Jul. Madam, please you peruse this letter.— [Tears the second letter. Jul. Madam, he sends your ladyship this ring. Sil. The more shame for him that he sends it me; For I have heard him say a thousand times Sil. What say'st thou ? Jul. I thank you, madam, that you tender Poor gentlewoman! my master wrongs her much. Jul. Almost as well as I do know myself: Belike she thinks that Proteus hath forsook Jul. About my stature: for, at Pentecost, 35 Sil. She is beholden to thee, gentle youth.- I weep myself to think upon thy words. Farewell. Jul. And she shall thank you for't, if e'er you know her. [Exit SILVIA with attendants. Jul. I think she doth; and that's her cause of And yet the painter flatter'd her a little, sorrow. Sil. Is she not passing fair? Jul. She hath been fairer, madam, than she is: 32. Sun-expelling mask. A “mask" formed part of a lady's out-door attire, as a protection to the complexion. We find in Act v. 2, &c., that Silvia wears a mask when she is met in the forest. 33. How tall was she? One of the commentators thinks this should be "How tall is she?" But this throwing a subject from present tense into past tense, or the reverse, is not unfrequent in Shakespeare; and serves to give a certain spirited effect to the narration when, as here, the impression to be produced is of uncertain period. The speakers are mentioning Julia, and talking of her as a third person, and as absent, though she is herself one of the speakers, and present; and she, conscious of this, has thrown the subject partly into the past tense by the words "hath been fairer," and "was as fair as you." Then Silvia's question follows naturally, "How tall was she?" producing the impression of a person passed away,-exactly that which Julia wished to convey. Unless I flatter with myself too much. 34 A-good. An expression of the time equivalent to 'in good earnest,' or 'heartily.' 35. Passioning. To passion' was a verb in use formerly: and it is believed that emotional utterance and action were included in the word, as well as emotional feeling. 36. Her eyes are grey as glass. In Chaucer we find the same simile; and a poetical one it is; for glass formerly was sufficiently blue in colour to imply the azure hue, while the crystal clearness is likewise presented to the imagination. 37. Respective. There are in this word that Julia uses the blended meanings of worthy of being regarded, and having relative worth to what is beautiful in Silvia. Shakespeare generally employs it in the sense simply of regardful, considerate. 38. Come, shadow, &c. Julia calls herself a "shadow," being in disguise; and the picture a "shadow," as Silvia has before called it so. Thou shalt be worshipp'd, kiss'd, lov'd, and I'll use thee kindly for thy mistress' sake, ador'd! And, were there sense in his idolatry, My substance should be statue in thy stead. That us'd me so; or else, by Jove I vow, I should have scratch'd out your unseeing eyes, To make my master out of love with thee! [Exit. SCENE 1.-MILAN. An Abbey. Enter EGLAMOUR. ACT V. Thu. What says she to my face? Thu. Nay, then, the wanton lies; my face is black. Pro. But pearls are fair; and the old saying is, For I had rather wink than look on them. Thu. But well, when I discourse of love and peace? Jul. [aside] But better, indeed, when you hold your peace. Thu. What says she to my valour? not counted them. We have reckoned up nearly a hundred, most of them obvious blunders, and the rest very probable ones. 2. Out by lease. This is said in reply to Thurio's question respecting his "possessions;" which word he uses in its sense of worldly goods, estates, and which Proteus replies to in such a way that he shall seem to take it in the same sense (by saying he pities the lands for being let on lease, and therefore out of their owner's keeping), and yet really take it in the sense of mental endowments (by saying they don't belong to Thurio, that he has none). Nor I. Pro. Duke. Pro. Saw you my daughter? Neither. Duke. Why, then, she's fled unto that peasant Valentine; And Eglamour is in her company. 'Tis true; for Friar Laurence met them both, At Patrick's cell this even; and there she was not. [Exit. Pro. And I will follow, more for Silvia's love, Than hate of Eglamour, that goes with her. [Exit. Jul. And I will follow, more to cross that love, Than hate for Silvia, that is gone for love. [Exit. SCENE IV.-Another part of the Forest. Val. How use doth breed a habit in a man! What halloing and what stir is this to-day? Have some unhappy passenger in chase. Enter PROTEUS, SILVIA, and JULIA. Pro. Madam, this service I have done for you, SCENE III.