Note 83 — ACT II. SCENE I.

set him beneath the salt] “This refers to the manner in which our ancestors were seated at their meals. ‘The tables being long,’ says Mr. Whalley, note to Cynthia’s Revels, act ii. sc. 2. [sc. 1.] ‘the salt [i. e. salt-cellar—of a very large size] was commonly placed about the middle, and served as a kind of boundary to the different quality of the guests invited. Those of distinction were ranked above; the space below was assigned to the dependents or inferior relations of the master of the house.’” Reed.