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As, or by oath, remove, or counsel, shake
The fabric of his folly; whose foundation
Is piled upon his faith,' and will continue
The standing of his body.

Pol.

How should this grow?
Cam. I know not; but, I am sure, 'tis safer to
Avoid what's grown, than question how 'tis born.
If therefore you dare trust my honesty,-
That lies inclosed in this trunk, which you
Shall bear along impawned,-away to-night.
Your followers I will whisper to the business;
And will, by twos, and threes, at several posterns,
Clear them o' the city. For myself, I'll put
My fortunes to your service, which are here
By this discovery lost. Be not uncertain:
For, by the honor of my parents, I

Have uttered truth; which if you seek to prove,
I dare not stand by; nor shall you be safer
Than one condemned by the king's own mouth
thereon

His execution sworn.

Pol.

I do believe thee:

I saw his heart in his face. Give me thy hand;
Be pilot to me, and thy places shall

Still neighbor mine. My ships are ready, and
My people did expect my hence departure
Two days ago.-This jealousy

Is for a precious creature; as she's rare,
Must it be great; and, as his person's mighty,
Must it be violent; and as he does conceive
He is dishonored by a man which ever
Professed to him, why, his revenges must

In that be made more bitter. Fear o'ershades me;
Good expedition be my friend, and comfort
The gracious queen, part of his theme, but nothing

1 "Is piled upon his faith;" this folly which is erected on the foundation of settled belief.

2 i. e. I will place thee in elevated rank, always near to my own in dignity, or near my person.

1

Of his ill-ta'en suspicion! Come, Camillo;
I will respect thee as a father, if
Thou bear'st my life off hence.

Let us avoid.
Cam. It is in mine authority to command
The keys of all the posterns. Please your highness
To take the urgent hour. Come, sir, away.

[Exeunt.

ACT II.

SCENE I. The same.

Enter HERMIONE, MAMILLIUS, and Ladies.

Her. Take the boy to you: he so troubles me,

'Tis past enduring.

1 Lady.

Come, my gracious lord,

No, I'll none of you.

Shall I be your playfellow ?

Mam.

1 Lady. Why, my sweet lord?

Mam. You'll kiss me hard; and speak to me as if

I were a baby still.-I love you better.

2 Lady. And why so, my lord?

Not for because

Mam. Your brows are blacker; yet black brows, they say, Become some women best ; so that there be not

Too much hair there, but in a semicircle,

Or half-moon made with a pen.

2 Lady.

Who taught you this?

Mam. I learned it out of women's faces.-Pray

now

What color are your eyebrows?

1 Johnson might well say, "I can make nothing of the following words:

and comfort

The gracious queen, part of his theme, but nothing

Of his ill-ta'en suspicion.'

He suspected the line which connected them to the rest to have been lost.

[blocks in formation]

1 Lady.

Blue, my lord.

Mam. Nay, that's a mock; I have seen a lady's

nose

That has been blue, but not her eyebrows.

2 Lady.

Hark ye;

The queen, your mother, rounds apace: we shall
Present our services to a fine new prince,

One of these days; and then you'd wanton with us,
If we would have you.

1 Lady.

Into a goodly bulk.

She is spread of late

Good time encounter her!

Her. What wisdom stirs amongst you? Come, sir,

now

I am for you again. Pray you, sit by us,

And tell's a tale.

Mam.

Her. As merry as you will.
Mam.

Merry, or sad, shall't be?

A sad tale's best for winter.

Let's have that, good sir.

I have one of sprites and goblins.

Her.
Come on, sit down.-Come on, and do your best

To fright me with your sprites: you're powerful at it.
Mam. There was a man,-

Her. Nay, come, sit down; then on.

Mam. Dwelt by a churchyard ;-I will tell it softly; Yon crickets shall not hear it.

Her.

And give't me in mine ear.

Come on then,

Enter LEONTES, ANTIGONUS, Lords, and others.

Leon. Was he met there? his train? Camillo

with him?

1 Lord. Behind the tuft of pines I met them;

never

Saw I men scour so on their way. I eyed them
Even to their ships.

Leon.
In my just censure!1

How blessed am I in my true opinion!

1 i. e. judgment.

1

Alack, for lesser knowledge! How accursed,
In being so blest!-There may be in the cup
A spider 2 steeped, and one may drink; depart,
And yet partake no venom; for his knowledge
Is not infected: but if one present

The abhorred ingredient to his eye; make known, How he hath drunk, he cracks his gorge, his sides With violent hefts.3-I have drunk, and seen the

spider.

Camillo was his help in this, his pander.—
There is a plot against my life, my crown;
All's true that is mistrusted.-That false villain,
Whom I employed, was pre-employed by him:
He has discovered my design, and I

4

Remain a pinched thing; yea, a very trick
For them to play at will.-How came the posterns
So easily open?

1 Lord,

By his great authority;

Which often hath no less prevailed than so,

On your command.

Leon.

I know't too well.

Give me the boy; I am glad you did not nurse him. Though he does bear some signs of me, yet you

Have too much blood in him.

Her.

What is this? sport?

Leon. Bear the boy hence; he shall not come about

her;

Away with him;-and let her sport herself

With that she's big with; for 'tis Polixenes

Has made thee swell thus.

Her.

And, I'll be sworn, you would believe my saying,

But I'd say, he had not,

You, my lords,

Howe'er you lean to the nayward.

Leon.

Look on her, mark her well; be but about

1 That is, O that my knowledge were less!

2 Spiders were esteemed poisonous in our author's time.

3 Hefts, heavings.

4 i. e. "a thing pinched out of clouts; a puppet for them to move and actuate as they please."

To say, She is a goodly lady, and
The justice of your hearts will thereto add,
'Tis pity, she's not honest, honorable.

Praise her but for this her without-door form,

(Which, on my faith, deserves high speech,) and straight The shrug, the hum, or ha: these petty brands, That calumny doth use ;-O, I am out;

That mercy does; for calumny will sear

Virtue itself;-these shrugs, these hums, and ha's, When you have said, she's goodly, come between, Ere you can say she's honest. But be it known, From him that has most cause to grieve it should be, She's an adult'ress.

Her.

Should a villain say so,

The most replenish villain in the world,

He were as much more villain. You, my lord,

Do but mistake.

Leon.

You have mistook, my lady,

Polixenes for Leontes. O thou thing,
Which I'll not call a creature of thy place,
Lest barbarism, making me the precedent,
Should a like language use to all degrees,
And mannerly distinguishment leave out
Betwixt the prince and beggar!-I have said,
She's an adult'ress; I have said with whom ;
More, she's a traitor! and Camillo is

A federary1 with her; and one that knows
What she should shame to know herself,

2

But with her most vile principal, that she's
A bed-swerver, even as bad as those

That vulgars give bold'st titles; ay, and privy
To this their late escape.

Her.

No, by my life,

Privy to none of this. How will this grieve you,
When you shall come to clearer knowledge, that
You thus have published me? Gentle my lord,

1 Federary, confederate, accomplice.

2 One that knows what she should be ashamed to know herself, even if the knowledge of it was shared but with her paramour. It is the use of but for be-out (only, according to Malone) that obscures the sense.

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