Of honour'd bones, indeed. What should be faid?
If thou can't like this creature as a maid,

I can create the reft: virtue and fhe,

Is her own dow'r; honour and wealth from me.
Ber. I cannot love her, nor will strive to do't.
King. Thou wrong'ft thyfelf, if thou fhould't ftrive
to chufe.

Hel. That you are well reftor'd, my Lord, I'm glad: Let the reft go..

King. (22) My honour's at the stake; which to defend,
I muft produce my pow'r. Here, take her hand,
Proud fcornful boy, unworthy this good gift!
That doft in vile mifprifion fhackle up

My love, and her defert; that canst not dream,
We poizing us in her defective scale,

Shall weigh thee to the beam; that wilt not know,
It is in us to plant thine honour, where

We please to have it grow. Check thy contempt:
Obey our will, which travels in thy good;
Believe not thy disdain, but presently

Do thine own fortunes that obedient right,
Which both thy duty owes, and our power claims:
Or I will throw thee from my care for ever
Into the ftaggers, and the careless lapfe
Of youth and ignorance; my revenge and hate
Loofing upon thee in the name of juftice,
Without all terms of pity. Speak thine answer.
Ber. Pardon, my gracious Lord; for I fubmit
My fancy to your eyes. When I confider,
What great creation, and what dole of honour,
Flies where you bid;
I find, that he, which late
Was in my nobler thoughts moft base, is now

(22) My bonour's at the flake; subich to defeat

I must produce my pow'r.] The poor King of France is again made a man of Gotham, by our unmerciful editors: What they make him fay, is mere mock-reafoning. The paffage must either be reftor'd, as I have conjecturally corrected; or else the King muft be fuppos'd to break off abruptly from what he was going to fay, and determine that he will interpofe his authority. As thus ;

My bonour's at the flake; which to defeat,-
-I must produce my pow'r.

The

The praised of the King; who, fo enobled,
Is, as 'twere, born so.

King. Take her by the hand,

And tell her, fhe is thine: to whom I promise
A counterpoize; if not in thy eftate,
A ballance more repleat.

Ber. I take her hand.

King. Good fortune, and the favour of the King
Smile upon this contract; whofe ceremony
Shall feem expedient on the now-born brief,
And be perform'd to-night; the solemn feast
Shall more attend upon the coming space,
Expecting abfent friends. As thou lov'st her,
Thy love's to me religious; else does err.

Manent Parolles and Lafeu.

[Exeunt.

Laf. Do you hear, Monfieur? a word with you.
Par. Your pleasure, Sir?

Laf. Your Lord and master did well to make his recantation.

Par. Recantation ?-my Lord? my maffer?

Laf. Ay, is it not a language I speak?

Par. A moft harsh one, and not to be understood without bloody fucceeding. My master?

Laf. Are you companion to the Count Roufillon? Par. To any Count; to all Counts; to what is man. Laf. To what is Count's man; Count's mafter is of another ftile.

Par. You are too old, Sir; let it fatisfy you, you are too old..

Laf. I must tell thee, firrah, I write man; to which title age cannot bring thee.

Par. What I dare too well do, I dare not do.

Laf. I did think thee, for two ordinaries, to be a pretty wife fellow; thou didst make tolerable vent of thy travel, it might pafs; yet the scarfs and the bannerets about thee did manifoldly diffuade me from believing thee a veffel of too great a burden. I have now found thee; when I lofe thee again, I care not: yet art thou good for nothing but taking up, and that thou'rt fcarce worth. Par.

Par. Hadft thou not the privilege of antiquity upon

thee

Laf. (23) Do not plunge thyself too far in anger, left thou haften thy tryal; which if,-Lord have mercy on thee for a hen! fo, my good window of lattice, fare thee well; thy cafement I need not open, I look through thee. Give me thy hand.

Par. My Lord, you give me moft egregious indignity. Laf. Ay, with all my heart, and thou art worthy

of it.

Par. I have not, my Lord, deferv'd it.

Laf. Yes, good faith, ev'ry dram of it; and I will not bate thee a scruple.

Par. Well, I fhall be wifer

Laf. Ev'n as foon as thou can'ft, for thou haft to pull at a fmack o' th' contrary. If ever thou beest bound in thy fearf and beaten, thou fhalt find what it is to be proud of thy bondage. I have a defire to hold my acquaintance with thee, or rather my knowledge, that I may fay in the default, he is a man. I know.

