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Which I did make him fwear to keep for ever. Por. Thou may'ft, I warrant. We fhall have old fwearing,

That they did give the rings away to men;

But we'll out-face them, and out-iwear them too: -Away, make hafte, thou know'ft where I will tarry. Ner. Come, good Sir, will you fhew me to this house ?

[Exeunt.

ACT V. SCENE I.

Belmont. A Grove, or green Place, before Portia's House.

TH

Enter Lorenzo and Jeffica.

LORENZO.

HE moon fhines bright-In fuch a night as this, When the fweet wind did gently kifs the trees, And they did make no noife; in fuch a night, Troilus, methinks, mounted the Trojan wall; And figh'd his foul towards the Grecian tents, Where Crefid lay that night.

Jef. In tuch a night,

Did Thisbe fearfully o'er-trip the dew;
And faw the lion's fhadow ere himself,

And ran difmayed away.

Lor. In fuch a night,

Stood Dido with a willow in her hand

Upon the wild fea-banks, and wav'd her love
To come again to Carthage.

Jef. In fuch a night,

Medea gather'd the enchanted herbs,

That did renew old Æson.

Lur. In fuch a night,

Did Jeffica fteal from the wealthy few,

And with an unthrift love did run from Venice,
As far as Belmont.

Jef. And in fuch a night,

Did young Lorenzo fwear, he lov'd her well;
Stealing her foul with many vows of faith,
And ne'er a true one.

Lor. And in fuch a night,

Did pretty effica (like a little fhrew)
Slander her love, and he forgave it her.

Jef. I would out-night you, did no body come:
But hark, I hear the footing of a man.

Enter Stephano.

Lor. Who comes fo fast, in filence of the night? Mef. A friend.

Lor. A friend? what friend? your name, I pray you, friend?

Mef. Stephano is my name, and I bring word,
My mistress will before the break of day
Be here at Belmont. She doth stray about

By holy Croffes, where the kneels, and prays,
For happy wedlock hours.

Lor. Who comes with her?

Mef. None, but a holy hermit, and her maid.

-I pray you, is my malter yet return'd?

Lor. He is not, nor have we yet heard from him. But go we in, I pray thee, Jeffica,

And ceremoniously let us prepare

Some welcome for the mistress of the house.

Enter Launcelot.

Laun. Sola, fola, wo ha, ho, fola, fola!

1 None but a holy hermit.] I do not perceive the ufe of this hermit, of whom nothing is feen or heard afterwards. The Poet had first

planned his fable fome other way, and inadvertently, when he changed his fcheme, retained fomething of the original design, Hh 3

Lor.

Lor. Who calls?

Laun, Sola! did you fee Mafter Lorenzo and Miftrefs Lorenzo? fola, fola!

Lor. Leave hollowing, man: here.

Laun. Sola! where? where ?

Lor. Here.

Laun. Tell him, there's a poft come from my mafter with his horn full of good news. My master will be here ere morning.

Lor. Sweet love, coming.

let's in, and there expect their

And yet no matter why should we go in ?
My friend Stephano, fignify, I pray you,
Within the house, your mistress is at hand
And bring your mufick forth into the air.

;

[Exit Stephano, How sweet the moon-light fleeps upon this bank! Here will we fit, and let the founds of mufick Creep in our ears; foft ftillness, and the night Become the touches of fweet harmony. Sit, Jeffica: look, how the floor of heav'n Is thick inlay'd with pattens of bright gold; There's not the fmalleft orb, which thou behold'st, But in his motion like an angel fings, Still quiring to the young-ey'd cherubims; Such harmony is in immortal fouls! 3

2

2

with PATTERNS of bright geld; We fhould read PATENS: a round broad plate of gold born in heraldry.

WARBURTON. Pattens is the reading of the first tolio, and pattents of the quarto. Patterns is printed first in the fol. 1632.

3 Sub harmony is in immortal fouls; But the harmony here defcribed is that of the fpheres,

But

fo much celebrated by the antients. He fays, the smallest orb fings like an angel; and then fubjoins, fuch harmony is in immortal fouls: But the harmony of angels is not here meant, but of the orbs. Nor are we to think, that here the poet alludes to the notion, that each orb has its intelligence or angel to direct it; for then with no propriety could he fay, the orb fung like an angel:

he

But whilft this muddy vesture of decay
Doth grofly close us in, we cannot hear it.
Come, ho, and wake Diana with a hymn,'
With sweetest touches pierce your mistress' ear,
And draw her home with mufick.

Jef. I'm never merry, when I hear sweet mufick.

[Mufick.
Lor. The reason is, your fpirits are attentive;
For do but note a wild and wanton herd,
Or race of youthful and unhandled colts

Fetching mad bounds, bellowing and neighing loud,
Which is the hot condition of their blood,
If they perchance but hear a trumpet found,
Or any air of mufick touch their ears,

You shall perceive them make a mutual stand;
Their favage eyes turn'd to a modest gaze,
By the sweet power of mufick. Therefore, the Poet
Did feign that Orpheus drew trees, ftones, and floods;

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Since nought fo ftockifh, hard and full of rage,
But mufick for the time doth change his nature.
The man that hath no mufick in himself, 5
Nor is not mov'd with concord of fweet founds,
Is fit for trealons, ftratagems, and spoils;
The motions of his fpirit are dull as night,
And his affections dark as Erebus:
Let no fuch man be trufted-Mark the mufick.

Enter Portia and Neriffa at a distance.

hall:

Por. That light we fee, is burning in my -How far that little candle throws his beams! So fhines a good deed in a naughty world.

Ner. When the moon fhone, we did not fee the candle.

Por. So doth the greater glory dim the lefs:
A fubstitute fhines brightly as a King,
Until a King be by; and then his state
Empties itfelf, as doth an inland brook
Into the main of waters.-Mufick, hark!

[Mufick

Ner. It is your mufick, Madam, of the houfe.
Por. Nothing is good, I fee, without refpect:
Methinks, it founds much fweeter than by day.

Ner. Silence beflows the virtue on it, Madam.
Por. The crow doth fing as fweetly as the lark,
When neither is attended; and, I think,
The nightingale, if the fhould fing by day,

5 The man that hath no mufick
in himself,
Nor is not mov'd with concord of
fweet founds,] The thought
here is extremely fine: As if the
being affected with mufick was
only the harmony between the
internal (mufick in himself and
the external mufick concord of
fweet founds; which were mu-
tually affected like unifon ftrings.
This whole fpeech could not
chufe but please an English au-
dience, whofe great paffion, as

well then as now, was love of mufick. Jam verò video naturam (lays Erafmus in praise of Folly) ut fingulis nationibus, ac pene civitaribus, communem quandam infeviffe Philautiam: Atque bine fieri, ut BRITANNI præter alia, Formam, MUSICAM, & lautas Menjas propriè fibi vindicent.

6

WARBURTON.

- without respect.] Not abfolutely good, but relatively, good as it is modified by circumitances.

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