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Authors: William Shakespeare

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BOOK: The Winter's Tale
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POLIXENES
     I do believe thee:
       I saw his heart in's face. Give me thy hand.
       Be
pilot
515
to me and
thy
places
shall
       Still neighbour mine. My ships are ready and
       My people did expect my
hence departure
517
       Two days ago. This jealousy
       Is for a precious creature: as she's rare,
       Must it be great, and as his person's mighty,
       Must it be violent, and as he does conceive
       He is dishonoured by a man which ever
      
Professed
523
to him, why, his revenges must
       In that be made more bitter. Fear o'ershades me.
      
Good expedition
525
be my friend, and comfort
       The gracious queen, part of his
theme
526
, but nothing
       Of his
ill-ta'en
527
suspicion. Come, Camillo.
       I will respect thee as a father if
       Thou bear'st my life off hence. Let us
avoid
529
.

CAMILLO
     It is in mine authority to command
       The keys of all the posterns. Please your highness
       To take the urgent hour. Come, sir, away.
Exeunt

Act 2 Scene 1
running scene 2

Enter Hermione, Mamillius, Ladies

HERMIONE
     Take the boy to you. He so troubles me,
       'Tis past enduring.

FIRST LADY
     Come, my gracious lord,
Takes Mamillius
       Shall I be your playfellow?

MAMILLIUS
     No, I'll
none of
5
you.

FIRST LADY
     Why, my sweet lord?

MAMILLIUS
     You'll kiss me hard and speak to me as if
       I were a baby still.— I love you better.
To Second Lady

SECOND LADY
     And why so, my lord?

MAMILLIUS
     Not
for because
10
       Your brows are blacker — yet black brows, they say,
       Become
so
12
me women best, so that there be not
       Too much hair there, but in a semicircle
       Or a half-moon made with a pen.

SECOND LADY
     Who taught
'This
15
?

MAMILLIUS
     I learned it out of women's faces. Pray now
       What colour are your eyebrows?

FIRST LADY
     Blue, my lord.

MAMILLIUS
     Nay, that's a mock. I have seen a lady's nose
       That has been blue, but not her eyebrows.

FIRST LADY
     Hark ye.
       The queen your mother
rounds apace
22
. We shall
       Present our services to a fine new prince
       One of these days, and then you'd
wanton with us
24
,
       If we would have you.

SECOND LADY
     She is spread of late
       Into a
goodly bulk. Good time encounter her!
27

HERMIONE
     What wisdom stirs amongst you? Come, sir, now
       I am
for
29
you again. Pray you sit by us,
       And tell's a tale.

MAMILLIUS
     Merry or
sad
31
shall't be?

HERMIONE
     As merry as you will.

MAMILLIUS
     A sad tale's best for winter. I have one
       Of
sprites
34
and goblins.

HERMIONE
     Let's have that, good sir.
       Come on, sit down. Come on, and do your best
       To fright me with your sprites. You're powerful at it.

MAMILLIUS
     There was a man—

HERMIONE
     Nay, come, sit down, then on.

MAMILLIUS
     Dwelt by a churchyard — I will tell it softly.
Sits
      
Yond crickets
41
shall not hear it.

HERMIONE
     Come on, then, and give't me in mine ear.
They talk apart

[
Enter Leontes, Antigonus, Lords and others
]

LEONTES
     Was he met there? His train? Camillo with him?

A LORD
     Behind the
tuft
44
of pines I met them. Never
       Saw I men
scour
45
so on their way: I eyed them
      
Even
46
to their ships.

LEONTES
     How blest am I
       In my
just censure
48
, in my true opinion!
       Alack, for lesser knowledge! How accursed
      
In being so blest! There may be in the cup
       A spider
steeped
51
, and one may drink, depart,
      And yet partake no venom, for his knowledge
       Is not infected
50
: but if one present
       Th'abhorred ingredient to his eye, make known
       How he hath drunk, he cracks his
gorge
55
, his sides,
       With violent
hefts
56
.
I have drunk
, and seen the spider.
       Camillo was his help in this, his
pander
57
.
       There is a plot against my life, my crown.
       All's true that is
mistrusted
59
. That
false
villain
       Whom I employed was pre-employed by him.
       He has discovered my design, and I
       Remain a
pinched
62
thing; yea, a very
trick
       For them to play at will. How came the posterns
       So easily open?

A LORD
     By his great authority,
       Which often hath no less prevailed than so
       On your command.

LEONTES
     I know't too well.—
       Give me the boy. I am glad you did not
nurse
69
him.
To Hermione
       Though he does bear some signs of me, yet you
       Have too much blood in him.

HERMIONE
     What is this?
Sport?
72

LEONTES
     Bear the boy hence. He shall not come
To a Lord or Lady
           about her.

    Away with him, and let her
sport
74
herself
       With that she's big with,— for 'tis Polixenes
To Hermione
       Has made thee swell thus.

