Foundations fly the wretched: fuch, I mean,
Where they should be reliev'd. Two beggars told

I could not miss my way: Will poor folk lye,
That have afflictions on them; knowing 'tis
A punishment, or trial? Yes: no wonder,
When rich ones fcarce tell true: To lapfe in fullness
Is forer, than to lye for need; and falfhood
Is worse in kings, than beggars.-My dear lord!
Thou art one of the falfe ones: Now I think on 10

Bel. Pr'ythee, fair youth,

Think us no churls; nor measure our good minds
By this rude place we live in. Well encounter'd!

Take, or lend 3.-Ho!-No answer? then I'll 20 'Tis almost night: you shall have better cheer

2 Civil, for human creature.

that, after the words, if favage, a line is loft, and proposes to read the passage thus:

-Ho! who's here?

If any thing that's civil, take or lend,
If favage, Speak.

If you are civilifed and peaceable, take a price for what I want, or lend it for a future are rough inbospitable inhabitants of the mountain, speak, that I may know my state. here be applied in a fenfe equivalent to the many-beaded rabbię.

3 N

I

AM near to the place where they should meet, 25 if Pifanio have mapp'd it truly. How fit his garments ferve me! Why should his miftrefs, who was made by him that made the taylor, not be fit too? the rather (faving reverence of the word)| for, 'tis faid, a woman's fitnefs comes by fits. 30 Therein I must play the workman. I dare speak| it to myself, (for it is not vain-glory for a man and his glafs to confer; in his own chamber, I mean) the lines of my body are as well drawn as his; no lefs young, more strong, not beneath him in for-35 tunes, beyond him in the advantage of the time, above him in birth, alike converfant in general fervices, and more remarkable in fingle oppofitions: yet this imperfeverant 2 thing loves him in my defpight. What mortality is! Pofthumus, 40 thy head, which is now growing upon thy fhoulders, fhall within this hour be off; thy miftrefs enforced; thy garments cut to pieces before thy face and all this done, fpurn her home to her father; who may, haply, be a little angry for my 45 fo rough usage: but my mother, having power of his teftineness, fhall turn all into my commendations. My horse is ty'd up safe: Out, fword, and to a fore purpose! Fortune, put them into my hand! This is the very description of their meet-50 ing-place; and the fellow dares not deceive me.

:

Enter Belarius, Guiderius, Arviragus, and Imogen. Bel. You are not well: remain here in the cave; We'll come to you after hunting.

Arv. Brother, stay here:

Are we not brothers?

[To Imogen.

IV.

Imo. So man and man should be
But clay and clay differs in dignity,
Whofe duft is both alike. I am very fick.

55

Guid. Go you to hunting, I'll abide with him,
Imo. So fick I am not; yet I am not well:
But not fo citizen a wanton, as

To feem to die, ere fick: So please you, leave me;
Stick to your journal courfe: the breach of custom
Is breach of all 3. I am ill; but your being by me
Cannot amend me: Society is no comfort
To one not fociable: I am not very sick,
Since I can reafon of it.
I'll rob none but myfelf;
Stealing fo poorly.

Pray you, trust me heres and let me die,

Guid. I love thee; I have spoke it :
How much the quantity, the weight as much,
As I do love my father.

Bel. What? how? how?

Arv. If it be fin to fay fo, fir, I yoke me
In my good brother's fault: I know not why,
I love this youth; and I have heard you say,
Love's reafon's without reason: the bier at doon
And a demand who is't fhall die, I'd fay,
My father, not this youth.

Bel. O noble strain!

O worthiness of nature! breed of greatness!
Cowards father cowards, and base things fire bafe:
Nature hath meal, and bran; contempt, and grace.
I am not their father; yet who this should be,
Doth miracle itself! lov'd before me.
'Tis the ninth hour o' the morn.

Arv. Brother, farewel.

Imo. I wish you sport.

Ary. You health.So pleafe you, fir.
Imo. [Afide.] Thefe are kind creatures. Gods,

what lies I have heard!

