For what is inward between us, let it pass:-I do Prin. Nothing but this? yes, as much love in beseech thee, remember thy courtesy ;-I beseech rhyme Ros. That was the way to make his god-head wax ;6 thee, apparel thy head; and among other importu- As would be cramm'd up in a sheet of paper, For he hath been five thousand years a boy. Hol. Sir, you shall present before her the nine worthies. Sir Nathaniel, as concerning some entertainment of time, some show in the posterior of this day, to be rendered by our assistance,-the| king's command, and this most gallant, illustrate,| and learned gentleman,-before the princess; I say, none so fit as to present the nine worthies. Nath. Where will you find men worthy enough to present them? Hol. Joshua, yourself; myself, or this gallant gentleman, Judas Maccabæus; this swain, because of his great limb or joint, shall pass Pompey the great; the page, Hercules. light word? Kath. A light condition in a beauty dark. out. Kath. You'll mar the light, by taking it in snuff;' for me. Ros. Great reason; for, Past cure is still past care. Ros. I would, you knew. An if my face were but as fair as yours, Arm. Pardon, sir, error: he is not quantity My favour were as great; be witness this. enough for that worthy's thumb: he is not so big Nay, I have verses too, I thank Birón: as the end of his club. Hol. Shall I have audience? he shall present Hercules in minority; his enter and exit shall be strangling a snake; and I will have an apology for that purpose. Moth. An excellent device! so, if any of the audience hiss, you may cry well done, Hercules! now thou crusheth the snake! that is the way to make an offence gracious; though few have the grace to do it. Arm. For the rest of the worthies? Arm. We will have, if this fadge4 not, an antic. Hol. Via, good man Dull! thou has spoken no word all this while. Dull. Nor understood none neither, sir. Dull. I'll make one in a dance, or so; or I will play on the tabor to the worthies, and let them dance the hay. Hol. Most dull, honest Dull, to our sport, away. [Exeunt. SCENE II. Another part of the same. Before the Princess's Pavilion. Enter the Princess, Katharine, Rosaline, and Maria. I The numbers true; and, were the numb'ring too. I Ros. Much, in the letters; nothing in the praise. My red dominical, my golden letter: Kath. A pox of that jest! and beshrew all shrows Kath. Madam, this glove. Prin. Mar. This, and these pearls, to me sent Longa The letter is too long by half a mile. Prin. I think no less: Dost thou not wish in The chain were longer, and the letter short? part. Prin. We are wise girls, to mock our lovers so. Prin. Sweet hearts, we shall be rich ere we depart, That same Birón I'll torture ere I go. If fairings come thus plentifully in: A lady walled about with diamonds!- (2) Beard. (5) Courage. (3) Chick. (6) Grow. O, that I knew he were but in by the week! (7) Formerly a term of endearment. (8) In anger Prin. Here comes Boyet, and mirth is in his face. Boyet. O, I am stabb'd with laughter! Where's her grace? Prin. Thy news, Boyet? That charge their breath against us? say, scout, say. Making the bald wag by their praises bolder. Unto his several mistress; which they'll know Prin. And will they so? the gallants shall be task'd: For, ladies, we will every one be mask'd; Hold, Rosaline, this favour thou shalt wear; Ros. Come on then; wear the favours most in sight. Ros. But shall we dance, if they desire us to't! Prin. No; to the death, we will not move a foot: Nor to their penn'd speech render we no grace; But, while 'tis spoke, each turn away her face. Boyet. Why, that contempt will kill the speaker's heart, And quite divorce his memory from his part. Prin. Therefore I do it; and, I make no doubt, The rest will ne'er come in, if he be out. There's no such sport, as sport by sport o'erthrown; To make theirs ours, and ours none but our own: So shall we stay, mocking intended game; And they, well inock'd, depart away with shame. [Trumpets sound within Boyet. The trumpet sounds" be mask'd, the maskers come. [The ladies mask. Enter the King, Biron, Longaville, and Dumain, in Russian habits, and masked; Moth, musicians, and attendants. Moth. All hail! the richest beauties on the earth! Boyet. Beauties no richer than rich taffeta. Moth. A holy parcel of the fairest dames, [The ladies turn their backs to him. That ever turn'd their-backs-to mortal views! Biron. Their eyes, villain, their eyes. Moth. That ever turn'd their eyes to mortal views! Out Boyet. True; out, indeed. Moth. Out of your favours, heavenly