Enter Friar PETER. F. Peter. Come; I have found you out a stand most fit, Where you may have such vantage on the duke, He shall not pass you. Twice have the trumpets sounded: Have hent the gates, and very near upon [Exeunt. ACT V. SCENE I. A public Place near the City Gate. MARIANA, (veil'd,) ISABELLA, and PETER, at a distance. Enter at several doors, DUKE, VARRIUS, Lords; ANGELO, ESCALUS, LUCIO, Provost, Officers, and Citizens. Duke. My very worthy cousin, fairly met : Our old and faithful friend, we are glad to see you. Ang. and Escal. Happy return be to your royal grace! We have made inquiry of you; and we hear Ang. You make my bonds still greater. Duke. Oh! your desert speaks loud; and I should wrong it, To lock it in the wards of covert bosom, When it deserves with characters of brass Have HENT the gates,] i. e. Have taken possession of the gates. The word "hent" is derived from the Saxon hentan, to catch or lay hold of: Shakespeare has it again in "The Winter's Tale,"-" And merrily hent the stile-a." Vol. iii. p. 68. Hint (see this Vol. p. 21) has the same etymology, as Horne Tooke justly observed. "Hent" was in use down to the time of Spenser and Shakespeare, but not much afterwards. 7 Give ME your hand,] "Give we your hand," in the first folio, the m and w having been again confounded. That outward courtesies would fain proclaim And good supporters are you. Friar PETER and ISABELLA come forward. F. Peter. Now is your time. Speak loud, and kneel before him. Isab. Justice, oh royal duke! Vail your regard' Upon a wrong'd, I would fain have said, a maid. Till you have heard me in my true complaint, And given me justice, justice, justice, justice! [Kneeling. Duke. Relate your wrongs: in what? by whom? Be brief. Here is lord Angelo shall give you justice: Reveal yourself to him. Isab. Oh, worthy duke ! [Rising. You bid me seek redemption of the devil. Hear me yourself; for that which I must speak Must either punish me, not being believ'd, Or wring redress from you. Hear me, oh, hear me, here! [Kneeling again. Ang. My lord, her wits, I fear me, are not firm: Isab. 8 Friar Peter and Isabella come forward.] The old copies say, "Enter Peter and Isabella;" but they have been standing behind with Mariana, whose time for coming forward has not yet arrived. VAIL your regard] To "vail" is to lower, to abase. See Vol. ii. pp. 268. 525; Vol. iv. p. 591, &c. 1 Rising.] All the stage-directions in this part of the scene are from the margin of the corr. fo. 1632: they are valuable as they show the manner in which the scene was conducted of old. Isabella first knelt to prefer her suit; then rose to accuse Angelo; again knelt to procure audience, and subsequently rose again to protest indignantly against Angelo's "course of justice." 2 most bitterly, and strange.] Both here and in the next line the old corrector of the folio, 1632, alters the adjective to the adverb. As we may doubt whether Shakespeare so wrote, we decline to insert the change. That Angelo's forsworn, is it not strange? A hypocrite, a virgin-violator, Nay, it is ten times strange'. Isab. It is not truer he is Angelo, Than this is all as true as it is strange: Duke. Away with her.-Poor soul! She speaks this in th' infirmity of sense. Isab. Oh prince, I conjure thee, as thou believ'st There is another comfort than this world, That thou neglect me not, with that opinion That I am touch'd with madness: make not impossible In all his dressings, characts, titles, forms, Duke. By mine honesty, If she be mad, as I believe no other, Her madness hath the oddest frame of sense, As e'er I heard in madness. Isab. Oh, gracious duke! Harp not on that; nor do not banish reason Duke. 3 Nay, IT is ten times strange.] So the folios. Malone and Steevens omit "it is" without warrant, and without notice. 4 CHARACTS,] i. e. Characters, marks, or inscriptions. 5 For INCREDULITY;] i. e. Because it appears incredible: this emendation is from the corr. fo. 1632, the text having always hitherto been inequality, doubtless a word misread by the old compositor. 6 AND hide the false seems true.] Theobald and Monck Mason would read "Not hide the false seems true," but no change is really required. Isab. I am the sister of one Claudio, Was sent to by my brother; one Lucio Lucio. That's I, an't like your grace. I came to her from Claudio, and desir'd her To try her gracious fortune with lord Angelo, Isab. Duke. You were not bid to speak. Nor wish'd to hold my peace. Duke. That's he, indeed. I wish you now, then: Pray you, take note of it; and when you have Lucio. I warrant your honour. Duke. The warrant's for yourself: take heed to it. Duke. It may be right; but you are in the wrong To speak before your time.-Proceed. Isab. To this pernicious, caitiff deputy. Duke. That's somewhat madly spoken. Isab. The phrase is to the matter. I went Pardon it: Duke. Mended again: the matter?-Now proceed'. (For this was of much length) the vile conclusion I now begin with grief and shame to utter. Release my brother; and, after much debatement, 7 Now proceed.] "Now," which we may feel assured had dropped out in the press, and which is absolutely necessary to complete the line, is from the corr. fo. 1632. In the next line the important word "process" having dropped out in the folio, 1632, it was inserted by the old annotator: the same authority, whatever it might be, that furnished him with "process," most likely also gave him "Now." My sisterly remorse confutes mine honour, And I did yield to him. But the next morn betimes, For my poor brother's head. Duke. This is most likely! Isab. Oh, that it were as like, as it is true! Duke. By heaven, fond wretch"! thou know'st not what thou speak'st, Or else thou art suborn'd against his honour, In hateful practice. First, his integrity Stands without blemish: next, it imports no reason, Faults proper to himself: if he had so offended, Thou cam'st here to complain. Isab. And is this all? Then, oh! you blessed ministers above, Keep me in patience; and, with ripen'd time, In countenance!-Heaven shield your grace from woe, Duke. I know, you'd fain be gone.-An officer! On him so near us? This needs must be a practice. Isab. One that I would were here, friar Lodowick. Lucio. My lord, I know him: 'tis a meddling friar; I do not like the man: had he been lay, my lord, Duke. Words against me? This a good friar, belike! Against our substitute !-Let this friar be found. 8 Oh, that it were as like, as it is true!] The Duke says in derision, "This is most likely!" and Isabel, finding the Duke's incredulity, insists upon the truth of her story, however improbable. 9 FOND wretch!] i. e. Foolish wretch. See Vol. ii. pp. 228. 316. 373, and many other instances in subsequent volumes. |