdelbertI saw one i’th’ next room
Drinking and singing catches†gg4736
rounds in which the words are so arranged that one singer picks up the word[s] of another (OED n1. 14)
with some prisoners.
gg4736
Fair lady, is your brother.
793MildredWhy did you mock me then?
794EdithTo save you from your brother Offa’s lust:
I feigned that you were not his sister, that
In hope to marry you, he might forbear
His devilish purpose.
795Mildred [To OSRIC] Now I am lost for ever,
In being the daughter of a murdered father,
796OsricYet hear me, and be comforted.
797MildredOh, me!
798EdithHark, my Lord Anthynus!
799OsricI do not know that name.
800EdithGo to, go to! Nor you do not remember
Comfits*n11150
]comfects 1657 Quarto reading is a possible but less familiar spelling. The term designates sweetmeats made of some fruit, root, etc., preserved with sugar (OED comfit n, 1). The suggestion is that Offa's childhood naughtiness ran to nastiness.
that your brother Offa gave me,
n11150
And laid the fault on you! Pray Jove,*n11201
Chief of the classical Roman gods, corresponding to Zeus in the Greek pantheon.
I say, this murder
n11201
Be no more his fault than yours.
A shout within. Enter KEEPER.
801OsricHark, the wide world abroad is filled with joy,
802KeeperMy Lord Anthynus —
803OsricStill must I be Anthynus?
804KeeperYou are called unto your trial.
805OsricWho are my judges?
806KeeperThose that are bribe-free,†gg6211
incorruptible; incapable of being bribed
I dare warrant ’em.
gg6211
It may perhaps go somewhat the harder with you;
For nothing but white†gg6212
spotless (OED adj. 7)
innocence can quit†gs1887
exonerate (OED v. 7a)
you.
gg6212
gs1887
Pray heaven you have’t about you. Even the King
And Queen —the Queen and King I should have said,
For she’s our sovereign,’tis her law must do it —
807OsricWhat King do you mean then?
808KeeperKing Osric: you know nothing.
809OsricYes, I know him as well as he knows himself.
810KeeperTake heed, sir, what you say.
811OsricI fear him not,
812Mildred [To OSRIC] Oh, pray take heed!
813KeeperHow?
814Mildred [To KEEPER] Peace, he did not say so.
815Keeper’Slid!†gg576
a common seventeenth-century oath derived from an abbreviation of ‘God’s eyelid’ and the idea of the deity’s all-seeing eye
He’s as mad as his brother Offa.
gg576
816OsricIs Offa mad?
817KeeperOh, quite besides†gg6213
out of his normal mental state (OED besides prep, 5a)
himself, and talks the strangeliest*n11152
] the strangliest (That is, in the oddest manner.)
gg6213
n11152
Of his father’s murder, your running away
And the desire he has to hang his brother here;
And then he is haunted with sprites†gg6197
disembodied spirits, ghosts; supernatural beings, fairies (OED spright n1, 2)
too, they say.
gg6197
818OsricYes. [To MILDRED] Will you be so kind as to see my trial?
819MildredIndeed I must not leave you.
A sister, like the wife that would not leave
Set the best foot forward, and the best face
You can, my Lord, upon the business.[KEEPER, OSRIC, MILDRED, ETHELSWIC,
EDITH, ALFRID and ETHELBERT exit.]*n11133
] Exeunt.
EDITH, ALFRID and ETHELBERT exit.]*
n11133
5.4*n11132
Giving no indication of scene divisions for Act 5 after the initial `Act. V.Scen.I.', 1657 Quarto does not mark a scene break here, nor does Wood add one. However, the stage has been completely cleared by the departure, to trial, of Osric, escorted by the Keeper and accompanied by Mildred, Edith, Ethelswic, Alfrid and Ethelbert. That party will re-enter in the final scene [QE 5.4.speech835].
n11132
Hautboys [sound offstage while a throne is pushed out or revealed.]*n11153
] Hoboys. Wood: `Enter...to the musical accompaniment of hautboys.' The sound links this scene to the opening of the first scene in the play.
