[Dramatis personae.] Charalois—the name Charalois is a corruption of Charolais, the Count of Charolais being the hereditary title of the heir-apparent of the Duchy of Burgundy, for whom the county of Charolais, an arriÈre-fief of Burgundy, was reserved as an appanage. This domain had been purchased by Philip the Bold for his son, John the Fearless.

I, i, 4. argue me of—obsolete construction: “accuse me of.” Cf. Ray, Disc. II, v, 213: “Erroneously argues Hubert Thomas ... of a mistake.”

I, i, 7. dispence with—give special exemption from. Cf. I, ii, 87.

I, i, 33. This such—This for this is is a common Elizabethan construction. Cf. “O this the poison of deep grief”—Hamlet, IV, v, 76; “This a good block”—Lear, IV, vi, 187.

I, i, 45. tooke vp—borrowed. Cf. Shakespeare, Henry IV, Part II, I, ii, 46: “if a man is through with them in honest taking up, they stand upon security.”

I, i, 55–6. Your sable habit, with the hat and cloak ... haue power—the details of hat, cloak, and ribbons, interposed between subject and verb, have attracted the latter into the plural, to the violation of its agreement with its substantive.

I, i, 70. in that—i.e., in the fact that justice had no such guards.

I, i, 73–7. For the allusion to Cerberus and the sops, cf. Virgil’s picture of Aeneas’ journey to Hades (Aeneid, VI, 417–425): “Huge Cerberus makes these realms to resound with barking from his tripple jaws, stretched at his enormous length in a den that fronts the gate. To whom the prophetess, seeing his neck now bristle with horrid snakes, flings a soporific cake of honey and medicated grain. He, in the mad rage of hunger, opening his three mouths, snatches the offered morsel, and, spread on the ground, relaxes his monstrous limbs, and is extended at vast length over all the cave. Aeneas, now that the keeper [of Hell] is buried [in sleep], seizes the passage and swift overpasses the bank of that flood whence there is no return.”—Davidson’s trans.

I, i, 75. fertyle headed—many headed, fertyle is used in the now obsolete sense of abundant.

I, i, 92. such, whose—for the construction, cf. Shakespeare: “Such I will have, whom I am sure he knows not from the enemy.”—All’s Well, III, iv, 24.

I, i, 99. men religious—the adjective is regularly placed after its noun in Eliz. Eng. when the substantive is unemphatic and the modifier not a mere epithet, but essential to the sense. See Abbott, S.G. § 419.

I, i, 137–8.—The thought of these lines is undeveloped, the phrasing being broken and disconnected. It is a scornful observation on the part of Romont that whether or not Novall takes papers depends on how the matter is brought before him—and he is about to add that there is a way in which Charalois can manage to gain his point, when he breaks off with the cry, “Follow him!” Conuayance = contrivance.

I, i, 164. parchment toils—snares in the shape of documents upon parchment, such as bonds, mortgages, etc.

I, i, 166. Luxury—used here in the modern sense,—not, as more commonly in Elizabethan times, with the meaning, laciviousness, lust. The thought of the somewhat involved period which ends with this line is, that the creditors prayed only on an occasion when they feared to lose their clutch on some rich spendthrift—on which occasion they would pray to the devil to invent some new and fantastic pleasure which would lure their victim back into the toils.

I, ii, 11. Dijon—the scene of the drama,—situated on the western border of the fertile plain of Burgundy, and at the confluence of the Ouche and the Suzon. It was formerly the capital of the province of Burgundy, the dukes of which acquired it early in the eleventh century, and took up their residence there in the thirteenth century. For the decoration of the palace and other monuments built by them, eminent artists were gathered from northern France and Flanders, and during this period the town became one of the great intellectual centers of France. The union of the duchy with the crown in 1477 deprived Dijon of the splendor of the ducal court, but to counterbalance this loss it was made the capital of the province and the seat of a parlement. To-day it possesses a population of some 65,000, and is a place of considerable importance.

I, ii, 21–3. Nor now ... that I vndertooke, forsake it.—The expression is elliptical, the verb of the preceding period being in the future indicative—whereas here the incomplete verb is in the conditional mood. In full: Nor now ... that I undertook, would I forsake it.

