= The figure seems forced
to us, but it should be remembered that trenchers were a very
important article of table equipment in Jonson's day.
to us, but it should be remembered that trenchers were a very
important article of table equipment in Jonson's day.
Ben Jonson - The Devil's Association
e.
If it di?
plea?
ant be,
We doe pre? ume, that no man will: nor wee. _
[868] 1 'The Epilogue. ' om. G
[869] 7 [_Exeunt. _ G
NOTES
The present edition includes whatever has been considered of value
in the notes of preceding editions. It has been the intention in
all cases to acknowledge facts and suggestions borrowed from such
sources, whether quoted verbatim, abridged, or developed. Notes
signed W. are from Whalley, G. from Gifford, C. from Cunningham.
For other abbreviations the Bibliography should be consulted.
Explanations of words and phrases are usually found only in the
Glossary. References to this play are by act, scene, and line of the
Text; other plays of Jonson are cited from the Gifford-Cunningham
edition of 1875. The references are to play, volume and page.
TITLE-PAGE.
=THE DIUELL IS AN ASSE. = 'Schlegel, seizing with great felicity upon
an untranslateable German idiom, called the play _Der dumme Teufel_
[Schlegel's _Werke_, ed. Bocking, 6. 340]--a title which must be
allowed to be twice as good as that of the English original. The
phrase 'the Devil is an ass' appears to have been proverbial.
See Fletcher's _The Chances_, Act 5. Sc. 2:
Dost thou think
The devil such an ass as people make him? '
--Ward, _Eng. Drama_ 2. 372.
A still more important passage occurs in Dekker's _If this be not a
good Play_, a partial source of Jonson's drama:
_Scu. _ Sweete-breads I hold my life, that diuels an asse.
--Dekker, _Wks. _ 3. 328.
Jonson uses it again in _The Staple of News_, _Wks. _ 5. 188:
The conjurer cozened him with a candle's end; he was an ass.
Dekker (_Non-dram. Wks. _ 2. 275) tells us the jest of a citizen
who was told that the 'Lawyers get the Diuell and all: What an
Asse, replied the Citizen is the diuell? If I were as he I would
get some of them. '
=HIS MAIESTIES SERVANTS. = Otherwise known as the
_King's Company_, and popularly spoken of as the _King's Men_. For
an account of this company see Winter, ed. _Staple of News_, p. 121;
and Fleay, _Biog. Chron. _ 1. 356-7; 2. 403-4.
=Ficta voluptatis=, etc. The quotation is from Horace,
_De Art. Poet. _, line 338. Jonson's translation is:
Let what thou feign'st for pleasure's sake, be near
The truth.
Jonson makes use of this quotation again in his note 'To the
Reader' prefixed to Act 3 of _The Staple of News_.
=I. B. = Fleay speaks of this printer as J. Benson (_Biog. Chron_. 1.
354). Benson did not 'take up freedom' until June 30, 1631 (_Sta.
Reg. _ 3. 686). Later he became a publisher (1635-40; _Sta. Reg. _ 5.
lxxxiv). I. B. was also the printer of _Bartholomew Fair_ and _Staple
of News_. J. Benson published a volume of Jonson's, containing
_The Masque of the Gypsies_ and other poems, in 1640 (_Brit. Museum
Cat. _ and Yale Library). In the same year he printed the _Art of
Poetry_, 12mo, and the _Execration against Vulcan_, 4to (cf. _Pub. of
Grolier Club_, N. Y. 1893, pp. 130, 132). The evidence that I. B. was
Benson is strong, but not absolutely conclusive.
=ROBERT ALLOT. = We find by Arber's reprint of the
_Stationer's Register_ that Robert Allot 'took up freedom' Nov. 7,
1625. He must have begun publishing shortly after, for under the
date of Jan. 25, 1625-6 we find that Mistris Hodgettes 'assigned
over unto him all her estate,' consisting of the copies of certain
books, for the 'some of forty-five pounds. ' The first entry of a
book to Allot is made May 7, 1626. In 1630 Master Blount 'assigned
over unto him all his estate and right in the copies' of sixteen of
Shakespeare's plays. In 1632 Allot brought out the Second Folio
of Shakespeare's works. On Sept. 7, 1631 _The Staple of News_ was
assigned to him. The last entry of a book in his name is on Sept.
12, 1635. The first mention of 'Mistris Allott' is under the date of
Dec. 30, 1635. Under date of July 1, 1637 is the record of the
assignment by Mistris Allott of certain books, formerly the estate
of 'Master Roberte Allotts deceased. ' Among these books are '37.
_Shakespeares Workes_ their part. 39. _Staple of Newes_ a Play.
