¶Euans. O'man, art thou Lunaties? Ha
st thou no vn-
1885der
standings for thy Ca
ses, & the numbers of the Gen-
¶ders? Thou art as fooli
sh Chri
stian creatures, as I would
¶Mi. Page. Pre'thee hold thy peace.
¶Eu. Shew me now (
William)
some declen
sions of your
¶Will. For
sooth, I haue forgot.
¶Eu. It is
Qui, que, quod; if you forget your
Quies,
¶your
Ques, and your
Quods, you mu
st be preeches: Goe
¶your waies and play, go.
1895M. Pag. He is a better
scholler then I thought he was.
¶Eu. He is a good
sprag-memory: Farewel
Mis.
Page.
¶Mis. Page. Adieu good Sir
Hugh:
¶Get you home boy, Come we
stay too long.
1900Enter Falstoffe, Mist. Ford, Mist. Page, Seruants, Ford,
¶Page, Caius, Euans, Shallow.
¶Fal. Mi.
Ford, Your
sorrow hath eaten vp my
suffe-
¶rance; I
see you are ob
sequious in your loue, and I pro-
¶fe
sse requitall to a haires bredth, not onely Mi
st.
Ford,
1905in the
simple office of loue, but in all the accu
strement,
¶complement, and ceremony of it
: But are you
sure of
¶Mis. Ford. Hee's a birding (
sweet Sir
Iohn.)
¶Mis. Page. What hoa, go
ssip
Ford: what hoa.
1910Mis. Ford. Step into th'chamber, Sir
Iohn.
¶Mis. Page. How now (
sweete heart) who
se at home
¶Mis Ford. Why none but mine owne people.
1915Mis. Ford. No certainly: Speake louder.
¶Mist. Pag. Truly, I am
so glad you haue no body here.
¶Mis. Page. Why woman, your hu
sband is in his olde
¶lines againe: he
so takes on yonder with my hu
sband,
so
1920railes again
st all married mankinde;
so cur
ses all
Eues
¶daughters, of what complexion
soeuer; and
so buffettes
¶him
selfe on the for-head: crying peere-out, peere-out,
¶that any madne
sse I euer yet beheld,
seem'd but tame-
¶ne
sse, ciuility, and patience to this his di
stemper he is in
1925now: I am glad the fat Knight is not heere.
¶Mist. Ford. Why, do's he talke of him?
¶Mist. Page. Of none but him, and
sweares he was ca-
¶ried out the la
st time hee
search'd for him, in a Ba
sket:
¶Prote
sts to my hu
sband he is now heere, & hath drawne
1930him and the re
st of their company from their
sport, to
¶make another experiment of his
su
spition: But I am glad
¶the Knight is not heere; now he
shall
see his owne foo-
¶Mist. Ford. How neere is he Mi
stris
Page?
1935Mist. Pag. Hard by, at
street end; he wil be here anon.
¶Mist. Ford. I am vndone, the Knight is heere.
¶Mist. Page. Why then you are vtterly
sham'd, & hee's
¶but a dead man. What a woman are you? Away with
¶him, away with him: Better
shame, then murther.
1940Mist. Ford. Which way
should he go? How
should I
¶be
stow him? Shall I put him into the ba
sket againe?
¶Fal. No, Ile come no more i'th Ba
sket:
¶May I not go out ere he come?
¶Mist. Page. Alas: three of
Mr.
Fords brothers watch
1945the doore with Pi
stols, that none
shall i
ssue out: other-
¶wi
se you might
slip away ere hee came: But what make
¶Fal. What
shall I do? Ile creepe vp into the chimney.
¶Mist. Ford. There they alwaies v
se to di
scharge their
1950Birding-peeces: creepe into the Kill-hole.
¶Mist. Ford. He will
seeke there on my word: Neyther
¶Pre
sse, Coffer, Che
st, Trunke, Well, Vault, but he hath
¶an ab
stract for the remembrance of
such places, and goes
1955to them by his Note: There is no hiding you in the
¶Mist. Ford. If you goe out in your owne
semblance,
¶you die Sir
Iohn, vnle
sse you go out di
sguis'd.
1960Mist. Ford. How might we di
sgui
se him?
¶Mist. Page. Alas the day I know not, there is no wo-
¶mans gowne bigge enough for him: otherwi
se he might
¶put on a hat, a muffler, and a kerchiefe, and
so e
scape.
¶Fal. Good hearts, deui
se
something: any extremitie,
1965rather then a mi
schiefe.
¶Mist. Ford. My Maids Aunt the fat woman of
Brain-
¶ford, has a gowne aboue.
¶Mist. Page. On my word it will
serue him:
shee's as
¶big as he is: and there's her thrum'd hat, and her muffler
1970too: run vp Sir
Iohn.
¶Mist. Ford. Go, go,
sweet Sir
Iohn: Mistris Page and
¶I will looke
some linnen for your head.
¶Mist. Page. Quicke, quicke, wee'le come dre
sse you
¶straight: put on the gowne the while.
1975Mist. Ford. I would my hu
sband would meete him
¶in this
shape: he cannot abide the old woman of Brain-
¶ford; he
sweares
she's a witch, forbad her my hou
se, and
¶hath threatned to beate her.
¶Mist. Page. Heauen guide him to thy hu
sbands cud-
1980gell: and the diuell guide his cudgell afterwards.
¶Mist. Ford. But is my hu
sband comming?
¶Mist. Page. I in good
sadne
sse is he, and talkes of the
¶ba
sket too, how
soeuer he hath had intelligence.
¶Mist. Ford. Wee'l try that: for Ile appoint my men to
1985carry the ba
sket againe, to meete him at the doore with
¶it, as they did la
st time.
¶Mist. Page. Nay, but hee'l be heere pre
sently: let's go
¶dre
sse him like the witch of
Brainford.
¶Mist. Ford. Ile fir
st direct my men, what they
1990shall doe with the ba
sket: Goe vp, Ile bring linnen for
¶Mist. Page. Hang him di
shone
st Varlet,
¶We cannot mi
su
se enough:
¶We'll leaue a proofe by that which we will doo,
1995Wiues may be merry, and yet hone
st too:
¶We do not acte that often, ie
st, and laugh,
¶'Tis old, but true, Still Swine eats all the draugh.
¶Mist. Ford. Go Sirs, take the ba
sket againe on your
¶shoulders: your Ma
ster is hard at doore: if hee bid you
2000set it downe, obey him: quickly, di
spatch.
¶ 1 Ser. Come, come, take it vp.
¶ 2 Ser. Pray heauen it be not full of Knight againe.
¶ 1 Ser. I hope not, I had liefe as beare
so much lead.
¶Ford. I, but if it proue true (
Mr.
Page) haue you any
2005way then to vnfoole me againe. Set downe the ba
sket
¶villaine:
some body call my wife: Youth in a ba
sket:
¶Oh you Panderly Ra
scals, there's a knot: a gin, a packe,
¶a con
spiracie again
st me: Now
shall the diuel be
sham'd.
¶What wife I
say: Come, come forth: behold what ho-
