Nor I.

Pro. Duke.

Pro.

Saw you my daughter?

Neither. Duke. Why, then, she's fled unto that peasant Valentine;

And Eglamour is in her company.

'Tis true; for Friar Laurence met them both,
As he in penance wander'd through the forest:
Him he knew well; and guess'd that it was she,
But, being mask'd, he was not sure of it:
Besides, she did intend confession

At Patrick's cell this even; and there she was not.
These likelihoods confirm her flight from hence:
Therefore, I pray you, stand not to discourse,
But mount you presently; and meet with me
Upon the rising of the mountain-foot
That leads towards Mantua, whither they are fled:
Dispatch, sweet gentlemen, and follow me. [Exit.
Thu. Why, this it is to be a peevish3 girl,
That flies her fortune when it follows her.
I'll after, more to be reveng'd on Eglamour,
Than for the love of reckless1 Silvia.

[Exit.

SCENE IV.-Another part of the Forest.
Enter VALENTINE.

Val. How use doth breed a habit in a man!
These shadowy, desert, unfrequented woods
I better brook than flourishing peopled towns:
Here can I sit alone, unseen of any;
And to the nightingale's complaining notes
Tune my distresses and record my woes.
Oh, thou that dost inhabit in my breast,
Leave not the mansion so long tenantless,
Lest, growing ruinous, the building fall,
And leave no memory of what it was!
Repair me with thy presence, Silvia !
Thou gentle nymph, cherish thy forlorn swain!
[Noise beard.

What halloing and what stir is this to-day?
These are my mates, that make their wills their
law,

Have some unhappy passenger in chase.
They love me well; yet I have much to do
To keep them from uncivil outrages.—
Withdraw thee, Valentine: who's this comes here?
[Retires.

Enter PROTEUS, SILVIA, and JULIA.

Pro. Madam, this service I have done for you,

SCENE III.-The frontiers of MANTUA. The

Forest.

Enter Outlaws with SILVIA.

First Out. Come, come;

Be patient; we must bring you to our captain.
Sil. A thousand more mischances than this one
Have learn'd me how to brook this patiently.
Sec. Out. Come, bring her away.

First Out. Where is the gentleman that was with her?

Third Out. Being nimble-footed, he hath out

run us.

But Moyses and Valerius follow him.

Go thou with her to the west end of the wood; There is our captain: we'll follow him that's fled; The thicket is beset, he cannot 'scape.

[Exeunt all except First Outlaw and SILVIA. First Out. Come, I must bring you to our cap

tain's cave:

Fear not; he bears an honourable mind,
And will not use a woman lawlessly.

Sil. O Valentine, this I endure for thee!

[Exeunt.

3. Peevish. Wilful, perverse. The word has been used in this same sense at the beginning of the Third Act: "She is peevish, sullen, froward."

4 Reckless. Unheedful, thoughtless, unregardful. 5. Record my woes. To "record" is to sing; as birds sing,

Though you respect not aught your servant

doth,

To hazard life, and rescue you from him

That would have forc'd your honour and your love:
Vouchsafe me, for my meed, but one fair look ;
A smaller boon than this I cannot beg,

And less than this, I am sure, you cannot give.
Val. [aside] How like a dream is this I see and
hear!

Love, lend me patience to forbear awhile.
Sil. Oh, miserable, unhappy that I am!
Pro. Unhappy were you, madam, ere I came;
But by my coming I have made you happy.

Sil. By thy approach thou mak'st me most unhappy.

Jul. [aside] And me, when he approacheth to your presence.

Sil. Had I been seized by a hungry lion,
I would have been a breakfast to the beast,
Rather than have false Proteus rescue me.
O Heaven, be judge how I love Valentine,
Whose life's as tender to me as my soul;
And full as much-for more there cannot be
I do detest false perjur'd Proteus!
Therefore be gone, solicit me no more.

when taught by a small flute called a 'recorder.' Shakespeare uses the verb in the same way, "Pericles," iv.-(Gower.)

6. Have some unhappy passenger. If'and' be understood before "have," the passage is clear.

7. Meed. Reward, recompense.

Pro. What dangerous action, stood it next to death,

Would I not undergo for one calm look?
Oh, 'tis the curse in love, and still approv'd,s
When women cannot love where they're belov'd!
Sil. When Proteus cannot love where he's
beloved.

Read over Julia's heart, thy first best love,

For whose dear sake thou didst then rend thy faith Into a thousand oaths; and all those oaths Descended into perjury, to love me.

Thou hast no faith left now, unless thou'dst two, And that's far worse than none; better have none Than plural faith, which is too much by one. Thou counterfeit to thy true friend!

