purpose of sport, best detected in the
telling; because, indeed, they cannot be preserved for a future time; the
exigence and the humour will be past: But the _shame_ arising to
_Falstaff_ from the detection of _mere lyes_ would be _temporary only_;
his character as to this point, being already known, and _tolerated for
the humour_. Nothing, therefore, could follow but mirth and laughter, and
the temporary triumph of baffling a wit at his own weapons, and reducing
him to an absolute surrender: After which, we ought not to be surprized if
we see him rise again, like a boy from play, and run another race with as
little dishonour as before.

What then can we say, but that it is clearly the lyes only, not the
_Cowardice_, of _Falstaff_ which are here detected: _Lyes_, to which what
there may be of Cowardice is incidental only, improving indeed the Jest,
but by no means the real Business of the scene.--And now also we may more
clearly discern the true force and meaning of _Poin_'s prediction. "_The
Jest will be_," says he, "_the incomprehensible Lyes that this fat rogue
will tell us: How thirty at least he fought with:--and in the reproof of
this lyes the jest_"; That is, in the detection of these lyes _simply_;
for as to _Courage_, he had never ventured to insinuate more than that
_Falstaff_ would not fight longer than he saw cause: _Poins_ was in
expectation indeed that _Falstaff_ would fall into some dishonour on this
occasion; an event highly probable: But this was not, it seems, to be the
principal ground of their mirth, but the detection of those
_incomprehensible lyes_, which he boldly predicts, upon his knowledge of
_Falstaff_'s character, this _fat rogue_, not _Coward_, would tell them.
This prediction therefore, and the completion of it, go only to the
impeachment of _Falstaff's veracity_, and not of his _Courage_. "_These
lyes_," says the Prince, "_are like the father of them, gross as a
mountain, open, palpable.--Why, thou clay-brained gutts, thou knotty-pated
fool; how couldst thou know these men in Kendal Green, when it was so __
dark thou couldst not see thy hand? Come, tell us your reason._"

"Poins. _Come, your reason, __JACK__, your reason._"

Again, says the Prince, "_Hear how a plain Tale shall put you down--What
trick, what device, what starting hole canst thou now find out to hide
thee from this open and apparent shame?_"

"Poins. _Come, let's hear, __JACK__, what trick hast thou now?_"

All this c