Enter Falfiaff.

Fal. No, I'll come no more i' the basket: May I not go out, ere he come ?

Mrs. Page. Alas, three of master Ford's brothers watch the door with pistols, that none fhould iffue out; otherwife you might flip away ere he came. But what make you here?

Fal. What fhall I do? I'll creep up into the chimney.

Mrs. Ford. There they always ufe to discharge their birding-pieces: creep into the kiln-hole. Fal. Where is it?

Mrs. Ford. He will feek there, on my word.Neither prefs, coffer, chest, trunk, well, vault, but he hath an abstract for the remembrance of fich places, and goes to them by his note: There is no hiding you in the house.

Fal. I'll go out then.

Mrs. Ford. If you go out in your own femblance, you die, fir John; unlefs you go out difguis'd How might we disguise him?

Mrs. Page. Alas the day, I know not. There is no woman's gown big enough for him; otherwife, he might put on a hat, a muffler, and a kerchief, and fo escape.

Mrs. Ford. Go, firs, take the basket again on your shoulders; your master is hard at door; if he bid you fet it down, obey him: quickly, dispatch. [Exeunt Mrs. Page and Mrs. Ford. Enter Servants with the basket.

1 Serv. Come, come, take up.

2 Serv. Pray heaven, it be not full of the knight again.

1 Serv. I hope not; I had as lief bear so much lead.

Enter Ford, Shallow, Page, Caius, and Sir Hugh
Evans.

Ford. Ay, but if it prove true, master Page, have you any way then to unfool me again ?-Set down the basket, villain :-Somebody call my wife :Youth in a basket !-Oh, you pandarly rascals !— there's a knot, a gang, a pack, a conspiracy, against me: Now fhall the devil be fham'd.--What! wife, I fay! come, come forth; behold what honeft cloaths you fend forth to bleaching.

Page. Why, this paffes 4! Master Ford, you are not to go loofe any longer; you must be pinion'd. Eva. Why, this is lunatics! this is mad as a mad dog!

Shal. Indeed, mafter Ford, this is not well; in

Fal. Good hearts, devife fomething: any extre-deed. mity, rather than a mifchief.

Mrs. Ford. My maid's aunt, the fat woman of Brentford, has a gown above.

Mrs. Page. On my word, it will ferve him; fhe's as big as he is; and there's her thrum 2 hat, and her muffler 3 too: Run up, fir John.

Mrs. Ford. Go, go, fweet fir John: mistress Page, and I, will look fome linen for your head.

Mrs. Page. Quick, quick; we'll come drefs you ftraight: put on the gown the while. [Exit Falfiaff. Mrs. Ford. I would, my husband would meet him in this fhape: he cannot abide the old woman of Brentford; he fwears, the's a witch, forbade her my houfe, and hath threatened to beat her.

Mrs. Page. Heaven guide him to thy husband's cudgel; and the devil guide his cudgel afterwards! Mrs. Ford. But is my husband coming?

Mrs. Page. Ay, in good fadness, is he; and talks of the basket too, howfoever he hath had intelligence.

Ms. Ford. We'll try that; for I'll appoint my men to carry the basket again, to meet him at the door with it, as they did last time.

Mrs. Page. Nay, but he'll be here prefently let's go drefs him like the witch of Brentford.

Mrs. Ford. I'll first direct my men what they fhall do with the basket. Go up, I'll bring linen for him straight.

Mrs. Page. Hang him, difhoneft varlet! we cannot mifufe him enough.

We'll leave a proof, by that which we will do,
Wives may be merry, and yet honeft too :
We do not act, that often jeft and laugh;
'Tis old but true, Still fwine eat all the draugh.

Enter Mrs. Ford.

Ford. So fay I too, fir.-Come hither, mistress Ford;-miftrefs Ford, the honeft woman, the modeft wife, the virtuous creature, that hath the jealous fool to her husband!-I suspect without cause, mittrefs, do I?

Mrs. Ford. Heaven be my witness, you do, if you fufpect me in any dishonesty.

Ford. Well faid, brazen-face; hold it out. Come forth, firrah. [Pulls the cloaths out of the baskst. Page. This paffes 4.

Mrs. Ford. Are you not afham'd? let the cloathe

alone.

Ford. I fhall find you anon.

Eva. 'Tis unreasonable! Will you take up your wife's cloaths? come away.

Ford. Empty the basket, I fay.
Mrs. Ford. Why, man, why,-

Ford. Mafter Page, as I am a man, there was one convey'd out of my house yesterday in this bafket; Why may not he be there again? In my houfe I am fure he is: my intelligence is true; my jealoufy is reasonable: Pluck me out all the linen.

Mrs. Ford. If you find a man there, he shall die a flea's death.