40. _Bartholomew fayre_ a Play. ' I have been able to find no record
of _The Devil is an Ass_ in the _Stationer's Register_.
=the Beare. = In the Shakespeare folio of 1632 Allot's sign reads
'the Black Beare. ' The first mention of the shop in the _London
Street Directory_ is in 1575, among the 'Houses round the Churchyard. '
=Pauls Church-yard. = 'Before the Fire, which destroyed the old
Cathedral, St. Paul's Churchyard was chiefly inhabited by stationers,
whose shops were then, and until the year 1760, distinguished by
signs. '--Wh-C.
THE PERSONS OF THE PLAY.
=GVILT-HEAD, A Gold-smith. = The goldsmiths seem to have
been a prosperous guild. (See Stow, _Survey_, ed. Thoms, p. 114. )
At this time they performed the office of banking, constituting the
intermediate stage between the usurer and the modern banker. 'The
goldsmiths began to borrow at interest in order to lend out to
traders at a higher rate. In other words they became the connecting
link between those who had money to lend and those who wished
to borrow for trading purposes, or it might be to improve their
estates. No doubt at first the goldsmiths merely acted as guardians
of their clients' hoards, but they soon began to utilize those hoards
much as bankers now make use of the money deposited with
them. '--_Social England_ 3. 544.
=AMBLER. = Jonson uses this name again in _Neptune's Triumph_,
_Wks. _ 8. 32:
Grave master Ambler, news-master o' Paul's,
Supplies your capon.
It reappears in _The Staple of News_.
=Her Gentlemanvsher. = For an exposition of the character and
duties of the gentleman-usher see the notes to 4. 4. 134. 201, 215.
=Newgate. = 'This gate hath of long time been a gaol, or prison
for felons and trespassers, as appeareth by records in the reign of
King John, and of other kings. '--Stow, _Survey_, ed. Thoms, p. 14.
THE PROLOGUE.
=1 The DIVELL is an Asse. = 'This is said by the prologue pointing
to the _title_ of the play, which as was then the custom, was
painted in large letters and placed in some conspicuous part of the
stage. '--G.
Cf. _Poetaster_, _After the second sounding_: 'What's here? THE
ARRAIGNMENT! ' Also _Wily Beguiled_: _Prol. _ How now, my
honest rogue? What play shall we have here to-night?
_Player. _ Sir, you may look upon the title.
_Prol. _ What, _Spectrum_ once again? '
Jonson often, but not invariably, announces the title of
the play in the prologue or induction. Cf. _Every Man out_,
_Cynthia's Revels_, _Poetaster_, and all plays subsequent
to _Bart. Fair_ except _Sad Shep_.
=3 Grandee's. = Jonson uses this affected form of address
again in _Timber_, ed. Schelling. 22. 27
=4 allowing vs no place. = As Gifford points out, the prologue is a
protest against the habit prevalent at the time of crowding the stage
with stools for the accommodation of the spectators.
Dekker in Chapter 6 of _The Guls Horne-booke_ gives the gallant full
instructions as to the behavior proper to the play-house. The youth
is advised to wait until 'the quaking prologue hath (by rubbing) got
culor into his cheekes', and then 'to creepe from behind the Arras,'
and plant himself 'on the very Rushes where the Commedy is to daunce,
yea, and vnder the state of Cambises himselfe. ' Sir John Davies makes
a similar allusion _(Epigrams_, ed. Grosart, 2. 10). Jonson makes
frequent reference to the subject. Cf. _Induction_ to _The Staple
of News_, _Every Man out_, _Wks. _ 2. 31; _Prologue_ to _Cynthia's
Revels_, _Wks. _ 2. 210, etc.
=5 a subtill thing. = I. e. , thin, airy, spiritual, and so not
occupying space.
=6 worne in a thumbe-ring. = 'Nothing was more common, as we learn
from Lilly, than to carry about familiar spirits, shut up in rings,
watches, sword-hilts, and other articles of dress. '--G.
I have been unable to verify Gifford's statement from Lilly,
but the following passage from Harsnet's _Declaration_ (p. 13)
confirms it: 'For compassing of this treasure, there was a
consociation betweene 3 or 4 priests, _deuill-coniurers_, and
4 _discouerers_, or _seers_, reputed to carry about with them,
their familiars in rings, and glasses, by whose suggestion they
came to notice of those golden hoards. '
Gifford says that thumb-rings of Jonson's day were set with jewels
of an extraordinary size, and that they appear to have been 'more
affected by magistrates and grave citizens than necromancers. ' Cf.
_I Henry IV_ 2. 4: 'I could have crept into any alderman's thumb-ring. '
Also _Witts Recreat. _, _Epig. _ 623:
He wears a hoop-ring on his thumb; he has
Of gravidad a dose, full in the face.
