Flies where you bid it, I find, that fe, which late King. Take her by the hand, And tell her, fhe is thine: to whom I promise A counterpoize; if not to thy eftate, A balance more replete. Ber. I take her hand. King. Good fortune, and the favour of the king, Shall 4 This, if it be at all intelligible, is at leaft obfcure and inaccurate. Perhaps it was written thus: what ceremony Shall feem expedient on the now-born brief, Shall be perform'd to-night; the folemn feaft Shall more attend The brief is the contract of efpoufal, or the licence of the church. The King means, What ceremony is neceffary to make this contra a marriage, fhall be immediately performed; the reft may be delayed. JOHNSON. The whole fpeech is unnaturally expreffed; yet I think it intelligible as it stands, and should therefore reject Johnfon's amendment and explanation. The word brief does not here denote either a contract or a licence, but is an adjective, and means fort or contracted: and the words on the nowborn, fignify for the prefent, in oppofition to upon the coming space, which means bereafter. The fenfe of the whole paffage feems to be this: The king and fortune fmile on this contract; the ceremony of which it feems expedient to abridge for the prefent; the folemn feast shall be performed at a future time, when we thall be able to affemble friends.” M. MASON. Though I have inferted the foregoing note, I do not profefs to comprehend its meaning fully. Shakspeare ufes the words expedience, expedient, and expediently, in the sense of afte, quick, expeditiously. A brief, in ancient language, means any short and fummary writing or proceeding. The now-born brief is only another phrafe for the contract recently and fuddenly made. The ceremony of it (fays the king) fhall feem to baften after its fhort preliminary, and be performed to-night, &c. STEEVENS, Now-born, the epithet in the old copy, prefixed to brief, unquestionably ought to be restored. The Now-born brief, is the breve originale of the feudal times, which, in this inftance, formally notified the king's confent to the marriage of Bertram, his ward. HENLEY. Our Shall more attend upon the coming space, [Exeunt King, BERTRAM, HELENA, Lords, and Laf. Do you hear monfieur? a word with you. Laf. Your lord and mafter did well to make his recan tation. Par. Recantation ?-My lord? my master? Laf. Ay; Is it not a language, I speak? Par. A moft harsh one; and not to be understood without bloody fucceeding. My mafter? Laf. Are you companion to the count Roufillon? Par. To any count; to all counts; to what is man. Laf. To what is count's man; count's mafter is of another style. Par. You are too old, fir; let it fatisfy you, you are too old. Laf. I muft tell thee, firrah, I write man; to which title age cannot bring thee. Par. What I dare too well do, I dare not do. Laf. I did think thee, for two ordinaries," to be a pretty wife fellow; thou didst make tolerable vent of thy travel; it might pafs: yet the scarfs, and the bannerets, about thee, did manifoldly diffuade me from believing thee a veffel of too great a burden. I have now found thee; when I lose thee again; D 3 Our author often ufes brief in the sense of a short note, or intimation concerning any bufinefs; and fometimes without the idea of writing. The meaning therefore of the prefent paffage, I believe, is ;-Good fortune, and the king's favour smile on this fhort contract; the ceremonial part of which shall immediately pass,-shall follow close on the troth now plighted between the parties, and be performed this night; the folemn feaft fhall be delayed to a future time. MALONE. 5 The old copy has the following fingular continuation: Parolles and Lafeu ftay bebind, commenting of this wedding. This could have been only the marginal note of a prompter, and was never defigned to appear in print. STEEVENS. To comment means, I believe, to affume the appearance of perfons deep ły engaged in thought. MALONE. 