DON PEDRO, Prince of Arragon. Pedro. Don Pedro. Dogberry, two foolip Oficers. Hero, Daughter to Leonato. two Gentlewomen, attending on Hero. Ursula, , } A Frier, Melenger, Watch, Town-Clerk, Sexton, and Attendants, SCENE, Melina in Sicily. nes Enter Leonato, Hero, and Beatrice, with a Mesenger, L E O N A T 0. Arragon comes this night to Meffina. Mely He is very near by this; i:e was not three leagues off when I left him. Leon. How many gentlemen have you loft in this action ? Mell. But few of any Sort, and none of Name. Leon. A victory is twice it self, when the atchiever brings home full numbers ; I find here, that Don Pen dre (1) Much Ado about Norbing] Innogen, (the Mother of Hero) in the oldest Quarto that I have seen of this Play, printed in 1600, is mention'd to enter in two several Scenes. The suc. ceeding Editions have all continued her Name in the Dra. matis Persona. But I have ventur'd to expunge it ; there being no mention of her thro' the Play, no one Speech address'd to her, nor one Syllable spoken by her. Neither is there any A 3 one you how. dro hath bestow'd much honour on a young Florentine, call'd Claudio. Mell. Much deserved on his part, and equally remembred by Don Pedro : he hath borne himself beyond the promise of his age, doing in the figure of a 1:2mb the feats of a lon: he hath, indeed, better better'd expectation, than you must expect of me to tell Leon. He hath an uncle here in Mafina will be very much glid of it. Mell. I have already delivered him letters, and there appears much joy in him; even so much, that joy could not thew it self modelt enough, without a badge of bitterness. Leon. Did he break out into tears? Lion. A kind overflow of kindness. There are no faces truer than those that are so wash'd. How much better is it to weep at joy, than to joy at weeping ? Beat, I pray you, is Signior Mantanto return'd from the wars or no? Mel: I know none of that name, Lady ; there was none fucb in the army Sort. of any Ws. Beal. Fe set up his bills here in Mefina, and chal. leog'd Cupid at the fight; and my Unce's fool, reading the challenge, subscrib'd for Cupid, and challeng'd : hiin at the bird bolt. I pray you, how many bath he kili'd and eaten in these wars? hach he killd ? for, indeed, I promis'd to eat all of his killing but how many one Passage, from which we have any Reason to determine that Hero's Mother was living. It seems, as if the Poet had in his first Plan design'd such a Character; which, on a Survey of it, he found would be superfluous ; and therefore be lest it out. Leon. |