Enter THEODWALD and EAUFRID, KELRIC and ELKWIN, THEODRIC, ANTHYNUS and BERTHA.*n11154
The pairing of the entrants marks this as a processional entry, with ceremonial sequence linking it to the matrimonial dumbshow near the end of the last act: see [QE4.2.speech662].
n11153
Enter THEODWALD and EAUFRID, KELRIC and ELKWIN, THEODRIC, ANTHYNUS and BERTHA.*
n11154
821All*n11134
] Omn. (Abbreviation of Omnes, Latin pronoun, third-person plural)
Long live King Osric and Queen Bertha!
n11134
822AnthynusI join with ye in your wishes for the Queen
And wish well to King Osric as a stranger —
824Anthynus — But will no longer personate him;
For now be it known to you that I am no Osric,
But he that warns you call me so no more.
825BerthaWhat means my love?
826AnthynusNay, Madam, ’tis most serious.
[ANTHYNUS confers inaudibly with BERTHA.]
827Kelric [and] ElkwinBless us!
829EaufridI am at my wit’s end too. If marriage
Will not tame him, I know not what to say to’t.
830Anthynus [Aloud to BERTHA] I have told you truth; and your fair grace can witness
How violently I was thrown upon the fortune,
And from the son of that most injured father,
Whom now in my joy’s strength I could shed tears for.
I yield you are my head, and I your handmaid.
[Gesturing for ANTHYNUS to sit enthroned, BERTHA kneels before him; and then he lifts her to her feet.]*n11135
] (She sets him down, and kneels; he takes her up.) Wood glosses `sets him down' as follows: `invites Anthynus to kneel; he obliges.' Such an invitation makes no sense in the dramatic situation; and acceptance of the invitation would, in conjunction with the business required by the rest of the stage direction, present a gymnastic challenge to the actor of Anthynus.
n11135
832EaufridSo, so, a few nights’ trial has got her liking
Have we been made — nay, made ourselves — indeed!
833AnthynusNow further know, my Lords, I am Anthynus,
The son of that old honest lord, ’gainst whom
Your sulphurous malice kindled the Queen’s anger.*n11155
The image is richer than its auditors deserve. The primary sense (OED a, 2b) of the adjective derives from sulphur as an ingredient of gunpowder: the courtiers' malice has fired the royal anger. Figuratively, it signifies both: `hellish' (OED a, 3a), through the association of brimstone with notions of hell; and 'fiery' or `heated' (OED a, 3b) through the heat of its flame. Perhaps also in play is the foul smell of sulphur.
n11155
834Elkwin [Aside TO KELRIC]
Who’ll have an head now for an halfpenny?*n11156
Elkwin, who anticipates punishment for his part against Segebert, jokingly offers to sell his own head for a halfpenny, that being what his life looks to be worth. (A halfpenny was 1/240 of a pound: the equivalent in 2009 of a halfpenny in 1630 would be about 37p.) Kelric, similarly pessimistic about his prospects, proposes to extend the offer to include his own at the same low price: a halfpenny was worth two farthings. The smallest coin in the realm, farthings were sufficiently scarce that for some years the supply had been supplemented by issues of stamped brass discs which had a notional value of a farthing. In the early Stuart period, the best known of these tokens were called Harringtons after the courtier to whom King James I in 1613 awarded a monopoly on manufacture: the venture failed, and the tokens were derided.
