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Imo. You are my father too; and did relieve me, To fee this gracious season.

Cym. All o'erjoy'd,

Save these in bonds: let them be joyful too,
For they fhall tafte our comfort.

Imo. My good master,

I will yet do you fervice.

Luc. Happy be you!

Cym. The forlorn foldier, that fo nobly fought, He would have well becom'd this place, and grac'd The thankings of a king.

Poft. I am, fir,

The foldier that did company these three

In poor befeeming; 'twas a fitment for

The purpose I then followed :-That I was he,
Speak, Iachimo; I had you down, and might
Have made you finish.

Iach. I am down again :

But now my heavy confcience finks my knee, [Kneels.
As then your force did. Take that life, 'befeech you,
Which I fo often owe: but, your ring first;
And here the bracelet of the trueft princess,
That ever fwore her faith.

Poft. Kneel not to me:

The power that I have on you, is to spare you;
The malice towards you, to forgive you: Live,
And deal with others better.

Cym. Nobly doom'd:

We'll learn our freenefs of a fon-in-law;

Pardon's the word to all.

Arv. You holp us, fir,

As you did mean indeed to be our brother;

Joy'd are we, that you are.

Poft. Your fervant, princes.-Good my lord of Rome,

Call forth your foothfayer: As I flept, methought, Great Jupiter, upon his eagle back'd,

6

Appear'd

Appear'd to me, with other sprightly fhews'
Of mine own kindred: when I wak'd, I found
This label on my bofom; whofe containing
Is fo from fenfe in hardness, that I can
Make no collection of it: let him fhew
His fkill in the conftruction.

Luc. Philarmonus,

Sooth. Here, my good lord.

Luc. Read, and declare the meaning.

Soothsayer reads.

When as a lion's whelp fhall, to himself unknown, without feeking find, and be embrac'd by a piece of tender air; and when from a stately cedar fhall be lopt branches, which, being dead many years, fhall after revive, be jointed to the old stock, and freshly grow; then fhall Pofthumus end his miferies, Britain be fortunate, and flourish in peace and plenty.

Thou, Leonatus, art the lion's whelp;
The fit and apt conftruction of thy name,
Being Leo-natus, doth import fo much.
The piece of tender air, thy virtuous daughter,

[To Cymbeline. Which we call mollis aer; and mollis aer

We term it mulier : which mulier, I divine,

Is this most conftant wife; [To Poft.] who, even now,
Answering the letter of the oracle,

Unknown to you, unfought, were clip'd about
With this most tender air.

-fprightly fhews-] Are ghoftly appearances. STEEVENS. Make no collection of it.] A collection is a corollary, a confequence deduced from premifes. So, in Sir John Davies's poem on The Immortality of the Soul:

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When the, from fundry arts, one skill doth draw;
Gath'ring from divers fights, one act of war;
From many cafes like, one rule of law :

"Thefe her collections, not the fenfes are." STEEVENS,

Сут.

Cym. This hath fome feeming.

Sooth. The lofty cedar, royal Cymbeline, Perfonates thee: and thy lopt branches point Thy two fons forth: who, by Belarius ftolen, For many years thought dead, are now reviv'd, To the majestick cedar join'd; whofe iffue Promifes Britain peace and plenty.

2

Cym. Well,

My peace we will begin :-And, Caius Lucius,
Although the victor, we submit to Cæfar,
And to the Roman empire; promifing

To pay our wonted tribute, from the which
We were diffuaded by our wicked queen;

3 On whom heaven's justice, (both on her, and hers) Hath lay'd moft heavy hand.

Sooth. The fingers of the powers above do tune The harmony of this peace. The vifion Which I made known to Lucius, ere the ftroke Of this yet fcarce-cold battle, at this inftant Is full accomplish'd: For the Roman eagle, From fouth to weft on wing foaring aloft, Leffen'd herself, and in the beams o' the fun So vanish'd: which fore-fhew'd, our princely eagle, The imperial Cæfar, fhould again unite His favour with the radiant Cymbeline, Which fhines here in the weft.

Cym. Laud we the gods;

And let our crooked fimokes climb to their noftrils From our bleft altars! Publish we this

peace

To all our fubjects. Set we forward: Let

A Roman and a British enfign wave

Friendly together: fo through Lud's town march;

2 My peace we will begin:

-] I think it better to read:
JOHNSON.

By peace we will begin..
3 On whom Heaven's juftice-
Whom Heavens, in juftice,
Have laid molt heavy hand.

-] The old copy reads: both on her and hers MALONE.

And

And in the temple of great Jupiter

Our peace we'll ratify; feal it with feafts.-
Set on there :-Never was a war did cease,

Ere bloody hands were wash'd, with fuch a peace.
[Exeunt omnes.

