HEL. Mine honourable mistress. Nay, a mother; That I am not. COUNT. I say, I am your mother. HEL. Pardon, madam; The count Rousillon cannot be my brother: I am from humble, he from honour'd name; No note upon my parents, his, all noble : My master, my dear lord he is: and I His servant live, and will his vassal die: He must not be my brother. COUNT. Nor I your mother? Or them we thought then none.] The old copy reads,- For the transposition of them and then, I am responsible. I care no more for,-] "There is a designed ambiguity: 'I care no more for,' is 'I care as much for.'"-FARMER. It would somewhat lessen the perplexity of this difficult passage, if we suppose the present line to be spoken aside; but, in truth, the text HEL. You are my mother, madam; would you were (So that my lord, your son, were not my brother,) Indeed my mother!- -or were you both our mothers, I care no more for," than I do for heaven, God shield, you mean it not! daughter, and mother, gross,c So strive upon your pulse: what, pale again? Speak, is't so? Good madam, pardon me! Whereof the world takes note: come, come, disclose The state of your affection, for your passions HEL. Then, I confess, Here on my knee, before high heaven and you, That before you, and next unto high heaven, I love your son :— My friends were poor, but honest; so's my love: Be not offended, for it hurts not him, That he is lov'd of me; I follow him not By any token of presumptuous suit, Nor would I have him, till I do deserve him; I still pour in the waters of my love, The sun, that looks upon his worshipper, But knows of him no more. My dearest madam, Το go to Paris? But think you, Helen, If you should tender your supposed aid, He would receive it? He and his physicians Are of a mind; he, that they cannot help him, Of worthy Frenchmen: let higher Italy (1) 2 LORD. Health, at your bidding, serve your KING. Those girls of Italy, take heed of them; They say, our French lack language to deny, If they demand; beware of being captives, Before you serve. Вотн. Our hearts receive your warnings. KING. Farewell.-Come hither to me. [The KING retires to a couch. 1 LORD. O my sweet lord, that you will stay behind us! PAR. 'T is not his fault, the spark. 2 LORD. O, 't is brave wars! PAR. Most admirable; I have seen those wars. BER. I am commanded here, and kept a coil with, Too young, and the next year, and 't is too early. PAR. An thy mind stand to 't, boy, steal away bravely. BER. I shall stay here the fore-horse to a smock," Creaking my shoes on the plain masonry, Till honour be bought up, and no sword worn, But one to dance with (2) By heaven, I'll steal away. 1 LORD. There's honour in the theft. PAR. Commit it, count. 2 LORD. I am your accessary; and so farewell. BER. I grow to you, and our parting is a tortured body. b 1 LORD. Farewell, captain. 2 LORD. Sweet monsieur Parolles ! PAR. Noble heroes, my sword and yours are kin. Good sparks and lustrous, a word, good metals. You shall find in the regiment of the Spinii, one captain Spurio, with his cicatrice, an emblem of war, here on his sinister cheek; it was (*) First folio, his cicatrice with. * this very sword entrenched it: say to him, I live; and observe his reports for me. 2 LORD. We shall, noble captain. PAR. Mars dote on you for his novices! [Exeunt Lords.] What will you* do? BER. Stay: the king PAR. Use a more spacious ceremony to the noble lords; you have restrained yourself within the list of too cold an adieu: be more expressive to them; for they wear themselves in the cap of the time; there, do muster true gait, eat, speak, and move under the influence of the most received star; and though the devil lead the measure, such are to be followed: after them, and take a more dilated farewell. BER. And I will do so. PAR. Worthy fellows; and like to prove most sinewy sword-men. [Exeunt BERTRAM and PAROLles. Enter LAFEU. LAF. Pardon, my lord, [Kneeling.] for me and for my tidings. KING. I'll sue thee to stand up. I would you had kneel'd, my lord, to ask me LAF. O, will you eat no grapes, my royal fox? Yes, but you will, my noble grapes, an if My royal fox could reach them: I have seen a medicine, That's able to breathe life into a stone, (*) Old text, ye. "I would you had kneel'd, my lord," &c. d Good faith, across:] Across, in reference to the sports of chivalry, in which, to break a spear across the body of an opponent was disgraceful, came to be used in derision when any pass of wit miscarried. Here, however, we believe Lafeu alludes rather to some game, where certain successes entitle the achiever to mark a cross. e Yes, but you will, my noble grapes,-] My in this passage has been changed in some modern editions to ay, but needlessly; we have only to read " my" emphatically, and the sense is obvious: "O, will you eat no grapes? &c. Yes, but you will, my noble grapes." And make you dance canary.-] To what has already been said on the nature of this sprightly dance (see note (a), vol. I. p. 64), may be added, that the dancers accompanied their movements with castagnets: see Florio, who defines Chioppare "to clacke or snap, or phip, or click, or lirp with ones fingers, as they that dance the Canaries, or as some barbers." C |