[
The Lord or Lady exits with Mamillius
]

HERMIONE
     But I'd say he had not;
       And I'll be sworn you would believe my saying,
      
Howe'er you lean to th'nayward
79
.

LEONTES
     You, my lords,
       Look on her, mark her well. Be but about
       To say ‘She is a goodly lady', and
       The
justice
83
of your hearts will thereto add
       ‘'Tis pity she's not
honest
84
, honourable.'
       Praise her but for this her
without-door
85
form,
       Which on my faith deserves high speech, and
straight
86
       The shrug, the hum or ha, these petty
brands
87
       That
calumny
88
doth use — O, I am
out
—
      
That mercy does, for calumny will sear
       Virtue itself
89
: these shrugs, these hums and ha's,
       When you have said ‘She's goodly',
come between
91
       Ere you can say ‘She's honest.' But be't known,
       From him that has most cause to grieve it should be,
       She's an adultress.

HERMIONE
     Should a villain say so —
       The most
replenished
96
villain in the world —
      
He were as much more villain
97
. You, my lord,
       Do but mistake.

LEONTES
     You have
mistook
99
, my lady,
       Polixenes for Leontes. O thou thing,
       Which
I'll not call a creature of thy place
101
,
       Lest barbarism, making me the precedent,
       Should
a like
103
language use to all
degrees
       And
mannerly distinguishment
104
leave out
       Betwixt the prince and beggar. I have said
       She's an adult'ress. I have said with whom.
       More, she's a traitor and Camillo is
       A
federary
108
with her, and one that knows
       What she should shame to
know
109
herself
       But with her most vile principal, that she's
       A
bed-swerver
111
, even as bad as those
       That
vulgars
112
give
bold'st titles
; ay, and
privy
       To
this their late escape.

HERMIONE
     No, by my life,
       Privy to none of this. How will this grieve you,
       When you shall come to clearer knowledge, that
       You thus have
published
117
me.
Gentle my
lord,
       You scarce can right me
throughly
118
then
to say
       You did mistake.

LEONTES
     No. If I mistake
       In those foundations which I build upon,
       The
centre
122
is not big enough to bear
       A school-boy's
top
123
. Away with her, to prison!
       He who shall speak for her is
afar off
124
guilty
      
But that he speaks
125
.

HERMIONE
     There's some
ill
126
planet reigns:
       I must be patient till the heavens look
       With an
aspect
128
more favourable. Good my lords,
       I am not prone to weeping — as our sex
       Commonly are — the
want
130
of which vain dew
      
Perchance shall dry your pities
131
: but I have
       That honourable grief lodged
here
132
which burns
       Worse than tears drown. Beseech you all, my lords,
       With thoughts so
qualified
134
as your
charities
       Shall best instruct you,
measure
135
me; and so
       The king's will be performed.

LEONTES
     Shall I be
heard
137
?

HERMIONE
     Who is't that goes with me? Beseech your highness
       My women may be with me, for you see
       My
plight
140
requires it. Do not weep, good fools.
       There is no cause. When you shall know your mistress
       Has deserved prison, then abound in tears
       As I come out; this action I now go on
       Is for my
better grace
144
.— Adieu, my lord.
To Leontes
       I never wished to see you sorry, now
       I trust I shall.— My women, come, you have
leave
146
.

LEONTES
     Go, do our bidding. Hence!

[
Exit Hermione, guarded, with Ladies
]

A LORD
     Beseech your highness, call the queen again.

ANTIGONUS
     Be certain what you do, sir, lest your justice
       Prove violence, in the which three great ones suffer:
       Yourself, your queen, your son.

A LORD
     For her, my lord,
       I dare my life lay down and will do't, sir,
       Please you t'accept it, that the queen is spotless
       I'th'eyes of heaven and to you — I mean,
       In this which you accuse her.

ANTIGONUS
     If it prove
       She's otherwise, I'll
keep my stables where
       I lodge my wife
158
, I'll go
in couples
159
with her,
      
Than when I feel and see her
160
no further trust her,
       For every inch of woman in the world,
       Ay, every
dram
162
of woman's flesh is false,
       If she be.

LEONTES
     Hold your peaces.

A LORD
     Good my lord—

ANTIGONUS
     It is for you we speak, not for ourselves.
       You are abused and by some
putter-on
167
       That will be damned for't. Would I knew the villain,
       I would
land-damn
169
him. Be she honour-flawed,
       I have three daughters — the eldest is eleven
       The second and the third, nine, and
some
171
five —
       If this prove true, they'll pay for't. By mine honour,
       I'll
geld
173
'em all: fourteen they shall not see,
       To
bring false generations
174
. They are co-heirs,
       And I had rather
glib
175
myself than they
       Should not produce
fair issue
176
.

BOOK: The Winter's Tale
4.38Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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