you should have seen me unrip their noses now, and have sent them to the next barbers to stitching; for, do you see--I am a man of humour, and I do love the varlets, the honest, varlets, they have wit and valour, and are indeed good profitable, errant rogues," as any live in an empire. Dost thou hear, poetaster? [to Crispinus.] second me. Stand up, Minos, close, gather, yet, so! Sir, (thou shalt have a quartershare, be resolute) you shall, at my request, take Minos by the hand here, little Minos, I will have it so; all friends, and a health: be not inexorable. And thou shalt impart the wine, old boy, thou shalt do it, little Minos, thou shalt; make us pay it in our physic. What! we must live. and honour the Gods sometimes; now Bacchus, now Comus, now Priapus; every god a little. [Histrio passes by.] What's he that stalks by there, boy, Pyrgus? You were best let him pass, sirrah; do, ferret, let him pass, do

2 Pyr. 'Tis a player, sir.

Tuc. A player! call him, call the lousy slave hither; what, will he sail by, and not once strike, or vail to a man of war? ha!-Do you hear, you player, rogue, stalker, come back here;

2 And have sent them to the next barber's to stitching.] The barbers in Jonson's days practised many inferior parts of surgery. WHAL.

3 And are indeed, good, profitable—errant rogues, &c.] This is the σχημα πας' ὑπονοιαν, in which Jonson and his master, Aristophanes, so much delight:

Αλλ' ε σε κρυψων των εμών γαρ οικείων

Πιτοτατον ἡγεμαι σε, και—κλεπτιςατον.

Plut. v. 26.

4 And not strike or vail to a man of war?] i. e. to himself. The allusion is to merchant vessels railing, or lowering their top-sails or their colours to a king's ship. To vail, as I have already observed, p. 186, occurs incessantly in our old dramatists, and always in the same sense, viz. as a mark of inferiority or submission.

Enter Histrio.

No respect to men of worship, you slave! what, you are proud, you rascal, are you proud, ha? you grow rich, do you, and purchase, you twopenny tear-mouth? you have FORTUNE,' and the good year on your side, you stinkard, you have, you have!

Hist. Nay, sweet captain, be confined to some reason; I protest I saw you not, sir.

Tuc. You did not! where was your sight, Edipus? you walk with hare's eyes, do you? I'll have them glazed, rogue; an you say the word, they shall be glazed for you: come, we must have you turn fidler again, slave, get a base viol at your back, and march in a tawney coat, with one sleeve, to Goose-fair;' then you'll know us,

5 You two-penny tear-mouth? So he calls the players from the two-penny gallery in the theatres of that age. WHAL.

You have FORTUNE, &c.] He alludes to the Fortune playhouse, one of the earliest theatres in London, and situate somewhere about Whitecross-street.

7 March in a tawney-coat, with one sleeve, to Goose-fair.] This is the colour still most affected by such as grind music at the vestibule of the palace of king Solomon, or the royal tiger from Bengal, at races and country fairs. "The widow, and two of her gallants, being at the fair, entered a tavern, where they had not sitten long, but in comes a noise (a company) of musicians in tawney coats, who, putting off their cappes, asked if they would have any music." Hist. of John Newchombe. Goose-fair, or, as it is usually called, Green-goose fair, is mentioned by many of Jonson's contemporaries. Thus Glapthorne, in that excellent old comedy, Wit in a Constable:

And you,

"That are the precious paragons of the city

"And scorn our country sports, can have your meetings "At Islington and Green-goose fair, and sip

"A zealous glass of wine."

It is still held (as in the poet's days) on Whitsun-monday, at

you'll see us then, you will, gulch, you will. Then, Will't please your worship to have any music, captain?

Hist. Nay, good captain.

Tuc. What, do you laugh, Howleglas!' death, you perstemptuous varlet, I am none of your fellows; I have commanded a hundred and fifty such rogues, I.

2 Pyr. Ay, and most of that hundred and fifty have been leaders of a legion. [Aside. Hist. If I have exhibited wrong, I'll tender satisfaction, captain.

Tuc. Say'st thou so, honest vermin! Give me thy hand; thou shalt make us a supper one of these nights.

Hist. When you please, by Jove, captain, most willingly.

Tuc. Dost thou swear! To-morrow then; say and hold, slave. There are some of you players honest gentlemen-like scoundrels, and suspected to have some wit, as well as your poets, both at drinking and breaking of jests, and are compa

Bow near Stratford in Essex; and takes its name from the young or green geese which form the principal part of the entertainment. In Jonson's time, probably, itinerant companies of players resorted there :-but all this seems very strange at Rome!

