The Family Shakspeare

I'll tell thee, on the instant, thou art then
As great as is thy master: greater; for
His fortunes all lie speechless, and his name
Is at last grasp: Return he cannot, nor
Continue where he is: to shift his being 7,
Is to exchange one misery with another;
And every day, that comes, comes to decay
A day's work in him: What shalt thou expect,
To be depender on a thing that leans?
Who cannot be new built; nor has no friends,
[The QUEEN drops a Bor: PISANIO takes it up.
So much as but to prop him?.
-Thou tak'st up
Thou know'st not what; but take it for thy labour:
It is a thing I made, which hath the king

Five times redeem'd from death: I do not know
What is more cordial : — Nay, I pr'ythee, take it;
It is an earnest of a further good

That I mean to thee. Tell thy mistress how
The case stands with her; do't, as from thyself.
Think what a chance thou changest on; but think
Thou hast thy mistress, still; to boot, my son,
Who shall take notice of thee: I'll move the king
To any shape of thy preferment, such
As thou'lt desire; and then myself, I chiefly,
That set thee on to this desert, am bound
To load thy merit richly. Call my women:
Think on my words. [Exit PISA.]

constant knave;

A sly and

Not to be shak'd: the agent for his master; And the remembrancer of her, to hold

keys,

'Twixt two such shes, would chatter this way, and Contemn with mows 8 the other: Nor i' the judgment;

The hand fast to her lord. I have given him that, For idiots in this case of favour, would

Which, if he take, shall quite unpeople her
Of liegers for her sweet; and which she, after,
Except she bend her humour, shall be assur'd

Re-enter PISANIO and Ladies.

To taste of too. So, so;

Be wisely definite.

Thus raps you? Are you well?

Iach. Thanks, madam; well:- 'Beseech you, [TO PISANIO.

sir, desire

Is strange and peevish.9

- well done, well done: My man's abode where I did leave him: he
The violets, cowslips, and the primroses,
Bear to my closet: - Fare thee well, Pisanio;
Think on my words. [Exeunt QUEEN and Ladies.
Pis.
And shall do:

But when to my good lord I prove untrue, I'll choke myself: there's all I'll do for you.

[Exit.

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Iach. Ay, madam; with his eyes in flood with laughter.

It is a recreation to be by,

And hear him mock the Frenchman: But, heavens know,

[Aside. Some men are much to blame.

8 Making mouths.

9 Shy and foolish.

With pity, that doth make me sick.
So fair, and fasten'd to an empery 3,
Would make the great'st king double! to be part-
ner'd

With tomboys, hir'd with that self-exhibition 4
Which your own coffers yield! O be reveng'd;
Or she, that bore you, was no queen, and you
Recoil from your great stock.

Reveng'd!

Imo.
How should I be reveng'd? If this be true,
(As I have such a heart, that both mine ears
Must not in haste abuse,) if it be true,
How should I be reveng'd?

Jach.
Should he make me
Live like Diana's priest? Revenge it, lady!
I dedicate myself to your sweet pleasure;
More noble than that runagate to your bed;
And will continue fast to your affection,
Still close, as sure.

2 What you seem anxious to utter, and yet withhold.
3 Sovereign command.
4 Allowance, pension.

What ho, Pisanio!

Imo. Iach. Let me my service tender on your lips. Imo. Away!-I do condemn mine ears, that have So long attended thee. If thou wert honourable, Thou wouldst have told this tale for virtue, not For such an end thou seek'st; as base, as strange. Thou wrong'st a gentleman, who is as far From thy report, as thou from honour; and Solicit'st here a lady, that disdains Thee and the devil alike. What ho, Pisanio!— The king my father shall be made acquainted Of thy assault: if he shall think it fit, A saucy stranger in his court, to mart As in a Roman stew, he hath a court He little cares for, and a daughter whom He not respects at all. - What ho, Pisanio!Iach. O happy Leonatus! I may say; The credit that thy lady hath of thee, Deserves thy trust; and thy most perfect goodness Her assur'd credit! - Blessed live you long! A lady to the worthiest sir, that ever Country call'd his! and you, his mistress, only For the most worthiest fit! Give me your pardon. I have spoke this, to know if your affiance Were deeply rooted; and shall make your lord, That which he is new o'er: And he is one The truest manner'd; such a holy witch, That he enchants societies unto him: Half all men's hearts are his.

SCENE I.

Court before Cymbeline's Palace.

Enter CLOTEN, and two Lords.

Clo. Was there ever man had such luck? when I kissed the jack upon an up-cast", to be hit away! I had a hundred pound on't: And then a jackanapes must take me up for swearing; as if I borrowed mine oaths of him, and might not spend them at my pleasure.

1 Lord. What got he by that? You have broke bis pate with your bowl.

2 Lord. If his wit had been like him that broke it, it would have ran all out. [Aside. Clo. When a gentleman is disposed to swear, it is not for any standers-by to curtail his oaths: Ha?

