Scene III. LOVE'S LABOUR'S LOST. My love, her mistress, is a gracious moon; Do meet, as at a fair, in her fair cheek; end me the flourish of all gentle tongues,- A wither'd hermit, five-score winters worn, Might shake off fifty, looking in her eye: And gives the crutch the cradle's infancy. No face is fair, that is not full so black. O, if in black my lady's brows be deckt, It mourns, that painting, and usurping hair, For native blood is counted painting now; Paints itself black, to imitate her brow. black. Long. O, some authority now to proceed, O, 'tis more than need!-- And where that you have vow'd to study, lor'ls, The nimble spirits in the arteries; Long. And, since her time, are colliers counted King. And Ethiops of their sweet complexion Dum. Dark needs no candles now, for dark is Biron. Your mistresses dare never come in rain, I'll find a fairer face not wash'd to-day. King. No devil will fright thee then so much as she. face see. eyes, The street should see as she walk'd sworn. And plant in tyrants mild humility. King. Then leave this chat; and, good Birón, now prove Our loving lawful, and our faith not torn. (1) Law chicane. Or for love's sake, a word that loves all men; And who can sever love from charity? King. Saint Cupid, then! and, soldiers, to the field! Biron. Advance your standards, and upon them, Pell-mell, down with them! but be first advis'd, Long. Now to plain-dealing; lay these glozes by Biron. First, from the park let us conduct them Then, homeward every man attach the hand Hol. Satis quod sufficit. Nath. I praise God for you, sir: your reasons' Hol. Bone?bone, for bene: Priscian a httle scratch'd; 'twill serve. Enter Armado, Moth, and Costard. [To Moth Hol. Quare Chirra, not sirrah? Cost. O, they have lived long in the alms-basket of words! I marvel, thy master hath not eaten thee for a word; for thou art not so long by the head as honorificabilitudinitatibus: thou art easier swallowed than a flap-dragon. Moth. Peace; the peal begins. Arm. Monsieur, [To Hol.] are you not letter'd? Moth. Yes, yes; he teaches boys the hornbook:What is a, b, spelt backward, with a horn on his head? Hol. Ba, pueritia, with a horn added. Moth. Ba, most silly sheep, with a horn:-You hear his learning. Hol. Quis, quis, thou consonant? Moth. The third of the five vowels, if you re peat them; or the fifth, if I. Hol. I will repeat them, a, e, i.— Moth. The sheep: the other two concludes it; o, u. Arm. Now, by the salt wave of the Mediterra neum, a sweet touch," a quick venew of wit: snip, snap, quick and home; it rejoiceth my intellcci : true wit Moth. Offer'd by a child to an old man; which is wit-old. Hol. What is the figure? what is the figure? Hol. Thou disputest like an infant: go, whip thy gig. Moth. Lend me your horn to make one, and I will whip about your infamy circùm circà; A gig at dinner have been sharp and sententious; plea-of a cuckold's horn! sant without scurrility, witty without affection, Cost. An I had but one penny in the world, audacious without impudency, learned without thou should'st have it to buy gingerbread: hold, opinion, and strange without heresy. I did con- there is the very remuneration I had of thy master, verse this quondam day with a companion of the thou half-penny purse of wit, thou pigeon-egg of king's, wh as intituled, nominated, or called, Doncretion. O, an the heavens were so pleased, that Adriano de Armado. thou wert but my bastard! what a joyful father would'st thou make me! Go to; thou hast it ad dunghill, at the fingers' ends, as they say. Hol. Ó, I smell faise Latin; dunghill for unguem. Arm. Arts-man, præambula; we will be singled Arm. At your sweet pleasure, for the mountain. Hol. Novi hominem tanquam te: His humour is lofty, his discourse peremptory, his tongue filed, his eye ambitious, his gait majestical, and his general behaviour vain, ridiculous, and thrasonical. He is too picked,4 too spruce, too affected, too odd, as it were, too perigrinate, as I may call it. Nath. A most singular and choice epithet. [Takes out his table-book. Hol. He draweth out the thread of his verbosity finer than the staple of his argument. I abhor such fanatical phantasms, such insociable and point-de- Arm. Sir, it is the king's most sweet pleasure vise' companions; such rackers of orthography, as and affection, to congratulate the princess at her to speak, dout, fine, when he should say doubt; pavilion, in the posteriors of this day; which the det, when he should pronounce debt; d, e, b, t; rude multitude call the afternoon. not d, e, t: he clepeth a calf, cauf; half, hauf; Hole posterior of the day, most generous