Par. My Lord, you do me most insupportable vexation.

Laf. I would, it were hell-pains for thy fake, and my poor doing eternal: for doing, I am paft; as I will by thee, in what motion age will give me leave. [Exit.

(23) Do not plunge thyself too far in anger, left thau baften thy tryal; which is, Lord bave mercy on thee for a ben;] Mr Roque and Mr. Pope, either by inadvertence, or fome other fatality, have blunder'd this paffage into ftark nonfenfe. I have refor'd the reading of the old folio, and by fubjoining the mark to fhew a break is necessary, have retriev'd the poet's genuine fenfe:

-which if-Lord bave mercy on thee for a ben!

The fequel of the fentence is imply'd, not exprefs'd: This figure the rhetoricians have call'd 'Amois. A remarkable inftance we have of it in the first book of Virgil's Æneis.

Quos Ego-fed motos præftat componere Fluctus.

So likewife in Terence;

Mala mens, malus animus; quem quidem Ego fi fenfero,-
Sed quid opus eft verbis?

Andr. At I. Sc. I.

But I fhall have occafion to remark again upon it, when I come to King Lear.

Par.

Par. Well, thou haft a fon fhall take this difgrace off me; fcurvy, old, filthy, fcurvy Lord!-well, I must be patient, there is no fettering of authority. I'll beat him, by my life, if I can meet him with any convenience, an he were double and double a Lord. I'll have no more pity of his age, than I would have of —— I'll beat him, an if I could but meet him again.

Re-enter Lafeu.

Laf. Sirrah, your Lord and master's married, there's news for you: you have a new. miftrefs.

Par. I moft unfeignedly befeech your Lordship to make some reservation of your wrongs. He, my good Lord, whom I ferve above, is my mafter.

Laf. Who? God?

Par. Ay, Sir.

Laf. The devil it is, that's thy mafter. Why doft thou garter up thy arms o' this fashion doft make hofe of thy fleeves? do other fervants fo? thou wert beft fet thy lower part where thy nofe ftands. By mine honour, if I were but two hours younger, I'd beat thee: methinks, thou art a general offence, and every man fhould beat thee. I think, thou waft created for men to breathe themselves upon thee.

Par. This is hard and undeferved measure, my Lord. Laf. Go to, Sir; you were beaten in Italy for picking a kernel out of a pomegranate; you are a vagabond, and no true traveller: you are more faucy with Lords and honourable perfonages, than the commiffion of your birth and virtue gives you heraldry. You are not worth another word, elfe I'd call you knave. I

leave

you.'

Enter Bertram.

[Exit.

Par. Good, very good, it is fo then.-Good, very good, let it be conceal'd awhile.

Ber. Undone, and forfeited to cares for ever?
Par. What is the matter, fweet heart ?

Ber. Although before the folemn priest I've fworn,

I will not bed her.

༥ ་་ ་

Par. What? what, fweet heart ?

Ber. O my Parolles, they have married me: I'll to the Tufcan wars, and never bed her.

Par. France is a dog-hole, and it no more merits the tread of a man's foot: to th' wars.

Ber. There's letters from my mother; what the import is, I know not yet.

Par. Ay, that would be known: to th' wars, my boy, to th' wars.

He wears his honour in a box unseen,

That hugs his kickfy-wickfy here at home;
Spending his manly marrow in her arms,
Which should fuftain the bound and high curvet
Of Mars's fiery fteed: to other regions
France is a ftable, we that dwell in't jades,
Therefore to th' war.

Ber. It shall be fo, I'll fend her to my house,
Acquaint my mother with my hate to her,
And wherefore I am fled; write to the King
That which I durft not fpeak. His prefent gift
Shall furnish me to those Italian fields,

Where noble fellows ftrike. War is no ftrife
To the dark house, and the detefted wife.

Par. Will this capricio hold in thee, art fure? Ber. Go with me to my chamber, and advife me. I'll send her ftraight away: to-morrow

I'll to the wars, the to her fingle forrow.

Par. Why, these balls bound, there's noife in it.'Tis hard;

A young man, married, is a man that's marr'd:
Therefore away, and leave her bravely; go,
The King has done you wrong: but, huh! 'tis fo.

Enter Helena and Clown.

[Exeunt.

Hel. My mother greets me kindly, is the well? Clo. She is not well, but yet he has her health; fhe's very merry, but yet fhe is not well: but, thanks be given, fhe's very well, and wants nothing i' th' world; but yet she is not well

Hel.