Luce. Have me no oder way dan you have him? He tell me dat he love me heartily. Fran. Lead away my maid to prison! why, Tom, will you suffer that? Civ. No, by your leave, father, she is no vagrant: she is my wife's chamber-maid, and as true as the skin between any man's brows here. Sir Lanc. Go to, you're both fools. Son Civet, of my life this is a plot; : Luce. I am no trull, neither outlandish frow : Nor he nor I shall to the prison go. Know you me now? nay, never stand amazed. [Throws off her Dutch dress. Father, I know I have offended you; And though that duty wills me bend my knees To you in duty and obedience, Luce. O Master Flowerdale, if too much grief M. Flow. I am indeed, wife, wonder among Thy chastity and virtue hath infused Luce. Not trust him? By the hopes of afterbliss, I know no sorrow can be compared to his. Sir Lanc. Well, since thou wert ordained to Flow. Jun. None but a beast would such a maid misuse. M. Flow. Content thyself, I hope to win his favour, And to redeem my reputation lost : Oli. I would che were ysplit now, but che believe him. Sir Lanc. How! believe him! Weath. By my faith it will go hard. Oli. Well, che vor ye, he is changed: And, master Flowerdale, in hope ye been so, hold, there's vorty pound toward your zetting up. What! be not ashamed; vang it, man, vang it be a good husband, loven to your wife; and you shall not want for vorty more, I che vore thee. 45 Snick-up, seems to be synonymous to the modern expression, go and hang yourself.—MALONE. 46 Night schoon, vide supra. But to your wife I give this diamond, You being my enemy, and grown so kind, Oli. What! restore me no restorings, man; I have vorty pound more for Luce here; vang it: zouth chil devy London else. What, do you think me a mezel or a scoundrel, to throw away my money? Che have an hundred pound more to pace of any good spotation. I hope your under and your uncle will vollow my zamples. Flow. Jun. You have guessed right of me; if he leave off this course of life, he shall be mine heir. Sir Lanc. But he shall never get a groat of me. A cozener, a deceiver, one that killed His painful father, honest gentleman, Flow. Sen. Pay it to him, and I'll give you my bond To make her jointure better worth than three. Sir Lanc. Your bond, sir! why, what are you? Flow. Sen. One whose word in London, though I say it, Will pass there for as much as yours Sir Lanc. Wert not thou late that unthrift's serving-man? Flow. Sen. Look on me better, now my scar is off: Ne'er muse, man, at this metamorphosy. M. Flow. My father! O, I shame to look on him. Pardon, dear father, the follies that are past. Flow. Sen. Son, son, I do; and joy at this thy change, Sir Lanc. Ay, sir, with conceit of his vile death, good master Flowerdale. 'Twas said so Courses. Flow. Sen. Sir, you are misinformed. Sir Lane. Why, thou old knave, thou told'st me so thyself. Flow. Sen. I wronged him then: and towards my master's stock There's twenty nobles for to make amends. M. Flow. No, Kester, I have troubled thee, and wronged thee more; What thou in love giv'st, I in love restore. Fran. Ha, ha, sister! there you played bo-peep with Tom. What shall I give her toward household? sister Delia, shall I give her my fan? Del. You were best ask your husband. Fran. Shall I, Tom? Civ. Ay, do, Franke; I'll buy thee a new one with a longer handle. 47 Fran. A russct one, Tom? Civ. Ay, with russet feathers. here, 'twas said so here, good faith. Flow. Sen. I caused that rumour to be spread myself, Because I'd see the humours of my son, You run no more into that same disease: M. Flow. Heaven helping me, I'll hate the course as hell. Flow. Jun. Say it, and do it, cousin, all is well. Sir Lanc. Well, being in hope you'll prove an honest man, I take you to my favour. Brother Flowerdale, Fran. Here, sister; there's my fan toward Hath brought these acts to this conclusion, household, to keep you warm. Luce. I thank you, sister. Weath. Why, this is well; and, toward fair Here's forty shillings: and forty good shillings more, Sir Lanc. Not I: all this is counterfeit; he will consume it were it a million. Flow. Sen. Sir, what is your daughter's dower worth? Sir Lane. Had she been married to an honest And I am glad of it. Come, let's in, and feast. Oli. Nay zoft you a while. You promised to make sir Arthur and me amends: here is your wisest daughter; see which on us she'll have. Sir Lanc. A God's name, you have my good will; get hers. Oli. How say you then, damsel? Oli. Why, then send for a vicar, and chil have it dispatched in a trice; so chil. Del. Pardon me, sir; I mean that I am yours In love, in duty, and affection; But not to love as wife: it shall ne'er be said, Delia was buried married, but a maid. 47 Ay, do, Franke; I'll buy thee a new one with a longer handle.