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Biron. Armado is a moft illuftrious wight,

A man of fire-new words, fashion's own knight. Long. Coftard the swain, and he, fhall be our sport ; And fo to study, three years are but short.

Enter DULL and COSTARD, with a letter.

Dull. Which is the king's own person?

Biron. This, fellow: What wouldft?

Dull. I myself reprehend his own person, for I am his grace's tharborough: but I would fee his own person in flesh and blood.

Biron. This is he.

Dull. Signior Arme,-Arme-commends you. There's villany abroad; this letter will tell you more.

Coft. Sir, the contempts thereof are as touching me. King. A letter from the magnificent Armado.

Biron. How low foever the matter, I hope in God for high words.

Long. A high hope for a low having: God grant us patience!

Biron. To hear? or forbear hearing?

Long. To hear meekly, fir, to laugh moderately; or to forbear both.

Biron. Well, fir, be it as the style shall give us caufe to climb in the merrinefs.

Goft. The matter is to me, fir, as concerning Jaquenetta. The manner of it is, I was taken with the manner. Biron. In what manner?

Coft. In manner, and form, following, fir; all those three. I was feen with her in the manor house, fitting with her upon the form, and taken following her into the park; which, put together, is, in manner and form following. Now, fir, for the manner, it is the manner of a man to speak to a woman: for the form,-in fome form.

Biron. For the following, fir?

Coft. As it fhall follow in my correction; and God defend the right!

King. Will you hear the letter with attention?
Biron. As we would hear an oracle.

Coft. Such is the fimplicity of man to hearken after the flesh.

King. [Reads.] Great deputy, the welkin's vicegerent,

and fole dominator of Navarre, my foul's earth's God, and body's foft' ring patron,

Coft. Not a word of Coftard yet.

King. So it is,

Coft. It may be fo: but if he fay it is fo, he is, in telling true, but fo, fo.

King. Peace.

Coft. —be to me, and every man that dares not fight! King. No words.

Coft. of other men's fecrets, I beseech you.

King. So it is, befieged with fable-coloured melancholy, I did commend the black oppreffing humour to the most wholefome phyfic of thy health-giving air; and, as I am a gentleman, betook myself to walk. The time, when? About the fixth hour; when beafts most graze, birds beft peck, and men fit down to that nourishment which is call'd fupper. So much for the time, when. Now for the ground which; which, I mean, I walk'd upon it is ycleped, thy park. Then for the place, where; where, I mean, I did encounter, that obfcene and most prepofterous event, that draeth from my fnow-white pen the ebon-colour'd ink, which here thou vieweft, beholdeft, furveyeft, or feeft. But to the place where; it flandeth north-north-east and by eaft from the west corner of thy curious-knotted garden. There did I fee that low-fpirited fwain, that base minnow of thy mirth,[8] [Coft. Me!] that unletter'd fmall-knowing foul, [Coft. Me!] that shallow vaffal, [Čoft. Still me !] which, as I remember, hight Coftard; [Coft. O me !] forted and conforted, contrary to thy established proclaimed edit and continent canon,with, with-O with,-but avith this I paffion to fay wherewith,

Coft. With a wench.

King. With a child of our grandmother Eve, a female; or, for thy more understanding, a woman. Him, I (as my ever-esteemed duty pricks me on) have fent to thee, to receive the meed of punishment, by thy fweet grace's offieer, Anthony Dull, a man of good repute, carriage, bearing, and eftimation.

Dull. Me, an't fhall please you; I am Anthony Dull. King. For Jaquenetta (fo is the weaker veffel call'd which I apprehended with the aforefaid fwain,) I keep her as a veffel of thy law's fury; and fhall, at the leaft

[8] A 'minnow' is a little fish which cannot be intended here. We may read, the 'base minion of thy mirth.' JOHNS.

of thy faveet notice, bring her to trial. Thine, in all compliments of devoted, and heart-burning heat of duty, DON ADRIANO DE ARMADO.

Biron. This is not fo well as I look'd for, but the best that ever I heard,

King. Ay, the best for the worft.-But, firrah, what fay you to this?

Coft. Sir, I confefs the wench.

King. Did you hear the proclamation?

Coft. I do confefs much of the hearing it, but little of the marking of it.

King. It was proclaim'd a year's imprisonment to be taken with a wench.

Coft. I was taken with none, fir; I was taken with a damofel.

King. Well, it was proclaimed damofel.

Coft. This was no damofel neither, fir; fhe was. a virgin.

King. It is fo varied too; for it was proclaim'd, virgin. Coft. If it were, I deny her virginity; I was taken with a maid.

King. This maid will not ferve your turn, fir.
Coft. This maid will ferve my turn, fir.

King. Sir, I will pronounce fentence: You fhall faft a week with bran and water.

