NOTES

In general, where the notes of preceding editions are adequate, I have preserved them in their exact words; where not, I have omitted or abridged, according to value. Of the more strictly lexical notes, nearly all have gone into the Glossary. Notes signed C. are from Cunningham, G., from Gifford, W., from Whalley, CD., from the Century Dictionary, LPP., from Wheatley and Cunningham's London Past and Present, and NED., from the New English Dictionary. References to this play are by act, scene, and line of this text; references to other plays of Jonson's are by act and scene, Gifford's division. GC. refers to Cunningham's re-edition of Gifford, 1875. For other references, see Bibliography.

TITLE-PAGE

1625. Fleay's discussion of the date in his History of the Stage (p. 384) shows that The Staple of Newes was acted in February 1626, New Style (cf. Introd., p. 18).

His Maiesties Servants. This company of actors was licensed in 1586 as Leicester's Company, and known as such till 1589. It was known 1589-94 as Strange's; 1594 as Derby's; 1594-6 as Chamberlain's; 1596-7 as Hunsdon's; and 1597-1603 as Chamberlain's. In 1603 King James took it under his patronage, and henceforth, till the closing of the theatres in 1642, it was known as the King's Company, and popularly spoken of as the King's Men. Shakespeare was a member of this company, and wrote all his plays for it. He was the only great dramatist of the period who wrote for but one company. Jonson, on the other hand, was connected with three leading companies. He began in 1597 by writing for the Admiral's Men (afterwards Prince Henry's Men), and wrote for them again in 1602. For the company of boys known as Chapel 1592-1603, Queen's Revels 1603-13, Lady Elizabeth's 1613-25, and Queen Henrietta's 1625-42, he wrote in 1598, 1600-1, 1605, 1609, 1614, 1633. For the King's Majesties Servants, or King's Men, he wrote 1598-9, 1603–5, 1610–11, 1617-32. Of his plays, Sejanus (1603), Volpone (1605), Alchemist (1610), Catiline (1611), Devil is an Ass (1616), Staple of News (1626), New Inn (1629), and Magnetic Lady (1632) were acted by this company (cf. title-pages in the Jonson folios, 1616 and 1631-41, and Fleay's Biog. Chron. I. 356-87; 2. 403-4).

Aut prodesse volunt, etc. In his translation of the Ars Poetica Jonson renders thus:

Poets would either profit or delight;

Or mixing sweet and fit, teach life the right.

Cf. also Silent Woman, Prologue.

I. B. Fleay identifies this person with J. Benson, who later (1635-40) became a publisher; and probably he is right. During this same year (1631) I. B. printed also Bartholomew Fair and The Devil is an Ass (see Jonson's letter to the Earl of Newcastle, Introd., p. 14). In 1640 I. Benson published a small volume containing Jonson's mask, The Metamorphosed Gipsies, and a number of short poems 'never before printed.' That same year John Benson published in 12mo Jonson's translation of Horace's Art of Poetry, and in 4to The Execration against Vulcan with Divers Epigrams, etc., Never Published before (cf. Pub. of the Grolier Club, N. Y. 1893, pp. 130, 132). No doubt I. B., I. Benson, and John Benson are all one.

Robert Allot. Not the Robert Allot who in 1600 edited the poetic miscellany, England's Parnassus. The Stationers' Register (3. 686, Arb.) says he 'took up freedom' (i. e. from apprenticeship) Nov. 7, 1625. He published many books between 1626 and 1635 (cf. Hazlitt, Handbook), among them the second impression, or second folio, of Shakespeare's works (1632). For Jonson he published, besides our play, Bartholomew Fair and Devil is an Ass, all in 1631. Under date of Dec. 30, 1635, 'Mistris Allott' entered a book on the Stationers' Register 'for her copie' (4. 353), and the inference is that her husband was dead. Under date of July 1, 1637, she assigned her interest in a long list of 'copies', among them our play, 'which were Master Roberte Allotts deceased' (ib. 361–2).

the Beare. In the Shakespeare folio of 1632 Allot's sign reads 'the Blacke Beare.'

