ABSTRACT
Welborn of the said place and county. And when does he take it forth? 5 Today! The four-and-twentieth of August! Bartholomew day! Bartholomew upon Bartholomew! There's the device! Who would have marked such a leap-frog chance now? A very less than ames-ace on two dice! Well, go thy ways, John Littlewit, Proctor John Littlewit. One o' the pretty wits o'Paul's, the Little Wit of London (so thou art 10 called) and something beside. When a quirk or a quiblin does scape thee, and thou dost not watch, and apprehend it, and bring it afore the constable of conceit-there now, I speak quib too -let 'em carry thee out o' the Archdeacon's court into his kitchen and make a Jack of thee instead of a John.- There I am again, Ia!- 15
[Enter] to him Win Win! Good morrow, Win. Ay, marry, Win! Now you look finely
Act 1 takes place at the Littlewit house, probably located near Christ's Hospital, just east of Newgate, and thus on the edge of the Christ Church parish within which Bartholomew Fair was held. This location was also adjacent to the puritan community in Blackfriars, which ran south of Newgate within the City walls to the river. Littlewit demonstrates Jonson's maxim, 'Language most shows a man: speak that I may see thee' (Disc, Parfitt 1975: p. 435). He is 'conceited' in that he is both arrogant and as foolishly elaborate in his metaphors and puns as he is in dictating his wife's dress. The superficiality of both pursuits prepares us for his skill as a puppet-playwright.
