Shal. And how doth my coufin, your bed-fellow; and your faireft daughter, and mine, my god-daughter Ellen ? Sil. Alas, a black ouzel, coufin Shallow. Sbal. By yea and nay, Sir, I dare fay my coufin William is become a good fcholar; he is at Oxford ftill, is he not? Sil. Indeed, Sir, to my cost. Sbal. He must then to the Inns of Court fhortly: I was once of Clement's-Inn; where, I think, they will talk of mad Shallow yet. Sil. You were call'd lufty Shallow then, coufin. Sbal. I was call'd any thing, and I would have done any thing indeed too, and roundly too. There was I, and little John Doit of Staffordshire, and black George Bare, and Francis Piekbone, and Will Squele a Cotswold man, you had not four fuch fwinge-bucklers in all the Inns of Court again and I may fay to you, we knew where the BonaRoba's were, and had the best of them all at commandment. Then was Jack Falstaff, (now Sir John) a boy and page to Thomas Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk. Sil. This Sir John, coufin, that comes hither anon about Soldiers? Shal. The fame Sir John, the very fame: I faw him break Schoggan's head at the court-gate, when he was a crack, not thus high; and the very fame day I did fight with one Sampfon Stock-fifp, a fruiterer, behind Gray's-Inn. Oh the mad days that I have spent! and to fee how many of mine old acquaintance are dead! Sil. We fhall all follow, coufin. Sbal. Certain, 'tis certain, very fure, very fure: death (as the Pfalmift faith) is certain to all, all fhall die. How a good yoke of Bullocks at Stamford fair? Sil. Truly, coufin, I was not there. Sbal. Death is certain. Is old Double of your town living yet? Sil. Dead, Sir. Sbal. Dead! fee, fee, he drew a good bow: and dead? he fhot a fine shoot. John of Gaunt loved him well, and betted much mony on his head. Dead! He would have clapt in the clowt at twelve fcore, and carried you a forehand fhaft at fourteen and fourteen and a half, that it would have have done a man's heart good to fee. How a fcore of ewes now? Sil. Thereafter as they be: a fcore of good ewes may be worth ten pounds. Sbal. And is old Double dead? SCENE IV. Enter Bardolph and Page. Sil. Here come two of Sir John Falstaff's men, as I think. Shal. Good-morrow, honeft gentlemen! Bard. I befeech you, which is Justice Shallow? Sbal. I am Robert Shallow, Sir, a poor Efquire of this county, one of the King's Juftices of the peace: what is your good pleasure with me? Bard. My captain, Sir, commends him to you: my captain Sir John Falstaff; a tall gentleman, by heav'n! and a moft gallant leader, Shal. He greets me well: Sir, I knew him a good backfword man. How doth the good knight? may I ask how my Lady his wife doth ? Bard. Sir, pardon, a foldier is better accommodated than with a wife. Shal. It is well faid, Sir; 00: better accommodated and it is well faid indeed, it is good, yea, indeed is t; good phrafes furely are, and ever were, very commendable. Accommodated it comes of Accommodo; very good, a good phrase. Bard. Pardon me, Sir, I have heard the word. Phrafe, call you it? by this day, I know not the phrase: but I will maintain the word with my sword to be a foldier-like word, and a word of exceeding good command. Accommodated, that is, when a man is as they fay, accommodated; or, when a man is, being whereby he may be thought to be accommodated, which is an excellent thing. SCENE V. Enter Falftaff. Sbal. It is very juft: look, here comes good Sir John. Give me your hand, give me your worship's good hand truft me, you look well, and bear your years very well. Welcome, good Sir John! al. I am glad to fee you well, good mafter Robert Shallow: Master Sure-card, as I think 2. Shal, Sbal. No, Sir John, it is my coufin Silence; in commiffion with me. Fal. Good mafter Silence, it well befits you fhould be of the peace. Sil. Your good worship is welcome. Fal. Fie, this is hot weather, gentlemen; have you provided me here half a dozen of sufficient men? Shal, Marry have we, Sir: will you fit? Fal. Let me fee them, I beseech you. Shal. Where's the roll? where's the roll? where's the roll? let me fee, let me fee, let me fee: fo, fo, fo, so: yea, marry, Sir. Ralph Mouldy: let them appear as I call: let them do fo, let them do fo. Let me fee, where is Mouldy? Moul. Here, if it please you. Shal. What think you, Sir John? a good limb'd fellow young, ftrong, and of good friends. Fal. Is thy name Mouldy ? Moul. Yea, if it please you. Fal. 