Glapthorne, _Wit in a Constable_, 1639, 4. 1: 'An alderman--I may
say to you, he has no more wit than the rest of the bench, and that
lies in his thumb-ring. '
=8 In compasse of a cheese-trencher.
= The figure seems forced
to us, but it should be remembered that trenchers were a very
important article of table equipment in Jonson's day. They were
often embellished with 'posies,' and it is possible that Jonson was
thinking of the brevity of such inscriptions. Cf. Dekker, _North-Ward
Hoe_ 3. 1 (_Wks. _ 3. 38): 'Ile have you make 12. poesies for a dozen
of cheese trenchers. ' Also _Honest Whore_, Part I, Sc. 13; and
Middleton, _Old Law_ 2. 1 (_Wks. _ 2. 149); _No Wit, no Help like a
Woman's_ 2. 1 (_Wks. _ 4. 322).
=15 Like the young adders. = It is said that young adders, when
frightened, run into their mother's mouth for protection.
=16 Would wee could stand due North. = I. e. , be as infallible as
the compass.
=17 Muscouy glasse. = Cf. Marston, _Malcontent_, _Wks_. 1. 234: 'She
were an excellent lady, but that her face peeleth like Muscovy
glass. ' Reed (_Old Plays_ 4. 38) quotes from Giles Fletcher's _Russe
Commonwealth_, 1591, p. 10: 'In the province of Corelia, and about
the river Duyna towards the North-sea, there groweth a soft rock
which they call Slude. This they cut into pieces, and so tear it
into thin _flakes, which naturally it is apt for_, and so use it for
glasse lanthorns and such like. It giveth both inwards and outwards
a clearer light then glasse, and for this respect is better than
either glasse or horne; for that it neither breaketh like glasse, nor
yet will burne like the lanthorne. ' Dekker _(Non-dram. Wks. _ 2. 135)
speaks of a 'Muscouie Lanthorne. ' See Gloss.
=22 the Diuell of Edmunton. = _The Merry Devil of Edmunton_ was
acted by the King's Men at the Globe before Oct. 22, 1607. It has
been conjecturally assigned to Shakespeare and to Drayton. Hazlitt
describes it as 'perhaps the first example of sentimental comedy
we have' (see _O. Pl. _, 4th ed. , 10. 203 f. ). Fleay, who believes
Drayton to be the author, thinks that the 'Merry devil' of _The
Merchant of Venice_ 2. 3, alludes to this play (_Biog. Chron. _ 1.
151 and 2. 213). There were six editions in the 17th century, all in
quarto--1608, 1612, 1617, 1626, 1631, 1655. Middleton, _The Black
Book_, _Wks. _ 8. 36, alludes to it pleasantly in connection with
_A Woman kill'd with Kindness_. Genest mentions it as being revived
in 1682. Cf. also _Staple of News_, 1st Int.
=26 If this Play doe not like=, etc. Jonson refers to Dekker's play
of 1612 (see Introduction, p. xxix). On the title-page of this play
we find _If it be not good, The Diuel is in it_. At the head of Act.
1, however, the title reads _If this be not a good play_, etc.
ACT I.
=1. 1. 1 Hoh, hoh=, etc. 'Whalley is right in saying that this is
the conventional way for the devil to make his appearance in the old
morality-plays. Gifford objects on the ground that 'it is not the roar
of terror; but the boisterous expression of sarcastic merriment at the
absurd petition of Pug;' an objection, the truth of which does not
necessarily invalidate Whalley's statement. Jonson of course adapts the
old conventions to his own ends. See Introduction, p. xxiii.
=1. 1. 9 Entring a Sow, to make her cast her farrow? = Cf. Dekker,
etc. , _Witch of Edmonton_ (_Wks. _ 4. 423): '_Countr. _ I'll be sworn,
_Mr. Carter_, she bewitched Gammer _Washbowls_ sow, to cast her Pigs
a day before she would have farried. '
=1. 1. 11 Totnam. = 'The first notice of Tottenham Court, as a place
of public entertainment, contained in the books of the parish of St.
Gile's-in-the-Fields, occurs under the year 1645 (Wh-C. ). Jonson,
however, as early as 1614 speaks of 'courting it to Totnam to eat
cream' (_Bart. Fair_, Act 1. Sc. 1, _Wks. _ 4. 362). George Wither,
in the _Britain's Remembrancer_, 1628, refers to the same thing:
And Hogsdone, Islington, and Tothnam-court,
For cakes and cream had then no small resort.
Tottenham Fields were until a comparatively recent date a favorite
place of entertainment.
