Speak out thy sorrows, which thou bring'st in haste,
For comfort is too far for us to expect.

LORD. We have descried, upon our neighbouring shore,
A portly sail of ships make hitherward.

CLE. I thought as much.

One sorrow never comes but brings an heir,
That may succeed as his inheritor;

And so in ours: some neighbouring nation,
Taking advantage of our misery,

Hatha stuff'd these hollow vessels with their
To beat us down, the which are down already;
And make a conquest of unhappy me,
Whereas no glory 's got to overcome.

power,

LORD. That's the least fear; for, by the semblance
Of their white flags display'd, they bring us peace,
And come to us as favourers, not as foes.
CLE. Thou speak'st like him 's untutor'd to repeat,
Who makes the fairest show, means most deceit.
But bring they what they will, and what they can,
What need we fear?

The ground 's the lowest, and we are half way there :
Go tell their general, we attend him here,

To know for what he comes, and whence he comes,
And what he craves.

LORD. I go, my lord.

CLE. Welcome is peace, if he on peace consist;

If wars, we are unable to resist.

Enter PERICLES with Attendants.

PER. Lord governor, for so we hear you are,
Let not our ships, and number of our men,
Be, like a beacon fir'd, to amaze your eyes.
We have heard your miseries as far as Tyre,
And seen the desolation of your streets;
Nor come we to add sorrow to your tears,
But to relieve them of their heavy load;
And these our ships (you happily may think

Hath. The original copies, that.

TRAGEDIES-VOL. II.

Consist-stands on.

XX

Are, like the Trojan horse, war-stuff'd within,
With bloody views expecting overthrow)

Are stor'd with corn to make your needy bread,

And give them life, whom hunger starv'd half dead. OMNES. The gods of Greece protect you!

PER.

And we will pray for you.

Arise, I pray you, rise;
We do not look for reverence, but for love,
And harbourage for ourself, our ships, and men.
CLE. The which when any shall not gratify,

Or pay you with unthankfulness in thought,
Be it our wives, our children, or ourselves,
The curse of heaven and men succeed their evils!
Till when (the which, I hope, shall ne'er be seen),
Your grace is welcome to our town and us.
PER. Which welcome we 'll accept ; feast here a while,
Until our stars, that frown, lend us a smile.

a War-stuff"d. This is Steevens's ingenious emendation of was stuff'd.

[Exeunt

The meaning of this obscure line probably is- thinks all he can speak is as holy writ.

And, to remember what he does,

Build his statue to make him glorious:

But tidings to the contrary

Are brought to your eyes; what need speak I?

Dumb show.

Enter at one door PERICLES talking with CLEON; all the Train with them. Enter at another door a Gentleman, with a letter to PERICLES; PERICLES shows the letter to CLEON; PERICLES gives the Messenger a reward, and knights him.

C

[Exit PERICLES at one door, and CLEON at another.

Good Helicane hath stay'd at home,

Not to eat honey, like a drone,

From others' labours; for though he strive

To killen bad, keeps good alive;

And, to fulfil his prince' desire,
Sends word of all that haps in Tyre:

How Thaliard came full bent with sin,
And had intent to murder him;
And that in Tharsus 't was not best
Longer for him to make his rest:
He, knowing so, put forth to seas,
Where when men bin, there's seldom ease;
For now the wind begins to blow;
Thunder above, and deeps below,
Make such unquiet, that the ship

Should house him safe, is wrack'd and split;
And he, good prince, having all lost,

By waves from coast to coast is toss'd:
All perishen of man, of pelf,

Ne aught escapen'd but himself;
Till fortune, tir'd with doing bad,
Threw him ashore to give him glad :

▪ Build his statue. All the old copies read build; but the word is invariably changed to gild, because in the Confessio Amantis' we find, with regard to this statue

6

"It was of laton over-gilt."

But before the statue was gilt it was erected, according to the same authority:

1

And here he comes; what shall be next,
Pardon old Gower; this 'longs the texta.

SCENE I.-Pentapolis.

Enter PERICLES, wet.

PER. Yet cease your ire, ye angry stars of heaven!
Wind, rain, and thunder, remember, earthly man
Is but a substance, that must yield to you;
And I, as fits my nature, do obey you;
Alas, the sea hath cast me on the rocks,

Wash'd me from shore to shore, and left me breath,
Nothing to think on, but ensuing death:

Let it suffice the greatness of your powers,
To have bereft a prince of all his fortunes;
And having thrown him from your wat'ry grave,
Here to have death in peace, is all he 'll crave.

1 FISH. What, ho, Pilche"!

Enter three Fishermen.

2 FISH. Ha, come, and bring away the nets.

1 FISH. What, Patch-breech, I say!

3 FISH. What say you, master?

[Exit.

I FISH. Look how thou stirrest now: come away, or I'll fetch thee with a

wannion.

3 FISH. 'Faith, master, I am thinking of the poor men that were cast away before us, even now.

1 FISH. Alas, poor souls! it grieved my heart to hear what pitiful cries they made to us, to help them, when, well-a-day, we could scarce help ourselves.

3 FISH. Nay, master, said not I as much, when I saw the porpus how he bounced and tumbled? they say, they are half fish, half flesh; a plague on them! they ne'er come but I look to be wash'd. Master, I marvel how the fishes live in the sea.

1 FISH. Why, as men do a-land; the great ones eat up the little ones: I can compare our rich misers to nothing so fitly as to a whale; 'a plays and tumbles, driving the poor fry before him, and at last devours them all at a mouthful. Such whales have I heard on a' the land, who never leave gaping, till they 've swallowed the whole parish, church, steeple, bells and all.

PER. A pretty moral.

• Douce explains this clearly:-"This 'longs the text' is, in Gower's elliptical construction, this belongs to the text; I need not comment upon it; you will see it."

Pilche is most probably a name; as we have afterwards Patch-breech. The old copies have "What to pelch?"