SCENE X. Enter Macard. Mac. God fave you, Madam; Prin. Welcome, Macard, but that thou interrupteft our Merriment. Mac. I'm forry, Madam; for the news I bring Is heavy in my tongue. The King your fatherPrin. Dead, for my life. Mac. Even fo my tale is told. Biron. Worthies, away; the Scene begins to cloud. Arm. For my own part, I breathe free breath; I have feen the days of wrong through the little hole of difcretion (5), and I will right myself like a foldier. [Exeunt Worthies. King. How fares your Majefty? Prin. Boyet, prepare; I will away to-night. King. Madam, not fo; I do befeech you, stay. Prin. Prepare, I fay.-I thank you, gracious lords. For all your fair endeavours; and entreat, Out of a new-fad foul, that you vouchsafe In your rich wisdom to excufe or hide, The liberal oppofition of our fpirits; If over-boldly we have born ourselves In the converse of breath (6), your gentleness Was guilty of it. Farewel, worthy lord; An heavy heart bears not a nimble tongue (7) : : Excufe "blood and humours of his head fo congealed about his eyes, that "he was thereof blind, for the space of nineteen years; but then "(as he had been moved in his fleep) he went woolward and bare "footed to many churches, in every of them to pray to God for "help in his blindness." Dr. GRAY. -- (5) bave feen the days of WRONG through the little hole of difcretion, This has no meaning; we fhould read, the day of RIGHT, i. e. I have forefeen that a day will come when I shall have juftiće done me, and therefore I prudently reserve myself for that time.. WARBURTON.. (6) In the converse of breath,-] Perhaps converfe may, in this line, mean interchange. (7) An beary heart bears not an humble Tongue :] Thus all the Editions; but, furely, without either Senfe or Truth. None are- more Excufe me fo, coming fo fhort of thanks, King. The extreme part of time extremely forms And often, at his very loofe, decides That, which long Procefs could not arbitrate. The holy fuit which fain it would convince (8); From what it purpos'd: Since, to wail friends loft, As to rejoice at friends but newly found. Prin. I understand you not, my griefs are double. Biron. (9) Honeft plain words best pierce the ear of grief; And by these badges understand the King. For your fair fakes have we neglected time, Play'd foul play with our oaths: your beauty, ladies, more bumble in Speech, than they who labour under any Oppreffion. The Princess is defiring, her Grief may apologize for her not expreffing her Obligations at large; and my Correction is conformable to that Sentiment. B: fides, there is an Antithefis between heavy and nimble ; but between heavy and bumble, there is none. THEOBALD. (8) which fain it would convince ;]. We must read, -which fain would it convince ; that is, the entreaties of love, which would fain over-power grief. So Lady Macbeth declares, That he will convince the chamberlain with wine. (9) Honeft plain words, &c.] As it feems not very proper for Biron to court the princefs for the king in the king's presence, at this critical moment, I believe the speech is given to a wrong perfon. I read thus, Prin. I understand you not, my griefs are double: Honeft plain words beft pierce the ear of grief. King. And by these badges, &c. Full Full of ftraying fhapes, of habits, and of forms, To thofe that make us both; fair ladies, you: Thus purifies itself, and turns to Grace. Prin. We have receiv'd your letters, full of love;: And in our maiden council rated them We fhould read, We to ourselves prove true. Or the prefent reading may stand as well as that which I have subftituted. (3) As bombaft, and as lining to the time:] This line is obfcure. Bombaft was a kind of loose texture not unlike what is now called wadding, used to give the dreffes of that time bulk and protube rance, without much encrease of weight; whence the fame name. is yet given to a tumour of words unfupported by folid fentiment. The princefs, therefore, fays, that they confidered this courtship as but bombaft, as fomething to fill out life, which not being closely united with it, might be thrown away at pleasure. (4) But more devout, than THESE ARE our respects Have we not been ;-] This nonfenfe fhould be read thus, Have we not beɛn ; ie. fave the refpect we owe to your majefty's quality, your courte hip we have laughed at, and made a jest of. I read with Sir T. Hanmer, But more devout than this, in cur respects. WARBURTON. Dum Dum. Our letter, Madam, fhew'd much more than jeft. Long. So did our looks. Rof. We did not cote them fo (5). King. Now at the latest minute of the hour, Grant us your love's. Prin. A time, methinks, too fhort, To make a world-without-end bargain in ; Change not your offer made in heat of blood; Come challenge; challenge me, by thefe deferts; For the remembrance of my father's death. powers King. If this, or more than this, I would deny, To flatter thefe up of mine with rest (6); The fudden hand of death clofe up mine eye! Hence, ever then, my heart is in thy breast. Biron. (5) We did not cOTE them fo.] We fhould read, QUOTE, esteem, reckon. (6) TO FLATTER up these powers of mine with reft ;] We should read, FETTER up, i. e. the turbulence of his paffion, which hindered him from fleeping, while he was uncertain whether the would have him or not. So that he speaks to this purpose, If I would Biron. (7) And what to me, my love? and what to Rof. You must be purged too, your fins are rank, Dum. But what to me, my love? but what to me? day Mar. At the twelve-month's end, I'll change my black gown for a faithful friend. would not do more than this to gain my wonted repose, may that repose end in my death. WARBURTON. Flatter or footh is, in my opinion, more appofite to the king's purpofe than fetter. Perhaps we may read, To flatter on these hours of time with reft; That is, I would not deny to live in the hermitage, to make the year of delay pafs in quiet. (7) Biron. [And what to me, my Love? and what to me? Rof. You must be purged to your Sins are rank: You are attaint with Fault and Perjury; Therefore if you my Favour mean to get, A Twelvemonth ball you spend, and never reft, But feek the weary Beds of People fick.] Thele fix Verfes both Dr. Thirlby and Mr. Warburton concur to think fhould be expung'd; ard therefore I have put them between Crotchets: Not that they were an Interpolation, but as the Author's first Draught, which he afterwards rejected; and executed the fame Thought a little lower with much more Spirit and Elegance. ShakeSpeare is not to answer for the prefent abfurd repetition, but his Actor Editors; who, thinking Refaline's Speech too long in the second Plan, had abridg'd it to the Lines above quoted: but in publishing the Play, ftupidly printed both the Original Speech of ShakeSpeare, and their own Abridgment of it. THEOBALD. Long. |