=1. 1. 13 a tonning of Ale=, etc. Cf. _Sad Shep. _, _Wks. _ 6. 276:
The house wives tun not work, nor the milk churn.
=1. 1. 15 Spight o' the housewiues cord, or her hot spit. =
'There be twentie severall waies to make your butter come, which
for brevitie I omit; as to bind your cherne with a rope, to
thrust thereinto a red hot spit, &c. '--Scot, _Discovery_, p. 229.
=1. 1. 16, 17 Or some good Ribibe . . . witch. = This seems
to be an allusion, as Fleay suggests, to Heywood's _Wise-Woman
of Hogsdon_. The witch of that play declares her dwelling to
be in 'Kentstreet' (Heywood's _Wks. _ 5. 294). A ribibe meant
originally a musical instrument, and was synonymous with rebec.
By analogy, perhaps, it was applied to a shrill-voiced old
woman. This is Gifford's explanation. The word occurs again
in Skelton's _Elynour Rummyng_, l. 492, and in Chaucer, _The
Freres Tale_, l. 1377: 'a widwe, an old ribybe. ' Skeat offers
the following explanation: 'I suspect that this old joke, for
such it clearly is, arose in a very different way [from that
suggested by Gifford], viz. from a pun upon _rebekke_, a fiddle,
and _Rebekke_, a married woman, from the mention of Rebecca in
the marriage-service. Chaucer himself notices the latter in E. 1704. '
=1. 1. 16 Kentish Towne. = Kentish Town, Cantelows, or Cantelupe
town is the most ancient district in the parish of Pancras. It was
originally a small village, and as late as the eighteenth century a
lonely and somewhat dangerous spot. In later years it became noted
for its Assembly Rooms. In 1809 Hughson (_London_ 6. 369) called it
'the most romantic hamlet in the parish of Pancras. ' It is now a part
of the metropolis. See Samuel Palmer's _St. Pancras_, London, 1870.
=1. 1. 17 Hogsden. = Stow (_Survey_, ed. Thoms, p. 158) describes
Hogsden as a 'large street with houses on both sides. ' It was a
prebend belonging to St. Paul's. In Hogsden fields Jonson killed
Gabriel Spenser in a duel in 1598. These fields were a great
resort for the citizens on a holiday. The eating of cream there is
frequently mentioned. See the quotation from Wither under note 1. 1.
11, and _Alchemist_, _Wks. _ 4. 155 and 175:
----Ay, he would have built
The city new; and made a ditch about it
Of silver, should have run with cream from Hogsden.
Stephen in _Every Man in_ dwelt here, and so was forced to associate
with 'the archers of Finsbury, or the citizens that come a-ducking
to Islington ponds. ' Hogsden or Hoxton, as it is now called, is
to-day a populous district of the metropolis.
=1. 1. 18 shee will not let you play round Robbin. = The expression
is obscure, and the dictionaries afford little help. Round-robin
is a common enough phrase, but none of the meanings recorded is
applicable in this connection. Some child's game, played in a circle,
seems to be referred to, or the expression may be a cant term for
'play the deuce. ' Robin is a name of many associations, and its
connection with Robin Hood, Robin Goodfellow, and 'Robert's Men'
('The third old rank of the Canting crew. '--Grose. ) makes such an
interpretation more or less probable.
M. N. G. in _N. & Q. _ 9th Ser. 10. 394 says that 'when a man does
a thing in a circuitous, involved manner he is sometimes said "to
go all round Robin Hood's barn to do it. "' 'Round Robin Hood's
barn' may possibly have been the name of a game which has been
shortened to 'round Robin. '
=1. 1. 21 By a Middlesex Iury. = 'A reproof no less severe than
merited. It appears from the records of those times, that many
unfortunate creatures were condemned and executed on charges of the
rediculous nature here enumerated. In many instances, the judge was
well convinced of the innocence of the accused, and laboured to
save them; but such were the gross and barbarous prejudices of the
juries, that they would seldom listen to his recommendations; and
he was deterred from shewing mercy, in the last place by the brutal
ferociousness of the people, _whose teeth were set on edge with't_,
and who clamoured tumultuously for the murder of the accused. '--G.
=1. 1. 32 Lancashire. = This, as Gifford says, 'was the very hot-bed
of witches. ' Fifteen were brought to trial on Aug. 19, 1612, twelve
of whom were convicted and burnt on the day after their trial 'at the
common place of execution near to Lancaster. ' The term 'Lancashire
Witches' is now applied to the beautiful women for which the country
is famed. The details of the Lancaster trial are contained in Potts'
_Discoverie_ (Lond. 1613), and a satisfactory account is given by
Wright in his _Sorcery and Magic_.
