MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR. ACT I. SCENE I. Windfor. Before Page's Houfe. Enter Justice SHALLOW, SLENDER, and Sir HUGH EVANS Shal. Sir Hugh, perfuade me not; I will make a Starchamber matter of it: 3 if he were twenty fir John Falstaffs, he fhall not abuse Robert Shallow, efquire. Slen. 2 Sir Hugb,] This is the firft, of fundry inftances in our poet, where a parfon is called fir. Upon which it may be observed, that anciently it was the common defignation both of one in holy orders and a knight. Fuller fomewhere in his Church Hiftory fays, that anciently there were in England more firs than knights; and fo lately as temp, W. & Mar. in a depofition in the Exchequer in a cafe of tythes, the witnefs fpeaking of the curate, whom he remembered, ftyles him, fir Giles. Vide Gibfon's View of the churches of Door, Home-Lacy, &c. p. 36. SIR J. HAWKINS. Sir is the defignation of a Bachelor of Arts in the Universities of Cambridge and Dublin; but is there always annexed to the furname ;→ Sir Evans, &c. In confequence, however, of this, all the inferior Clergy in England were distinguished by this title affixed to their christian name for many centuries. Hence our author's Sir Hugh in the prefent play,Sir Topas in Twelfth Night, Sir Oliver in As you like it, &c. MALONE. Sir feems to have been a title formerly appropriated to fuch of the inferior clergy as were only Readers of the fervice, and not admitted to be preachers, and therefore were held in the loweft eftimation; as appears from a remarkable paffage in Machell's Mf. Collections for the biftory of Weftmoreland and Cumberland, in fix volumes, folio, preferved in the Dean and Chapter's library at Carlifle. The reverend Thomas Machell, author of the Collections, lived temp. Car. II. Speaking of the little chapel of Martindale in the mountains of Westmoreland and Cumberland, the writer fays, "There is little remarkable in or about it, but a neat chapelyard, which by the peculiar care of the old Reader, Sir Richard, is kept clean, and as neat as a bowlinggreen." Richard Berket, Reader, t. 74. Mf. note. "Within the limits of myne own memory all Readers in chapels were called Sirs, and of old have been writ fo; I 2 whence + In the margin is a Mf. note feemingly in the hand-writing of Bp. Nicolfon, who gave these volumes to the library: "Since I can remember there was not a reader in any chapel but was called Sir," Slen. In the county of Glofter, juftice of peace, and coram, Shal. Ay, coufin Slender, and Cuft alorum.+ Slen. Ay, and ratolorum too; and a gentleman born, master parfon; who writes himself armigero; in any bill, warrant, quitrance, or obligation, armigero. 6 Shal. Ay, that we do; and have done 7 any time these three hundred years. Slen. whence, I fuppofe, fuch of the laity as received the noble order of knighthood being called Sirs too, for diftinction sake had Knight writ after them; which had been fuperfluous, if the title of Sir had been peculiar to them. But now this Sir Richard is the only Knight Templar (if I may fo call him) that retains the old ftyle, which in other places is much laid aside, and grown out of ufe." PERCY. See Mr. Douce's obfervations on the title "Sir," (as given to Ecclefiafticks) at the end of A& V.-The length of this curious Memoir obliges me to disjoin it from the page to which it naturally belongs. STELVENS. 3 Ben Jonfon intimates, that the Star-chamber had a right to take cognizance of fuch matters. See The Magnetic Lady, A& III. sc. iv: "There is a court above, of the Star-chamber, "To punish routs and riots." STEEVENS. 4-Cuft-alorum.] This is, I fuppofe, intended for a corruption of Cuftos Rotulorum. The mistake was hardly defigned by the author, who, though he gives Shallow folly enough, makes him rather pedantic than illiterate. If we read: "Shal. Ay, coufin Slender, and Cuftos Rotulorum.” It follows naturally: 66 Ay, and Ratolorum too.' JOHNSON. I think with Dr. Johnson, that this blunder could scarcely be intended. Shallow, we know, had been bred to the law at Clement's Inn.