n11156
835KelricAnd for t’other two tokens, mine into the bargain.*n11156
Elkwin, who anticipates punishment for his part against Segebert, jokingly offers to sell his own head for a halfpenny, that being what his life looks to be worth. (A halfpenny was 1/240 of a pound: the equivalent in 2009 of a halfpenny in 1630 would be about 37p.) Kelric, similarly pessimistic about his prospects, proposes to extend the offer to include his own at the same low price: a halfpenny was worth two farthings. The smallest coin in the realm, farthings were sufficiently scarce that for some years the supply had been supplemented by issues of stamped brass discs which had a notional value of a farthing. In the early Stuart period, the best known of these tokens were called Harringtons after the courtier to whom King James I in 1613 awarded a monopoly on manufacture: the venture failed, and the tokens were derided.
n11156
Enter KEEPER, with OSRIC, [MILDRED],*n11203
1657 Quarto does not give an entrance for Mildred in this scene, but it will require her to speak in the course of it [QE 5.4.speech 892] and near the end of the previous scene, Mildred promised to accompany Osric to his trial [QE 5.3.speech819].
ETHELSWIC, EDITH, ALFRID, [EDELBERT],*n11128
] EDELRED (Emendation follows Wood)
GUARD.
n11203
n11128
836KeeperMake way there for the prisoner!
837EaufridSee King Osric!
838TheodwaldAye, this is our King indeed.
839Theodric [To OSRIC] Oh, let me wash your feet, sir with my tears!
840OsricThy trespass is thine honour, my Theodric,
And [To THEODWALD and EAUFRID] I must thank your care, my Lords, as it deserves,
Your overreaching care to give my dignity,
As much as in you lay, unto another,
And for your letters counterfeit in my name,
By which the Queen is mocked into a marriage
841Theodwald [To EAUFRID] That was your policy, your wit, my Lord.
842EaufridA shame on’t! Would I were hanged, that I
Might hear no more on’t.
843BerthaFair sir, the Queen is pleased, and hopes you are
In her that’s so much fairer in your thoughts.
844AnthynusMy sister Mildred!
845OsricYes, my noble brother!
She stands in fortune equal with yourself,
In being mine.
846AnthynusBut not, great sir, until
You are acquitted of my father’s murder.
847OsricI am clear of that, as I am not Anthynus.
Anthynus is accused, not Osric, sir.
Your father is requirèd at your hands.
OFFA, bound in a chair, [is carried onstage by ARNOLD and SERVANT]*n11202
] Offa brought bound in a Chair. 1657 Quarto presents this stage direction after the speech ([QE 5.4.speech849]) by Arnold, for whom it provides no entrance. Arnold, who is Offa's servant, was last seen seeing off Osric and Alfrid, under guard, from the household of his master in the opening scene of this act [QE5.1.speech 707]. It is possible that he has entered this final scene with Osric, the Keeper, Guard et al. after [QE 5.4.speech835]; but Arnold was not named with them among the prison population in the immediately previous scene, nor did he speak then. The dialogue here is about to indicate that Arnold has observed Offa's recent ravings ([QE5.4.speech 850]), and a subsequent stage direction will send Arnold offstage with Offa: see [QE5.4.line3991]. It therefore seems reasonable that Arnold should accompany Offa in making this entrance -- but probably anticipate his master by just enough to be seen to hear Osric's assertion ([QE 5.4.speech847]) that he is neither Anthynus nor guilty of Segebert's murder. Moving the entrance makes Bertha's exclamation ([QE 5.4.speech848]) a reaction to the sight of Offa bound in his chair.
n11202
848BerthaHa!
849ArnoldBut his accuser reads another lesson
Now, Madam.
850OffaWhither do you hurry me?
If I must answer’t, give me yet some time
To make provision of befitting presents,
To supply the hard hands of my stern judges,
Into a tender feeling of my cause:
I know what Æacus loves, what Minos likes,
And what will make grave Rhadamanthus run.*n11130
Imagining himself to be in Hades, the afterworld of classical Greek mythology, Offa claims to be able to tailor bribes to suit each of the panel of judges whom he will face: Æacus, Minos, and Rhadamanthus. All three were sons of Zeus and had had extensive experience of administering justice -- Æacus as ruler of the island Aegina, which bore the name of his mother; Minos as ruler of Crete; and Rhadamanthus as ruler of the Cyclades. Offa's anticipation of offering bribes in the underworld contrasts with the assurance of judicial incorruptibility which was given his brother in the preceding scene [QE 5.3.speech806].
n11130
851AnthynusHe is distracted.†gg2573
maddened, deranged
gg2573
Against himself, both of my Lord’s murder
And an intended rape against his sister.
