But rather one that smiles, and still invites
All that pass by. It cannot hold; no reason
Can sound his state in safety'. Caphis, ho!
Caphis, I say!

Caph.

Enter CAPHIS.

Here, sir: what is your pleasure?
Sen. Get on your cloak, and haste you to lord Timon ;
Importune him for my moneys; be not ceas'd
With slight denial; nor then silenc'd, when-
"Commend me to your master"—and the cap
Plays in the right hand, thus;—but tell him, sirrah ',
My uses cry to me. I must serve my turn
Out of mine own: his days and times are past,
And my reliances on his fracted dates
Have smit my credit. I love, and honour him,
But must not break my back to heal his finger.
Immediate are my needs; and my relief
Must not be toss'd and turn'd to me in words,
But find supply immediate. Get you gone:
Put on a most importunate aspect,

A visage of demand; for, I do fear,
When every feather sticks in his own wing,
Lord Timon will be left a naked gull,

Which flashes now a phoenix. Get you gone.
Caph. I go, sir.

Sen. Ay, go, sir.-Take the bonds along with you,
And have the dates in compt❜.

Caph.

Sen.

I will, sir.

to Timon's unbounded bounty-that if a horse were given to him by a person who wanted twenty more, that one gift-horse foaled instantly a stable full of horses for the giver. This is not only intelligible, but excellent.

? Can SOUND his state in safety.] Thus the old copies; the meaning being, that no reason can sound Timon's state, and find it in safety. The usual lection has been found, which is not more intelligible than "sound."

1 Plays in the right hand, thus ;-but tell him, SIRRAH,] The last word is from the folio, 1632, and is not in the folio, 1623: it is syllabically necessary for the metre, and, although we rejected it in our former edition, on re-consideration we are disposed to insert it, coming, as it does, upon that which is to be deemed the next best authority to the folio, 1623.

2 And have the dates in COMPT.] The old reading of all the folios is, "And have the dates in. Come." Theobald made the change, which seems necessary; the meaning being, that Caphis is to take an account of the dates.

SCENE II.

The Same. A Hall in TIMON'S House.

Enter FLAVIUS, with many bills in his hand.

Flav. No care, no stop: so senseless of expense,
That he will neither know how to maintain it,
Nor cease his flow of riot; takes no account
How things go from him; no reserves, no care
Of what is to continue3. Never mind

Was surely so unwise, to be so kind.

What shall be done? He will not hear, till feel.

I must be round with him now he comes from hunting.
Fie, fie, fie, fie!

Enter CAPHIS, and the Servants of ISIDORE and VARRO.

Caph.

Good even, Varro. What!

You come for money?

3

takes no account

How things go from him; No reserves, no care

Of what is to continue.] The old and received text has hitherto been,

"Nor resumes no care

Of what is to continue."

This cannot have been the phraseology of Shakespeare, and the corr. fo. 1632 gives us an emendation, making the whole passage clear and grammatical, which merely supposes that "noe," as the negative was often spelt of old, had been misprinted nor, and that another easy blunder had transformed "reserves" into resumes. Of course Flavius means to express his regret that Timon never considers his vast expenditure, makes no reserves, and feels no care how he is to continue his extravagance. Two lines below we have another welcome change in the line as it stands in the folios,

"Was to be so unwise to be so kind,"

which Warburton explained by making three words understood. The old annotator on the folio, 1632, puts it thus:

"Never mind

Was SURELY so unwise, to be so kind."

Mr. Singer proposes truly instead of "surely" (of course not having seen that "surely was the word in our Vol. of "Notes and Emendations," or he would have mentioned it); and we should not perhaps object to truly if "surely" did not answer the purpose better, and if it did not reach us on the authority to which we have so often been indebted.

I must be ROUND with him] i. e. Plain with him. See Vol. ii. p. 668, Vol. iii. p. 603, &c.

5 Good even, Varro.] The old stage-direction is, "Enter Caphis, Isidore, and Varro." Caphis we know was the servant of the senator who was Timon's creditor,

Enter TIMON, ALCIBIADES, Lords, &c. as from hunting.

Tim. So soon as dinner's done, we'll forth again,

My Alcibiades.-[Seeing the Servants.] With me! what is your will?

Caph. My lord, here is a note of certain dues.

Tim. Dues! Whence are you?

Caph.

Tim. Go to my steward.

Of Athens here, my lord.

Caph. Please it your lordship, he hath put me off To the succession of new days this month:

My master is awak'd by great occasion

To call upon his own, and humbly prays you,
That with your other noble parts you'll suit,
In giving him his right.

