Sim. Yea, mistress, are you so peremptory ?I am glad of it with all my heart. [Aside.] I'll

tame you;

I'll bring you in subjection.—

Will you, not having my consent, bestow Your love and your affections on a stranger? (Who, for aught I know to the contrary,

Or think, may be as great in blood as I.) [Aside. Hear, therefore, mistress; frame your will to mine,And you, sir, hear you.-Either be rul'd by me,' Or I will make you-man and wife.

Nay, come; your hands and lips must seal it too. And being join'd, I'll thus your hopes destroy ;-And for a further grief,-God give you joy! What, are you both pleas'd?

Thai. Yes, if you love me, sir. Per. Even as my life, my blood that fosters it.1 Sim. What, are you both agreed? Both Yes, please your majesty. Sim. It pleaseth me so well, I'll see you wed; Then, with what haste you can, get you to bed.

ACT III.

Enter GoWER.

[Exeunt.

Gow. Now sleep yslaked hath the rout;
No din but snores, the house about,
Made louder by the o'er-fed breast2
Of this most pompous marriage-feast.
The cat, with eyne of burning coal,
Now couches 'fore the mouse's hole;
And crickets sing at th' oven's mouth,
As the blither for their drouth.
Hymen hath brought the bride to bed,
Where, by the loss of maidenhead,
A babe is moulded ;--Be attent,
And time that is so briefly spent,
With your fine fancies quaintly eche;
What's dumb ia show, I'll plain with speech.
Dumb Show.

Enter PERICLES and SIMONIDES at one door, with
Attendants: a Messenger meets them, kneels, and
gives PERICLES a Letter, PERICLES shows it to
SIMONIDES; the Lords kneel to the former. Then
enter THASIA with child, and LYCHORIDA. SI-
MONIDES shows his Daughter the Letter; she re-
joices: she and PERICLES take leave of her Father,
and depart. Then SIMONIDES, &c. retire.
Gow. By many a dearn and painful perch'

1 The quarto of 1619 reads:-

Even as my life or blood that fosters it.' We have the same thought most exquisitely expressed

in Julius Cæsar :

As dear to me, as are the ruddy drops
That visit my sad heart."

2 So Virgil, speaking of Rhamnes, who was killed in the midnight expedition of Nisus and Euryalus:

Rhamneten aggreditur, qui forte tapetibus altis
Extructus, toto proflabat pectore somnum.'

3 Eke out.

4 The Lords kneel to Pericles, because they are now, for the first time, informed by this letter, that he is king of Tyre. 'No man,' says Gower, in his Confessio Amantis:

knew the soth cas,

But he hym selfe; what man he was.' By the death of Antiochus and his daughter, Pericles has also succeeded to the throne of Autioch, in consequence of having rightly interpreted the riddle proposed to him.

5 Dearn signifies lonely, solitary. A perch is a measure of five yards and a half. The careful search of Pericles is made by many a dearn and painful perch, by the four opposing coignes which join the world to gether; with all due diligence.'

6 i. e. help, befriend or assist the search. So in Measure for Measure:

can you so stead me

Of Pericles the careful search
By the four opposing coignes,
Which the world together joins,
Is made with all due diligence,

That horse, and sail, and high expense,
Can stead the quest. At last from Tyre,
(Fame answering the most strong inquire,)
To the court of King Simonides

Are letters brought; the tenor these:
Antiochus and his daughter's dead:
The men of Tyrus, on the head
Of Helicanus would set on

The crown of Tyre, but he will none:
The mutiny there he hastes t'oppress;"
Says to them, if King Pericles
Come not home, in twice six moons,
He, obedient to their dooms,
Will take the crown.
Brought hither to Pentapolis,
Y-ravished the regions round,
And every one with claps 'gan sound.
Cur heir apparent is a king:

The sum of this,

Who dream'd, who thought of such a thing?
Brief, he must hence depart to Tyre:
His queen, with child, makes her desire,
(Which, who shall cross ?) along to go;
(Omit we all their dole and wo;)
Lychorida, her nurse, she takes,
And so to sea. Their vessel shakes
On Neptune's billow; half the flood
Hath their keel cut; but fortune's mood
Varies again; the grizzled north
Disgorges such a tempest forth,
That, as a duck for life that dives,
So up and down the poor ship drives.
The lady shrieks, and, well-a-near !
Doth fall in travail with her fear:
And what ensues in this fell storm
Shall, for itself, itself perform.
I nill relate; action may
Conveniently the rest convey;
Which might not what by me is told."
In your imagination hold

