King. But wilt thou not speak all thou know'st?[ Par. Yes, fo please your majesty: I did go be*ween them, as I faid; but more than that, he loved her, for, indeed, he was mad for her, and talk'd of Satan, and of limbo, and of furies, and I know not what: yet I was in that credit with them at that time, that I knew of their going to bed; and of other motions, as promising her marriage, and things that would derive me ill will to fpeak of, therefore I will not speak what I know. King. Thou hast spoken all already, unless thou canft say they are marry'd: But thou art too fine1 in thy evidence; therefore stand afide.-This ring, you fay, was yours? Dia. Ay, my good lord. King. Where did you buy it? or who gave it you? Dia. It was not given me, nor did I buy it. Dia. It was not lent me neither. King. Where did you find it then? King. If it were yours by none of all these ways, How could you give it him? Dia. I never gave it him. Laf. This woman's an eafy glove, my lord; fhe goes off and on at pleasure. King. The ring was mine, I gave it his first wife. Dia. It might be yours, or hers, for aught I know. King. Take her away, I do not like her now; To prifon with her and away with him.: Unless thou tell'ft me where thou hadft this ring, Thou dieft within this hour. King. I think thee now fome common cuftomer2. Dia. By Jove, if ever I knew man, 'twas you. King. Wherefore haft thou accus'd him all this while? 15 Hel. No, my good lord; 'Tis but a fhadow of a wife you fee, The name, and not the thing. Ber. Both, both; oh, pardon! Hel. Oh, my good lord, when I was like this maid, I found you wond'rous kind. There is your ring, And, look you, here's your letter; This it fays, When from my finger you can get this ring, And are by me with child, &c.—This is done: 20 Will you be mine, now you are doubly won? Ber. If the, my liege, can make me know this clearly, I'll love her dearly, ever, ever dearly. Hel. If it appear not plain, and prove untrue, 25 Deadly divorce ftep between me and you! O, my dear mother, do I fee you living? 30 35 [To the Countefs. Laf. Mine eyes fmell onions, I fhall weep anon. -Good Tom Drum, lend me a handkerchief; [to Parolles.] So, I thank thee; wait on me home, I'll make sport with thee: Let thy courtefies alone, they are fcurvy ones. King. Let us from point to point this story know, [To Diana. Dia. Because he's guilty, and he is not guilty; He knows, I am no maid, and he'll fwear to't: I'll swear, I am a maid, and he knows not. Great king, I am no ftrumpet, by my life; I am either maid, or elfe this old man's wife. 45 [Pointing to Lafu. King. She does abuse our ears; to prison with her. Dia. Good mother, fetch my bail.—Stay, royal fir: [Exit Widow. The jeweller, that owes 3 the ring, is sent for, And he fhall furety me. But for this lord, [To Bert. Who hath abus'd me, as he knows himself, 50 1 Too fine, here means full of fineffe; too artful. This word is used not very properly for enchanter. sci ACT I. SCENE I The Duke's Palace. Enter the Duke, Curio, and Lords. Duke Give me excess of it; that, furfeiting, mufick be the food of love, play on, The appetite may ficken, and fo die.- O, it came o'er my ear like the sweet south, O fpirit of love, how quick and fresh art thou: Receiveth as the fea, nought enters there, Of what validity and pitch foever, But falls into abatement and low price, Even in a minute! fo full of shapes is fancy 2, Cur. Will you go hunt, my lord? Duke, What, Curio? Cur. The hart. Duke. Why, fo I do, the nobleft that I have: Enter Valentine. Val. So pleafe my lord, I might not be admitted, 10 Shall not behold her face at ample view; Duke. O, fhe, that hath a heart of that fine frame, 20 That live in her! when liver, brain, and heart, 1251 X 2 3 i. e. fantastical to the height. SCENE 1 SCENE II. The Street. Enter Viola, a Captain, and Sailers. Vio. What country, friends, is this? Cap. This