Cres. Hector's a gallant man.

Alex. As may be in the world, lady.
Pan. What's that? what's that?

Cres. Good morrow, uncle Pandarus.

Pan. Good morrow, cousin Cressid. What do you talk of?-Good morrow, Alexander.-How do you, cousin? When were you at Ilium?

Cres. This morning, uncle.

Pan. What were you talking of, when I came ? Was Hector armed, and gone, ere ye came to Ilium? Helen was not up, was she?

Cres. Hector was gone; but Helen was not up.
Pan. E'en so; Hector was stirring early.

Cres. That were we talking of, and of his anger.
Pan. Was he angry ?

Cres. So he says here.

Pan. True, he was so; I know the cause too: he'll lay about him to-day, I can tell them that; and there is Troilus will not come far behind him; let them take heed of Troilus; I can tell them that too.

Cres. What, is he angry too?

Pan. Who, Troilus? Troilus is the better man of the two.

Cres. O Jupiter! there's no comparison.

Pan. What, not between Troilus and Hector? Do
know a man if
you see him?

you

Cres. Ay, if ever I saw him before, and knew him.
Pan. Well, I say, Troilus is Troilus.

Cres. Then you say as I say; for I am sure, he is not Hector.

Pan. No, nor Hector is not Troilus, in some degrees.
Cres. 'Tis just to each of them; he is himself.
Pan. Himself? Alas, poor Troilus! I would he

were,

Cres. So he is.

Pan.

-Condition, I had gone barefoot to India. Cres. He is not Hector.

Pan. Himself? no, he's not himself—'Would 'a were himself! Well, the gods are above; Time must friend or end. Well, Troilus, well,-I would my heart were

in her body!-No, Hector is not a better man than Troilus.

Cres. Excuse me.

Pan. He is elder.

Cres. Pardon me, pardon me.

Pan. The other's not come to't; you shall tell me another tale when the other's come to't. Hector shall not have his wit this year.

Cres. He shall not need it, if he have his own.
Pan. Nor his qualities;-

Cres. No matter.

Pan. Nor his beauty.

Cres. 'Twould not become him; his own's better. Pan. You have no judgment, niece. Helen herself swore the other day, that Troilus, for a brown favor, (for so 'tis, I must confess,)-Not brown neither. Cres. No, but brown.

Pan. 'Faith, to say truth, brown and not brown.
Cres. To say the truth, true and not true.
Pan. She praised his complexion above Paris.
Cres. Why, Paris hath color enough.

Pan. So he has.

Cres. Then, Troilus should have too much. If she praised him above, his complexion is higher than his ; he having color enough, and the other higher, is too flaming a praise for a good complexion. I had as lief Helen's golden tongue had commended Troilus for a copper nose.

Pan. I swear to you, I think Helen loves him better than Paris.

Cres. Then she's a merry Greek,' indeed.

Pan. Nay, I am sure she does. She came to him the other day into the compassed window,-and, you know, he has not past three or four hairs on his chin.

Cres. Indeed, a tapster's arithmetic may soon bring his particulars therein to a total.

Pan. Why, he is very young; and yet will he, within three pound, lift as much as his brother Hector.

1 See Twelfth Night, Act iv. Sc. 1.

2 A compassed window is a circular bow-window.

Cres. Is he so young a man, and so old a lifter!1 Pan. But, to prove to you that Helen loves him; -she came, and puts me her white hand to his cloven

chin,

Cres. Juno have mercy!-How came it cloven?

Pan. Why, you know, 'tis dimpled. I think his smiling becomes him better than any man in all Phrygia. Cres. O, he smiles valiantly.

Pan. Does he not?

Cres. O yes, an 'twere a cloud in autumn.

Pan. Why, go to, then :-But to prove to you that Helen loves Troilus,

Cres. Troilus will stand to the proof, if you'll prove

it so.

Pan. Troilus? why, he esteems her no more than I esteem an addle egg.

