That my ability may undergo,

And nobleness impose: at least, thus much;
I'll pawn the little blood which I have left,
To save the innocent: any thing possible.

Leon. It shall be possible. Swear by this sword,1 Thou wilt perform my bidding.

Ant.

I will, my lord.

Leon. Mark, and perform it; (seest thou?) for the fail

Of any point in 't shall not only be

Death to thyself, but to thy lewd-tongued wife,
Whom, for this time, we pardon. We enjoin thee,
As thou art liegeman to us, that thou carry
This female bastard hence; and that thou bear it
To some remote and desert place, quite out
Of our dominions; and that there thou leave it,
Without more mercy, to its own protection,
And favor of the climate. As by strange fortune
It came to us, I do in justice charge thee,—
On thy soul's peril and thy body's torture,—
That thou commend it strangely to some place,
Where chance may nurse or end it. Take it up.

Ant. I swear to do this; though a present death Had been more merciful.-Come on, poor babe : Some powerful spirit instruct the kites and ravens To be thy nurses! Wolves, and bears, they say,

1 It was anciently a custom to swear by the cross on the handle of a sword.

2 Commit it to some place, as a stranger, without more provision.

Casting their savageness aside, have done
Like offices of pity. Sir, be prosperous

In more than this deed doth require; and blessing, Against this cruelty, fight on thy side,

Poor thing, condemn'd to loss !

From those you sent to the oracle, are come

An hour since. Cleomenes and Dion,

Being well arrived from Delphos, are both landed, Hasting to the court.

1 Lord.

So please you, sir, their speed

Twenty-three days

Hath been beyond account.

Leon.

They have been absent: 'tis good speed; foretels,
The great Apollo suddenly will have

The truth of this appear. Prepare you, lords :
Summon a session, that we may arraign
Our most disloyal lady; for, as she hath
Been publicly accused, so shall she have
A just and open trial. While she lives,
My heart will be a burden to me.
And think upon my bidding.

Leave me ;

[Exeunt.

Enter CLEOMENES and DION.

Cle. The climate's delicate; the air most sweet; Fertile the isle; the temple much surpassing

The common praise it bears.

Dion.

I shall report

(For most it caught me) the celestial habits,

(Methinks, I so should term them) and the reverence

Of the grave wearers. O, the sacrifice!

How ceremonious, solemn, and unearthly

It was i' the offering!

Cle.

But, of all, the burst

And the ear-deafening voice o' the oracle,

Kin to Jove's thunder, so surprised my sense,
That I was nothing.

Dion.

If the event o' the journey

Prove as successful to the queen (O, be 't so!)
As it hath been to us, rare, pleasant, speedy,
The time is worth the use on 't.

Dion. The violent carriage of it

Will clear or end the business. When the oracle

(Thus by Apollo's great divine seal'd up)

Shall the contents discover, something rare
Even then will rush to knowlege.- -Go ;-fresh

horses ;

And gracious be the issue!

[Exeunt.

SCENE II.

The same. A court of justice.

LEONTES, Lords, and OFFICERS appear properly seated.

Leon. This sessions (to our great grief, we pro

nounce)

Even pushes 'gainst our heart. The party tried,
The daughter of a king; our wife, and one

Of us too much beloved. Let us be clear'd
Of being tyrannous, since we so openly
Proceed in justice, which shall have due course,
Even1 to the guilt or the purgation.-

Produce the prisoner.

Off. It is his highness' pleasure, that the queen Appear in person here in court.-Silence!

HERMIONE is brought in, guarded; PAULINA and LADIES attending.

Leon. Read the indictment.

Off. Hermione, queen to the worthy Leontes, king of Sicilia, thou art here accused and arraigned

of high treason, in committing adultery with Polixenes, king of Bohemia, and conspiring with Camillo to take away the life of our sovereign lord the king, thy royal husband; the pretence1 whereof being by circumstances partly laid open, thou, Hermione, contrary to the faith and allegiance of a true subject, didst counsel and aid them, for their better safety, to fly away by night.'

Her. Since what I am to say, must be but that Which contradicts my accusation, and

The testimony on my part no other

But what comes from myself; it shall scarce boot me
To say, 'Not Guilty:' mine integrity,

Being counted falsehood, shall, as I express it,
Be so received. But thus ;-If powers divine
Behold our human actions, (as they do)

I doubt not then, but innocence shall make
False accusation blush, and tyranny

Tremble at patience. You, my lord, best know,
(Who least will seem to do so) my past life
Hath been as continent, as chaste, as true,
As I am now unhappy; which is more
Than history can pattern, though devised,
And play'd, to take spectators: for behold me,-
A fellow of the royal bed, which owe 3

A moiety of the throne, a great king's daughter,
The mother to a hopeful prince,—here standing,
To prate and talk for life and honor 'fore

1 Scheme laid.

2 Treachery.

3 Own, possess.