SCENE II.—A Room in the Palace.

Enter DUKE FREDERICK, Lords, and Attendants.

Duke F. Can it be possible that no man saw them? It cannot be some villains of my court

Are of consent and sufferance in this.

1 Lord. I cannot hear of any that did see her.
The ladies, her attendants of her chamber,
Saw her a-bed; and in the morning early
They found the bed untreasured of their mistress.

1

2 Lord. My lord, the roynish clown, at whom so oft
Your grace was wont to laugh, is also missing.
Hesperia, the princess' gentlewoman,
Confesses, that she secretly o'erheard

Your daughter and her cousin much commend
The parts and graces of the wrestler
That did but lately foil the sinewy Charles;
And she believes, wherever they are gone,
That youth is surely in their company.

Duke F. Send to his brother; fetch that gallant hither;
If he be absent, bring his brother to me,
I'll make him find him: do this suddenly;

And let not search and inquisition quail
To bring again these foolish runaways.

2

[Exeunt.

1 Roynish] Scurvy.-From the Anglo-Norman roine, a scab. In Chaucer's Romaunt of the Rose we have Withouten bleine, or scab, or roine.' Hence probably the imprecation Aroint thee! in Macbeth, i. 3, and in K. Lear, iii. 4. It has been conjectured, however, that roynish is a misprint for roguish.

2 Quail] Fail in resolution.

SCENE III. Before OLIVER's House.

Enter ORLANDO and ADAM, meeting.

Orl. Who's there?

Adam. What! my young master ?-O my gentle master, O my sweet master, O you memory

Of old Sir Roland! why, what make you here?1
Why are you virtuous? why do people love you?
And wherefore are you gentle, strong, and valiant?
Why would you be so fond to overcome
The bony priser 2 of the humorous duke?

Your praise is come too swiftly home to you.
Know you not, master, to some kind of men
Their graces serve them but as enemies?

No more do yours; your virtues, gentle master,
Are sanctified and holy traitors to you.

O, what a world is this, when what is comely
Envenoms him that bears it!

Orl. Why, what's the matter?
Adam.

O unhappy youth,

Come not within these doors! within this roof'
The enemy of all your graces lives:

Your brother-(no, no brother; yet the son-
Yet not the son-I will not call him son-

Of him I was about to call his father)—

Hath heard your praises; and this night he means
To burn the lodging where you use to lie,
And you within it if he fail of that,
He will have other means to cut you off:
I overheard him and his practices.

This is no place, this house is but a butchery;
Abhor it, fear it, do not enter it.

food?

Orl. Why, whither, Adam, wouldst thou have me go? Adam. No matter whither, so you come not here. Orl. What, wouldst thou have me go and beg my Or, with a base and boisterous sword, enforce A thievish living on the common road? This I must do, or know not what to do: Yet this I will not do, do how I can;

I rather will subject me to the malice
Of a diverted blood and bloody brother.
Adam. But do not so.
The thrifty hire I saved under your father,
Which I did store, to be my foster-nurse
When service should in my old limbs lie lame,
And unregarded age in corners thrown : 2
Take that; and He that doth the ravens feed,
Yea, providently caters for the sparrow,
Be comfort to my age! Here is the gold;
All this I give you. Let me be your servant :
Though I look old, yet I am strong and lusty;
For in my youth I never did apply

I have five hundred crowns,

Hot and rebellious liquors in my blood;
Nor did not with unbashful forehead woo
The means of weakness and debility;
Therefore my age is as a lusty winter,
Frosty, but kindly: 3 let me go with you;
I'll do the service of a younger man

In all your business and necessities.

Orl. O good old man, how well in thee appears

1 Diverted] Estranged; hostile.

2 In corners thrown] Grammatical imperfection such as occurs here is very common in Shakspeare.

Kindly] Natural; reasonable.

The constant service of the antique world,
When service sweat for duty, not for meed!
Thou art not for the fashion of these times,
Where none will sweat but for promotion;
And having that, do choke their service up
Even with the having: 1 it is not so with thee.
But, poor old man, thou prun'st a rotten tree,
That cannot so much as a blossom yield
In lieu of all thy pains and husbandry :
But come thy ways, we'll go along together;
And ere we have thy youthful wages spent,
We'll light upon some settled low content.

Adam. Master, go on; and I will follow thee,
To the last gasp, with truth and loyalty.—
From seventeen years till now almost fourscore
Here lived I, but now live here no more.
At seventeen years many their fortunes seek;
But at fourscore it is too late a week: 2
Yet fortune cannot recompense me better
Than to die well, and not my master's debtor.

SCENE IV.—The Forest of Arden.

[Exeunt.

Enter ROSALIND in boy's clothes, CELIA dressed like a Shepherdess, and TOUCHSTONE.

Ros. O Jupiter! how weary 3 are my spirits!

Touch. I care not for my spirits, if my legs were not weary. Ros. I could find in my heart to disgrace my man's apparel, and to cry like a woman; but I must comfort the

1 Choke their service up, &c.] Proportion their service to the promotion they have.

2 Too late a week] A satirical thought, like Hamlet's 'Too dear a halfpenny' (ii. 2).

3 Weary] The folio has merry: an obvious misprint.

weaker vessel, as doublet and hose ought to show itself courageous to petticoat: therefore, courage, good Aliena.

Cel. I pray you, bear with me; I cannot go no further. Touch. For my part, I had rather bear with you than bear you yet I should bear no cross1 if I did bear you; for I think you have no money in your purse.

Ros. Well, this is the forest of Arden.

Touch. Ay, now am I in Arden: the more fool I ; when I was at home I was in a better place; but travellers must be content.

Ros. Ay, be so, good Touchstone. —Look you, who comes here; a young man and an old in solemn talk.

Enter CORIN and SILVIUS.

Cor. That is the way to make her scorn you still.
Sil. O Corin, that thou knew'st how I do love her!
Cor. I partly guess; for I have loved ere now.
Sil. No, Corin, being old, thou canst not guess,
Though in thy youth thou wast as true a lover
As ever sighed upon a midnight pillow:

But if thy love were ever like to mine
(As sure I think did never man love so),
How many actions most ridiculous

Hast thou been drawn to by thy fantasy? 2

Cor. Into a thousand that I have forgotten.
Sil. O, thou didst then ne'er love so heartily:
If thou remember'st not the slightest folly
That ever love did make thee run into,
Thou hast not loved :

Or if thou hast not sat as I do now,

Wearying thy hearer in thy mistress' praise,

1 Bear no cross] Bear no money: one of our poet's many punning references to the crusado, a coin that had a cross stamped on it.

2 Fantasy] Fancy or imagination.