Inter. There is no remedy, Sir, but you must die the General fays, you that have so traiterously discovered the fecrets of your army, and made fuch peftiferous reports of men very nobly held, can ferve the world for no honeft ufe; therefore, you must die. Come, headsman, off with his head.

Par. O Lord, Sir, let me live, or let me fee my death.

Inter. That fhall you, and take your leave of all your friends.

[Unbinding him.. So, look about you; know you any here? Ber. Good morrow, noble Captain.

2 Lord. God bless you, Captain Parolles. 1 Lord. God fave you, noble Captain.

2 Lord. Captain, what Greeting will you to my Lord Lafeu? I am for France.

1 Lord. Good Captain, will you give me a copy of that fame fonnet you writ to Diana in behalf of the Count Roufillon? If I were not a very coward, I'd compel it of you; but fare you well. [Exeunt. Inter. You are undone, Captain, all but your scarf, that has a knot on't yet.

Par. Who cannot be crush'd with a Plot?

Inter. If you can find out a Country where but women were that had received fo much fhame, you might begin an impudent nation. Fare you well, Sir, I am for France too, we fhall fpeak of you there. [Exit.

SCENE VI

Par. Yet am I thankful. If my heart were great, "Twould burst at this. Captain I'll be no more, But I will eat and drink, and fleep as foft,

As Captain fhall; fimply the thing I am

Shall make me live. Who knows himself a braggart,
Let him fear this; for it will come to pass,
That every braggart fhall be found an afs.
Ruft, fword! cool, blushes! and, Parolles, live ·
Safeft in fhame! being fool'd, by fool'ry thrive;
There's place and means for every man alive.
I'll after them.

}

[Exit.

SCENE

SCENE VII.

Changes to the Widow's Houfe, at Florence.
Enter Helena, Widow, and Diana.

Hel. That you may well perceive I have not wrong'd

you,

One of the Greatest in the Christian world

Shall be my Surety; 'fore whofe Throne 'tis needful,
Ere I can perfect mine intents, to kneel.
Time was, I did him a defired office
Dear almost as his life; which gratitude
Through flinty Tartar's bofom would peep forth,
And answer thanks. I duly am inform'd,
His Grace is at Marseilles, to which place
We have convenient Convoy; you must know,
I am fuppofed dead; the Army breaking,

My husband hies him home; where, heaven aiding,
And by the leave of my good Lord the King,
We'll be before our welcome.

Chu Wid. Gentle Madam,.

You never had a fervant, to whose truft
Your business was more welcome.

Hel. Nor you, Mistress,

Ever a friend, whofe thoughts more truly labour
To recompenfe your love: doubt not, but heav'n
Hath brought me up to be your Daughter's dower,
As it hath fated her to be (4) my motive

And helper to a husband. But, O ftrange men!
That can such sweet ufe make of what they hate,
(5) When faucy trufting of the cozen'd thoughts
Defiles the pitchy night; fo luft doth play

(4) My motive- motive for affiftant."

(5) When SAUCY trufling of the cozen'd thoughts

With

WARBURTON.

Defiles the pitchy night;] . . makes the perfon guilty of intentional adultery. But trufting a mistake cannot make any one guilty. We fhould read, and point, the lines thus,

When FANCY, trufting of the cozen'd thoughts,

Defiles the pitchy night.

i. e. the fancy, or imagination, that he lay with his mistress, tho' it was, indeed, his Wife, made him incur the guilt of adultery. Night, by the ancients, was reckoned odious, obfcene, and abominable. The Poet, alluding to this, fays, with great beauty,

With what it loaths, for that which is away,
But more of this hereafter. You, Diana,
Under my poor inftructions yet muft fuffer
Something in my behalf.

Dia. Let death and honefty

Go with your impofitions, I am yours
Upon your will to fuffer.

Hel. Yet I pray you:

(6) But with the word the time will bring on fummer, When briars fhall have leaves as well as thorns,

And be as sweet as fharp: we must

away,

(7) Our waggon is prepar'd, and time revives us;

All's well, that ends well; ftill the Fine's the crown;
Whate'er the courfe the end is the renown.

SCENE VIII.

Changes to Roufillon in France.

Enter Countefs, Lafeu, and Clown.

[Exeunt

Laf. No, no, no, your fon was mif-led with a fnipttaffata fellow there (8), whofe villainous faffron would

have

Defiles the pitchy night; i. e. makes the night, more than ordinary, abominable.

WARBURTON.

This conjecture is truly ingenious; but, I believe, the authour of it will himself think it unneceffary, when he recollects that faucy may very properly fignify luxurious, and by confequence lafervious.

(6) But with the word, the time will bring on summer.] With the word, i. e. in an inftant of time. The Oxford Editor reads (but what he means by it I know not) Bear with the word,

WARBURTON.

