Shal. Knight, you have beaten my men, kill'd my deer, and broke open my lodge. Fal. But not kifs'd your keeper's daughter? Shal. Tut, a pin! this fhall be answer❜d. Fal. I will answer it straight;-I have done all this: That is now answer'd. Shal. The council fhall know this. Fal. 'Twere better for you if 'twere known in council; you'll be laugh'd at. Eva. Pauca verba, Sir John; good worts. Fal. Good worts! good cabbage ;-Slender, I broke your head: What matter have you against me? Slen. Marry, fir, I have matter in my head against you, and against your coney-catching rascals, Bardolph, Nym, and Pistol. Bar. You Banbury cheese! Pift. How now, Mephoftophilus? Slen. Ay, it is no matter. Nym. Slice, I fay! pauca, pauca; flice! that's my hu mour. Slen. Where's Simple, my man?-can you tell, cousin ? Eva. Peace: I pray you! Now let us understand: There is three umpires in this matter, as I understand: that is-mafter Page, fidelicet, master Page; and there is myfelf, fidelicet, myself; and the three party is, lastly and finally, mine hoft of the Garter. Page. We three, to hear it, and end it between them. Eva. Fery goot: I will make a prief of it in my notebook; and we will afterwards 'ork upon the cause, with as great difcreetly as we can. Fal. Piftol, Pift. He hears with ears. Eva. The tevil and his tam! what phrafe is this, He hears with ears? Why, it is affectations. Fal. Piftol, did you pick master Slender's purfe? Slen. Ay, by these gloves, did he (or I would I might never come in mine own great chamber again elfe), of feven groats in mill-fixpences, and two Edward fhovel boards, boards, that cost me two fhillings and two-pence a-piece of Yead Miller, by these gloves. Fal. Is this true, Pistol? Eva. No; it is falfe, if it is a pick-purfe. Pift. Ha, thou mountain-foreigner!Sir John, and master mine, I combat challenge of this latten bilboe: Word of denial: froth and fcum, thou ly'st. Slen. By thefe gloves, then 'twas he. Nym. Be avis'd, fir, and pafs good humours: I will fay, marry trap, with you, if you run the nuthook's hu mour on me; that is the very note of it. Slen. By this hat then, he in the red face had it: for though I cannot remember what I did when you made me drunk, yet I am not altogether an ass. Fal. What fay you, Scarlet and John? Bard. Why, fir, for my part, I fay, the gentleman had drunk himself out of his five fentences. Eva. It is his five fenfes fie, what the ignorance is! Bard. And being fap, fir, was, as they fay, cashier'd; and fo conclufions pafs'd the careires. Slen. Ay, you fpake in Latin then too; but 'tis no matter: I'll never be drunk whilft I live again, but in honeft, civil, godly company, for this trick: if I be drunk, I'll be drunk with those that have the fear of God, and not with drunken knaves. Eva. So Got 'udge me, that is a virtuous mind. Fal. You hear all these matters deny'd, gentlemen; you hear it. Enter Miftrefs ANNE PAGE with Wine; Miftrefs FORD and Miftrefs PAGE following. Page. Nay, daughter, carry the wine in; we'lldrink within. [Exit ANNE PAGE. Slen. O heaven! this is miftrefs Anne Page. Page, How now, mistress Ford? Fal. Miftrefs Ford, by my trothy ou are very well met: by your leave, good miftrefs. [Kiffing her. Page, Wife, bid thefe gentlemen welcome:-Come, B we we have a hot venifon pafty to dinner; come, gentlemen, I hope we fhall drink down all unkindness. [Exeunt all but SHAL. SLEND. and EVANS. Slen. I had rather than forty fhillings, I had my book of fongs and fonnets here: Enter SIMPLE. How now, Simple; where have you been; I muft wait on myself, must I? You have not the book of riddles about you, have you? Sim. Book of riddles! why, did you not lend it to Alice Shortcake upon Allhallowmas laft, a fortnight afore Michaelmas? Shal. Come, coz; come, coz; we ftay for you. A word with you, coz; marry, this, coz: There is, as 'twere, a tender, a kind of tender, made afar off by fir Hugh here; -Do you understand me? Slen. Ay, fir, you fhall find me reasonable; if it be so, I fhall do