What companies are near: pray you, away;

Let me alone with him.

[Exeunt Belarius and Arviragus.

Clot. Soft! what are you,

That fly me thus? fome villain-mountaineers

I've heard of fuch.

Guid. A thing

What flave art thou?

More flavish did I ne'er, than answering

A flave without a knock.

Clot. Thou art a robber,

A law-breaker, a villain; yield thee, thief.

Guid. To whom? to thee? what art thou? have not I An arm as big as thine? a heart a

My dapo grant, are bigger: for I wear not

My dagger in my mouth. Say, what thou art,
Why I should yield to thee?

Clot. Thou villain base,
Know'ft me not.by my cloaths?

Guid. No, nor thy tailor, rafcal,

Who is thy grandfather; he made those cloaths,
Which, as it feems, make thee.

Clot. Thou precious varlet!o not sel
My tailor made them not.

Guid. Hence then, and thank

The man that gave them thee. Thou art fome fool; I'm loth to beat thee.

Clot. Thou injurious thief,

Hear but my name, and tremble.

Guid. What's thy name?

Clot. Cloten, thou villain.

Guid. Cloten, then, double villain, be thy name, I cannot tremble at it; were it toad, adder, fpider, "Twould move me fooner.

Clot. To thy further fear,

Nay, to thy meer confufion, thou shalt know

I'm Son to th' Queen.

Guid. I'm forry for't; not feeming

So worthy as thy birth.

Clot. Art not afraid?

Guid. Those that I rev'rence, those I fear; the wife:

Ac

At fools I laugh, not fear them.

Clot. Die the death!

When I have flain thee with my proper hand,
I'll follow those that even now fled hence,

And on the gates of Lud's town fet your heads; biGO
Yield, ruftick mountaineer.

[Fight, and Exeunt.

Enter Belarius and Arviragus,

Bel. No company's abroad.

Arv. None in the world; you did mistake him, fure. Bel. I cannot tell: long is it fince I faw him, But time hath nothing blurr'd thofe lines of favour Which then he wore; the fnatches in his voice, And burst of speaking, were as his: I'm abfolute, 'Twas very Cloten.

Arv. In this place we left themse

I with my brother make good time with him,
You fay, he is fo fell."

I

Bel. (42) Being fcarce made up,

mean, to man, he had not apprehenfion

Of roaring terrors; for th' effect of judgment L
Is oft the cause of fear. But fee, thy brother.

(42)

Being fearce made up,

I mean, to Man, he had not Apprehenfion
Of roaring Terrors; for defect of Judgment

1

Is oft the Caufe of Fear.] If I understand this Paffage, it is mock-reafoning as it ftands, and the Text must have been flightly corrupted. Belarius is giving a Defcription of what Cloten formerly was; and in Anfwer to what Arviragus fays of his being fo fell." Ay, fays Belarius, he was fo fell, and being fcarce then at Man's Estate, he "had no Apprehenfion of roaring Terrors, i. e. of any thing that could "check him with Fears." But then, how does the Inference come in, built upon this? For Defect of Judgment is oft the Caufe of Fear. Í think, the Poet meant to have faid the meer contrary. Cloten was defective in Judgment, and therefore did not fear. Apprehenfions of Fear grow from a Judgment in weighing Dangers. And a very cafy Change, from the Traces of the Letters, gives us this Senfe, and reconciles' the Reasoning of the whole Paffage.

For th' Effect of Judgment

Is oft the Caufe of Fear,

Enter

Ee 3

Enter Guiderius, with Cloten's Head.

Guid. This Cloten was a fool, an empty purse, There was no mony in't; not Hercules

Could have knock'd out his brains, for he had none : Yet I not doing this, the fool had borne

My head, as I do his.

Bel. What haft thou done?

Guid. I'm perfect, what, cut off one Gloten's head, Son to the Queen, after his own reporti

Who call'd me traitor, mountaineer, and fwore
With his own fingle hand he'd take us in

Difplace our heads, where, thanks to th' Gods, they

grow,

And fet them on Lud's Town.

Bel. We're all undone !

