Pant. "Twere good, I think, your lordship sent him thither: There shall he practise tilts and tournaments, Ant. I like thy counsel: well hast thou advised: I will despatch him to the emperor's court. With other gentlemen of good esteem, Ant. Good company; with them shall Proteus go: And, in good time,-now will we break with him.1 Enter PROTEUS. Pro. Sweet love! sweet lines! sweet life! Ant. How now? what letter are you reading Pro. May't please your lordship, 'tis a word or two Of commendations sent from Valentine, eliver'd by a friend that came from him. Ant. Lend me the letter; let me see what news. Pro, There is no news, my lord; but that he writes How happily he lives, how well belov'd Ant. And how stand you affected to his wish? Pro. As one relying on your lordship's will, And not depending on his friendly wish. Ant. My will is something sorted with his wish; I am resolv'd, that thou shalt spend some time Pro. My lord, I cannot be so soon provided; Please you, deliberate a day or two. Ant. Look, what thou want'st, shall be sent after thee: No more of stay; to-morrow thou must go.- [Exeunt ANT. and PANT. Pro. Thus have I shunn'd the fire, for fear of burding;. And drench'd me in the sea, where I am drown'd: The uncertain glory of an April day; Pant. Sir Proteus, your father calls for you; He is in haste, therefore, I pray you go. Pro. Why, this it is! my heart accords thereto; And yet a thousand times it answers, no. [Exeunt. 1 i. e. break the matter to him. 2 i. e. wonder hot. Val. Ha! let me see: ay, give it me, it's mine : Sweet ornament that decks a thing divine! Speed. Madam Silvia! madam Silvia ! Speed. She is not within hearing, sir. Speed. And yet I was last chidden for being too slow. Val. Go to, sir; tell me, do you know madam Silvia ? Speed. She that your worship loves? Val. Why, how know you that I am in love? Speed. Marry, by these special marks: First, you have learned, like Sir Proteus, to wreath your arms like a male-content: to relish a love-song, like a robin-red-breast; to walk alone, like one that had the pestilence; to sigh, like a school-boy that had lost his A, B, C; to weep, like a young wench that had buried her grandam ; to fast, like one that takes diet; to watch, like one that fears robbing to speak puling, like a beggar at Hollowmas." You were wont, when you laugh'd, to crow like a cock; when you walked, to walk like one of the lions; when you fasted, it was presently after dinner; when you looked sadly, it was for want of money: and now you are metamorphosed with a mistress, that, when I look on you, I can hardly think you my master. Val. Are all these things perceived in me? Speed. Without you! nay, that's certain, for, without you were so simple, none else would: but you are so without these follies, that these follies are within you, and shine through you like the water in an urinal; that not an eye, that sees you, but is a physician to comment on your malady. Val. But, tell me, dost thou know my lady Silvia? Speed. She that you gaze on so, as she sits at supper? Val. Hast thou observed that? even she I mean. Val. Dost thou know her by my gazing on her, and yet know'st her not? Speed. Is she not hard-favour'd, sir? Val. Not so fair, boy, as well favour'd. Speed. That she is not so fair, as (of you) wellfavour'd. Val. I mean, that her beauty is exquisite, but her favour infinite. Speed. That's because the one is painted, and the other out of all count. Val. How painted? and how out of count? Speed. Marry, sir, so painted to make her fair, that no man counts of her beauty. 4 Resembleth is pronounced as if written resembeleth, which makes it a quadrisyllable. 5 On and one were anciently pronounced alike, and frequently written so. 6 To take diet is to be under a regimen for a disease. 