Pauls Church-yard. For a long time before the old Cathedral was destroyed by fire in 1666, St. Paul's Churchyard was mostly given up to stationers, each known by his sign. Several of Shakespeare's plays, among them The Merchant of Venice and King Lear, were first put on sale there.

THE PERSONS OF THE PLAY

In accordance with his practice in all of his later comedies, Jonson here gives the persons of the play names descriptive either of their characters or their callings (cf. Glossary).

5. Fitton. Cf. Cynthia's Revels 1. 1: 'He doth feed you with fittons, figments, and leasings.' There Gifford says: "Thus old

Gascoigne, "to tell a fittone in your landlord's eares." And North, in his Translation of Plutarch, "In many other places he commonly used to fitton, and to write devices of his own." It seems synonymous with feign or fabricate.' Cf. Glossary.

7. Shvn-Field. So named partly because he is a seaman, but mainly because he is a coward (cf. 2. 4. 15; 4. 4. 150).

10. Pyed-Mantle. Cf. note on 2. 2. 41.

14. Infanta of the Mynes. For a similar use of Infanta cf. Devil is an Ass 4. 1: "The very infanta of the giants.'

20. Lick-Finger. Cf. Romeo and Juliet, ed. Furness, 4. 2. 6: 'Sec. Serv. Marry, Sir, 'tis an ill cook that cannot lick his own fingers therefore he that cannot lick his fingers goes not with me.' Furness quotes Steevens: 'This adage is in Puttenham's Arte of English Poesie, 1589, p. 157:

As the old cocke crowes so doeth the chick:

A bad cooke that cannot his own fingers lick.'

It is also in Heywood's Proverbs, ed. 1874, p. 151.

Gifford's variant: 'Buz, Ambler, grooms.' Though Buz and Ambler are mentioned several times in the play, they nowhere appear in person, and hence do not belong in the dramatis personae. Moreover, they are emissaries, not grooms; cf. 1. 6. 52-3: 'two Groomes Pawne, and his fellow.'

THE INDUCTION

1. For your owne sake, not ours. As Gifford points out, we should read ‘his' instead of ours (cf. Prologue for the Stage, line 1). Gifford has the Gossips enter after line 1, because they interrupt the Prologue. Cf. Dekker, Gull's Hornbook, chap. 6: 'Present not yourself on the stage, especially at a new play, until the quaking Prologue hath by rubbing got colour into his cheeks, and is ready to give the trumpets their cue that he is upon point to enter; for then it is time, as though you were one of the properties, or that you dropt out of the hangings, to creep from behind the arras, with your tripos or three-footed stool in one hand, and a teston [tester sixpence] mounted between a forefinger and a thumb in the other; for if you should bestow your person upon the vulgar, when the belly of the house is but half full, your apparel is quite eaten up, the fashion lost, and the proportion of your body in more danger to be devoured than if it were served up in the Counter amongst the poultry.' Under Mirth's bold leadership, the gossips emulate the practice of the gallants.

6. helpe vs to some stooles. Cf. Barth. Fair 5. 3: 'Have you none of your pretty impudent boys now, to bring stools, fill

tobacco, fetch ale.' Cf. Dekker, Gull's Hornbook, chap. 6: ‘By sitting on the stage, you may, with small cost, purchase the dear acquaintance of the boys; have a good stool for sixpence.' Cf. also Induction of Cynthia's Revels: 'What upon the stage too?' etc.

7. Where? o'the Stage, Ladies? 'It does not necessarily follow from this that ladies were ordinarily provided with seats upon the stage, as gentlemen were' (C.). Quite the contrary follows. Mirth's first words (line 1) and the Prologue's question here both suggest that the Gossips are doing a somewhat unusual and daring thing. Tattle is ashamed to be seen there, and shrinks behind her mask. Ward says (Hist. Eng. Dram. Lit. 1. 477): 'No respectable woman might appear at a playhouse except with her face concealed under a mask,-a circumstance which, were it not for later experience, would help to account in return for the license that pervades so large a proportion of the Elisabethan drama. Nor will it be forgotten that women's parts were invariably acted by boys.' Strutt says (Antiq. 3. 105): The masks in general covered only part of the face, reaching down to the bottom of the nose, so that the mouth and chin might be seen, as also part of the forehead.' Cf. First Intermean, line 51.

