2 OUT. Whither travel you? VAL. TO Verona. 1 OUT. Whence came you? VAL. From Milan. 3 OUT. Have you long sojourn'd there? VAL. Some sixteen months; and longer might have stay'd, 1 OUT. What, were you banish'd thence? VAL. I was. 2 OUT. For what offence? VAL. For that which now torments me to rehearse: 1 OUT. Why, ne'er repent it, if it were done so : VAL. My youthful travel therein made me happy; Or else I often had been miserable. 24 3 OUT. By the bare scalp of Robin Hood's fat friar11, This fellow were a king for our wild faction! 1 OUT. We'll have him; sirs, a word. SPEED. Master, be one of them; It is an honourable kind of thievery. VAL. Peace, villain! 2 OUT. Tell us this: Have you anything to take to? VAL. Nothing but my fortune. 3 OUT. Know then, that some of us are gentlemen, Thrust from the company of awfula men: For practising to steal away a lady, An heir, and near allied unto the duke. 2 OUT. And I from Mantua, for a gentleman, Whom, in my mood, I stabb'd unto the heart. 1 OUT. And I, for such like petty crimes as these. But to the purpose,-for we cite our faults, That they may hold excus'd our lawless lives, Awful. Steevens and others think we should here read lawful. But Shakspere, in other places, uses this word in the sense of lawful: "We come within our awful banks again." The original gives the line thus: "And heire and Neece, alide unto the Duke." Theobald gave us near, which is probably correct. It would be neere in the manuscript. And, partly, seeing you are beautified To make a virtue of necessity, And live, as we do, in this wilderness? 3 OUT. What say'st thou? wilt thou be of our consort? We'll do thee homage, and be rul'd by thee, 1 OUT. But if thou scorn our courtesy, thou diest. Provided that you do no outrages On silly women, or poor passengers. 3 OUT. No, we detest such vile base practices. Come, go with us, we 'll bring thee to our crews, SCENE II.-Milan. Court of the Palace. Enter PROTEus. PRO. Already have I been false to Valentine, She twits me with my falsehood to my friend: Enter THURIO and Musicians. THU. How now, sir Proteus; are you crept before us? Will creep in service where it cannot go. PRO. Ay, Silvia,-for your sake. THU. I thank you for your own. Now, gentlemen, Let 's tune, and to it lustily awhile. Enter HOST, at a distance; and JULIA in boy's clothes. HOST. Now, my young guest! methinks you 're allycholly; I pray you, why is it? JUL. Marry, mine host, because I cannot be merry. HOST. Come, we'll have you merry: I'll bring you where you shall hear music, and see the gentleman that you asked for. JUL. But shall I hear him speak? HOST. Ay, that you shall. JUL. That will be music. HOST. Hark! hark! JUL. Is he among these? HOST. Ay: but peace, let 's hear 'em. SONG. Who is Silvia? what is she, That all our swains commend her? Holy, fair, and wise is she, The heaven such grace did lend her, That she might admired be. Is she kind as she is fair? For beauty lives with kindness: Love doth to her eyes repair, To help him of his blindness; That Silvia is excelling: Upon the dull earth dwelling: HOST. How now? are you sadder than you were before? JUL. You mistake; the musician likes me not. HOST. Why, my pretty youth? JUL. He plays false, father. Likes-pleases. [Music plays. ow? out of tune on the strings? so; but yet so false that he grieves my very heart-strings ou have a quick ear. I would I were deaf! it makes me have a slow heart. perceive you delight not in music. t a whit, when it jars so. ark, what fine change is in the music! that change is the spite. ou would have them always play but one thing. would always have one play but one thing. host, doth this sir Proteus, that we talk on, a resort unto this gentlewoman? tell you what Launce, his man, told me, he loved her out of all nick 25. here is Launce? one to seek his dog; which, to-morrow, by his master's command, he carry for a present to his lady. ace! stand aside! the company parts. ass. It appears to us that a double ambiguity is here intended. Silvia says, "What is ?"—what is your wish?-for, although Shakspere has accurately distinguished between words, as in this play (Act. I., Scene 3)— "My will is something sorted with his wish' en uses them synonymously. Proteus' reply to the question is-" That I may compass that I may have your will within my power-encompassed-surrounded. Julia, in her eceives the word compass in its meaning of to perform; and distinguishes between wish That hast deceiv'd so many with thy vows? Even for this time I spend in talking to thee. JUL. T were false, if I should speak it; For I am sure she is not buried.. SIL. Say that she be; yet Valentine, thy friend, Assure thyself my love is buried. PRO. Sweet lady, let me rake it from the earth. [Aside. SIL. Go to thy lady's grave, and call hers thence; Or, at the least, in hers sepulchre thine. JUL. He heard not that. PRO. Madam, if your heart be so obdurate, And to your shadow will I make true love. JUL. If 't were a substance, you would, sure, deceive it, [Aside. [Aside. [Exeunt PROTEUS; and SILVIA, from above. HOST. By my halidoma, I was fast asleep. JUL. Pray you, where lies sir Proteus? • Halidom-holiness; holi and dom,—as n kingdom. Holidame-holy virgin-was a corruption of the term. |