Of you my fons, nor, till this present hour, The Duke, my husband, and my children both, Duke. With all my heart, I'll goffip at this feast. Manent the two Antipholis's, and two Dromio's. S. Dro. Mafter, fhall I fetch your ftuff from fhipboad? E. Ant. Dromio, what stuff of mine haft thou imbark'd? dans ་་ *་* S. Dro. Your goods, that lay at host, Sir, in the Centaur. S. Ant. He fpeaks to me; I am your mafter, Dromio. ber here: and therefore I have At eighteen years became inqui- After his Brother, &c. And how long it was from the Son's thus parting from his Father, to their meeting again at Ephefus, where Egeon, miftakenly, recognizes the Twin bro Come, go with us, we'll look to that anon; [Exeunt Antipholis S. and E. E. Dro. Methinks, you are my glass, and not my brother: I fee by you, I am a fweet-fac'd youth: How fhall I try it? S. Dro. We'll draw cuts for the senior: 'Till then, lead thou first. E. Dro. Nay, then thus [Embracing. We came into the world, like brother and brother: And now let's go hand in hand, not one before another. [Exeunt. MUCH Dramatis Perfonæ. DON PEDRO, Prince of Arragon. Don John, Bastard Brother to Don Pedro. Claudio, a young Lord of Florence, Favourite to Don Pedro. Benedick, a young Lord of Padua, favour'd likewise by Don Pedro. Balthazar, Servant to Don Pedro. Verges, } two foolish Officers. Hero, Daughter to Leonato. Beatrice, Niece to Leonato. Margaret, Urfula, } two Gentlewomen, attending on Hero. A Friar, "Messenger, Watch, Town-Clerk, Sexton, and Attendants. SCENE, Meffina in Sicily. The Story is from Ariofto, Orl. Fur. B. v. POPE. MUCH A Court before Leonato's Houfe. Enter Leonato, Hero, and Beatrice, with a Messenger. I f LEONATO. Learn in this letter, that Don Pedro of Arragon comes this night to Messina. Meff. He is very near by this; he was not three leagues off when I left him. I Leon. How many gentlemen have you loft in this action? Meff. But few of any Sort, and none of Name. Leon. A victory is twice itself, when the atchiever Much Ado about Nothing.] Innogen, (the Mother of Hero) in the oldeft Quarto that I have feen of this Play, printed in 1600, is mention'd to enter in two feveral Scenes. The fucceeding Editions have all continued her Name in the Dramatis Perfona. But I have ventur'd to expunge it; there being no mention of her through the Play, no one Speech addrefs'd to her, nor one Syllable spoken by her Neither is there any one Paffage, from which we have any Reason to determine that Hero's Mother was living. It seems, as if the Poet had in his firft Plan de fign'd fuch a Character; which, on a Survey of it, he found would be fuperfluous; and therefore he left it out. THEOBALD |