Abbildungen der Seite
PDF
EPUB

Of all incertainties himself commended,
No richer than his honour: how he glifters
Through my dark ruft! and how his piety
Does my deeds make the blacker!

SCENE

PAUL. Woe the while!

IV. Enter Paulina.

O, cut my lace, left my heart, cracking it,

Break too.

LORD. What fit is this, good lady?

PAUL. What study'd torments, tyrant, haft for me?

What wheels? racks? fires? what flaying? boiling? burn

In leads or oils? what old, or newer, torture

Muft I receive? whofe every word deferves
To taste of thy most worst. Thy tyranny
Together working with thy jealoufies,
Fancies too weak for boys, too green and idle
For girls of nine! O, think, what they have done,
And then run mad, indeed; stark mad, for all
Thy by-gone fooleries were but spices of it.
That thou betray'dft Polixenes, 'twas nothing;
That did but fhew thee, of a fool, inconftant,
And damnable ingrateful: nor was't much,
Thou wouldst have poifon'd good Camillo's honour,
To have him kill a king: poor trefpaffes,
More monstrous ftanding by; whereof I reckon
The cafting forth to crows thy baby-daughter,
To be, or none, or little; tho' a devil

Would have thed water out of fire, ere don't:
Nor is't directly laid to thee, the death
Of the young prince, whofe honourable thoughts
(Thoughts high for one so tender) cleft the heart,

[ing?

That could conceive a grofs and foolish fire
Blemish'd his gracious dam: this is not, no,
Laid to thy anfwer; but the last-

When I have faid, cry, Woe !

O lords,

-the queen, the queen,

The sweetest, deareft, creature's dead; and vengeance for't Not drop down yet.

LORD. The higher powers forbid !

PAUL. I fay, fhe's dead: I'll fwear't: if word, nor oath,
Prevail not, go and fee; if you can bring
Tincture or luftre in her lip, her eye,

Heat outwardly, or breath within, I'll serve you
As I would do the gods. But, O thou tyrant!
Do not repent these things, for they are heavier
Than all thy woes can ftir: therefore betake thee
To nothing but defpair. A thousand knees,
Ten thousand years together, naked, fasting,
Upon a barren mountain, and still winter
In ftorm perpetual, could not move the gods
To look that way thou wert.

LEO. Go on, go on :

Thou can'ft not speak too much: I have deferv'd
All tongues to talk their bitter est.

LORD. Say no more;

Howe'er the business goes, you have made fault

I' th' boldness of your fpeech.

PAUL. I'm forry for't.

All faults I make, when I fhall come to know them,

I do repent: alas, I've fhew'd too much

The rafhnefs of a woman; he is touch'd

To th'noble heart. What's gone, and what's past help,
Should be paft grief. Do not receive affliction

At my petition, I beseech you; rather

Let me be punish'd, that have minded you
Of what you should forget. Now, my good liege,
Sir, royal fir, forgive a foolish woman;

The love I bore your queen-lo, fool again!
I'll speak of her no more, nor of your children:
I'll not remember you of my own lord,

Who is loft too.

Take you your patience to you.

And I'll fay nothing.

LEO. Thou did'st say but well,

When most the truth; which I receive much better
Than to be pitied of thee. Pr'ythee, bring me
To the dead bodies of my queen and son ;
One grave shall be for both. Upon them shall
The causes of their death appear unto
Our fhame perpetual; once a day I'll visit
The chapel where they lie, and tears shed there
Shall be my recreation. So long as nature

Will bear up with this exercise,

So long I daily vow to use it. Come,

And lead me to these forrows.

145

[Exeunt.

SCENE VI. Changes to Bohemia. A defert country;

the fea at a little distance.

Enter Antigonus with a child, and a mariner.

ANT. Thou art perfect then, our ship hath touch'd upon The deferts of Bohemia ?

MAR. Ay, my lord; and fear

We've landed in ill time: the skies look grimly,
And threaten present blufters. In my confcience,
The heav'ns with that we have in hand are angry,
And frown upon's.

ANT. Their facred wills be done! get thee aboard,
VOL. II.

L

Look to thy bark, I'll not be long before
I call upon thee.

MAR. Make your beft hafte, and go not

Too far i' th'land; 'tis like to be loud weather.
Befides this place is famous for the creatures
Of prey, that keep upon't.

ANT. Go thou away.

I'll follow inftantly.

MAR. I'm glad at heart to be fo rid o' th' bufinefs. [Exit.

ANT. Come, poor babe; I have heard,

But not believ'd, the fpirits of the dead

May walk again; if fuch things be, thy mother
Appear'd to me laft night; for ne'er was dream
So like a waking. To me comes a creature,
Sometimes her head on one fide, fome another,
I never faw a veffel of like forrow

So fill'd, and fo becoming; in pure white robes,
Like very fanctity, fhe did approach

My cabbin where I lay; thrice bow'd before me,
And gafping to begin some speech, her eyes
Became two spouts; the fury spent, anon,
Did this break from her. "Good Antigonus,
"Since fate, against thy better difpofition,
"Hath made thy perfon for the thrower-out
"Of my poor babe, according to thine oath,
"Places remote enough are in Bohemia,

"There weep, and leave it crying; and, for the babe
"Is counted loft for ever and ever, Perdita,

"I pr'ythee, call't. For this ungentie business,
"Put on thee by my lord, thou ne'er fhalt fee
"Thy wife Paulina more."-

And fo with fhrieks,

She melted into air. Affrighted much,

I did in time collect myself, and thought

This was fo, and no flumber : Dreams are toys,
Yet for this once, yea, superstitiously,

I will be fquar'd by this. I do believe,
Hermione hath fuffer'd death; and that
Apollo would, this being indeed the issue
Of king Polixenes, it fhould here be laid,
Either for life or death, upon the earth
Of its right father. Bloffom, speed thee well!

[Laying down the child.

There lie, and there thy character: there these,

[Laying down a bundle.

Which may, if fortune please, both breed thee pretty one,

And still reft thine. The ftorm begins ;

-poor wretch,

That for thy mother's fault art thus expos'd
To lofs, and what may follow- -weep I cannot,
But my heart bleeds: and moft accurst am I

To be by oath enjoin'd to this.

-Farewel!

The day frowns more and more; thou art like to have

A lullaby too rough: I never faw

The heaven's fo dim by day. A favage clamour!

Well may I get aboard

I am gone for ever.

this is the chace;

[Exit, purfued by a bear.

Enter an old Shepherd.

SHEP. I would there were no age between ten and three and twenty, or that youth would fleep out the reft: for there is nothing in the BETWEEN but getting wenches with child, wronging the ancientry, ftealing, fighting-hark you now!would any but these boil'd brains of nineteen, and two and twenty, hunt this weather? They have fcarr'd away two of my best fheep, which, I fear, the wolf will fooner find than the master; if any where I have them, 'tis by the

« ZurückWeiter »