But, old Jack Falstaff! kind Jack Falstaff! sweet Jack
Falstaff! has enlarged the boundaries of human enjoyment; he has
added vast regions of wit and good-humor, in which the poorest
man may revel, and has bequeathed a never-failing inheritance of
jolly laughter, to make mankind merrier and better to the latest
posterity.
A thought suddenly struck me. "I will make a pilgrimage to
Eastcheap," said I, closing the book, "and see if the old Boar's
Head Tavern still exists. Who knows but I may light upon some
legendary traces of Dame Quickly and her guests? At any rate,
there will be a kindred pleasure in treading the halls once vocal
with their mirth to that the toper enjoys in smelling to the
empty cask, once filled with generous wine."
The resolution was no sooner formed than put in execution. I
forbear to treat of the various adventures and wonders I
encountered in my travels; of the haunted regions of Cock Lane;
of the faded glories of Little Britain and the parts adjacent;
what perils I ran in Cateaton Street and Old Jewry; of the
renowned Guildhall and its two stunted giants, the pride and
wonder of the city and the terror of all unlucky urchins; and how
I visited London Stone, and struck my staff upon it in imitation
of that arch-rebel Jack Cade.
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