arity with such poor people; saying that ere 112
long they should call me madam? And didst
thou not kiss me and bid me fetch thee thirty
shillings? I put thee now to thy book-oath:
deny it if thou canst. 116
Fal. My lord, this is a poor mad soul; and
she says up and down the town that her eldest
son is like you. She hath been in good case,
and the truth is, poverty hath distracted her. 120
But for those foolish officers, I beseech you I
may have redress against them.
Ch. Just. Sir John, Sir John, I am well ac-
quainted with your manner of wrenching the 124
true cause the false way. It is not a confident
brow, nor the throng of words that come with
such more than impudent sauciness from you,
can thrust me from a level consideration; you 128
have, as it appears to me, practised upon the
easy-yielding spirit of this woman, and made
her serve your uses both in purse and in person.
Host. Yea, in troth, my lord. 132
Ch. Just. Prithee, peace. Pay her the debt
you owe her, and unpay the villainy you have
done her: the one you may do with sterling
money, and the other with current repentance. 136
Fal. My lord, I will not undergo this sneap
without reply. You call honourable boldness
impudent sauciness: if a man will make curtsy,
and say nothing, he is virtuous. No, my lord, 140
my humble duty remembered, I will not be your
suitor: I say to you, I do desire deliverance from
these officers, being upon hasty employment in
the king's affairs. 144
119 case: circumstances
128 level: steady
136 current: genuine, with pun upon 'sterling'
137 sneap: snub
