in Blurt, Master Constable, or The Spaniard's Night Walk — Anonymous
Metadata
Play
Blurt, Master Constable, or The Spaniard's Night Walk
Author
Anonymous
Year (catalogued)
1602
First performance
1601
Decade
1600s
Genre
Romance
Play type
Boys Professional
Company
Children of Paul's (second)
Speech prefix(es)
Sim. | Simp. | Sim | Sym. | Simp
Words
363
Characters
1884
Typicality
0.41 (cosine to cluster centroid)
TCP id
A07492
BritDrama no.
1311
Cluster
Cluster 1 — Wives, widows & intimate counsel
Important excerpts
No keyword-matching excerpt could be extracted (the cluster label doesn't share vocabulary with this character's speech).
Full speech
Here Madame. You know a company of Gallants will be here at night be not out of temper sweet mistress. That's very likely Madame, but it makes you have o a most in-conie body. That's not the fault in your gown Madame, but of your baudie. Oh rare! Most incontinently, move, move, move: o sweet! Softly sweet Signior Curuetto, for she's fast. How sir, wearied? marry foh. Gods me, away. Foh. Lord I shee'll hear this fiddling. Mistress, sweet Ladies. Signior come away. Who's there? Who rings that scolding peal? (by ounce What do you mean? why do you beat our doors? What do you take us for? Signior Curuetto? Marry Muff, will you up and ride, you're mine elder: by my pure Maidenhead here's a jest: why this was a waterwork to drown a Rat that uses to creep in at this window. You smell a sodden sheep shed; a Rat? I a Rat, and you will not believe me marry foh; I have been believed of your betters, marry snick up. Go from my window go, go from, &c. away, go by old Jeronimo; nay and you shrink i'th wetting, walk, walk, walk. A Rat by this hemp, and you could would smelled; hark you, here's the bell, ting, ting, ting; would the clapper were in my belly, if I am not mad at your foppery; I could scratch, fie, fie, fie, fie, fie, (as my Mistress says) but go, hie you home; shift you, come back presently; here you shall find a ladder of cords, climb up, I'll receive you, my Mistress lies alone, she's yours, a way. Nay scud, you know what you promised me: I shall have simple yawling for this, be gone and Mum. She's and Ass, by the crown of my Maidenhead, Idem scratch her eyes out, if my man stood in her Tables. It's a most sweet man. He gives warning Mistress, shall I set him out? 'Tis set sure. Signior, who's there, Signior Curuetto? What makes you be so hight? Gods my life what have you done? you are in a sweet pickle if you pulled at this rope: And they will come in.
Plot summary
Plot — Blurt, Master Constable, or The Spaniard's Night Walk
Camillo and Hippolito return home to Venice after a war with France. Camillo brings the French lord Fontinelle as a prisoner, and presents him to his love Violetta. She falls for the Frenchman, so Camillo sends him to prison. Hippolito takes charge of the situation. He makes the courtesan Imperia dote on Fontinelle by sending her his picture; but Fontinelle refuses to accept her love and is taken back to his dungeon. Meanwhile Camillo’s attempts to woo Violetta back are met with rejection. Fontinelle escapes by changing clothes with Frisco, and, using Violetta’s page as a go-between, makes an assignation at a chapel, where they are secretly married. Afterwards, though, he takes up with Imperia. Camillo swears revenge on all three and leads a party of armed men to kill them and hang out their dead bodies. Violetta also goes to find her husband at Imperia’s, and is invited to join him in bed. Camillo’s men, the watch, and the Duke all arrive simultaneously at the brothel. The Duke prevents murder being done, but has Fontinelle arrested for adultery, which is a capital crime in Venice. Violetta denies that infidelity has occurred: it was all a plot laid by her and Fontinelle. In the sub-plot, Lazarillo also arrives in Venice from the wars and gets lodgings with Blurt the constable. He goes to Imperia’s house to lecture the ladies on Spanish marital conduct, and makes a nocturnal assignation with Imperia. Simperina makes another assignation with old Curvetto, but when he tries to attract her attention he is doused with water. Lazarillo is equally unlucky in his date: he falls through a trapdoor. Curvetto returns and is climbing up a rope ladder let down by Frisco when his foot slips; Frisco accuses him of trying to burgle the house, and he is arrested by Blurt. Lazarillo climbs out and he too is doused, with urine, and then arrested by Blurt. Curvetto refuses to 1601 marry Imperia to escape the death penalty, but the Duke pardons him and Lazarillo anyway, and agrees to pay the money the latter owes Blurt.