neighbour, vocatur, nebour; neigh, abbreviated, sir, is liable, congruent, and measurable for the ne: This is abhominable (which he would call afternoon: the word is well cull'd, chose; sweet abominable,) it insinuateth me of insanie; Ne and apt, I do assure you, sir, I do assure. intelligis do nine? to make frantic, lunatic. Nath. Laus deo, bone intelligo. Arm. Sir, the king is a noble gentleman; and my familiar, I do assure yo, very good friend : (6) A small inflammable substance, swallowed 'n a class of wine. Prin. Nothing but this? yes, as much love ir rhyme Ros. That was the way to make his god-lead wax; For he hath been five thousand years a boy. For what is inward between us, let it pass:-1 do beseech thee, remember thy courtesy ;-I beseech thee, apparel thy head; and among other importu- As would be cramm'd up in a sheet of paper, nate and most serious designs,-and of great im-Writ on both sides the leaf, margent and all; port, indeed, too;-but let that pass:-for I must That he was fain to seal on Cupid's name. tell thee, it will please his grace (by the world) sometime to lean upon my poor shoulder; and with his royal finger, thus, dally with my excrement, with my mustachio: but sweet heart, let that pass. By the world, I recount no fable; some certain special honours it pleaseth his greatness to impart to Armado, a soldier, a man of travel, that hath Kath. He made her melancholy, sad, and heavy; seen the world: but let that pass.-The very all of And so she died: had she been light, like you, all is,-but, sweet heart, I do implore secrecy,- Of such a merry, nimble, stirring spirit, that the king would have me present the princess, She might have been a grandam ere she died: sweet chuck,' with some delightful ostentation, or And so may you; for a light heart lives long. show, or pageant, or antic, or fire-work. Now, Ros. What's your dark meaning, mouse," of th understanding that the curate and your sweet self, are good at such eruptions, and sudden breaking ut of mirth, as it were, I have acquainted you withal, to the end to crave your assistance. light word? Kath. A light condition in a beauty dark. out. Hol. Sir, you shall present before her the nine worthies.-Sir Nathaniel, as concerning some en-Therefore, I'll darkly end the argument. ertainment 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? Kath. You'll mar the light, by taking it in snuff;' Ros. Look, what you do, you do it still i' the dark. 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. Arm. Pardon, sir, error: he is not quantity enough for that worthy's thumb: he is not so big 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! How 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 ? Hol. We attend. Arm. We will have, if this fadge" not, an antic. I beseech you, follow. 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, Kath trine, Rosaline, and Maria. for me. Ros. Great reason; for, Past cure is still past care. Ros. I would, you knew. 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. Did he not send you twain 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! 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. I should have fear'd her, had she been a devil. Making the bold wag by their praises bolder. - For, ladies, we will every one be mask'd ; And not a man of them shall have the grace, Despite of sait, to see a lady's face. Hold, Rosaline, this favour thou shalt wear; Ros. But shall we dance, if they desire us to't! 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 mock'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-lo mortal views! 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 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 0. 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 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, Prin. dice! Seventh sweet, adieu!| Since you can cog, I'll play no more with you. Biron. One word in secret. Prin. Let it not be sweet. Biron. Thou griev'st my gall. Prin. Biron. Gall? bitter. Therefore meet. [They converse apart. Dum, Will you vouchsafe with me to change a word? Say you so? Fair lord,Please it you, Take that for your fair lady. As much in private, and I'll bid adieu. [They converse apart. Kath. What, was your visor made without a tongue ? Long. I know the reason, lady, why you ask. And would afford my speechless visor half. Long. Let's part the word. 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 kcen 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 Bírón 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 statute. caps.' 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. |