[189] A corruption of Dutch brui.  The meaning is “A plague on his Excellencie!”

[190] In the MS. follow two and a half lines, spoken by Vandort, and a speech of Barnavelt’s, twenty-four lines long.  These were cancelled on revision.  I have succeeded in reading some of the lines; and perhaps after a keener scrutiny the whole passage might become legible.  But I have no doubt that the lines were cancelled by the author himself (Massinger?) in order to shorten the scene.

[191] Nearly forty lines of dialogue that follow are cancelled in the MS., in order to shorten the scene.

[192] Not marked in MS.

[193] This passage is marked in pencil, as for omission, in the MS.

[194] The words “Upon my soule” are crossed through in the MS.

[195] This line and the eleven lines following are marked for omission in the MS.

[196] The words “tooke that course That now is practisd on you” are crossed through in the MS., and “cutt of his opposites” substituted in the right-hand margin.

[197] In the MS. the words “you can apply this” are crossed through.

[198] The words “to a Monarchie” are corrected in the MS. “to another forme.”

[199] Not marked in MS.

[200] Not marked in MS.

[201] T[homas] Holc[ombe] took the part.

[202] “Mr. Rob.” took the part.

[203] In the right-hand margin we find the actor’s name, “Mr. Bir.,” i.e.  Bir[ch].

[204] “The quantity of ten of any commodity; as a dicker of hides was ten hides, a dicker of iron ten bars.  See ‘Fragment.  Antiq.,’ p. 192.  Probably from decas, Lat.”—­Nares.

[205] Sc. pumpkin (Fr.).

[206] “Dewse-ace. Deux et az.”  Cotgrave. (Cf. Love’s Labour’s Lost, I. 2.) The lowest cast of the dice, two aces, was called “ames ace.”

[207] Among the Romans the highest cast was called Venus and the lowest canis. (Cf. a well-known couplet of Propertius, lib. iv. el. viii. l. 45—­

    “Me quoque per talos Venerem quaerente secundos
    Semper damnosi subsiluere canes.”)

[208] Sc. quatre et trois.

[209] Embroidered, figured.

[210] The actors’ names, “Mr. Rob.” and “Mr. Rice,” are written in the right-hand margin.

[211] A term of contempt, like “poor John.”

[212] To set up one’s rest, meant, as has been abundantly shown by Shakespearean commentators, to stand upon one’s cards at primero; but the word “pull” in this connexion is not at all easy to explain.  The general sense of the present passage is plain:  “Is my life held in such paltry esteem that slaves are allowed to gamble for it as for a stake at cards?” We have nowhere a plain account of primero.  When the “Compleat Gamester” was published (in 1674) the game had been discontinued.  The variety of quotations given by Nares, under Primero and Rest, is simply distracting.  There are two passages (apud Nares) of Fletcher’s bearing on the present difficulty:—­