Myself was from Verona banished,
For practising to steal away a lady,
An heir, and near allied unto the duke.5

2 Out. And I from Mantua, for a gentleman, Whom, in my mood, I stabb’d unto the heart.6

1 Out. And I, for such like petty crimes as these.
But to the purpose,-(for we cite our faults,
That they may hold excus'd our lawless lives,)
And, partly, seeing you are beautified
With goodly shape; and by your own report
A linguist; and a man of such perfection,
As we do in our quality? much want;

2 Out. Indeed, because you are a banish'd man,
Therefore, above the rest, we parley to you:
Are you content to be our general ?
To make a virtue of necessity,
And live, as we do, in this wilderness?

5 An heir, and near allied unto the duke. All the impressions, from the first downwards, read - An heir and niece, allied unto the duke. But our poet would never have expressed himself so stupidly, as to tell us, this lady was the duke's niece, and allied to him: for her alliance was certainly sufficiently included in the first term. Our author meant to say, she was an heiress, and near allied to the duke; an expression the most natural that can be for the purpose, and very frequently used by the stage-poets.

Theobald. • A niece, or a nephew, did not always signify the daughter of a brother or sister, but any remote descendant. Of this use I have given instances, as to a nephew. See Othello, Act I. I have not, however, disturbed Theobald's emendation. Steevens.

Heir in our author's time (as it sometimes is now) was applied to females, as well as males. The old copy reads-And heir, The correction was made in the third folio. Malone. o Whoin, in my mood, I stabb'd unto the heart,] Thus, Dryden:

« Madness laughing in his ireful mood."" Again, Gray:

“ Moody madness, laughing, wild.” Henley. Mood is anger or resentment, Malone.

in our quality -] Our quality means our profession, calling, or condition of life. Thus, in Massinger's Roman Actor, Aretinus says to Paris the tragedian :

.*. In thee, as being chief of thy profession, ...' M 65 I do accuse the quality of treason :" that is, the whole profession or fraternity, o v Hamlet, speaking of the young players, says, “ will they pursue the quality no longer than they can sing?” &c. &c. M. Mason.

3 Out. What say'st thou? wilt thou be of our consórt?
Say, ay, and be the captain of us all:
We 'll do thee homage, and be rul'd by thee,
Love thee, as our commander, and our king.

1 Out. But, if thou scorn our courtesy, thou diest.
2 Out. Thou shalt not live to brag what we have offer'd.

Val. I take your offer, and will live with you;
Provided that you do no outrages
On silly women, or poor passengers.

3 Out. No, we detest such vile base practices. .
Come, go with us, we 'll bring thee to our crews,
And shew thee all the treasure we have got;
Which, with ourselves, all rest at thy dispose. [Exeunt

,

SCENE II.
Milan. Court of the Palace.

Enter PROTEUS.
Pro. Already have I been false to Valentine,
And now I must be as unjust to Thurio.
Under the colour of commending him,
I have access, my own love to prefer;
But Silvia is too fair, too true, too holy,
To be corrupted with my worthless gifts.
When I protest true loyalty to her,
She twits me with my falshood to my friend;
When to her beauty I commend my vows,
She bids me think, how I have been forsworn,
In breaking faith with Julia, whom I lov’d:
And, notwithstanding all her sudden quips, 8
The least whereof would quell a lover's hope,
Yet, spaniel-like, the more she spurns my love,
The more it grows, and fawneth on her still.
But here comes Thurio: now must we to her window,
And give some evening musick to her ear.

8- sudden quips,] That is, hasty passionate réproaches and scoffs. So Macbeth is in a kindred sense said to be sudden; that is, irascible and impetuous. Johnson.

The same expression is used by Dr. Wilson in his Arte of Rhetorique, 1553: “ And make him at his wit's end through-the-sidden quip.” Malone.

Enter THUR10, and Musicians. Thu. How now, sir Proteus? are you crept before us?

Pro. Ay, gentle Thurio; for, you know, that love Will creep in service where it cannot go.'

Thu, Ay, but, I hope, sir, that you love not here.
Pro. Sir, but I do; or else I would be hence.
Thu. Whom? Silvia?
Pro. Ay, Silvia,—for your sake.

Thu. I thank you for your own. Now, gentlemen,
Let 's tune, and to it lustily a while.
Enter Host, at a distance; and JULIA, in boy's clothes.

Host. Now, my young guest, methinks you 're allycholly; I pray you, why is it?

Jul. Marry, mine host, because I cannot be merry.