=1. 1. 33 or some parts of Northumberland. = The first witch-trial
in Northumberland, so far as I have been able to ascertain,
occurred in 1628. This was the trial of the Witch of Leeplish.
We doe pre? ume, that no man will: nor wee. _
[868] 1 'The Epilogue. ' om. G
[869] 7 [_Exeunt. _ G
NOTES
The present edition includes whatever has been considered of value
in the notes of preceding editions. It has been the intention in
all cases to acknowledge facts and suggestions borrowed from such
sources, whether quoted verbatim, abridged, or developed. Notes
signed W. are from Whalley, G. from Gifford, C. from Cunningham.
For other abbreviations the Bibliography should be consulted.
Explanations of words and phrases are usually found only in the
Glossary. References to this play are by act, scene, and line of the
Text; other plays of Jonson are cited from the Gifford-Cunningham
edition of 1875. The references are to play, volume and page.
TITLE-PAGE.
=THE DIUELL IS AN ASSE. = 'Schlegel, seizing with great felicity upon
an untranslateable German idiom, called the play _Der dumme Teufel_
[Schlegel's _Werke_, ed. Bocking, 6. 340]--a title which must be
allowed to be twice as good as that of the English original. The
phrase 'the Devil is an ass' appears to have been proverbial.
See Fletcher's _The Chances_, Act 5. Sc. 2:
Dost thou think
The devil such an ass as people make him? '
--Ward, _Eng. Drama_ 2. 372.
A still more important passage occurs in Dekker's _If this be not a
good Play_, a partial source of Jonson's drama:
_Scu. _ Sweete-breads I hold my life, that diuels an asse.
--Dekker, _Wks. _ 3. 328.
Jonson uses it again in _The Staple of News_, _Wks. _ 5. 188:
The conjurer cozened him with a candle's end; he was an ass.
Dekker (_Non-dram. Wks. _ 2. 275) tells us the jest of a citizen
who was told that the 'Lawyers get the Diuell and all: What an
Asse, replied the Citizen is the diuell? If I were as he I would
get some of them. '
=HIS MAIESTIES SERVANTS. = Otherwise known as the
_King's Company_, and popularly spoken of as the _King's Men_. For
an account of this company see Winter, ed. _Staple of News_, p. 121;
and Fleay, _Biog. Chron. _ 1. 356-7; 2. 403-4.
=Ficta voluptatis=, etc. The quotation is from Horace,
_De Art. Poet. _, line 338. Jonson's translation is:
Let what thou feign'st for pleasure's sake, be near
The truth.
Jonson makes use of this quotation again in his note 'To the
Reader' prefixed to Act 3 of _The Staple of News_.
=I. B. = Fleay speaks of this printer as J. Benson (_Biog. Chron_. 1.
354). Benson did not 'take up freedom' until June 30, 1631 (_Sta.
Reg. _ 3. 686). Later he became a publisher (1635-40; _Sta. Reg. _ 5.
lxxxiv). I. B. was also the printer of _Bartholomew Fair_ and _Staple
of News_. J. Benson published a volume of Jonson's, containing
_The Masque of the Gypsies_ and other poems, in 1640 (_Brit. Museum
Cat. _ and Yale Library). In the same year he printed the _Art of
Poetry_, 12mo, and the _Execration against Vulcan_, 4to (cf. _Pub. of
Grolier Club_, N. Y. 1893, pp. 130, 132). The evidence that I. B. was
Benson is strong, but not absolutely conclusive.
=ROBERT ALLOT. = We find by Arber's reprint of the
_Stationer's Register_ that Robert Allot 'took up freedom' Nov. 7,
1625. He must have begun publishing shortly after, for under the
date of Jan. 25, 1625-6 we find that Mistris Hodgettes 'assigned
over unto him all her estate,' consisting of the copies of certain
books, for the 'some of forty-five pounds. ' The first entry of a
book to Allot is made May 7, 1626. In 1630 Master Blount 'assigned
over unto him all his estate and right in the copies' of sixteen of
Shakespeare's plays. In 1632 Allot brought out the Second Folio
of Shakespeare's works. On Sept. 7, 1631 _The Staple of News_ was
assigned to him. The last entry of a book in his name is on Sept.
12, 1635. The first mention of 'Mistris Allott' is under the date of
Dec. 30, 1635. Under date of July 1, 1637 is the record of the
assignment by Mistris Allott of certain books, formerly the estate
of 'Master Roberte Allotts deceased. ' Among these books are '37.
_Shakespeares Workes_ their part. 39. _Staple of Newes_ a Play.
40. _Bartholomew fayre_ a Play. ' I have been able to find no record
of _The Devil is an Ass_ in the _Stationer's Register_.
