Bardolph. Piftol. Nym. Robin, page to Falstaff. William Page, a boy, fon to Mr. Pagi. Simple, fervant to Slender. Rugby, fervant to Dr. Caius. Mrs. Page. Mrs. Ford. Mrs. Ann Page, daughter to Mr. Page, in love with Fenton. Mrs. Quickly, fervant to Dr. Caius. Servants to Page, Ford, &c. SCENE, Windfor; and the parts adjacent. Before Page's house in Windfor. Enter Justice Shallow, Slender, and Sir Hugh Evans. SHALLOW. IR Hugh, perfuade me not; I will make 3 a Star-chamber matter of it. If he were twenty Sir John Falstaffs, he shall not abuse Robert Shallow, Esquire. Slen. A few of the incidents in this comedy might have been taken from fome old tranflation of the Il Pecorone of Giovanni Fiorentino. I have lately met with the fame story in a very contemptible performance, intitled, The fortunate, the deceived, and the unfortunate Lovers. Of this book, as I am told, there are several impreffions; but that in which I read it, was published in 1632, quarto. A fomething fimilar ftory occurs in The Piacevoli Notti di Straparola. Nott. 42. Fav. 4. STEEV. 2 The Merry Wives of Windfor.] Queen Elizabeth was fo well pleased with the admirable character of Falftaff in The Two Parts of Henry IV. that, as Mr. Rowe informs us, fhe commanded Shakespeare to continue it for one play more, and to fhew him in love. To this command we owe The Merry Wives of Windfor: which, Mr. Gildon fays, he was very well affured, VOL. I. N our Slen. In the county of Gloucefter, juftice of peace, and Coram. Shal. Ay, coufin Slender, and 4 Cuftalorum. Slen. Ay, and Ratolorum too; and a gentleman born, mafter parfon; who writes himself Armigero; in any bill, warrant, quittance, or obligation, Armigero. Shal. Ay, that I do; and have done any time thefe three hundred years. Slen. All his fucceffors, gone before him, have don't; and all his ancestors, that come after him, may: they may give the dozen white luces in their coat. Shal. It is an old coat. -Eva. The dozen white loufes do become an old coat well; it agrees well, paffant: it is a familiar beast to man, and fignifies-love. Shal. 5 The luce is the fresh fish; the falt fish is an old coat. Slen. our author finished in a fortnight. But this must be meant only of the first imperfect sketch of this comedy; an old quarto edition which I have feen, printed in 1602; which fays in the title-page-As it hath been divers times acted both before ber majefty, and elsewhere. Pope. THEOBALD. 3 a Star-chamber matter of it.] Ben Jonfon intimates, that the Star-chamber had a right to take cognizance of such See The Magnetick Lady, Act 3. Sc. 4. matters. "There is a court above, of the Star-chamber, Cuftalorum.] This is, I fuppofe, intended for a corruption of Cuftos Rotulorum. The mistake was hardly defigned by the author, who, though he gives Shallow folly enough, makes him rather pedantic than illiterate. If we read: Shal. Ay, confin Slender, and Cuftos Rotulorum. It follows naturally: Slen. Ay, and Ratalorum too. JOHNSON. 5 The luce, &c.] I fee no confequence in this answer. Perhaps we may read, the falt fish is not an old coat. That is, the fresh fish is the coat of an ancient family, and the falt fish is the coat of a merchant grown rich by trading over the sea. JOHNSON. Shakespeare, by hinting that the arms of the Shallows and the Lucys were the fame, fhews he could not forget his old friend Sir Tho. Lucy, pointing at him under the character of Justice Slen. I may quarter, coz. Shal. You may, by marrying. Eva. It is marring, indeed, if he quarter it. Eva. Yes, py'r-lady; if he has a quarter of your coat, there is but three fkirts for yourfelf, in iny fimple conjectures. But that is all one: if Sir John Falitaff have committed difparagements unto you, I am of the church, and will be glad to do my bene volence, to make atonements and compromifes be tween you. Shal. The council fhall hear it; it is a riot. Eva. Juftice Shallow. But to put the matter out of all doubt, Shakespeare has here given us a diftinguishing mark, whereby it appears that Sir Thomas was the very perfon represented by Shallow. To fet blundering parfon Evans right, Shallow tells him, the luce is not the loufe, but the fresh fifo, or pike, the falt fish (indeed) is an old coat. The plain English of which is (if I am not greatly mistaken) the family of the Charlcotts had for their arms a falt fifb originally; but when William, fon of Walter de Charlcott, affumed the name of Lucy, in the the time of Henry III. he took the arms of the Lucys. This is not at all improbable; for we find, when Maud Lucy bequeathed her eftates to the Percys, it was upon condition they joined her arms with their own. "Says Dugdale, it is likely "William de Charlcott took the name of Lucy to oblige his "mother." And I fay further, it is likely he took the arms of the Lucys at the fame time. SMITH. The luce is a pike or jack. Many a fair partriche had he in mewe, "And many a breme, and many a luce in ftewe." Chaucer's Prol. of the Cant. Tales, 351, 352. In Ferne's Blazon of Gentry, 1586, quarto, the arms of the Lucy family are reprefented as an inftance, that " figns of the coat fhould fomething agree with the name. It is the coat "of Geffray Lord Lucy. He did bear gules, three lucies "hariant, argent." STEEVENS. • The council fhall bear it; it is a riot.] He alludes to a ftatute made in the reign of K. Henry IV. (13 chap. 7.) by which it is enacted, That the juftices, three, or two of them, and "the fheriff, fhall certify before the king, and his counfelle, "all the deeds and circumftances thereof (namely the riot) "which certification fhould be of the like force as the pre«fent N 2 |