Guid. Why, worthy Father, what have we to lose, But what he wore to take, our lives? the law Protects not us; then why should we be tender, To let an arrogant piece of flesh threat us? Play judge, and executioner, all himself? For we do fear the law. What company Discover you abroad?

Bel. No fingle foul

Can we fet eye on; but, in all safe reason,

He must have fome attendants. (43) Though his hu

mour

Was nothing but mutation, ay, and that

From one bad thing to worfe; yet not his frenzy,
Not abfolute madness, could so far have rav'd,

(43)

Tho his Honour

Was nothing but Mutation, &c] What has his Honour to do here, in his being changeable in this Sort? in his acting as a Madman, or not? I have ventur'd to fubftitute Humour, against the Authority of the printed Copies; and the Meaning feems plainly This." Tho' he was al"ways fickle to the laft degree, and govern'd by Humour, not found

Senfe; yet not Madness itself could make him fo hardy to attempt an "Enterprize of this Nature alone, and unfeconded." The like Miftake, of Honour for Humour, had taken place in a Paffage of The Merry Wives of Windfor, which I corrected from the Sanction of the old Quar to Impreffions.

Το

To bring him here alone; although, perhaps,
It may be heard at Court, that fuch as we
Cave here, haunt here, are Out-laws, and in time
May make fome ftronger head: the which he hearing,
(As it is like him,) might break out, and fwear,
He'd fetch us in, yet is't not probable

To come alone, nor he fo undertaking,

Nor they fo fuffering; then on good ground we fear, If we do fear, this body hath a tail

More perilous than the head.

Arv. Let ordinance

Come, as the Gods forefay it; howfɑe'er,
My brother hath done well.

Bel. I had no mind

To hunt this day: the boy Fidele's fickness
Did make my way long forth.

Guid. With his own fword,

Which he did wave against my throat, I've ta'en
His head from him: I'll throw't into the creek
Behind our rock; and let it to the fea,

And tell the fifhes, he's the Queen's Son Cloten.
That's all I reck,

Bel. I fear, 'twill be reveng'd :

[Exit.

Would, Paladour, thou hadft not don't! though va

lour

Becomes thee well enough.

Arv, Would I had done't,

So the revenge alone purfu'd me! Paladour,

I love thee brotherly, but envy much,

Thou'ft robb'd me of this deed; I would, Revenges, That poffible ftrength might meet, would feek us thro', And put us to our answer.

Bel. Well, 'tis done:

We'll hunt no more to day, nor feek for danger
Where there's no profit. Pr'ythee, to our rock,
You and Fidele play the cooks: I'll ftay

'Till hafty Paladour return, and bring him
To dinner presently.

Arv. Poor fick Fidele!

I'll willingly to him: To gain his colour,

Ee 4

I'd

1

Thou divine Nature! how thy felf thou blazon'st
In these two princely boys!, they are as gentle,
As Zephyrs blowing below the violet,!!
Not wagging his fweet head; and yet as rough,
(Their royal blood enchaf'd,) as the rud'ft wind,
That by the top doth take the mountain pine,
And make him ftoop to the vale. 'Tis wonderful,
That an invifible inftinct should frame them
To Royalty unlearn'd, Honour untaught,
Civility not feen from other; valour,

That wildly grows in them; but yields a crop
As if it had been fow'd. Yet ftill it's ftrange
What Cloten's being here to us portends,

Or what his death will bring us.

Re-enter Guiderius.

Guid. Where's my Brother?

I have fent Cloten's clot-pole down the ftream,
In embaffic to his mother; his body's hoftage
For his Return.

Bel. My ingenious Inftrument!

[Solemn mufick.

Hark, Paladour! it founds: but what occafion
Hath Cadwall now to give it motion? hark!
Guid. Is he at home?

Bel. He went hence even now.

Guid. What does he mean? Since death of my dear'
Mother,

It did not speak before. All folemn things

Should answer folemn accidents. The matter?-
Triumphs for nothing, and lamenting toys,
Is jollity for apes, and grief for boys.

Is Cadwall mad?

Enter Arviragus, with Imogen dead, bearing her
in his arms.

Bel. Look, here he comes!

And brings the dire occafion, in his arms,

Of