Tim.

Mine honest friend,

I pr'ythee, but repair to me next morning.
Caph. Nay, good my lord,—
Tim.
Contain thyself, good friend.
Var. Serv. One Varro's servant, my good lord,—
Isid. Serv.

He humbly prays your speedy payment,—

From Isidore:

Caph. If you did know, my lord, my master's wants,— Var. Serv. 'Twas due on forfeiture, my lord, six weeks, And past,

Isid. Serv. Your steward puts me off, my lord;

And I am sent expressly to your lordship.

Tim. Give me breath.

I do beseech you, good my lords, keep on;

[Exeunt ALCIBIADES and Lords.

I'll wait upon you instantly.-Come hither: pray you,

How goes the world, that I am thus encounter'd

[TO FLAVIUS.

and the other two appear to have been servants of Isidore and Varro, although addressed by the names of their respective masters (as is still not unusual among servants), and so designated in the prefixes of all the folios.

With clamorous demands of date-broken bonds",
And the detention of long-since-due debts,
Against my honour?

Flav.
Please you, gentlemen,
The time is unagreeable to this business:
Your importunacy cease till after dinner,
That I may make his lordship understand
Wherefore you are not paid.

Tim.

See them well entertain'd.

Flav.

Do so, my friends.—

[Exit TIMON.

Pray, draw near. [Exit FLAVIUS.

Enter APEMANTUS and a Fool.

Caph. Stay, stay! here comes the fool with Apemantus :

let's have some sport with 'em.

Var. Serv. Hang him! he'll abuse us.

Isid. Serv. A plague upon him, dog!

Var. Serv. How dost, fool?

Apem. Dost dialogue with thy shadow ?
Var. Serv. I speak not to thee.

Apem. No; 'tis to thyself.-Come away.

[To the Fool.

Isid. Serv. [To VAR. Serv.] There's the fool hangs on your

back already.

Apem. No, thou stand'st single; thou'rt not on him yet. Caph. Where's the fool now?

Apem. He last asked the question.-Poor rogues, and usurers' men; bawds between gold and want.

All Serv. What are we, Apemantus?

Apem. Asses.

All Serv. Why?

Apem. That you ask me what you are, and do not know yourselves. Speak to 'em, fool.

Fool. How do you, gentlemen?

All Serv. Gramercies, good fool. How does your mistress? Fool. She's e'en setting on water to scald such chickens as you are. Would, we could see you at Corinth!

Apem. Good: gramercy.

6 With clamorous demands of DATE-broken bonds,] This was Malone's emendation for "debt broken bonds" of the folio, 1623. We are not satisfied that the change is right, but the mention of "debts" in the next line, renders it probable that "debt" was not inserted in the preceding line.

Enter Page.

Fool. Look you, here comes my mistress' page'.

Page. [To the Fool.] Why, how now, captain! what do you in this wise company?-How dost thou, Apemantus?

Apem. Would I had a rod in my mouth, that I might answer thee profitably!

Page. Pr'ythee, Apemantus, read me the superscription of

these letters: I know not which is which.

Apem. Canst not read?

Page. No.

Apem. There will little learning die, then, that day thou art hanged. This is to lord Timon; this to Alcibiades. Go: thou wast born a bastard, and thou'lt die a bawd.

Page. Thou wast whelped a dog; and thou shalt famish, a dog's death. Answer not; I am gone.

[Exit Page.

Apem. Even so thou out-run'st grace.-Fool, I will

you to lord Timon's.

Fool. Will you leave me there?

go with

Apem. If Timon stay at home.-You three serve three usurers?

All Serv. I would they served us.

Apem. So would I,—as good a trick as ever hangman served thief.

Fool. Are you three usurers' men?

All Serv. Ay, fool.

Fool. I think, no usurer but has a fool to his servant: my mistress is one, and I am her fool. When men come to borrow of your masters, they approach sadly, and go away merrily; but they enter my mistress' house merrily, and go away sadly. The reason of this?

Var. Serv. I could render one.

Apem. Do it, then, that we may account thee a whoremaster, and a knave; which notwithstanding, thou shalt be no less esteemed.

Var. Serv. What is a whoremaster, fool?

7 my MISTRESS' page.] "My master's page," in all the folios; the confusion perhaps having been occasioned, here and afterwards, by "mistress" having been expressed in the MS. the old printer used, merely by the letter M.

8 - and go away MERRILY ;] "And go away merry " in the folio, 1623; but the adverb is substituted in the corr. fo. 1632, and rightly, as we see by the context, where the corresponding adverbs occur.