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Sc. II. Enter Oth. above at a window, who hearing the voice of Caf. concludes that lage has kept his word, and that Caf. is murthered. Exit.

Sc. III. Enter Lod. and Gra: at a diftance, hearing Caf. cry Murther. Enter lago in his fhirt, with a light and fword. Caf. tells him he is befet by villains. Iago, as looking about for them, finds Rod. and ftabs him.

Sc. IV. Enter Bianca, whom Iago charges with being an accomplice in Caf.'s attack.

Sc. V. Enter Emil. Bianca confeffes that Caf. fupt with her, and Iago feizes her as guilty. Exeunt, Iago

following.

Sc. VI. A bed-chamber. Def. is difcovered afleep in her

bed. Enter Oth. with a light. His foliloquy. Kiffes her. She wakes. He bids her prepare for death, and accuses her of difloyalty with Caf. She defends her virtue, and endeavours to diffuade him from his horrid design, but in vain. He fmothers

her.

Sc. VII. Emil. at the door, calling to Oth.
She comes to tell him Rod. is flain.

Enter Emil.

She finds that

Def. is murdered. Oth. owns 'tis by him, and as a punishment for her difloyalty with Caf. of which he fays Iago had informed him. Upon Emilia's crying murther,

Sc. VIII. Enter Mon. Gra. Iago, and others. Emil. tells Iago that Oth. charges him with faying that Def. was falfe to him; which he owns. Emil. contradicting him, and beginning to vindicate the character of Def. lago bids her get home; which she refufing, he offers to ftab her. She relates that the handkerchief

B

handkerchief was accidentally found by her, and given to lago, who had often earnestly begged her to fteal it. Upon this Oth. runs at lago, who breaks through, and wounds his wife; then runs out. Exeunt Mon. and Gra. after Iago.

Sc. IX. Emil. protefts that Def. was chafte, and loved Oth. She dies. Re-enter Gra. Oth. bewails the lofs of

Def.

Sc. X. Enter Lod. Cas. led in wounded, Mon. and Iago prifoners, with officers. Oth. wounds Iago. Lod. fays Iago had in part confeffed his villainy. Oth. afks Caf's pardon for having confpired against him, and begs him to afk lago, why he had thus impofed upon and infnared him (Oth.). Iago declares he will relate nothing. Lod. produces two letters, found in the pocket of the murdered Rod. one of them importing the death of Caf. to be undertaken by Rod. and the other a difcontented paper that Rod. intended to have fent Iago. Caf. being questioned by Oth. about the handkerchief, tells him he found it in his chamber, and that lago had confeffed he dropt it there for a special purpose, which wrought to his defire. Oth. after reprefenting his unhappy cafe, ftabs himself, and kiffing Def dies. Lod. recommends to Caf (who is made governor of Cyprus) the punishing lago according to his deferts. Exeunt.

OTHELLO,

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USH, never tell me; I take it much unkindly,

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d That thou, lago, who haft had my purse, As if the ftrings were thine, fhouldft know of this.

Iage.

'Sblood, but you will not hear me.

If ever I did dream of fuch a matter, abhor me.

a The qu's and fo's do not describe the scene; R. and P. Venice only; T. firft makes it a street in Venice.

So the qu's and W; the reft omit Tufb.

The three laft fo's and R. read very for much.

¿ Thè ift q. That you, Jago, who has bad, &c.

e The ad q. omits Iago.

f All but the ift q. omit 'Sblood. So the 1ft q; the reit you'll. h C. omits abbor me; H. reads abbor me then.

B 2

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Rod. Thou told'ft me thou didst hold him in thy hate.

lago. Defpife me, if I do not. Three great ones of the

city,

In perfonal fuit to make me his lieutenant,

* Off-cap'd to him; and, by the faith of man,
I know my price, I am worth no worfe a place,
But he (as loving his own pride and purposes)
Evades them with a bombaft circumftance,
Horribly stuff'd with epithets of war,

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Non-fuits my mediators: a for, certes, fays he,

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I have already chofen my officer. And what was he?

Forfooth, a great arithmetician,

One Michael Caffio, a Florentine,

(A fellow's almoft damn'd in a fair' wife!)

i The qu's, R. P. and H. read Oft' capt. But we are not to fuppofe that the Great ones often begg'd Othello (cap in

hand) to promote Iago; it was enough that they did so once. 'Tis very likely the original reading was Off'd cap.

* H. omits own.

1 T. reads purpose (as in no edition before) followed by W. and J.

[ Afide

s The emendation of T. (followed by all the fucceeding editors, except H.y ftands thus,

One Michael Caffio - the Floren

"tine's

"A fellow almost damn'd in a fais

" wife;”)—

Wherein it is fuppofed that Iago is the
Florentine here mentioned; and that he

m The 2d q. the fo's, and R. omit, here breaks off in his fpeech, and is And in conclufion. perfonating Ocbello, and repeating the n So all before P, who omits for; words Othello had faid concerning him followed by the reft, except C. (lago) But it is furprizing it hath not So the ift q. and S; all the reit, appeared to these editors that Iago is a Venetian. Iago makes out Desdemona to

chose.

PT. reads, the Florentine's; W. a be his country-woman by the following Florentine's.

1 The qu's read dambd.

■ H, reads phyz for wife; C. face.

words (which are concerning her)
I know our country difpofition well
In Venice, &c.

Act. III. Sc. 5.

That

That never fet a fquadron in the field,
Nor the divifion of a battle knows

More than a spinfter;
Wherein the toged confuls can propofe

unless the bookish theorick,

As mafterly as he: meer prattle, without practice,

And in the following paffage, Iago de

lares Roderigo to be his country-man, and a Venetian.

honeft than this lago.

But then tho' Caffio be the Florentine, as it does not appear that he was mar

Alas, my friend and my dear country- ried, he cannot be the fellow almost damn'd

man,

Rederigo? &c.

Gra. What, of Venice?

Iago. Even he, &c.

How these two plain paffages came to efcape these editors, is aftonishing: 7. indeed, when he comes to the first of them, remarks that, Here Jago feems to be Venetian. (Seems ? I know not Seems) who can doubt it?

lago, therefore, being a Venetian, this emendation of T, falls to the ground: and Caffio may be the Florentine here mentioned; and that he is may be proved by a paffage which has been made ufe of to prove him not a Florentine. Speaking of lago, Caffio fays,

Caf. I never knew
A Florentine more kind and honeft.

Act III. Sc. 1. By which these editors would understand Caffio to mean, that Iago was a very kind and honeft Florentine. But as it is proyed that Iago was no Florentine, but a Venetian the meaning of thefe words of Caffio muft be, "I never knew one of my own country-men more kind and

in a fair wife; therefore H. alters wife to Phyz; a fair face (and fuch an one Caffio is fuppofed to have) being no compliment to a foldier, but rather a difgrace. H.'s meaning then is fomething like this, "Caffio's a damn'd handsome fellow."

In the above reading, I have only fupplied, 's, after fellow, and restored the parenthesis which is in the fo's, though not in the qu's; and suppose Shakespeare meant this line to be fpoke apart, expreffing a fudden motion of jealousy in Iago on naming Othello and Caffio; of both of which that he was jealous appears from Act II, Sc. 8. And Jago's meaning is, "To be married to a handfome woman (as I am) is almost as bad as being damn'd; as the number of her admirers will doom the husband to a state of perpetual jealousy."

B 3

So all before P. who reads but for unless; followed by the reft, except C, u Blockish, ad q.

w So the aft q. T. W. J and C; the reft, tongued for toged,

x T. reads couns'lorş,

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