-Fans, in the age of Queen Elizabeth, had frequently silver handles, and other valuable ornaments. The upper part of them was composed of feathers. -MALONE. Sir Arth. Do not condemn yourself for ever, virtuous fair; you were born to love. Ol. Why you say true, sir Arthur; she was ybore to it, so well as her mother-but, I pray you, show us some zamples or reasons why you will not marry? Del. Not that I do condemn a married life, (For 'tis no doubt a sanctimonious thing,) But for the care and crosses of a wite; The trouble in this world that children bring. | My vow's in heaven, on earth to live alone; Husbands, howsoever good, I will have none. Oli. Why then, che will live a bachelor too. Che zet not a vig by a wife, if a wife zet not a vig by me.-Come, shall's go to dinner? Flow. Sen. To-morrow I crave your companies in Mark-lane: To-night we'll frolic in master Civet's house, And to each health drink down a full carouse, [Exeunt. 397 THE PURITAN, OR, THE WIDOW OF WATLING STREET, 1 PERSONS REPRESENTED. Sir GODFREY PLUS, Brother-in-law to the Widow | DOGSON, a Catchpole. PLUS. EDMOND, Son to the Widow. Sir OLIVER MUCKHILL, a rich City Knight, and Sir JOHN PENNYDUB, a Country Knight, and Sir ANDREW TIPSTAFF, a Courtier, and Suitor GEORGE PYEBOARD, a Scholar. The Sheriff of London. Captain IDLE, a Highwayman. Реттоск, RAVENSHAW, Servants to Lady Corporal OATH, à vainglorious Fellow. } PLUS, and Sir Sheriff's Officers, Keeper of the Marshalsea Prison, Musicians, and Attendants. Sheriff's Serjeants. SCENE-LONDON. 1A booke called the Comedie of the Puritan Wydowe, was entered at Stationers' Hall, by G. Eld, August 6, 1607; and the play was published by him the same year, with the following title: The Puritaine, or the Widdow of Walling Streete. Acted by the Children of Paules. Written by W. S. This circumstance alone might lead us to suspect that it was not the composition of Shakespeare; for it does not appear that an, one of his pieces was acted by the children of St Paul's. But, without having recourse to any argument of that kind, it may be sufficient to say, that there is no authority whatsoever for attributing this comedy to him. The colour of the style is entirely different from that of his plays, and it was, as we see, not printed under his name in his lifetime it is not mentioned as his production by any contemporary writer, nor was it, i believe, ever attributed to him till Kirkman, a bookseller, in one of his Catalogues, chose to interpret the letters W. S. to mean William Shakespeare. The initial letters in the title-pages of this play, and the Life and Death of Lord Cromwell, so far from furnishing us with any ground for supposing them to be our great poet's performances, afford, in my opinion, a very strong argument to show that they were not his compositions. If the bookseller could with truth have affixed Shakespeare's name at length, (a name that certainly would have promoted the sale of his play,) what should have prevented him from doing so? or why should he content himself with annexing initial letters which might belong to others as well as to Shakespeare? I suppose this piece to have been written by William Smith, whose name is mentioned in the preliminary observations on Lochrine, and who was likewise the author of two other plays, The Palsgrave, or ACT I. SCENE I.