8 You will, gulch.] Gulch is a stupid fat-headed fellow. The word occurs in the old comedy of Lingua. "You muddy gulch, dare you look me in the face?" See Old Plays. WHAL.

9 What do you laugh, Howleglas!] There is an allusion to this person in the Latin poem called Grobianus,

"Fecit idem quondam vir famigeratus ubique,

"Nomina cui speculo noctua juncta dedit."

On which the English translator has the following note! "Here "the author alludes to a book written in Dutch, intituled, The "life of Uyle-spegel, or Owl-glass, an hero of equal rank with "Tom Tram in English." WHAL. See the Alchemist.

nions for gallants. A man may skelder ye, now and then, of half a dozen shillings, or so. Dost thou not know that Pantalabus there?1

Hist. No, I assure you, captain.

Tuc. Go; and be acquainted with him then; he is a gentleman, parcel poet, you slave; his father was a man of worship, I tell thee. Go, he pens high, lofty, in a new stalking strain, bigger than half the rhymers in the town again : he was born to fill thy mouth, Minotaurus, he was, he will teach thee to tear and rand. Rascal, to him, cherish his muse, go; thou hast fortyforty shillings, I mean, stinkard; give him in earnest, do, he shall write for thee, slave!

If

■ Dost thou know that Pantalabus there?] In the quarto it is, that Caprichio there. Perhaps it should be Pantolabus, as in Horace, unless Jonson thought Pantalabus more agreable to etymology. The real appellation of this person was Mallius: his nick-name he acquired from borrowing money of every one he met. It does not appear in what Crispinus resembled Pantalabus; the "skeldering captain" himself, was much more like him. But difficulties increase at every step; Langbaine, who probably spoke the language of his time, roundly asserts that Decker is lashed under the character of Crispinus; and his assertion has been repeated by every writer on the subject, without a single exception, to the present day. But is this the fact? Nothing of what follows can be applied to Decker; his father was not 66 a man of worship," nor did he " pen high, lofty, in a new stalking strain." Briefly," I do now," like Stephano, let loose my opinion," that the CRISPINUS of Jonson is MARSTON, to whom every word of this directly points. This will derange much confident criticism; but I shall be found eventually in the right. Decker I take to be the Demetrius of the present play. He is treated with far more contempt than Crispinus, who, on the other hand, is persecuted with more severity. I know not the origin of our poet's quarrel with either; but he denies, and I believe with truth, that he made the first attack.

2 Give him earnest, do, he shall write for thee, slave!] This was not an uncommon practice and time and the diligence of Mr. Malone, have brought to light many memorandums of VOL. II.

Hh

he pen for thee once, thou shalt not need to travel with thy pumps full of gravel any more, after a blind jade and a hamper, and stalk upon boards and barrel heads to an old crack'd trum pet.

Hist. Troth, I think I have not so much about me, captain.

Tuc. It's no matter; give him what thou hast, stiff-toe, I'll give my word for the rest; though it lack a shilling or two, it skills not: go, thou art an honest shifter; I'll have the statute repeal'd for thee.'-Minos, I must tell thee, Minos, thou hast dejected yon gentleman's spirit exceedingly; dost observe, dost note, little Minos? Min. Yes, sir.

Tuc. Go to then, raise, recover, do; suffer him not to droop in prospect of a player, a rogue, a stager: put twenty into his hand, twenty sesterces I mean, and let no body see; go, do it, the work shall commend itself; be Minos,* I'll pay. Min. Yes, forsooth, captain.

2 Pyr. Do not we serve a notable shark?

[Aside. Tuc. And what new inatters have you now afoot, sirrah, ha? I would fain come with my

Mr. Henslowe, the proprietor of several of our old theatres, which prove that Jonson himself was often obliged to have recourse to it. Had Ben forgotten this? or were his circumstances so much changed for the better in a few months, that he had no apprehensions of a similar necessity in future?

3 Go, thou art an honest shifter; I'll have the statute repealed for thee.] Meaning that by which unauthorised players were declared rogues and vagabonds, see p. 401. In the quarto Tucca addresses himself to Mines, "Thou art an honest twenty i' the hundred, I'll have," &c. Here the allusion is to the statute of 13th Eliz. confirming that passed in 3d Henry V. which reduced all legal interest to ten per cent.

4 Be Minos.] Be just, I suppose; but it is not easy to explain all the extravagances of this whimsical character.