An old bare boar*, And an old hare boar, Romeo, will you come to your father's? we'll to dinner thither. Rom. I will follow you. Mer. Farewel, ancient lady; farewel, lady, lady, lady". [Exeunt MERCUTIO, and BENVOLIO. Nurfe. Marry, farewel!-I pray you, fir, what faucy merchant was this 7, that was fo full of his ropery ? 8 Rom. A gentleman, nurfe, that loves to hear himself talk; and will speak more in a minute, than he will ftand to in a month. 4 An old bare hoar,] Hoar or boary, is often ufed for mouldy, as things grow white from moulding. So, in Pierce Pennylefs's Supplication to the Devil, 1595: "—as boary as Dutch butter." Again, in F. Beaumont's letter to Speght on his edition of Chaucer, 1602: "Many of Chaucer's words are become as it were vinew'd and boarie with over-long lying." STEEVENS. Thefe lines appear to have been part of an old fong. In the quarto 1597, we have here this ftage direction: "He walks between them, [i. c. the nurse and Peter,] and fings. MALONE. 5-lady, lady, lady. The burthen of an old fong. See Vol. IV. p. 38, n. 6. STEEVENS. o Marry, farewell !—} These words I have rcovered from the quarto, 1597. MALONE. 7vbas faucy merchant was this, &c.] The term merchant which was, and even now is, frequently applied to the lowest sort of dealers, feems anciently to have been used on thefe familiar occafions in contradiftinction to gentleman; fignifying that the person fhewed by his behaviour he was a low fellow. The term chap, i. e. chapman, a word of the fame import with merchant in its lefs refpectable fente, is ftill in common use among the vulgar, as a general denomination for any perfon of whom they mean to speak with freedom or disrespect. roguery is now. MALONE. STEEVENS. See Vol. VI. p. 38, n. 1. 8-of his ropery?] Ropery was anciently ufed in the same sense as So, in the Three Ladies of London, 1584: "Thou art very pleafant and full of thy roperye.' Rope-tricks are mentioned in another place. STEEVENS. See Vol. III. p. 271, n. 6. MALONE. Nurfe. Nurse. An 'a fpeak any thing against me, I'll take him down an 'a were luftier than he is, and twenty fuch Jacks; and if I cannot, I'll find those that shall. Scurvy knave! I am none of his flirt-gills; I am none of his kains-mates':--And thou must ftand by too, and suffer every knave to ufe me at his pleasure ? Pet I faw no man ufe you at his pleafure; if I had, my weapon fhould quickly have been out, I warrant you; I dare draw as foon as another man, if I fee occafion in a good quarrel, and the law on my fide. Nurfe. Now, afore God, I am fo vex'd, that every part about me quivers. Scurvy knave! -Pray you, fir, a word: and as I told you, my young lady bade me inquire you out; what the bade me fay, I will keep to myfelf: but first let me tell ye, if ye fhould lead her into a fool's paradife, as they fay 2, it were a very grofs kind of behaviour, as they fay: for the gentlewoman is young; and, therefore, if you should deal double with her, truly, it were an ill thing to be offered to any gentlewoman, and very weak dealing, MALONE. 9-fucb Jacks ;] See Vol. II. p. 214, n. 5. 1-none of bis kains-mates :] None of bis fkains-mates means, I apprehend, none of his cut-throat companions. MALONE. A fkein or fkain was either a knife or a short dagger. By fkainsmates the nurfe means none of his loofe companions who frequent the fencing-school with him, where we may fuppofe the exercife of this weapon was taught. The word is used in the old tragedy of Soliman and Perfeda, 1599 : "Against the light-foot Irish have I ferv'd, "And in my skin beare tokens of their fkeins." Green, in his Quip for an upfart Courtier, defcribes " an ill-favour'd knave, who wore by his fide a fkeine like a brewer's bung-knife.” Skein is the Irish word for a knife. STEEVENS. Swift has the word in his defcription of an Irish feaft: "A cubit at least "The length of their fkains." NICHOLS. 2-if ye bould lead ber into a fool's paradife, as they fay,] So, in A Handfull of pleasant delightes, containing fundrie new fonets, &c. 1584: "When they fee they may her win, "They leave then where they did begin: "They prate, and make the matter nice, "And leave her in focles paradife." MALONE. VOL. IX. G Rom. Rom. Nurfe, commend me to thy lady and miftrefs. I proteft unto thee, Nurfe. Good heart! and, i'faith, I will tell her as much: Lord, lord, she will be a joyful woman. Rom. What wilt thou tell her, nurfe? thou doft not mark me. Nurse. I will tell her, fir,-that you do proteft 3; which, as I take it, is a gentleman-like offer. Rom. Bid her devise some means to come to fhrift This afternoon; And there the shall at friar Lawrence' cell Be fhriv'd, and marry'd. Here is for thy pains. Rom. Go to; I say, you shall. Nurfe. This afternoon, fir? well, she shall be there. Must be my convoy in the fecret night. 