low that hath had loffes; and one that hath two gowns, and every thing handsome about him:—Bring him away. O, that I had been writ down-an afs! [Exeunt.

ACT V.

SCENE I. Before LEONATO's Houfe.
Enter LEONATO and ANTONIO.

ANT. If you go on thus, you will kill yourself; And 'tis not wifdom thus to fecond grief

Against yourself.

LEON. I pray thee, cease thy counsel,
Which falls into mine ears as profitless
As water in a fieve: give not me counsel;
Nor let no comforter delight mine ear,

But fuch a one whofe wrongs do fuit with mine.
Bring me a father, that fo lov'd his child,

Whose joy of her is overwhelm'd like mine,
And bid him fpeak of patience;

Measure his woe the length and breadth of mine,
And let it anfwer every ftrain for ftrain;
As thus for thus, and fuch a grief for fuch,
In every lineament, branch, fhape, and form:

If fuch a one will fmile, and ftroke his beard;
Cry-forrow, wag! and hem, when he should groan;
Patch grief with proverbs; make misfortune drunk
With candle-wafters; bring him yet to me,
And I of him will gather patience.

But there is no fuch man: For, brother, men
Can counfel, and speak comfort to that grief
Which they themselves not feel; but, tafting it,
Their counfel turns to paffion, which before
Would give preceptial medicine to rage,

Fetter ftrong madness in a filken thread,
Charm ach with air, and agony with words:
No, no; 'tis all men's office to speak patience
To those that wring under the load of forrow;
But no man's virtue, nor fufficiency,

To be fo moral, when he shall endure

The like himself: therefore give me no counsel :
My griefs cry louder than advertisement.

ANT. Therein do men from children nothing differ, LEON. I pray thee, peace; I will be flesh and blood; For there was never yet philofopher,

That could endure the tooth-ach patiently;
However they have writ the ftyle of gods,
And made a pifh at chance and-fufferance,

ANT. Yet bend not all the harm upon yourself;
Make thofe, that do offend you, fuffer too.

LEON. There thou fpeak'ft reafon : nay, I will do fo: My foul doth tell me, Hero is bely'd;

And that fhall Claudio know, fo fhall the prince,

And all of them that thus difhonour her.

Enter Don PEDRO and CLAUDIO.

ANT. Here comes the prince, and Claudio, hastily,

D. PEDRO. Good den, good den.

CLAUD. Good day to both of you,

LEON. Hear you, my lords,

D. PEDRO. We have fome hafte, Leonato.

LEON. Some hafte, my lord!-well, fare you well, my

Are you fo hafty now?-well, all is one.

[lord :

D. PEDRO. Nay, do not quarrel with us, good old man, ANT. If he could right himself with quarreling,

Some of us would lie low.

CLAUD. Who wrongs him?

LEON. Marry,

Thou, thou doft wrong me; thou diffembler, thou:Nay, never lay thy hand upon thy fword,

I fear thee not.

CLAUD. Marry, befhrew my hand,

If it should give your age fuch cause of fear:
In faith, my hand meant nothing to my fword.
LEON. Tufh, tush, man, never fleer and jeft at me :
I speak not like a dotard, nor a fool;

As, under privilege of age, to brag

What I have done being young, or what would do,
Were I not old: Know, Claudio, to thy head,
Thou haft fo wrong'd mine innocent child and me,
That I am forc'd to lay my reverence by ;
And, with grey hairs, and bruise of many days,
Do challenge thee to trial of a man.

I say, thou haft bely'd mine innocent child;

Thy flander hath gone through and through her heart,
And the lyes buried with her ancestors :
O! in a tomb where never scandal flept,
Save this of her's, fram'd by thy villainy.
CLAUD. My villainy!

I'll

LEON. Thine, Claudio; thine I fay.

D. PEDRO. You fay not right, old man.
LEON. My lord, my lord,

prove it on his body, if he dare;

Despite his nice fence, and his active practice,

His May of youth, and bloom of luftyhood.

CLAUD. Away, I will not have to do with you.
LEON. Canft thou fo daff me? Thou haft kill'd my child;

If thou kill'st me, boy, thou fhalt kill a man.

ANT. He fhall kill two of us, and men indeed:

But that's no matter; let him kill one first ;-
Win me and wear me,-let him answer me :-

Come, follow me, boy; come, boy, follow me:
Sir boy, I'll whip you from your foining fence;
Nay, as I am a gentleman, I will.

LEON. Brother,

ANT. Content yourself: God knows, I lov'd my niece;
And she is dead, flander'd to death by villains;
That dare as well anfwer a man, indeed,

As I dare take a serpent by the tongue :
Boys, apes, braggarts, Jacks, milkfops!-
LEON. Brother Antony,-

ANT. Hold you content; What, man! I know them, yea,
And what they weigh, even to the utmost scruple :
Scambling, out-facing, fashion-mong'ring boys,
That lie, and cog, and flout, deprave and flander,
Go antickly, and show outward hideousness,
And speak off half a dozen dangerous words,
How they might hurt their enemies, if they durft,
And this is all.

LEON. But, brother Antony,

ANT. Come, 'tis no matter;

Do not you meddle, let me deal in this.

D. PEDRO. Gentlemen both, we will not wake your patience.

My heart is forry for your daughter's death;

But, on my honour, fhe was charg'd with nothing

But what was true, and very full of proof.

LEON. My lord, my lord,

D. PEDRO. I will not hear you.

LEON. NO?

Brother, away:-I will be heard ;

ANT. And fhall,

Or fome of us will smart for it.

VOL. I.

[Exeunt LEONATO and ANTONIO. 3 &

Enter BENEDICK.

D. PEDRO. See, fee; here comes the man we went to feek.

CLAUD. Now, fignior! what news?

BENE. Good day, my lord.

D. PEDRO. Welcome, fignior: You are almost come to part almost a fray.

CLAUD. We had like to have had our two noses snapped off with two old men without teeth.

D. PEDRO. Leonato and his brother: What think'st thou? Had we fought, I doubt, we should have been too young for them.

BENE. In a falfe quarrel there is no true valour. I came to feek you both.

CLAUD. We have been up and down to feek thee; for we are high-proof melancholy, and would fain have it beaten away: Wilt thou use thy wit?

BENE. It is in my fcabbard; Shall I draw it?

D. PEDRO. Doft thou wear thy wit by thy fide? CLAUD. Never any did fo, though very many have been befide their wit.-I will bid thee draw, as we do the minftrels; draw, to pleasure us,

D. PEDRO. As I am an honeft man, he looks pale :Art thou fick, or angry ?

CLAUD. What! courage, man! What though care kill'd a cat, thou haft mettle enough in thee to kill care.

BENE. Sir, I fhall meet your wit in the career, an you charge it against me--I pray you, choose another subject.

CLAUD. Nay, then give him another staff; this last was broke cross.

D. PEDRO. By this light, he changes more and more; I think, he be angry indeed,