early stirrer, by the rood! And how doth my
good cousin Silence? 4
Sil. Good morrow, good cousin Shallow.
Shal. And how doth my cousin, your bed-
fellow? and your fairest daughter and mine, my
god-daughter Ellen? 8
Sil. Alas! a black ousel, cousin Shallow!
Shal. By yea and nay, sir, I dare say my
cousin William is become a good scholar. He is
at Oxford still, is he not? 12
Sil. Indeed, sir, to my cost.
Shal. A' must, then, to the inns o' court
shortly. I was once of Clement's Inn; where I
think they will talk of mad Shallow yet. 16
Sil. You were called lusty Shallow' then,
cousin.
Shal. By the mass, I was called anything;
and I would have done anything indeed too, 20
and roundly too. There was I, and Little John
Doit of Staffordshire, and black George Barnes,
and Francis Pickbone, and Will Squele a Cots-
wold man; you had not four such swinge-buck- 24
lers in all the inns o' court again: and, I may say
to you, we knew where the bona-robas were,
and had the best of them all at commandment.
Then was Jack Falstaff, now Sir John, a boy, and 28
page to Thomas Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk.
Sil. This Sir John, cousin, that comes hither
anon about soldiers?
Shal. The same Sir John, the very same. I 32
see him break Skogan's head at the court gate,
when a' was a crack not thus high: and the very
3 rood: cross
9 ousel: blackbird
14 inns o' court: colleges of law
21 roundly: thoroughly
24 swinge-bucklers: roisterers
26 bona-robas: showy harlots
28, 29 Cf. n.
33 Skogan; cf. n.
34 crack: lively youngster