is Illyria, lady. Vie. And what should I do in Illyria? My brother he is in Elyfium. Perchance, he is not drown'd:-What think you, failors? Cap. It is perchance that you yourself were fav'd. Vio. O my poor brother! and so, perchance, may he be. Cap. True, madam: and, to comfort you with chance, Affure yourself, after our ship did split, When you, and that poor number fav'd with you, Moft provident in peril, bind himself I pray thee, and I'll pay thee bounteously, 15 Cap. Be you his eunuch, and your mute I'll be : When my tongue blabs, then let mines eyes not fee! Vio. I thank thee: Lead me on. (Courage and hope both teaching him the practice) 20 the death of her brother thus? I am fure, Care's To a strong mast, that liv'd upon the sea; Where, like Arion on the dolphin's back, I faw him hold acquaintance with the waves, Vio. For faying fo, there's gold: Mine own escape unfoldeth to my hope, The like of him. Know'it thou this country? Cap. Ay, madam, well; for I was bred and born Cap. A noble duke in nature, as in name. Cap. Orfino. 25 an enemy to life. Mar. By my troth, Sir Toby, you must come in earlier o' nights; your coufin, my lady, takes great exceptions to your ill hours. Sir To. Why, let her except, before excepted. Mar. Ay, but you must confine yourself within the modeft limits of order. Sir To. Confine? I'll confine myself no finer than I am: these cloathes are good enough to drink in, 30 and fo be these boots too; an they be not, let them hang themselves in their own ftraps. Mar. That quaffing and drinking will undo you: I heard my lady talk of it yesterday; and of a foolish knight, that you brought in one night here Vio. Orfino! I have heard my father name him :35 to be her wooer. Cap. And fo is now, or was so very late : Vio. What's the ? 40 Sir To. Who? Sir Andrew Ague-check? Sir To. He's as tall 3 a man as any's in Illyria. Sir To. Why, he has three thousand ducats a year. Mar. Ay, but he'll have but a year in all these ducats; he's a very fool, and a prodigal. Sir To. Fie, that you'll fay fo! he plays o' th' viol-de-gambo, and speaks three or four languages [her 45 word for word without book, and hath all the good gifts of nature. Cap. A virtuous maid, the daughter of a count And company of men. Vio. O, that I ferv'd that lady; And might not be deliver'd' to the world, Cap. That were hard to compafs; Vio. There is a fair behaviour in thee, captain;} Sir To. With drinking healths to my niece; I'll drink to her, as long as there's a paffage in my throat, and drink in Illyria. He's a coward, and a 60lcoystril 4, that will not drink to my niece, till his 3 Tall means fout, courageous. 4 Mr. Steevens explains coyftril to mean a coward cock, or a baftard hawk; while Mr. Tollet fays, it implies a paltry groom, one only fit to carry arms, but not to use them. That is, made public to the world. 2 i. e. approve. brains turn o' the toe like a parish-top'. What,] wench? Caftiliano volgo 2; for here comes Sir Andrew Ague-face. Enter Sir Andrew. Sir And. An I thought that, I'd forfwear it. I'll Sir And. Sir Toby Belch! how now, Sir Toby 5 ride home to-morrow, fir Toby. Belch? Sir To. Sweet fir Andrew! Sir And. Blefs you, fair fhrew. Mar. And you too, fir. Sir Ta. Accoft, fir Andrew, accost. Sir And. What's that? Sir To. My niece's chamber-maid. Sir And. Good mistress Accoft, I defire better acquaintance. Mar. My name is Mary, fir. Sir And. Good Mrs. Mary Accoft, Sir To. You mistake, knight: accoft, is, front her, board her, woo her, affail her. Sir And. By my troth, I would not undertake her in this company. Is that the meaning of accoft? Mar. Fare you well, gentlemen. Sir To. An thou let part fo, fir Andrew, would thou might'ft never draw sword again. Sir To. Pourquoy, my dear knight? Sir And. What is pourquey do, or not do? I would I had bestowed that time in the tongues, that I have in fencing, dancing, and bear-baiting: 100, had I but follow'd the arts! Sir To. Then hadft thou had an excellent head of hair. Sir And. Why, would that have mended my hair? Sir To. Paft question; for thou feest, it will not 15 curl by nature. 