Ber. Now will I lead you to the house, and shew you the lafs I spoke of. 1 Lord. But you fay, fhe's honeft. ‚' Ber. That's all the fault: I fpoke with her but once, And found her wondrous cold; but I fent to her, By this fame coxcomb that we have i'th'wind, Tokens and letters, which fhe did re-fend; And this is all I've done; fhe's a fair creature, Will you go see her? 1 Lord. With all my heart, my Lord. [Exeunt. Hel. Changes to the Widow's Houfe. Enter Helena, and Widow. IF you mifdoubt me that I am not fhe, I know not, how I fhall affure you further; + But I fhall lofe the grounds I work upon. Wid. Tho' my eftate be fallen, I was well born, And would not put my reputation now Hel. Nor would I wish you. * First, give me truft, the Count he is my hufband; Wid. I fhould believe you, For you have fhew'd me that, which well approves Y'are great in fortune. Hel. Take this purse of gold, And let me buy your friendly help thus far, 3 But I fhall lose the grounds 1 work upon.] i. e. By difcovering herself to the Count. VOL. III. WARBURTON. To your faworn counsel. To your private knowledge, after having required from you an oath of fecrecy. A a which Which I will over-pay, and pay again When I have found it. The Count wooes your daughter, Lays down his wanton fiege before her beauty, As we'll direct her how, 'tis best to bear it. Wid. Now I fee the bottom of your purpose. Herself most chaftly abfent: after this, To marry her, I'll add three thousand crowns Wid. I have yielded: Inftruct my daughter how the shall perfevere, 5 Hel. Why then, to night Let us affay our plot; which if it speed, Is wicked meaning in a lawful deed ; + Important here, and elfewhere, is importunate. 5 Is wicked meaning in a lawful deed; And And laruful meaning in a LAW FUL a&;] To make this gingling riddle complete in all its parts, we should read the fecond And lawful meaning in a lawful act, Where both not fin, and yet a finful fact. [Exeunt. ACT IV. SCENE I. Part of the French Camp in Florence. Enter one of the French Lords, with five or fix Soldiers in ambush. LORD. E can come no other way but by this hedge corner; when you fally upon him, fpeak what terrible language you will; though you understand it not yourselves, no matter; for we must not feem to underftand him, unless fome one amongst us, whom we muft produce for an interpreter. Sol. Good captain, let me be th' interpreter. Lord. Art not acquainted with him? knows he not thy voice? Sol. No, Sir, I warrant you. Lord. But what linfy-woolfy haft thou to fpeak to us again? Sol. Ev'n fuch as you fpeak to me. cond line thus, commit adultery. The riddle And lawful meaning in a wICK- concludes thus, Where both not ED act; The fenfe of the two lines is this, It is a wicked meaning becaufe the woman's intent is to deceive; but a lawful deed because the man enjoys his own wife. Again, it is a lawful meaning becaufe done by her to gain her husband's estranged af fection, but it is a wicked aft because he goes intentionally to fin and yet a finful fact. i. e. Where neither of them fin, and yet it is a finful fact on both fides; which conclufion, we fee, requires the emendation here made. WARBURTON. Sir Thomas Hanmer reads in the fame fenfe, A a 2 Unlawful meaning in a lawful aal. Lord. Lord. He must think us fome band of ftrangers i'th' adverfary's entertainment. Now he hath a fmack of all neighbouring languages, therefore we must every one be a man of his own fancy; not to know what we speak one to another, fo we feem to know, is to know ftraight our purpose: chough's language, gabble enough, and good enough. As for you, interpreter, you must feem very politick, but couch, hoa! here he comes, to beguile two hours in a fleep, and then to return and fwear the lies he forges. Enter Parolles. Par. Ten o'clock; within these three hours 'twill be time enough to go home. What fhall I fay, I have done? it must be a very plaufive invention that carries it. They begin to fmoak me, and difgraces have of late knock'd too often at my door; I find, my tongue is too fool-hardy; but my heart hath the fear of Mars before it and of his creatures, not daring the reports of my tongue. Lord. This is the first truth that e'er thine own tongue was guilty of. [Afide. Par. What the devil fhould move me to undertake the recovery of this drum, being not ignorant of the impoffibility, and knowing I had no fuch purpose? I muft give myself fome hurts, and fay, I got them in exploit; yet flight ones will not carry it. They will fay, came you off with fo little? and great ones I dare not give; wherefore what's the inftance? Tongue, I must put you into a butter-woman's mouth, and buy another of Bajazet's mule, if you prattle me into thefe perils. 8 Some band of frangers in the adversaries entertainment.] That is, foreign troops in the enemy's pay. Lord. 7 The Inflance.] The proof. 8 and buy myself another of Bajazet's MULE.] We fhould read, Bajazet's MUTE, i. e. a Tur Lord. Is it poffible, he fhould know what he is, and be that he is? [Afide. Par. I would, the cutting of my garments would serve the turn, or the breaking of my Spanish fword. Lord. We cannot afford Par. Or the baring of my beard, and to fay, it was in ftratagem. Lord. 'Twould not do. you fo. [Afide. Par. Or to drown my cloaths, and fay, I was stript. [Afide. Lord. Hardly ferve. [Afide. Par. Though I fwore, I leap'd from the window of the citadel Lord. How deep? [Afide. Par. Thirty fathom. Lord. Three great oaths would fcarce make that be believed. [Afide. Par. I would, I had any drum of the enemies; I would fwear, I recover'd it. Lord. You fhall hear one anon. [Afide. Par. A drum now of the enemies! [Alarum within. Lord. Throco movoufus, cargo, cargo, cargo. All. Cargo, cargo, villiando par corbo, cargo. Par. Oh! ransom, ransom :-do not hide mine eyes. [They feize him and blindfold him. Inter. Bofkos thromuldo bosķos. Par. I know, you are the Muskos regiment, I'll discover That which fhall undo the Florentine. fpeak thy tongue; Kerelybonto, to thy faith, for feventeen poniards are at thy bofom. Turkish mute. So in Henry V. Either our biftory fhall with full mouth Speak freely of our acts; or A a 3 else our grave, Like Turkish mute, shall have a tonguelefs mouth. WARBURTON. Par. |