THIS play has many juft fentiments, fome natural dialogues, and fome pleasing fcenes, but they are obtained at the expence of much incongruity. To remark the folly of the fiction, the abfurdity of the conduct, the confufion of the names, and manners of different times, and the impoffibility of the events in any fyftem of life, were to wafte criticifm upon unrefifting imbecility, upon faults too evident for detection, and too grofs for aggravation. JOHNSON.

A book entitled Weftward for Smelts, or the Waterman's fare of mad Merry Western Wenches, whofe Tongues albeit like Bellclappers, they never leave ringing, yet their Tales are feet, and will much content you. Written by kinde Kitt of Kingstone-was publifhed at London in 1603; and again in 1620. To the fecond tale in that volume Shakspeare feems to have been indebted for part of the fable of Cymbeline. It is told by the Fish-` wife of Standon the Green, and is as follows:

In

"In the troublesome raigne of king Henry the Sixth, there dwelt in Waltam (not farre from London) a gentleman, which had to wife a creature moft beautifull, fo that in her time there, were few found that matched her, none at all that excelled her;* so excellent were the gifts that nature had bestowed on her. body was fhe not onely fo rare and unparaleled, but also in her gifts of minde, fo that in this creature it feemed that Grace and Nature trove who fhould excell each other in their gifts toward her. The gentleman, her husband, thought himfelfe. fo happy in his choife, that he believed, in choofing her, he had tooke holde of that bleffing which Heaven proffereth every man once in his life. Long did not this opinion hold for cur-rant; for in his height of love he began fo to hate her, that he fought her death: the caufe I will tell you.

Having bufineffe one day to London, he took his leave very kindly of his wife, and, accompanied with one man, he rode to London being toward night, he tooke up his inne, and to be briefe, he went to fupper amongst other gentlemen. Amongst other talke at table, one tooke occafion to fpeake of women, and what excellent creatures they were, fo long as they' continued loyal to man. To whom anfwered one, faying, This is truth, Sir; fo is the divell good fo long as he doth no harme, which is meaner: his goodnefs and womens' loyaltie

win

will come both in one yeere; but it is fo farre off, that none in this age fhall live to fee it.

"This gentleman loving his wife dearely, and knowing her to be free from this uncivill generall taxation of women, in her behalf, faid, "Sir, you are too bitter against the fexe of women, and doe ill, for fome one's fake that hath proved falfe to you, to taxe the generalitie of women-kinde with lightneffe; and but I would not be counted uncivill amongst these gentlemen, I would give you the reply that approved untruth deserv eth:-you know my meaning, Sir; conftrue my words as you please. Excufe me, gentlemen, if I be uncivil; I anfwere in the behalfe of one who is as free from difloyaltie as is the funne from darknes, or the fire from cold. Pray, Sir, faid the other, fince wee are oppofite in opinions, let us rather talke like lawyers, that wee may be quickly friends againe, than like fouldiers, which end their words with blowes. Perhaps this woman that you answere for, is chafte, but yet against her will; for many women are honeft, 'caufe they have not the meanes and opportunitie to be dishoneft: fo is a thief true in prison, becaufe he hath nothing to fteale. Had I but opportunitie and knew this fame faint you fo adore, I would pawne my life and whole eftate, in a fhort while to bring you fome manifest token of her difloyaltie. Sir, you are yong in the knowledge of womens' flights; your want of experience makes you too credulous: therefore be not abufed." This fpeech of his made the gentleman more out of patience than before, fo that with much adoe he held himfelfe from offering violence; but his anger beeing a little over, he said,-Sir, I doe verily beleeve that this vaine fpeech of yours proceedeth rather from a loofe and ill-manner'd minde, than of any experience you have had of women's loosenefs and fince you think yourfelfe fo cunning in that divellish art of corrupting womens' chaftitie, I will lay down heere a hundred pounds, against which you fhall lay fifty pounds, and before thefe gentlemen I promise you, if that within a month's fpace you bring me any token of this gentlewoman's disloyaltie (for whofe fake I have spoken in the behalfe of all women) I doe freely give you leave to injoy the fame; conditionally, you not performing it, I may enjoy your money. If that be a match, Ipeake and I will acquaint you where the dwelleth and befides I vow, as I am a gentleman, not to give her notice of any fuch intent that is toward her. Sir, quoth the man, your proffer is faire, and I accept the fame. So the money was delivered into the oaft of the houfe his hands, and the fitters by were witnesses; fo drinking together like friends, they went every man to his chamber. The next day this man, having knowledge of the place, rid thither, leaving the gentleman at the inne, who being affured of his wife's chaftitie, made no other account but to winne the wager; but it fell out otherwife for the other vowed

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