Pagina-afbeeldingen
PDF
ePub

TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA.

His Julia gave it him at his departure: Though his false finger have profan'd the ring, Mine shall not do his Julia so much wrong. JUL. She thanks you.

SIL. What say'st thou ?

JUL. I thank

madam, that you,

Poor gentlewoman! my master wrongs her much. you tender her: SIL. Dost thou know her?

JUL. Almost as well as I do know myself:

To think upon her woes I do protest
That I have wept a hundred several times.

SIL. Belike, she thinks that Proteus hath for-
sook her.

JUL. I think she doth, and that's her cause of

sorrow.

SIL. Is she not passing fair?

JUL. She hath been fairer, madam, than she is:
When she did think my master lov'd her well,
She, in my judgment, was as fair as you;
But since she did neglect her looking-glass,
And threw her sun-expelling mask away, (2)
The air hath starv'd the roses in her cheeks,
And pinch'd the lily-tincture of her face,
That now she is become as black as I.

SIL. How tall was she?

JUL. About my stature: for, at Pentecost, When all our pageants of delight were play'd, Our youth got me to play the woman's part, And I was trimm'd in madam Julia's gown; Which served me as fit, by all men's judgments, As if the garment had been made for me: Therefore, I know she is about my height. And, at that time, I made her For I did play a lamentable part; weep a-good, Madam, 't was Ariadne, passioningb For Theseus' perjury and unjust flight; Which I so lively acted with my tears,

a I made her weep a-good,-] That is, weep in good earnest. "And therewithall their knees have rankled so,

That I have laughed a-good."-MARLOWE'S Jew of Malta. 'Twas Ariadne, passioning-] To passion as, a verb, is not at all unfrequent in writers contemporary with our author, and meant, I believe, not merely to feel emotion, but to display it by voice or gesture, or both. So in "Venus and Adonis "

[ocr errors]

Dumbly she passions, frantickly she doteth."

Her eyes are gray as glass;] "By a gray eye was meant what we now call a blue eye: gray, when applied to the eye, is rendered

[SCENE IV.

That my poor mistress, moved therewithal,
Wept bitterly; and, would I might be dead,
If I in thought felt not her very sorrow!

SIL. She is beholden to thee, gentle youth!—
Alas, poor lady! desolate and left!-
I weep myself to think upon thy words.
Here, youth, there is my purse; I give thee this
For thy sweet mistress' sake, because thou lov'st her.
Farewell.
JUL. And she shall thank you for 't, if e'er you
[Exit SILVIA.
know her.

A virtuous gentlewoman, mild, and beautiful.
I hope my master's suit will be but cold,
Since she respects my mistress' love so much.
Alas, how love can trifle with itself!
Here is her picture: let me see; I think,
If I had such a tire, this face of mine
Were full as lovely as is this of hers:
And yet the painter flatter'd her a little,
Unless I flatter with myself too much.
Her hair is auburn, mine is perfect yellow:
If that be all the difference in his love,
I'll get me such a colour'd periwig.(3)
Her eyes are gray as glass; and so are mine:
Ay, but her forehead 's low, and mine's as high.
What should it be, that he respects in her,
But I can make respective in myself,
If this fond love were not a blinded god?
Come, shadow, come, and take this shadow up,
For 't is thy rival. O thou senseless form,
Thou shalt be worshipp'd, kiss'd, lov'd, and ador'd;
And, were there sense in his idolatry,
My substance should be statue in thy stead.
I'll use thee kindly for thy mistress' sake,
That used 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.

by Coles in his Dict., 1679, ceruleus, glaucus."-MALONE. Old glass is said to have a bluish tinge.

d I can make respective-] That is, regardful, considerative, observable.

e My substance should be statue-] It is true enough, as the commentators have shown, that the words statue and picture were of old used indiscriminately; but is not image here meant? and had not the poet in his mind the story of Pygmalion? That he was conversant with it we know:

"What, is there none of Pygmalion's images, newly made woman to be had-"-Measure for Measure.

