The Duke Orsino has made a long and unsuccessful suit to the Countess Olivia-a lady hitherto very fond of love-making, but who now, since the recent death of her brother, would admit no stranger to her house-not even the Duke himself. The heartstricken Orsino therefore neglects the duties of his high station, and passes his once busy time in sloth, or in listening to effeminate love-songs.

We now find him in his Palace, attended by Curio, with a band of favourite musicians.

Duke. If music be the food of 'love, play on;
Give me 'excess of it; that, surfeiting,
The appetite may sicken-and so 'die!
That strain again!—it had a dying fall :"
O, it came o'er my ear like the sweet South'
That breathes upon a bank of violets,-
'Stealing and 'giving odour!-Enough; no more:
'T is not so sweet 'now as it was before.

O Spirit of Love, how quick and fresh art thou!
So 'full of shapes is 'Fancy,

That it 'alone is 'high-fantastical.

Cur. Will you go hunt, my lord?

Duke.

Cur.

What, Curio?

The hart.

Duke. Why, so I do, the noblest that I have.
O! when mine eyes did see 'Olivia first,
That instant was 'I turned into a hart;

And my desires, like fell and cruel hounds,"

E'er since pursue me.-[Valentine] How now? what news from her?

Val. So please my lord, I might not be 'admitted,

But from her 'handmaid do return this answer :-
The element itself, till seven years hence,1
Shall not behold her face at 'ample view;
But, like a cloistress, she will veiled walk,
And water, once a day, her chamber round
With eye-offending brine: all this, to season'

A 'brother's dead love,-which she would keep fresh
And lasting, in her sad remembrance.

Duke. O, she that hath a heart of that fine frame
То pay this debt of love but to a 'brother,

'How will she love, when the rich golden shaftTM

a cadence.

bO. R. sound.

• full of life.

d imaginative forms. e reaches the height of imaginative power. fa punning reference of hart to heart. galluding to the story of Acteon, who was torn to pieces by his own hounds. iO. R. till seven yeares heate. j nun. k salt tears inflaming her eyes. I keep fresh, preserve. m Cupid's golden arrow,

h the sky.

Hath killed the flock of all affections 'else.—
Away, before me, to sweet beds of flowers:
Love-thoughts lie 'rich', when canopied with 'bowers.

[Exeunt.

We enter now the Lady Olivia's residence, which, though at present a house of mourning, is usually the mansion of mirth. On the plea that a lady's house must be protected by a gentleman, the wealthy but grief-stricken beauty has, with this object, endured the presence of her dissipated uncle, Sir Toby Belch; who is with difficulty restrained from excessive disorder by Maria, the merryhearted waiting-maid. The roystering manners of this jovial knight are contrasted with the maundering imbecility of his friend and visitor, Sir Andrew Ague-cheek-a would-be wooer of the fair Lady Olivia.

But hush! Here come Sir Toby and the merry Maria:

Sir To. What a plague means my niece, to take the death of her brother 'thus? I am sure, Care 's an enemy to life.

Mar. By my troth, Sir Toby, you 'must come-in earlier o' nights: your cousin, my lady, takes great exceptions to your ill hours.

Sir To. Why, 'let her except, 'before excepted."

Mar. Ay, but you 'must confine yourself within the modest limits of 'order.

Sir To. Confine? I'll 'con-fine myself no finer than I 'am. These clothes are good enough to drink in; and so be these 'boots too;- an they be 'not, let them hang themselves in their own straps.

Mar. That quaffing and drinking will undo you: I heard my lady talk of it yesterday; and of a foolish 'Knight that you brought-in here, to be her wooer.

Sir To. Who? Sir Andrew Ague-cheek?

Mar. Ay, he.

Sir To. He's as 'tall a man as any 's in 'Illyria.
Mar. What's that to the purpose?

Sir To. Why, he has three thousand ducats a year!
Mar. Ay, but he 'll have 'but a year in all these ducats:
he's a very 'fool, and a 'prodigal. Besides that he 's
a fool, he 's a great 'quarreller; and, but that he hath
the gift of a coward to 'allay the gust' he hath in
quarrelling, 't is thought, among the prudent, he would
quickly have the gift of a 'grave. They add, moreover,
he 's 'drunk, nightly, in 'your company.

a large number. bunder costly coverings (luxuriously). cdrunken nonsense words. sturdy, fine. e a coin issued by a Duke: in gold worth about 9s. ($2.25); in silver,

nearly 4s. ($1.00).

fenjoyment, taste.

