And never shall it more be gracious.

Leon. Hath no man's dagger here a point for me?
Beat. Why, how now, Cousin, wherefore sink you

down?
John. Come, let us go; these things, come thus

to light, Smother her spirits up.

[Exeunt D. Pedro, D. John and Claud.

S CE N E 11.

Bene. How doth the lady?

Beat. Dead, I think; help, uncle.
Hero! why, Hero! uncle! Signior Benedick! Friar!

Leon. O fate! take not away thy heavy hand;
Death is the fairelt cover for her shame,
That may be with'd for.

Beat. How now, cousin Hero?
Friar. Have comfort, Lady.
Leon. Dost thou look up?
Friar. Yea, wherefore should she not?
Leon. Wherefore? why, doth not every earthly

thing
Cry same upon her? could she here deny
The story that is printed in her bloods?
Do not live, Hero, do not ope thine eyes :
For did I think, thou wouldīt not quickly die,
Thought I, thy spirits were stronger than thy shames,
Myself would on the rereward of reproachés
Strike at thy life. Griev'd I, I had but one ?
Chid 1 for That at frugal nature's frame" ?

I've

5 The fory that is printed in Chid I for That at frugal na

ber blood?] That is, the ture's FRAME? story which ber blufres discover to I've one too much by thee. -) be true.

The meaning of the second line, • Griev'd I, I bad but according to the present reading, one? is this, Chid I at frugal nature

that

I've one too much by thee. Why had I one?
Why ever wast thou lovely in my eyes ?
Why had I not, with charitable hand,
Took up a beggar's issue at my gates ?
Who smeered thus, and mir’d with infamy,
I might have said, no part of it is mine ;
This shame derives itself from unknown loins.
But mine, and mine I lov’d, and mine I prais’d,
And mine that I was proud on?, mine so much,
That I myself was to myself not mine,
Valuing of her ; why, she, O, she is fallin
Into a pit of ink, that the wide sea
Hath drops too few to wash her clean again;

that fe fent me a girl and not a as it may easily fignify the liften
boy? But this is not what he of things, or universal sobeme,
chid nature for; if he him elf the whole order of beings is
may be believed, it was because 'comprehended, there arises no
The had given him but one : and difficulty from it which requires
in that he owns he did foolishly, to be removed by so violent an
for he now finds he had one too effort as the introduction of a
much. He called her frugal, new word offensively mutilated.
therefore, in giving him but one ? But mine, AND mine I lou’d,
child (for to call her so because AND mine I prais'd,
she chose to send a girl, rather AND mine rhai I was proud
than a boy, would be ridicu on,-] The sense requires
lous). So that we must certain that we should read As, in these
ly read,

three places. The reasoning of Chid I for this at frugal na. the speaker stands thus, - Had ture's 'FRAINE, i. e, refraine, or this been my adopied child, this keeping back her further favours, frame would not buve retounded ftopping her hand, as we Jay, uben

But this child was mine ; the bad given him one. But the As mine, I loved her, praised her, Oxford Editor has, in his usual was proud of ber: consequently, way, improved this amendment, as I claimed the glory, I must needs by substituting band for 'fraine. be subjected to the shame, &c. WARBURTON.

WARBURTON. Though frame be not the word Even of this small alteracion which appears to a reader of the there is no need. The speaker present time most proper to ex utters his emotion abruptly. But hibit the poet's sentiment, yetmine, and mine that I loved, &c. it may as well be used to new by an ellipfis frequent, perhaps that he had one child, and no more, too frequent, boih in verse and as that he had a girl, not a boy; and profe.

on me.

1

And salt too little, which may feafon give
To her foul tainted Aesh!

Bene. Sir, Sir, be patient;
For my part, I am so attir'd in wonder,
I know not what to say.

Beat. O, on my soul, my cousin is bely'd.
Bene. Lady, were you her bedfellow last night?

Beat. No, truly, not ; altho' until last night
I have this cwelvemonth been her bedfellow.
Leon. Confirm’d, confirm’d! O, That is stronger

made,
Which was before barr’d up with ribs of iron.
Would the two Princes lie? and Claudio lie?
Who lov'd her so, that, speaking of her foulness,
Wash'd it with tears ? hence from her, let her die.