I, ii, 56. determine of—of is the preposition in obs. usage which follows determine used, as here, in the sense of decide, come to a judicial decision, come to a decision on (upon). Cf. IV, iv, 82.

I, ii, 57. to—in addition to.

I, ii, 66. become—modern editors, beginning with Mason, read became; but become may be taken as a variant form of the past tense (or even as participle for having become, with nom. absolute construction, though this is less likely).

I, ii, 91–2. May force you ... plead at—i.e. “may cause your dismissal from the bar.”

I, ii, 107. purple-colour’d—Novall wears the official red robe of judge.

I, ii, 123–4. the subtill Fox of France, The politique Lewis—Louis XI of France, an old enemy of Burgundy.

I, ii, 127. If that, etc.—Gradually, as the interrogatives were recognized as relatives, the force of that, so, as, in “when that”, “when so”, “when as”, seems to have tended to make the relative more general and indefinite; “who so” being now nearly (and once quite) as indefinite as “whosoever.”... In this sense, by analogy, that was attached to other words, such as “if”, “though”, “why”, etc.—Abbott, S.G. § 287.

Cf.

The same construction appears in V, iii, 95.

I, ii, 163. Writ man—i.e., wrote himself down as a man.

I, ii, 170. Granson, Morat, Nancy—the “three memorable overthrows” which Charles the Bold suffered at the hands of the Swiss cantons and Duke RenÉ of Loraine. The battle of Granson took place March 3, 1476; that of Morat, June 22, 1476; that of Nancy, January 5, 1477. On each occasion the army of Charles was annihilated; and finally at Nancy he was himself slain. These defeats ended the power of Burgundy.

I, ii, 171. The warlike Charloyes—Charles the Bold, the Duke of Burgundy.

I, ii, 185. Ill ayres—noxious exhalations, miasma.

I, ii, 194–5. They are onely good men, that pay what they owe.

Cf. Shakespeare in The Merchant of Venice, I, iii, 12 ff.:

I, ii, 201. right—so in all texts. With this word the meaning is perfectly plain, but the substitution, in its place, of weight would better sustain the figure used in the preceding line. Weight is a word which it is not unlikely the printer would mis-read from the Ms. as right.

I, ii, 207. in your danger—regularly, “in your power”, “at your mercy”; so here, “in your debt”.

I, ii, 245. As—used here in its demonstrative meaning, to introduce a parenthetical clause. Cf. Abbott, S.G. § 110.

II, i, 13. sits—the common Elizabethan 3rd. person plural in s, generally and without warrant altered by modern editors. See Abbott, S.G. § 333. Cf. keepes, V, ii, 37.

II, i, 28. was—monies is taken in the collective sense.

II, i, 46. interd a liuely graue—i.e., enter’d a lively [living] grave. G., who first prints it so, considers he has made a change in the first word, taking it in the Q. for interr’d, as does M., who suggests in a footnote the reading: enters alive the grave. But interd may be, and is best, taken as merely an old spelling for enter’d, naturally attracted to the i-form by the presence of the word interment in the preceding line.

II, i, 63. Remember best, forget not gratitude—ellipsis for: Remember best who forget not gratitude. Modern usage confines the omission of the relative mostly to the objective. In Eliz. Eng., however, the nominative relative was even more frequently omitted, especially when the antecedent clause was emphatic and evidently incomplete, and where the antecedent immediately preceded the verb to which the relative would be subject. See Abbott, S.G., § 244.

Cf. III, i, 134–5; i, 139; i, 332; IV, ii, 61.

II, i, 65. viperous—according to various classical authorities [e.g., Pliny, X, 82], the young of vipers eat their way forth to light through the bowels of their dam. The figure here seems to be somewhat confused, as the dead hero is the son of the country, his mother, who devours him. The thought, perhaps, in the mind of the dramatist, albeit ill-expressed, was that the mother-country owed her existence to her son, and, viper-like had devoured the author of her life.

II, i, 66. eate—owing to the tendency to drop the inflectional ending -en, the Elizabethans frequently used the curtailed forms of past participles, which are common in Early English: “I have spoke, forgot, writ, chid,” etc.—Abbott, S.G., § 343. Cf. broke, II, ii, 27; spoke, III, i, 3; begot, IV, iv, 154; 170.

