Vio. And died that day, when Viola from her Had numbered thirteen years.

[birth

Seh. O, that record is lively in my foul;
He finished, indeed, his mortal act,
That day that made my fifter thirteen years.
Vio. If nothing letts to make as happy both,
But this my mafculine ufurped attire,
Do not embrace me 'till each circumftance
Of place, time, fortune, do eohere and jump,
That I am Viola; which to confirm,

I'll bring you to a captain in this town
Where ly my maid's weeds; (21) by whofe gentle help
I was preferred to ferve this noble Duke.
All the occurrence of my fortune fince

Hath been between this Lady and this Lord.
Seb. So comes it, Lady, you have been mistook:
[To Olivia.

-by whofe gentle help

(21) I was preferved to ferve this noble Duke.] Though this be fenfe, and poffeffes all the printed copies, yet I fufpect, from the fimilitude in the two words preferved and ferve (a fameness of found, which Shakespeare would, probably, have avoided,) the copyifs, or men at prefs, committed a flight mistake. When the Captain and Viola first appear upon the flage, the fays to him;

I'll ferve this Duke;

Thou shalt prefent me; &c.

I therefore believe the Author wrote, as I have reformed the text;

by whofe gentle help

I was preferred to ferve this noble Duke.

So in The Taming of the Shrew;

If you, Hortenfio,'

Or, Signior Gremio, you know any fuch,
Prefer them hither.

So in Fulius Cefar;

08. Fellow, wilt thou bestow thy time with me?

Stra Ay, if Meffala will prefer mié to you, &c. &c. &t.

But Nature to her bias drew in that.

You would have been contracted to a maid,
Nor are you therein, by my life, deceived;
You are betrothed both to a maid and man.
Duke. Be not amazed: right-noble is his blood;
If this be fo, as yet the glafs seems true,

I fhall have fhare in this most happy wreck.
Boy, thou haft faid to me a thousand times, [To Vi.
Thou never fhouldest love woman like to me.

Vio. And all those sayings will I over-fwear,
And all those swearings keep as true in foul,
As doth that orbed continent the fire,
That fevers day from night.

Duke. Give me thy hand,

And let me fee thee in thy woman's weeds.
Vio. The captain that did bring me first on fhore,
Hath my
maid's garments: he upon fome action
Is now in durance, at Malvolio's fuit,

A gentleman and follower of my Lady's.

Oli. He fhall enlarge him: fetch Malvolio hither, And yet alas, now I remember me,

They fay, poor gentleman, he's much diftract.

Enter the Clown with a Letter, and FABIAN..

A most extracting frenzy of mine own,
From my remembrance clearly banished his.
How does he, firrah?

Clo. Truly, Madam, he holds Belzebub at the ftave's end, as well as a man in his cafe may do: h'as here writ a letter to you; I fhould have given't you to-day morning. But as a madman's epiftles are no golpels, fo it fkills not much when they are delivered.

Oli. Open't, and read it.

Gla. Look then to be well edified, when the fool delivers the mad-man--" By the Lord, Madam,--

[Reads.

Oli. How now, art mad?

Clo. No, Madam, I do but read madness: an your Ladyship will have it as it ought to be, you muft allow Vox.

Oli. Pr'ythee read it i' thy right wits.

Clo. So I do, Madona; but to read his right wits is to read thus: therefore perpend, my Princefs, and give ear.

66

Oli. Read it you, firrah. [To Fabian Fab. [Reads] "By the Lord, Madam, you wrong me, and the world fhall know it: though you have put me into darknefs, and given your drunken uncle rule over me, yet have I the be"nefit of iny fenfes as well as your Ladyfhip. I "have your own letter, that induced me to the "femblance I put on; with the which I doubt "not but to do myself much right, or you much "fhame: think of me as you pleafe: I leave my "duty a little unthought of, and fpeak out of my injury. The madly ufed MALVOLIO."

Oli. Did he write this?

Clo. Ay, Madam.

Duke. This favours not much of distraction. Oli. See him delivered, Fabian; bring him hither. My Lord, fo pleafe you, these things further thought To think me as well a fifter as a wife; [on, One day fhall crown th' alliance on't, so please you, Here at my houfe, and at my proper cost.

Duke. Madam, I am most apt t'embrace your offer. Your master quits you; and for your fervice done him,

So much against the metal of your fex, [To Vicl.
So far beneath your foft and tender breeding;
(And fince you called me mater for fo long,)
Here is my hand, you thall from this time be
Your master's mistrefs.

Oli. A fifter, you are she.

Enter MALVOLIO..

Duke. Is this the madman?

Oli. Ay, my Lord, the fame: how now, Malvolio? Mal. Madam, you have done me wrong, notoriOli. Have I, Malvolio? no. [ous wrong.

Mal. Lady, you have; pray you perufe that letter.
You must not now deny it is your hand.
Write from it if you can, in hand or phrase;
Or fay, 'tis not your feal, nor your invention;
You can fay none of this. Well, grant it then;
And tell me in the modesty of honour,

Why you have given me fuch clear lights of favour,
Bade me come fmiling, and crofs-gartered to you,
To put on yellow ftockings, and to frown
Upon Sir Toby, and the lighter people:
And acting this in an obedient hope,
Why have you fuffered me to be imprisoned,
Kept in a dark houfe, vifited by the priest,
And made the most notorious geck and gull
That e'er Invention played on? tell me why?"
Oli. Alas, Malvolio, this is not my writing,
Tho', I confefs, much like the character:
But, out of question, 'tis Maria's hand.
And now I do bethink me, it was the
First told me thou waft mad; then cameft thou
And in fuch forms which, here were prefuppofed
Upon thee in the letter: Pr'ythee, be content:
This practice hath moft fhrewdly paft upon thee;
But when we know the grounds and authors of it,
Thou shalt be both the plaintiff and the judge.
Of thine own cause.

Fab. Good Madam, hear me fpeak,

[fmiling,

And let no quarrel, nor no brawl to come, -
Taint the condition of this present hour,

Which I have wondered at. In hope it fhall not,

Moft freely I confefs, myfelf and Sir Toby
Set this device against Malvolio here,

Upon fome ftubborn and uncourteous parts
We had conceived against him. Maria writ
The letter, at Sir Toby's great importance,
In recompence whereof he hath married her.
How with a fportful malice it was followed,
May rather pluck on laughter than revenge,
If that the injuries be juftly weighed,
That have on both fides past.

Oli. Alas poor fool! how have they baffled thee? Clo. Why," fome are born great, fome atchieve "greatnefs, and fome have greatnefs thrust upon "them." I was one, Sir, in this interlude; one Sir Topas, Sir; but that's all one:" By the "Lord, fool, I am not mad;"-but do you remember, Madam," why laugh you at fuch a --barren rafcal? an you fmile not, he's gagged:" and thus the whirl-gigg of time brings in his re

venges.

Mal. I'll be revenged on the whole pack of you,

[Exit. Oli. He hath been moft notoriously abused. Duke. Purfue him, and intreat him to a peace;

He hath not told us of the captain yet;

"When that is known, and golden time convents, A folemn combination fhall be made

Of our dear fouls. Mean time, fweet fifter,
We will not part from hence.-Cefario, come;
(For fo you fhall be, while you are a man ;)
But when in other habits you are seen,

Orfino's miftrefs, and his fancy's queen. [Exeunt,