Bene. I will fwear by it, that you love me; and I will make him eat it, that fays, I love not you. Beat. Will you not eat your word?

Bene. With no fauce that can be devis'd to it: I proteft, I love thee.

Beat. Why then, God forgive me.

Bene. What offence, fweet Beatrice?

Beat. You have ftaid me in a happy hour; I was about to proteft, I lov'd you.

Bene. And do it with all thy heart.

Beat. I love you with fo much of my heart, that

none is left to protest.

Bene. Come, bid me do any thing for thee.

Beat. Kill Claudio.

Bene. Ha! not for the wide world.

Beat. You kill me to deny it; farewell.

Bene. Tarry, fweet Beatrice,

Beat. I am gone, though I am here: There is no love in you: nay, I pray you, let me go.

Bene. Beatrice,

Beat. In faith, I will go.

Bene. We'll be friends firft.

Beat. You dare easier be friends with me, than fight with mine enemy.

Bene. Is Claudio thine enemy?

Beat. Is he not approved in the height a villain,' that hath flander'd, fcorn'd, difhonour'd my kinfwoman? O, that I were a man! What, bear her in hand until they come to take hands; and then with publick accufation, uncover'd flander, unmitigated rancour-O God, that I were a man! I would eat his heart in the market-place.

Bene. Hear me, Beatrice.

3 I am gone, tho' I am here:] i. e. I am out of your mind already, tho' I remain in perfon before you. STEEVENS.

Beat. Talk with a man out at a window ?—a proper saying!

Bene. Nay, but Beatrice.

Beat. Sweet Hero! fhe is wrong'd, she is flander'd, fhe is undone.

Bene. Beat

Bene. Princes and counties! Surely, a princely teftimony, a goodly count-comfect; a sweet gallant, furely! O that I were a man for his fake! Or that I had any friend would be a man for my fake! But manhood is melted into curtefies, valour into compliment, and men are only turned into tongue, and trim ones too: he is now as valiant as Hercules, that only tells a lye, and fwears it: I cannot be a man with wifhing, therefore I will die a woman with grieving.

Bene. Tarry, good Beatrice: By this hand, I love thee.

Beat. Ufe it for my love fome other way than fwearing by it.

Bene. Think you in your foul, the count Claudio hath wrong'd Hero?

Beat. Yea, as fure as I have a thought, or a foul.

Bene. Enough, I am engag'd, I will challenge him; I will kifs your hand, and fo leave you: By this hand, Claudio fhall render me a dear account: As you hear of me, fo think of me. Go comfort your coufin: I muft fay, fhe is dead; and fo farewell. [Exeunt.

SCENE II.

Changes to a Prifon.

Enter Dogberry, Verges, Borachio, Conrade, the TownClerk and Sexton in gowns.

To. Cl. Is our whole diffembly appear'd?

Dogb.

Dogb. O, a ftool and a cushion for the fexton!
Sexton. Which be the malefactors?

Verg. Marry, that am I and my partner.

Dogb. Nay, that's certain; we have the exhibition to examine.

Sexton. But which are the offenders that are to be examin'd? let them come before mafter constable. To. Cl. Yea, marry, let them come before me. What is your name, friend?

Bora. Borachio.

To. Cl. Pray, write down, Borachio. Yours, firrah? Conr. I am a gentleman, fir, and my name is Conrade.

To. Cl. Write down, mafter gentleman Conrade. Masters, do you serve God?

To. Cl. Write down, that they hope they ferve God and write God firft: for God defend, but God should go before fuch villains!-Mafters, it is proved already that you are little better than falfe knaves, and it will go near to be thought fo fhortly: How answer you for yourselves?

Conr. Marry, fir, we fay, we are none.

To. Cl. A marvellous witty fellow, I affure you; but I will go about with him. Come you hither, firrah; a word in your ear, fir; I fay to you, it is thought you are both falfe knaves,

Bora. Sir, I fay to you, we are none.

To, Cl. Well, ftand afide. 'Fore God, they are

Both. Yea, fir, we hope.