20 Sir And. An you part fo, mistress, I would I might never draw sword again! Fair lady, do you 25 think you have fools in hand? Mar. Sir, I have not you by the hand. Sir And. Marry, but you shall have; and here's my hand. Sir And. But it becomes me well enough, does't not? Sir To. Excellent! it hangs like flax on a diftaff; and I hope to fee a housewife take thee between her legs, and fpin it off. Sir And. 'Faith, I'll home to-morrow, Sir Toby: your niece will not be feen; or, if the be, t's four to one she'll none of me; the count himfelf, here hard by, wooes her. Sir To. She'll none o' the count; she'll not match above her degree, neither in estate, years, nor wit; I have heard her fwear it. Tut, there's life in't, man. Sir And. I'll stay a month longer. I am a fellow o' the ftrangest mind i' the world; I delight Mar. Now, fir, thought is free: I pray you, 30 in mafques and revels fometimes altogether. bring your hand to the buttery-bar, and let it drink. Sir And. Wherefore, sweet-heart? what's your metaphor ? Mar. It's dry, fir 3. Sir To. Art thou good at these kick-fhaws, knight? Sir And. As any man in Illyria, whatsoever he be, under the degree of my betters; and yet I will Sir And. Why, I think fo; I am not fuch an 35 not compare with an old man. afs, but I can keep my hand dry. But what's your jeft? Mar. A dry jeft, fir. Sir And. Are you full of them? Mar. Ay, fir; I have them at my fingers' ends :40 marry, now I let go your hand, I am barren. [Exit Maria. Sir To. O knight, thou lack'st a cup of canary; When did I fee thee fo put down? Sir And. Never in your life, I think; unlefs you fee canary put me down: Methinks, fometimes I have no more wit than a chriftian, or an ordinary 45 Sir To. What, is thy excellence in a galliard, knight? Sir And. 'Faith, I can cut a caper. Sir To. And I can cut the mutton to't. Sir And. And, I think, I have the back-trick, fimply as ftrong as any man in Illyria. Sir To. Wherefore are these things hid? wherefore have these gifts a curtain before them? Are they like to take duft, like miftrefs Mall's picture4? why doft thou not go to church in a galliard, and come home in a coranto? My very walk [hould be a jig; I would not fo much as make 1 It was anciently the custom to keep a large top in every village, to be whipped in frofty weather, as well to warm the peasants by exercise, as to keep them out of mischief, while they could not work. 2 Dr. Warburton thinks, we should read volto; the meaning will then be in English, Put on your Caffilian countenance; that is, your grave folemn looks. Mr. Malone obferves, that Caftilian feems to have been a cant term for a finical affected courtier. 3 That is, not a lover's hand; a moift hand being vulgarly deemed a fign of an amorous conftitution. 4 Shakspeare is here fuppofed to allude to one Mary Frith, more generally known by the appellation of Mall Cut-purse; and of whom Mr. Grainger gives the following account in his Biographical Hiftory of England. She was commonly fupposed to have been an hermaphrodite, and practifed, or was inftrumental to almoft every crime and wild frolic which is notorious in the most abandoned and eccentric of both fexes. She was infamous as a prostitute and a procurefs, a fortune-teller, a pick-pocket, a thief, and a receiver of stolen goods. Her moft fignal exploit was robbing General Fairfax upon Hounslow Heath, for which she was fent to Newgate, but was, by the proper application of a large fum of money, foon fet at liberty. She died of the dropfy, in the 75th year of her age, but would probably have died fooner, if he had not fmoaked tobacco, in the frequent ufe of which he had long indulged herself.” |