The Merry Wives of Windsor The Works of William Shakespeare [Cambridge Edition] [9 vols.] · William Shakespeare
NOTES: SCENE XI
_Quic._ Speake to misteris _{P}age_. _Fen._ Pray misteris _{P}age_ let me haue your consent. _Mis. Pa._ Ifaith M. _Fenton_ tis as my husband please. For my part, Ile neither hinder you, nor further you. _Quic._ How say you this was my doings? I bid you speake to misteris _{P}age_. _Fen._ Here nurse, theres a brace of angels to drink, Worke what thou canst for me, farwell. (_Exit Fen._ 30 _Quic._ By my troth so I will, good hart. _Pa._ Come wife, you an _I_ will in, weele leaue M. _Slender_ And my daughter to talke together. M. _Shallow_, You may stay sir if you please. _Exit {P}age and his wife._ _Shal._ Mary _I_ thanke you for that: 35 To her cousin, to her. _Slen._ Ifaith _I_ know not what to say. _An._ Now M. _{S}lender_, what’s your will? _Slen._ Godeso, theres a {I}est indeed: why misteris _An_, I neuer made will yet: _I_ thank God I am wise inough for that. 40 _Shal._ Fie cusse fie, thou art not right, O thou hadst a father. _Slen._ I had a father misteris _Anne_, good vncle Tell the Iest how my father stole the goose out of The henloft. All this is nought, harke you mistresse _Anne_. 45 _Shal._ He will make you ioynter of three hundred pound a yeare, he shall make you a Gentlewoman.
_Slend._ I be God that I vill, come cut and long taile, as good as any is in _Glostershire_, vnder the degree of a Squire. _An._ O God how many grosse faults are hid 50 And couered in three hundred pound a yeare? Well M. _{S}lender_, within a day or two Ile tell you more. _Slend._ I thanke you good misteris _Anne_, vncle I shall haue her. _Quic._ M. _{S}hallow_, M. _Page_ would pray you to come you, and you M. Slender, and you mistris _An_. 55 _Slend._ Well Nurse, if youle speake for me, Ile giue you more than Ile talke of. _Exit omnes but Quickly._ _Quic._ Indeed I will, Ile speake what I can for you, But specially for M. _Fenton_: But specially of all for my Maister. 60 And indeed I will do what I can for them all three. _Exit._ _Enter misteris Ford and her two men._ _Mis. For._ Do you heare? when your M. comes take vp this basket as you did before, and if your M. bid you set it downe, obey him. _Ser._ I will forsooth. 65 _Enter Syr Iohn._ _Mis._ For. Syr _Iohn_ welcome. _Fal._ What are you sure of your husband now? _Mis. For._ He is gone a birding sir _Iohn_, and I hope will not come home yet. _Enter mistresse Page._
Gods body here is misteris _Page_, 70 Step behind the arras good sir _Iohn_. _He steps behind the arras._ _Mis. Pa._ Misteris _Ford_, why woman your husband is in his old vaine againe, hees comming to search for your sweet heart, but I am glad he is not here. _Mis. {F}or._ O God misteris _Page_ the knight is here, 75 What shall I do? _Mis. Pa._ Why then you’r vndone woman, vnles you make some meanes to shift him away. _Mis. For._ Alas I know no meanes, unlesse we put him in the basket againe. 80 _{F}al._ No Ile come no more in the basket, Ile creep vp into the chimney. Mis _For._ There they use to discharge their Fowling peeces. _{F}al._ Why then Ile goe out of doores. _Mi. Pa._ Then your vndone, your but a dead man. 85 _Fal._ For Gods sake deuise any extremitie, Rather then a mischiefe. _Mis. Pa._ Alas I know not what meanes to make, If there were any womans apparell would fit him, He might put on a gowne and a mufler, 90 And so escape. _Mi. For._ Thats wel remembred, my maids Aunt _Gillian_ of _Brainford_, hath a gowne aboue. _Mis. {P}a._ And she is altogether as fat as he. _Mis. For._ I that will serue him of my word. 95 _Mis. Pa._ Come goe with me sir _Iohn_, Ile helpe to dresse you.
_Fal._ Come for God sake, any thing. _Exit Mis. Page and Sir Iohn._ _Enter M. Ford, {P}age, Priest, Shallow, the two men carries the basket, and Ford meets it._ _For._ Come along _I_ pray, you shal know the cause, How now whither goe you? Ha whither go you? Set downe the basket you ssaue, 100 You panderly rogue, set it downe. _Mis. {F}or._ What is the reason that you vse me thus? _For._ Come hither set downe the basket, Misteris _{F}ord_ the modest woman, Misteris _{F}ord_ the vertuous woman, 105 She that hath the iealous foole to her husband, I mistrust you without cause do I not? _Mis. For._ I Gods my record do you. And if you mistrust me in any ill sort. _Ford._ Well sed brazen face, hold it out, 110 You youth in a basket, come out here, Pull out the cloathes, search. _Hu._ Ieshu plesse me, will you pull vp your wiues cloathes. _Pa._ Fie M. _{F}ord_, you are not to go abroad if you be in these fits. _Sir Hugh._ By so kad vdge me, tis verie necessarie 115 He were put in pethlem. _For._ M. _{P}age_, as _I_ am an honest man M. _{P}age_, There was one conueyd out of my house here yesterday out of this basket, why may he not be here now?
_Mi. For._ Come mistris _{P}age_, bring the old woman downe. 120 _For._ Old woman, what old woman? _Mi. {F}or._ Why my maidens Ant, _Gillian_ of _Brainford_. A witch, haue I not forewarned her my house, Alas we are simple we, we know not what _Is_ brought to passe vnder the colour of fortune-Telling. Come 125 downe you witch, come downe. _Enter Falstaffe disguised like an old woman, and misteris Page with him, Ford beates him, and hee runnes away._ Away you witch get you gone. _{Sir H}u._ By Ieshu I verily thinke she is a witch indeed, I espied vnder her mufler a great beard. _Ford._ Pray come helpe me to search, pray now. 130 _Pa._ Come weele go for his minds sake. _Exit omnes._ _Mi. For._ By my troth he beat him most extreamly. _Mi. Pa._ I am glad of it, what shall we proceed any further? _Mi. For._ No faith, now if you will let vs tell our husbands of it. For mine I am sure hath almost fretted himselfe to death. 135 _Mi. Pa._ Content, come weele go tell them all, And as they agree, so will we proceed. _Exit both._
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