spirits, vouchsafe Not to behold Biron. Once to behold, rogue. Moth. Once to behold with your sun-beamed eyes,- -with your sun-beamed eyes Boyet. They will not answer to that epithet; You were best call it, daughter-beamed eyes. Moth. They do not mark me, and that brings me out. Biron. Is this your perfectness? be gone, you Is in one mile: if they have measur'd many, Boyet. If, to come hither you have measur'd miles, Biron. Tell her, we measure them by weary steps. How many weary steps, Biron. We number nothing that we spend for you; Our duty is so rich, so infinite, That we may do it still without accompt. Ros. My face is but a moon, and clouded too. King. Blessed are clouds, to do as such clouds do! Vouchsafe, bright moon, and these thy stars, to shine (Those clouds remov'd,) upon our wat'ry eyne. Ros. O vain petitioner! beg a greater matter; Thou now request'st but moonshine in the water. King. Then, in our measure do but vouchsafe one change: soon. Thou bid'st me beg; this begging is not strange. Ros. Play, music, then: nay, you must do it [Music plays. Not yet;-no dance: -thus change I like the moon. King. Will y you not dance? How come you thus estrang'd? Ros. You took the moon at full; but now she's chang'd. King. Yet still she is the moon, and I the man. The music plays; vouchsafe some motion to it. Ros. Our ears vouchsafe it. King. But your legs should do it. Ros. Since you are strangers, and come here by chance, We'll not be nice: take hands ;-we will not dance. King. Why take we hands then? Ros. Only to part friends:Court'sy, sweet hearts; and so the measure ends. King. More measure of this measure; be not nice. Ros. We can afford no more at such a price. King. Prize you yourselves; What buys your company? Ros. Your absence only. King. That can never be. Ros. Then cannot we be bought and so adieu; Twice to your visor, and half once to you! King. If you deny to dance, let's hold more chat. Ros. In private then. King. I am best pleas'd with that. [They converse apart. Biron. White-handed mistress, one sweet word with thee. Prin. Honey, and milk, and sugar; there is three. Biron. Nay then, two treys (an if you grow so nice,) Metheglin, wort, and malmsey;- -Well run, dice! There's half a dozen sweets. Long. I know the reason, lady, why you ask. Kath. O, for your reason? quickly, sir; I long. Long. You have a double tongue within your mask, And would afford my speechless visor half. Kath. Veal, quoth the Dutchman ;-Is not veal a call? Long. A calf, fair lady? No, a fair lord calf. No, I'll not be your half: Will you give horns, chaste lady? do not so. cry. Boyet. The tongues of mocking wenches are as keen As is the razor's edge invisible, Cutting a smaller hair than may be seen; Above the sense of sense: so sensible Seemeth their conference; their conceits have wings, Fleeter than arrows, bullets, wind, thought, swifter things. Ros. Not one word more, my maids; break off, break off. Biron. By heaven, all dry-beaten with pure scoff' King. Farewell, mad wenches; you have simple wits. [Exeunt King, Lords, Moth, music, and attendants. Prin. Twenty adieus, my frozen Muscovites.-Are these the breed of wits so wonder'd at? Boyet. Tapers they are, with your sweet breaths puff'd out. Ros. Well-liking wits they have; gross, gross fat, fat. Prin. O poverty in wit, kingly-poor flout! Will they not, think you, hang themselves to-night? Or ever, but in visors, show their faces? This pert Birón was out of countenance quite. Ros. O they were all in lamentable cases! The king was weeping-ripe for a good word. Prin. Birón did swear himself out of all suit. Mar. Dumain was at my service, and his sword: No point, quoth I: my servant straight was mute. Kath. Lord Longaville said, I came o'er his heart; And trow you, what he call'd me? Prin. Kath. Yes, in good faith. Prin. Qualm, perhaps. Go, sickness as thou art! Ros. Well, better wits have worn plain statutecaps. But will you hear? the king is my love sworn. Prin. And quick Birón hath plighted faith to me. Kath. And Longaville was for my service born. Mur. Dumain is mine, as sure as bark on tree. Boyet. Madam, and pretty mistresses, give ear: Immediately they will again be here (3) Better wits may be found among citizens. In their own shapes; for it can never be, Boyet. They will, they will, God knows; Prin. How blow? how blow? speak to be understood. Boyet. Fair ladies, mask'd, are roses in their bud: Dismask'd, their damask sweet commixture shown, Are angels veiling clouds, or roses blown. Prin. Avaunt, perplexity! What shall we do, Ros. Good madam, if by me you'll be advis'd, Boyet. Ladies, withdraw; the gallants are at Prin. Whip to our tents, as roes run over land. [Exeunt Princess, Ros. Kath. and Maria. Enter the King, Biron, Longaville, and Dumain, in their proper habits. King. Fair sir, God save you! Where is the Boyet. Gone to her tent: Please it your majesty, Boyet. I will; and so will she, I know, my lord. peas; And utters it again when God doth please: King. A blister on his sweet tongue, with my That put Armado's page out of his part! Biron. See where it comes!