The Winter's Tale (4 page)

HERMIONE
     'Tis grace indeed.—
       Why,
lo
¹²⁹
you now, I have spoke
to th'purpose
twice:
To Polixenes?
     The one forever earned a royal husband;
       Th'other for some while a
friend
¹³¹
.
Takes Polixenes' hand

LEONTES
     Too hot, too hot!
Aside

    To mingle friendship far is
mingling bloods
¹³³
.
       I have
tremor cordis
¹³⁴
on me: my heart dances,
       But not for joy, not joy. This
entertainment
¹³⁵
       May a
free
¹³⁶
face put on, derive a liberty
       From
heartiness
¹³⁷
, from
bounty
,
fertile bosom
,
       And
well become the agent
¹³⁸
.
'T
may, I grant.
       But to be
paddling
palms and pinching fingers
¹³⁹
,

    As now they are, and making
practised
¹⁴⁰
smiles,
       As in a looking-glass, and then to sigh, as 'twere
       The
mort
¹⁴²
o'th'deer — O, that is entertainment
       My bosom likes not, nor my
brows
¹⁴³
.— Mamillius,
       Art thou my boy?

MAMILLIUS
     Ay, my good lord.

LEONTES
    
I' fecks!
¹⁴⁶
       Why, that's my
bawcock
¹⁴⁷
. What? Hast
smutched
thy nose?—
       They say it is a copy out of mine.— Come, captain,
Aside?
       We must be
neat
¹⁴⁹
; not neat, but cleanly, captain.
       And yet the
steer
¹⁵⁰
, the heifer and the calf
       Are all called neat.— Still
virginalling
Aside
      
Upon his palm
¹⁵¹
?— How now, you
wanton
¹⁵²
calf!
       Art thou my calf?

MAMILLIUS
     Yes, if you will, my lord.

LEONTES
    
Thou want'st
¹⁵⁵
a
rough pash
and the
shoots
that I have
       To be
full
¹⁵⁶
like me.— Yet they say we are
Aside?
       Almost as like as eggs; women say so,
       That will say anything. But were they false
       As
o'er-dyed blacks
¹⁵⁹
, as
wind, as waters
, false
       As dice are to be wished by one that fixes
       No
bourn 'twixt his and mine
¹⁶¹
, yet were it true
       To say this boy were like me.— Come, sir page,
To Mamillius

       Look on me with your
welkin
¹⁶³
eye. Sweet villain!
       Most dear'st, my
collop
¹⁶⁴
!
Can thy dam
, may't be
      
Affection
¹⁶⁵
?— Thy
intention
stabs the centre.
Aside?

       Thou dost make possible things
not so held
¹⁶⁶
,
       Communicat'st with dreams — how can this be? —
       With what's unreal
thou coactive art
¹⁶⁸
,
       And
fellow'st
¹⁶⁹
nothing. Then 'tis very
credent
       Thou mayst
co-join
¹⁷⁰
with something, and thou dost,
       And that beyond
commission
¹⁷¹
, and I
find
it,
       And that to the infection of my brains
       And
hard'ning of my brows
¹⁷³
.

POLIXENES
     What means
Sicilia
¹⁷⁴
?

HERMIONE
     He
something seems
¹⁷⁵
unsettled.

POLIXENES
     How, my lord?

LEONTES
     What cheer? How is't with you, best brother?

HERMIONE
     You look as if you held a brow of much distraction.
       Are you
moved
¹⁷⁹
, my lord?

LEONTES
     No, in good earnest.—
       How sometimes nature will betray its folly,
Aside?
       Its tenderness, and
make itself a pastime
       To harder bosoms
¹⁸²
!— Looking on the lines
       Of my boy's face, methoughts I did recoil
       Twenty-three years, and saw myself
unbreeched
¹⁸⁵
,
       In my green velvet coat; my dagger
muzzled
¹⁸⁶
,
       Lest it should bite its master, and so prove,
       As ornaments oft do, too dangerous.
       How like, methought, I then was to this kernel,
       This
squash
¹⁹⁰
, this gentleman.— Mine honest friend,
To Mamillius
       Will you
take eggs for money
¹⁹¹
?

MAMILLIUS
     No, my lord, I'll fight.

LEONTES
     You will? Why,
happy man be's dole
¹⁹³
! My brother,
       Are you so fond of your young prince as we
       Do seem to be of ours?

POLIXENES
     If at home, sir,
       He's all my
exercise
¹⁹⁷
, my mirth, my matter;
       Now my sworn friend and then mine enemy;
       My
parasite
¹⁹⁹
, my soldier, statesman, all.
       He makes a July's day short as December,
       And with his varying
childness
²⁰¹
cures in me
      
Thoughts that would thick my blood
²⁰²
.

LEONTES
     So stands this squire
      
Officed
²⁰⁴
with me. We two will walk, my lord,
       And leave you to your
graver
²⁰⁵
steps.— Hermione,
       How thou lovest us, show in our brother's welcome.
       Let what is
dear
²⁰⁷
in Sicily be
cheap
.
       Next to thyself and my young
rover
²⁰⁸
, he's
      
Apparent
²⁰⁹
to my heart.

HERMIONE
     If you would seek us,
       We are yours i'th'garden:
shall's attend
²¹¹
you there?

LEONTES
     To your own
bents
²¹²
dispose you: you'll be
found
,
       Be you beneath the sky.— I am angling now,
Aside

       Though you perceive me not how I give line.
      
