Come, go with us, we'll look to that anon; 「Exeunt Antipholis S. and E. S. Dro. There is a fat friend at your master's house, That kitchen'd me for you to day at dinner; She now shall be my fifter, not my wife. E. Dro. Methinks, you are my glass, and not my brother : I see by you, I am a sweet-fac'd youth: Will you walk in to fee ther gossiping? How shall I try it? S. Dro. We'll draw cuts for the senior: 'Till then, lead thou first. E. Dro. Nay, then this [Embracing. We came into the world, like brother and brother : And now let's go hand in hand, not one before another. [Exeunt. MUCH DON PEDRO, Prince of Arragon. Claudio, a young Lord of Florence, Favourite to Don Pedro. Benedick, a young Lord of Padua, favour'd likewise by. Don Pedro. Balthazar, Servant to Don Pedro. Antonio, Brother to Leonato. Borachio, Confident to Don John. Dogberry, two foolish Officers. Hero, Daughter to Leonato. Margaret, } two Gentlewomen, attending on Hero. Urfula, A Friar, Messenger, Watch, Town-Clerk, Sexton, and Attendants. SCENE, Messina in Sicily. The Story is from Arioflo, Orl. Fur. B. v. POPE. MUCH MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING'. ACT I. SCENE I. A Court before Leonato's House. Enter Leonato, Hero, and Beatrice, with a Messenger. I : LEONATO. Learn in this letter, that Don Pedro of Arragon comes this night to to Meffina. Meff. He is very near by this; he was not three leagues off when I left him. Leon. How many gentlemen have you lost in this action? Meff. But few of any Sort, and none of Name. Leon. A victory is twice itself, when the atchiever Much Ado about Nothing.] 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 fucceeding Editions have all continued her Name in the Dramatis Persona. But I have ventur'd to expunge it; there being no mention of ber through the Play, no one Speech address'd to her, nor one Syllable spoken by her. Neither is there any 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 he left it out. THEOBALD. brings home full numbers; I find here, that Don Pedro hath bestowed much honour on a young Florentine, call'd Claudio. ८ f Meff. Much deserved on his part, and equally remembred by Don Pedro: he hath borne himself beyond the promse of his age, doing in the figure of a lamb the feats of a lion: he hath, indeed, better better'd expectation, than you must expect of me to tell you how. Leon. He hath an uncle here in Messina will be very much glad of it. 2 Meff. I have already delivered him letters, and there appears much joy in him; even so much, that joy could not shew itself modest enough, without a badge of bitterness. Leon Did he break out into tears ? Meff. In great measure. Leon. 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 Montanto return'd from the wars or no? Meff. I know none of that name, Lady'; there was none luch in the army of any Sort. 2 Leon. What is he that you ask for, Need! joy could not shew it felf modest enough, without a badge of bitterness.] This is judicioufly express'd. Of all the transports of joy, that which is attended with tears is least offenfive; because, carrying with it this mark of pain, it allays the envy that usually attends another's happiness. This he finely calls a modest joy, such a one as did not infult the observer by an indication of happiness unmixed with pain. - WARBURTON. faces truer] That ३ eid no is, none honefter, none more fin cere. 4 - is Signior Montanto return'd.) Montante, in Spanish, is a huge two-handed fword, given, with much humour, to one, the speaker would represent as a Boaster or Bravado. WARBURT. 5- there was none Juch in the army of any fort.] Not meaning there was none such of any order or degree whatever, but that there was none such of any quality above the common. WARBURTON. |