The Arkansaw traveler., 1886-01-16

eS~~@SA@& A00 &AV11t@&S Ok uakU &&$QC18~ tion. It is no reflection, sirrah, to say thy aptness is reflection of thy masters. He bears the title, and thou, being the subject, wait upon him in detail, doing myself honor. betimes, by sticking to the text. Bet the sword, lad What of its misuse, and the remedya
 PAge-l can no further, sir, till your lordship teach me.
 Falstaf--Well trained gain, in mod esty. So, must engage thee in carte, with expectancy of sundry cartels from divers interlopers of thy breed upon the gentlemen's code7 Well, then, Sir Man ikin, what says Holy Wnt5
 PaSe-I know not, your worship. The unlearned, you know, are not permitted to read it.
 FAlstaff- So much the better-for book and page alike. tell thee, then, the Scripture saith, He that taketh up the sword shall perish by the sword" And by this saying, thou, poor wretch, art surely doomed.
 Page-Wherefore, pray, my lord2
 Faistaf-Did'st thou not, even nov. take up the sword?
 Page-For you, good master-not for myself. l fear much that you be the one menaced by the proverb. As the hand obeys the brains bidding, so do l serve thee-daring not, and therefore caring not, to question whether it be for good or il.
 Falstaf-Marry, iackanapes, thy simple logic leaves thy hapless master spitted on his own dudgeons-as a great spider, missing the coveted gnat, falls afoul the stake whereto the web was fixed. But forget not, thou miscarried germ of Mel chisedec, that the hand, the doer, the in- strument, suffers not fewer bangs for be- ing pushed into jeopardy against its vo. lition.
 Page-Seeing which, trust your wor- ship will spare the poor instrument, if not the valorous and august one whose pleasure it still finds delight in serving.
 FAlstaff-Guard of, thou sucking nor alist. 1 cannot fence with a knight in miniature skilled he be and worthy of his own bulk. Reserve thy precepts for pillaging ants and preach thy homilies to mother birds, that do perforce of necessity absolve their pity of debt and their consciences of reproach and freely devote the fated worm to the rearing of their feathered progeny. More over, thou dwarfed likeness of humanity, by what right dost thou oppose thy gos- samer code against my prerogative- whose momentum is to thy reproof as a moving sphere to speck of surplus, wan dering matter? Were what seem to thee my wees but lessened to thy comprehen- sion, thou couldst see naught save virtue in them-all semblance of grossness van ishing in the process. So doth the rarest parts of the loveliest woman appear but coarse-grained mummy to animalcule of thy sort, that might with ease play hide and seek in her pores-or be drowned in her sweat Nor do contrast thee in malice when l say thou couldst be mortar rammed and shot into my personality to such depth that the trump of Gabriel would be blown into whispers finding thee! But marry, sweet mite, I'll still do thee the indulgence to enunciate why thy master yields the sword, and yet walks forth exempt from ban and reribution. We'll doth the scripture say: He that taketh the sword shall perish by it." But shall the lifeless metal rise with unhanded hilt and execute the prophesy2 So may expound the coward, but not Sir John Falstaff, whose mission in the flesh is by the amount of it God hath given him-though God knoweth he might have been content with moiety. By whom shall the sword-taker perish, unless by us so elected-of crest impreg- nable, of arm invincible and of stomach impenetrable-save by meat, sack-and water, when fever calls? Come, smaii perceptions, make no more question of my ftness--to this evil time and now hie thee to a temporary covert while transfer my symptoms to this phial and speed thee back at call, tit mouse, as thou knowest the doctors hour is seven, and a tardy minutes space might leave the world without a true knight and this mandrake bottle inspector without pa- tient.
 A short dagger.