Note to Romeo and Juliet, 1.4.77-78: "she gallops o'er a courtier's nose, / And then dreams he of smelling out a suit"


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Romeo and Juliet,
Act 1, Scene 4, lines 77-78.
When Queen Mab gallops across a courtier's nose, he dreams of smelling out a suit: discovering a person who has a request to make at court.

The courtier would get a fee for supporting that person's request (suit); the modern name for such a courtier is "lobbyist," who whether called courtier or lobbyist dreams of profit when he dreams at all.


Renaissance Courtier Costume
Renaissance Courtier Costume