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whom I took two cods, and giving her them again, said, with weeping tears, Wear these for my sake. We, that are true lovers, run into strange capers; but as all is mortal in nature, so is all nature in love mortal1 in folly.

Ros. Thou speak'st wiser than thou art 'ware of. Touch. Nay, I shall ne'er be 'ware of mine own wit, till I break my shins against it.

Ros. Jove! Jove! this shepherd's passion

Is much upon my fashion.

Touch. And mine; but it grows something stale with me.

Cel. I pray you, one of you question 'yond man, If he for gold will give us any food;

I faint almost to death.

Touch. Holla; you, clown!

Ros.

Cor. Who calls?

Peace, fool! he's not thy kinsman.

Touch. Your betters, sir.

Cor. Else are they very wretched.
Ros.

Good even to you, friend.

Peace, I say.

Cor. And to you, gentle sir, and to you all.
Ros. I pr'ythee, shepherd, if that love, or gold,
Can in this desert place buy entertainment,
Bring us where we may rest ourselves, and feed.
Here's a young maid with travel much oppressed,
And faints for succor.

Cor.

Fair sir, I pity her,

And wish for her sake, more than for mine own,
My fortunes were more able to relieve her;

But I am shepherd to another man,
And do not shear the fleeces that I graze.
My master is of churlish disposition,

And little recks to find the way to heaven
By doing deeds of hospitality.

1 In the middle counties, says Johnson, they use mortal as a particle of amplification, as mortal tall, mortal little. So the meaning here may be" abounding in folly."

Besides, his cote,1 his flocks, and bounds of feed,
Are now on sale, and at our sheepcote now,
By reason of his absence, there is nothing
That you will feed on; but what is, come see,
And in my voice 2 most welcome shall you be.

Ros. What is he that shall buy his flock and pasture?

Cor. That young swain that you saw here but erewhile,

That little cares for buying any thing.

Ros. I pray thee, if it stand with honesty, Buy thou the cottage, pasture, and the flock, And thou shalt have to pay for it of us.

Cel. And we will mend thy wages. I like this place, And willingly could waste my time in it. Cor. Assuredly, the thing is to be sold. Go with me; if you like, upon report, The soil, the profit, and this kind of life, I will your very faithful feeder be, And buy it with your gold right suddenly.

[Exeunt.

[blocks in formation]

Ami. Under the greenwood tree,

Who loves to lie with me,

And turn his merry note

Unto the sweet bird's throat,

Come hither, come hither, come hither:

Here shall he see

No enemy,

But winter and rough weather.

1 i. e. cot or cottage: the word is still used in its compound form, as sheepcote in the next line.

2 In my voice, as far as I have a voice or vote, as far as I have the power to bid you welcome.

3 The old copy reads: "And turne his merry note." which Pope altered to tune, the reading of all the modern editions.

Jaq. More, more, I pr'ythee, more.

I can

Ami. It will make you melancholy, monsieur Jaques. Jaq. I thank it. More, I pr'ythee, more. suck melancholy out of a song, as a weasel sucks eggs. More, I pr'ythee, more.

Ami. My voice is ragged; I know, I cannot please

you.

Jaq. I do not desire you to please me, I do desire you to sing. Come, more; another stanza. Call you

them stanzas?

Ami. What you will, monsieur Jaques.

Jaq. Nay, I care not for their names; they owe me nothing. Will you sing?

Ami. More at your request, than to please myself. Jaq. Well then, if ever I thank any man, I'll thank you but that they call compliment, is like the encounter of two dog-apes; and when a man thanks me heartily, methinks I have given him a penny, and he renders me the beggarly thanks. Come, sing; and you that will not, hold your tongues.

Ami. Well, I'll end the song.-Sirs, cover the while; the duke will drink under this tree.-He hath been all this day to look you.

Jaq. And I have been all this day to avoid him. He is too disputable for my company. I think of as many matters as he; but I give Heaven thanks, and make no boast of them. Come, warble, come.

SONG.

Who doth ambition shun, [All together here.
And loves to live i̇ the sun,

Seeking the food he eats,

And pleased with what he gets,

Come hither, come hither, come hither;

Here shall he see

No enemy,

But winter and rough weather.

1 Ragged and rugged had formerly the same meaning.
2 i. e. disputatious.

Jaq. I'll give you a verse to this note, that I made yesterday in despite of my invention.

Ami. And I'll sing it.

Jaq. Thus it goes:

If it do come to pass,
That any man turn ass,
Leaving his wealth and ease,
A stubborn will to please,
Ducdame, ducdame, ducdame;1
Here shall he see

Gross fools as he,

An if he will come to me.

Ami. What's that ducdame?

Jaq. 'Tis a Greek invocation, to call fools into a circle. I'll go sleep if I can; if I cannot, I'll rail against all the first-born of Egypt.2

Ami. And I'll go seek the duke; his banquet is prepared.

[Exeunt severally.

SCENE VI. The same.

Enter ORLANDO and ADAM.

Adam. Dear master, I can go no farther. O, I die for food! Here lie I down, and measure out my grave. Farewell, kind master.

Orl. Why, how now, Adam! No greater heart in thee? Live a little; comfort a little; cheer thyself a little; if this uncouth forest yield any thing savage, I will either be food for it, or bring it for food to thee. Thy conceit is nearer death than thy powers. For my sake, be comfortable; hold death awhile at the arm's end. I will here be with thee presently; and if I bring

1 Sir Thomas Hanmer reads duc ad me, i. e. bring him to me, which reading Johnson highly approves.

2 "The first-born of Egypt," a proverbial expression for high-born persons; it is derived from Exodus xii. 29.

thee not something to eat, I'll give thee leave to die; but if thou diest before I come, thou art a mocker of my labor. Well said! Thou look'st cheerily and I'll be with thee quickly.-Yet thou liest in the bleak air. Come, I will bear thee to some shelter; and thou shalt not die for lack of a dinner, if there live any thing in this desert. Cheerily, good Adam! [Exeunt.

SCENE VII. The same. A Table set out.

Enter Duke senior, AMIENS, Lords, and others. Duke S. I think he be transformed into a beast; For I can no where find him like a man.

1 Lord. My lord, he is but even now gone hence. Here was he merry, hearing of a song.

Duke S. If he, compact of jars,' grow musical,
We shall have shortly discord in the spheres.-
Go, seek him; tell him, I would speak with him.

Enter JAQUES.

1 Lord. He saves my labor by his own approach. Duke S. Why, how now, monsieur! What a life is

this,

That your poor friends must woo your company
What! you look merrily.

Jaq. A fool, a fool!-I met a fool i' the forest,
A motley fool;-a miserable world!

As I do live by food, I met a fool;

Who laid him down, and basked him in the sun,
And railed on lady Fortune in good terms,
In good set terms, and yet a motley fool.
Good-morrow, fool, quoth I. No, sir, quoth he,
Call me not fool, till Heaven hath sent me fortune:
And then he drew a dial from his poke;

And looking on it with lack-lustre eye,

1 i. e. made up of discords. In the Comedy of Errors we have "compact of credit," for made up of credulity.

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