that that is reason. Shal. Nay, but understand me. Slen. So I do, fir. Eva. Give ear to his motions, mafter Slender: I will description the matter to you, if you be capacity of it. Slen. Nay, I will do, as my coufin Shallow fays: I pray you, pardon me; he's a juftice of peace in his country, fimple though I ftand here. Eva. But that is not the question; the question is concerning your marriage. Shal. Ay, there's the point, fir. Eva. Marry, is it; the very point of it; to mistress Anne Page. Slen. Why, if it be fo, I will marry her, upon any reasonable demands. Eva. But can you affection the 'oman? let us command to know that of your mouth, or of your lips; for divers philofophers hold, that the lips is parcel of the mouth;-Therefore, precifely, can you carry your good will to the maid? Shal. Coufin Abraham Slender, can you love her? Slen Slen. I hope, fir,—I will do, as it shall become one that would do reason. Eva. Nay, Got's lords and his ladies, you must speak poffitable, if you can carry her your defires towards her. Shal. That you must: Will you, upon good dowry, marry her? Slen. I will do a greater thing than that, upon your request, coufin, in any reason. Shal. Nay, conceive me, conceive me, fweet coz ; what I do is to pleasure you, coz: Can you love the maid? Slen. I will marry her, fir, at your requeft; but if there be no great love in the beginning, yet heaven may decrease it upon better acquaintance, when we are marry'd, and have more occafion to know one another: I hope upon familiarity will grow more contempt: but if you fay, marry her, I will marry her, that I am freely diffolved, and diffolutely. Eva. It is a very difcretion answer; fave the faul' is in the 'ort diffolutely: the 'ort is, according to our meaning, refolutely; his meaning is good. Shal. Ay, I think my coufin meant well. Slen. Ay, or elfe I would I might be hanged, la. Re-enter ANNE PAGE. Shal. Here comes fair mistress Anne : young for your fake, mistress Anne! -Would I were Anne. The dinner is on the table; my father defires your worship's company. Shal. I will wait on him, fair mistress Anne. grace. Eva. Od's pleffed will! I will not be abfence at the well. Anne. The dinner attends you, fir. Slen. I am not a-hungry, I thank you, forfooth:Go, firrah, for all you are my man, go, wait upon my coufin Shallow [Exit SIMP.] A juftice of peace fome, time may be beholden to his friend for a man:-I keep but three men and a boy yet, till my mother be dead: But what though? yet I live like a poor gentleman born. B2 Anna. Anne. I may not go in without your worship: they will not fit till you come. Slen. I'faith, I'll eat nothing: I thank you as much as though I did. Anne. I pray you, fir, walk in. Slen. I had rather walk here, I thank you: I bruis'd my fhin the other day with playing at fword and dagger with a master of fence, three veneys for a difh of stew'd' prunes; and, by my troth, I cannot abide the smell of hot meat fince. Why do your dogs bark fo? be there bears i' the town? Anne. I think there are, fir; I heard them talk'd of. Slen. I love the fport well; but I fhall as foon quarrel at it as any man in England :-You are afraid if you fee the bear loose, are you not? Anne. Ay, indeed, fir. Slen. That's meat and drink to me now: I have seen Sackerfon loose twenty times; and have taken him by the chain: but, I warrant you, the women have fo cry'd and fhriek'd at it, that it pafs'd :-but women, indeed, cannot abide 'em; they are very ill-favour'd rough things. Re-enter PAGE. Page. Come, gentle master Slender, come; we stay for you. Slen. I'll eat nothing, I thank you, fir. Page. By cock and pye, you fhall not choose, fir; Come, come. Slen. Nay, pray you lead the way. Page. Come on, fir. Slen. Miftrefs Anne, yourself fhall go firft. Anne. Not I, fir; pray you, keep on. Slen. Truly, I will not go firft; truly-la: I will not do you that wrong. Anne. I pray you, fir. Slen. I'll rather be unmannerly, than troublefome: you do yourself wrong, indeed-la. [Exeunt. SCENE |