I have seen her wear it; and she reckon'd it Laf. I am sure, I saw her wear it. Ber. You are deceiv'd, my lord, she never saw it: In Florence was it from a casement thrown me,' Wrapp'd in a paper, which contain❜d the name Of her that threw it: noble she was, and thought I stood ingag'd:" but when I had subscrib'd To mine own fortune, and inform'd her fully, I could not answer in that course of honour As she had made the overture, she ceas'd, In heavy satisfaction, and would never Receive the ring again. King. Plutus himself, That knows the tinct and multiplying medicine," Than I have in this ring: 'twas mine, 'twas Helen's, Confess 'twas hers, and by what rough enforcement "In Florence was it from a casement thrown me,] Bertram still continues to have too little virtue to deserve Helen. He did not know indeed that it was Helen's ring, but he knew that he had it not from a window. JOHNSON. 6 noble she was, and thought I stood ingag'd:] Ingaged, in the sense of unengaged, is a word of exactly the same formation as inhabitable, which is used by Shakspeare and the contemporary writers for uninhabitable. 7 Plutus himself, MALONE. That knows the tinct and multiplying medicine,] Plutus, the grand alchemist, who knows the tincture which confers the properties of gold upon base metals, and the matter by which gold is multiplied, by which a small quantity of gold is made to communicate its qualities to a large mass of base metal. 8 Then, if you know That you are well acquainted with yourself, Confess 'twas hers,] The true meaning of this expression is, If you know that your faculties are so sound, as that you have the proper consciousness of your own actions, and are able to recollect and relate what you have done, tell me, &c. JOHNSON, You got it from her: she call'd the saints to surety, (Where you have never come,) or sent it us Ber. She never saw it. King. Thou speak'st it falsely, as I love mine And mak'st conjectural fears to come into me, Having vainly fear'd too little.-Away with him;— Ber. If you shall prove This ring was ever hers, you shall as easy Prove that I husbanded her bed in Florence, Where yet she never was. [Exit BERTRAM, guarded. Enter a Gentleman. King. I am wrapp'd in dismal thinkings. Gent. Gracious sovereign, Whether I have been to blame, or no, I know not; Here's a petition from a Florentine, Who hath, for four or five removes, come short1 9 My fore-past proofs, &c.] The proofs which I have already had are sufficient to show that my fears were not vain and irrational. I have rather been hitherto more easy than I ought, and have unreasonably had too little fear. JOHNSON. Who hath, for four or five removes, come short, &c.] Who hath missed the opportunity of presenting it in person to your majesty, either at Marseilles, or on the road from thence to Rou To tender it herself. I undertook it, King. [Reads.] Upon his many protestations to marry me, when his wife was dead, I blush to say Now is the count Rousillon a and my it, he won me. widower; his vows are forfeited to me, honour's paid to him. He stole from Florence, taking no leave, and I follow him to his country for justice: Grant it me, O king; in you it best lies; otherwise a seducer flourishes, and a poor maid DIANA CAPulet. is undone. Laf. I will buy me a son-in-law in a fair, and toll him: for this, I'll none of him. King. The heavens have thought well on thee, Lafeu, To bring forth this discovery.-Seek these suitors:Go, speedily, and bring again the count. [Exeunt Gentleman, and some Attendants. I am afeard, the life of Helen, lady, Was foully snatch'd. Count. Now, justice on the doers! Enter BERTRAM, guarded. King. I wonder, sir, since wives are monsters to you, sillon, in consequence of having been four or five removes behind you. MALONE. 2 I will buy me a son-in-law in a fair, and toll him:] i. e. I'll buy me a son-in-law as they buy a horse in a fair; toul him, i. e. enter him on the toul or toll-book, to prove I came honestly by him, and ascertain my title to him. And that you fly them as you swear them lordship, Yet you desire to marry.-What woman's that? Re-enter Gentleman, with Widow, and DIANA. Dia. I am, my lord, a wretched Florentine, Wid. I am her mother, sir, whose age and honour. 3 King. Come hither, count; Do you know these women? Ber. My lord, I neither can, nor will deny But that I know them: Do they charge me further? Dia. Why do you look so strange upon your wife? Ber. She's none of mine, my lord. Dia. If you shall You give away this hand, and that is mine; marry, You give away heaven's vows, and those are mine; That she, which marries you, must marry me, Laf. Your reputation [To BERTRAM.] comes too short for my daughter, you are no husband for her. Ber. My lord, this is a fond and desperate crea ture, Whom sometime I have laugh'd with: let your highness Lay a more noble thought upon mine honour, Than for to think that I would sink it here. King. Sir, for my thoughts, you have them ill to friend, shall cease,] i. e. decease, die. Till your deeds gain them: Fairer prove your ho Good my lord, Ask him upon his oath, if he does think He had not my virginity. King. What say'st thou to her? Ber. She's impudent, my lord; And was a common gamester to the camp. Dia. He does me wrong, my lord; if I were so, Whose high respect, and rich validity,* He gave it to a commoner o' the camp, If I be one. Count. He blushes, and 'tis it: King. What of him? He's quoted for a most perfidious slave, With all the spots o'the world tax'd and debosh'd; Whose nature sickens, but to speak a truth:7 and rich validity,] Validity means value. S Methought, you said,] The poet has here forgot himself, Diana has said no such thing. BLACKSTONE. He's quoted-] i. e. noted, or observed. 7 Whose nature sickens, but to speak a truth:] i. e. only to speak a truth. |