7 The feast of All-hallows, or All Saints, at which time the poor in Staffordshire go from parish to parish a souling, as they call it; i. e. begging and puling, (or singing small, as Bailey's Dictionary explains puling,) for soul cakes, and singing what they call the souler's song. These terms point out the condition of this benevo 3 Exhibition is allowance of money; it is still uced lence, which was, that the beggars should pray for the In the Universities for a stipend. souls of the giver's departed friends. Val. How esteem'st thou me? I account of her beauty. Sil. And, when it's writ, for my sake read it over: Speed. You never saw her since she was de- And, if it please you, so; if not, why, so. formed. Val. How long hath she been deform'd? Val. I have loved her ever since I saw her; and still I see her beautiful. Speed. If you love her, you cannot see her. Speed. Because love is blind. O, that you had mine eyes; or your own eyes had the lights they were wont to have, when you chid at Sir Proteus for going ungartered!! Val. What should I see then? Speed. Your own present folly, and her passing deformity for he, being in love, could not see to garter his hose; and you, being in love, cannot see to put on your hose. Val. Belike, boy, then you are in love; for last morning you could not see to wipe my shoes. Speed. True, sir; I was in love with my bed: I thank you, you swinged me for my love, which makes me the bolder to chide you for yours. Val. In conclusion, I stand affected to her. Speed. I would you were set, so, your affection would cease. Val. Last night she enjoined me to write some lines to one she loves. Speed. And have you? Val. I have. Speed. Are they not lamely writ? Val. If it please me, madam! what then? Sil. Why if it please you, take it for your labour, And so good-morrow, servant. [Exit SILVIA. Speed. O jest unseen, inscrutable, invisible, As a nose on a man's face, or a weathercock on a steeple ! My master sues to her; and she hath taught her suitor, He being her pupil, to become her tutor. Val. How now, sir? what are you reasoning with yourself? Speed. Nay, I was rhyming; 'tis you that have the reason. Val. To do what? Speed. To be a spokesman from madam Silvia. Val. To whom? Speed. To yourself: why, she woos you by a figure. Val. What figure? Speed. By a letter, I should say. Val. Why, she hath not writ to me? Speed. What need she, when she hath made you write to yourself? Why, do you not perceive the jest? Val. No, believe me. Speed. No believing you indeed, sir: But did Val. No, boy, but as well as I can do them:- you perceive her earnest ? Peace, here she comes. sand. Speed. He should give her interest; and she gives it him. Val. As you enjoin'd me, I have writ your letter, Unto the secret nameless friend of yours; Which I was much unwilling to proceed in, But for my duty to your ladyship. Sil. I thank you, gentle servant: 'tis very clerkly done. Val. Now trust me, madam, it came hardly off; For, being ignorant to whom it goes, I writ at random, very doubtfully. Sil. Perchance you think too much of so much pains? Val. No, madam, so it stead you, I will write, Please you command, a thousand times as much And yet, : Sil. A pretty period! Well, I guess the sequel; And yet I will not name it:-and yet I care not ;And yet take this again ;-and yet I thank you; Meaning henceforth to trouble you no more. Speed. And yet you will; and yet another yet, [Aside. Val. What means your ladyship? do you not like it? Sil. Yes, yes; the lines are very quaintly writ: But since unwillingly, take them again; Nay, take them. Val. Madam, they are for you. Sil. Ay, ay; you writ them, sir, at my request; But I will none of them; they are for you: I would have had them writ more movingly. Val. Please you, I'll write your ladyship another. 1 Going ungartered is enumerated by Rosalind as one of the undoubted marks of love. Then your hose should be ungartered, your bonnet unbanded," &c. As You Like It, iii. 2. Val. She gave me none, except an angry wor Val. I would, it were no worse. For often have you writ to her; and she, in modesty, Herself hath taught her love himself to write unto her lover. Why muse you, sir? 'tis dinner-time. Val. I have dined. Speed. Ay, but hearken, sir: though the camenourished by my victuals, and would fain have leon Love can feed on the air, I am one that am meat: O, be not like your mistress; be moved, be moved. [Exeunt. SCENE II. Verona. A Room in Julia's House. Enter PROTEUS and JULIA. Pro. Have patience, gentle Julia. Jul. I must, where is no remedy. Pro. When possibly I can, I will return. Jul. If you turn not, you will return the sooner: Keep this remembrance for thy Julia's sake. [Giving a ring. Pro. Why then we'll make exchange; here, take you this. Jul. And seal the bargain with a holy kiss. Pro. Here is my hand for my true constancy; And when that hour o'er-slips me in the day, Wherein I sigh not, Julia, for thy sake, The next ensuing hour some foul mischance Torment me for my love's forgetfulness! My father stays my coming: answer not: The tide is now: nay, not thy tide of tears; That tide will stay me longer than I should; [Exit JULIA. the horizon in the west. It is a miserable quibble hardly worth explanation. 