853AnthynusIncestuous monster!
854OffaHark, how the devil lies:
I have no sister.
855EdithHow he’s possessed
Of that strange error! I must satisfy you:
That was merely feigned by me to save her honour
From his outrageous†gg750
wicked, evil; violent, furious; immoderate
lust.
gg750
856Arnold [Looking offstage] But here comes that
Clears all at once. Welcome, my honoured Lords!
(Enter SEGEBERT [still carrying Offa's sword], [HERMIT, HERMIT'S SERVANT,] JEFFREY, OUTLAW [1])*n11157
] (Enter Segebert, Alberto, Jeff. Outlaw.) The presence of the Hermit's Servant among this last group of entrants is indicated by Jeffrey's presentation of him at [QE 5.4.speech866]. The Hermit's identity as Alberto will not be revealed until [QE 5.4.speech881]. The sword will be needed by Segebert for [5.4.speech891.
n11157
857JeffreyA boon, a boon, my gracious liege.
858ArnoldHold your peace, Fool!
859SegebertMy son Anthynus living?
860OsricYou are my father in your daughter’s right
861SegebertMy blessing on my girl!
862OsricBut see Anthynus at a greater height.
863AnthynusMy father!
864BerthaAnd my father! [To SEGEBERT] Noble sir,
Your pardon, and for ever welcome.
865SegebertIf this were real now, and not a dream!
866JeffreyCome, leave your fooling, hear a wise man speak:
[To ANTHYNUS] Great King, according unto thy behest
With knights adventurers I went in quest,
Through the woods and forests wild,
Whence [Presenting SEGEBERT and the HERMIT] these
old men, [Presenting the HERMIT'S SERVANT] this knave, I bring
Together with [Presenting OUTLAW 1] this starveling,*n11158
The old men can only be Segebert and the Hermit, who in [QE 5.4.speech 881] will be identified as Alberto. Wood thinks that the knave is one of the old men (Segebert) and the starveling is the other (Alberto), but this identification strains both syntax and decorum beyond the bounds even of Fool-speak. The knave and the starveling are probably the Hermit's Servant and Outlaw 1 -- or perhaps vice versa. The first speech uttered by the Hermit's Servant was his protest at being underfed [QE 2.3.speech303]; and the exclamation that will be the last utterance of Outlaw 1 [QE 5.4.speech883] suggests that, even after being rescued, he has remained -- and presumably appears -- hungry.
n11158
Unto thy grace, King Osric.
867ArnoldLook this way, Fool: this is King Osric, man.*n11205
1657 Quarto presents as two verse lines, broken after `fool'. (Relineation follows Wood.)
n11205
868JeffreyWhose fool am I then?
869OsricMine.
870MildredAnd mine.
871AnthynusMine.
872BerthaAnd mine.
873JeffreyWhoop, hold a little! Best let me be
Everybody’s fool round about the house;
But amongst you all, let me not lose reward.
I must not fool for nought: the times are hard.
874OsricStill the fool’s covetous.
875BerthaI owe thee a just reward, for I proclaimed
To him that brought this man alive or dead
A thousand crowns;*n11160
A crown was a coin (once gold, subsequently silver) to the value of five shillings, so a thousand crowns would equal £250: that sum in 1630 would be equivalent in worth to about £22,300 in 2009.
but since thou art so fortunate
n11160
To bring him home alive and well recovered
Out of such danger—
876JeffreyI shall have nothing, shall I?
