Clo. O Lord, Sir,fpare not me.

Count. Do you cry, O Lord, Sir, at your whipping, and spare not me? indeed, your O Lord, Sir, is very fequent to your whipping: you would antwer very well to a whipping, if you were but bound to't.

Cio. I ne'er had worf: luck in my life, in my

O Lord, Sir; I fee, things may ferve long, but not ferve ever.

Count. I play the noble houfwife with the time, to entertain it fo merrily with a fool.

Clo. O Lord, Sir-why, there't ferves well again. Count. An end, Sir; to your business: give Helen this, And urge her to a prefent anfwer back.

Commend me to my kinfmen, and my sọn:
This is not much.

Clo. Not much commendation to them?

Count. Not much imployment for you, you underftand me.

Clo. Moft fruitfully, I am there before my legs.
Count. Hafte you again.

Laf.

S CENE v.

Changes to the Court of France.

Enter Bertram, Lafeu, and Parolles.

T

[Exeunt.

HEY fay, miracles are paft; and we have our philofophical perfons to make modern, and familiar, things fupernatural and caufelefs. Hence is it, that we make trifles of terrors; enfconfing ourfelves into feeming knowledge, when we fhould fubmit ourselves to an unknown fear s.

Par. Why, 'tis the rareft argument of wonder that hath fhot out in our later times.

Ber. And fo 'tis.

5

unknown fear.] Fear is here the object of fear.

Laf..

Laf. To be relinquifh'd of the artists

Par. So I fay, both of Galen and Paracelfus .
Laf. Of all the learned and authentick Fellows —
Per. Right, fo I fay.

Laf. That gave him out incurable,

Par. Why, there 'tis, fo lay I too.
Laf. Not to be help'd,-

Par. Right, as 'twere a man affur'd of an ---
Lef. Uncertain life, and fure death.-

Par. Juft, you fay well: fo would I have said. Laf. I may truly fay, it is a novelty to the world. Par. It is, indeed, if you will have it in fhewing, you fhall read it in, what do you call there

Laf. A fhewing of a heav'nly effect in an earthly

actor 7.

Par. That's it, I would have faid the very fame.

Par. So I fay, both of Galen
and Paracelfus.

Laf. Of all the learned and

authentick fillows Shakespeare, as I have often ob ferved, never throws out his words at randem. Paracellus, tho' no better than an ignorant and knavish enthufiaft was at this time in fuch vogue. even amongst the learned, that he had almoft juftled Galen and the ancients out of credit. On this account learned is applied to Galen; and authentick or fashionable to Paracelus. Sarcy, in his Confeffion Catholique, p. 301. Ed. Cel 1720, is made to lay, Je trouve la Riviere premier Medecin, de meilleure bumeur que ces gens la. Il eft ben Galenite, & tres bon Paracelfifte. Ii dit que la doctrine de Galien eft konorable, & nin me prifable four la pathol gie, profitable pour tes Boutiques. L'autre, pour eu que

Laf. Why, your dolphin is not luftier: for me, I fpeak in refpect

Par. Nay, 'tis ftrange, 'tis very ftrange, that is the brief and the tedious of it; and he's of a moft facinerious fpirit, that will not acknowledge it to be theLaf. Very hand of heav'n.

Par. Ay, fo I fay.

Laf. In a most weak

Par. And debile minifter, great power, great tranfcendence; which fhould, indeed, give us a farther use to be made than alone the recov'ry of the King; as to be

Laf. Generally thankful.

Enter King, Helena, and attendants.

Par. I would have faid it, you faid well, Here comes the King.

Lef. Luftick, as the Dutchman fays. I'll like `a Maid the better, while I have a tooth in my head. Why, he's able to lead her a Corranto.

8

Par. Mort du Vinaigre! is not this Helena?
Laf. 'Fore God, I think fo.