-The frontiers of MANTUA. The Forest. Enter Outlaws with SILVIA. First Out. Come, come; Be patient; we must bring you to our captain. First Out. Where is the gentleman that was with her? Third Out. Being nimble-footed, he hath out run us. But Moyses and Valerius follow him. Go thou with her to the west end of the wood; There is our captain: we'll follow him that's fled; The thicket is beset, he cannot 'scape. [Exeunt all except First Outlaw and SILVIA. First Out. Come, I must bring you to our captain's cave: Fear not; he bears an honourable mind, Sil. O Valentine, this I endure for thee! [Exeunt. 3. Peevish. Wilful, perverse. The word has been used in this same sense at the beginning of the Third Act: "She is peevish, sullen, froward." 4 Reckless. Unheedful, thoughtless, unregardful. 5. Record my woes. To "record" is to sing; as birds sing, Though you respect not aught your servant doth, To hazard life, and rescue you from him That would have forc'd your honour and your love: And less than this, I am sure, you cannot give. Love, lend me patience to forbear awhile. Sil. Oh, miserable, unhappy that I am! Pro. Unhappy were you, madam, ere I came ; But by my coming I have made you happy. Sil. By thy approach thou makʼst me most unhappy. Jul. [aside] And me, when he approacheth to your presence. Sil. Had I been seized by a hungry lion, when taught by a small flute called a 'recorder.' Shakespeare uses the verb in the same way, "Pericles," iv.-(Gower.) 6. Have some unhappy passenger. If 'and' be understood before "have," the passage is clear. 7. Meed. Reward, recompense. Pro. What dangerous action, stood it next to death, Would I not undergo for one calm look? Read over Julia's heart, thy first best love, For whose dear sake thou didst then rend thy faith Into a thousand oaths; and all those oaths Descended into perjury, to love me. Thou hast no faith left now, unless thou'dst two, And that's far worse than none; better have none Than plural faith, which is too much by one. Thou counterfeit to thy true friend! Pro. Val. Valentine! Thou common friend, that's without faith or love ; For such is a friend now;-treacherous man! Could have persuaded me. Now I dare not say, I am sorry I must never trust thee more, 8. Still approv'd. Perpetually proved by experience to be the case. 9. All that was mine in Silvia I give thee. This line,-the overstrained generosity of which startles most sedate readers,is precisely in keeping with the previous speech, and with Valentine's character. He is a man of impulse, of warm, quick feelings, full of romance and enthusiasm; he is willing to make a heroic sacrifice to show his suddenly restored faith in his repentant friend, and works himself up to the requisite pitch of superhuman courage by the emulative reference to Divine mercy; but we see by his subsequent speech to Thurio, how strongly his love for Silvia maintains itself within his bosom, though he fancies for the moment that he could make it ancillary to friendship. The generous ardour of Valentine's character is again visible in his appeal to the Duke on behalf of "these banish'd men," his com Oh, good sir, my master charg'd me To deliver a ring to Madam Silvia; Which, out of my neglect, was never done. Jul. Here 'tis; this is it. [Gives a ring. Pro. How! let me see : Why, this is the ring I gave to Julia. [Shows another ring. Pro. But how cam'st thou by this ring? At my depart I gave this unto Julia. Jul. And Julia herself did give it me; And Julia herself hath brought it hither. Pro. How! Julia! Jul. Behold her that gave aim to all thy oaths,10 And entertain'd them deeply in her heart: How oft hast thou with perjury cleft the root: O Proteus! let this habit make thee blush: Be thou asham'd that I have took 11 upon me Such an immodest raiment,-if shame live In a disguise of love.12 It is the lesser blot, modesty finds, 32 Women to change their shapes, than men their minds. Pro. Than men their minds! 'tis true. Heaven, were man But constant, he were perfect! that one error Fills him with faults; makes him run through all the sins: panions; and the moral effect which his own virtuous principle, precept, and example, have wrought upon them in their reform, is of a piece with Shakespeare's noble philosophy of good in evil, thus early visible in this his certainly youthful produc tion. 10. Gave aim to all thy oaths. The object to which all thy oaths were directed. "Cry aim," and "give aim," were terms in archery; and the latter applied to the person stationed near the butts, who was called 'the mark.' The allusion to archery is continued in the words, "cleft the root;"'cleaving the pin' being the technical expression for hitting the centre of the butts. 11. Have took. A grammatical license permitted in Shakespeare's time. 12. If shame live in a disguise of love. If it be any shame to wear a disguise in the cause of affection. |