Merecraft
whispers: 'Master
Fitzdottrel and his wife!
Fitzdottrel and his wife!
Ben Jonson - The Devil's Association
_Sil.
Wom.
_, _Wks.
_ 3.
364.
=4. 3. 51. = See variants. There are several mistakes in the
assignment of speeches throughout this act. Not all of Gifford's
changes, however, are to be accepted without question. Evidently,
if the question _where? _ is to be assigned to Wittipol, the first
speech must be an aside, as it is inconceivable that Merecraft should
introduce Fitzdottrel first under his own name, and then as the
'Duke of Drown'd-land. '
My conception of the situation is this: Pug is playing the part
of gentleman usher. He enters and announces to Merecraft that
Fitzdottrel and his wife are coming.
Merecraft whispers: 'Master
Fitzdottrel and his wife! where? ' and then, as they enter, turns to
Wittipol and introduces them; 'Madame,' etc.
=4. 4. 30 Your Allum Scagliola=, etc. Many of the words in this
paragraph are obscure, and a few seem irrecoverable. Doubtless Jonson
picked them up from various medical treatises and advertisements
of his day. I find no trace of _Abezzo_, which may of course be a
misprint for Arezzo. The meanings assigned to _Pol-dipedra_ and
_Porcelletto Merino_ are unsatisfactory. Florio gives '_Zucca_:
a gourd; a casting bottle,' but I have been unable to discover
_Mugia_. The loss of these words is, to be sure, of no moment. Two
things illustrative of Jonson's method are sufficiently clear.
(1) The articles mentioned are not, as they seem at first, merely
names coined for the occasion. (2) They are a polyglot jumble,
intended to make proficiency in the science of cosmetics as
ridiculous as possible. It is worth while to notice, however, that
this list of drugs is carefully differentiated from the list at
4.
=4. 3. 51. = See variants. There are several mistakes in the
assignment of speeches throughout this act. Not all of Gifford's
changes, however, are to be accepted without question. Evidently,
if the question _where? _ is to be assigned to Wittipol, the first
speech must be an aside, as it is inconceivable that Merecraft should
introduce Fitzdottrel first under his own name, and then as the
'Duke of Drown'd-land. '
My conception of the situation is this: Pug is playing the part
of gentleman usher. He enters and announces to Merecraft that
Fitzdottrel and his wife are coming.
Merecraft whispers: 'Master
Fitzdottrel and his wife! where? ' and then, as they enter, turns to
Wittipol and introduces them; 'Madame,' etc.
=4. 4. 30 Your Allum Scagliola=, etc. Many of the words in this
paragraph are obscure, and a few seem irrecoverable. Doubtless Jonson
picked them up from various medical treatises and advertisements
of his day. I find no trace of _Abezzo_, which may of course be a
misprint for Arezzo. The meanings assigned to _Pol-dipedra_ and
_Porcelletto Merino_ are unsatisfactory. Florio gives '_Zucca_:
a gourd; a casting bottle,' but I have been unable to discover
_Mugia_. The loss of these words is, to be sure, of no moment. Two
things illustrative of Jonson's method are sufficiently clear.
(1) The articles mentioned are not, as they seem at first, merely
names coined for the occasion. (2) They are a polyglot jumble,
intended to make proficiency in the science of cosmetics as
ridiculous as possible. It is worth while to notice, however, that
this list of drugs is carefully differentiated from the list at
4.