3 Motion signified, in Shakspeare's time, a puppet. shou Speed means to say, what a fine puppet-show shall we have now? Here is the principal puppet to whom my master will be the interpreter. The show2 Set, for seated, in opposition to stand in the prece-man was then frequently called the interpreter. ding line. It appears, however, to be used metaphorical- 4 i. e. like a scholar. ly in the sense applied to the sun when it sinks below 5 There's the conclusion. 6 i. e. with exactness SCENE III.-The same. A Street. Enter Laun. Nay, 'twill be this hour ere I have done Pan. Launce, away, away, aboard; thy master is shipped, and thou art to post after with oars. What's the matter? why weepest thou, man? Away, ass; you will lose the tide, if you tarry any longer. Laun. It is no matter if the ty'd were lost; for it is the unkindest ty'd that ever any man ty'd. Pan. What's the unkindest tide? Laun. Why, he that's ty'd here; Crab, my dog. Pan. Tut, man, I mean thou'lt lose the flood; and, in losing the flood, lose thy voyage; and, in losing thy voyage, lose thy master; and, in losing thy master, lose thy service; and in losing thy service,-Why dost thou stop my mouth? Laun. For fear thou should'st lose thy tongue. Pan. In thy tail? Laun. Lose the tide, and the voyage, and the master, and the service: And the tide !-Why, man, if the river were dry, I am able to fill it with my tears; if the wind were down, I could drive the boat with my sighs. Pan. Come, come away, man; I was sent to call thee. Laun. Sir, call me what thou darest. Laun. Well, I will go. [Exeunt. SCENE IV.-Milan. A Room in the Duke's Palace. Enter VALENTINE, SILVIA, THURIO, and SPEED. Val. Ay, boy, it's for love. Val. Of my mistress then. Speed. "Twere good you knocked him. Thu. So do counterfeits. Thu. What seem I, that I am not? Thu. What instance of the contrary? Thu. And how quote you my folly? Val. Well, then, I'll double your folly. Sil. A fine volley of words, gentlemen, and quickly shot off. Val. 'Tis indeed, madam; we thank the giver. Sir Thurio borrows his wit from your ladyship's I company. shall make your wit bankrupt. Val. I know it well, sir: you have an exchequer of words, and, I think, no other treasure to give your followers; for it appears by their bare liveries, that they live by your bare words. Sil. No more, gentlemen, no more; here comes my father. Enter DUKE. Duke. Now, daughter Silvia, you are hard beset Val. My lord, I will be thankful Duke. Know you Don Antonio, your countryman? Val. Ay, my good lord; a son, that well de serves The honour and regard of such a father. Val. I knew him as myself; for from our infancy ation was evidently cote from the French original, 6 Feature in the poet's age was often used for form or person in general. Thus Baret: "The feature and facion, or the proportion and figure of the whole body. Conformatio quædam et figura totius oris et sor porís." So in Ant. and Cleop. Act. ii. Sc. 5. "Report the feature of Octavian." Thus also Spenser: "Which the fair feature of her limbs did hic." With all good grace to grace a gentleman. | Love hath chas'd sleep from my enthralled eyes, Duke. Beshrew' me, sir, but, if he make this And made them watchers of mine own heart's sor good, He is as worthy for an empress' love, Val. Should I have wish'd a thing, it had been he. Silvia, I speak to you; and you, Sir Thurio:- Sil. Belike, that now she hath enfranchis'd them Val. Nay, sure, I think, she holds them prisoners still. Sil. Nay, then he should be blind; and, being blind, How could he see his way to seek out you? Val. Why, lady, love hath twenty pair of eyes. Thu. They say, that love hath not an eye at all. Val. To see such lovers, Thurio, as yourself; Upon a homely object love can wink. Enter PROTEUS. Sil. Have done, have done; here comes the gen tleman. Val. Welcome, dear Proteus !