Seg. With all my heart, were it a far greater thing; With pleasant sports and pastimes you shall see. Am. And, good Segasto, these great courtesies Bones! what have you Mouse. Why, hark you master. done? What! given away the wench you made me take such pains for? You are wise, indeed! Mass! and I had known that, I would have had her myself. 'Faith, master, now we may go to breakfast with a woodcock pie. Seg. Go, sir. You were best leave this knavery. King. Come on, my lords: let's now to court, Where we may finish up the joyfullest day That ever happ'd to a distressed king;2 Were but thy father, the Valencia lord, Present in view of this combining knot. [A shout within. Enter a Messenger. What shout was that? Mess. My lord, the great Valencia king, Newly arriv'd, entreats your presence. Muc. My father! King. Prepared welcomes give him entertainment! A happier planet never reign'd than that Which governs at this hour. [Sound. 2 That ever happ'd to a distressed king,] Here the old drama ends in the edition of 1598. Enter the KING OF VALENCIA, ANSELMO, RODERIGO, BORACHIUS, with others. The KING runs and embraces his son. King Va. Rise, honour of my age, food to my rest!— Condemn not, mighty king of Aragon, My rude behaviour, so compell'd by nature, King Ar. What we have to recite would tedious prove By declaration therefore, in and feast. To-morrow the performance shall explain What words conceal: till then, drums speak, bells ring! Give pleasant welcome to our brother king! [Sound drums and trumpets. Exeunt omnes. Enter COMEDY, and ENVY.3 Com. How now, Envy? What! blushest thou already? Peep forth hide not thy head with shame, But with a courage praise a woman's deeds. Thy threats were vain: thou couldst do me no hurt, Env. Though stumbled, yet not overthrown. This supplement to the performance, obviously not by Shakespeare, and personally directed against some poet of the day and the Children of the Revels, must have been added to the performance after James I. had ascended the throne: we give it from the edition of 1609, the earliest known that contains it. Say all this, yet can'st thou not conquer me; A double revenge another time I'll have. Plot, work, contrive, create new fallacies : Teem from thy womb each minute a black traitor, Cast native monsters in the moulds of men, Com. Nefarious hag, begin, And let us tug, till one the mastery win. Env. Comedy, thou art a shallow goose: I'll overthrow thee in thine own intent, And make thy fall my comic merriment. Com. Thy policy wants gravity: thou art too weak; Speak, fiend, as how? Env. Why thus. From my foul study will I hoist a wretch, A lean and hungry, meagre cannibal, Whose jaws swell to his eyes with chawing malice, 4 -MEAGRE cannibal,] Printed "neager canibal” in the old editions -a mere mistake of n for m. We cannot explain the evident personal allusion; but the "theatre” must have been the Globe, for which Shakespeare was the chief dramatist: see the next page. And him I'll make a poet. Com. What's that to the purpose? Env. This scrambling raven, with his needy beard, Will I whet on to write a Comedy, Wherein shall be compos'd dark sentences, Pleasing to factious brains: And every otherwhere place me a jest, Whose high abuse shall more torment than blows: Then, I myself, quicker than lightning, Will fly me to a puissant magistrate, And waiting with a trencher at his back, In midst of jollity rehearse those galls (With some additions) so lately vented in your theatre. He upon this cannot but make complaint, To your great danger, or at least restraint. Com. Ha, ha, ha! I laugh to hear thy folly. Stoop, Envy, stoop: bow to the earth with me, Let's beg our pardons on our bended knee. [They kneel. Env. My power has lost her might: Envy's date's expir'd. Yond' splendant majesty hath fell'd my sting,5 5 —hath FELL'D my sting] i.e., refell'd my sting: we have had the And I amazed am! [Fall down and quake. Com. Glorious and wise arch-Cæsar on this earth, Vouchsafe to pardon our unwilling error, Env. Amen! To fame and honour we commend your rest : [Finis. word used in the sense of repell'd in Measure for Measure, act v, sc. I, p. 93 it was by no means unusual. • Whose spangled CARKASS] Possibly, a misprint for darkness. We are unable to give any explanation regarding the "unwilling error”, which had recently given offence to his Majesty. |