Flourish. Enter King, Countefs, Lafeu, Lords, Attendants, &c.

King. We loft a jewel of her; and " our esteem Was made much poorer by it: but your fon,

As mad in folly, lack'd the fenfe to know • Her eftimation home.

Count. 'Tis paft, my liege:

And I beseech your majesty to make it

Natural rebellion, done i' the blaze of youth;
When oil and fire, too strong for reason's force,
O'erbears it, and burns on.

King. My honour'd lady,

I have forgiven and forgotten all:

Though my revenges were high bent upon him,
And watch'd the time to fhoot.

Laf. This I must say,

But first I beg my pardon,-The young lord
Did to his majesty, his mother, and his lady,
Offence of mighty note; but to himself
The greatest wrong of all: he loft a wife,
Whose beauty did astonish the furvey

Of richest eyes; whofe words all ears took captive;
Whofe dear perfection, hearts that scorn'd to serve,
Humbly call'd mistress.

King. Praifing what is loft,

Makes the remembrance dear.Well, call him hi

ther ;

We are reconcil'd, and the first view shall kill

n

our esteem]-our own dignity suffered through Bertram's misconduct, • Her eftimation home.]—The full extent of her worth.

P blade.

9 richeft]-moft difcerning.

All

r

All repetition: Let him not afk our pardon;
The nature of his great offence is dead,

And deeper than oblivion we do bury
The incenfing relicks of it: let him approach,
A ftranger, no offender; and inform him,
So 'tis our will he should. «

Gent. I fhall, my liege.

King. What fays he to your daughter? have you spoke? Laf. All that he is hath reference to your highness. King. Then fhall we have a match. I have letters

fent me,

That fet him high in fame.

Enter Bertram.

Laf. He looks well on't.

t

King. I am not a day of feason,

For thou may'st see a fun-fhine and a hail
In me at once: But to the brightest beams
Distracted clouds give way; fo ftand thou forth,
The time is fair again.

Not one word more of the confumed time.

Let's take the inftant by the forward top;
For we are old, and on our quick'st decrees
The inaudible and noiseless foot of time
Steals, ere we can effect them: You remember
The daughter of this lord?

Ber. Admiringly, my liege: at first

I ftuck my choice upon her, ere my heart

repetition:]-recollection of what is past.

t

A ftranger, no offender;]-As though I was unacquainted with his a day of feafon,]-made up altogether of fair weather. "high-repented]-deeply, fincerely.

guilt.

Durft

Durft make too bold a herald of my tongue :
Where the impreffion of mine eye enfixing,
Contempt his fcornful perspective did lend me,
Which " warp'd the line of every other favour:
* Scorn'd a fair colour, or express'd it stol❜n;
Extended or contracted all proportions,

To a most hideous object: Thence it came,
That fhe, whom all men prais'd, and whom myself,
Since I have loft, have lov'd, was in mine eye
The duft that did offend it.

King. Well excus'd:

That thou doft love her, ftrikes some scores away
From the great compt: But love, that comes too late,
Like a remorseful pardon flowly carried,

To the great fender turns a four offence,
Crying, That's good that's gone: our rash faults
Make trivial price of ferious things we have,
Not knowing them until we know their grave:
Oft our displeasures, to ourselves unjust,
Destroy our friends, and after weep their duft :
> Our old love waking cries to fee what's done,
While fhameful hate fleeps out the afternoon.
Be this sweet Helen's knell, and now forget her.
Send forth your amorous token for fair Maudlin:
The main confents are had; and here we'll stay
To fee our widower's fecond marriage-day.

Count. Which better than the firft, O dear heaven bless!

Or, ere they meet, in me, O nature, cease!

Laf. Come on, my fon, in whom my house's name Must be digested, give a favour from you,

warp'd the line of every other favour :]-diftorted the features of every other face.

* Scorn'd a fair colour, or express'd it ftol'n ;]-Taught me to treat difdainfully, or afcribe to art, the faireft complexions.

y Our own.

Το

To sparkle in the fpirits of my daughter, That she may quickly come.-By my old beard, [Bertram gives a ring. And every hair that's on't, Helen, that's dead, Was a sweet creature; fuch a ring as this, The last time that I took my leave at court, I faw upon her finger.

Ber. Her's it was not.

King. Now, pray you, let me fee it; for mine eye,
While I was speaking, oft was fasten'd to't.———
This ring was mine; and, when I gave it Helen,
I bade her, if her fortunes ever stood

Neceffity'd to help, that by this token

I would relieve her: Had you that craft, to reave her Of what should stead her most?

Ber. My gracious fovereign, Howe'er it pleases you to take it so, The ring was never her's.

Count. Son, on my life,

I have seen her wear it; and fhe reckon'd it

At her life's rate.

Laf. I am fure, I saw her wear it.

Ber. You are deceiv'd, my lord, she never saw it:
In Florence was it from a cafement thrown me,
Wrap'd in a paper, which contain'd the name
Of her that threw it: noble fhe was, and thought
I ftood ingag'd; but when I had fubfcrib'd
To mine own fortune, and inform'd her fully,

I could not answer in that course of honour

me.]

z To Sparkle in the spirits of my daughter, that she may quickly come. -Whole brilliancy may induce my daughter to hasten her approach. a The laft that e'er he took her leave at court.

I bade her,]-to know, gave her to understand.

reave]-bereave.

dingag'd;]-difengag'd.

* fubfcrib'd to mine own fortune,]-declared my connections.

As

As fhe had made the overture, fhe ceas'd,
In heavy fatisfaction, and would never
Receive the ring again.

King. Plutus himself,

f

That knows the tinct and multiplying medicine,"
Hath not in nature's mystery more science,

Than I have in this ring: 'twas mine, 'twas Helen's,
Whoever gave it you Then, if you know
That you are well acquainted with yourself,

Confefs 'twas hers, and by what rough enforcement
You got it from her: fhe call'd the faints to furety,
That she would never put it from her finger,
Unless she
gave it to yourself in bed,

(Where you have never come) or fent it us

Upon her great disaster.

Ber. She never faw it.

King. Thou speak'st it falfely, as I love mine honour; And mak'ft conjectural fears to come into me, Which I would fain fhut out: if it fhould prove That thou art fo inhuman,-'twill not prove fo;And yet I know not:-thou didst hate her deadly, And she is dead; which nothing, but to close Her eyes myself, could win me to believe, More than to see this ring.-Take him away.

[Guards feize Bertram.

My fore-past proofs, howe'er the matter fall,
Shall tax my fears of little vanity,

Having vainly fear'd too little.-Away with him;

We'll fift this matter further.

Ber. If you fhall 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.

ftin&t_and_multiplying medicine,]—the fecret of the philofopher's ftone; the method of tranfmuting metals into gold.

Enter