This stage, the ship,10 upon whose deck
The sea-tost Pericles appears to speak. [Exit.
SCENE I. Enter PERICLES, on a Ship at Sea.
Per. Thou God of this great vast," rebuke these

11 It should be remembered that Pericles is supposed to speak from the deck. Lychorida, on whom he calls, is supposed to be in the cabin beneath. This great vast is this wide expanse. This speech is exhibited in so strange a form in the old editions, that it is here given to enable the reader to judge in what a corrupt state it has come down to us, and be induced to treat the attempts to restore it to integrity with indulgence:

The God of this great vast, rebuke these surges, Which wash both heaven and hell; and thou that hast Upon the windes commaund, bind them in brasse; Having call'd them from the deepe, o still Thy deafning dreadful thunders, gently quench Thy nimble sulphirous flashes, o How Lychorida! How does my queene? thou storm venemously, Wilt thou speat all thyself? the sea-mans whistle Is as a whisper in the eares of death, Unheard Lychorida? Lucina oh! Divinest patrioness and my wife gentle To those that cry by night, convey thy deitie Aboard our dauncing boat, make swift the pangues Of my queenes travayles? now Lychorida? Pericles, having called to Lychorida, without the power to make her hear on account of the tempest, at last with frantic peevishness addresses himself to it :Thou storm thou! venemously Wilt thou spit all thyself?

Having indulged himself in this question, he grows cooler, and observes that the very boatswain's whistle has no more effect on the sailors than the voices of those who speak to the dead. He then repeats his inquiries

Which wash both heaven and hell; and thou, that hast

Upon the winds command, bind them in brass, Having call'd them from the deep! O still thy deaf'ning,

Thy dreadful thunders; gently quench thy nimble
Sulphureous flashes!-O how, Lychorida,
How does my queen!-Thou storm, thou! venom-
ously

Wilt thou spit all thyself?-The seaman's whistle
Is as a whisper in the ears of death,
Unheard.-Lychorida!-Lucina, O
Divinest patroness, and midwife, gentle
To those that cry by night, convey thy deity
Aboard our dancing boat; make swift the pangs
my queen's travails!-Now, Lychorida-

Of

Even for this charge.

Per.

Patience, good sir,

Now, mild may be thy life!
For a more blust'rous birth had never babe:
Quiet and gentle thy conditions !4
For thou art the rudeliest welcom❜d to this world,
That e'er was prince's child. Happy what follows!
Thou hast as chiding a nativity,

As fire, air, water, earth, and heaven can make,
To herald thee from the womb: even at the first,
Thy loss is more than can thy portage quit,
With all thou canst find here.-Now the good gods
Throw their best eyes upon it!

Enter Two Sailors.

1 Sail. What courage, sir? God save you. Per. Courage enough: I do not fear the flaw;" It hath done to me the worst. Yet, for the love Of this poor infant, this fresh-new sea-farer, I would, it would be quiet.

1 Sail. Slack the bolins there; thou wilt not, wilt thou? Blow and split thyself.

2 Sail. But sea-room, an the brine and cloudy billow kiss the moon, I care not.

1 Sail. Sir, your queen must overboard; the sea works high, the wind is loud, and will not lie till the ship be cleared of the dead.

Per. That's your superstition.

of Lychorida, but receiving no answer, concludes with a prayer for his queen.

1 Maliciously.

2 i. e. who if it had thought?

1 Sail. Pardon us, sir; with us at sea it stil hath been observed; and we are strong in custom.' Therefore briefly yield her; for she must overboard straight.

Per. Be it as you think meet.-Most wretched queen!

Lyc. Here she lies, sir.

Per. A terrible child-bed hast thou had, my dear,
No light, no fire; the unfriendly elements
Forgot thee utterly; nor have I time

To give thee hallow'd to thy grave, but straight
Must cast thee, scarcely coffin'd, in the ooze;1*
Where, for a monument upon thy bones,
And aye-remaining11 lamps, the belching whale,
And humming water must o'erwhelm thy corpse,
Lying with simple shells. Lychorida,

Bid Nestor bring me spices, ink, and paper,
My casket and my jewels; and bid Nicander
Bring me the satin coffer: 12 lay the babe
Upon the pillow: hie thee, whiles I say
A priestly farewell to her: suddenly, woman,
[Exit LYCHORIDA.
2 Sail. Sir, we have a chest beneath the hatches,
caulk'd and bitumed ready.

Per. I thank thee. Mariner, say, what coast is

this?

4 Conditions are qualities, dispositions of mind.

5 i. e as noisy a one.

