Thrust thy fharp wit quite through my ignorance;

Cut me to pieces with thy keen conceit;
And I will with thee never more to dance,
Nor never more in Ruffian habit wait.
O! never will I truft to fpeeches penn'd,

Nor to the motion of a fchool-boy's tongue;
Nor never come in vizor to my friend,

Nor woo in rhime, like a blind harper's fong. Taffata-phrafes, filken terms precise,

Three-pil'd hyperboles, fpruce affectation, Figures pedantical, these fummer flies,

Have blown me full of maggot oftentation:

I do forfwear them; and I here protest,

By this white glove, (how white the hand, God knows!) Henceforth my wooing mind fhall be expreft

In ruffet YEAS, and honest kersy NOES:

And to begin wench, (fo God help me, law!)
My love to thee is found, fans crack or flaw.
Ros. Sans, fans, I pray you.

BIRON. Yet I have a trick

Of the old rage: bear with me, I am fick.
I'll leave it by degrees: foft, let us fee;

Write, "Lord have mercy on us," on those three;
They are infected, in their hearts it lies;

They have the plague, and caught it of your eyes;,
These lords are vifited, you are not free;

For the lord's tokens on you both I fee.

PRIN. No, they are free that gave thefe tokens to us.
BIRON. Our ftates are forfeit, feek not to undo us.
Ros. It is not fo; for how can this be true,

That you stand forfeit being those that fue?

BIRON. Peace, for I will not have to do with you.

Ros. Nor fhall not, if I do as I intend.

BIRON. Speak for yourselves, my wit is at an end.

KING. Teach us, fweet madam, for our rude tranfgreffion,

Some fair excufe.

PRIN. The fairest is confeffion,

Were you not here, but even now, disguis'd ?

KING. Madam, I was.

PRIN. And were you well advis'd?

KING. I was, fair madam.

PRIN. When you then were here,

What did you whisper in your lady's ear?

KING. That more than all the world I did refpect her. PRIN. When she shall challenge this, you will reject her. KING. Upon mine honour, no.

PRIN. Peace, peace, forbear.

Your oath once broke, you force not to forfwear.
KING. Despise me, when I break this oath of mine.
PRIN. I will, and therefore keep it. Rosaline,

What did the Ruffian whisper in your ear?

Ros. Madam, he fwore, that he did hold me dear

As precious eye-fight; and did value me
Above this world; adding thereto, moreover,
That he would wed me, or elfe die my lover,
PRIN. God give thee joy of him! the noble lord

Moft honourably doth uphold his word.

KING. What mean you, madam? by my life, my troth, I never fwore this lady fuch an oath.

Ros. By heav'n

You gave me this;

did;

you and to confirm it plain,

but take it, fir, again.

KING. My faith, and this, to th'princefs I did give ;

I knew her by this jewel on her fleeve.

PRIN Pardon me, fir, this jewel did she wear:
And lord Biron, I thank him, is my dear.
What? will you have me? or your pearl again?
BIRON. Neither of either: I remit both twain.
I fee the trick on't; here was a confent,
(Knowing aforehand of our merriment)
To dafh it, like a Christmas comedy.

Some carry-tale, some please-man, some slight zany,
Some mumble-news, fome trencher-knight, fome Dick,
That fmiles his cheek in years, and knows the trick
To make my lady laugh, when she's difpos'd,
Told our intents before; which once difclos'd,
The ladies did change favours, and then we,
Following the figns, woo'd but the fign of she:
Now to our perjury to add more terror,
We are again forfworn; in will, and error.
Much upon this it is. And might not you
Foreftall our sport, and make us thus untrue
Do not you know my lady's foot by th'fquier,

And laugh upon the apple of her eye,
And ftand between her back, fir, and the fire,
Holding a trencher, jefting merrily?

You put our page out: go, you are allow'd;
Die when you will, a fmock fhall be your shrowd.
You leer upon me, do you; there's an eye,
Wounds like a leaden fword.

BOYET. Full merrily

Hath this brave manage, this career, been run.

[To Boyet.

BIRON. Lo, he is tilting ftrait. Peace, I have done.

Enter Coftard.

Welcome, pure wit, thou partest a fair fray.

COST. O lord, fir, they would know

Whether the three worthies fhall come in, or no.

BIRON. What, are there but three?

COST. No, fir, but it is very fine;

For every one pursents three.

BIRON. And three times three is nine.

COST. Not fo, fir, under correction. Sir; I hope it is
not fo.

You cannot beg us, fir; I can affure you, fir, we know
What we know: I hope, three times three, fir-

BIRON. Is not nine.

COST. Under correction, fir, we know where until it doth

amount.

BIRON. By Jove, I always took three threes for nine, COST. O Lord, fir, it were pity you should get your living by reckoning, fir.

BIRON. How much is it?

CORT. O lord, fir, the parties themselves, the actors, fir, will fhew where until it doth amount; for my own part, I am, as they fay, but to perfect one man in one poor man, Pompion the great, fir.

BIRON. Art thou one of the worthies?

COST. It pleased them to think me worthy of Pompion the Great for mine own part, I know not the degree of the worthy; but I am to stand for him.

BIRON.. Go bid them prepare.

COST. We will turn it finely off, fir, we will take fome

care.

KING. Biron, they will shame us; let them not approach. [Exit Coft. BIRON. We are shame-proof, my lord; and 'tis fome

To have one fhow worfe than the king and his company.
KING. I fay, they fhall not come.

PRIN. Nay my good lord, let me o'er-rule you now;
That sport best pleases that doth leaft know how.
Where zeal strives to content, and the contents
Dies in the zeal of that which it prefents;

Their form, confounded, makes most form in mirth;
When great things labouring, perish in their birth.
BIRON. A right défcription of our sport, my lord.

SCENE IX. Enter Armado.

ARM. Anointed, I implore fo much expence of thy royal fweet breath, as will utter a brace of words.

PRIN. Doth this man ferve God?

BIRON. Why afk you?

PRIN. He speaks not like a man of God's making. ARM. That's all one, my fair, fweet, honey monarch: for, I protest, the schoolmaster is exceeding fantastical; too, too vain; too, too vain: but we will put it, as they say, to ""fortuna de la guerra." I wish you the peace of mind, most royal coupplement.

KING. Here is like to be a good presence of worthies; he prefents Hector of Troy; the fwain, Pompey the great ; the parish curate, Alexander; Armado's page, Hercules; the pedant, Judas Machabeus.

And if these four worthies in their first show thrive,

These four will change habits, and prefent the other five. BIRON. There are five in the first show.

KING. You are deceiv'd, 'tis not fo.

BIRON. The pedant, the braggart, the hedge-priest, the fool, and the boy.

A bare throw at Novem, and the whole world again,