'Tis the more time thou wert us'd. very fingular good. Things that Well faid, Sir Moul. I was prickt well enough before, if you could have let me alone: my old dame will be undone now for one to do her husbandry, and her drudgery; you need not to have prickt me, there are other men fitter to go out than I. Fal. Go to: peace, Mouldy, you shall go. Mouldy, it is time you were spent. 4 Moul. Spent? Shal. Peace, fellow, peace: ftand afide: know you where you are? for the other, Sir John. Let me fee: Simon Shadow ? Fal. Ay marry, let me have him to fit under: he's like to be a cold foldier. Shal. Where's Shadow? Shad. Here, Sir. Fal. Shadow, whose son art thou? Sbad. Shad. My mother's fon, Sir. Fal. Thy mother's fon! like enough; and thy father's fhadow: fo the fon of the female is the fhadow of the male: it is often fo indeed, but not of the father's substance. Shal. Do you like him, Sir John? Fal. Shadow will ferve for a fummer; prick him; for we have a number of fhadows to fill up the mufter-book. Shal. Thomas Wart! Fal. Where's he? Wart, Here, Sir. Fal, Is thy name Wart? Wart. Yea, Sir. Fal. Thou art a very ragged wart. Shal. Shall I prick him down, Sir John? Fal. It were fuperfluous; for his apparel is built upon his back, and the whole frame ftands upon pins: prick him no more. Sbal. Ha, ha, ha, you can do it, Sir; you can do it I commend you well. Francis Feeble! Feeble. Here, Sir. Fal. What trade art thou, Feeble? Shal. Shall I prick him, Sir? Fal. You may but if he had been a man's tailor he would have prick'd you, Wilt thou make as many holes in an enemy's battel, as thou haft done in a woman's petticoat? Feeble. I will do my good will, Sir; you can have no more. Fal. Well faid, good woman's tailor; well faid, courageous Feeble: thou wilt be as valiant as the wrathful Dove, or moft magnanimous Moufe, Prick the woman's tailor well, mafter Shallow, deep, mafter Shallow. Feeble. I would Wart might have gone, Sir. Fal. I would thou wert a man's tailor, that thou might' mend him, and make him fit to go. I cannot put him to be a private foldier, that is the leader of fo many thoufands. Let that fuffice, moft forcible Feeble. Feeble. It fhall fuffice. Fal Fal. I am bound to thee, reverend Feeble. Who is the next? Shal. Peter Bulcalf of the green. Fal. Yea, marry, let us fee Bulcalf. Bul. Here, Sir. Fal. Truft me, a likely fellow. Come prick me Bulcalf, 'till he roar again. Bul. Oh, good my Lord captain! Fal. What, doft thou roar before thou art prickt? Fal. What difeafe haft thou ? Bul. A whorfon cold, Sir; a cough, Sir, which I caught with ringing in the King's affairs, upon his coronation day, Sir. Fal. Come, thou fhalt go to the wars in a gown: we will have away thy cold, and I will take fuch order that thy friends fhall ring for thee. Is here all? Shal. There is two more called than your number, you muft have but four here, Sir; and fo, I pray you, go in with me to dinner. Fal. Come, I will go drink with you, but I cannot tarry dinner. I am glad to fee you, in good troth, mafter Shal Ιστο Sbal. O, Sir John, do you remember fince we lay all · night in the wind-mill in Saint George's fields? Fal. No more of that, good mafter Shallow, no more of that. Sbal. Ha! it was a merry night. And is Jane Nightwork alive? Fal. She lives, mafter Shallow. Sbal. She never could away with me. Fal. Never, never: fhe would always fay fhe could not abide mafter Shallow. Shal. By the mafs, I could anger her to the heart: the was then a Bona-roba. Doth the hold her own well? Fal. Old, old, master Shallow. Shal. Nay, the must be old, fhe cannot chufe but be old; certain the's old, and had Robin Night-work by old Night-work, before I came to Clement's-Inn.. Sil. That's fifty five years ago. Shal. |