English drama -- Early modern and Elizabethan, 1500-1600
_Ia_. O Sir, beware of one that can showre into the lapps of Ladies.
Captaine Fowleweather? why hees a Captinado, or Captaine of Captaines,
and will lie in their joyntes that give him cause to worke uppon them so
heauylie, that he will make their hartes ake I warrant him. Captaine
Fowleweather? why he will make the cold stones sweate for feare of him,
a day or two before he come at them. Captaine Fowleweather? why he does
so dominere, and raigne over women.
_Will_. A plague of Captaine Fowleweather, I remember him now _Iack_,
and know him to be a dull moist-braind Asse.
_Ia_. A Southerne man I thinke.
_Will_. As fearefull as a Haire, and will lye like a Lapwing,[2] and I
know how he came to be a Captain, and to have his Surname of
Commendations.
_Ia_. How I preethee _Will_?
_Will_. Why Sir he served the great Lady Kingcob and was yeoman of her
wardroppe, & because a cood brush up her silkes lustely, she thought he
would curry the enemies coates as soundly, and so by her commendations,
he was made Captaine in the lowe Countries.
_Ia_. Then being made Captaine onely by his Ladies commendations,
without any worth also of his owne, he was ever after surnamd Captaine
Commendations?
_Will_. Right.
_Bul_. I, Sir right, but if he had not said right, my Captaine should
have taken no wrong at his handes, nor yours neyther, I can tell ye.
_Ia_. What are those two Knights names, that are thy Captaines
_Comrades_, and within at Supper with our Lady?
_Bul_. One of their names Sir, is, Sir _Gyles Goosecappe_, the others
Sir _Cutt Rudseby_.
_Will_. Sir _Gyles Goosecappe_? what's he? a gentleman?
_Bul_. I, that he is, at least if he be not a noble man; and his chiefe
house is in Essex.
_Ia_. In Essex? did not his Auncestors come out of London.
_Bul_. Yes that they did Sir, the best _Gosecappes_ in England, come out
of London I assure you.
_Will_. I, but, Sir, these must come into it before they come out ont I
hope; but what countriman is Sir _Cutt Rudesby_?
_Bul_. A Northern man, or a Westernman I take him, but my Captaine is the
Emphaticall man; and by that pretty word Emphaticall you shall partly
know him: for tis a very forcible word in troth, and yet he forces it
too much by his favour; mary no more then he does all the rest of his
wordes; with whose multiplicity often times he travailes himselfe out
of all good company.
_Iack_. Like enough; he travaild for nothing else.
_Will_. But what qualities haunt Sir _Gyles Goosecappe_ now Sir.
_Bul_. Sir _Gyles Goosecap_ has always a deathes head (as it were) in
his mouth, for his onely one reason for everything is, because we are
all mortall; and therefore he is generally cald the mortall Knight; then
hath he another pretty phrase too, and that is, he will "tickle the
vanity ant" still in everything; and this is your _Summa totalis_ of
both their virtues.
_Ia_. Tis enough, tis enough, as long as they have land enough, but now
muster your third person afore us I beseech you.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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