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A room in LEONATO'S house.
[Enter LEONATO, ANTONIO, BENEDICK, BEATRICE, MARGARET, URSULA, FRIAR
FRANCIS, and HERO]
FRIAR FRANCIS
, ,
, ,
,
Did^I | not^tell | you she | was in|nocent?
LEONATO
, 2
, , 2
, ,
So are the | prince and | Claudio | who ac|cused
her,
,
, 2 , ,
,
Upon | the er|ror that you | heard de|bated:
, ,
, , ,
But Marg|aret | was in / some fault | for this,
,
, ,
, ,
Although | against | her will | as it | appears,
, ,
, , ,
In the / true course | of all | the ques|tion.
ANTONIO
, 2
, T T T
,
Well, I am | glad that | all things sort |
so^well.
BENEDICK
, , 2
, ,
,
And so | am I,| being else | by faith | enforced
, ,
, 2 2 , x
To call | young Claud/io to a | reckon|ing for
it.
LEONATO
, ,
, , ,
Well daugh/ter, and | you gent|lewom|en all,
,
, ,
, ,
Withdraw | into | a chamb|er by | yourselves,
,
, ,
, ,
And when | I send | for you,| come^hith|er
masked:
,
, 2 ,
, ,
The prince | and Claud|io prom|ised by | this
hour
x ,
, ,
,
To visit | me, you | know your | office |
brother,
T T T
, ,
, ,
->
You must be | father | to your | brother's ||
daughter,
, ,
, ,
And give | her to / young Claud|io.
ANTONIO
, ,
, , ,
Which^I | will do | with con/firmed count|enance.
BENEDICK
,
, ,
, ,
Friar,| I must | entreat | your pains,| I think.
FRIAR FRANCIS
To do what signior?
BENEDICK
, ,
, ,
,
To bind | me, or | undo | me, one | of them.
, 2 ,
, x
,
Signior | Leona|to, truth | it is good | signior,
,
, , 2
, ,
Your niece | regards | me with an | eye of |
favor.
LEONATO
, ,
, , ,
That eye | my daught|er lent | her, 'tis / most
true.
BENEDICK
, , 2 ,
T . T T
And I | do with an | eye of | love requite her.
LEONATO
, ,
, ,
,
The sight | whereof | I think | you had | from
me,
, ,
, , ,
From Claud|io, and | the prince,| but what's |
your will?
BENEDICK
, ,
, , ,
Your ans|wer sir | is en|igmat|ical,
, ,
, ,
,
But for | my will,| my will | is, your |
good^will
, ,
, ,
,
May stand | with ours,| this day | to be |
conjoined,
,
, , ,
,
In the | state of | hono|rable | marriage,
, x , ,
,
In which |(good friar)| I shall | desire | your
help.
LEONATO
, , ,
My heart | is with | your lik|ing.
FRIAR FRANCIS
, ,
And | my help.
,
, , ,
oo
Here* comes | the prince | and Claud|io.|
[Enter DON PEDRO and CLAUDIO, and two or three others]
DON PEDRO
, ,
, ,
Good mor/row to | this fair | assem|bly.
LEONATO
<- , ,
T T T ,
,
Good || morrow | prince, good mor|row
Claud|io:
, 2 ,
, , ,
We here^at|tend you,| are you | yet de|termined,
,
, ,
, ,
2->
Today | to mar|ry with | my broth|er's
daugh||ter?
CLAUDIO
,
, , ,
,
I'll hold | my mind | were she | an Eth|iope.
LEONATO
T . T
T , x ,
Call her forth broth|er, here's | the friar |
ready.
[Exit ANTONIO]
DON PEDRO
, ,
, , x
Good^mor|row Ben|edick,| why* what's | the matter,
, ,
, , ,
That you | have such | a Feb|rua|ry face,
,
, , ,
,
So full | of frost,| of storm,| and cloud|iness.
CLAUDIO
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,
I think | he thinks | upon | the sav|age bull:
, ,
, , ,
Tush, fear*| not man,| we'll tip | thy horns |
with gold,
, ,
, ,
,
And all | Euro|pa shall | rejoice | at thee,
,
, , , ,
As once | Euro|pa did | at lust|y Jove,
, ,
, ,
,
When he | would play | the nob|le beast | in
love.
BENEDICK
, ,
, 3 3 ,
Bull Jove / sir, had | an am|iable low,
<- , T
T T ,
, ___
And some || such strange bull | leaped your |
father's | cow,
,
, , ,
,
And got | a calf | in that / same nob|le feat,
T T . T
, ,
,
Much like to you,| for you | have just | his
bleat.
[Enter ANTONIO, with the Ladies masked]
CLAUDIO
, ,
, ,
, 2 ->
For this | I owe | you: here | comes^oth|er
reck||onings.
,
2 , , ,
,
Which | is the la|dy I | must seize | upon?
ANTONIO
, ,
, ,
,
This same | is she,| and I | do give | you her.
