and foining o' nights, and begin to patch up
thine old body for heaven? 252
Enter [behind] the Prince and Poins, disguised [like Drawers].
Fal. Peace, good Doll! do not speak like a
death's head: do not bid me remember mine
end.
Dol. Sirrah, what humour's the prince of? 256
Fal. A good shallow young fellow: a' would
have made a good pantler, a' would have chipped
bread well.
Dol. They say, Poins has a good wit. 260
Fal. He a good wit! hang him, baboon! his
wit is as thick as Tewksbury mustard: there is
no more conceit in him than is in a mallet.
Dol. Why does the prince love him so, then? 264
Fal. Because their legs are both of a bigness,
and a' plays at quoits well, and eats conger and
fennel, and drinks off candles' ends for flap-
dragons, and rides the wild mare with the boys, 268
and jumps upon joint-stools, and swears with a
good grace, and wears his boots very smooth,
like unto the sign of the leg, and breeds no bate
with telling of discreet stories; and such other 272
gambol faculties a' has, that show a weak mind
and an able body, for the which the prince
admits him: for the prince himself is such
another; the weight of a hair will turn the 276
scales between their avoirdupois.
258 pantler: servant in charge of the pantry
263 conceit: imagination
267 drinks . . . flapdragons; cf. n.
268 rides . . . mare: plays see-saw
269 joint-stools: stools made by a joiner, as distinguished from those of rough make
271 sign of the leg: a shoemaker's sign
breeds no bate: causes no strife
273 gambol: sportive