To. Cl. Write down that they hope they ferve God: and write God firft for God defend, but God should go before fuch villains!This fhort paffage, which is truly humourous and in character, I have added from the old quarto. Befides, it fupplies a defect: for, without it, the Town-Clerk asks a question of the prisoners, and goes on without staying for any answer to it. THEOBALD.

both in a tale: Have you writ down, that they are

none.

Sexton. Mafter conftable, you go not the way to examine ; you muft call the watch that are their ac

cufers.

5 To. Cl. Yea, marry, that's the defteft way: Let the watch come forth: Mafters, I charge you in the prince's name accuse these men.

Enter Watchmen.

1 Watch. This man faid, fir, that Don John the prince's brother was a villain.

To. Cl. Write down, prince John a villain: Why this is flat perjury, to call a prince's brother, villain. Bora. Mafter conftable

To. Cl. Pr'ythee, fellow, peace; I do not like thy look, I promise thee.

Sexton. What heard you him fay else?

2 Watch. Marry, that he had receiv'd a thousand ducats of Don John, for accufing the lady Hero wrongfully.

To. Cl. Flat burglary, as ever was committed.
Dogb. Yea, by the mafs, that it is.

Sexton. What elfe, fellow?

To. Cl. Yea, marry, that's the eafieft way, let the watch come forth:] This, cafieft, is a fophiftication of our modern editors, who were at a lofs to make out the corrupted reading of the old copies. The quarto in 1600, and the first and second editions in folio all concur in reading; Yea, marry, that's the eftelt way, &c. A letter happened to flip out at prefs in the first edition; and 'twas too hard a task for the fubfequent editors to put it in, or guefs at the word under this accidental depravation. There is no doubt but the author wrote, as I have reftor'd the text; Yea, marry, that's the defteft way, &c. i. e. the readieft, most commodious way. The word is pure Saxon. Deal co, debite, congrue, duely, fitly, Leværelic, opportune, commode, fitly, conveniently, feafonably, in good time, commodiously. Vid. Spelman's Saxon Gloff. THEOBALD.

1 Watch,

1 Watch. And that count Claudio did mean, upon his words, to difgrace Hero before the whole affembly, and not marry her.

To. Cl. O villain! thou wilt be condemn'd into everlasting redemption for this. Sexton. What else?

2 Watch. This is all.

Sexton. And this is more, mafters, than you can deny. Prince John is this morning fecretly ftolen away: Hero was in this manner accus'd, and in this very manner refus'd, and upon the grief of this, fuddenly dy'd. Mafter conftable, let these men be bound and brought to Leonato's; I will go before, and fhew him their examination.

Dogb. Come, let them be opinion'd.
Sexton. Let them be in hand.°

[Exit.

Conr.

The mean

Sexton. Let them be in the hands of coxcomb.] So the editions. Mr. Theobald gives the words to Conrade, and fays, But why the Sexton fhould be fo pert upon his brother officers, there feems no reason from any fuperior qualifications in him; or any fufpicion he fhews of knowing their ignorance. This is ftrange. The Sexton throughout fhews as good fente in their examination as any judge upon the bench could do. And as to his fufpicion of their ignorance, he tells the Town-Clerk That he goes not the way to examine. nefs of his name hindered our editor from feeing the goodness of his fenfe. But this Sexton was an ecclefiaftic of one of the inferior orders called the facriftan, and not a brother officer, as the editor calls him. I fuppofe the book from whence the poet took his fubject was fome old English novel tranflated from the Italian, where the word fagriftano was rendered fexton. As in Fairfax's Godfrey of Boulogne ;

When Phoebus next unclos'd his wakeful eye,
Up rofe the Sexton of that place prophane.

The paffage then in queftion is to be read thus,

Sexton. Let them be in hand.

Conr. Off, coxcomb !

[Exit.

Dogberry would have them pinion'd. The Sexton fays, it was fufficient if they were kept in fafe cuftody, and then goes out.

X 4

When