-A Garden behind the Widow's House. Enter the Widow PLUS, FRANCES, MARY, Sir GODFREY, and EDMOND, all in mourning; the latter in a Cyprus Hut; the Widow wring ing her hands, and bursting out into passion, as newly come from the burial of her Husband. Wid. O, that ever I was born, that ever I was born! Sir God. Nay, good sister, dear sister, sweet sister, be of good comfort; show yourself a wo man now or never. Wid. O, I have lost the dearest man, I have buried the sweetest husband, that ever lay by woman. Sir God. Nay, give him his due, he was indeed an honest, virtuous, discreet, wise man. He was my brother, as right as right. Wid. O, I shall never forget him, never forget him; he was a man so well given to a woman. Oh! Sir God. Nay but, kind sister, I could weep as much as any woman; but, alas, our tears cannot call him again. Methinks you are well read, sister, and know that death is as common as homo, a common name to all men, A man shall be taken when he's making water. Nay, did not the learned parson, master Pigman, tell us even now, -that all flesh is frail-We are born to die Man has but a time-with such like deep and profound persuasions? as he is a rare fellow, you Wid. Dost thou stand there, and see us all weep, and not once shed a tear for thy father's death! oh thou ungracious son and heir, thou! Edm. Troth, mother, I should not weep I'm sure. I am past a child, I hope, to make all my old school-fellows laugh at me; I should be mocked, so I should. Pray let one of my sisters weep for me; I'll laugh as much for her another time. Wid. O thou past-grace, thou! Out of my sight, thou graceless imp! thou grievest me more than the death of thy father. O thou stubborn only son! Hadst thou such an honest mau to thy father-that would deceive all the world to get riches for thee, and canst thou not afford a little salt water? He that so wisely d.d quite overthrow the right heir of those lands, which now you respect not up every morning betwixt four and the Hector of Germany, printed in the year 1615, and the Freeman's Honour, a performance that was, Į believe, never published.-From some expressions in the present comedy, (Act I. Sc. 11.) the author (whoever he was) appears to have been bred at the university of Oxford.-MALONE. On August 15, 1597, were entered, by Richard Jones, on the Stationers' Books, "Two Ballads, being the first and second parts of the Widowe of Watling Street." These might be the songs on which the play was founded, or indeed the play itself; as it was not uncommon to separate a dramatic piece, though designed for a single exhibition, into two parts; and the terms, book and ballad, were anciently used to sig nify tragedies and comedies, as well as any other forms of composition. Gildon, in a work of his entitled, 4 Comparison between the two Stages, with an Examen of the Generous Conqueror, and some Critical Remarks on the Funeral, &c. 8vo. 1702, attributes this comedy to Shakespeare: as I remember 'tis Shakespeare s Puritan, or Widow of Watling Street, where the dissimulation of these widows is pleasantly described." p. 156.-STEEVENS. In the list of plays, &c. prefixed to the late edition, the Puritan is set down as printed in 1600 and 607. The former of these dates I suspect to be a mistake, as the play appears evidently to have been written after the peace with Spain, which was not concluded before 1604. See Act 1. Sc. 11: "Since the ceasure of the wars I have spent above a hundred crowns," &c. There is not the same objection to the other date of 1607, though a passage in the play itself (if there be no external evidence to the contrary) would induce us to place it rather in 1608. See Act III. Sc. VI. where mention is made of a Sunday, the 13th of July; a circumstance which was true in 1608, but in none of the preceding or subsequent years, be tween 1603, and 1614.-TYRWHITT. In addition to what has been observed by Mr Tyrwhitt, it may be added, that, in the third act of this comedy," Britain gold, of the last coining," is mentioned; from whence it may be inferred to have been written after the accession of King James, who first assumed the title of King of Great Britain. It cer tainly was exhibited in or before 1607, for I have a copy in my possession printed in that year.-- MA LONE. 4 cyprus hat:-i. e. a hat with a crape hat-band in it. So in the Winter's Tale : "Cyprus black as any crow." STEEVENS, |