Friar. Hear me a little,
For I have only been silent so long,
And given way into this course of fortune,
By noting of the lady. I have mark'd
A thousand blushing apparitions
To start into her face; a thousand innocent shames
In angel whiteness bear away those blushes;
And in her eye there hath appear'd a fire,
To burn the errors that chele Princes hold
Againli her maiden truth. Call me a fool,
Trust not my reading, nor my observations,
Which with experimental seal do warrant
The tenour of my book; trust not my age,
My reverence, calling, nor divinity,
If ihis sweet lady lie not guiltleis here
Under fome biting error.

Leon. Friar, it cannot be ;
Thou feeít, that all the grace, that she hath left,
Is, that she will not add to her damnation
A fin of perjury; she not denies it :
Why feck'it thou then to cover with excuse
That, which appears in proper nakedness?

Frier. Lady, what man is he you are accus'd of ? Hero. They know, that do accuse me; I know

none :

If I know more of any man alive,
Than that which maiden modesty doch warrant,
Let all my sins lack mercy! O my father,
Prove you that any man with me convers’d
At hours unmeet, or that I yesternight
Maintain’d the change of words with any creature,
Refuse me, hate me, torture me to death.

Friar. There is sonie strange misprision in the Princes.

Bene. Two of them have the very bent of honour, And if their wisdoms be mil-led in this, The Practice of it lives in John the bastard, Whose iprits toil in frame of villanies.

Leon. I know not: if they speak but truth of her, These hands shall tear her; if they wrong her honour, The proudest of them shall well hear of it. Time nath not yet so dry'd this blood of mine, Nor age fo eat up my invention, Nor fortune made such havock of my picans,

9

8 Friar. Lady, what man is be betrayed herself by naming the

jou are accus'd of?] The person she was conscious of an friar had just before boasted his affair with. The friar observed grcat killin fihing out the truth. this, and so concluded, that were And indeed, he appears, by this the guilty she would probably question, to be no fool. He was fall into the trap he laid for her. by, all the while at the accusa. I only take notice of this tion, and heard no names men to thew how admirably weil tioned. Why then should he Shakespeare knew how to sustain ask her what man fhe was ac his characters. WAR BURTON. cused of? But in this lay the

bent of honour,] Bent subtilty of his examination. For is used by our author for the had Hero been guilly, it was utmost degree of any passion or very probable that, in that hurry mental quality. In this play beand confuiion of spirits, into fore, Benedick says of Beatrice, wbich the terrible iniult of her ber effection has its full bent. The lover had thrown her, she would expression is derived from arnever have observed that the chery; the bow has its bent when man's name was not mentioned; it is drawn as far as it can be. and so, on this question, have Vol. III.

R

Nor

Nor my bad life reft me so much of friends,
But they shall find awak’d, in such a kind,
Both strength of limb, and policy of mind,
Ability in means, and choice of friends,
To quit me of them thoroughly.

Friar. Pause a while,
And let my countel {way you in this case.
Your daughter here the Princes left for dead';
Let her awhile be fecretly kept in,
And publish it, that the is dead, indeed :
Maintain a mourning oftentation,
And on your family's old Monument
Hang mournful Epitaphs, and do all rites
That appertain unto a burial.

Leon. What shall become of this? what will this do?
Friar. Marry, this, well carry'd, shall on her be-

half
Change Nander to remorse; that is fome good :
But not for that dream I on this strange course,
But on this travail look for greater birth :
She dying, as it must be so maintain'd,
Upon the instant that she was accus’d,
Shall be lamented, pity'd, and excus'u,
Of every hearer: for it so falis out,
That what we have we prize not to the worih,
Whiles we enjoy it; but being lack'd and lost,
Why, then we rick the value ; then we find
The virtue that poffeffion would not few us
Whilst it was ours; fo will it fare with Claudio:
1 In former copies,

to her own Rank, and the Place Your Daughter here the Prin to its true Meaning.

cess (left for dead ;] Bat Your Daughter here the Princes how comes Hero to start up a if for dead; Princ Is here? We have no In- i. e. Don Pedro, Prince of Artimation of her Father being a ragon; and his Dallard Brother Prince; and this is the first and who is likewise called a Prince. only Time that she is compli

THEOBALD. mented with this Dignity. The oftentation,] Show; apo Remotion of a single Leiter, and pearance. of the Parentbejis, will bring her

When

2