-Behaviour, what Till this man show'd thee? and what art thou now?| King. All hail, sweet madam, and fair time of day! Prin. Fair, in all hail, is fout, as I conceive. King. Construe my speeches better, if you may. To lead you to our court: vouchsafe it then. VOW: Nor God, nor I, delight in perjur❜d men. King. Rebuke me not for that which you provoke; The virtue of your eye must break my oath. Prin. You nick-name virtue: vice you should have spoke; For virtue's office never breaks men's troth. A world of torments though I should endure, I would not yield to be your house's guest; Prin. Ay, in truth, my lord, sweet, Your wit makes wise things foolish; when we greet eye, Biron. I am a fool, and full of poverty. Biron. mand you this? Ros. There, then, that visor; that superfluous case, That hid the worse, and show'd the better face. King. We are descried: they'll mock us now downright. Dum. Let us confess, and turn it to a jest. Ros. Help, hold his brows! he'll swoon! Why look you pale ? Sea-sick, I think, coming from Muscovy. Can any face of brass hold longer out?-- Bruise me with scorn, confound me with a flout; (5) The tooth of the horse-whale. And I will wish thee never more to dance, Nor never more in Russian habit wait. 0! never will I trust to speeches penn'd, Nor to the motion of a school-boy's tongue; Nor never come in visor to my friend ;1 Nor woo in rhyme, like a blind harper's song: Taffata phrases, silken terms precise, Three-pil'd hyperboles, spruce affectation, Figures pedantical; these summer-flies Have blown me full of maggot ostentation: I do forswear them: and I here protest, By this white glove, (how white the hand, God knows!) Henceforth my wooing mind shall be express'd In russet yeas, and honest kersey noes: And, to begin, wench,-So God help me, la !My love to thee is sound, sans crack or flaw. Ros. Sans sans, I pray you. Biron. Yet I have a trick Of the old rage:-bear with me, I am sick; I'll leave it by degrees. Soft, let us see;Write, Lord have mercy on us, on those three; They are infected, in their hearts it lies; They have the plague, and caught it of your eyes: These lords are visited; you are not free, For the Lord's tokens on you do I see. Prin. No, they are free, that gave these tokens Prin. When she shall challenge this, you will reject her. King. Upon mine honour, no. Prin. Peace, peace, forbear; Your oath once broke, you force2 not to forswear. King. Despise me, when I break this oath of mine. Prin. I will; and therefore keep it :-Rosaline, What did the Russian whisper in your ear? Ros. Madam, he swore, that he did hold me dear As precious eye-sight; and did value me Above this world: adding thereto, moreover, That he would wed me, or else die my lover. Prin. God give thee joy of him! the noble lord Most honourably doth uphold his word. King. What mean you, madam? by my life, my troth, I never swore this lady such an oath. Ros. By heaven, you did; and to confirm it plain, You gave me this: but take it, sir, again. King. My faith, and this, the princess I did give; I knew her by this jewel on her sleeve. Prin. Pardon me, sir, this jewel did she wear; And lord Birón, I thank him, is my dear :What; will you have me, or your pearl again? Biron. Neither of either; remit both twain. (1) Mistress. (2) Make no difficulty. [To Boyet. Forestal our sport, to make us thus untrue? Biron. How much is it? Cost. O Lord, sir, the parties themselves, the actors, sir, will show whereuntil it doth amount: for my own part, I am, as they say, but to parfect one man,-e'en one poor man; Pompion the great, sir. Biron. Art thou one of the worthies? Cost. It pleased them, to think me worthy of Pompion the great: for mine own part, I know not the degree of the worthy: but I am to stand for him. Biron. Go, bid them prepare. some care. Cost. We will turn it finely off, sir; we will take [Exit Costard. King. Birón, they will shame us, let them not approach. Biron. We are shame-proof, my lord: and 'tis some policy To have one show worse than the king's and his |