Say what I think of it; fince I have found DUKE. Be it his pleasure. 2 LORD. But I am fure, the younger of our na ture, That furfeit on their eafe, will, day by day, DUKE. Welcome shall they be; And all the honours, that can fly from us, SCENE [Flourish. Exeunt, II. Enter Countefs and Clown, COUNT. It hath happened all as I would have had it, fave, that he comes not along with her. CLO. By my troth, I take my young lord to be a very melancholy man. COUNT. By what obfervance, I pray you? CLO. Why, he will look upon his boot, and fing; mend the ruff, and fing; afk queftions, and fing; 6 the younger of our nature,] i. e. as we fay at prefent, our young fellows. The modern editors read-nation. I have restored the old reading. STEEVENS. 7 Clo. Why, he will look upon his boot, and fing; mend the ruff, and fing;] The tops of the boots in our author's time turned down, and hung loosely over the leg. The folding is what the Clown means by the ruff. Ben Jonfon calls it ruffle; and perhaps it fhould be fo here. "Not having leifure to put off my filver fpurs, one of the rowels catch'd hold of the ruffle of my boot." Every Man out of his Humour, A& IV. fc. vi. WHALLEY. pick his teeth, and fing: I know a man that had this trick of melancholy, fold a goodly manor for a fong." means to come. COUNT. Let me fee what he writes, and when he [Opening a Letter. CLO. I have no mind to Ifbel, fince I was at court: our old lings and our Ifbels o'the country are nothing like your old ling and your Ifbels o'the court: the brains of my Cupid's knock'd out; and I begin to love, as an old man loves money, with no ftomach. COUNT. What have we here? CLO. E'en that you have there. [Exit. COUNT. [Reads.] I have fent you a daughter-inlaw: he hath recovered the king, and undone me. I have wedded her, not bedded her; and fworn to make the not eternal. You shall hear, I am run away; know it, before the report come. If there be breadth enough in the world, I will hold a long distance. My duty to you. Your unfortunate fon, BERTRAM. This is not well, rafh and unbridled boy, To this fashion Bishop Earle alludes in his Characters, 1638, Signat. E. 10. "He has learnt to ruffle his face from his boote; and takes great delight in his walk to heare his fpurs gingle." 7 MALONE, -fold a goodly manor for a fong.] Thus the modern editors, The old copy reads-hold a goodly, &c. The emendation, however, which was made in the third folio, feems neceffary. STEEVENS. 8 Clo. E'en that-] Old copy-In that, Corrected by Mr. Theobald. MALONE. Re-enter Clown. CLO. O madam, yonder is heavy news within, between two foldiers and my young lady. COUNT. What is the matter? CLO. Nay, there is fome comfort in the news, fome comfort; your fon will not be kill'd fo foon as I thought he would. COUNT. Why should he be kill'd? CLO. So fay I, madam, if he run away, as I hear he does: the danger is in ftanding to't; that's the lofs of men, though it be the getting of children. Here they come, will tell you more: for my part, I only hear, your fon was run away. [Exit Clown. Enter HELENA and two Gentlemen. I GEN. Save you, good madam. HEL. Madam, my lord is gone, for ever gone. 2 GEN. Do not say so. COUNT. Think upon patience.-'Pray you, gentle men, I have felt fo many quirks of joy, and grief, Can woman me' unto't:-Where is my fon, I pray you? 2 GEN. Madam, he's gone to serve the duke of We met him thitherward; for thence we came, HEL. Look on his letter, madam; here's my 9 Can woman me- -] i. e. affect me fuddenly and deeply, as my fex are ufually affected. STEEVENS. [Reads.] When thou canst get the ring upon my finger, which never shall come off, and show me a child begotten of thy body, that I am father to, then call me bufband: but in fuch a then I write a never. This is a dreadful fentence. COUNT. Brought you this letter, gentlemen? I GEN. Ay, madam; And, for the contents' fake, are forry for our pains. COUNT. I pr'ythee, lady, have a better cheer; If thou engroffeft all the griefs are thine, Thou robb'ft me of a moiety: He was my fon; But I do wash his name out of my blood, And thou art all my child.-Towards Florence is he? 2 GEN. Ay, madam. COUNT, And to be a foldier? 2 GEN. Such is his noble purpose: and, believe't, The duke will lay upon him all the honour That good convenience claims. 9 When thou canst get the ring upon my finger,] i. e. When thou canft get the ring, which is on my finger, into thy poffeffion. The Oxford editor, who took it the other way, to fignify, when thou canst get it on upon my finger, very fagaciously alters it toWhen thou canst get the ring from my finger. WARBURTON. I think Dr. Warburton's explanation fufficient; but I once read it thus: When thou canst get the ring upon thy finger, which never fball come off mine. JOHNSON. Dr. Warburton's explanation is confirmed inconteftably by these lines in the fifth act, in which Helena again repeats the substance of this letter: there is your ring; "And, look you, here's your letter; this it fays: "When from my finger you can get this ring," &c. MALONE. If thou engroffeft all the griefs are thine, Thou robb'ft me of a moiety:] We should certainly read: all the griefs as thine, inftead of-are thine. M. MASON. This fentiment is elliptically expreffed, but, I believe, means no more than-If thou keepeft all thy forrows to thyfelf, i. e. "all the griefs that are thine," &c. STEEVENS. |