II, i, 83. golden calf—the figure, from its immediate application to a dolt of great wealth, is transferred to the false god whom the children of Israel worshipped at the foot of Mount SinaÏ.

II, i, 93–4. Would they not so, etc.—the Q. reading is to be preferred to either of the modern emendations. It is probably in the sense of “Would they no more but so?”, with the ensuing declaration that in that case they would keep their tears to stop (fill?) bottles (probably meaning lachrimatories or phials used in ancient times for the preservation of tears of mourning).

II, i, 98–9. Y’are ne’re content, Crying nor laughing—The meaning is, of course: “You are never content with us, whether we are crying or laughing.”

II, i, 100. Both with a birth—i.e., both together, at the same time.

II, i, 137. Burmudas—The Bermuda islands, known only through the tales of early navigators who suffered shipwreck there, enjoyed a most unsavory reputation in Elizabethan times, as being the seat of continual tempests, and the surrounding waters “a hellish sea for thunder, lightning, and storms.” Cf. Shakespeare, The Tempest, I, ii, 269: “the still-vexed Bermoothes.” They were said to be enchanted, and inhabited by witches and devils. They were made famous by the shipwreck there in 1609 of Sir George Somers; the following year one of his party, Sil. Jordan, published A Discovery of the Bermudas, otherwise called the Isle of Devils.

Field has another reference to “the Barmuthoes” in Amends for Ladies, III, iv; but there it is not clear whether he means the islands or certain narrow passages north of Covent Garden, which went by the slang name of “the Bermudas” or “the Streights.” It is in this latter sense that the word is used in Jonson’s The Devil is an Ass, II, i.

II, i, 139. Exact the strictnesse—i.e., require a strict enforcement of the sentence which limits Charalois to the confines of the prison. II, i, 144. vsurers relief, etc.—a rather awkward expression, so phrased for the sake of the end-scene rhyme. The thought seems to be: “The relief which usurers have to offer mourns, if the debtors have (exhibit) too much grief.” Charalois’ remark is, of course, ironical.

II, ii, 10. electuary—a medicinal conserve or paste, consisting of a powder or some other ingredient mixed with honey, preserve, or syrup of some other kind. Beaumelle means that Florimal is the medicine and Bellapert the sweet which makes it palatable.

II, ii, 17. serue—G. and S. read served, which is certainly correct. Not only is there nothing throughout the play to suggest that Beaumelle’s mother is still alive, but she herself has just spoken of “you two my women” (l.11).

II, ii, 18. a peepe out—a “pip” [old spelling peepe] is one of the spots on playing cards, dice, or dominoes. The allusion is to a game of cards called “one-and-thirty”; thirty-two is a pip too many.

II, ii, 21–2. the mother of the maydes—a title properly applied to the head of the maids of honour in a Royal household.

II, ii, 22. mortifie—there is a significant ambiguity to the word Bellapert uses. It means “bring into subjection,” “render dead to the world and the flesh;” it formerly had also a baleful meaning: “to kill;” “to destroy the vitality, vigor, or activity of.”

II, ii, 32. vanuable, to make you thus—valuable is used in its generic sense of value-able, of sufficient value.

II, ii, 71. turn’d in her varieties—G., S. read: trimm’d in her varieties—i.e., “decked in her varieties [varied aspects].” But adherence to the Q. is possible, with the meaning, “fashioned in her varieties.”

II, ii, 82. walkes not vnder a weede—i.e., “wears not a garment,” “is not in existence.”

II, ii, 88. Tissue—a rich kind of cloth, often interwoven with gold or silver. So again in II, ii, 175.

II, ii, 89. a three-leg’d lord—the meaning is that Young Novall cannot independently “stand upon his own legs,” but requires the triple support of himself, Liladam, and Aymer.

II, ii, 96. musicke house—a public hall or saloon for musical performances.

II, ii, 99–100. in the Galley foyst, etc.—a Galley-foist was a state barge, especially that of the Lord Mayor of London. This, however, can hardly be the meaning of the word here, used as it is in connection with Bullion, which were trunk-hose, puffed out at the upper part, in several folds; and with Quirpo, a variant of cuerpo—i.e., in undress. “Galley-foist” may be the name of some dress of the period, so-called for its resemblance to the gaily bedecked Mayor’s-barge. But it is not unlikely, as Mason suggests, that The Galley-foist and The Bullion were the names of taverns of that day; or else of houses of public resort for some kind of amusement.