Host. Come, we 'll have you merry: I'll bring you, where you shall hear musick, and see the gentleman, that you ask'd for.

Jul. But shall I hear him speak?
Host. Ay, that you shall.
Jul. That will be musick.

[Musick plays.
Host. Hark! hark!
Jul. Is he among these?
Host. Ay: but peace, let's hear 'em.

SONG.
Who is Silvia 2 what is she,

That all our swains commend her ?
Holy, fair, and wise is she ;

The heavens such grace did lend her,
That she might admired be.

Is she kind, as she is fair ?

For beauty lives with kindness:1
Love doth to her eyes repair,

To help him of his blindness;
And, being help’d, inhabits there,

19- you know, that love · Will creep in service where it cannot go.] Kindness will creep, where it cannot gang, is to be found in Kelly's Collection of Scot. tish Proverbs, p. 226. Reed.

1. beauty lives with kindness :) Beauty, without kindness, dies unenjoyed, and undelighting. Johnson.

Then, to Silvia let us sing,

That Silvia is excelling;
She excels each mortal thing,

Upon the dull earth dwelling:
To her let us garlands bring.

Host. How now? are you sadder than you were before? How do you, man? the musick likes you not.

Jul. You mistake; the musician likes me not.is
Host. Why, my pretty youth?
Jul. He plays false, father.
Host. How? out of tune on the strings?

Jul. Not so; but yet so false, that he grieves my very heart-strings.

Host. You have a quick ear.

Jul. Ay, I would I were deaf! it makes me have a slow heart.

Host. I perceive you delight not in musick. "
Jul. Not a whit, when it jars so.
Host. Hark, what fine change is in the musick! pia
Jul. Ay; that change is the spite.
Host. You would have them always play, but one thing?

Jul. I would always have one play, but one thing. But, host, doth this sir Proteus, that we talk on, often resort unto this gentlewoman?

Host. I tell you, what Launce, his man, told me, he loved her out of all nick.2

Jul. Where is Launce?

Host. Gone to seek his dog, which, to-morrow, by his master's command, he must carry for a present to his lady.

Jul. Peace! stand aside! the company parts.

Pro. Sir Thurio, fear not you! I will so plead, OT That you shall say, my cunning drift excels.

Thu. Where meet we?

2- out of all nick.] Beyond all reckoning or count. Reckon. ings are kept upon nicked or notched sticks or tallies.

Warburton, So, in A Woman never wex'd, 1632:

“ I have carried
“ The tallies at my girdle seven years together,

For I did ever love to deal honestly in the nick." As it is an inn-keeper who employs the allusion, it is much in character. Steevens.

Pro.

Pro. At saint Gregory's well.
Thu. Farewel. [Exeunt Thu. and Musicians.
. Silvia appears above, at her window.
Pro. Madam, good even to your ladyship.

Sil. I thank you for your musick, gentlemen:
Who is that, that spake?
15 Pro. One, lady, if you knew his pure heart's truth,
You'd quickly learn to know him, by his voice.

Sil. Sir Proteus, as I take it.
Pro. Sir Proteus, gentle lady, and your servant.
Sil. What is your will?

That I may compass yours.
Sil. You have your wish; my will is even this, 3-
That presently you hie you home to bed.
Thou subtle, perjur'd, false, disloyal man!
Think'st thou, I am so shallow, so conceitless,
To be seduced by thy flattery,
That hast deceiv'd so many with thy vows?,
Return, return, and make thy love amends.
For me,-by this pale queen of night, I swear,
I am so far from granting thy request,
That I despise thee for thy wrongful suit:
And, by and by, intend to chide myself,
Even for this time I spend in talking to thee.

Pro. I grant, sweet love, that I did love a lady;
But she is dead.
Jul.

"Twere false, if I should speak it; For, I am sure, she is not buried.

[Aside. Sil. Say, that she be; yet Valentine, thy friend, Survives; to whom, thyself art witness, I am betroth’d: And art thou not asham'd To wrong him with thy importúnacy.

Pro. I likewise hear, that Valentine is dead.

Sil. And so, suppose, am I; for in his grave,
Assure thyself, my love is buried.
-{* Pro.' Sweet lady, let me rake it from the earth.

Sil. Go to thy lady's grave, and call her's thence;
Or, at the least, in her's sepulchre thine.
Jul. He heard not that.

[Aside.

3 You have your wish; my will is even this, 7 The word will is heré ambiguous. He wishes to gain her will: she tells him, if he wants her will, he has it. Fohnson.