—But I would rather read cuftus only; then Slender adds naturally, "Ay, and rotulerum too." He had heard the words cuftos rotulorum, and supposes them to mean different offices. FARMER. Perhaps Shakspeare might have intended to ridicule the abbreviations fometimes ufed in writs and other legal inftruments, with which his Juftice might have been acquainted. In the old copy the word is printed Cuft-alorum; as it is now exhibited in the text. If, however, this was intended, it should be Cuft-ulorum; and, it must be owned, abbreviation by cutting off the beginning of a word is not authorized by any precedent, except what we may fuppofe to have exifted in Shallow's imagination. MALONE. 5 Slender had feen the Justice's atteftations, figned "jurat' coram me, Roberto Shallow, Armigero ;" and therefore takes the ablative for the nominative cafe of Armiger. STEEVENS. 6 The old copy reads " That I do." The prefent emendation was fuggested to me by Dr. Farmer. STEEVENS. 7 i. c. Slen. All his fucceffors, gone before him, have done't; and all his ancestors, that come after him, may; they may give the dozen white luces in their coat. Shal. It is an old coat. Eva. The dozen white loufes do become an old coat well; it agrees well, paffant: it is a familiar beaft to man, and fignifies-love. Shal. The lace is the fresh fish; the falt fish is an old coat.8 Slew 7 i. e. all the Shallows bave done. Shakspeare has many expreffions equally licentious. MALONE. That is, the fresh fish is the coat of an ancient family, and the fult fib is the coat of a merchant grown rich by trading over the fea. JOHNSON. I am not fatisfied with any thing that has been offered on this difficult paffage. All that Mr. Smith told us was a mere gratis diffum. [His note being worthless, is here omitted.] I cannot find that fult fish was ever really borne in heraldry. I fancy the latter part of the fpeech thould be given to fir Hugh, who is at crofs purposes with the Juftice. Shallow had faid just before, the coat is an old one; and now, that it is the luce, the fresh fith.-No, replies the parfon, it cannot be old and fresh too-" the falt fib is an old coat." I give this with rather the more confidence, as a fimilar mistake has happened a little lower in the scene,“ Slice, I say !” cries out Corporal Nym, Pauca, pauca: Slice! that's my humour." There can be no doubt, but pauca, pauca, should be spoken by Evans: Again, a little before this, the copies give us : "Slender. You'll not confefs, you'll not confefs. "Shallow. That he will not—'tis your fault, 'tis your fault :—'tis a good dog.' Surely it should be thus t "Shallow. You'll not confefs, you'll not confefs. "Slender. That he will not. "Shallow. 'Tis your fault, 'tis your fault," &c. FARMER. This fugitive scrap of Latin, pauca, &c. is used in several old pieces, by characters who have no more of literature about them, than Nym. STEEVENS Shakspeare feems to frolick here in his heraldry, with a defign not to be easily understood. In Leland's Collectanea, Vol. I. P. II. p. 615. the arms of Geffrey de Lucy are "de goules poudre a croifil dor a treis luz dor." Can the poet mean to quibble upon the word poudré, that is, powdred, which fignifies falted; or strewed and sprinkled with any thing? TOLLET. The luce is a pike or jack. In Ferne's Blazon of Gentry, 1586, quarto, the arms of the Lucy family are reprefented as an instance, that figns of the coat fhould fomething agree with the name. It is the coat of Geffray Slen. I may quarter, coz? Eva. Geffray Lord Lucy. He did bears Gules, three lucies hariant, Argent.” Mr. William Oldys, Norroy King at Arms, obferves, that there was a very aged gentleman living in the neighbourhood of Stratford (where he died fifty years fince), who had not only heard, from several old people in that town, of Shakspeare's tranfgreffion, but could remember the first ftanza of that bitter ballad, which, repeating to one of his acquaintance, he preferved it in writing; and here it is, neither better nor worse, but faithfully tranfcribed from the copy which his relation very courteously communicated to me. "A parliement member, a juftice of peace, "At home a poor feare-crowe, at London an affe, "Yet an affe in his state, "We allowe by his ears but with affes to mate. Contemptible as this performance muft now appear, at the time when it was written it might have had fufficient power to irritate a vain, weak, and vindictive magiftrate; efpecially as it was affixed to feveral of his park-gates, and confequently published among his neighbours.