CLAUDIO
, ,
, , ,
Why then | she's mine,| sweet let^|me see | your
face.
LEONATO
, ,
, ,
,
No that / you shall | not, till | you take | her
hand,
, x
, ,
,
Before | this^friar,| and swear | to mar|ry her.
CLAUDIO
,
, ,
, x
Give me | your hand | before | this ho|ly friar,
, ,
, ,
,
I am | your hus|band if | you like | of me.
HERO
,
, , ,
,
And when | I lived | I was | your oth|er wife,
, ,
, 2 ,
,
And when | you loved,| you were my | other |
husband.
[Unmasks]
CLAUDIO
, ,
Anoth|er He|ro?
HERO
, , ,
Noth|ing cert|ainer.
T T T ,
T T T
One Hero | died, but | I do live,
, , ,
, ,
And sure|ly as | I live,| I am | a maid.
DON PEDRO
, ,
, ,
,
The form|er He|ro, He|ro that | is dead.
LEONATO
, ,
, ,
,
She died | my lord,| but whiles | her sland|er
lived.
FRIAR FRANCIS
,
, ,
, ,
All this | amaze|ment can | I qual|ify,
, ,
2 , ,
,
When af/ter that the | holy | rites are | ended,
, ,
, , ,
I'll tell | you large|ly of / fair He|ro's death:
T T T
, ,
,
Meantime let | wonder | seem fa|miliar,
, ,
, ,
,
And to | the chap|el let | us pres|ently.
BENEDICK
, T
Tx T
, ,
Soft and | fair, friar, which | is Be|atrice?
BEATRICE
, ,
, ,
,
I ans/wer to | that name,| what is | your will?
BENEDICK
, , 2
Do not | you love | me?
BEATRICE
, ,
x
Why no,| no more | than reason.
BENEDICK
Why then your uncle, and the prince, and Claudio, have been deceived, they
swore you did.
BEATRICE
2 ,
,
Do not you | love me?
BENEDICK
, ,
x
Troth^no,| no more | than reason.
BEATRICE
, ,
, 3 3 , ,
Why then | my cous|in Marg|aret and Ur|sula
,
, , ,
,
Are much | deceived,| for they | did swear | you
did.
BENEDICK
, ,
, , ,
They swore | that you | were al|most sick | for
me.
BEATRICE
, ,
, T T .
T
They swore | that you | were well-|nigh dead for
me.
BENEDICK
, x , , ,
'Tis no | such^matter.| Then you | do not | love
me?
BEATRICE
, ,
, ,
,
No tru/ly, but | in friend|ly rec|ompense.
LEONATO
, ,
2 , ,
x
Come cous/in, I am | sure you | love the |
gentleman.
CLAUDIO
, ,
x ,
,
And I'll | be sworn | upon it,| that he |
loves^her,
, ,
, , ,
For here's | a pap|er writ|ten in / his hand,
,
, , ,
,
A halt|ing son|net of his // own pure brain,
, 2
, ,
Fashioned to | Bea|trice.
HERO
, ,
And | here's a|nother,
, 2
, ,
x ,
Writ in my | cousin's | hand, stolen / from her |
pocket,
, 3 3 ,
, , ,
Contain|ing her affec|tion un|to Ben|edick.
BENEDICK
A miracle, here's our own hands against our hearts: Come I will have thee,
but by this light I take thee for pity.
BEATRICE
I would not deny you, but by this good day, I yield upon great persuasion,
and partly to save your life, for I was told, you were in a consumption.
BENEDICK
Peace I will stop your mouth.
DON PEDRO
How dost thou Benedick the married man?
BENEDICK
I'll tell thee what prince: a college of wit-crackers cannot flout me out
of my humor, dost thou think I care for a satire or an epigram? No, if a man
will be beaten with brains, he shall wear nothing handsome about him: in
brief, since I do purpose to marry, I will think nothing to any purpose that
the world can say against it, and therefore never flout at me, for what I
have said against it: for man is a giddy thing, and this is my conclusion:
For thy part Claudio, I did think to have beaten thee, but in that thou art
like to be my kinsman, live unbruised, and love my cousin.
CLAUDIO
I had well hoped thou wouldst have denied Beatrice, that I might have
cudgelled thee out of thy single life, to make thee a double-dealer, which
out of question thou wilt be, if my cousin do not look exceedingly narrowly
to thee.
BENEDICK
Come, come, we are friends, let's have a dance ere we are married, that we
may lighten our own hearts, and our wives' heels.
LEONATO
We'll have dancing afterward.
BENEDICK
First, of my word, therefore play music. Prince, thou art sad, get thee a
wife, get thee a wife, there is no staff more reverend than one tipped with
horn.
MESSENGER
, ,
, ,
,
My lord,| your broth|er John | is tane | in
flight,
,
, , ,
,
And brought | with armed | men back / to Mes|sina.
BENEDICK
Think not on him till tomorrow, I'll devise thee brave punishments for him:
strike up pipers.
[Dance. Exeunt]