11. Mirth, . . Christmas. At this time, the English were remarkable for their manner of celebrating Christmas. On Christmas Eve began a festivity, varied with sports and pastimes, which lasted until Twelfth Day-i. e. January 6. In his Survey (p. 37) Stow says: 'In the feast of Christmas, there was in the King's house, wheresoever he lodged, a Lord of Misrule, or Master of Merry Disports, and the like had ye in the house of every nobleman of honour or good worship.' Out of the freedom granted this transient dignitary and his satellites came scandalous abuses, calling forth denunciations from Prynne and other Puritans.

12. Shrouetide. Shrove Tuesday, or the day before the beginning of Lent, was formerly a day of feasting and merry-making. The Book of Days says: "The merriment began the day before, on Collop Monday, so-called from the practice of eating collops of salted meat and eggs on that day. When Shrove Tuesday dawned, the bells were set ringing, and everybody abandoned himself to amusement and good humour. All through the day there was a preparing and devouring of pancakes. The pancake and Shrove Tuesday are inextricably associated in the popular mind and in the old literature.' Cf. also Taylor the Water-Poet, Works, 1630, p. 114-5, and Halliwell, Dict.

12-13. It's merry when Gossips meet. Cf. Bailey, Dict. (1721): 'A gossiping, a merry meeting of Gossips at a woman's lying-in.' Apparently, the merry-making of gossips passed into a proverb,

though I have not found it in the proverb-books: 'Tis Merry when Gossips Meet is the title of a light comedy by Samuel Rowlands, published 1602. 'They say it is merry when gossips do meet' is the first line of a song (GC. 9. 336) in an undated interlude of Jonson's, written, Gifford thinks, for the christening of a son of the Earl of Newcastle. On gossip, cf. note on Midsummer

N. D., ed. Furness, 2. I.

Probably the Gossips are not intended as a satire upon the female element in the audience-that was never more than a small fraction; but rather to symbolize the shallow and 'ridiculous' (cf. To the Readers) part of the audience, of either sex, and especially that part of it-probably always men-which sat on the stage.

15. Noblemen graue Wits. Also seated on the stage. Cf. Dekker, Gull's Hornbook, chap. 6: 'Let our gallant, having paid it [the price of admission], presently advance himself up to the throne of the stage; I mean not into the lords room, [the stagebox, or first seat at the theatre] which is now but the stage's suburbs ; But on the very rushes where the comedy is to dance, yea, and under the state of Cambyses himself, must our feathered estrich, like a piece of ordnance, be planted valiantly, because impudently, beating down the mews and hisses of the opposed rascality. For the dramatist's relations with that part of his audience which sat on the stage, cf. the whole of chapter 6 in the Gull's Hornbook, and the induction of Cynthia's Revels. 25. find. Cf. the legal phrase find guilty; and see Glossary. 30. expect

8. 24):

understand. Cf. Neptune's Triumph (GC.

'Poet. As, how, sir?

Cook. Expect. I am by my place, to know the palates of the guests; so you are to know the palates of the times;

Poet. That were a heavy and hard task, to satisfy Expectation, who is so severe an exactress of duties; ever a tyrannous mistress, and most times a pressing enemy.

Cook. She is a powerful great lady, sir, at all times, and must be satisfied; so must her sister, Madam Curiosity, who hath as dainty a palate as she; and these will expect.

Poet. But what if they expect more than they understand?' Cf. Time Vindicated (GC. 8. 3).

36. Cry you mercy, etc. 'This is meant as a satire on a line in Shakspeare's Julius Caesar, though it nowhere occurs as it is here represented' (W.).

'The commentators are right at last. Here is evidently an allusion to Shakspeare, and, for once, "old Ben speaks out."