From them to play at will: how came the postern's
So eafily open?

Lord. By his great authority,

Which often hath no less prevail'd than fo
On your command.

Leo. I know't too well.

Give me the boy; I'm glad, you did not nurfe him: Though he does bear fome figns of me, yet you Have too much blood in him.

Her. What is this, fport?

Leo. Bear the boy hence, he fhall not come about her; Away with him, and let her fport herself

With that fhe's big with: for 'tis Polixenes
Has made thee fwell thus.

Her. But I'd fay, he had not;

And, I'll be fworn, you would believe my faying,'
Howe'er you lean to the nayward.

Leo. You, my Lords,

Look on her, mark her well; be but about

To fay, fhe is a goodly Lady, and

The justice of your hearts will thereto add,

'Tis pity, fhe's not honeft, honourable:

Praife her but for this her without-door form,

(Which on my faith deferves high speech,) and ftraight
The fhrug, the hum, or ha,-(thefe petty-brands,
That calumny doth use: oh, I am out,-
That mercy do's; for calumny will fear

Virtue itself.) Thefe fhrugs, thefe hums, and ha's,
When you have faid fhe's goodly, come between,
Ere you can fay fhe's honeft: but be't known,
(From him, that has moft caufe to grieve it fhould be ;)
She's an adultrefs.

Her. Should a villain fay fo,

The moft replenifh'd villain in the world,

He were as much more villain; you, my Lord,
Do but mistake.

Leo. You have miftook, my Lady,
Polixenes for Leontes. O thou thing,
Which I'll not call a creature of thy place,
Left barbarifm, making me the precedent,

Should

Should a like language ufe to all degrees;
And mannerly diftinguishment leave out
Betwixt the Prince and beggar.--I have faid,
She's an adultrefs; I have faid with whom :
More; fhe's a traitor, and Camillo is

A federary with her; and one that knows
What she should shame to know herself,
But with her most vile principal, that she's
A bed fwerver, even as bad as those

That vulgars give bold'st titles; ay, and privy
To this their late escape.

Her. No, by my life,

Privy to none of this: how will this grieve you,
When you fhall come to clearer knowledge, that
You thus have publish'd me? gentle my Lord,
You fcarce can right me throughly then, to fay
You did mistake.

Leo. No, if I mistake

In these foundations which I build upɔn,
The center is not big enough to bear

A fchool-boy's top. Away with her to prifon :
He, who fhall fpeak for her, is far of guilty (8),
But that he speaks.

Her. There's fome ill planet reigns;

I must be patient, 'till the heavens look

With an aspect more favourable. Good my Lords,
I am not prone to weeping; (as our fex
Commonly are,) the want of which vain dew,
Perchance, fhall dry your pities; but I have
That honourable grief lodg'd here, which burns
Worse than tears drown: befeech you all, my Lords,
With thoughts fo qualified as your charities
Shall beft inftruct you, measure me; and fo
The King's will be perform'd !→

(8) He, robo fhall fpeak for her, is far off guilty,

But that he speaks.] This cannot be the Speaker's meaning. Leontes would fay, I fhall hold the pe fon in a great measure guilty, who shall dare to intercede for her: And this, I believe, Shakespeare ventur'd to express thus:

He, who fall speak for her, is far of guilty, &c.

i, e. partakes far, deeply of her B VOL. III.

it

M

Leo.

Leo. Shall I be heard?.

Her. Whois't, that goes with me? 'befeech your High. My women may be with me, for, you fee

My plight requires it. Do not weep, good fools,

[nefs,

'There is no caufe; when you fhall know, your mistress
Has deferv'd prifon, then abound in tears,
As I come out; this action, I now go on,
Is for my better grace. Adieu, my Lord,
I never wish'd to fee you forry; now,

I truft, I fhall. My women,-come, you've leave.
Leo. Go, do our bidding; hence.

[Exit Queen, guarded; and Ladies. Lord. 'Befeech your Highness call the Queen again. Ant. Be certain what you do, Sir, left your juftice Prove violence; in the which three great ones fuffer, Yourfelf, your Queen, your fon.

Lord. For her, my Lord,

I dare my life lay down, and will do't, Sir,
Pleafe you t'accept it, that the Queen is spotless
I'th' eyes of heaven, and to you, (I mean,
In this which you accufe her.)

