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MEDICINE POTABLE.

Act IV., Sc. 4.

"Preserving life in med'cine potable."

This is an allusion to the aurum potabile, a preparation of gold, which had formerly the reputation of great virtues.

MORE AND LESS. Act I., Sc. 1.

"And more and less do flock to follow him."

Great and small; the idiom is very frequently used by Chaucer. MUCH. Act II., Sc. 4.

"With two points on your shoulder? much." Much is here a vulgar expression of contempt.

MURE.

Act IV., Sc. 4.

"Hath wrought the mure."

A Latinism for wall.

NEIF. Act II., Sc. 4.

1

Neif is fist. See 'Midsummer Night's Dream.' NICE. Act I., Sc. 1.

"Hence, therefore, thou nice crutch."

Nice is weak, trifling, of no importance. As in 'Romeo and
Juliet,' Act V., Sc. 2. :—

"The letter was not nice, but full of charge."

NOISE Act II., Sc. 4.

"See if thou canst find out Sneak's noise."

A noise was a band of musicians.

PARCEL-GILT. Act II., Sc. 1.

"Thou didst swear to me upon a parcel-gilt goblet." Parcel-gilt is partially gilt; what is now called party-gilt. PARTICULAR. Act IV., Sc. 4.

"With every course in his particular."

The particular is the letter of detail of Prince John. A detailed statement is still a particular, or, oftener, perhaps, the particulars.

PROFACE! Act V., Sc. 3. This word, in the sense of much good may it do you, was common in Shakspere's time; its deri vation is uncertain. Nares thinks it was from the Norman romance language. Roquefort's Glossary' thus explains prouface-"souhait qui dire, bien vous fause; proficiat." The Italian buon pro vi faccia comes yet nearer the English. QUIVER. Act III., Sc. 2.

"There was a little quiver fellow."

Quiver is light, nimble.

RIDES THE WILD MARE. Act II., Sc. 4. To ride the wild mare was to play at the game of see-saw.

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RIGOL. Act IV., Sc. 4.

"That from this golden rigol."

Rigol is only found in Shakspere; but Nash has ringol, which he explains as a ringed circle.

ROYAL. Act IV., Sc. 1.

"That were our royal faiths martyrs in love."

The royal faith is the faith due to a king, as in 'Henry VIII.':"The citizens have shown at full their royal minds."

STAND MY GOOD LORD. Act IV., Sc. 3. The court phrase, according to Bishop Percy, was "Be my good lord," when a favour was asked of a person of rank.

STONES. Act III., Sc. 2.

"I will make him a philosopher's two stones to me."

The alchemists sought for two stones; as Churchyard expresses it, "A stone for gold," and "a stone for health."

STRATAGEM. Act I., Sc. 1.

"Every minute now

Should be the father of some stratagem."

Stratagem is here used in accordance with its Greek derivation, as some military movement, some enterprise, some piece of generalship.

SUCCESS. Act IV., Sc. 2.

"And so, success of mischief shall be born."

Success is here used for succession.

TAKING-UP. Act I., Sc. 2.

"In honest taking-up."

Taking-up is obtaining goods on credit.

TITLE-LEAF. Act I., Sc. 1.

"This man's brow, like to a title-leaf."

A black-bordered title-page was used to distinguish poems of lament-elegies in the restricted sense of the word.

UTIS. Act II., Sc 4.

"Here will be old utis."

Utis, or utas, was a law-term signifying the interval between any festival and its octave, or eighth day, and was thence used for merriment in general. Old does not here mean ancient, but extreme, as in Much Ado about Nothing,' "Yonder's old coil at home."

YEOMAN. Act II., Sc. 1.

"Where s your yeoman?"

The bailiff's follower was called a sergeant's yeoman.

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