=the Beare. = In the Shakespeare folio of 1632 Allot's sign reads
'the Black Beare. ' The first mention of the shop in the _London
Street Directory_ is in 1575, among the 'Houses round the Churchyard. '
=Pauls Church-yard. = 'Before the Fire, which destroyed the old
Cathedral, St. Paul's Churchyard was chiefly inhabited by stationers,
whose shops were then, and until the year 1760, distinguished by
signs. '--Wh-C.
THE PERSONS OF THE PLAY.
=GVILT-HEAD, A Gold-smith. = The goldsmiths seem to have
been a prosperous guild. (See Stow, _Survey_, ed. Thoms, p. 114. )
At this time they performed the office of banking, constituting the
intermediate stage between the usurer and the modern banker. 'The
goldsmiths began to borrow at interest in order to lend out to
traders at a higher rate. In other words they became the connecting
link between those who had money to lend and those who wished
to borrow for trading purposes, or it might be to improve their
estates. No doubt at first the goldsmiths merely acted as guardians
of their clients' hoards, but they soon began to utilize those hoards
much as bankers now make use of the money deposited with
them. '--_Social England_ 3. 544.
=AMBLER. = Jonson uses this name again in _Neptune's Triumph_,
_Wks. _ 8. 32:
Grave master Ambler, news-master o' Paul's,
Supplies your capon.
It reappears in _The Staple of News_.
=Her Gentlemanvsher. = For an exposition of the character and
duties of the gentleman-usher see the notes to 4. 4. 134. 201, 215.
=Newgate. = 'This gate hath of long time been a gaol, or prison
for felons and trespassers, as appeareth by records in the reign of
King John, and of other kings. '--Stow, _Survey_, ed. Thoms, p. 14.
THE PROLOGUE.
=1 The DIVELL is an Asse. = 'This is said by the prologue pointing
to the _title_ of the play, which as was then the custom, was
painted in large letters and placed in some conspicuous part of the
stage. '--G.
Cf. _Poetaster_, _After the second sounding_: 'What's here? THE
ARRAIGNMENT! ' Also _Wily Beguiled_: _Prol. _ How now, my
honest rogue? What play shall we have here to-night?
_Player. _ Sir, you may look upon the title.
_Prol. _ What, _Spectrum_ once again? '
Jonson often, but not invariably, announces the title of
the play in the prologue or induction. Cf. _Every Man out_,
_Cynthia's Revels_, _Poetaster_, and all plays subsequent
to _Bart. Fair_ except _Sad Shep_.
=3 Grandee's. = Jonson uses this affected form of address
again in _Timber_, ed. Schelling. 22. 27
=4 allowing vs no place. = As Gifford points out, the prologue is a
protest against the habit prevalent at the time of crowding the stage
with stools for the accommodation of the spectators.
Dekker in Chapter 6 of _The Guls Horne-booke_ gives the gallant full
instructions as to the behavior proper to the play-house. The youth
is advised to wait until 'the quaking prologue hath (by rubbing) got
culor into his cheekes', and then 'to creepe from behind the Arras,'
and plant himself 'on the very Rushes where the Commedy is to daunce,
yea, and vnder the state of Cambises himselfe. ' Sir John Davies makes
a similar allusion _(Epigrams_, ed. Grosart, 2. 10). Jonson makes
frequent reference to the subject. Cf. _Induction_ to _The Staple
of News_, _Every Man out_, _Wks. _ 2. 31; _Prologue_ to _Cynthia's
Revels_, _Wks. _ 2. 210, etc.
=5 a subtill thing. = I. e. , thin, airy, spiritual, and so not
occupying space.
=6 worne in a thumbe-ring. = 'Nothing was more common, as we learn
from Lilly, than to carry about familiar spirits, shut up in rings,
watches, sword-hilts, and other articles of dress. '--G.
I have been unable to verify Gifford's statement from Lilly,
but the following passage from Harsnet's _Declaration_ (p. 13)
confirms it: 'For compassing of this treasure, there was a
consociation betweene 3 or 4 priests, _deuill-coniurers_, and
4 _discouerers_, or _seers_, reputed to carry about with them,
their familiars in rings, and glasses, by whose suggestion they
came to notice of those golden hoards. '
Gifford says that thumb-rings of Jonson's day were set with jewels
of an extraordinary size, and that they appear to have been 'more
affected by magistrates and grave citizens than necromancers. ' Cf.
_I Henry IV_ 2. 4: 'I could have crept into any alderman's thumb-ring. '
Also _Witts Recreat. _, _Epig. _ 623:
He wears a hoop-ring on his thumb; he has
Of gravidad a dose, full in the face.