[graphic][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small]
[blocks in formation]

DUKE. Why, then, she 's fled unto that peasant Valentine;

And Eglamour is in her company.

Tis true; for friar Lawrence met them both,
As he in penance wander'd through the forest:
Him he knew well, and guess'd that it was she;
But, being mask'd, he was not sure of it:
Besides, she did intend confession

At Patrick's cell this even; and there she was not :
These likelihoods confirm her flight from hence.
Therefore, I pray you, stand not to discourse,
But mount you presently, and meet with me
Upon the rising of the mountain-foot
That leads toward Mantua, whither they are fled.
Despatch, sweet gentlemen, and follow me. [Exit.
THU. Why, this it is to be a peevish girl,
That flies her fortune when it follows her:
I'll after; more to be reveng'd on Eglamour,
Than for the love of reckless Silvia.

[Exit.

PRO. And I will follow, more for Silvia's love,

Tis true, &c.] In the folio, 1623, this line is given to Thurio. There can be no doubt that it belongs to Julia.

That they are out by lease.] The meaning has been controverted. Lord Hailes explains it thus:- By Thurio's possessions he himself understands his lands. But Proteus chooses to take the word likewise in a figurative sense, as signifying his mental

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 III.—Frontiers of Mantua. The Forest. Enter SILVIA and Outlaws.

1 OUT. Come, come;

Be patient, we must bring you to our captain.
SIL. A thousand more mischances than this one
Have learn'd me how to brook this patiently.
2 OUT. Come, bring her away.

1 OUT. Where is the gentleman that was with her?

3 OUT. Being nimble-footed, he hath outrun 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.

1 OUT. Come, I must bring you to our captain's

cave;

Fear not; he bears an honourable mind,

And will not use a woman lawlessly.

SIL. O Valentine, this I endure for thee.[Exeunt.

SCENE IV.-Another part of the Forest.

Enter VALENTINE.

VAL. How use doth breed a habit in a man! This shadowy desert, unfrequented woods, I better brook than flourishing peopled towns: Here can I sit alone, unseen of any, And to the nightingale's complaining notes Tune my distresses, and record my woes. O thou that dost inhabit in my breast, Leave not the mansion so long tenantless; Lest, growing ruinous, the building fall, And leave no memory of what it was ! Repair me with thy presence, Silvia; Thou gentle nymph, cherish thy forlorn swain! What hallooing, and what stir, is this to-day?

These are my mates, that make their wills their

law,

Have some unhappy passenger in chase:
They love me well; yet I have much to do,
To keep them from uncivil outrages.
Withdraw thee, Valentine; who 's this comes here?
[Steps aside.

endowments; and when he says they are out by lease, he means that they are no longer enjoyed by their master, (who is a fool,) but are leased out to another."

And record my woes.] To record refers to the singing of birds, and is derived, Douce says, from the recorder,-a sort of flute by which they were taught to sing.

Enter PROTEUS, SILVIA, and JULIA.

PRO. Madam, this service I have done for you, (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. Vouchsafe for me, my meed, but one fair look ; A smaller boon than this I cannot beg, And less than this, I am sure, you cannot give.

VAL. How like a dream is this I see and hear! Love, lend me patience to forbear a while. [Aside. SIL. O 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 mak'st me most unhappy.

presence.

JUL. And me, when he approacheth to your [Aside. SIL. Had I been seized by a hungry lion, I would have been a breakfast to the beast, Rather than have false Proteus rescue me. O, Heaven be judge how I love Valentine, Whose life 's as tender to me as my soul; And full as much (for more there cannot be) I do detest false perjur'd Proteus : Therefore be gone, solicit me no more.

PRO. What dangerous action, stood it next to death,

Would I not undergo for one calm look ?
O, 't is the curse in love, and still approv'd,"
When women cannot love where they 're belov'd.
SIL. When Proteus cannot love where he's
belov'd.

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!