For such is a friend now;-treacherous man!
Thou hast beguil'd my hopes: naught but mine
eye

Could have persuaded me. Now I dare not say,
I have one friend alive: thou wouldst disprove me.
Who should be trusted now, when one's right hand
Is perjured to the bosom? Proteus,
I am sorry I must never trust thee more,
But count the world a stranger for thy sake.
The private wound is deepest: Oh, time most curst!
'Mongst all foes, that a friend should be the worst!
Pro. My shame and guilt confound me.—-
Forgive me, Valentine: if hearty sorrow

All that was mine in Silvia I give thee. This line,-the overstrained generosity of which startles most sedate readers,— is precisely in keeping with the previous speech, and with Valentine's character. He is a man of impulse, of warm, quick feelings, full of romance and enthusiasm ; he is willing to make a heroic sacrifice to show his suddenly restored faith in his repentant friend, and works himself up to the requisite pitch of superhuman Courage by the emulative reference to Divine mercy; but we see by his subsequent speech to Thurio, how strongly his love for Suvia maintains itself within his bosom, though he fancies for the moment that he could make it ancillary to friendship. The generous ardour of Valentine's character is again visible in his appeal to the Duke on behalf of "these banish'd men," his com

At

[Shows another ring. Pro. But how cam'st thou by this ring? my depart I gave this unto Julia. ful. And Julia herself did give it me; And Julia herself hath brought it hither. Pro. How! Julia!

Jul. Behold her that gave aim to all thy oaths,10 And entertain'd them deeply in her heart: How oft hast thou with perjury cleft the root: O Proteus! let this habit make thee blush: Be thou asham'd that I have took11 upon me Such an immodest raiment,-if shame live In a disguise of love.12

It is the lesser blot, modesty finds,

Women to change their shapes, than men their minds.

Pro. Than men their minds! 'tis true.

Heaven, were man

But constant, he were perfect! that one error Fills him with faults; makes him run through all the sins:

panions; and the moral effect which his own virtuous principle, precept, and example, have wrought upon them in their reform, is of a piece with Shakespeare's noble philosophy of good in evil, thus early visible in this his certainly youthful production.

10. Gave aim to all thy oaths. The object to which all thy oaths were directed. "Cry aim," and "give aim," were terms in archery; and the latter applied to the person stationed near the butts, who was called 'the mark.' The allusion to archery is continued in the words, "cleft the root; " 'cleaving the pin' being the technical expression for hitting the centre of the butts. 11. Have took. A grammatical license permitted in Shakespeare's time.

12. If shame live in a disguise of love. If it be any wear a disguise in the cause of affection.

shame to

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? Val. Come, come, a hand from either. Let me be bless'd to make this happy close: 'Twere pity two such friends should be long foes. Pro. Bear me witness, Heaven, I have my wish for ever.13

Jul. And I mine.

Enter Outlaws, with DUKE and THURIO.

Outlaws. A prize, a prize, a prize!

Cancel all grudge, repeal thee home again.
Plead a new state in thy unrivall'd merit,16
To which I thus subscribe,-Sir Valentine,
Thou art a gentleman, and well deriv'd;
Take thou thy Silvia, for thou hast deserv'd her.
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.

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

Are men endu'd with worthy qualities:

duke.

Your grace is welcome to a man disgrac'd,

Banished Valentine.

Duke.

Sir Valentine!

Thu. Yonder is Silvia; and Silvia's mine.

death.

Come not within the measure of my wrath:
Do not name Silvia thine; if once again,
Milano shall not hold thee. Here she stands:
Take but possession of her with a touch;-
I dare thee but to breathe upon my love.
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.

Duke. The more degenerate and base art thou,
To make such means 15 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,

Come, let us go: we will include 1 all jars
With triumphs,19 mirth, and rare solemnity.
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.

Duke. What mean you by that saying?

Val. Please you, I'll tell you as we pass along, That you will wonder what hath fortunèd.— Come, Proteus; 'tis your penance, but to hear The story of your loves discoverèd : That done, our day of marriage shall be yours; One feast, one house, one mutual happiness.

[Exeunt.

about the persons and incidents here, that suitably winds up the romantic story of this play.

16. Plead a new state in thy unrivall'd merit. The Duke has heretofore spoken of Valentine in disparaging terms:"Base intruder! overweening slave!" (iii. 1) "Worthless Valentine" (iii. 2), and "that peasant Valentine" (v. 2); now he bids him set up the plea of a new state on the score of his unrivalled merit to which he will subscribe by allowing that he is a gentleman of good birth, and therefore worthy to obtain Silvia. 17. Kept withal. Kept company with, dwelt with. 18. Include. Close in, put to conclusion. 19. Triumphs. Pageants, revels.