Whiles we enjoy it; but being lacked and loft, And every lovely organ of her life Shall come apparelled in more precious habit ; Into the eye and profpect of his foul, Than when the lived indeed. Then shall he mourn, And wish he had not fo accused her; No, though he thought his accufation true. Out of all eyes, tongues, minds, and injuries. To this innocent deception the father at length confents, expreffing himself, at the fame time, in a manner that every person's experience, who has ever had the misfortune to have been in fuch fituations, must have felt the justness of. Leonato. Being that I flow in grief, Doctor Johnfon's note upon this paffage, is worthy of being quoted here: "This is one of our Author's obfervations upon "life. Men overpowered with diftrefs, eagerly "liften to the firft offers of relief, clofe with every "scheme, and believe every promife. He that has "no longer any confidence in himself, is glad to "repose his truft in any other that will undertake "to guide him.” SCENE SCENE III. Beatrice, in fpiriting up Benedick to avenge her coufin Hero's quarrel, thus expreffes her refentment against the offender : Is he not approved in the height a villain, that hath flander'd, fcorn'd, difhonour'd my kinfwoman! O, that I were a man! What! bear her in hand until they come to take hands, and then with public accufation, uncover'd flander, unmitigated rancour O God, that I were a man! I would eat his heart in the marketplace. O that I were a man for his fake! or, that I had any friend would be a man for my fake! But manhood is melted into courtefies, valour into compliment, and men are only turned into tongue, and trim ones too-He is now as valiant as Hercules, that only tells a lie, and swears to it-I cannot be a man with wishing, therefore I will die a woman with grieving. There is a generous warmth of indignation in this fpeech, which must certainly impress a female reader with the fame fentiments upon fuch an occafion. I am not fo difingenuous to take advantage of this paffage as an historical fact, but am willing to reft it upon the fole authority of the Poet's affumption, as this will fufficiently answer the defign of my introducing it; which is, to vindicate my fex from the general, but unjust charge of being prone to flander; for were this the cafe, were not the refentment of Beatrice, in this inftance, natural, how could it move our fympathy? which it actually does here, even though we acknowledge the circumftance to have been merely imaginary. I believe, that there is nothing which a woman of virtue feels herself more offended at, than defamation or scandal, first against her own character, and proportionably when others are made the victims. There are women, indeed, who may be fond of flander, as having an intereft in depreciating an idea of chastity; but this is owing to their frailty, not their fex-Vice is neither mafculine, nor feminine; 'tis the common of two. ACT ACT V. SCENE I.. While the above-mentioned experiment was depending, and before the honour of Hero had been cleared, Antonio, her uncle, endeavours to comfort his brother under this misfortune; who replies to him in a manner very natural for a perfon la bouring under the immediate preffure of affliction, to speak to all advisers who do not fuffer the fame portion of grief themselves. Leonato. I pray thee, cease thy counsel, Measure his woe the length and breadth of mine, If fuch a one will fmile, and ftroke his beard, Cry, Sorrow, wag! and hem, when he should groan; But there is no fuch man; for, brother, men To be fo moral, when he shall endure The like himself-therefore, give me no counsel Antonio. Therein do men from children nothing differ. * Advertisement, for admonition. That could endure the tooth-ach patiently; SCENE II. Upon the two brothers meeting Claudio foon after, the father challenges him to fingle combat, for the scandal he had thrown upon his daughter's fame; which being paffed off in a fort of contemptuous manner, the refentment of the younger brother is roused, and he immediately fteps between and takes the quarrel upon himself, retorting the affront by a just defcription of the bragging profligates of thofe, or, indeed, of any times.. Horatio's taunt to Lothario* feems to have been borrowed from this paffage. Claudio to Leonato. Away, I will not have to do with you. Leonato. Cant thou fo daffe + me? Thou haft killed my child; Antonio. He fhall kill two of us, and men indeed; Leonato. Brother, Antonio. Content yourself-God knows, I loved my niece; That dare as well anfwer a man, indeed, As I dare take a ferpent by the tongue. Boys, apes, braggarts, jacks, milk-fops! Leonato. Brother Anthony, A Antonio. Hold you content-What, man? I know them, yea; Scambling, out-facing, fashion-monging boys, In the Fair Penitent. † An old English expreffion, for pitting off, cx fetting aside. How they might hurt their enemies-if they durft ; And this is all. As I commenced my remarks on this Play with a note of Doctor Warburton's, I fhall conclude them, alfo, with another very judicious obfervation of the fame critic upon this laft paffage : "This brother Anthony is the truest picture ima"ginable of human nature. He had affumed the "character of a Sage, to comfort his brother o'er"whelmed with grief for his only daughter's affront ·་ and dishonour; and had feverely reproved him "for not commanding his paffion better, on fo trying an occafion. Yet, immediately after this, no "fooner does he begin to fufpect that his age and "valour are flighted, but he falls into the most in"temperate fit of rage himself, and all his brother "can fay, or do, is not of power to pacify him. "This is copying Nature with a penetration and "exactness of judgment peculiar to Shakespeare. "As to the expreffion, too, of his paffion, nothing "can be more highly painted." |