Page. Here's no man.

Shal. By my fidelity, this is not well, master Ford; this wrongs you.

Eva. Mafter Ford, you must pray, and not fo!low the imaginations of your own heart: this is jealoufies.

Ford. Well, he's not here I seek for.

Page. No, nor no where elfe but in your brain.

That is, a lift, an inventory. 2 The thrum is the end of a weaver's warp, and was probably ufed for making coarfe hats. 3 A muffler was fome part of dress that cover'd the face. 4 To pass means here, to go beyond bounds. 5 Meaning, this is below your character.

Ford

Fard. Help to fearch my house this one time: if I find not what 1 feek, fhew no colour for my extremity, let me for ever be your table-fport; let them fay of me, As jealous as Ford, that fearch'd a hollow wall-nut for his wife's leman 1. Satisfy me once more, once more fearch with me. Mrs. Ford. What hoa, mistress Page! come you and the old woman down; my husband will come into the chamber.

Ford. Old woman! what old woman's that? Mrs. Page. Come, to the forge with it, then, Mrs. Ford. Why, it is my maid's aunt of Brent-shape it: I would not have things cool. [Exeunt. ford.

Fed. A witch, a quean, an old cozening quean! Have I not forbid her my house? She comes of errands, does the? We are fimple men; we do not know what's brought to pass under the profeffion of fortune-telling. She works by charms, by ípells, by the figure, and fuch daubery 2 as this is: beyond our element: we know nothing.Come down, you witch; you hag you, come down, I Lay.

Mri. Ford. Nay, good sweet husband ;-good gentlemen, let him not strike the old woman. Ester Falfaf in women's cloaths, led by Mrs. Page. Mr. Page. Come, mother Prat, come, give

Ford. I'll prat her:-Out of my doors, you witch! [Beats bim.] you hag, you baggage, you poulcat, you ronyon 3! out! out! I'll conjure you, I'll fortune-tell you. [Exit Fal.

Mrs. Page. Are you not asham'd? I think, you have kill'd the poor woman.

Mrs. Ford. Nay, he will do it :-'Tis a goodly credit for you.

1 Lover. Leman is derived from leef, Dutch, beloved, and man. 2 Dauberies are difguifes. 3, applied to a woman, imports much the fame with fall or feab spoken of a man. action is borrowed from hunting. Trail is the fcent left by the paffage of the game. To ya, is to open or bark. 5 Meaning, there would be no proper catastrophe. • That is, they F 2

that he should not come: methinks, his flesh is and I will be like a jack-an-apes alfo, to burn the punish'd, he shall have no defires. knight with my taber.

Mrs. Ford. Devife but how you'll ufe him when vizards.

Mrs. Page. My Nan fhall be the queen of all the fairies,

Mrs. Page. There is an old tale goes, that Finely attired in a robe of white.

1 To take, here means to feize or ftrike with a difeafe.

2 Meaning age. 3 Urchin is a hedgehog; but is here ufed to fignify any thing little and dwarfish. Ouph is a fairy or goblin. Warburton fays, this fignifics a fong that ftrikes out into wild fentiments beyond the bounds of nature, fuch as thofe whofe fubject is fairy land. 5 Properties are incidenta! neceffaries to a theatre, exclufive of fcenes and dreifes. 6 To trick, is to drefs out. 7 The ufual furniture of chambers in thofe times confifted of a ftanding-bed, under which was a truckle, or running bed. In the former lay the mafter, and in the latter the fervant. 8 That is, a Cannibal. The Hoft ufes this highfounding word to aftonith Simple; an effect which he probably likewife means to produce by the word Epiefian, which follows. 9 See the preceding note.

coming down of thy fat woman: Let her defcend, horfes and money. I tell you for good-will, look baily, let ber defcend; my chambers are honour-you: you are wife, and full of gibes and vlouting→ able: Fie! privacy? fie!

Enter Falfaff.

Fal. There was, mine hoft, an old fat woman even now with me; but fhe's gone.

Simp. Pray you, fir, was 't not the wife woman of Brentford ?

Fal. Ay, marry was it, muffel-fhell; What would you with her?

ftogs; and 'tis not convenient you should be cozen'd: Fare you well.

Enter Caius.

[Exit.

Caius. Vere is mine Hoft de Jarterre? Hoft. Here, mafter doctor, in perplexity, and doubtful dilemma.

Caius. I cannot tell vat is dat: But it is tell-a-me, dat you make a grand preparation for a duke de Ja. Simp. My mafter, fir, mafter Slender fent to her, many: by my trot, dere is no duke, dat de court is feeing her go through the street, to know, fir, whe-know, to come: I tell you for good-vill: adieu. ther one Nym, fir, that beguil'd him of a chain, had the chain, or no.

