Nor I. Pro. Duke. Pro. Saw you my daughter? Neither. Duke. Why, then, she's fled unto that peasant Valentine; And Eglamour is in her company. 'Tis true; for Friar Laurence met them both, At Patrick's cell this even; and there she was not. [Exit. SCENE IV.-Another part of the Forest. Val. How use doth breed a habit in a man! What halloing and what stir is this to-day? Have some unhappy passenger in chase. Enter PROTEUS, SILVIA, and JULIA. Pro. Madam, this service I have done for you, SCENE III.-The frontiers of MANTUA. The Forest. Enter Outlaws with SILVIA. First Out. Come, come; Be patient; we must bring you to our captain. First Out. Where is the gentleman that was with her? Third Out. Being nimble-footed, he hath out run us. But Moyses and Valerius follow him. Go thou with her to the west end of the wood; There is our captain: we'll follow him that's fled; The thicket is beset, he cannot 'scape. [Exeunt all except First Outlaw and SILVIA. First Out. Come, I must bring you to our cap tain's cave: Fear not; he bears an honourable mind, Sil. O Valentine, this I endure for thee! [Exeunt. 3. Peevish. Wilful, perverse. The word has been used in this same sense at the beginning of the Third Act: "She is peevish, sullen, froward." 4 Reckless. Unheedful, thoughtless, unregardful. 5. Record my woes. To "record" is to sing; as birds sing, Though you respect not aught your servant doth, To hazard life, and rescue you from him That would have forc'd your honour and your love: And less than this, I am sure, you cannot give. Love, lend me patience to forbear awhile. Sil. By thy approach thou mak'st me most unhappy. Jul. [aside] And me, when he approacheth to your presence. Sil. Had I been seized by a hungry lion, when taught by a small flute called a 'recorder.' Shakespeare uses the verb in the same way, "Pericles," iv.-(Gower.) 6. Have some unhappy passenger. If'and' be understood before "have," the passage is clear. 7. Meed. Reward, recompense. Pro. What dangerous action, stood it next to death, Would I not undergo for one calm look? Read over Julia's heart, thy first best love, For whose dear sake thou didst then rend thy faith Into a thousand oaths; and all those oaths Descended into perjury, to love me. Thou hast no faith left now, unless thou'dst two, And that's far worse than none; better have none Than plural faith, which is too much by one. Thou counterfeit to thy true friend! For such is a friend now;-treacherous man! Could have persuaded me. Now I dare not say, All that was mine in Silvia I give thee. This line,-the overstrained generosity of which startles most sedate readers,— is precisely in keeping with the previous speech, and with Valentine's character. He is a man of impulse, of warm, quick feelings, full of romance and enthusiasm ; he is willing to make a heroic sacrifice to show his suddenly restored faith in his repentant friend, and works himself up to the requisite pitch of superhuman Courage by the emulative reference to Divine mercy; but we see by his subsequent speech to Thurio, how strongly his love for Suvia maintains itself within his bosom, though he fancies for the moment that he could make it ancillary to friendship. The generous ardour of Valentine's character is again visible in his appeal to the Duke on behalf of "these banish'd men," his com At [Shows another ring. Pro. But how cam'st thou by this ring? my depart I gave this unto Julia. ful. And Julia herself did give it me; And Julia herself hath brought it hither. Pro. How! Julia! Jul. Behold her that gave aim to all thy oaths,10 And entertain'd them deeply in her heart: How oft hast thou with perjury cleft the root: O Proteus! let this habit make thee blush: Be thou asham'd that I have took11 upon me Such an immodest raiment,-if shame live In a disguise of love.12 It is the lesser blot, modesty finds, Women to change their shapes, than men their minds. Pro. Than men their minds! 'tis true. Heaven, were man But constant, he were perfect! that one error Fills him with faults; makes him run through all the sins: panions; and the moral effect which his own virtuous principle, precept, and example, have wrought upon them in their reform, is of a piece with Shakespeare's noble philosophy of good in evil, thus early visible in this his certainly youthful production. 10. Gave aim to all thy oaths. The object to which all thy oaths were directed. "Cry aim," and "give aim," were terms in archery; and the latter applied to the person stationed near the butts, who was called 'the mark.' The allusion to archery is continued in the words, "cleft the root; " 'cleaving the pin' being the technical expression for hitting the centre of the butts. 11. Have took. A grammatical license permitted in Shakespeare's time. 12. If shame live in a disguise of love. If it be any wear a disguise in the cause of affection. shame to Inconstancy falls off, ere it begins. What is in Silvia's face, but I may spy More fresh in Julia's with a constant eye? Val. Come, come, a hand from either. Let me be bless'd to make this happy close: 'Twere pity two such friends should be long foes. Pro. Bear me witness, Heaven, I have my wish for ever.13 Jul. And I mine. Enter Outlaws, with DUKE and THURIO. Outlaws. A prize, a prize, a prize! Cancel all grudge, repeal thee home again. I now beseech you, for your daughter's sake, To grant one boon that I shall ask of you. Duke. I grant it for thine own, whate'er it be. Val. These banish'd men, that I have kept withal," Are men endu'd with worthy qualities: Val. Forbear, forbear, I say! it is my lord the Forgive them what they have committed here, duke. Your grace is welcome to a man disgrac'd, Banished Valentine. Duke. Sir Valentine! Thu. Yonder is Silvia; and Silvia's mine. And let them be recall'd from their exile: They are reformed, civil, full of good, Val. Thurio, give back, or else embrace thy Dispose of them as thou know'st their deserts.— death. Come not within the measure of my wrath: I claim her not, and therefore she is thine. Duke. The more degenerate and base art thou, I do applaud thy spirit, Valentine, Come, let us go: we will include 1 all jars Duke. I think the boy hath grace in him; he blushes. Val. I warrant you, my lord,—more grace than boy. Duke. What mean you by that saying? Val. Please you, I'll tell you as we pass along, That you will wonder what hath fortunèd.— Come, Proteus; 'tis your penance, but to hear The story of your loves discoverèd : That done, our day of marriage shall be yours; One feast, one house, one mutual happiness. [Exeunt. about the persons and incidents here, that suitably winds up the romantic story of this play. 16. Plead a new state in thy unrivall'd merit. The Duke has heretofore spoken of Valentine in disparaging terms:"Base intruder! overweening slave!" (iii. 1) "Worthless Valentine" (iii. 2), and "that peasant Valentine" (v. 2); now he bids him set up the plea of a new state on the score of his unrivalled merit to which he will subscribe by allowing that he is a gentleman of good birth, and therefore worthy to obtain Silvia. 17. Kept withal. Kept company with, dwelt with. 18. Include. Close in, put to conclusion. 19. Triumphs. Pageants, revels. |