TWELFTH NIGHT

Act 1 Scene 2

(Enter Viola, a Captain, and sailors)
l1l	Viola	 What country, friends, is this?
	Captain	This is Illyria, lady.
l2l	Viola	And what should I do in Illyria?
l3l		My brother, he is in Elysium.
l4l		Perchance he is not drowned. What think you sailors?
l5l	Captain	It is perchance that you yourself were saved.
l6l	Viola	O my poor brother!—and so perchance may he be.
l7l	Captain	True, madam, and to comfort you with chance,
l8l		Assure yourself, after our ship did split,
l9l		When you and those poor number savèd with you
l10l		Hung on our driving boat, I saw your brother,
l11l		Most provident in peril, bind himself—
l12l		Courage and hope both teaching him the practice—
l13l		To a strong mast that lived upon the sea,
l14l		Where, like Arion on the dolphin’s back,
l15l		I saw him hold acquaintance with the waves
l16l		So long as I could see.
	Viola	
		(giving money)
		 For saying so, there’s gold.
l17l		Mine own escape unfoldeth to my hope,
l18l		Whereto thy speech serves for authority,
l19l		The like of him. Know’st thou this country?
l20l	Captain	Ay, madam, well, for I was bred and born
l21l		Not three hours’ travel from this very place.
l22l	Viola	Who governs here?
	Captain	A noble duke, in nature
l23l		As in name.
	Viola	What is his name?
	Captain	Orsino.
l24l	Viola	Orsino. I have heard my father name him.
l25l		He was a bachelor then.
l26l	Captain	And so is now, or was so very late,
l27l		For but a month ago I went from hence,
l28l		And then ’twas fresh in murmur—as, you know,
l29l		What great ones do the less will prattle of—
l30l		That he did seek the love of fair Olivia.
l31l	Viola	What’s she?
l32l	Captain	A virtuous maid, the daughter of a count
l33l		That died some twelvemonth since, then leaving her
l34l		In the protection of his son, her brother,
l35l		Who shortly also died, for whose dear love,
l36l		They say, she hath abjured the sight
l37l		And company of men.
	Viola	O that I served that lady,
l38l		And might not be delivered to the world
l39l		Till I had made mine own occasion mellow,
l40l		What my estate is.
	Captain	That were hard to compass,
l41l		Because she will admit no kind of suit,
l42l		No, not the Duke’s.
l43l	Viola	There is a fair behaviour in thee, captain,
l44l		And though that nature with a beauteous wall
l45l		Doth oft close in pollution, yet of thee
l46l		I will believe thou hast a mind that suits
l47l		With this thy fair and outward character.
l48l		I pray thee—and I’ll pay thee bounteously—
l49l		Conceal me what I am, and be my aid
l50l		For such disguise as haply shall become
l51l		The form of my intent. I’ll serve this duke.
l52l		Thou shalt present me as an eunuch to him.
l53l		It may be worth thy pains, for I can sing,
l54l		And speak to him in many sorts of music
l55l		That will allow me very worth his service.
l56l		What else may hap, to time I will commit.
l57l		Only shape thou thy silence to my wit.
l58l	Captain	Be you his eunuch, and your mute I’ll be.
l59l		When my tongue blabs, then let mine eyes not see.
l60l	Viola	I thank thee. Lead me on.
		(Exeunt)