877BerthaI’ll double thy reward, give thee two thousand crowns.
878JeffreyIt is enough in conscience. Who bids more?
For till you are out-bidden, I’ll be your fool;
[To THEODRIC] But can you tell whose favourite†gs1901
one chosen as an intimate of a superior (OED n. 2)
you are, then?
gs1901
879Theodric [Indicating OSRIC] Where I was first, I’ll ever wish to be.
880OsricAnd I’ll be thine, Theodric, for thou in this
Hast above favour shewn me unto bliss.
881SegebertI have performed Your Majesty’s command,
Though not in sending, yet in bringing home
My banished friend, Lord Alberto, the preserver
Of my now happy life.
882BerthaIt shall be to his honour: welcome, Alberto!
883Outlaw 1Oh, what an heavenly smell of meat is here!
884Segebert [To OFFA] All the unhappiness I now can see
Is but an argument of tears for thee,
In whom I’m justly punished.
885AnthynusTake him hence
From my grieved father’s sight.
886SegebertAnd pray let care
Be had for his recovery. His senses may
Bring a new soul into him, for which I pray.
887OffaWhat, am I freed?
888ArnoldYes, yes, my Lord, all’s well.
889OffaI knew my bribes would do it.
890JeffreyI’ll off with him, for ’tis unknown to you
What good a fool may on a madman do.
[ARNOLD and SERVANT exit, carrying OFFA
in his chair and accompanied by JEFFREY.]*n11159
] Ex. Arn. Offa, Jeffrey.
in his chair and accompanied by JEFFREY.]*
n11159
891SegebertThis sword was evidence enough against him;
But here’s one of the outlaws that confessed it,
For whom, since he is penitent, I beg pardon.
For whom, together with three thievish workmen
That were strong†gs1896
powerful in operative effect (OED adj. 10)
instruments in my delivery,†gs1892
deliverance
gs1896
gs1892
Let me beg mercy.
893AnthynusI have heard of them
And we are taught by Heaven’s abundant mercy
Shewn upon us beyond our expectation,
To imitate that goodness.
894BerthaI forgive
All on my part.
895OsricI pardon all on mine.
896BerthaAnd now, right royal Sir, let me entreat
For former love, to make our last complete,
You will be pleased a month with us to stay
897OsricNext to my sum of happiness, my bride,
I should have sought that honour, royal sister.
898AnthynusThus through tempestuous sighs and showers of tears
Joy at the last more cheerfully appears.[THEODWALD, EAUFRID, KELRIC, ELKWIN, THEODRIC, ANTHYNUS, BERTHA, KEEPER, OSRIC, MILDRED, ETHELSWIC, EDITH, ALFRID, EDELBERT, SEGEBERT, HERMIT, HERMIT'S SERVANT and OUTLAW 1 exit.]*n11283
] Exeunt.
n11283
RIC[HARD] BROME.
Deus dedit his quoque Finem.*n11131
The Latin phrase, which means `God has given an end to these things as well,’ adapts part of a line in Book I of Vergil’s Æeneid: `dabit deus his quoque finem’ (`god will give an end to these things as well’). The tense of the verb is not the only difference from the original: the god of whom the sentence is predicated has also changed. In the Vergilian narrative context, the statement is an encouragement to the Trojan exiles: Aeneas is reminding his companions that they have already overcome other hardships, and that these too shall pass, with the help of Neptune. When the sentence is predicated of the Christian God, the sense of `finis’ or `end’ becomes ambivalent as `purpose’ and as `termination’. The latter sense is dominant when, as here, the tag serves as an explicit marking the conclusion of a text. For other instances of its being so used in early Stuart texts, see Matthew Steggle, Richard Brome: Place and Politics on the Caroline Stage (Manchester University Press, 2004), pp. 178-180.
Deus dedit his quoque Finem.*
n11131
Edited by Marion O'Connor