You are already Love's firm votary;
And cannot foon revolt and change your mind.
Upon this warrant shall you have access,
Where you with Silvia may confer at large :

For the is lumpish, heavy, melancholy,

And, for your friend's fake, will be glad of you;
Where you may temper her, by your perfuafion,
To hate young Valentine, and love my friend.

Pro. As much as I can do, I will effect. But you, Sir Thurio, are not sharp enough: You must lay lime, to tangle her defires, By wailful fonnets, whose compofed rhimes Should be full fraught with serviceable vows. Duke. Much is the force of heav'n-bred poefy. Pro. " Say, that upon the altar of her beauty "You facrifice your tears, your fighs, your heart: "Write till your ink be dry; and with your tears "Moist it again; and frame fome feeling line, "That may discover such integrity :

“

For Orpheus 'lute was strung with poets finews, " Whose golden touch could soften steel and ftones, "Make tygers tame, and huge leviathans "Forsake unfounded deeps, to dance on fands. After your dire-lamenting elegies,

Vifit by night your lady's chamber window
With fome sweet confort: to their instruments
Tune a deploring dump; the night's dead filence
Will well become such sweet complaining grievance.
This, or else nothing, will inherit her.

Duke. This difcipline shews thou hast been in love.
Thu And thy advice this night I'll put in practice.
Therefore, fweet Protheus, my direction-giver,
Let us into the city presently,

To fort fome gentlemen well skill'd in mufic;
I have a fonnet, that will ferve the turn,

To give the onset to thy good advice.

Duke. About it, Gentlemen.

Pro. We'll wait upon your Grace, till after fupper; And afterwards determine our proceedings.

Duke. Ev'n now about it. I will pardon you.

[Exeunt.

ACT

t

ACT IV.

SCENE I.

1 Out.

A foren, leading towards Mantua.

F

Enter certain Outlaws.

Ellows, stand fast: I fee a pafssenger.

2 Out. If there be ten, shrink not, but down with 'em.

Enter Valentine and Speed.

3 Out. Stand, Sir, and throw us what you have about you; if not, we'll make you, Sir, and rifle you. Speed. Sir, we are undone; these are the villains that all the travellers do fear so much.

Val. My friends,

1 Out. That's not fo, Sir; we are your enemies. 2 Out. Peace; we'll hear him.

3 Out. Ay, by my beard, will we; for he is a proper

man.

Val. Then know, that I have little wealth to lose;

A man I am, cross'd with adversity;

My riches are these poor habiliments,

Of which if you should here disfurnish me,

You take the fum and substance that I have.

2 Out. Whither travel you?

Val. To Verona.

1 Qut. Whence came you ?

Val. From Milan.

3 Out. Have you long fojourn'd there?

Val. Some fixteen months; and longer might have

staid,

If crooked fortune had not thwarted me.

1 Out. What, were you banish'd thence ?
Val. I was.

2 Out. For what offence?

Val. For that which now torments me to rehearse :
I kill'd a man, whose death I much repent;
But yet I flew him manfully in fight,
Without false vantage, or base treachery.

1 Out. Why, ne'er repent it, if it were done fo.
But were you banish'd for so small a fault?
Val. I was, and held me glad of fuch a doom.

2

1Out.

1 Out. Have you the tongues? Val. My youthful travel therein made me happy,

Or else I often had been miferable.

3 Out. By the bare scalp of Robin Hood's fat friar,

This fellow were a King for our wild faction. 1 Out. We'll have him. Sirs, a word.

Speed. Mafter, be one of them: it's an honourable kind of thievery.

Val. Peace, villain.

2 Out. Tell us this; have you any thing to take to? Val. Nothing but my fortune.

3 Out. Know then, that some of us are gentlemen,

Such as the fury of ungovern'd youth
Thrust from the company of awful men;
Myself was from Verona banish'd,
For practising to steal away a lady,
An heir, and niece ally'd unto the Duke.

