Ben Jonson (1572–1637) set a pivotal scene of his play Every Man Out of His Humour (1599) in Paul's walk. As Cavalier Shift enters and begins posting up advertisements, Cordatus introduces the scene with the words: "O, marry, this is one for whose better illustration we must desire you to presuppose the stage the middle aisle in Paul's, and that [pointing to the door on which Shift is posting his bills] the west end of it".Jonson, Every Man Out of His Humour, Act 3, Scene 1, lines 1–5. The west end of the aisle was where advertisements, known as siquisses,From the Latin si quis (if anyone). were posted; those interested wrote a suggested meeting time and place at the bottom.Shift [aside]: This is rare. I have set up my bills without discovery. Orange: What? Signor Whiff? What fortune has brought you into these west parts? Shift: Troth, signor, nothing but your rheum. I have been taking an ounce of tobacco hard by with a gentleman, and I am come to spit private in Paul's.(From: Jonson, Every Man Out of His Humour, Act 3, Scene 2, lines 21–27.)