2 Lord. No, my lord; nor [Aside.] crop the ears

Clo. I am not more vex'd at any thing in the earth: I had rather not be so noble as I am; they dare not fight with me, because of the queen my mother: every jack-slave hath his belly full of fighting, and I must go up and down like a cock that nobody can match.

1 Lord. It is not fit your lordship should undertake every companion that you give offence to. Clo. No, I know that: but it is fit, I should commit offence to my inferiors.

2 Lord. Ay, it is fit for your lordship only. Clo. Why, so I say.

1 Lord. Did you hear of a stranger that's come to court to-night?

Clo. A stranger! and I know not on't!

2 Lord. He's a strange fellow himself, and knows it not.

[Aside. 1 Lord. There's an Italian come; and, 'tis thought, one of Leonatus' friends.

Clo. Leonatus! a banish'd rascal; and he's another, whatsoever he be. Who told you of this stranger?

1 Lord. One of your lordship's pages.

That such a crafty devil as is his mother
Should yield the world this ass! a woman, that
Bears all down with her brain; and this her son
Cannot take two from twenty for his heart,
And leave eighteen. Alas, poor princess,
Thou divine Imogen, what thou endur'st!
Betwixt a father by thy step-dame govern'd;
A mother hourly coining plots; a wooer
More hateful than the foul expulsion is
Of thy dear husband, than that horrid act
Of the divorce he'd make! The heavens hold firm
The walls of thy dear honour; keep unshak'd
That temple, thy fair mind; that thou mayst stand,
To enjoy thy banish'd lord, and this great land!
[Exit.

SCENE II. - A Bed-chamber; in one Part of it a Trunk.

IMOGEN reading in her Bed; a Lady attending.
Imo. Who's there? my woman Helen?
Lady.

Please you, madam.

Imo. What hour is it?
Lady.
Almost midnight, madam.
Imo. I have read three hours, then: mine eyes

are weak:

Fold down the leaf where I have left: To bed:
Take not away the taper, leave it burning;
And if thou canst awake by four o'the clock,
I pr'ythee, call me. Sleep hath seiz'd me wholly.
[Erit Lady.
To your protection I commend me, gods!
From fairies, and the tempters of the night,
Guard me, beseech ye!

[Sleeps. IACHIMO, from the Truak. Iach. The crickets sing, and man's o'er-labour'd

sense

Repairs itself by rest: Our Tarquin thus
Did softly press the rushes 7, ere he waken'd
The chastity he wounded. Cytherea,
How bravely thou becom'st thy bed! fresh lily!
And whiter than the sheets! that I might touch!
But kiss; one kiss! - Rubies unparagon'd,
How dearly they do't!-'Tis her breathing that

Clo. Is it fit, I went to look upon him? Is there Perfumes the chamber thus: The flame o'the taper no derogation in't?

1 Lord. You cannot derogate, my lord. Clo. Not easily, I think.

2 Lord. You are a fool granted; therefore your issues being foolish, do not derogate. [Aside. Clo. Come, I'll go see this Italian: What I have lost to-day at bowls, I'll win to-night of him. Come, go.

2 Lord. I'll attend your lordship.

[Exeunt CLOTEN and first Lord.

6 He is describing his fate at bowls, the jack is the small bowl at which the others are aimed.

Bows toward her; and would under-peep her lids,
To see the enclosed lights, now canopied
Under these windows: White and azure, lac'd
With blue of heaven's own tinct." But my design?
To note the chamber :-
Such and such pictures:
Such

I will write all down: -There the window:

Ah, but some natural notes about her body,
Above ten thousand meaner moveables
Would testify, to enrich mine inventory :
O sleep, thou ape of death, lie dull upon her!
And be her sense but as a monument,
Thus in a chapel lying!· Come off, come off;
[Taking off her Bracelet.
As slippery, as the Gordian knot was hard!
'Tis mine; and this will witness outwardly,
As strongly as the conscience does within,
To the madding of her lord. On her left breast
A mole cinque-spotted, like the crimson drops
I' the bottom of a cowslip: Here's a voucher,
Stronger than ever law could make: this secret
Will force him think I have prevail'd, and ta'en
The treasure of her honour. No more. To what
end?

Why should I write this down, that's riveted,
Screw'd to my memory? She hath been reading late
The tale of Tereus; here the leaf's turn'd down,
Where Philomel gave up;
- I have enough:
To the trunk again, and shut the spring of it.
Swift, swift, you dragons of the night!—that
dawning

May bare the raven's eye: I lodge in fear;
Though this a heavenly angel, hell is here.

[Clock strikes.

The Scene closes.

An Ante-chamber adjoining Imo

gen's Apartment.

Enter CLOTEN and Lords.

Will she not forth?

Clo. I have assailed her with musick, but she vouchsafes no notice.

Cym. The exile of her minion is too new;
She hath not yet forgot him: some more time
Must wear the print of his remembrance out,
And then she's yours.