-Mistress, I be- Confirm his welcome with some special favour. Si. Too low a mistress for so high a servant. vant To have a look of such a worthy mistress. Val. Leave off discourse of disability :Sweet lady, entertain him for your servant. Pro. My duty will I boast of, nothing else. Sil. And duty never yet did want his meed; Servant you are welcome to a worthless mistress. Pro. I'll die on him that says so, but yourself. Sil. That you are welcome? Pro. No; that you are worthless. Enter Servant. Ser. Madam, my lord your father would speak with you. Sil. I'll wait upon his pleasure. [Exit Servant. Come, Sir Thurio, Go with me:-Once more, new servant, welcome: I'll leave you to confer of home affairs; When you have done, we look to hear from you. Pro. We'll both attend upon your ladyship. [Exeunt SILVIA, THURIO, and SPEED. Val. Now, tell me, how do all from whence you came? Pro. Your friends are well, and have them much Val. And how do yours? Val. How does your lady? and how thrives your Pro. My tales of love were wont to weary you; I know you joy not in a love-discourse. Val. Ay, Proteus, but that life is alter'd now: I have done penance for contemning love; Whose high imperious thoughts have punish'd me With bitter fasts, with penitential groans, With nightly tears, and daily heart-sore sighs; For, in revenge of my contempt of love, 1 A petty mode of adjuration equivalent to ill betide me. row. O, gentle Proteus, love's a mighty lord; Pro. I will not flatter her. Val. O, flatter me; for love delights in presses. Pro. When I was sick, you gave me bitter pills; And I must minister the like to you. Val. Then speak the truth by her; if not divine, Yet let her be a principality, Sovereign to all the creatures on the earth. Val. Sweet, except not any, Except thou wilt except against thy love. Pro. Why, Valentine, what braggardism is this? Pro. Then let her alone. Val. Not for the world: why, man, she is mine As twenty seas, if all their sand were pearl, Val. Nay, more, our marriage hour, [Exit VAL. Pro. Go on before; I shall inquire you forth: 4 No woe, no misery that can be compared to the punishment inflicted by love. 5 A principality is an angel of the first order 7 Alluding to the figures made by witches as repre sentatives of those they meant to destroy or torment. V. Macbeth, Act ii Se 3 And that I love him not, as I was wont: [Exit. SCENE V.-The same. A Street. Enter SPEED and LAUNCE. Milan. I Speed. Launce! by mine honesty, welcome to Laun. Forswear not thyself, sweet youth; for am not welcome. I reckon this always-that a man is never undone, till he be hanged; nor never welcome to a place, till some certain shot be paid, and the hostess say, welcome. SCENE VI.-The same. An Apartment in the Pro. To leave my Julia, shall I be forsworn; Love bade me swear, and love bids me forswear: Julia? Laun. Marry, after they closed in earnest, they parted very fairly in jest. Speed. But shall she marry him? Speed. How then? shall he marry her? Speed. What, are they broken? Laun. No, they are both as whole as a fish. them? Laun. Marry, thus; when it stands well with him, it stands well with her. not. Speed. What an ass art thou! I understand thee Laun. What a block art thou, that thou canst not? My staff understands me. Speed. What thou say'st? Laun. Ay, and what I do too: look thee I'll but lean, and my staff understands me. Speed. It stands under thee, indeed. Laun. Why, stand under and understand is all one. Speed. But tell me true, will't be a match? Laun. Ask my dog: if he say, ay, it will; if he say, no, it will; if he shake his tail, and say nothing, it will. Speed. The conclusion is then, that it will. Laun. Thou shalt never get such a secret from me, but by a parable. Speed. 'Tis well that I get it so. But, Launce, how say'st thou, that my master is become a notable lover? Laun. I never knew him otherwise. Laun. A notable lubber, as thou reportest him to be. Myself in counsel, his competitor : Of their disguising, and pretended' flight; SCENE VII. Verona. A Room in Julia's House. Enter JULIA Jul. Counsel, Lucetta; gentle girl, assist me! Luc. Alas! the way is wearisome and long. Luc. Better forbear, till Proteus make return. Pity the dearth that I have pined in, 5 To suggest, in the language of our ancestors, was to tempt. 6 i. e. myself who am his competitor or rival, being admitted to his counsel. Competitor here means con federate, assistant, partner. Thus in Ant. Cleop. Act v. Sc. 1. That thou my brother, my competitor 7 i. e. proposed or intended flight. The verb pretendre has the same signification in French. 8 The verb to conjure, or earnestly request, was then accented on the first syllable. |