Glapthorne, _Wit in a Constable_, 1639, 4. 1: 'An alderman--I may
say to you, he has no more wit than the rest of the bench, and that
lies in his thumb-ring. '
=8 In compasse of a cheese-trencher.
= The figure seems forced
to us, but it should be remembered that trenchers were a very
important article of table equipment in Jonson's day. They were
often embellished with 'posies,' and it is possible that Jonson was
thinking of the brevity of such inscriptions. Cf. Dekker, _North-Ward
Hoe_ 3. 1 (_Wks. _ 3. 38): 'Ile have you make 12. poesies for a dozen
of cheese trenchers. ' Also _Honest Whore_, Part I, Sc. 13; and
Middleton, _Old Law_ 2. 1 (_Wks. _ 2. 149); _No Wit, no Help like a
Woman's_ 2. 1 (_Wks. _ 4. 322).
=15 Like the young adders. = It is said that young adders, when
frightened, run into their mother's mouth for protection.
=16 Would wee could stand due North. = I. e. , be as infallible as
the compass.
=17 Muscouy glasse. = Cf. Marston, _Malcontent_, _Wks_. 1. 234: 'She
were an excellent lady, but that her face peeleth like Muscovy
glass. ' Reed (_Old Plays_ 4. 38) quotes from Giles Fletcher's _Russe
Commonwealth_, 1591, p. 10: 'In the province of Corelia, and about
the river Duyna towards the North-sea, there groweth a soft rock
which they call Slude. This they cut into pieces, and so tear it
into thin _flakes, which naturally it is apt for_, and so use it for
glasse lanthorns and such like. It giveth both inwards and outwards
a clearer light then glasse, and for this respect is better than
either glasse or horne; for that it neither breaketh like glasse, nor
yet will burne like the lanthorne. ' Dekker _(Non-dram. Wks. _ 2. 135)
speaks of a 'Muscouie Lanthorne. ' See Gloss.
=22 the Diuell of Edmunton. = _The Merry Devil of Edmunton_ was
acted by the King's Men at the Globe before Oct. 22, 1607. It has
been conjecturally assigned to Shakespeare and to Drayton. Hazlitt
describes it as 'perhaps the first example of sentimental comedy
we have' (see _O. Pl. _, 4th ed. , 10. 203 f. ). Fleay, who believes
Drayton to be the author, thinks that the 'Merry devil' of _The
Merchant of Venice_ 2. 3, alludes to this play (_Biog. Chron. _ 1.
151 and 2. 213). There were six editions in the 17th century, all in
quarto--1608, 1612, 1617, 1626, 1631, 1655. Middleton, _The Black
Book_, _Wks. _ 8. 36, alludes to it pleasantly in connection with
_A Woman kill'd with Kindness_. Genest mentions it as being revived
in 1682. Cf. also _Staple of News_, 1st Int.
=26 If this Play doe not like=, etc. Jonson refers to Dekker's play
of 1612 (see Introduction, p. xxix). On the title-page of this play
we find _If it be not good, The Diuel is in it_. At the head of Act.
1, however, the title reads _If this be not a good play_, etc.
ACT I.
=1. 1. 1 Hoh, hoh=, etc. 'Whalley is right in saying that this is
the conventional way for the devil to make his appearance in the old
morality-plays. Gifford objects on the ground that 'it is not the roar
of terror; but the boisterous expression of sarcastic merriment at the
absurd petition of Pug;' an objection, the truth of which does not
necessarily invalidate Whalley's statement. Jonson of course adapts the
old conventions to his own ends. See Introduction, p. xxiii.
=1. 1. 9 Entring a Sow, to make her cast her farrow? = Cf. Dekker,
etc. , _Witch of Edmonton_ (_Wks. _ 4. 423): '_Countr. _ I'll be sworn,
_Mr. Carter_, she bewitched Gammer _Washbowls_ sow, to cast her Pigs
a day before she would have farried. '
=1. 1. 11 Totnam. = 'The first notice of Tottenham Court, as a place
of public entertainment, contained in the books of the parish of St.
Gile's-in-the-Fields, occurs under the year 1645 (Wh-C. ). Jonson,
however, as early as 1614 speaks of 'courting it to Totnam to eat
cream' (_Bart. Fair_, Act 1. Sc. 1, _Wks. _ 4. 362). George Wither,
in the _Britain's Remembrancer_, 1628, refers to the same thing:
And Hogsdone, Islington, and Tothnam-court,
For cakes and cream had then no small resort.
Tottenham Fields were until a comparatively recent date a favorite
place of entertainment.
=1. 1. 13 a tonning of Ale=, etc. Cf. _Sad Shep. _, _Wks. _ 6. 276:
The house wives tun not work, nor the milk churn.