Our courtiers fay, all's favage, but at court:
Experience, O, thou disprov'st report!
The imperious feas breed monsters; for the disk,
160 Poor tributary rivers as fweet fish.

i. e. he commands the commiffion to be given to you. 2 Imperfeverant means no more than perfeverant. 3 That is, keep your daily courfe uninterrupted: if the ftated plan of life is once broken nothing follows but confufion.

30 When I have flain thee with my proper hand,
I'll follow thofe that even now fled hence,
And on the gates of Lud's town fet your heads :
Yield, ruftic mountaineer. [Fight, and excunt.
Enter Belarius, and Arviragus.

Bel. I cannot tell: Long is it fince I saw him, But time hath nothing blurr'd thofe lines of favour 40 Which then he wore; the fnatches in his voice, And burst of speaking, were as his: I am abfolute, 'Twas very Cloten.

Av. In this place we left them:

I wish my brother make good time with him,

45 You fay he is fo fell.

55 My head, as I do his.

Bel. What haft thou done?

Guid. I am perfect, what 5: cut off one Cloten's

Son to the queen, after his own report;

60 Who call'd me traitor, mountaineer; and swore, With his own fingle hand he'd take us in,

2 Gentle implies well-born, of birth above the vulgar. 4 A Gallicifm. Grand-joyr,

3 N 2

I'd let a parish of fuch Cloten's blood,
And praise myself for charity.

Bel. O thou goddess,

[Exit.

Thou divine Nature, how thyfelf thou blazon't
5 In these two princely boys! They are as gentle
As zephyrs, blowing below the violet,
Not wagging his sweet head; and yet as rough,
Their royal blood enchaf'd, as the rudeft wind,
That by the top doth take the mountain pine,
to And make him stoop to the vale. 'Tis wonderful,
That an invifible instinct should frame them
To royalty unlearn'd; honour untaught;
Civility not feen from other; valour,
That wildly grows in them, but yields a crop
As if it had been fow'd! Yet ftill it's strange,
What Cloten's being here to us portends ;
Or what his death will bring us.

15

He must have fome attendants. Though his honour
Was nothing but mutation 2; ay, and that
From one bad thing to worse; not frenzy, not
Abfolute madness could fo far have rav'd,
To bring him here alone: Although, perhaps,
It may be heard at court, that such as we
Cave here, hunt here, are out-laws, and in time
May make fome ftronger head; the which he 20

hearing,

(As it is like him) might break out, and swear

He'd fetch us in; yet is 't not probable

To come alone, either he fo undertaking,

Re-enter Guiderius.

Guid. Where's my brother?

I have fent Cloten's clot-pole down the stream,
In embaffy to his mother; his body's hostage
For his return.
[Solemn mufic.

Bel. My ingenious instrument!

Or they so suffering: then on good ground we fear; 25 Hark, Polydore, it sounds! But what occafion

If we do fear this body hath a tail

More perilous than the head.

Hath Cadwal now to give it motion? Hark!

Guid. Is he at home?

Bel. He went hence even now.

Guid. What does he mean? fince death of my

dearest mother

It did not fpeak before. All folemn things

Should answer folemn accidents. The matter?
Triumphs for nothing, and lamenting toys,

Is jollity for apes, and grief for boys.

Is Cadwal mad?

Re-enter Arviragus, with Imogen as dead, bearing bar in bis arms.

Bel. Look, here he comes,

And brings the dire occafion in his arms, 40 Of what we blame him for!

45

Arv. The bird is dead,

That we have made so much on. I had rather
Have skipp'd from fixteen years of age to fixty,
And turn'd my leaping time into a crutch,
Than have feen this.

Guid. Oh fweeteft, faireft lily!

My brother wears thee not the one half fo well,
As when thou grew'ft thyself.

Bel. O, melancholy!

