Welse Christian, than (sirreverence o' the company) the hilts of his dagger.

Jen. Go to, I will make the hilts conceive a knock upon your pate, and pershance a bump too, if you tauke.

Ev. How! upon my pate?

Jen. Yes, upon your pate, your poetly pate, and your law pate too.

Grif. Tawson, Tawson! For' got yow will go nere to hazard a thumb," and a fowre finger of your best hand, if you knock him here; you may knock him better s'eape at Ludlow a great deal: do you know the place where it is?

Ev. Well, I can be patient, I trust, I trust, it is in a presence, I presume, that loves no quarrels nor replies, nor the lies, nor the shallenge, nor the duels : but I will do my byssiness now, and make this a byssiness for another days hereafter pleas' your madestee- -By got I am out of my tempers terribly well, got forgive me, and pyt me in my selve again. How does your highness--I know not a 'oord or a syllable what I say; 'is do me that vexations.

Grif. O Evan, for the honour of Wales!

Ev. I remember him now, 'tis enough :-blessings

Sirreverence o' the company.] If any confirmation be required of the correctness of my explanation of this phrase, vol. vi. p. 139, it may be found in the following extract from an old tract on the Origin of Tobacco. "The time hath beene, when if we did speake of this loathsome stuffe (tobacco) we used to put a Sir reverence before; but we forget our good manners: and the best is I speak but to such as are unmannerly in the taking of it, as I am in the speaking of it." I have endeavoured in more places than one to make assurance doubly sure, from a regard to Shakspeare. Some future editor, not prone by nature to wallow in beastliness, will, I trust, avail himself of these notices, to disencumber his page of a number of pretended explanations no less absurd than disgusting. 7 You will go near to hazard a thumb, &c.] Griffith alludes to the penalty for striking in court, which was the loss of the right hand.

upon me, is out o' my head again; lost, quite lost: this knock o' my pate has knock aull my wits out o' my brains, I think, and turn my reasons out of doors. Believe it, I will rub, and break your s'ins for this, I will not come so high as your head, but I will take your nose in my way, very sufficiently.

Jen. Hang your sufficiency.

Ev. 'Tis well, very well, 'tis better, better exceedingly well.

Enter HOWELL and RHEESE, with their harps.

How. What you mean ho! to make us so long tarry here, ha?

Grif. Marry, here is aull undone with distempers, methinks, and angers, and passions.

Rheese. Who is angry?

Ev. Why it is I is angry, and hungry too, if you mark me; I could eat his Flintseer face now offer to knock my pate in the hearing of all these, and more too! well, before his madestee I do yet forgive him now with all my heart, and will be revenged another time.

How. Why that is good Evan, honest, brave Evan. Rheese. Ha, yow told the king's madestee of the alterations?

Ev. I am now once again about him; peace: please your madestee, the Welse nation hearing that the prince of Wales was to come into the hills again, afore your madestee, have a desire of his highness, for the honour of Wales, to make him a Welse hills, which is done without any manner of sharshese to your madestee, only shanging his name: he is caull now Craig-Eriri, a mountain in Carnarvanseere has as grey beard, and as much snow upon his head aull the year long

fen. As Adlas for his guts.

Ev. He tells your madestee true, for aull he is a

liddle out of season: but cym every man tell as much as he can now; my quality is, I hope, sufficiently known to his madestee, that I am Rector Chori is all my ambitions, and that I would have it aull Welse, that is the short and the long of the requests. The prince of Wales we know is all over Welse.

Jen. And then my lord marquis.*

Ev. Both my lord marquis is as good, noble, true Briton, as any ever is come out of Wales.

Jen. My lord Montgymery is as sound Welse too as flese and blood can make him.

How. And the Howards by got, is Welse as strait as any arrow.

Ev. Houghton is a town bear his name there by Pipidiauke.

How. And Erwin, his name is Wyn; but the Dutsmen come here in Wales, and caull him Heer-win. Rheese. Then Car is plain Welse, Caerleon, Caermardin, Cardiffe.

Jen. And Palmer, his ancestors was call him Pen

maure.

Rheese. And Acmooty, is Ap-mouth-wye of Llanmouthwye.

Jen. And Abercromy, is aull one as Abermarlys.
Ev. Or Abertau.

How. Or Aberdugled haw.
Rheese. Or Abeshondhy.
Jen. Or Abergeveny.

How. Or Aberconway.

Ev. Aberconway is very like Abercromy, a liddle hard s'ift has pyt 'em aull into Wales; but our desires and petitions is, that the musiques be all Welse, and the dances, and no 'Ercules brought in now with a great staff, and a pudding upon him.

8 Jen. And then my lord marquis.] Henry, fifth earl and first marquis of Worcester. What Evan says of him is no exaggeration of the truth.

Jen. Aw! was his distaff, was not his club.

Ev. What need of 'Ercules, when Cadwallader— Jen. Or Lluellin, or Rheese ap Gryffyth, or Cradock, or Owen Glendower, with a Welse hook and a goat-skin on his back, had done very better, and twice as well?

Ev. Nay, and to pyt apparel on a pottle of hay, and call him Lantæus.

Grif. The belly-gods too, was as proper a monster

as the best of 'em.

Ev. I stand to it, there was neither poetries nor architectures, nor designs in that belly-god; nor a note of musics about him. Come, bring forth our musics, yow s'all hear the true Pritan strains now, the ancient Welse harp- -yow tauke of their Pigmees too, here is a Pigmees of Wales now: set forth another Pigmees by him!

Enter two Women, followed by the Musicians.

I Wo. Aw diesus! what a bravely company is here! This is a finely haull indeed.

2 Wo. What a deal of fine candle it is!

Jen. Ay, peace; let his madestee hear the music. 2 Wo. Ble mae yr Brenin?9

Jen. Docko ve.

I Wo. Diesus bless him! saint Davy bless him! I bring my boy o' my back ten mile here to loog upon him: loog Hullin, loog Hullin! Stewch hummaven nayd Dumma braveris: you s'all hear him play too.

Ev. Peace, no more pradling; begin set him down. [Music.

9 Ble mae yr Brenin.] Or, ble mae'r Brenin ? Where is the king? Docko ve. There he is.

1 Stewch! Dymma, &c.] This is wofully corrupt; but it seems to mean, Hist! hold your peace! see how he capers!

I SONG.

Evan. I is not come here to tauk of Brut,
From whence the Welse does take his root;
Nor tell long pedigree of prince Camber,
Whose linage would fill aull this chamber;
Nor sing the deeds of old saint Davy,
Th' ursip of which would fill a navy.
But hark yow me now, for a liddel tales
Sall make a gread deal to the credit of Wales;
Cho. In which we'll toudge your ears,

With the praise of her thirteen s'eeres,
And make you as glad and merry
As fourteen pot of Perry.

Still, still, we'll toudge your ears,
With the praise, &c.

2 SONG.

How. 'Tis true, was wear him sherkin freize,
But what is that? we have store of seize,
And Got is plenty of goats milk

That sell him well, will buy him silk
Enough to make him fine to quarrel
At Hereford sizes in new apparel;
And get him as much green velvet perhap,
S'all give it a face to his Monmouth cap.
Cho. But then the ore of Lempster,

By got is never a sempster,

2 But then the ore of Lempster.] "As for the wool of Hereford (Fuller says) it is best known, to the honour thereof by the name of Lempster ore, being absolutely the finest in all England." It is frequently noticed by our old poets: thus Herrick :

"By many a turn and many a cross,
The fairies reach a bank of moss,

Spungy and swelling, and far more

Soft, than the finest Lempster ore." Oberon's Palace.