II, ii, 104. skip—so in all texts. But Field has elsewhere (Woman is a Weathercock, II, i.): “and then my lord ... casts a suit every quarter, which I slip into.” It is probable that the word was the same in both passages,—though whether skip or slip I have no means of determining.

II, ii, 119. St Omers—more properly, St. Omer, a town of northern France. A College of Jesuits was located there, and the point of Novall’s comparison is perhaps an allusion to the mean appearance of Jesuit spies who would come from thence to England on some pretext, such as to see their friends during the Christmas season.

II, ii, 122. ly’n perdieu—“to lie perdu” is properly a military term for, “to be placed as a sentinel or outpost,” especially in an exposed position. Ly’n is one of the many obsolete forms of the past participle of the verb “to lie.”

II, ii, 125. tye my hand—i.e., tie the ribbon-strings which depended from the sleeve over the hand.

II, ii, 163. slight neglect—contemptuous disrespect.

II, ii, 174. bile—all editors after the Q. read boil. Bile was an old spelling for boil; but in the other sense, one of the “four humours” of medieval physiology, the passage is perfectly clear, and the figure perhaps even more effective.

II, ii, 186. eager relish—acrid taste. The figure is that the law in itself is often like a sharp and bitter flavor, but that a good judge will sweeten this.

II, ii, 250 s.d. Drawes a Curtayne—the curtain of the alcove or back-stage, within which was placed the “treasure,” thus to be revealed.

II, ii, 298. in which yours—i.e., “because of the fact of her being yours.”

II, ii, 301. for poore and worthlesse I—I for me, like other irregularities in pronominal inflection, was not infrequent in Elizabethan times. Cf. Abbott, S.G., § 205.

II, ii, 326. Curtius-like—like Marcus Curtius, legendary hero of ancient Rome. See Livy, vii, 6.

II, ii, final s.d. while the Act is playing—i.e., while the interlude music is played, at the close of the Act.

III, i, 18. relish—a trace or tinge of some quality, a suggestion.—In III, i, 20: a flavor; or, if read with the Q.’s punctuation, a verb: give a relish. It appears preferable, however, to take the passage as punctuated by G., S., which makes relish a noun.

III, i, 29. take me with you—understand me.

III, i, 37. sudden—adv. for suddenly. The -ly suffix was frequently omitted in Elizabethan times.

III, i, 45. Such as are faire, etc.—the connection goes back to l.42, Bellapert taking up again the thread of her remark which Novall’s objection and her summary answer thereto had broken in upon.

III, i, 120. Christian—probably used here in the colloq. sense of: a human being, as distinguished from a brute; a “decent” or “respectable” person. Cf. Shakespeare, Twelfth Night, I, iii, 89: “Methinks ... I have no more wit than a Christian, or an ordinary man has.” III, i, 122. The entertaiment of your visitation—i.e., the entertainment which your visit received.

III, i, 123. on [old spelling for one]—i.e., a visitation.

III, i, 126. Muske-cat—the civet-cat; applied as a term of contempt to a fop, as being a person perfumed with musk.

III, i, 139. there is now speaks to you—G., S. omit is, at the same time clearing the construction and securing a more regular metre. The Q. reading, however, is perfectly possible, as an ellipsis, by omission of the subject relative, for, there is that now speaks to you [i.e., there is now speaking to you], or even, by a change of punctuation, there is—now speaks to you—, etc.

III, i, 148. As Caesar, did he liue, could not except at—see Plutarch’s Life of Julius Caesar, Chapters 9 & 10, wherein it is narrated how Caesar divorced his wife, Pompeia, when scandal assailed her name, although he denied any knowledge as to her guilt; “‘Because’ said he, ‘I would have the chastity of my wife clear even of suspicion.’”

III, i, 148. except at—take exception at.