Ant. If it prove

She's otherwife, I'll keep my ftables where

I lodge my wife, I'll go in couples with her :

Than when I feel, and fee her, no farther truft her;

For every inch of woman in the world,

Ay, every dram of woman's flesh is falfe,

If the be.

Leo. Hold your peaces.

Lord. Good my Lord,

Ant. It is for you we speak, not for ourselves:

You are abus'd, and by fome putter on,

That will be damn'd for't; 'would, I knew the villain,

I would land-damn him: be fhe honour-flaw'd,

I have three daughters; the eldest is eleven (9);

(9)

The

I have three daughters; the eldeft is eleven; The fecond and the third, nine; and fons five; If this prove true, they'll pay for't.] The 2d folio edition led Mr. Rozve fit inadvertently to fix five fons upon Antigonus, more than the Poet ever defign'd him; and Mr. Pope ftumbled implicitly

The fecond, and the third, nine, and fome five;

If this prove true, they'll pay for't. By mine honour,
I'll geld 'em all: fourteen they fhall not fee,
To bring falfe generations: they are co-heirs,
And I had rather glib myself, than they
Should not produce fair issue.

Leo. Ceafe; no more:

You fmell this business with a fenfe as cold
As is a dead man's nofe; I fee't and feel't,
As you feel doing thus; and fee withal
The inftruments that feel.

Ant. If it be fo,

We need no grave to bury honefty;
There's not a grain of it, the face to fweeten
Of the whole dungy earth.

Leo. What? lack I credit?

Lord. I had rather you did lack than I, my Lord,
Upon this ground; and more it would content me
To have her honour true, than your suspicion ;
Be blam'd for't, how you might,

Leo. Why, what need we

Commune with you of this? but rather follow
Our forceful inftigation? our prerogative
Calls not your counfels, but our natural goodness
Imparts this; which, if you, (or ftupified,
Or feeming fo, in skill,) cannot, or will not
Relish a truth like us; inform yourselves,
We need no more of your advice; the matter,
The lofs, the gain, the ordering on't, is all
Properly ours.

Ant. And I wish, my Liege,

into the mistake. But what encreases the jeft, these three daughters, and five fons were coheirs: If this ever was according to the laws of Sicily, 'is fo peculiar, that Goltzius, Fazellus or Cluverius would have thought it worthy of a fhort notice. But the reading of the 1ft folio edition, which I have reftor'd to the text, makes no mention of any fons, and fo the girls remain properly coheirs; the eldeft, eleven years of age; the fecond, nine; and the third, fome five. I'll fubjoin two inflances of this manner of expreffion from our Author's King Lear. But I have a fon, Sir, by order of law, fome years elder than this; For that I am fome twelve or fourteen moon fhires lag of a brother? You

M 2

You had only in your filent judgment try'd it,
Without more overture.

Leo. How could that be?

Either thou art moft ignorant by age,
Or thou wert born a fool. Camillo's flight,
Added to their familiarity,

(Which was as grofs as ever touch'd conjecture,
That lack'd fight only; nought for approbation,
But only feeing; all other circumstances

Made up to th deed) doth push on this proceeding;
Yet for a greater confirmation,

(For, in an act of this importance, 'twere
Moft piteous to be wild) I have difpatch'd in poft,
To facred Delphos, to Apollo's temple,
Cleomines and Dion, whom you know

Of ftuff'd fufficiency: now, from the oracle
They will bring all: whofe fpiritual counsel had,
Shall flop, or fpur me. Have I done well?
Lord. Well done, my Lord.

Leo. Tho' I am fatisfy'd, and need no more
Than what I know, yet fhall the oracle
Give reft to th' minds of others; fuch as he,
Whofe ignorant credulity will not

Come up to th' truth. So have we thought it good
From our free person she should be confin'd;
Left that the treachery of the two, fled hence,
Be left her to perform. Come, follow us,
We are to speak in publick; for this business
Will raife us all.

Ant. To laughter, as I take it,
If the good truth were known.

SCENE changes to a Prison.

Enter Paulina and a Gentleman.

HE keeper of the prifon,

Paul.

TH

[Exeunt.

call to him:

[Exit Gentleman. Good Lady,

Let him have knowledge who I am.
No court in Europe is too good for thee;
What doft thou then in prifon? now, good Sir,
You know me, do you not?