50Who ever yet could found thy bottom? find
The ooze, to fhew what coaft thy fluggish crare 5
Might eafilieft harbour in ?-Thou bleffed thing!
Jove knows what man thou might'st have made;
but 16,

55 Thou dy'dft, a most rare boy, of melancholy!→
How found you him?

Aru. Stark, as you fee;

Thus smiling, as fome fly had tickled flumber,

1 For is here ufed in the fenfe of because. 2 That is, The only notion he had of honour was the fashion, which was perpetually changing. 3 i. e. Fidele's fickness made my walk forth from the cave tedious. +i.e. fuch purfuit of vengeance as fell within any poffibility of oppofition. 5 A crare is a finall trading veffel, called in the Latin of the middle ages crayera. The word often occurs in Holinfhed. • The meaning is, “ Jove knows what man thou might'st have made, but I knowo

thou dy'dft."

Not

Aru. With fairest flowers,

Whilft fummer lafts, and I live here, Fidele,
I'll fweeten thy fad grave: Thou shalt not lack
The flower, that's like thy face, pale primrose; nor
The azur'd hare-bell, like thy veins; no, nor
The leaf of eglantine, whom not to flander,
Out-fweeten'd not thy breath: the ruddock2 would,
With charitable bill (O bill, fore-shaming
Those rich-left heirs, that let their fathers lie
Without a monument!) bring thee all this; [none,
Yea, and furr'd mofs besides, when flowers are
To winter-ground thy corse.

15

20

Guid. Fear no more the beat o' the fun,
Nor the furious winter's rages;

Thou thy worldly task baft done,

Home art gone, and ta'en thy wages:

Both golden lads and girls all must,

As chimney-fweepers, come to duft.
Arv. Fear no more the frown o' the great,

Thou art paft the tyrant's stroke j

Care no more to cloath, and eat;

To thee the reed is as the oak:
The feepter, learning, phyfic, must
All follow this, and come to duft.
Guid. Fear no more the lightning-flash,
Arv. Nor all the dreaded thunder-ftone;
Guid. Fear not flander, cenfure rafh;
Arv. Thou baft finish'd joy and moan:
Both. All lovers young, all lovers must
Confign5 to thee, and come to duft.
Guid. No exorcifer barm thee!
Arv. Nor no witch-craft charm thee!
Guid. Ghoft unlaid forbear thee!

Arv. Nothing ill come near thee!

Arv. Be't fo;

And let us, Polydore, though now our voices
Have got the mannish crack, fing him to the ground,
As once our mother; ufe like note, and words,
Save that Euriphele must be Fidele.

Both. Quiet confummation bavez

And renowned be thy grave!

Guid. Cadwal,

I cannot fing: I'll weep, and word it with thee:
For notes of forrow, out of tune, are worfe
Than priests and fanes that lie.

Arv. We'll speak it then.

[Cloten

Bel. Great griefs, I fee, medicine the lefs; for Is quite forgot. He was a queen's fon, boys; And, though he came our enemy, remember,

Guid. We have done our obfcquies: Come, lay

him down.

40 The herbs, that have on them cold dew o' the
Are ftrewings fitt'st.for graves.--Upon their faces: --
You were as flowers, now wither'd; even fo
Thefe herb'lets fhall, which we upon you ftrow.
Come on, away: apart upon our knees.

He was paid for that: Though mean and mighty 45 The ground, that gave them firft, has them again:

rotting

Together, have one duft; yet reverence
(That angel of the world) doth make distinction
Of place 'twixt high and low. Our foe was princely;|
And though you took his life, as being our foc,
Yet bury him as a prince.

Guid. Pray, fetch him hither.
Therfites' body is as good as Ajax,
When neither are alive.

Arv. If you'll go fetch him,

We'll fay our fong the whilft.-Brother, begin.

[Exit Belarius.

■ Clouted brogues are shoes ftrengthened with clout or beb-nails. In fome parts of England, thin plates of iron called clouts are likewife fixed to the shoes of ploughmen. 2 The ruddock is the red-breaft, to which bird the office of covering the dead is afcribed. 3 Paid is here used for punished. 4 Meaning, that reverence, or due regard to fubordination, is the power which keeps peace and order in the world. 5 To confign to thee, is to feal the fame contract with thee, i. e. add their names to thine upon the register of death. This diminutive adjuration is derived from God's my pity. 3 N 3

This