III, i, 159. pointed—all editors after the Q. read painted, an absolutely unnecessary and unwarranted emendation. Pointed means “fitted or furnished with tagged points or laces;” “wearing points;” “laced.” Cf. Maurice Hewlett’s novel, The Queen’s Quair, p.83: “saucy young men, trunked, puffed, pointed, trussed and doubleted.” Huloet in his Dictionary (1552) has: “Poynted, or tyed with poynts, ligulatus.”

III, i, 167. This pretty rag—i.e., the “clout” mentioned in II, ii, 123.

III, i, 173. in spite of—in scorn of, in defiance of.

III, i, 184. thy—so the Q. All later editors read this. It is not impossible, of course, that Romont should begin an oath “By thy hand,” and Beaumelle flash back at him “And sword,” transferring the thy from herself to him. But Romont would be more likely to swear by his own hand than by Beaumelle’s.

III, i, 188. cast suburb whores—prostitutes who had been cashiered from service. Houses of ill-fame were customarily located in the suburbs.

III, i, 191. legion—i.e., of evil spirits. Cf. Mark, v, 9.

III, i, 193. horne-mad—the word was originally applied to horned beasts, in the sense: “enraged so as to horn any one;” hence of persons: “stark mad,” “mad with rage,” “furious.” By word-play it acquires its sense in the present passage. “mad with rage at having been made a cuckold.”

III, i, 202. yellow—this color was regarded as a token or symbol of jealousy.

III, i, 211. Carted—carried in a cart through the streets, by way of punishment or public exposure (especially as the punishment of a bawd).

III, i, 261. in distance—within reach, in striking distance.

III, i, 331. as it would tire—as appears to be used for as if; in reality the if is implied in the (conditional) subjunctive.—Abbott, S.G., § 107.

III, i, 331. a beadle—it was one of the duties of a beadle to whip petty offenders. III, i, 352. So I not heard them—Abbott explains this construction, not uncommon in the Elizabethan period, as an omission of the auxiliary verb “do” (S.G. § 305). But here the main verb is heard, whereas, according to his explanation, grammar would require hear. May not the construction be better taken as a simple, though to our ears cumbrous, inversion of, So I heard them not?

III, i, 366. cause—affair, business—so also in III, i, 377.

III, i, 388. Calenture—a disease incident to sailors within the tropics; a burning fever.

III, i, 428–9. flegme ... choller—in the old physiologies the predominance of the “humour, phlegm,” was held to cause constitutional indolence or apathy,—the predominance of “choler” to cause irascibility.

III, i, 432. ’em—grammatical precision would require him, as is substituted in M., f. In Field’s rapid, loose style, however, a change of construction in mid-sentence is not improbable, and the Q. reading may very well reproduce accurately what he wrote.

III, i, 441. thou curious impertinent—the epithet is from The Curious Impertinent of Cervantes, a story imbedded in Don Quixote, Part I.

III, i, 463. I not accuse—cf. note on l.354.

III, i, 467. Ere liue—Ere I should live is required in full by strict grammar, but Field’s verse is frequently elliptical. Gifford’s emendation to lived for the sake of grammatical regularity, which is followed by all later editors, is unwarranted.

III, i, 467. mens marginall fingers—the figure is an allusion to the ancient custom of placing an index hand in the margin of books, to direct the reader’s attention to a striking passage. So does Romont picture men’s fingers pointing to the story of Charalois as a noteworthy and lamentable thing. Cf. IV, i, 56.

III, i, 469–470. An Emperour put away his wife for touching Another man.—The source of this allusion is not apparent. Can it be a perversion in the mind of Field of the story of Caesar’s divorce of his wife, to which Massinger has already referred above (l.148)?

IV, i, 3. a flaxe—the flax wick of a lamp or candle.

IV, i, 3. a red headed womans chamber—Since early times red-haired individuals have been supposed to emit an emanation having a powerful sexually exciting influence. In the Romance countries, France and Italy, this belief is universally diffused.—Iwan Block: The Sexual Life of our Time—transl. by Eden Paul—p.622.

Cf. also Gabrielle D’Annunzio: Il Piacere, p.90:

“‘Have you noticed the armpits of Madame Chrysoloras? Look!’”

“The Duke di Beffi indicated a dancer, who had upon her brow, white as a marble of Luni, a firebrand of red tresses, like a priestess of Alma Tadema. Her bodice was fastened on the shoulders by mere ribbons, and there were revealed beneath the armpits two luxuriant tufts of red hair.