-It may be remarked likewife, that the jingle on which it turns, occurs in the firft fcene of The Merry Wives of Windfor." I may add, that the veracity of the late Mr. Oldys has never yet been impeached; and it is not very probable that a ballad fhould be forged, from which an undifcovered wag could derive no triumph over antiquarian credulity. STEEVENS. Our author here alludes to the arms of Sir Thomas Lucy, who is faid to have profecuted him in the younger part of his life for a mifdeme fnor, and who is fuppofed to be pointed at under the character of Justice Shallow. The text however, by fome carele ffnefs of the printer or tranfcriber, has been fo corrupted, that the paffage, as it ftands at prefent, feems inexplicable. Dr. Farmer's regulation appears to me highly probable; and in further fupport of it, it may be obferved, that fome other fpeeches, befide thofe he has mentioned, are misplaced in a fubfequent part of this fcene, as exhibited in the first folio. MALONE. Perhaps we have not yet conceived the humour of Mafter Shallow. Slender has obferved, that the family might give a dozen white Luces in their coat; to which the Juftice adds, It is an old one." This produces the Parfon's blunder, and Shallow's correction. "The Luce is not the Loufe but the Pike, the fresh fish of that name. Indeed our Coat is old, as I faid, and the fish cannot be fresh; and therefore we bear the white, i. e. the pickled or falt-fifb.” In 1 A Eva. It is marring indeed, if he quarter it. Shal. Not a whit. Eva. Yes, py'r-lady; if he has a quarter of your coat, there is but three fkirts for yourfelf, in my fimple conjectures: but that is all one: If fir John Falftaff have committed difparagements unto you, I am of the church, and will be glad to do my benevolence, to make atonements and compromifes between you. Shal. The council fhall hear it; it is a riot." Eva. It is not meet the Council hear a riot; there is no fear of Got in a riot: the Council, look you, fhall defire to hear the fear of Got, and not to hear a riot; take your vizaments in that. Shal. Ha! o' my life, if I were young again, the fword fhould end it. Eva. It is petter that friends is the fword, and end it: and there is alfo another device in my prain, which, perad venture, prings goot difcretions with it: There is Anne Page, which is daughter to mafter George Page, which is pretty virginity. Slen. Miftrefs Anne Page? She has brown hair, and fpeaks fmall like a woman,3.. Eva. In the Northumberland Household Book, we meet with nine barrels of white herringe for a hole yere, 4. 10. o:" and Mr. Pennant in the additions to his London fays, "By the very high price of the Pike, it is probable that this fish had not yet been introduced into our ponds, but was imported as a luxury, pickled.” It will be ftill clearer if we read-" tho' faltfifh in an old coat." FARMER 9 By the Council is only meant the court of ftar-chamber, compofed chiefly of the king's council fitting in Camerâ ftellatâ, which took cognizance of atrocious riots. In the old quarto, the council shall know it," follows immediately after "I'll make a ftar-chamber matter of it." BLACKSTONE. Advifement is now an obfolete word. STEEVENS. 3 He admires her for the sweetness of her voice. But the expreffion is highly humourous, as making her speaking small like a woman one of her marks of diftinction; and the ambiguity of small, which fignifies little as well as low, makes the expreffion ftill more pleasant. WARBURTON. Dr. Warburton has found more pleasantry here than I believe was intended. Small was, I think, not ufed, as he fuppofes, in an ambiguous L4 fenfe |