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- $Unique_ID{SSP03166}
- $Title{All's Well That Ends Well: Act IV, Scene I}
- $Author{Shakespeare, William}
- $Subject{}
- $Log{Dramatis Personae*03150.txt}
-
- Portions copyright (c) CMC ReSearch, Inc., 1989
-
- The Complete Works of William Shakespeare
-
- ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL
-
-
- ACT IV
- ................................................................................
-
-
- SCENE I: Without the Florentine camp.
- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
-
- {Enter Second French Lord, with five or six other
- Soldiers in ambush.}
-
- Second Lord: He can come no other way but by this hedge-corner.
- When you sally upon him, speak what terrible
- language you will: though you understand it not
- yourselves, no matter; for we must not seem to
- understand him, unless some one among us whom we
- must produce for an interpreter.
-
- First Soldier: Good captain, let me be the interpreter.
-
- Second Lord: Art not acquainted with him? knows he not thy voice?
-
- First Soldier: No, sir, I warrant you.
-
- Second Lord: But what linsey-woolsey hast thou to speak to us 10
- again?
-
- First Soldier: E'en such as you speak to me.
-
- Second Lord: He must think us some band of strangers i' the
- adversary's entertainment. Now he hath a smack of
- all neighbouring languages; therefore we must every
- one be a man of his own fancy, not to know what we
- speak one to another; so we seem to know, is to
- know straight our purpose: choughs' language,
- gabble enough, and good enough. As for you,
- interpreter, you must seem very politic. But couch, 20
- ho! here he comes, to beguile two hours in a sleep,
- and then to return and swear the lies he forges.
-
- {Enter PAROLLES.}
-
- PAROLLES: Ten o'clock: within these three hours 'twill be
- time enough to go home. What shall I say I have
- done? It must be a very plausive invention that
- carries it: they begin to smoke me; and disgraces
- have of late knocked too often at my door. I find
- my tongue is too foolhardy; but my heart hath the
- fear of Mars before it and of his creatures, not
- daring the reports of my tongue. 30
-
- Second Lord: This is the first truth that e'er thine own tongue
- was guilty of.
-
- PAROLLES: What the devil should move me to undertake the
- recovery of this drum, being not ignorant of the
- impossibility, and knowing I had no such purpose? I
- must give myself some hurts, and say I got them in
- exploit: yet slight ones will not carry it; they
- will say, 'Came you off with so little?' and great
- ones I dare not give. Wherefore, what's the
- instance? Tongue, I must put you into a 40
- butter-woman's mouth and buy myself another of
- Bajazet's mule, if you prattle me into these perils.
-
- Second Lord: Is it possible he should know what he is, and be
- that he is?
-
- PAROLLES: I would the cutting of my garments would serve the
- turn, or the breaking of my Spanish sword.
-
- Second Lord: We cannot afford you so.
-
- PAROLLES: Or the baring of my beard; and to say it was in
- stratagem.
-
- Second Lord: 'Twould not do. 50
-
- PAROLLES: Or to drown my clothes, and say I was stripped.
-
- Second Lord: Hardly serve.
-
- PAROLLES: Though I swore I leaped from the window of the
- citadel.
-
- Second Lord: How deep?
-
- PAROLLES: Thirty fathom.
-
- Second Lord: Three great oaths would scarce make that be believed.
-
- PAROLLES: I would I had any drum of the enemy's: I would swear
- I recovered it.
-
- Second Lord: You shall hear one anon. 60
-
- PAROLLES: A drum now of the enemy's,--
-
- [Alarum within.]
-
- Second Lord: Throca movousus, cargo, cargo, cargo.
-
- All: Cargo, cargo, cargo, villiando par corbo, cargo.
-
- PAROLLES: O, ransom, ransom! do not hide mine eyes.
-
- [They seize and blindfold him.]
-
- First Soldier: Boskos thromuldo boskos.
-
- PAROLLES: I know you are the Muskos' regiment:
- And I shall lose my life for want of language;
- If there be here German, or Dane, low Dutch,
- Italian, or French, let him speak to me; I'll
- Discover that which shall undo the Florentine. 70
-
- First Soldier: Boskos vauvado: I understand thee, and can speak
- thy tongue. Kerely bonto, sir, betake thee to thy
- faith, for seventeen poniards are at thy bosom.
-
- PAROLLES: O!
-
- First Soldier: O, pray, pray, pray! Manka revania dulche.
-
- Second Lord: Oscorbidulchos volivorco.
-
- First Soldier: The general is content to spare thee yet;
- And, hoodwink'd as thou art, will lead thee on
- To gather from thee: haply thou mayst inform
- Something to save thy life.
-
- PAROLLES: O, let me live! 80
- And all the secrets of our camp I'll show,
- Their force, their purposes; nay, I'll speak that
- Which you will wonder at.
-
- First Soldier: But wilt thou faithfully?
-
- PAROLLES: If I do not, damn me.
-
- First Soldier: Acordo linta.
- Come on; thou art granted space.
-
- [Exit, with PAROLLES guarded. A short alarum
- within.]
-
- Second Lord: Go, tell the Count Rousillon, and my brother,
- We have caught the woodcock, and will keep him muffled
- Till we do hear from them.
-
- Second Soldier: Captain, I will.
-
- Second Lord: A' will betray us all unto ourselves:
- Inform on that.
-
- Second Soldier: So I will, sir. 90
-
- Second Lord: Till then I'll keep him dark and safely lock'd.
-
- [Exeunt.]
-