But one that's here, and that's himself; for he
The sacred honour of himself, his queen's,

His hopeful son's, his babe's, betrays to slander,

Whose sting is sharper than the sword's, and will not
(For, as the case now stands, it is a curse
He cannot be compell'd to't) once remove
The root of his opinion, which is rotten
As ever oak, or stone, was sound.

Leon.

A callat,

Of boundless tongue', who late hath beat her husband,
And now baits me!-This brat is none of mine:

It is the issue of Polixenes.

Hence with it; and, together with the dam,
Commit them to the fire.

Paul.

It is your's;

And, might we lay the old proverb to your charge,
So like you, 'tis the worse.-Behold, my lords,
Although the print be little, the whole matter
And copy of the father: eye, nose, lip,

The trick of his frown, his forehead; nay, the valley,
The pretty dimples of his chin, and cheek; his smiles;
The very mould and frame of hand, nail, finger.—
And, thou, good goddess Nature, which hast made it
So like to him that got it, if thou hast

The ordering of the mind too, 'mongst all colours
No yellow in't; lest she suspect, as he does,

Her children not her husband's.

Leon.

And, losel, thou art worthy to be hang'd',

That wilt not stay her tongue.
Ant.

A gross hag!

Hang all the husbands

Of boundless tongue,] "Callat" is sometimes spelt callet, and is a very old term of abuse applied to women. It seems originally to have meant merely a low mean woman, and has been derived from calle, which Tyrwhitt tells us is Fr. for "a species of cap," (Gloss. to Chaucer,) or from calotte, which Grey says was a sort of head-dress worn by country girls. In the time of Shakespeare, and much earlier, "callet was generally used for a lewd woman, a drab. In "Henry VI.," Pt. iii. A. ii. sc. 2, we have "shameless callet;" and the word occurs again in a similar sense in "Othello," A. iv. sc. 2.

2 And, LOSEL, thou art worthy to be hang'd,] "Losel" is a word of the com"A losel," monest occurrence, in the sense of a worthless and abandoned fellow. says Verstegan in his "Restitution," 1605, as quoted by Reed, "is one that hath lost, neglected, or cast off his own good and welfare, and who is become lewd, and careless of credit and honesty." "Losel" is from A. S. Losian, to lose.

That cannot do that feat, you'll leave yourself

Hardly one subject.

Leon.
Once more, take her hence.
Paul. A most unworthy and unnatural lord

Not she which burns in't. I'll not call you tyrant ;
But this most cruel usage of your queen

(Not able to produce more accusation

Than your own weak hing'd fancy) something savours
Of tyranny, and will ignoble make you,

Yea, scandalous to the world.

Leon.

Out of the chamber with her.

On your allegiance,

Were I a tyrant, Where were her life? she durst not call me so, If she did know me one. Away with her!

Paul. I pray you, do not push me; I'll be gone. Look to your babe, my lord; 'tis your's: Jove send her A better guiding spirit!-What need these hands ?— You, that are thus so tender o'er his follies,

Will never do him good, not one of you.

So, so-farewell; we are gone.

Leon. Thou, traitor, hast set on thy wife to this.

My child? away with't!-even thou, that hast

A heart so tender o'er it, take it hence,

And see it instantly consum'd with fire:

Even thou, and none but thou. Take it up straight.
Within this hour bring me word 'tis done,

(And by good testimony) or I'll seize thy life,

With what thou else call'st thine. If thou refuse,
And wilt encounter with my wrath, say so;
The bastard-brains with these my proper hands
Shall I dash out. Go, take it to the fire,

For thou sett'st on thy wife.

Ant.

I did not, sir:

These lords, my noble fellows, if they please,
Can clear me in't.

1 Lord.

We can my royal liege,

He is not guilty of her coming hither.

Leon. You're liars all.

1 Lord. Beseech your highness, give us better credit.

[Exit.

We have always truly serv'd and beseech you

you,

So to esteem of us; and on our knees we beg, (As recompense of our dear services,

3

[Kneeling.

Past, and to come) that you do change this purpose;
Which, being so horrible, so bloody, must

Lead on to some foul issue. We all kneel..

Leon. I am a feather for each wind that blows.

Shall I live on, to see this bastard kneel

And call me father? Better burn it now,

Than curse it then. But, be it; let it live :

It shall not neither.-You, sir, come you hither;

You, that have been so tenderly officious
With lady Margery, your midwife, there,

To save this bastard's life,-for 'tis a bastard,

[To ANTIGONUS.

So sure as thy beard's grey ',-what will you adventure
To save this brat's life?