7 A flaw is a stormy gust of wind. See Coriolanus,

Act v. Sc. 3.

the wind is fair;

Top the bowling.

10 Old copy, 'in oare.'

11 The old copies erroneously read :

The air-remaining lamps.'

Virtue and cunnings were endowments greater
Than nobleness and riches; careless heirs
May the two latter darken and expend;
But immortality attends the former,
Making a man a god. Tis known, I ever
Have studied physic, through which secret art,
By turning o'er authorities, I have

(Together with my practice,) made familiar
To me and to my aid, the blest infusions
That dwell in vegetives, in metals, stones;
And I can speak of the disturbances

That threw her in the sea. Make fire within;

A more content in course of true delight

Than to be thirsty after tottering honour,
Or tie my treasure up in silken bags,
To please the fool and death.

2 Gent. Your honour has through Ephesus pour'd

forth

Death may usurp on nature many hours,
And yet the fire of life kindle again
The overpressed spirits. I have heard
Of an Egyptian, had nine hours lien dead,

By good appliance was recover'd.

Enter a Servant, with Boxes, Napkins, and Fire. Well said, well said; the fire and the cloths.The rough and woful music that we have, Cause it to sound, 'beseech you.

The vial once more ;-how thou stirr'st, thou block! The music there.-I pray you, give her air :Gentlemen,

nature awakes; a warmth she hath not been entranc'd See, how she 'gins to blow

Did the sea toss upon our shore this chest; 'Tis of some wreck.

Cer.

Set't down, let's look on it. 2 Gent. 'Tis like a coffin, sir. Cer.

Whate'er it be,

2 Gent.

"Tis so, my lord.

Cer. How close 'tis caulk'd and bitum'd!Did the sea cast it up?

1 The principals are the strongest rafters in the roof of a building.

2 All. to is a common augmentative in old language. The word topple, which means tumble, is used again in Macbeth:

Though castles topple on their warders' heads.' 3 Husbandry here signifies economical prudence. So in Hamlet, Act i. Sc. 3:

borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry,' And in Henry V.:

For our bad neighbours make us early stirrers, Which is both heathful and good husbandry.' 4 The gentlemen rose early because they were in lodgings, which stood exposed near the sea. They wouder to find Lord Cerimon stirring, because he had rich tire about him, meaning perhaps a bed more richly and comfortably furnished, where he could have slept warm and secure in defiance of the tempest. Steevens thinks that the reasoning of these gentlemen should have led them rather to say, 'such towers about you,' i. e. a house or castle that could safely resist the assaults of the weather.

5 i. e. knowledge.

6 Mr. Steevens had seen an old Flemish print in which Death was exhibited in the act of plundering a miser of his bags, and the Fool (discriminated by his Dauble, &c.) was standing behind and grinning at the process. The Dance of Death appears to have been.

The heavens, sir, Through you, increase our wonder, and set up Your fame for ever.

Cer.

She is alive; behold,
Her eyelids, cases to those heavenly jewels
Which Pericles hath lost,

Begin to part their fringes of bright gold ;8
The diamonds of a most praised water
Appear to make the world twice rich. O, live,

anciently a popular exhibition. A venerable and aged clergyman informed Mr. Steevens that he had once been a spectator of it The dance consisted of Death's contrivances to surprise the Merry Andrew, and of the Merry Andrew's efforts to elude the stratagems of Death, by whom at last he was overpowered; his finale being attended with such circumstances as mark the exit of the Dragon of Wantley. It should seem that the general idea of this serio-comic pas-de-deux had been borrowed from the ancient Dance of Machabre, commonly called the Dance of Death. which appears to have been anciently acted in churches like the Moralities. The subject was a frequent ornament of cloisters both here and abroad. The reader will remember the beautiful series of wood-cuts of the Dance of Death, attributed, (though erroneously,) to Holbein. Mr. Douce is in possession of an exquisite set of initial letters, representing the same subject; in one of which the Fool is engaged in a very stout combat with his adversary, and is actually buffeting him with a bladder filled with peas or pebbles, an instrument used by modern Merry Andrews.

7 In Twine's translation of the story of Apollonius of Tyre this uncommon phrase, a-land, is repeatedly used. In that version it is to Cerimon's pupil, Machaon, and not to Cerimon himself, that the lady is indebted for her recovery.

8 So in the Tempest :-

'The fringed curtains of thine eye advance, And say what thou seest yond?'

Cle. Your shafts of fortune, though they hurt mortally,2

Yet glance full wand'ringly on us.
Dion.

you

O, your sweet queen! That the strict fates had pleas'd you had brought her hither,

To have bless'd mine eyes!