Go to
²¹⁵
, go to!
       How she holds up the
neb, the bill
²¹⁶
to him!
       And
arms her with the boldness of a wife
       To her allowing husband
²¹⁷
!

[
Exeunt Polixenes, Hermione and Attendants
]

                                                Gone already?

       Inch-thick, knee-deep, o'er head and ears a
forked
²¹⁹
one!—
       Go, play, boy, play. Thy mother
plays
²²⁰
, and I
       Play too, but
so disgraced a part
²²¹
, whose
issue
       Will
hiss
²²²
me to my grave. Contempt and clamour
       Will be my
knell
²²³
. Go play, boy, play.—
There have
been,
       Or I am much deceived,
cuckolds
²²⁴
ere now.
       And many a man there is, even at this present,
       Now while I speak this, holds his wife by th'arm,
       That little thinks she has been
sluiced
²²⁷
in's absence
       And his
pond
²²⁸
fished
by his next neighbour, by
       Sir Smile, his neighbour. Nay, there's comfort in't
       Whiles other men have
gates
²³⁰
and those gates opened,
       As mine, against their will. Should all despair
       That have
revolted
²³²
wives, the tenth of mankind
       Would hang themselves.
Physic
²³³
for't there's none:
       It is a
bawdy
²³⁴
planet, that will
strike
     Where 'tis
predominant
²³⁵
; and 'tis powerful, think it,
       From east, west, north and south. Be it concluded,
       No
barricado for a belly
²³⁷
. Know't,
       It will let in and out the enemy
       With
bag and baggage
²³⁹
. Many thousand
on's
       Have the disease, and feel't not.— How now, boy?

MAMILLIUS
     I am like you, they say.

LEONTES
     Why that's some comfort. What, Camillo there?

CAMILLO
     Ay, my good lord.
Comes forward

LEONTES
     Go play, Mamillius, thou'rt an honest man.—

[
Exit Mamillius
]
       Camillo, this great sir will yet stay longer.

CAMILLO
     You had much
ado
²⁴⁶
to make
his anchor hold
:
       When you cast out, it
still came home
²⁴⁷
.

LEONTES
     Didst note it?

CAMILLO
     He would not stay at your
petitions
²⁴⁹
, made
       His business more
material
²⁵⁰
.

LEONTES
     Didst perceive it?—
      
They're here with me already
²⁵²
, whisp'ring,
rounding
Aside
       ‘Sicilia is a
so-forth
²⁵³
.'
'Tis far gone
       When I shall
gust
²⁵⁴
it last.— How came't, Camillo,
To Camillo
       That he did stay?

CAMILLO
     At the good queen's entreaty.

LEONTES
     At the queen's be't. ‘Good' should be
pertinent
²⁵⁷
,
       But
so it is
²⁵⁸
, it is not. Was this
taken
       By any understanding
pate
²⁵⁹
but thine?
       For thy
conceit is soaking
²⁶⁰
, will draw in
       More than the common
blocks
²⁶¹
. Not noted, is't,
      
But of
²⁶²
the finer natures? By some
severals
     Of
head-piece
²⁶³
extraordinary?
Lower messes
       Perchance are to this
business
²⁶⁴
purblind
? Say.

CAMILLO
     Business, my lord? I think most understand
       Bohemia stays here longer.

LEONTES
     Ha?

CAMILLO
     Stays here longer.

LEONTES
     Ay, but why?

CAMILLO
     To satisfy your highness and the entreaties
       Of our most gracious mistress.

LEONTES
    
Satisfy
²⁷²
?
       Th'entreaties of your mistress? Satisfy?
       Let that suffice. I have trusted thee, Camillo,
       With all the nearest things to my heart, as
well
²⁷⁵
       My
chamber-councils
²⁷⁶
, wherein, priest-like, thou
       Hast
cleansed my bosom
²⁷⁷
, I from thee departed
       Thy penitent reformed. But
we
²⁷⁸
have been
       Deceived in thy integrity, deceived
       In that which seems so.

CAMILLO
     Be it forbid, my lord!

LEONTES
     To
bide
²⁸²
upon't, thou art not honest: or,
       If thou inclin'st that way, thou art a coward,
       Which
hoxes
²⁸⁴
honesty behind, restraining
       From course required: or else thou must be
counted
²⁸⁵
       A servant
grafted
²⁸⁶
in my serious trust
       And therein negligent: or else a fool
       That see'st a
game
²⁸⁸
played
home
, the rich
stake drawn
,
       And tak'st it all for jest.

CAMILLO
     My gracious lord,
       I may be negligent, foolish and fearful.
       In every one of these no man is free,
     But that his negligence, his folly, fear,
       Among the infinite doings of the world,
       Sometime puts forth. In your affairs, my lord,
       If ever I were
wilful-negligent
²⁹⁶
,
       It was my folly: if industriously
       I played the fool, it was my negligence,
       Not
weighing
²⁹⁹
well the end: if ever fearful
       To do a thing, where I the
issue
³⁰⁰
doubted,
      
Whereof the execution did cry out
       Against the non-performance
³⁰¹
, 'twas a fear
       Which oft infects the wisest. These, my lord,
       Are such allowed infirmities that honesty
       Is never free of. But, beseech your grace,
       Be plainer with me. Let me know my
trespass
³⁰⁶
       By its own
visage
³⁰⁷
; if I then deny it,
       'Tis none of mine.