_Plafery_.--In Carew's masque of _Coelum Britannicum_, acted before the
court at Whitehall, the 18th of February, 1633; Momus, arriving from
Olympus immediately after Mercury, says to him--
"The hosts upon the highway cry out with open mouth upon you, for
supporting _plafery_ in your train; which, though, as you are the god
of petty larceny, you might protect, yet you know it is directly
_against the new orders_, and oppose the reformation in diameter."
What is _plafery_? It is evident that the joking allusion to it was rather
bold, for Mercury exclaims,--
"Peace, railer, bridle your licentious tongue,
And let this presence teach you modesty."