Per.

We cannot but obey The powers above us. Could I rage and roar As doth the sea she lies in, yet the end Must be as 'tis. My babe Marina (whom For she was born at sea, I have nam'd so) here I charge your charity withal, and leave her The infant of your care; beseeching you To give her princely training, that she may be Manner'd as she is born.

Cle.
Fear not, my lord, but think
Your grace,
that fed my country with your corn,
(For which the people's prayers still fall upon you,)
Must in your child be thought on. If neglection
Should therein make me vile, the common body,
By you reliev'd, would force me to my duty:
But if to that my nature need a spur,

The gods revenge it upon me and mine,
To the end of generation!

Per.

I believe you;

Your honour and your goodness teach me credit,4
Without your vows. Till she be married, madam,
By bright Diana, whom we honour all,
Unscissar'd shall this hair of mine remain,
Though I show will in't. So I take my leave.

1 This is from the Confessio Amantis:-
And first hir eyen up she caste,

And when she more of strength caught,
Her armes both forth she straughte;
Held up hir honde, and piteouslie

She spake, and said, Where am I?

Where is my lorde? What worlde is this ?

2 The old copy reads:

'Your shakes of fortune, though they haunt you mortally,

Madam, my thanks and prayers. Cle. We'll bring your grace even to the edge o the shore;

Then give you up to the mask'd Neptune;" and
The gentlest winds of heaven.
Per.
I will embrace

Your offer. Come, dear'st madam.-O, no tears,
Lychorida, no tears:

Look to your little mistress, on whose grace You may depend hereafter.—Come, my lord. [Exeunt

SCENE IV.

Ephesus. A Room in Cerimon's
House. Enter CERIMON and THAISA.
Cer. Madam, this letter, and some certain jewels,
Lay with you in your coffer: which are now
At your command. Know you the character?
Thai. It is my lord's.

That I was shipp'd at sea, I well remember,
Even on my eaning time; but whether there
Delivered or no, by the holy gods,

I cannot rightly say: But since King Pericles,
My wedded lord, I ne'er shall see again,
A vestal livery will I take me to,
And never more have joy.

Cer. Madam, if this you purpose as you speak, Diana's temple is not distant far,

Where you may 'bide until your date expire
Moreover, if you please, a niece of mine
Shall there attend you.

Thai. My recompense is thanks, that's all: Yet my good will is great, though the gift small [Exeunt.

ACT IV.

Enter GoWER.9

Gow. Imagine Pericles arriv'd at Tyre,
Welcom'd and settled to his own desire.
His woful queen leave at Ephesus,
Unto Diana there a votaress.
Now to Marina bend your mind,

Whom our fast growing scene must find1o
At Tharsus, and by Cleon train'd

In music, letters; who hath gain'd

Of education all the grace,

Which makes her both the heart and place"

The corruption is obvious, as appears from a subsequent passage:

This ornament, that makes me look so dismal
Will I, my lov'd Marina, clip to form,' &c.

6 i. e. Insidious waves that wear a treacherous smile. Subdola quem ridet placidi pellacia ponti.' Lucret. ii. v. 559.

Yet glance full wond'ringly,' &c.

The shot of accident or dart of chance. Othello. "The slings and arrows of ourageous fortune. Hamlet. "I am glad, though you have taken a special stand to strike at me, that your arrow hath glanced.

Merry Wives of Windsor. The sense of the passage seems to be, all the malice of fortune is not confined to yourself, though her arrows strike deeply at you, yet wandering from their mark, they sometimes glance on us; as at present, when the uncertain state of Tyre deprives us of your company at

Tharsus.

3 i. e. be satisfied that we cannot forget the benefits you have bestowed on us.

4 The old copy reads, 'teach me to it: the alteration was made by Steevens.

5 i. e. appear wilful, perverse by such conduct. The old copy reads in the preceding line:

Unsister'd shall this heir of mine,' &c.

ticular reference to sheep. I have therefore preferred ise reading in the text to Steevens's conjecture.

8 i. e. until you die. So in Romeo and Juliet:-The date is out of such prolixity.'

Again, in the same play :

—and expire the term Of a despised life.'

And in the Rape of Lucrece :—

An expir'd date, cancell'd ere well begun."

9 This chorus, and the two following scenes, in the old editions, are printed as part of the third act. 10 The same expression occurs in the chorus to The Winter's Tale :-

your patience this allowing,

I turn my glass, and give my scene such growing As you had slept between.'

11 The old copies read-

Which makes high both the art and place." The emendation is by Steevens. We still use the heart