Pro. But how camest thou by this ring? At my depart

I gave this unto Julia.

Jul. And Julia herself did give it me;

And Julia herself hath brought it hither.
Pro. How! Julia!

100

Jul. Behold her that gave aim to all thy oaths,

And entertain'd 'em deeply in her heart.

How oft hast thou with perjury cleft the root!

O Proteus, let this habit make thee blush!
Be thou ashamed that I have took upon me
Such an immodest raiment, if shame live

105

In a disguise of love:

It is the lesser blot, modesty finds,

Women to change their shapes than men their minds.

Pro. Than men their minds! 'tis true. O heaven, were

man

110

But constant, he were perfect! That one error
Fills him with faults; makes him run through all the sins:
Inconstancy falls off ere it begins.

What is in Silvia's face, but I may spy
More fresh in Julia's with a constant eye?

115

Val. Come, come, a hand from either: Let me be blest to make this happy close; 'Twere pity two such friends should be long foes. Pro. Bear witness, Heaven, I have my wish for ever. Jul. And I mine.

120

Enter Outlaws, with DUKE and THURIO.

Outlaws. A prize, a prize, a prize!

Val. Forbear, forbear, I say! it is my lord the duke.

Your Grace is welcome to a man disgraced,

Thu. Yonder is Silvia; and Silvia's mine.
Val. Thurio, give back, or else embrace thy death;

125

Come not within the measure of my wrath;
Do not name Silvia thine; if once again,
Verona shall not hold thee. Here she stands:

Take but possession of her with a touch:
I dare thee but to breathe upon my love.

130

Thu. Sir Valentine, I care not for her, I:

I hold him but a fool that will endanger
His body for a girl that loves him not:
I claim her not, and therefore she is thine.

135

Duke. The more degenerate and base art thou,
To make such means for her as thou hast done,
And leave her on such slight conditions.
Now, by the honour of my ancestry,

I do applaud thy spirit, Valentine,
And think thee worthy of an empress' love:
Know, then, I here forget all former griefs,

140

Cancel all grudge, repeal thee home again,
Plead a new state in thy unrival'd merit,
To which I thus subscribe: Sir Valentine,
Thou art a gentleman, and well derived;
Take thou thy Silvia, for thou hast deserved her.

145

Val. I thank your grace; the gift hath made me happy.

I now beseech you, for your daughter's sake,
To grant one boon that I shall ask of you.

150

Duke. I grant it, for thine own, whate'er it be.
Val. These banish'd men that I have kept withal

Are men endued with worthy qualities:
Forgive them what they have committed here,
And let them be recall'd from their exile:

155

They are reformed, civil, full of good,

And fit for great employment, worthy lord.
Duke. Thou hast prevail'd; I pardon them and thee:
Dispose of them as thou know'st their deserts.
Come, let us go: we will include all jars
With triumphs, mirth, and rare solemnity.

160

Val. And, as we walk along, I dare be bold With our discourse to make your Grace to smile. What think you of this page, my lord?

Duke. I think the boy hath grace in him; he blushes. Val. I warrant you, my lord, more grace than boy. 166 Duke. What mean you by that saying?

Val. Please you, I'll tell you as we pass along,

That you will wonder what hath fortuned.

Come, Proteus; 'tis your penance but to hear
The story of your loves discovered:
That done, our day of marriage shall be yours;
One feast, one house, one mutual happiness.

170

NOTES.

NOTE I.

DRAMATIS PERSONE. We have followed Steevens and the later editors in reading 'Proteus' for 'Protheus'; for though the latter form is invariably used in the Folios, and was, in all probability, what Shakespeare wrote, yet in choosing the name he doubtless meant to compare the fickle mind of the lover with the changeable form of the god. We have written 'Panthino,' not 'Panthion,' because the authority of the first Folio preponderates in favour of the former, in itself the more probable form of an Italian proper name. 'Panthion' occurs in F1, among 'the names of all the actors,' and in a stage direction at the beginning of Act II. Sc. 2, but never in the text. 'Panthino' is found twice in the text, and once in a stage direction at the beginning of Act 1. Sc. 3. The blunder 'Panthmo, 1. 3. 76, which is the reading of F1, shows that the original MS. had 'Panthino,' not 'Panthion.'

NOTE II.

19

1. 1. 28 sqq. Mr Sidney Walker (Criticisms on Shakespeare, III. p. 9) says we ought 'perhaps' to read

'No,

I will not, for it boots not.'

Doubtless he meant also to re-arrange the following lines, and so get

rid of the Alexandrine at 30; thus:

In love, where scorn is bought with groans; coy looks

With heart-sore sighs; one fading moment's mirth,' &c.

VOL. I.

13