The meaning of this obfervation is, that as briars have fweetness with their prickles, fo fhall these troubles be recompenfed with joy. (7) Our waggon is prepar'd, and time revives us ;] The word Revives conveys fo little fenfe, that it feems very liable to fufpicion.

and time revyes us

i. e. looks us in the face, calls upon us to haften. WARBURTON. The prefent reading is corrupt, and I am afraid the emendation none of the foundeft. I never remember to have feen the word reye. One may as well leave blunders as make them. Why may we not read for a fhift, without much effort, the time invites us?

unbak'd and

(8) whofe villainous faffron would have made all du by youth of a nation in bis colour.] Parelles is reprefented as an affected follower of the fafhion, and an encourager of his mafter to

have made all the unbak'd and doughy youth of a nation in his colour. Your daughter-in-law had been alive at this hour; and your fon here at home, more advanc'd by the King than by that red-tail'd humble bee I fpeak of.

Count. (9) I would, I had not known him! It was the death of the most virtuous Gentlewoman that ever Nature had praife for creating: if she had partaken of my flesh, and cost me the deareft groans of a Mother, I could not have owed here a more rooted love.

Laf. 'Twas a good lady, 'twas a good lady. We may pick a thousand fallets ere we light on fuch another herb. Clo. Indeed, Sir, fhe was the fweet-marjoram of the fallet, or rather the herb of

grace. Laf. They are not fallet-herbs, you knave, they are nofe-herbs.

Clo. I am no great Nebuchadnezzar, Sir, I have not much skill in grass.

run into all the follies of it; where he fays, Ufe a more spacious ceremony to the noble Lords-they wear themselves in the cap of time-and tho' the Devil lead the measure, fuch are to be followed. Here fome particularities of fashionable drefs are ridiculed. Snipt-taffeta needs no explanation; but villainous faffron is more obfcure. This alludes to a fantastic fashion, then much followed, of ufing yellow ftarch for their bands and ruffs. So Fletcher, in his Queen of Corinth, -Has be familiarly

Diflik'd your yellow ftarch; or faid your doublet
Was not exactly frencbified.

And Jobafon's Devil's an Afs,

Carmen and cb mney fweepers are got into the yellow ftarch. This was invented by one Turner, a tire-woman, a court-bawd; and, in all refpects, of fo infamous a character, that her inventi on deferved the name of viliainous faffron. This woman was, afterwards, amongst the miscreants concerned in the murder of Sir Thomas Overbury, for which he was hanged at Tyburn, and would die in a yellow ruff of her own invention: which made yellow ftarch fo odious, that it immediately went out of fashion. 'Tis this, then, to which Shakespeare alludes: but using the word faffron for yellow, a new idea prefented itself, and he purfues his thought under a quite different allufionWbofe villainous faffron would bave made all the unbaked and dougby youths of a nation in bis colour, i, e. of his temper and difpofition. Here the general custom of that time, of colouring paste with faffron, is alluded to. So in the Winter's

Tale:

WARBURTON.

I muft bave faffron to colour the warden pyes. (9) I would, I had not known bim!] This dialogue ferves to connect the incidents of Parolles with the main plan of the play.

Laf

Laf. Whether doft thou profefs thyfelf, a knave or a fool?

Clo. A fool, Sir, at a woman's fervice, and a knave, at a man's.

Laf. Your diftinction ?

Clo. I would cozen the man of his wife, and do his fervice.

Laf. So you were a knave at his service, indeed.

Clo. And I would give his wife my bauble, Sir, to do 'her fervice.

Laf. I will fubfcribe for thee, thou art both knave and fool.

Clo. At your fervice.
Laf. No, no, no..

Clo. Why, Sir, if I cannot ferve you, I can ferve as great a Prince as you are.

Laf. Who's that, a Frenchman?

Clo. Faith, Sir, he has an English name; but his (1) phifnomy is more hotter in France than there. Laf. What Prince is that?

Clo. The black Prince, Sir, alias the Prince of Darknefs, alias the Devil.

Laf. Hold thee, there's my purfe; I give thee not this to feduce thee from thy Mafter thou talk'ft of, ferve him ftill.

Clo. (2) I'm a woodland fellow, Sir, that always lov'd a great fire; and the Mafter I fpeak of ever keeps a good fire; but, fure, he is the Prince of the world, let his Nobility remain in's Court. I am for the House with the narrow gate, which I take to be too little for pomp to enter: fome, that humble themselves, may; but the many will be too chill and tender, and they'll be for the flow'ry way that leads to the broad gate, and the great fire.

(1) his phifnomy is more HOTTER in France than there.] This is intolerable nonfenfe. The ftupid Editors, because the Devil was talked of, thought no quality would fuit him but botter. We should read,- -more HONOUR'D. A joke upon the French people, as if they held a dark complexion, which is natural to them, in more eftimation than the English do, who are generally white and fair. WARBURTON.

(2) I'm a woodland fellow, Sir, &c.] Shakespeare is but rarely guilty of fuch impious trash. And it is obfervable, that then he always puts that into the mouth of his fools, which is now grown the characteristic of the fine Gentleman. WARBURTON.

Laf.