Coft. I had rather pray a month with mutton and porridge.

King. And Don Armado fhall be your keeper.My lord Biron, fee him deliver'd o'er.—

And go we, lords, to put in practice that

Which each to other hath fo ftrongly fworn. [Exe. Biron. I'll lay head to any good man's hat,

Thefe oaths and laws will prove an idle fcorn.Sirrah, come on.

Coft. I fuffer for the truth, fir: for true it is, I was taken with Jaquenetta, and Jaquenetta is a true girl; and therefore, Welcome the four cup of profperity! Affliction may one day smile again, and until then, fit thee down, forrow!

[Exe

SCENE II.

ARMADO's Houfe. Enter ARMADO and MOTH.

Arm. Boy, what fign is it, when a man of great spirit grows melancholy?

Moth. A great fign, fir, that he will look fad.

Arm. Why, fadnefs is one and the felf-fame thing, dear imp.[9]

Moth. No, no; O lord, fir, no.

Arm. How canft thou part fadnefs and melancholy, my tender juvenal ?

Moth. By a familiar demonstration of the working, my tough fignior.

Arm. Why tough fignior? why tough fignior?

Moth. Why tender juvenal ? why tender juvenal ?

Arm. I fpoke it, tender juvenal, as a congruent epitheton, appertaining to thy younger days, which we may nominate, tender.

Moth. And I, tough fignior, as an appertinent title to your old time, which we may name, tough.

Arm. Pretty and apt.

Moth. How mean you, fir? I pretty, and my saying apt? or I apt, and my faying pretty?

Arm. Thou pretty, because little.

Moth. Little! pretty, becaufe little wherefore apt ? Arm. And therefore apt, becaufe quick.

Moth. Speak you this in my praise, master?

Arm. In thy condign praife.

Moth. I will praife an eel with the fame praise.

Arm. What, that an eel is ingenious?

Moth. That an eel is quick.

Arm. I do fay, thou art quick in answers: Thou heat'ft my blood.-

Moth. I am anfwer'd, fir.

Arm. I love not to be crofs'd.

Moth. He fpeaks the clean contrary, croffes love not him.[1]

Arm. I have promis'd to ftudy three years with the duke. Moth. You may do it in an hour, fir.

Arm. Impoffible.

[9] 'Imp' was anciently a term of dignity. Lord Cromwell in his laft letter to Henry VIII. prays for "the imp his fon." It is now used only in contempt or abhorrence; perhaps in our author's time it was ambiguous, in which ftate it fuits well with this dialogue. JOHNS.

[1] By 'croffes' he means money, JOHNS.

Moth. How many is one thrice told?

Arm. I am ill at reckoning, it fits the spirit of a tapfter. Moth. You are a gentleman, and a gamefter, fir.

Arm. I confefs both; they are both the varnish of a complete man.

Moth. Then, I am fure, you know how much the grofs fum of deuce-ace amounts to.

Arm. It doth amount to one more than two.

Moth. Which the base vulgar call three.

Arm. True.

Moth. Why, fir, is this fuch a piece of study? Now here's three ftudied ere you'll thrice wink and how eafy it is to put years to the word three, and study three years in two words, the dancing-horfe will tell you.[2] Arm. A most fine figure!

Moth. To prove you a cypher.

Arm. I will hereupon confefs, I am in love: and, as it is bafe for a foldier to love, so I am in love with a base wench. If drawing my fword against the humour of affection would deliver me from the reprobate thought of it, I would take defire prisoner; and ranfom him to any French courtier for a new devis'd court'fy. I think it fcorn to figh; methinks, I fhould out-fwear Cupid. Comfort me, boy; What great men have been in love? Moth. Hercules, master.

Arm. Most sweet Hercules !—More authority, dear boy, name more; and, fweet my child, let them be men of good repute and carriage.

Moth. Sampfon, mafter he was a man of good carriage; great carriage; for he carried the town-gates on his back like a porter: and he was in love.

Arm. O well-knit Sampfon! ftrong-jointed Sampfon! I do excel thee in my rapier, as much as thou didst me in carrying gates. I am in love too. Who was Sampfon's love, my dear Moth?

Moth. A woman, master.

Arm. Of what complexion?

[2] Banks's horfe, which played many remarkable pranks. Sir Walter Raleigh (Hift. of the World, first part, p. 178) fays, "If Banks had lived in older times, he would have thamed all the inchanters in the world: for whofoever was moft famous among them, could never mafter, or inftruct any beat as he did his horfe." And fir Kenelm Digby obferves, "That his horfe would restore a glove to the due owner, after the matter had whispered the man's name in his ear; would tell the juft number of pence in any piece of filver coin, newly thewed him by his matter," &c. GRAY.

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