6 While I fat twice with thee at table. JOHNSON. again, I care not: yet art thou good for nothing but taking -up; and that thou art fcarce worth. Par. Hadft thou not the privilege of antiquity upon thee, Laf. Do not plunge thy felf too far in anger, left thou haffen thy trial; which if-Lord have mercy on thee for a hen! So, my good window of lattice, fare thee well; thy cafement I need not open, for I look through thee. Give ine thy hand. Par. My lord, you give me moft egregious indignity. Laf. Ay, with all my heart; and thou art worthy of it. Par. I have not, my lord, deferv'd it. Laf. Yes, good faith, every dram of it; and I will not bate thee a fcruple. Par. Well, I fhall be wifer. Laf. E'en as foon as thou canft, for thou haft to pull at a fmack o'the contrary. If ever thou be'ft bound in thy scarf, and beaten, thou fhalt find what it is to be proud of thy bondage. I have a defire to hold my acquaintance with thee, or rather my knowledge; that I may fay, in the default, he is a nan I know. Par. My lord, you do me moft infupportable vexation. Laf. I would it were hell-pains for thy fake, and my poor doing eternal for doing I am paft; as I will by thee, in what motion age will give me leave." [Exit. Par. Well, thou halt a fon fhall take this difgrace off me;2 fcurvy, 7 To take up is to contradi, to call to account; as well as to pick off the ground. JOHNSON. in the default,] That is, at a need. JOHNSON. 9 The conceit which is fo thin that it might well escape a hafty reader, is in the word paft—I am past, as I will be past, by thee. JOHNSON. Lafeu means to fay, "for doing I am past, as I will pass by thee in what motion age will permit." Lafeu fays, that he will pass by Parolles, not that he will be paffed by him; and Lafeu is actually the perfon who goes out. M. MASON. Dr. Johnson is, I believe, mistaken. Mr. Edwards has, I think, given the true meaning of Lafeu's words. "I cannot do much, fays Lafeu; doing I am paft, as I will by thee in what motion age will give me leave; i. e. as I will pass by thee as fast as I am able:-and he immediately goes out. It is a play on the word paft: the conceit indeed is poor, but Shakspeare plainly meant it." MALONE. This the poet makes Parolles speak alone; and this is nature. A coward fcurvy, old, filthy, fcurvy lord!-Well, I must be patient; there is no fettering of authority. I'll beat him, by my life, if I can meet him with any convenience, an he were double and double a lord. I'll have no more pity of his age, than I would have of-I'll beat him, an if I could but meet him again. Re-enter LA FEU. Laf. Sirrah, your lord and master's married, there's news for you; you have a new mistress. Par. I moft unfeignedly befeech your lordship to make fome refervation of your wrongs: He is my good lord: whom I ferve above, is my mafter. Laf. Who? God? Par. Ay, fir. Laf. The devil it is, that's thy mafter Why dost thou garter up thy arms o' this fashion? doft make hofe of thy leeves? do other fervants fo? Thou wert beft fet thy lower part where thy nofe ftands. By mine honcur, if I were but two hours younger, I'd beat thee: methinks, thou art a general offence, and every man fhould beat thee. I think, thou waft created for men to breathe themselves upon thee. Par. This is hard and undeserved measure, my lord. Laf. Go to, fir; you were beaten in Italy for picking a kernel out of a pomegranate; you are a vagabond, and no true traveller: you are more faucy with lords, and honourable perfonages, than the heraldry of your birth and virtue gives you commiffion. You are not worth another word, elfe I'd call knave. I leave you., you Enter BERTRAM. [Exit. Par. Good, very good; it is fo then.-Good, very good; let it be conceal'd a while. Ber. Undone, and forfeited to cares for ever! Par. What is the matter fweet heart? Ber. Although before the folemn prieft I have fworn, I will not bed her. D 4 Par. coward fhould try to hide his poltroonery even from himself. An ordinary writer would have been glad of such an opportunity to bring him to confeffion. WARBURTON. Par. What? what, fweet heart? Ber. O my Parolles, they have married me :I'll to the Tufcan wars, and never bed her. Par. France is a dog-hole, and it no more merits The tread of a man's foot: to the wars! Ber. There's letters from my mother; what the import is, I know not yet. Par. Ay, that would be known: To the wars, my boy, to the wars! He wears his honour in a box unfeen, That hugs his kickfy- wickfy here at home;3 Ber. It fhall be fo; I'll fend her to my house, Where noble fellows ftrike: War is no ftrife Par. Will this capricio hold in thee, art fure? Ber. Go with me to my chamber, and advise me. I'll fend her ftraight away: To-morrow I'll to the wars, fhe to her fingle forrow. Par. Why, thefe balls bound; there's noife in it.-'Tis hard; A young man, married, is a man that's marr'd: Therefore away, and leave her bravely; go: The king has done you wrong; but, huh! 'tis fo. [Exeunt. 3 Sir T. Hanmer, in his Gloffary, obferves that kickfy-wickfy is a made word in ridicule and difdain of a wife. GREY. 4 The dark boufe is a house made gloomy by discontent. Milton fays of death and the king of hell preparing to combat: "So frown'd the mighty combatants, that hell SCENE |