Cres. If you love an addle egg as well as you love an idle head, you would eat chickens i' the shell.

Pan. I cannot choose but laugh to think how she tickled his chin;-indeed, she has a marvellous white hand, I must needs confess.

Cres. Without the rack.

Pan. And she takes upon her to spy a white hair on his chin.

Cres. Alas, poor chin! many a wart is richer.

Pan. But there was such laughing;-queen Hecuba laughed, that her eyes ran o'er.

the

Cres. With mill-stones.2

Pan. And Cassandra laughed.

Cres. But there was a more temperate fire under pot of her eyes;-Did her eyes run o'er too? Pan. And Hector laughed.

Cres. At what was all this laughing?

Pan. Marry, at the white hair that Helen spied on Troilus' chin.

Cres. An't had been a green hair, I should have laughed too.

1 Lifter, a term for a thief; from the Gothic hliftus.

2 So in King Richard III.:

"Your eyes drop mill-stones, when fools' eyes drop tears."

Pan. They laughed not so much at the hair, as at his pretty answer.

Cres. What was his answer?

Pan. Quoth she, Here's but one-and-fifty hairs on your chin, and one of them is white.

Cres. This is her question.

One

Pan. That's true; make no question of that. and-fifty hairs, quoth he, and one white. That white hair is my father, and all the rest are his sons. Jupiter! quoth she, which of these hairs is Paris, my husband? The forked one, quoth he; pluck it out, and give it him. But, there was such laughing! and Helen' so blushed, and Paris so chafed, and all the rest so laughed, that it passed.1

Cres. So let it now; for it has been a great while going by.

Pan. Well, cousin, I told you a thing yesterday; think on't.

Cres. So I do.

Pan. I'll be sworn, 'tis true; he will weep you, an 'twere a man born in April.

Cres. And I'll spring up in his tears, an 'twere a nettle against May. [A retreat sounded. Pan. Hark, they are coming from the field. Shall we stand up here, and see them, as they pass toward Ilium? Good niece, do; sweet niece Cressida.

Cres. At your pleasure.

Pan. Here, here, here's an excellent place; here we may see most bravely. I'll tell you them all by their names, as they pass by; but mark Troilus above the rest.

ENEAS passes over the stage.

Cres. Speak not so loud.

Pan. That's Eneas; is not that a brave man? He's one of the flowers of Troy, I can tell you. But mark Troilus; you shall see anon.

Cres. Who's that?

1 i. e. passed all expression.

ANTENOR passes over.

Pan. That's Antenor: he has a shrewd wit, I can tell you; and he's a man good enough; he's one o' the soundest judgments in Troy, whosoever, and a proper man of person.-When comes Troilus?-I'll show you Troilus anon; if he see me, you shall see him

nod at me.

Cres. Will he give you the nod?

Pan. You shall see.

Cres. If he do, the rich shall have more.

HECTOR passes over.

Pan. That's Hector, that, that, look you, that! There's a fellow!-Go thy way, Hector;-There's a brave man, niece. O brave Hector!-Look, how he looks! there's a countenance. Is't not a brave man? Cres. O, a brave man!

Pan. Is 'a not? It does a man's heart good;Look you what hacks are on his helmet! look you yonder, do you see? look you there! There's no jesting; there's laying on; take't off who will, as they say; there be hacks!

Cres. Be those with swords?

PARIS passes over.

Pan. Swords? Any thing, he cares not; an the devil come to him, it's all one. By God's lid, it does one's heart good.-Yonder comes Paris, yonder comes Paris: look ye yonder, niece; is't not a gallant man too, is't not?-Why, this is brave now.-Who said, he came hurt home to-day? he's not hurt; why, this will do Helen's heart good now. Ha! would I could see Troilus now!-you shall see Troilus anon.

Cres. Who's that?

1 To give the nod was a term in the game at cards called Noddy. The word also signifies a silly fellow. Cressid means to call Pandarus a noddy; and says he shall, by more nods, be made more significantly a fool.