The Winter's Tale (7 page)

LEONTES
     Cease. No more.
       You smell this business with a sense as cold
       As is a dead man's nose. But I do see't and feel't
       As you feel
doing thus
¹⁸⁰
, and see
withal
       The
instruments that feel
¹⁸¹
.

ANTIGONUS
     If it be so,
       We need no grave to bury
honesty
¹⁸³
:
      
There's not a grain of it the face to sweeten
¹⁸⁴
       Of the whole dungy earth.

LEONTES
     What? Lack I
credit
¹⁸⁶
?

FIRST LORD
     I had rather you did lack than I, my lord,
      
Upon this ground
¹⁸⁸
. And more it would content me
       To have her honour true than your
suspicion
¹⁸⁹
,
       Be blamed for't how you might.

LEONTES
     Why, what need we
       Commune with you of this, but rather follow
      
Our forceful
instigation
¹⁹³
? Our prerogative
       Calls not your counsels, but our natural goodness
       Imparts this, which if you,
or stupefied
¹⁹⁵
       Or seeming so
in skill
¹⁹⁶
, cannot or will not
      
Relish
¹⁹⁷
a truth like us, inform yourselves
       We need no more of your advice. The matter,
       The loss, the gain, the
ord'ring on't
¹⁹⁹
, is all
      
Properly
²⁰⁰
ours.

ANTIGONUS
     And I wish, my
liege
²⁰¹
,
       You had only in your silent judgement tried it,
       Without more
overture
²⁰³
.

LEONTES
     How could that be?
       Either thou art most
ignorant by age
²⁰⁵
,
       Or thou wert born a fool. Camillo's flight,
       Added to their familiarity —
       Which was as
gross as ever touched conjecture,
       That lacked sight only
²⁰⁸
,
nought for approbation
²⁰⁹
       But only seeing, all other circumstances
      
Made
²¹¹
up to th'
deed
— doth push on this
proceeding
.
       Yet, for a greater confirmation —
       For in an act of this importance 'twere
       Most piteous to be
wild
²¹⁴
— I have dispatched in
post
       To sacred
Delphos
²¹⁵
, to Apollo's temple,
       Cleomenes and Dion, whom you know
       Of
stuffed sufficiency
²¹⁷
. Now from the oracle
       They will bring all, whose spiritual counsel
had
²¹⁸
,
       Shall stop or spur me. Have I done well?

A LORD
     Well done, my lord.

LEONTES
     Though I am satisfied and need no more
       Than what I know, yet shall the oracle
       Give rest to th'minds of others, such as
he
²²³
       Whose ignorant credulity will not
      
Come up to
²²⁵
th'truth. So have we thought it good
      
From
²²⁶
our
free
person she should be confined,
       Lest that the
treachery
²²⁷
of the two fled hence
       Be left her to perform. Come, follow us.
       We are to speak in public, for this business
       Will
raise
²³⁰
us all.

ANTIGONUS
     To laughter, as I take it,
Aside
       If the good truth were known.
Exeunt

Enter Paulina, a Gentleman
[
and Attendants
]

Gentleman goes
to the door

PAULINA
     The keeper of the prison, call to him.
       Let him have knowledge who I am.
                   Good lady,
       No court in Europe is too good for thee.
       What dost thou then in prison?

[
Enter the Jailer
]

             Now, good sir,
       You know me, do you not?

JAILER
     For a worthy lady,
       And one who much I honour.

PAULINA
     Pray you then,
       Conduct me to the queen.

JAILER
     I may not, madam.
       To the contrary I have express commandment.

PAULINA
     Here's
ado
¹²
, to lock up honesty and honour from
       Th'access of
gentle
¹³
visitors! Is't lawful, pray you,
       To see her women? Any of them? Emilia?

JAILER
     So please you, madam,
       To
put apart
¹⁶
these your attendants, I
       Shall bring Emilia forth.

PAULINA
     I pray now call her.—
       Withdraw yourselves.

[
Exeunt Gentleman and Attendants
]

JAILER
     And, madam,
       I must be present at your conference.

PAULINA
     Well, be't so, prithee.
[
Exit Jailer
]
       Here's such ado to make no stain a stain
       As
passes colouring
²⁴
.

[
Enter Jailer with Emilia
]

    Dear gentlewoman,
       How fares our gracious lady?

EMILIA
     As well as one so great and so
forlorn
²⁷
       May hold together.
On
²⁸
her frights and griefs —
       Which never tender lady hath borne greater —
       She
is something before her time delivered
³⁰
.

PAULINA
     A boy?

EMILIA
     A daughter, and a goodly babe,
      
Lusty
³³
and like to live. The queen receives
       Much comfort in't, says ‘My poor prisoner,
       I am innocent as you.'

