ACT I NYм. My humour shall not cool: I will incense Page Sc. III to deal with poison; I will possess him with yellowness; for this revolt of mine is dangerous: that is my true humour. PIST. Thou art the Mars of malcontents: I second thee; SCENE IV. A Room in DOCTOR CAIUS' House. Enter MISTRESS QUICKLY, SIMPLE, and RUGBY. QUICK. What, John Rugby!-I pray thee, go to the casement, and see if you can see my master, Master Doctor Caius, coming. If he do, i' faith, and find any body in the house, here will be an old1 abusing of God's patience and the King's English. RUG. I'll go watch. [Exit RUGBY. QUICK. Go; and we'll have a posset for 't soon at night, in faith, at the latter end of a sea-coal fire. An honest, willing, kind fellow, as ever servant shall come in house withal; and, I warrant you, no tell-tale, nor no breedbate: his worst fault is, that he is given to prayer; he is something peevish that way. But nobody but has his fault-but let that pass. Peter Simple, you say, your name is? SIM. Ay, for fault of a better. QUICK. And Master Slender's your master? SIM. Ay, forsooth. QUICK. Does he not wear a great round beard, like a glover's paring knife? SIM. No, forsooth: he hath but a little wee face, with a little yellow beard; a Cain-colour'd' beard. QUICK. A softly-sprighted man, is he not? 21 SIM. Ay, forsooth: but he is as tall a man of his hands3 as any is between this and his head. He hath fought with a warrener. QUICK. HOW say you?-O, I should remember him. Does he not hold up his head, as it were? and strut in his gait? SIM. Yes, indeed, does he. 29 QUICK. Well, Heaven send Anne Page no worse fortune! Tell Master Parson Evans, I will do what I can for ACT I your master: Anne is a good girl, and I wish Re-enter RUGBY. RUG. Out, alas! here comes my master. QUICK. We shall all be shent.1 Run in here, good young Enter DOCTOR CAIUS. CAIUS. Vat is you sing? I do not like dese toys. Pray 43 CAIUS. Fe, fe, fe, fe! ma foi, il fait fort chaud. Je m'en vais à la Cour-la grande affaire. QUICK. Is it this, Sir? CAIUS. Ouy; mette le au mon pocket. Dépêche, quickly. QUICK. What, John Rugby! John! RUG. Here, Sir. 51 CAIUS. You are John Rugby, and you are Jack Rugby. Come, take-a your rapier, and come after my heel to de Court. RUG. 'Tis ready, Sir, here in the porch. CAIUS. By my trot, I tarry too long. 'Od's me! Qu'ayj'oublié? Dere is some simples in my closet, dat I vill not for the varld I shall leave behind. 60 QUICK. Ah me! he'll find the young man there, and be mad. CAIUS. O diable, diable! vat is in my closet?-Villainy? larron! [pulling SIMPLE out.] Rugby, my rapier. QUICK. Good master, be content. CAIUS. Verefore shall I be content-a? 1 scolded. Sc. IV ACT I QUICK. The young man is an honest man. CAIUS. Vat shall de honest man do in my closet? Dere is no honest man dat shall come in my closet. 69 QUICK. I beseech you, be not so flegmatick! Hear the truth of it: he came of an errand to me from Parson Hugh. CAIUS. Vell. SIM. Ay, forsooth, to desire her to QUICK. Peace, I pray you. CAIUS. Peace-a, your tongue. [to SIMPLE.] Speak-a your tale. SIM. To desire this honest gentlewoman, your maid, to 80 speak a good word to Mistress Anne Page for my CAIUS. Sir Hugh send-a you?-Rugby, baillez me some 92 99 CAIUS. You jack'nape: give-a this letter to Sir Hugh; by gar, it is a shallenge: I vill cut his troat in de Park; and I vill teach a scurvy jack-a-nape priest to meddle or make. You may be gone; it is not good you tarry here. By gar, I vill cut all his two stones; by gar, he shall not have a stone to trow at his dog. [Exit SIMPLE. QUICK. Alas, he speaks but for his friend. CAIUS. It is no matter-a ver dat: do not you tell-a me [Exeunt CAIUS and RUGBY. 120 QUICK. Who's there, I trow? Come near the house, I FENT. How now, good woman: how dost thou ? QUICK. The better, that it pleases your good Worship to ask. FENT. What news? how does pretty Mistress Anne? QUICK. In truth, Sir, and she is pretty, and honest, and gentle; and one that is your friend, I can tell you that by the way. I praise Heaven for it. 130 FENT. Shall I do any good, thinkest thou? Shall I not lose my suit? QUICK. Troth, Sir, all is in His hands above: but not withstanding, Master Fenton, I'll be sworn on a book, she loves you. Have not your Worship a wart above your eye? FENT. Yes, marry, have I; what of that? QUICK. Well, thereby hangs a tale: good faith, it is such 1 morbus Gallicus; i.e. 'what the pox.' 143 ACT I Sc. IV ACT I for thee; let me have thy voice in my behalf: if thou see'st her before me, commend me QUICK. Will I? I' faith, that we will: and I will tell your Worship more of the wart the next time we have confidence; and of other wooers. 149 [exit. FENT. Well, farewell: I am in great haste now. [exit. ACT II SCENE I. Before PAGE's House. Enter MISTRESS PAGE, with a letter. MRS. PAGE. What! have 'scap'd love-letters in the holiday time of my beauty, and am I now a subject for them? Let me see: [reads. Ask me no reason why I love you; for though Love use Reason for his physician, he admits him not for his counsellor. You are not young, no more am I; go to then, there's sympathy. You are merry, so am I. Ha! ha! then there's more sympathy. You love sack, and so do I; would you desire better sympathy? Let it suffice thee, Mistress Page (at the least, if the love of soldier can suffice), that I love thee. I will not say, pity me, 'tis not a soldier-like phrase; but I say, love me. By me, thine own true Knight, by day or night, Or any kind of light, with all his might For thee to fight, JOHN FALSTAFF. What a Herod of Jewry is this!-O wicked, wicked world!—One that is well-nigh worn to pieces with age, to shew himself a young gallant! What an unweigh'd1 behaviour hath this Flemish drunkard pick'd (with the Devil's name) out of my conversation, that he dares in this manner assay me? Why, he hath not been thrice in my company!—What should I say to him? I was 1 light, reckless. |