[81] The chief ship of a fleet.
[82] A barnacle.—It was supposed to be able to stop a ship’s course by adhering to the rudder.
[83] “Sconce” = (1) head, (2) fort.
[84] Vie was a term in card-playing; it meant to back one’s cards against an opponent’s.
[85] A proverbial saying. See Nares’ Glossary.
[86] Lady Mary Ramsey, second wife of Sir Thomas Ramsey (who was lord mayor in 1577). She was a benefactress of Christ’s Hospital and other institutions: she died in 1596. See Stow’s Annales, ed. 1720, i. 278.
[87] There is an allusion to Heywood’s play, If you know not me you know nobody. The First Part was printed in 1605; the Second Part in 1606. In the prologue to the First Part Heywood mentions that the play had enjoyed extraordinary popularity; and from the same source we gather that it had been written some considerable time before the date of publication. The Second Part is largely taken up with the building of Gresham’s Royal Exchange. Lady Ramsey is one of the characters.
[88] A theatrical term for a profitable performance. See Middleton, iii. 134.
[89] I.e., set officers in ambush to arrest them.
[90] Mean rascal.