3-proteft;] Whether the repetition of this word conveyed any idea peculiarly comic to Shakspeare's audience, is not at prefent to be determined. The use of it, however, is ridiculed in the old comedy of Sir Giles Goofecap, 1606: "There is not the best duke's fon in France dares fay, I proteft, till he be one and thirty years old at leaft; for the inheritance of that word is not to be poflefled before." STERVENS. 4-Here is for thy pains.] So, in The Tragical Hyfory of Remess and Juliet, 1562: "Then he vi crowns of gold out of his pocket drew, "And gave them her - a flight reward, quoth he;—and fo adieu." MALONE. 5-like a tackled fair ;] Like ftairs of rope in the tackle of a ship. JOHNSON. A fair, for a flight of stairs, is still the language of Scotland, and was probably once common to both kingdoms. MALONE. 6-top-gallant of my joy-] The top-gallant is the highest extremity of the maft of a fhip. The expreffion is common to many writers; among the reft, to Markham in his English Arcadia, 1607: "beholding in the high top-gallast of his valour." STEEVENS. Nurje. Nurse. Now God in heaven bless thee !--Hark you, fir. Rom. What fay'ft thou, my dear nurse ? Nurfe. Is your man fecret? Did you ne'er hear fay→→→ Two may keep counfel, putting one away? Rom. I warrant thee 7: my man's as true as fteel. Nurse. Well, fir; my mistress is the fweeteft ladyLord, lord!-when 'twas a little prating thing,—0,— there's a nobleman in town, one Paris, that would fain lay knife aboard; but fhe, good foul; had as lieve fee a toad, a very toad, as fee him. I anger her fometimes, and tell her that Paris is the properer man; but, I'll warrant you, when I fay fo, fhe looks as pale as any clout in the varfal world. Doth not rosemary and Romeo begin both with a letter? Rom, Ay, nurse; What of that? both with an R. 7 I warrant thee] I, which is not in the quartos or firft folio, was Tupplied by the editor of the fecond folio. MALONE. • Well, fir; my mistress is the faveeteft lady :-Lord, lord!—when tras a little prating thing,-] So, in the poem: "And how she gave her fuck in youth, the leaveth not to tell. "A pretty babe, quoth the, it was, when it was young; "Lord, how it could full prettily have prated with its tongue," &c. This dialogue is not found in Painter's Rhomeo and Julietta MALONE 9 Dotb not rosemary and Romeo begin both with a letter?] By this queftion the nurfe means to infinuate that Romeo's image was ever in the mind of Juliet, and that they would be married. Rosemary being conceived to have the power of ftrengthening the memory, was an emblem of remembrance, and of the affection of lovers, and (for this reafon probably,) was worn at weddings. So, in A Handfull of pleafant Delites, &c. 1584: "Rosemary is for remembrance, "Wishing that I might alwaies have "You prefent in my fight." Again, in our authour's Hamlet: "There's rosemary, that's for remembrance." That rofemary was much ufed at weddings, appears from many paffages in the old plays. So, in the Noble Spanish Soldier, 1634: "I meet few but are stuck with rosemary; every one afk'd me, who was to be married? Again, in the Wit of a Woman, 1604: "What is here to do? Wine and cakes, and rosemary, and sofegaies? What, wedding?" MALONE. G 2 Nurfe. Nurfe. Ah, mocker! that's the dog's name. Ris for the dog. No; I know it begins with fome other letter and he hath the prettieft fententious of it, of you and rosemary, that it would do you good to hear it. Rom. Commend me to thy lady. Nurfe. Ay, a thousand times.-Peter! Pet. Anon? [Exit. Nurfe. Peter, Take my fan, and go before. [Exeunt. SCENE V. Capulet's Garden. Enter JULIET. Jul. The clock ftruck nine, when I did fend the nurse; In half an hour the promis'd to return. Perchance, fhe cannot meet him :-that's not fo.- Ab, mocker! that's the dog's name. R. is for the dog. No; 1 know it begins with fome other letter: This paffage is not in the ori ginal copy of 1597. The quarto 1599, and folio read-Ah, mocker, that's the dog's name. R is for the no, I know it begins, &c. The emendation was made by Mr. Tyrwhitt. Dr. Warburton obferves that Ben Jonfon in his English Grammar, fays, that R is the dog's name, and hirreth in the found. "Irritata canis quod R R quam plurima dicat." Lucil. I am not fure that Mr. Tyrwhitt's emendation is necefiary. An abrupt fentence may have been intended. R. is for the-No; I know it begins, &c. The fame remark, I have lately obferved, has been made by an anonymous writer. MALONE. 2 Peter, take my fan, and go before.] Thus the first quarto. The fubfequent ancient copies instead of thefe words have-Before, and apace. MALONE. 3-fhould be thoughts, &c.] The fpeech is thus continued in the quarto, 1597: fhould be thoughts, And run more fwift than hafty powder fir'd, The greatest part of the fcene is likewife added fince that edition. STEEVENS. |