pence; railed at herself, that she should be so immodest to write to one that she knew would flout her: I measure him, says she, by my own spirit; for I should flout him, if he writ to me; yea, though I love him, I should.

Claud. Then down upon her knees she falls, weeps, sobs, beats her heart, tears her hair, prays, curses:-O sweet Benedick! God give me patience!

Leon. She doth indeed; my daughter says so: and the ecstasy 9 hath so much overborne her, that my daughter is sometime afraid she will do a desperate outrage to herself: It is very true.

D. Pedro. It were good, that Benedick knew of it by some other, if she will not discover it.

Claud. To what end? He would but make a sport of it, and torment the poor lady worse.

D. Pedro. An he should, it were an alms to hang him: She's an excellent sweet lady; and, out of all suspicion, she is virtuous.

Claud. And she is exceeding wise.

D. Pedro. In every thing but in loving Benedick. Leon. O my lord, wisdom and blood 10 combating in so tender a body, we have ten proofs to one, that blood hath the victory. I am sorry for her, as I have just cause, being her uncle and her guardian.

D. Pedro. I would, she had bestow'd this dotage on me; I would have daff'd11 all other respects, and made her half myself: I pray you, tell Benedick of it, and hear what he will say.

Leon. Were it good, think you?

Claud. Hero thinks surely, she will die: for she says, she will die if he love her not; and she will

9 i. e. into a thousand small pieces; it should be remembered that the silver halfpence, which were then current, were very minute pieces.

9 See the Tempest, Act iii. Sc. 1, p. 67, note 12.

10 i. e. passion.

11 To daff is the same as to do off, to doff, to put aside.

die ere she makes her love known; and she will die if he woo her, rather than she will 'bate one breath of her accustomed crossness.

D. Pedro. She doth well: if she should make tender of her love, 'tis very possible he'll scorn it; for the man, as you know all, hath a contemptible 12 spirit.

man.

Claud. He is a very proper 13 D. Pedro. He hath, indeed, a good outward happiness.

Claud. 'Fore God, and in my mind, very wise. D. Pedro. He doth, indeed, show some sparks that are like wit.

Leon. And I take him to be valiant.

D. Pedro. As Hector, I assure you and in the managing of quarrels you may say he is wise; for either he avoids them with great discretion, or undertakes them with a most christian-like fear.

Leon. If he do fear God, he must necessarily keep peace; if he break the peace, he ought to enter into a quarrel with fear and trembling.

D. Pedro. And so will he do; for the man doth fear God, howsoever it seems not in him by some large jests he will make. Well, I am sorry for your niece: Shall we go see Benedick, and tell him of her love?

Claud. Never tell him, my lord; let her wear it out with good counsel.

Leon. Nay, that's impossible; she may wear her heart out first.

D. Pedro. Well, we'll hear further of it by your daughter; let it cool the while. I love Benedick well; and I could wish he would modestly examine

12 That is, a spirit inclined to scorn and contempt. It should be contemptuous. Our ancestors were not very exact in the application of verbal adjectives. See Tooke's very acute observations on these abbreviations, in The Diversions of Purley, vol. 2, c. viii. 13 Handsome.

himself, to see how much he is unworthy to have so good a lady.

Leon. My lord, will you walk? dinner is ready. Claud. If he do not dote on her upon this, I will never trust my expectation. [Aside.

D. Pedro. Let there be the same net spread for her; and that must your daughter and her gentlewoman carry. The sport will be, when they hold one an opinion of another's dotage, and no such matter; that's the scene that I would see, which will be merely a dumb show. Let us send her to call him in to dinner. [Aside. [Exeunt DON PEDRO, CLAUDIO, and LEONATO.

BENEDICK advances from the arbour.

Bene. This can be no trick: The conference was sadly borne 14.-They have the truth of this from Hero. They seem to pity the lady; it seems, her affections have their full bent 15. Love me! why, it must be requited. I hear how I am censured: they say, I will bear myself proudly, if I perceive the love come from her; they say too, that she will rather die than give any sign of affection.-I did never think to marry:-I must not seem proud :— Happy are they that hear their detractions, and can put them to mending. They say, the lady is fair;

14 Seriously carried on.

15 Steevens and Malone assert that this is a metaphor from archery, saying that the full bent is the utmost extremity of exertion. Surely there is no ground for the assertion! It was one of the most common forms of expression in the language for inclination, tendency; and was used where it is impossible there could have been any allusion to the bending of a bow, as in these phrases from a writer of Elizabeth's age: 'The day inclining or bending to the evening,'- Bending to a yellow colour.' Mr. Pye has justly observed, that'the technical terms of archery were then too well known to be misapplied; to bend the bow is to fasten the string to the horns that it may be ready for drawing, and the more the bow was bent the less would its energy be.'

'tis a truth, I can bear them witness: and virtuous; -'tis so, I cannot reprove it; and wise, but for loving me:-By my troth, it is no addition to her wit;-nor no great argument of her folly, for I will be horribly in love with her. I may chance have some odd quirks and remnants of wit broken on me, because I have railed so long against marriage:But doth not the appetite alter? A man loves the meat in his youth that he cannot endure in his Shall quips, and sentences, and these paper bullets of the brain, awe a man from the career of his humour; No: The world must be peopled. When I said, I would die a bachelor, I did not think I should live till I were married.-Here comes Beatrice: By this day, she's a fair lady: I do spy some marks of love in her.

Enter BEATRICE.

age:

Beat. Against my will I am sent to bid you come in to dinner.

Bene. Fair Beatrice, I thank you for your pains. Beat. I took no more pains for those thanks than you take pains to thank me; if it had been painful, I would not have come.

Bene. You take pleasure then in the message? Beat. Yea, just so much as you may take upon a knife's point, and choke a daw withal :-You have no stomach, signior; fare you well.

[Exit.

Bene. Ha! Against my will I am sent to bid you come to dinner-there's a double meaning in that. I took no more pains for those thanks than you took pains to thank me→ that's as much as to say, Any pains that I take for you is as easy as thanks :—If I do not take pity of her, I am a villain; if I do not love her, I am a Jew: I will go get her picture.

VOL. II.

P

[Exit.

ACT III.

SCENE I. Leonato's Garden.

Enter HERO, MARGARET, and URSULA. Hero. Good Margaret, run thee into the parlour; There shalt thou find my cousin Beatrice Proposing1 with the Prince and Claudio: Whisper her ear, and tell her, I and Ursula Walk in the orchard, and our whole discourse Is all of her; say, that thou overheard'st us; And bid her steal into the pleached bower, Where honey-suckles, ripen'd by the sun, Forbid the sun to enter;-like favourites, Made proud by princes, that advance their pride Against that power that bred it :-there will she hide her,

To listen our propose2: This is thy office,

Bear thee well in it, and leave us alone.

Marg. I'll make her come, I warrant you, pre

sently.

[Exit. Hero. Now, Ursula, when Beatrice doth come, As we do trace this alley up and down, Our talk must only be of Benedick: When I do name him, let it be thy part To praise him more than ever man did merit : My talk to thee must be, how Benedick Is sick in love with Beatrice: Of this matter Is little Cupid's crafty arrow made,

That only wounds by hearsay. Now begin;

1 Proposing is conversing, from the French Propos, discourse, talk.

2 The folio reads purpose. The quarto propose, which appears to be right. See the preceding note. Though Mr. Reed has shown that purpose was sometimes used in the same sense.