“Bomminaco began to discourse upon the peculiar odour which red-haired women have.”

IV, i, 13. Cell—so in the Q. and all later texts. Yet the word is utterly unsatisfactory to the sense of the passage; it should almost certainly be coil—i.e., tumult, confusion, fuss, ado. Cf. Field in Amends for Ladies, II, iv: “Here’s a coil with a lord and his sister.”

IV, i, 23. a lace—a trimming of lace.

IV, i, 27. pickadille—the expansive collar fashionable in the early part of the seventeenth century.

IV, i, 27. in puncto—in point; i.e., in proper condition, in order.

IV, i, 32. Iacobs staffe—an instrument formerly used for measuring the altitude of the sun; a cross-staff.

IV, i, 32. Ephimerides—a table showing the positions of a heavenly body for a series of successive days.

IV, i, 39–40. if he would but cut the coate according to the cloth still—“to cut one’s coat after one’s cloth” was: “to adapt one’s self to circumstances;” “to measure expense by income.” The point of its employment here is not plain; it is doubtful if anything were very clear in Field’s own mind, who was merely trying to hit off an epigrammatical phrase. Perhaps, “make the coat match the man.”

IV, i, 72. Narcissus-like—like Narcissus, in classic myth. See Ovid, Meta., iii, 341–510.

IV, i, 72. should—G., f. read shouldst, but the breach of agreement between subject and verb is to be explained by the attraction of the verb to the third person by the interposed Narcissus-like; just as four lines further on we find shouldst for should, because of the similar intrusion between subject and verb of (but thy selfe sweete Lord).

IV, i, 92. a Barber Surgeon—formerly the barber was also a regular practitioner in surgery and dentistry. Cf. Beaumont & Fletcher, The Knight of the Burning Pestle, III, iv.

IV, i, 96. ouerthrowne—M., f. read overflown, i.e., become excessive or inordinate; so full that the contents run over the brim. The reading of the Q., however, is quite intelligible,—taking overthrown in the sense of thrown too strongly.

IV, i, 135. Colbran—more properly Colbrand or Collebrand, a wicked giant in the medieval romance of Guy of Warwick. He is the champion of the invading King of Denmark, who challenges the English King, Athelstan, to produce a knight who can vanquish Colbrand, or to yield as his vassal. In this hour of need Guy appears, fights with the giant, and kills him.

IV, i, 137. hee’l make some of you smoake,—i.e., “make some of you suffer.” Cf. Beaumont & Fletcher, The Knight of the Burning Pestle, I, ii, 136: “I’ll make some of ’em smoke for’t;” and Shakespeare, Titus Andronicus, IV, iii, 111: “Or some of you shall smoke for it in Rome.”

IV, i, 138. a Consort—“In the author’s age, the taverns were infested with itinerant bands of musicians, each of which (jointly and individually) was called a noise or consort: these were sometimes invited to play for the company, but seem more frequently to have thrust themselves, unasked, into it, with an offer of their services: their intrusion was usually prefaced with, ‘By your leave, gentlemen, will you hear any music?’”—Gifford.

IV, i, 145. of—formerly sometimes substituted, as here, for on in colloquial usage. So also on for of, as in l.148. Cf. also l.182.

IV, i, 197–8. ’tis Fairies treasure Which but reueal’d brings on the blabbers ruine.—To confide in any one about a fairy’s gift rendered it void, according to popular tradition, and drew down the fairy giver’s anger. In instance, see John Aubrey’s Remains (Reprinted in Publications of the Folk-Lore Society, vol. IV, p.102): “Not far from Sir Bennet Hoskyns, there was a labouring man, that rose up early every day to go to worke; who for a good while many dayes together found a nine-pence in the way that he went. His wife wondering how he came by so much money, was afraid he gott it not honestlye; at last he told her, and afterwards he never found any more.”

There are numerous literary allusions to this superstition: e.g., Shakespeare, The Winter’s Tale, III, iii, 127, ff.: “This is fairy gold, boy; and ’twill prove so. Up with’t, keep it close.... We are lucky, boy; and to be so still requires nothing but secrecy.”

And Field himself in Woman is a Weathercock, I, i: