And more there is then you shall nede for halfe of that is there
Will serue, I vnder take, in lesse than halfe an howre
To kill the strongest man aliue; such is the poysons power."
51. [Present.] Immediate; as in iv. 1. 61 above. Cf. presently in 21 above. Secret poisoning became so common in Europe in the 16th century that laws against the sale of poisons were made in Spain, Portugal, Italy, and other countries. Knight says: "There is no such law in our own statute-book; and the circumstance is a remarkable exemplification of the difference between English and Continental manners." But that this practice of poisoning prevailed to a considerable extent in England in the olden time is evident from the fact that in the 21st year of the reign of Henry VIII. an act was passed declaring the employment of secret poisons to be high-treason, and sentencing those who were found guilty of it to be boiled to death.
60. [Soon-speeding gear.] Quick-despatching stuff. Cf. the extract from Brooke just above. For gear, see ii. 4. 97 above.
64. [As violently,] etc. See on ii. 6. 9 above.
67. [Any he.] Cf. A. Y. L. iii. 2. 414: "that unfortunate he;" 3 Hen. VI. i. 1. 46: "The proudest he;" Id. ii. 2. 97: "Or any he the proudest of thy sort," etc. Utters them = literally, sends them out, or lets them go from his possession; hence, sells them. Cf. L. L. L. ii. 1. 16 and W. T. iv. 4. 330.
70. [Starveth.] That is, look out hungrily; a bold but not un-Shakespearian expression, for which Otway's "stareth" (adopted by some editors) is a poor substitution. See on i. 1. 216 above; and for the inflection, on prol. 8.