20 20 GAMMER GURTON'S NEEDLE. [ACT I. Gammer. It is the cat's eyes, foole, that shineth in the darke. Hodge. Hath the cat, do you thinke, in every eye a sparke? Gammer. No, but they shyne as lyke fyre as ever man see. Hodge. By the masse, and she burne all, yoush beare the blame for mee. Gammer. Cum downe and help to seeke here our neele that it were found; Downe, Tyb on thy knees, I say, downe Cocke to the ground, 20 To God I make a vowe, and so to good saint Anne, A candell shall they have a peece, get it where I can, If I may my neele finde in one place or in other, Hodge. Now a vengeaunce on Gib lyght, on Gyb and Gyb's mother, "is when we make words of our own mind, such as be derived "from the nature of things.'-As to call one patche, or cowlson, "whom we see to do a thing, foolishly; because these two in "their time were notable fools. Probably the dress which the celebrated patch wore was in "allusion to his name, patched or parti-coloured. Hence the stage-fool has ever since been exhibited in a motley coat. In Rowley's When you see me. you know me; or, Hist. of King Henry VIII. 1632, Cardinal Wolsey's Fool Patch is introduced. Perhaps he was the original patch of whom Wilson speaks." 66 Note on Merchant of Venice, A. 2. S. 5. In Chaloner's Translation of the Praise of Folly, by Erasmus, 1549, is the following passage: " And by the fayeth ye owe to the "immortal godds, may any thing to an indifferent considerer be "deemed more happie and blisful than is this kinde of men whome commonly ye call fooles, poltes, ideotes, and paches ?" Again, "I have subtraied these my selie paches, who not onelye "themselves are ever mery, playing, singing, and laughyng, but "also whatever they doo, are provokers of others lykewyse to pleasure, sporte, and laughter, as who sayeth ordeyned herefore by the Godds of theyr benevolence to recreate the sadnesse of "mens lyves." 66 20 To God I make a vowe, and so to good saint Anne, A candell shall they have a peece, gel it where I can,] In all cases of distress, and whenever the assistance of a superior power And all the generacion of cats both far and nere. Looke on the ground, horson, thinks thou the neele is here? Cocke. By my trouth, Gammar, me thought your neele here I saw, But when my fyngers toucht it, I felt it was a straw. Tib. See, Hodge, what's tys; may it not be within it? Hodge. Breake it, foole, with thy hand, and see and thou canst fynde it. Tib. Nay, breake it you, Hodge, accordyng to your word. Hodge. Gog's sydes, fie! it styncks: it is a cat's tourd : It were well done to make thee eate it, by the masse. Gammer. This matter amendeth not, my neele is still where it wasse. Our candle is at an ende, let us all in quight, THE SECOND ACTE. Firste a SONGE. Back and syde go bare, go bare, But belley, God sende thee good ale ynoughe, was necessary, it was usual with the Roman Catholicks to promise their tutelary saints to light up candles at their altars, to induce them to be propitious to such applications as were made to them. The reader will see a very ridiculous story of this kind in the first volume of Lord Oxford's Collection of Voyages, p. 771, quoted in Dr. Gray's Notes on Shakspeare, vol. I. p. 7. Erasmus has a story to the same purpose in his Naufragium. I CAN not eate, but lytle meat, booth foote and hand go colde : But belly, God send the good ale inoughe, 22 I love no rost, but a nut-brown toste, 21 Alluding to the drunkenness of the Fryars. 22 I love no rost, but a nut-brown toste, and a crab layde in the fyre,] So, in the 3d Act. 4th Scene: "A cup of ale had in his hand, and a crab lay in the fyer." Again: "Now a crab in the fire were woorth a good grote, Again : "And sometime lurk I in a gossip's bowl, Midsummer Night's Dream, A. 2. S. 1. Upon this last passage, Mr. Steevens has given the following examples of the use of this word: "Yet we will have in store a crab in the fire, 46 With nut brown ale," Henry V. Anon. "And sit down in my chaire by my faire Alison, "And turn a crabbe in the fire as merry as Pope Joan. Damon and Pithias, vol. I. sitting in a corner turning crabs, "Or coughing o'er a warmed pot of ale." Description of Christmas in Summer's last Will and No froste nor snow, no winde, I trow, I am so wrapt, and throwly lapt And Tyb my wyfe, that as her lyfe 23 Then dooth she trowle to mee the bowle, Now let them drynke, tyll they nod and winke, good ale doth bringe men to: 23 Then dooth she trowle to mee the bowle,] "Trowle, or trole the "bowl, was a common phrase in drinking for passing the vessel about, as appears by the following beginning of an old Catch: "Trole, trole the bowl to me, " And I will trole the same again to thee." And in this other, in Hilton's Collection: "Tom Bouls, Tom Bouls, "Seest thou not how merrily this good ale trowles?" Again: Sir John Hawkins's History of Musick, vol. III. 22. Sirra Shakebagge, canst thou remember Arden of Feversham, 1592. Marston's Parasitaster or Fawne, A. 5. A Chast Mayd in Cheap-side, p. 34. And all poor soules that have scored boules, God save the lyves of them and their wyves, Back and side go bare, &c. THE FYRST SCEANE. DICCON. HODGE. Diccon. Well done, by Gog's malt, well songe and well sayde: Come on, mother Chat,as thou art 24 a true mayde. One fresh pot of ale let's see, to make an ende Agaynst this colde wether, my naked armes 25 to de fende: This gere it warms the soule, now wind blow on thy worst, And let us drink and swill till that our bellies burste, Now were he a wyse man, by cunnynge colde defyne Which way my journey lyeth, or where Diccon will dyne: But one good turne I have, be it by nyght or dayė, South, east, north or west, I am never out of my waye. Hodge. Chym goodly rewarded, cham I not, do you thyncke? 26 Chad a goodly dynner for all my sweate and swyncke; 24 Add. 25 naked armes] See Dekker's Description of an Abraham-man, p. 4. 26 sweate and swyncke;] To swynke is to work or labour; as in Spenser's Fairy Queen, B. 2. Cant. 7. St. 8. "For which men swink and sweat incessantly." Again in Comus, by Milton, 1. 293: "And the swinkt hedger at his supper sat ;" |