[blocks in formation]

a And still approv'd,-] That is, always proved. So in "Othello," Act I. Sc. 3,

"My very noble and approv'd good masters."

b All that was mine, in Silvia, I give thee.] No passage in the play has caused so much perplexity to the commentators as this. "It is, I think, very odd," remarks Pope, "to give up his mistress thus at once, without any reason alleged; "-and every reader thinks so too; and innumerable have been the expedients suggested to remove the anomaly. It has been proposed to transfer the lines to Thurio in another scene; and Mr. Knight intimates that, with a slight alteration, they might be given to Silvia. Mr. Baron Field suggested we should read,

"All that was thine, in Silvia I give thee."

i.e. "I will make up my love for you as large as the love you once had for Silvia." The most plausible correction is, I think,

[blocks in formation]

Could have persuaded me: now I dare not say
I have one friend alive; thou wouldst disprove me.
Who should be trusted when one's own* right hand
Is perjur'd to the bosom? Proteus,
I am sorry
I must never trust thee more,
But count the world a stranger for thy sake.
The private wound is deepest: O time most
accurs'd!

'Mongst all foes, that a friend should be the worst. PRO. My shame, and guilt, confounds me.— Forgive me, Valentine: if hearty sorrow

Be a sufficient ransom for offence,
I tender it here; I do as truly suffer
As e'er I did commit.

[blocks in formation]

JUL. O good sir, my master charged me to deliver a ring to madam Silvia; which, out of my neglect, was never done.

PRO. Where is that ring, boy?
JUL. Here 'tis: this is it.

PRO. How! let me see:

[Gives a ring.

Why, this is the ring I gave to Julia.
JUL. O, cry you mercy, sir, I have mistook ;

(*) Own is not in First folio.

the transferring the disputed lines to Proteus, but reading Julia for Silvia, thus:

"And, that my love may appear plain and free,
All that was mine, in Julia, I give thee."

All the love I once felt for Julia, I will henceforth dedicate to my friendship for you.

Whatever may be thought of this conjecture, no one can believe the lines were spoken by Valentine, after seeing the vehemence with which he repels the advances of Thurio to his mistress subsequently, even in the presence of her father, the Duke:

"Do not name Silvia thine; if once again,
Verona shall not hold thee. Here she stands;
Take but possession of her with a touch; -
I dare thee but to breathe upon my love."

[graphic]

This is the ring you sent to Silvia.

[Shows another ring. PRO. But how camest 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, 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 upon me Such an immodest raiment; if shame live In a disguise of love:

It is the lesser blot, modesty finds,

Women to change their shapes, than men their

minds.

PRO. Than men their minds ! 't is true; O Heaven! were man

That gave aim-] To give aim, and to cry aim, have been so admirably explained and discriminated by Mr. Gifford, that we cannot do better than append his note upon the expressions:"Aim! for so it should be printed, and not cry aim, was always addressed to the person about to shoot; it was an hortatory exclamation of the bystanders, or, as Massinger has it; of the idle lookers-on, intended for his encouragement. To cry aim! was to encourage; to give aim was to direct; and in these distinct

But constant, he were perfect: that one error Fills him with faults; makes him run through all th' sins:

Inconstancy falls off ere it begins:
What is in Silvia's face, but I may spy
More fresh in Julia's with a constant eye?

VAL. Come, come, a hand from either:
Let me be bless'd to make this happy close;
'T were pity two such friends should be long foes.
PRO. Bear witness, Heaven, I have my wish for

ever.

JUL. And I mine.

Enter Outlaws, with DUKE and THURIO.

OUT. A prize, a prize, a prize!

VAL. Forbear, forbear, I say; it is my lord the duke.

Your grace is welcome to a man disgrac'd,
Banished Valentine.

and appropriate senses the words perpetually occur. Those who cried aim stood by the archers; he who gave it, was stationed near the butts, and pointed out, after every discharge, how wide, or how short, the arrow fell of the mark."

b Cleft the root?] That is, of her heart. She is carrying on the allusion to archery. To cleave the pin was to split the wooden peg which attached the target to the butt.

« VorigeDoorgaan »