PAULINA
     I dare be sworn.
       These dangerous unsafe
lunes
³⁷
i'th'king,
beshrew
them!
       He must be told
on't
³⁸
, and he shall. The
office
      
Becomes
³⁹
a woman best. I'll take't upon me.
       If I prove
honey-mouthed
⁴⁰
, let my tongue blister
       And
never to my
red-looked
anger be
       The trumpet any more
⁴¹
. Pray you, Emilia,
      
Commend my best obedience
⁴³
to the queen.
       If she dares trust me with her little babe,
       I'll show't the king and undertake to be
      
Her advocate to th'loud'st
⁴⁶
. We do not know
       How he may soften at the sight o'th'child:
       The silence often of pure innocence
       Persuades when speaking fails.

EMILIA
     Most worthy madam,
       Your honour and your goodness is so evident
       That your
free
⁵²
undertaking cannot
miss
       A thriving issue
. There is no lady living
       So
meet
⁵⁴
for this great errand. Please your ladyship
       To visit the next room, I'll
presently
⁵⁵
       Acquaint the queen of your most noble offer,
       Who but today
hammered of this design
⁵⁷
,
       But
durst not tempt a minister of honour
⁵⁸
,
       Lest she should be denied.

PAULINA
     Tell her, Emilia.
       I'll use that tongue I have: if
wit
⁶¹
flow from't
       As boldness from my bosom, let't not be doubted
       I shall do good.

EMILIA
     Now be you blest for it!
       I'll to the queen.— Please you come something
To Jailer
           nearer.

JAILER
     Madam, if't please the queen to send the babe,
       I know not what
I shall incur to pass it
⁶⁷
,
       Having no warrant.

PAULINA
     You need not fear it, sir:
       This child was prisoner to the womb and is
       By law and process of great nature thence
       Freed and enfranchised, not a party to
       The anger of the king nor guilty of,
       If any be, the trespass of the queen.

JAILER
     I do believe it.

PAULINA
     Do not you fear. Upon mine honour, I
       Will stand betwixt you and danger.
Exeunt

Enter Leontes

LEONTES
    
Nor
¹
night nor day no rest. It is but weakness
       To bear the matter thus, mere weakness. If
       The cause were not
in being
³
— part o'th'cause,
       She, th'adulteress, for the
harlot
⁴
king
       Is quite beyond mine arm, out of the
blank
⁵
       And
level
⁶
of my brain, plot-proof. But she
       I can
hook
⁷
to me — say that she were gone,
      
Given to the fire
⁸
, a
moiety
of my rest
       Might come to me again. Who's there?

[
Enter a Servant
]

SERVANT
     My lord?

LEONTES
     How does the boy?

SERVANT
     He took good rest tonight.
       'Tis hoped his sickness is discharged.

LEONTES
     To see his nobleness!
      
Conceiving
¹⁵
the dishonour of his mother,
       He straight declined, drooped, took it deeply,
       Fastened and fixed the shame on't in himself,
       Threw off his spirit, his appetite, his sleep,
       And downright languished. Leave me
solely
¹⁹
. Go,
       See how he fares.—
[
Exit Servant
]
                   Fie, fie! No thought of
him
²⁰
.
       The very thought of my revenges that way
       Recoil upon me — in himself too mighty,
       And in his
parties, his alliance
²³
. Let him be
       Until a time may serve. For present vengeance,
       Take it on her. Camillo and Polixenes
       Laugh at me, make their pastime at my sorrow.
       They should not laugh if I could reach them, nor
       Shall
she
²⁸
within my power.

[
Enter Paulina, carrying the baby; Antigonus and Lords enter and try to hold her back
]

A LORD
     You must not enter.

PAULINA
     Nay, rather, good my lords,
be second to
³⁰
me.
       Fear you his tyrannous passion more, alas,
       Than the queen's life? A gracious innocent soul,
       More
free
³³
than he is jealous.

ANTIGONUS
     That's enough.

SERVANT
     Madam, he hath not slept tonight, commanded
       None should come at him.

PAULINA
     Not so
hot
³⁷
, good sir,
       I come to bring him
sleep
³⁸
. 'Tis such as you,
       That creep like shadows by him and do sigh
       At each his
needless heavings
⁴⁰
, such as you
       Nourish the cause of his
awaking
⁴¹
. I
       Do come with words as medicinal as true,
       Honest as
either
⁴³
, to purge him of that
humour
       That presses him from sleep.

LEONTES
     What noise there, ho?

PAULINA
     No noise, my lord, but
needful conference
⁴⁶
       About some
gossips
⁴⁷
for your highness.

LEONTES
    
How?
⁴⁸
       Away with that audacious lady! Antigonus,
       I charged thee that she should not come about me.
       I knew she would.

ANTIGONUS
     I told her so, my lord,
      
On your displeasure's peril
⁵³
and on mine,
       She should not visit you.

LEONTES
     What? Canst not
rule
⁵⁵
her?