第4章

Peace!

hereshecomes。SPEED[Aside]Oexcellentmotion!Oexceedingpuppet!

Nowwillheinterprettoher。

EnterSILVIAVALENTINEMadamandmistress,athousandgood—morrows。SPEED[Aside]O,giveyegoodeven!here\'samillionofmanners。SILVIASirValentineandservant,toyoutwothousand。SPEED[Aside]Heshouldgiveherinterestandshegivesithim。VALENTINEAsyouenjoin\'dme,IhavewrityourletterUntothesecretnamelessfriendofyours;

WhichIwasmuchunwillingtoproceedinButformydutytoyourladyship。SILVIAIthankyougentleservant:\'tisveryclerklydone。VALENTINENowtrustme,madam,itcamehardlyoff;

ForbeingignoranttowhomitgoesIwritatrandom,verydoubtfully。SILVIAPerchanceyouthinktoomuchofsomuchpains?VALENTINENo,madam;soitsteadyou,IwillwritePleaseyoucommand,athousandtimesasmuch;

Andyet——SILVIAAprettyperiod!Well,Iguessthesequel;

AndyetIwillnotnameit;andyetIcarenot;

Andyettakethisagain;andyetIthankyou,Meaninghenceforthtotroubleyounomore。SPEED[Aside]Andyetyouwill;andyetanother\'yet。\'VALENTINEWhatmeansyourladyship?doyounotlikeit?SILVIAYes,yes;thelinesareveryquaintlywrit;

Butsinceunwillingly,takethemagain。

Nay,takethem。VALENTINEMadam,theyareforyou。SILVIAAy,ay:youwritthem,sir,atmyrequest;

ButIwillnoneofthem;theyareforyou;

Iwouldhavehadthemwritmoremovingly。VALENTINEPleaseyou,I\'llwriteyourladyshipanother。SILVIAAndwhenit\'swrit,formysakereaditover,Andifitpleaseyou,so;ifnot,why,so。VALENTINEIfitpleaseme,madam,whatthen?SILVIAWhy,ifitpleaseyou,takeitforyourlabour:

Andso,goodmorrow,servant。

ExitSPEEDOjestunseen,inscrutable,invisible,Asanoseonaman\'sface,oraweathercockonasteeple!

Mymastersuestoher,andshehathtaughthersuitor,Hebeingherpupil,tobecomehertutor。

Oexcellentdevice!wasthereeverheardabetter,Thatmymaster,beingscribe,tohimselfshouldwritetheletter?VALENTINEHownow,sir?whatareyoureasoningwithyourself?SPEEDNay,Iwasrhyming:\'tisyouthathavethereason。VALENTINETodowhat?SPEEDTobeaspokesmanforMadamSilvia。VALENTINETowhom?SPEEDToyourself:why,shewooesyoubyafigure。VALENTINEWhatfigure?SPEEDByaletter,Ishouldsay。VALENTINEWhy,shehathnotwrittome?SPEEDWhatneedshe,whenshehathmadeyouwritetoyourself?Why,doyounotperceivethejest?VALENTINENo,believeme。SPEEDNobelievingyou,indeed,sir。Butdidyouperceiveherearnest?VALENTINEShegavemenone,exceptanangryword。SPEEDWhy,shehathgivenyoualetter。VALENTINEThat\'stheletterIwrittoherfriend。SPEEDAndthatletterhathshedelivered,andthereanend。VALENTINEIwoulditwerenoworse。SPEEDI\'llwarrantyou,\'tisaswell:

Foroftenhaveyouwrittoher,andshe,inmodesty,Orelseforwantofidletime,couldnotagainreply;

Orfearingelsesomemessengerthatmightherminddiscover,Herselfhathtaughtherlovehimselftowriteuntoherlover。

AllthisIspeakinprint,forinprintIfoundit。

Whymuseyou,sir?\'tisdinner—time。VALENTINEIhavedined。SPEEDAy,buthearken,sir;thoughthechameleonLovecanfeedontheair,Iamonethatamnourishedbymyvictuals,andwouldfainhavemeat。O,benotlikeyourmistress;bemoved,bemoved。

ExeuntSCENEII。Verona。JULIA\'Shouse。EnterPROTEUSandJULIAPROTEUSHavepatience,gentleJulia。JULIAImust,whereisnoremedy。PROTEUSWhenpossiblyIcan,Iwillreturn。JULIAIfyouturnnot,youwillreturnthesooner。

KeepthisremembranceforthyJulia\'ssake。

GivingaringPROTEUSWhythen,we\'llmakeexchange;here,takeyouthis。JULIAAndsealthebargainwithaholykiss。PROTEUSHereismyhandformytrueconstancy;

Andwhenthathouro\'erslipsmeinthedayWhereinIsighnot,Julia,forthysake,ThenextensuinghoursomefoulmischanceTormentmeformylove\'sforgetfulness!

Myfatherstaysmycoming;answernot;

Thetideisnow:nay,notthytideoftears;

ThattidewillstaymelongerthanIshould。

Julia,farewell!

ExitJULIA

What,gonewithoutaword?

Ay,sotrueloveshoulddo:itcannotspeak;

Fortruthhathbetterdeedsthanwordstograceit。

EnterPANTHINOPANTHINOSirProteus,youarestay\'dfor。PROTEUSGo;Icome,Icome。

Alas!thispartingstrikespoorloversdumb。

ExeuntSCENEIII。Thesame。Astreet。EnterLAUNCE,leadingadogLAUNCENay,\'twillbethishourereIhavedoneweeping;

allthekindoftheLaunceshavethisveryfault。

I

havereceivedmyproportion,liketheprodigiousson,andamgoingwithSirProteustotheImperial\'scourt。IthinkCrab,mydog,bethesourest—natureddogthatlives:mymotherweeping,myfatherwailing,mysistercrying,ourmaidhowling,ourcatwringingherhands,andallourhouseinagreatperplexity,yetdidnotthiscruel—heartedcurshedonetear:heisastone,averypebblestone,andhasnomorepityinhimthanadog:aJewwouldhavewepttohaveseenourparting;why,mygrandam,havingnoeyes,lookyou,weptherselfblindatmyparting。Nay,I\'llshowyouthemannerofit。

Thisshoeismyfather:no,thisleftshoeismyfather:

no,no,thisleftshoeismymother:nay,thatcannotbesoneither:yes,itisso,itisso,ithaththeworsersole。Thisshoe,withtheholeinit,ismymother,andthismyfather;avengeanceon\'t!there\'tis:now,sit,thisstaffismysister,for,lookyou,sheisaswhiteasalilyandassmallasawand:thishatisNan,ourmaid:

I

amthedog:no,thedogishimself,andIamthedog——Oh!thedogisme,andIammyself;ay,so,so。NowcomeItomyfather;Father,yourblessing:

nowshouldnottheshoespeakawordforweeping:

nowshouldIkissmyfather;well,heweepson。

NowcomeItomymother:O,thatshecouldspeaknowlikeawoodwoman!Well,Ikissher;why,there\'tis;here\'smymother\'sbreathupanddown。NowcomeItomysister;markthemoanshemakes。

Nowthedogallthiswhileshedsnotatearnorspeaksaword;butseehowIlaythedustwithmytears。