There's nothing here, that is too good for him, That twenty such rude boys might tend upon, And call her hourly, mistress. Who was with him? 1 Gen. A servant only, and a gentleman Which I have some time known. Count. Parolles, was't not? 1 Gen. Ay, my good lady, he. Count. A very tainted fellow, and full of wicked. ness. My son corrupts a well-derived nature With his inducement. 1 Gen. Indeed, good lady, The fellow has a deal of that, too much, Count. You are welcome, gentlemen, The honour that he loses: more I'll entreat you 2 Gen. We serve you, madam, In that and all your worthiest affairs. Count. Not so, but as we change our courtesies." Will you draw near? [Exeunt Countess and Gentlemen. Hel. Till I have no wife, I have nothing in France. Nothing in France, until he has no wife! Thou shalt have none, Rousillon, none in France, Which holds him much to have.] That is, his vices stand him in stead. 6 Not so, &c.] The gentlemen declare that they are servants to the Countess; she replies,-No otherwise than as she returns the same offices of civility. JOHNSON. Those tender limbs of thine to the event That drive thee from the sportive court, where thou With sharp constraint of hunger; better 'twere Were mine at once: No, come thou home, Rou sillon, Whence honour but of danger wins a scar,9 My being here it is, that holds thee hence: 7 move the still-piecing air, [Exit. That sings with piercing,] Warburton says the words are here oddly shuffled into nonsense; but the commentators have not suc, ceeded in making sense of them. 8 the ravin lion] i. e. the ravenous or ravening lion. To ravin is to swallow voraciously. 9 Whence honour but of danger, &c.] The sense is, from that abode, where all the advantages that honour usually reaps from the danger it rushes upon, is only a scar in testimony of its bravery, as, on the other hand, it often is the cause of losing all, even life itself. HEATH. SCENE III. Florence. Before the Duke's Palace. Flourish. Enter the Duke of Florence, BERTRAM, Lords, Officers, Soldiers, and others. Duke. The general of our horse thou art; and we, Great in our hope, lay our best love and credence, Upon thy promising fortune. Ber. Sir, it is A charge too heavy for my strength; but yet Duke. Then go thou forth; And fortune play upon thy prosperous helm, As thy auspicious mistress! Ber. This very day, Great Mars, I put myself into thy file: Make me but like my thoughts; and I shall prove A lover of thy drum, hater of love. [Exeunt. SCENE IV. Rousillon. A Room in the Countess's Palace. Enter Countess and Steward. Count. Alas! and would you take the letter of her? Might you not know, she would do as she has done, Stew. I am St. Jaques' pilgrim, thither gone; That bare-foot plod I the cold ground upon, Write, write, that, from the bloody course of war, I, his despiteful Juno, sent him forth Count. Ah, what sharp stings are in her mildest words!- Rinaldo, you did never lack advice1 so much, Stew. Pardon me, madam: If I had given you this at over-night, She might have been o'er-ta'en; and yet she writes, Pursuit would be in vain. Count. What angel shall Bless this unworthy husband? he cannot thrive, 9 1 Juno,] Alluding to the story of Hercules. lack advice-] Advice is discretion or thought. That he does weigh too light:] To weigh here means to value or esteem. Hearing so much, will speed her foot again, To make distinction:-Provide this messenger:- SCENE V. Without the Walls of Florence. A tucket afar off. Enter an old Widow of Florence, DIANA, VIOLENTA, MARIANA, and other Citizens. Wid. Nay, come; for if they do approach the city, we shall lose all the sight. Dia. They say, the French count has done most honourable service. Wid. It is reported that he has taken their greatest commander; and that with his own hand he slew the duke's brother. We have lost our labour; they are gone a contrary way: hark! you may know by their trumpets. Mar. Come, let's return again, and suffice ourselves with the report of it. Well, Diana, take heed of this French earl: the honour of a maid is her name; and no legacy is so rich as honesty. Wid. I have told my neighbour, how you have been solicited by a gentleman his companion. Mar. I know that knave; hang him! one Parolles: a filthy officer he is in those suggestions3 for those suggestions] Suggestions are temptations. |