Queen.
You are most bound to the king;
Who let's go by no 'vantages, that may
Prefer you to his daughter: Frame yourself
To orderly solicits; and be friended
With aptness of the season: make denials
Increase your services: so seem, as if
You were inspir'd to do those duties which
You tender to her: that you in all obey her,
Save when command to your dismission tends,
And therein you are senseless.
Senseless? not so.
Clo.

Enter a Messenger.

Mess. So like you, sir, ambassadors from Rome; The one is Caius Lucius.

Cym.

A worthy fellow,

1 Lord. Your lordship is the most patient man in Albeit he comes on angry purpose now; loss, the most coldest that ever turn'd up ace. Clo. It would make any man cold to lose.

1 Lord. But not every man patient, after the noble temper of your lordship: You are most hot, and furious, when you win.

Clo. Winning would put any man into courage: If I could get this foolish Imogen, I should have gold enough: It's almost morning, is't not? 1 Lord. Day, my lord.

I am

Clo. I would this musick would come: advised to give her musick o'the mornings; they it will penetrate.

say,

But that's no fault of his: We must receive him
According to the honour of his sender;
And towards himself his goodness forespent on us
Our dear son,
We must extend our notice.
When you have given good morning to your mistress,
Attend the queen, and us; we shall have need
To employ you towards this Roman.

queen.

Come, our

[Exeunt CYM. QUEEN, Lords, and Mess. Clo. If she be up, I'll speak with her; if not, Let her lie still, and dream. By your leave, ho![Knocks.

I know her women are about her: What
If I do line one of their hands? 'Tis gold
Which buys adınittance; oft it doth; yea, and makes
Diana's rangers false themselves, yield up
Their deer to the stand of the stealer; and 'tis gold
Which makes the true man kill'd, and saves the thief;
Nay, sometime, hangs both thief and true man: What
Can it not do, and undo? I will make
One of her women lawyer to me; for
I yet not understand the case myself.
By your leave.

I would not speak. I pray you, spare me,
I shall unfold equal discourtesy

To your best kindness; one of your great knowing
Should learn, being taught, forbearance.

Clo. To leave you in your madness, 'twere my sin: I will not.

Imo. Fools are not mad folks.
Clo.

Do you call me fool?
Imo. As I am mad, I do;
If you'll be patient, I'll no more be mad;
That cures us both. I am much sorry, sir,
You put me to forget a lady's manners,

By being so verbal 2; and learn now, for all,
That I, which know my heart, do here pronounce,
By the very truth of it, I care not for you;
And am so near the lack of charity,

(To accuse myself,) I hate you: which I had rather You felt, than make't my boast.

Clo.

You sin against Obedience, which you owe your father. For The contract you pretend with that base wretch, (One, bred of alms, and foster'd with cold dishes, With scraps o'the court,) it is no contract, none : And though it be allow'd in meaner parties, (Yet who, than he, more mean?) to knit their souls (On whom there is no more dependency But brats and beggary) in self-figur d knot 3: Yet you are curb'd from that enlargement by The consequence o' the crown; and must not soil The precious note of it with a base slave, A hilding for a livery, a squire's cloth, A pantler, not so eminent.

Ay; I said so, sir.
If you will make't an action, call witness to't.
Clo. I will inform your father.
Imo.

Your mother too:
She's my good lady; and will conceive, I hope,
But the worst of me. So I leave you, sir,
To the worst of discontent.

Clo.

[Exit.

I'll be reveng'd:

[Exit.

His meanest garment? . Well.

SCENE IV. Rome. An Apartment in Philario's House.

Enter POSTHUMUS and PHILARIO.

Post. Fear it not, sir: I would, I were so sure To win the king, as I am bold, her honour Will remain hers.

Phi.

What means do you make to him?
Post. Not any; but abide the change of time;
Quake in the present winter's state, and wish
That warmer days would come: In these fear'd
hopes,

I barely gratify your love; they failing,
I must die much your debtor.

Phi. Your very goodness, and your company
O'erpays all I can do. By this, your king
Hath heard of great Augustus: Caius Lucius
Will do his commission thoroughly: And, I think,
He'll grant the tribute, send the arrearages,
Or look upon our Romans, whose remembrance
Is yet fresh in their grief.

Post. I do believe, (Statist 6 though I am none, nor like to be,) That this will prove a war; and you shall hear The legions, now in Gallia, sooner landed In our not-fearing Britain, than have tidings Of any penny tribute paid. Our countrymen Are men more order'd, than when Julius Cæsar Smil'd at their lack of skill, but found their courage Worthy his frowning at: Their discipline (Now mingled with their courages) will make known To their approvers 7, they are people, such That mend upon the world.

Phi.

Enter IACHIMO.

See! Iachimo?

Post. The swiftest harts have posted you by land: And winds of all the corners kiss'd your sails, To make your vessel nimble.

Phi.

Welcome, sir.

Haunted. 6 Statesmen. 7 To those who try them.

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