Ant.

Any thing, my lord,
That my ability may undergo,

And nobleness impose: at least, thus much;
I'll pawn the little blood which I have left,
To save the innocent: any thing possible.

Leon. It shall be possible. Swear by this sword,
Thou wilt perform my bidding.

Ant.

I will, my lord.
Leon. Mark, and perform it, seest thou; for the fail
Of any point in't shall not only be

Death to thyself, but to thy lewd-tongued wife,
Whom for this time we pardon. We enjoin thee,
As thou art liegeman to us, that thou carry
This female bastard hence; and that thou bear it

To some remote and desert place, quite out
Of our dominions; and that there thou leave it,
Without more mercy, to its own protection,
And favour of the climate. As by strange fortune

It came to us, I do in justice charge thee,

3- and beseech YOU] "You" is from the corr. fo. 1632, and there is little doubt that it had dropped out at the end of the line.

44

So sure as THY beard's grey,] The old MS. corrector of Lord Ellesmere's copy of the folio, 1623, altered this" into thy, which, probably, was the true reading. Leontes could not, of course, refer to his own beard; and in order to make "this beard" intelligible, he must have touched or plucked that of Antigonus.

On thy soul's peril and thy body's torture,
That thou commend it strangely to some place,
Where chance may nurse, or end it.
Ant. I swear to do this, though a
Had been more merciful.-Come on, poor babe:

Take it up. present death

[Taking up the Child.

Some powerful spirit instruct the kites and ravens
To be thy nurses! Wolves, and bears, they say,
Casting their savageness aside, have done
Like offices of pity.-Sir, be prosperous

In more than this deed doth require !—and blessing
Against this cruelty fight on thy side,

Poor thing, condemn'd to loss!

Leon.

Another's issue.

1 Atten.

[Exit with the Child.

No; I'll not rear

Please your highness, posts

From those you sent to the oracle are come

An hour since: Cleomenes and Dion,

Being well arriv'd from Delphos, are both landed,
Hasting to the court.

1 Lord.

So please you, sir, their speed

Hath been beyond account.

Leon.

Twenty-three days
They have been absent: 'tis good speed, foretels,
The great Apollo suddenly will have

The truth of this appear. Prepare you, lords:
Summon a session, that we may arraign
Our most disloyal lady; for, as she hath
Been publicly accus'd, so shall she have
A just and open trial. While she lives,
My heart will be a burden to me.
And think upon my bidding.

Leave me,

[Exeunt.

ACT III. SCENE I.

The Same. A Street in some Town.

Enter CLEOMENES and DION.

Cleo. The climate's delicate, the air most sweet, Fertile the isle', the temple much surpassing

5 Fertile the ISLE,] i. e. The isle of Delphos. Warburton points out a geogra

I shall report,

The common praise it bears.

Dion.

For most it caught me, the celestial habits,

(Methinks, I so should term them) and the reverence Of the grave wearers. O, the sacrifice!

How ceremonious, solemn, and unearthly

It was i' the offering!

Cleo.

But, of all, the burst

And the ear-deafening voice o' the oracle,
Kin to Jove's thunder, so surpris'd my sense,
That I was nothing.

Dion.

If th' event o' the journey

Prove as successful to the queen,-O, be 't so!-
As it hath been to us rare, pleasant, speedy,

The time is worth the use on't.

Cleo.

Great Apollo,

Turn all to the best! These proclamations,
So forcing faults upon Hermione,

I little like.

Will clear, or end the business: when the oracle,

(Thus by Apollo's great divine seal'd up)

Shall the contents discover, something rare,
Even then, will rush to knowledge.

And gracious be the issue!

Go,-fresh horses;

[Exeunt.

SCENE II.

The Same. A Court of Justice.

Enter LEONTES, Lords, and Officers.

Leon. This sessions (to our great grief we pronounce) Even pushes 'gainst our heart: the party tried,

The daughter of a king; our wife, and one

Of us too much belov'd.-Let us be clear'd

phical blunder here, inasmuch as the temple of Apollo at Delphi was not on an island, but in Phocis on the continent. This is of course true; but Shakespeare had "isle" from Greene, in whom the error was less excusable, as he was Master of Arts in both Universities. In "Pandosto," Bellaria requests "that it would please his Majestie to send sixe of his noble men, whom he best trusted, to the isle of Delphos, there to inquire of the Oracle of Apollo, whether she had committed adultery with Egistus, or conspired to poyson him with Tranion." Shakespeare's Library, Part i. p. 20.

VOL. III.

E