King. Go, call before me all the Lords in court.

which should, indeed, give us farther ufe to be made, &c.] Between the words us and a farther, there feems to have been two or three words dropt, which appear to have been to this purpo.e-bould, indeed, give us [notice, that there is of this,] a farther ufe to be made 10 that the paffage fhould be read with afterifks for the future.

language than fuch as is very common in thefe plays. I believe Parelles has again ufurped words and fente to which he has no right; and I read this paffage thus,

Laf In a most weak and debile minifler, great power, great tranfcendence; which buld, indied, give us a farther vfe to be made than the mere recovery of the king.

Par: As to be
Laf. Generally thankful.

Sit, my preferver, by thy patient's fide;
And with this healthful hand, whofe banish'd fenfe
Thou haft repeal'd, a fecond time receive
The confirmation of my promis'd gift;
Which but attends thy naming.

Enter three or four Lords.

Fair maid, fend forth thine eye; this youthful parcel
Of noble bachelors ftand at my bestowing,

O'er whom both fov'reign power and father's voice
I have to ufe; thy frank election make;
Thou haft power to chufe, and they none to forfake.
Hel. To each of you one fair and virtuous mistress
Fall, when love pleafe! marry, to each but one. —
Laf. I'd give bay curtal and his furniture,

My mouth no more were broken than these boys,
And writ as little beard.

King. Perufe them well:

Not one of thofe, but had a noble father.

[She addreffes herself to a Lord, Hel. Gentlemen, heaven hath, through me, reftor'd The King to health.

All. We understand it, and thank heaven for you. Hel. I am a fimple maid, and therein wealthieft, That, I proteft, I fimply am a maid.

Pleafe it your Majefty, I have done already :
The blufhes in my cheeks thus whifper me,

"We blufh that thou fhould chufe, but be refus'd;

"Let the white death fit on thy cheek for ever',

"We'll ne'er come there again.

King. Make choice, and fee,

Who fhuns thy love, fhuns all his love in me.

9 A broken mouth is a mouth which has loft part of its teeth. Let the white DEATH fit on thy cheek for ever,] ShakeSpeare, I think, wrote DEARTH;

i. e. want of blood, or more figuratively barrennels, want of fruit or iflue. WARBURTON.

The white death is the chlorofis.

Hel.

Hel. Now, Dian, from thy altar do I fly,
And to imperial Love, that God most high,
Do my fighs stream: Sir, will you
1 Lord. And grant it.

you hear

my

fuit ?

Hel. Thanks, Sir:all the reft is mute. Laf. I had rather be in this choice, than throw amesace for for my life.

Hel. The honour, Sir, that flames in your fair eyes, Before I fpeak, too threatningly replies:

Love make your fortunes twenty times above
Her that fo wifhes, and her humble love!
2 Lord. No better, if you please.

Hel. My wifh receive,

Which great Love grant! and fo I take my leave.

Laf. Do all they deny her? if they were fons of mine, I'd have them whipt, or I would fend them to the Turk to make eunuchs of.

Hel. Be not afraid that I your hand should take, I'll never do you wrong for your own fake: Blelling upon your vows, and in your bed Find fairer fortune, if you ever wed!

Laf. These boys are boys of ice, they'll none of her ; fure, they are bastards to the English, the French ne'er got 'em.

Hel. You are too young, too happy, and too good, To make yourself a fon out of my blood.

4 Lord. Fair one; I think not fo.

And to IMPERIAL Love,-] The old editions read IMPARTIAL, which is right. Love who has no regard to difference of condition, but yokes together high and low, which was her cafe. WARBURTON.

There is no edition of this play older than that of 1623, the next is that of 1632, of which both read imperial: the

VOL. III.

Y

fecond reads imperial Jove.

3 Laf. Do they all deny her?] None of them have yet denied her, or deny her afterwards but Bertram. The fcene must be for regulated that Lafeu and Parolles talk at a diftance, where they may fee what paffes between Helena and the lords, but not hear it, fo that they know not by whom the refufal is made.

Laf.