Chide me, dear stone; that I may say, indeed, Pol. O, not by much. Paul. So much the more our carver's excellence; Which lets go by some sixteen years, and makes her As she lived now. Leon. As now she might have done Now piercing to my soul. O, thus she stood, As now it coldly stands,) when first I wooed her! Per. And give me leave; And do not say, 'tis superstition, that I kneel, and then implore her blessing.—Lady, Give me that hand of yours, to kiss. Paul. O patience; The statue is but newly fixed; the color's Not dry. Cam. My lord, your sorrow was too sore laid on; Which sixteen winters cannot blow away, So many summers, dry; scarce any joy Did ever so long live; no sorrow, But killed itself much sooner. Pol. Dear my brother, ! Let him, that was the cause of this, have power Will piece up in himself. Paul. Indeed, my lord, If I had thought the sight of my poor image Would thus have wrought1 you, (for the stone is mine,) I'd not have showed it.2 Leon. Paul. No longer shall fancy May think anon it moves. Leon. Do not draw the curtain. you gaze on't; lest your Let be, let be. 'Would I were dead, but that, methinks, already What was he that did make it?-See, my lord, Would you not deem, it breathed? and that those veins Did verily bear blood? Pol. Masterly done. The very life seems warm upon her lip. Leon. The fixture of her eye has motion in't, As we are mocked with art.3 Paul. I'll draw the curtain My lord's almost so far transported, that Leon. No settled senses of the world can match Paul. I am sorry, sir, I have thus far stirred you; but I could afflict you further. Leon. Do, Paulina; For this affliction has a taste as sweet As any cordial comfort.--Still, methinks, There is an air comes from her. What fine chisel Could ever yet cut breath? Let no man mock me, For I will kiss her. Paul. 1 Worked, agitated. Good my lord, forbear. kiss it; stain your own 2 The folio reads, "I'd not have showed it." In the late edition of Malone's Shakspeare it stands, "I'll not have showed it." But surely this is erroneous. 3 As for as if. With has the force of by. Quit presently the chapel; or resolve you I'll make the statue move indeed; descend, By wicked powers. Leon. What you can make her do, I am content to look on; what to speak, I am content to hear; for 'tis as easy To make her speak, as move. Paul. It is required, You do awake your faith. Then, all stand still, am about, let them depart. Leon. No foot shall stir. Paul. Proceed; Music; awake her: strike. [Music. 'Tis time; descend; be stone no more; approach ; Strike all that look upon with marvel. Come: I'll fill your grave up: stir; nay, come away; Bequeath to death your numbness, for from him Dear life redeems you. You perceive she stirs : [HERMIONE comes down from the pedestal. Start not her actions shall be holy, as, You hear, my spell is lawful. Do not shun her, Until you see her die again; for then You kill her double. Nay, present your hand. When she was young, you wooed her; now, Is she become the suitor. Leon. in age, O, she's warm! [Embracing her. If this be magic, let it be an art Lawful as eating. Pol. She embraces him. Cam. She hangs about his neck ; If she pertain to life, let her speak too. Pol. Ay, and make't manifest where she has lived, Or, how stolen from the dead. That she is living, Paul. Like an old tale; but it appears she lives, And pray your mother's blessing.-Turn, good lady; Her. [Presenting PER., who kneels to HER. You gods, look down, And from your sacred vials pour your graces Upon my daughter's head!-Tell me, mine own, Where hast thou been preserved? where lived? how found Thy father's court? For thou shalt hear, that I— Gave hope, thou wast in being-have preserved Paul. There's time enough for that; Lest they desire, upon this push to trouble Will wing me to some withered bough; and there Lament till I am lost. Leon. O peace, Paulina; Thou shouldst a husband take by my consent, As I by thine, a wife. This is a match, And made between's by vows. Thou hast found mine; But how, is to be questioned; for I saw her, As I thought, dead; and have in vain said many A prayer upon her grave. I'll not seek far (For him, I partly know his mind) to find thee An honorable husband.-Come, Camillo, 1 You who by this discovery have gained what you desired. And take her by the hand; whose1 worth, and honesty, By us, a pair of kings.-Let's from this place.- My ill suspicion.-This your son-in-law, 4 And son unto the king, (whom Heavens directing,) [Exeunt. 1 Whose relates to Camillo, though Paulina is the immediate antecedent. In the loose construction of ancient phraseology, whose is often used in this manner, where his would be more proper. 2 It is erroneously printed for is here in the late Variorum Shakspeare. 3 Look upon, for look on. Thus in King Henry V. Part III. Act ii. Sc. 3: “And look upon, as if the tragedy," &c. 4 Whom is here used where him would be now employed. THIS play, as Dr. Warburton justly observes, is, with all its absurdities, very entertaining. The character of Autolycus is naturally conceived, and strongly represented. JOHNSON. *This is not only a frigid note of approbation, but is unjustly attributed to Warburton, whose opinion is conveyed in more enthusiastic terms. He must in justice be allowed to speak for himself. "This play throughout is written in the very spirit of its author. And in telling this homely and simple, though agreeable, country tale, 'Our sweetest Shakspeare, Fancy's child, Warbles his native wood-notes wild. This was necessary to observe in mere justice to the play; as the meanness of the fable, and the extravagant conduct of it, had misled some of great name (i. e. Dryden and Pope) into a wrong judgment of its merit; which, as far as regards sentiment and character, is scarce inferior to any in the collection." |