=1. 1. 15 Spight o' the housewiues cord, or her hot spit. =
'There be twentie severall waies to make your butter come, which
for brevitie I omit; as to bind your cherne with a rope, to
thrust thereinto a red hot spit, &c. '--Scot, _Discovery_, p. 229.
=1. 1. 16, 17 Or some good Ribibe . . . witch. = This seems
to be an allusion, as Fleay suggests, to Heywood's _Wise-Woman
of Hogsdon_. The witch of that play declares her dwelling to
be in 'Kentstreet' (Heywood's _Wks. _ 5. 294). A ribibe meant
originally a musical instrument, and was synonymous with rebec.
By analogy, perhaps, it was applied to a shrill-voiced old
woman. This is Gifford's explanation. The word occurs again
in Skelton's _Elynour Rummyng_, l. 492, and in Chaucer, _The
Freres Tale_, l. 1377: 'a widwe, an old ribybe. ' Skeat offers
the following explanation: 'I suspect that this old joke, for
such it clearly is, arose in a very different way [from that
suggested by Gifford], viz. from a pun upon _rebekke_, a fiddle,
and _Rebekke_, a married woman, from the mention of Rebecca in
the marriage-service. Chaucer himself notices the latter in E. 1704. '
=1. 1. 16 Kentish Towne. = Kentish Town, Cantelows, or Cantelupe
town is the most ancient district in the parish of Pancras. It was
originally a small village, and as late as the eighteenth century a
lonely and somewhat dangerous spot. In later years it became noted
for its Assembly Rooms. In 1809 Hughson (_London_ 6. 369) called it
'the most romantic hamlet in the parish of Pancras. ' It is now a part
of the metropolis. See Samuel Palmer's _St. Pancras_, London, 1870.
=1. 1. 17 Hogsden. = Stow (_Survey_, ed. Thoms, p. 158) describes
Hogsden as a 'large street with houses on both sides. ' It was a
prebend belonging to St. Paul's. In Hogsden fields Jonson killed
Gabriel Spenser in a duel in 1598. These fields were a great
resort for the citizens on a holiday. The eating of cream there is
frequently mentioned. See the quotation from Wither under note 1. 1.
11, and _Alchemist_, _Wks. _ 4. 155 and 175:
----Ay, he would have built
The city new; and made a ditch about it
Of silver, should have run with cream from Hogsden.
Stephen in _Every Man in_ dwelt here, and so was forced to associate
with 'the archers of Finsbury, or the citizens that come a-ducking
to Islington ponds. ' Hogsden or Hoxton, as it is now called, is
to-day a populous district of the metropolis.
=1. 1. 18 shee will not let you play round Robbin. = The expression
is obscure, and the dictionaries afford little help. Round-robin
is a common enough phrase, but none of the meanings recorded is
applicable in this connection. Some child's game, played in a circle,
seems to be referred to, or the expression may be a cant term for
'play the deuce. ' Robin is a name of many associations, and its
connection with Robin Hood, Robin Goodfellow, and 'Robert's Men'
('The third old rank of the Canting crew. '--Grose. ) makes such an
interpretation more or less probable.
M. N. G. in _N. & Q. _ 9th Ser. 10. 394 says that 'when a man does
a thing in a circuitous, involved manner he is sometimes said "to
go all round Robin Hood's barn to do it. "' 'Round Robin Hood's
barn' may possibly have been the name of a game which has been
shortened to 'round Robin. '
=1. 1. 21 By a Middlesex Iury. = 'A reproof no less severe than
merited. It appears from the records of those times, that many
unfortunate creatures were condemned and executed on charges of the
rediculous nature here enumerated. In many instances, the judge was
well convinced of the innocence of the accused, and laboured to
save them; but such were the gross and barbarous prejudices of the
juries, that they would seldom listen to his recommendations; and
he was deterred from shewing mercy, in the last place by the brutal
ferociousness of the people, _whose teeth were set on edge with't_,
and who clamoured tumultuously for the murder of the accused. '--G.
=1. 1. 32 Lancashire. = This, as Gifford says, 'was the very hot-bed
of witches. ' Fifteen were brought to trial on Aug. 19, 1612, twelve
of whom were convicted and burnt on the day after their trial 'at the
common place of execution near to Lancaster. ' The term 'Lancashire
Witches' is now applied to the beautiful women for which the country
is famed. The details of the Lancaster trial are contained in Potts'
_Discoverie_ (Lond. 1613), and a satisfactory account is given by
Wright in his _Sorcery and Magic_.
=1. 1. 33 or some parts of Northumberland. = The first witch-trial
in Northumberland, so far as I have been able to ascertain,
occurred in 1628. This was the trial of the Witch of Leeplish.
