thousands to the sword; till, at length, on the proof of some present and
apparent fact, he is brought to open and _lasting_ shame; to shame I mean
as a _Coward_; for as to what there is of _lyar_ in the case, it is
considered only as accessory, and scarcely reckoned into the account of
dishonour.--But in the instance before us, every thing is reversed: The
Play opens with the _Fact_; a Fact, from its circumstances as well as from
the age and inactivity of the man, very excusable and capable of much
apology, if not of defence. This Fact is preceded by no bluster or
pretence whatever;--the lyes and braggadocioes follow; but they are not
_general_; they are confined and have reference to this one Fact only; the
detection is _immediate_; and after some accompanying mirth and laughter,
the shame of that detection ends; it has no _duration_, as in other cases;
and, for the rest of the Play, the character stands just where it did
before, _without any punishment or degradation whatever_.

To account for all this, let us only suppose that _Falstaff_ was a man of
natural Courage, though in all respects unprincipled; but that he was
surprized in one single instance into an act of real terror; which,
instead of excusing upon circumstances, he endeavours to cover by lyes and
braggadocio; and that these lyes become thereupon the subject, in this
place, of detection. Upon these suppositions the whole difficulty will
vanish at once, and every thing be natural, common, and plain. The _Fact_
itself will be of course _excusable_; that is, it will arise out of a
combination of such circumstances as, being applicable to one case only,
will not destroy the general character: It will not be _preceded_ by any
braggadocio, containing any fair indication of Cowardice; as real
Cowardice is not supposed to exist in the character. But the first act of
real or apparent Cowardice would naturally throw a vain unprincipled man
into the use of lyes and braggadocio; but these would have reference only
to the _Fact in question_, and not apply to other cases or infect his
general character, which is not supposed to stand in need of imposition.
Again,--the detection of Cowardice, as such, is more diverting after a long
and various course of Pretence, where the lye of character is preserved,
as it were, whole, and brought into sufficient magnitude for a burst of
discovery; yet, mere occasional lyes, such as _Falstaff_ is hereby
supposed to utter, are, for the