2 Out. And I from Mantua, for a gentleman Whom, in my mood, I stabb'd unto the heart.

1 Out. And I for such like petty crimes as these.
But to the purpose; for we cite our faults,
That they may hold excus'd our lawless lives;
And partly, feeing you are beautify'd
With goodly shape, and by your own report
A linguist; and a man of fuch perfection,
As we do in our quality much want; --

2 Out. Indeed, because you are a banish'd man,

Therefore, above the rest, we parley to you;
Are you content to be our general?
To make a virtue of neceffity,

And live, as we do, in the wilderness?

3 Out. What say'st thou? wilt thou be of our confort?

Say, Ay; and be the captain of us all:
We'll do thee homage, and be rul'd by thee;
Love thee as our commander, and our King.

1 Out. But if thou scorn our courtesy, thou dy'st.
2 Out. Thou shalt not live to brag what we have

offer'd.

:

Val. I take your offer, and will live with you,

Provided that you do no outrages

On filly women, or poor passengers.

3 Out. No; we detest such vile base practices.

VOL.I.

X

Come,

Come, go with us. we'll bring thee to our crews.
And thew thee all the treasure we have got;
Which, with ourselves, shall rest at thy dispose.

[Exeunt.

SCENE II. Changes to an open place, under Silvia's apartment in Milan.

Enter Protheus.

Pro. Already I've been false to Valentine, And now I must be as unjust to Thurio, Under the colour of commending him, I have access my own love to prefer : But Silvia is too fair, too true, too holy, To be corrupted with my worthless gifts. When I protest true loyalty to her, She twits me with my falsehood to my friend; When to her beauty I commend my vows, She bids me think how I have been forfworn In breaking faith with Julia whom I lov'd. And, notwithstanding all her fudden quips, The leaft whereof would quell a lover's hope; Yet, spaniel-like, the more she spurns my love, The more it grows, and fawneth on her still. But here comes Thurio: now must we to her window, And give fome evening-mufic to her ear.

Enter Thurio and musicians.

Thu. How now, Sir Protheus, are you crept before us?
Pro. Ay, gentle Thurio; for, you know, that love

Will creep in service where it cannot go.

Thu. Ay. but I hope, Sir, that you love not here.
Pro. Sir, but I do; or else I would be hence.

Thu. Whom, Silvia?

Pro. Ay, Silvia, for your fake.

Thu. I thank you for your own: now, Gentlemen,

Let's tune, and to it lustily a while.

Enter Hoft, and Julia in boy's cloaths.

Hoft. Now, my young guest, methinks you're allycholly: I pray you, why is it?

Ful. Jul. Marry, mine host, because I cannot be merry. Hoft. Come, we'll have you merry; I'll bring you where you shall hear mufic, and fee the gentleman that you afk'd for.

Jul. But shall I hear him speak ?

Hoft. Ay, that you shall.

Jul. That will be mufic.

Hoft. Hark, hark!

Jul. Is he among these ?

Hoft. Ay; but peace, let's hear 'em.

SONG.

Who is Silvia? what is she,

That all our fwains commend her ?

Holy, fair, and wife is she ;

The heav'n fuch grace did lend her,
That she might admired be.

Is she kind, as she is fair ?
For beauty lives with kindness.
Love doth to her eyes repair,
To help him of his blindness :
And, being help'd, inhabits there.

Then to Silvia let us fing,
That Silvia is excelling ;
She excels each mortal thing
Upon the dull earth dwelling :
To her let us garlands bring.

Hoft. How now? are you fadder than you were be fore? how do you, man? the music likes you not. Jul. You mistake? the musician likes me not.

Hoft. Why, my pretty youth?

Jul. He plays false, father.

Hoft. How, out of tune on the strings?

Jul. Not fo; but yet fo false, that he grieves my

very heart-strings.

Hoft. You have a quick ear.

Jul. Ay, I would I were deaf! it makes me have a

Dow heart.

Hoft. I perceive you delight not in mufic.