Continue where he is ; to shift his beings,
Is to exchange one misery with another;
And every day, that comes, comes to decay
A day's work in him: What shalt thou expect,
To be depender on a thing that leans6 ?
Who cannot be new built; nor has no friends,

[The Queen drops a Box: Pisanio takes it up.
So much as but to prop him ?— Thou tak’st up
Thou know'st not what; but take it for thy labour:
It is a thing I made, which hath the king
Five times redeem'd from death: I do not know
What is more cordial :-Nay, I pr’ythee, take it;
It is an earnest of a further good
That I mean to thee. Tell thy mistress how
The case stands with her; do't, as from thyself.
Think what a chance thou changest on?; but think
Thou hast thy mistress still; to boot, my son,
Who shall take notice of thee; I'll move the king
To any shape of thy preferment, such
As thou'lt desire; and then myself, I chiefly,
That set thee on to this desert, am bound
To load thy merit richly. Call my women:
Think on my words. (Exit Pisa. ]—A sly and

constant knave; Not to be shak'd : the agent for his master; And the remembrancer of her, to hold The hand fast to her lord. - I have given him that, Which, if he take, shall quite unpeople her of liegers8 for her sweet; and which she, after, Except she bend her humour, shall be assur'd

Re-enter PISANIO, and Ladies. To taste of too.-So, 80;-well done, well done: The violets, cowslips, and the primroses, Bear to my closet:-Fare thee well, Pisanio; Think on my words. [Exeunt Queen and Ladies. Pis.

And shall doo: But when to my good lord I prove untrue, I'll choke myself: there's all I'll do for you. (Exit.

SCENE VII. Another Room in the same.

Enter IMOGEN.
Imo. A father cruel, and a step-dame false;
A foolish suitor to a wedded lady,
That hath her husband banish'd ;-0, that husband!
My supreme crown of grief! and those repeated
Vexations of it! Had I been thief-stolen,
As my two brothers, happy! but most miserable
Is the desire that's gloriousl: Blessed be those,
How mean soe'er, that have their honest wills,
Which seasons comfort.-Who may this be? Fye!

Enter PISANIO and LACHIMO.
Pis. Madam, a noble gentleman of Rome;
Comes from my lord with letters.
Iach.

Change you, madam ?
The worthy Leonatus is in safety,
And greets your highness dearly. [Presents a Letter.
Imo.

Thanks, good sir: You are kindly welcome.

9 Some words, which rendered this sentence le88 abrupt, and perfected the metre of it, appear to bave been omitted in the old copies.

Imogen's sentiment appears to be, •Had I been stolen by thieves in my infancy, I had been bappy. But how pregnant with misery is that station which is called glorious, and so much desired. Happier far are those, how mean soever their condition, that have their honest wills; it is this which seasons comfort, (i. e. tempers it, or makes it more pleasant and acceptable). See Hamlet, Act i. Sc. 3 :- My blessing season this ju you.'

ruska

Iach. All of her, that is out of door, most rich!

[Aside.
If she be furnish'd with a inind so rare,
She is alone the Arabian bird ; and I
Have lost the wager. Boldness be my friend!
Arm me, audacity, from head to foot!
Or, like the Parthian, I shall flying fight;
Rather, directly fly.

Imo. [Reads.]-He is one of the noblest note, to whose kindnesses I am most infinitely tied. Reflect upon him accordingly, as you value your truest2

LEONATUS.
So far I read aloud :
But even the very middle of my

heart
Is warm'd by the rest, and takes it thankfully.-
You are as welcome, worthy sir, as I
Have words to bid you; and shall find it so,
In all that I can do.
lach.

Thanks, fairest lady. --
What! are men mad? Hath nature given them eyes
To see this vaulted arch, and the rich crop
Of sea and land, which can distinguish 'twixt
The fiery orbs above, and the twinn'd stones
Upon the number'd beach3 ? and can we not
Partition make with spectacles so precious
"Twixt fair and foul ?
Imo.

What makes your admiration ?
Iach. It cannot be i’the eye; for apes and monkeys
'Twixt two such shes, would chatter this way, and
Contemn with mowg4 the other: Nor i'the judgment;
For idiots, in this case of favour, would
Be wisely definite: Nor i'the appetite;

Sluttery to such neat excellence oppos'd
Should make desire vomit emptiness,
Not so allur'd to feed 5.

Imo. What is the matter, trow ?
Iach.

The cloyed will
( That satiate yet unsatisfied desire,
That tub both filld and running), ravening first
The lamb, longs after for the garbage.
Imo.

What, dear sir, Thus raps you? Are you well ? Iach. Thanks, madam; well:-'Beseech you, sir, desire

[To PISANIO. My man's abode where I did leave him: he Is strange and peevisho. Pis.

I was going, sir, To give him welcome.

[Exit Pisanio. Imo. Continues well my lord ? His health, be

seech you? Iach. Well, madam. Imo. Is he dispos'd to mirth ? I hope, he is.

Iach. Exceeding pleasant: none a stranger there
So merry and so gamesome: he is call'd
The Britou reveller.
Imo.

When he was here,
He did incline to sadness; and oft-times
Not knowing why.
Lach.

I never saw him sad.
There is a Frenchman his companion, one
An eminent monsieur, that, it seems, much loves

A Gallian girl at home: he furnaces7 The thick sighs from him; whiles the jolly Briton (Your lord, I mean ), laughs from's free lungs,

cries, 0! Can my sides hold, to think, that man,– who knows By history, report, or his own proof, What woman is, yea, what she cannot choose But must be, --will his free hours languish for Assured bondage? Imo.

Will my lord say so ? Iach. Ay, madam; with his eyes in flood with

laughter. It is a recreation to be by, And hear him mock the Frenchman: But, heavens

know,

Some men are much to blame.
Imo.

Not he, I hope. Iach. Not he: But yet heaven's bounty towards

him might
Be us'd more thankfully. In himself, 'tis mucho;
In you,—which I count his, beyond all talents,
Whilst I am bound to wonder, I am bound
To pity too.

Imo. What do you pity, sir ?
Iach. Two creatures, heartily.
Imo.

Am I one, sir?
You look on me; What wreck discern you in me,
Deserves your pity?
lach.

Lamentable! What!
To hide me from the radiant sun, and solace
l'the dungeon by a snuff?
Imo.

I pray you, sir,

We have the same expression in Chapman's preface to his trans. lation of the Shield of Homer, 1598:- Furnaceth the universal sighes and complaintes of this transposed world.' And in As You Like It :

Sighing like furnace, with a woful ballad.' 8. If he merely regarded his own character, without any consi. deration of his wife, his conduct would be unpardonable.'