Fal. 1 ipake with the old woman about it. Simp. And what fays the, I pray, fir? FL Murry, the fays, that the very fame man, that beguil'd marter Slender of his chain, cozen'd ham of it.

[Exit.

Hoft. Hue and cry, villain, go! affift me, knight; I am undone:-fly, run, hue and cry, villain! I'm undone ! [Exit. Fal. I would all the world might be cozen'd; for I have been cozen'd, and beaten too. If it thould come to the ear of the court, how I have

Simp. I would I could have spoken with the wo-been transform'd, and how my transformation hath man herself; I had other things to have fpoken been wash'd and cudgel'd, they would melt me with her too, from him.

Fal. What are they? let us know,

H. Av, come; quick.

Sp 1 may not conceal them, fir.
Fal. Conceal them, or thou dy't.

Simp, Why, fir, they were nothing but about mitret Arne Page; to know, if it were my mafrtune to have her, or no.

La Tis, 'tis his fortune.
Sims. What, fir?

Fol. To have her-or no: Go; fay the woman

t me fo.

Simp. May I be fo bold to fay fo, fir?

Fa.. Av, fr Tike; like who more bold. Sep. I thank your worship: I fhall make my kid with thefe tidings. [Exit Simple. P.. Thou art clerkly 2, thou art clerkly, fir Ja: Was there a wife woman with thee? Fal Ay, that there was, mine hoft; one, that Eth tangit me more wit than ever I learn'd before in my le: and I paid nothing for it neither, but was paid for my learning.

Enter Bardolph.

Fard. Out, alas, fir! cozenage! mere cozenage!
Het. Where be my horfes? fpeak well of them,

varletto.

Bad Run away with the cozeners: for fo foon * I come bezond Eaton, they threw me off, from behind one of them, in a flough of mire; and fet frun, and away, like three German devils, three Doctor Fanitus's.

out of my fat, drop by drop, and liquor fisher-
men's boots with me: I warrant, they would
whip me with their fine wits, till I were as crest.
faln as a dry'd pear. I never prosper'd since I
forefwore myself at Primero 3. Well, if my wind
were but long enough to fay my prayers, I would
| repent.-
Enter Miftrefs Quickly.

Now! whence came you?

Quie. From the two parties, forfooth.

Fal. The devil take one party, and his dam the other, and fo they thall be both beftow'd! I have fuffer'd more for their fakes, more, than the vil lainous inconftancy of man's difpofition is able to

bear.

Quic. And have not they fuffer'd? yes, I warrant; fpeciously one of them; mistress Ford, good heart, is beaten black and blue, that you cannot fee a white spot about her.

Fal. What tell'it thou me of black and blue? I was beaten myself into all the colours of the rainbow; and I was like to be apprehended for the witch of Brentford; but that my admirable dexterity of wit, counterfeiting the action of an old woman, deliver'd me, the knave conftable had fet me i' the stocks, i' the common stocks, for a witch.

Quic. Sir, let me speak with you in your chamber: you fhall hear how things go; and, I warrant, to your content. Here is a letter will fay fomewhat. Good hearts, what ado is here to bring H. They are gone but to meet the duke, vil-you together! fure, one of you does not ferve an: do not lay, they are fled; Germans are ho-heaven well, that you are fo crofs'd.

Falfaff probably calls Simple muffel-fhell, from his standing with his mouth open, Englar-lake, 3 A game at cards,

F 3

That is,

And

ACT V.

Enter Falfaff and Mrs. Quickly.
R'YTHEE, no more pratling ;-go.—|

Fal.
good luck lies in odd numbers. Away, go; they
say, there is divinity in odd numbers, either in na-
tivity, chance, or death.-Away.

Quic. I'll provide you a chain; and I'll do what I can to get you a pair of horns. [Exit Mrs. Quickly.-Follow: Strange things in hand, master Brook! Fal. Away, I fay; time wears: hold up your follow.head, and mince 6.

Slen. Ay, forfooth; I have spoke with her, and Fal. I went to her, master Brook, as you fee, we have a nay-word 7 how to know one another. like a poor old man: but I came from her, maf-I come to her in white, and cry, mum; she cries,. ter Brook, like a poor old woman. That fame knave, Ford her husband, hath the finest mad devil of jealoufy in him, master Brook, that ever govern'd frenzy. I will tell you-He beat me grievously, in the shape of a woman; for in the

That is, the reprefentation. 2 In the letter. 3 Even here means as. 4 Perhaps we should read denote. 5 As quaint fignifies fantastical, the meaning may be, fantastically dreft in green. To mince is to walk with affected delicacy. 7 That is, a watch-word.