[Ague-cheek enters.

Sir To. With drinking healths to my 'niece! 'I'll drink to 'her, as long as there is a passage in my throat, and drink in Illyria. Here 'comes Sir Andrew Ague-cheek. Sir And. Sir Toby Belch! How now, Sir Toby Belch? Sir Andrew, seeing a pretty girl before him, at once turns to her: [Maria.] Bless you, fair shrew.

Mar. And you too, sir.

Sir To. Accost;a Sir Andrew, accost.

Sir And.... What 's that?

Sir To. My niece's chambermaid.

Sir And. Good Mistress Accost, I desire better acquaint

ance.

Mar. My name is 'Mary, sir.

Sir And. Good Mistress 'Mary Accost,

Sir To. You mistake, knight: "accost" is, front her, woo her, assail her!

Sir And.... Is 'that the meaning of "accost"?
Mar. Fare you well, gentlemen.

[Going.

Sir To.... An thou let her 'part so, Sir Andrew, would thou mightst never draw sword again!

Sir And. An you part so, mistress, I would I might never draw sword again.-Fair lady, do you think you have 'fools in hand?

Mar. Sir, I have not 'you by the hand.

Maria

Cruns away.

Sir Toby heartily enjoys the banter of the merry chambermaid, and the discomfiture of his friend:

b

Sir To. O Knight, 'thou lack'st a cup of canary. When did I see thee 'so put down? Sir And. Never in your life, I think; unless you saw 'canary put me down. Methinks, sometimes, I have no more wit than an 'ordinary man has; but I am a great eater of beef, and I believe that does 'harm to my wit.

Sir To. No question.

Sir And.... An I thought 'that, I 'd forswear it.—I'll ride 'home to-morrow, Sir Toby.

Sir To. Pourquoi, my dear knight?

C

Sir And. What is pourquoi? do, or 'not do? I would I had bestowed that time in the 'tongues, that I have in fencing, dancing, and bear-baiting. O, had I but followed the 'Arts!

approach her, address her. b strong sweet wine brought from the Canary islands. • languages.

Sir To. 'Then hadst thou had an excellent head of 'hair.
Sir And. Why, would that have 'mended my hair?
Sir To. Past question; for thou seest it will not curl by
'nature.

Sir And. But it 'becomes me well enough, does 't not?
Sir To. Excellent! it hangs, like flax on a distaff.
Sir And. "Faith, I'll home to-morrow, Sir Toby; your niece

will not be 'seen; or if she be, it 's four to one she 'll
none of 'me. The Duke' himself, here hard-by, woos
her.

Sir To. She'll 'none o' the Duke; she 'll not match 'above her degree, neither in estate, years, nor wit; I have heard her 'swear it. Tut, there 's 'life' in 't, man! Sir And.... I'll stay a month 'longer. . . . I am a fellow o' the strangest mind i' the world: I delight in masques and revels sometimes altogether.

d

Sir To. Art thou 'good at these kick-shaws, knight ?
Sir And. As any man in Illyria, whatsoever he be,—under
the degree of my 'betters.

Sir To. What is thy excellence in a 'galliard, knight?
Sir And. 'Faith, I can cut a 'caper.'

Sir To. And I can cut the 'mutton' to 't.

Dances

Sir And. And I think I have the back-trick," simply as strong as any man in Illyria. [fantast fantastically. Sir To. Wherefore are these things 'hid? wherefore have these gifts a 'curtain before them? why dost thou not go to 'church in a galliard, and come home in a coranto? My very 'walk should be a 'jig. What dost thou mean? is it a world to 'hide virtues in?

Sir And. Shall we set-'about some revels?

Sir To. What shall we do 'else? were we not born under Taurus ?i

Sir And. Taurus? that sides and heart.

Sir To. No, sir, it is legs and thighs. Let me 'see thee caper. [S] Ha! higher: ha, ha!-excellent. [Exeunt.

Sir Andrew'

The shipwrecked Captain, having transformed the fair Viola into a dashing young Page, has had her presented to the Duke, under the assumed name of Cesario. As the Duke is much pleased with the new Attendant, we are not surprised to overhear the following conversation:

O R. coole my nature. bO. R. the Count. and therefore hope: the proverb says: "While there 's life, there's hope." dtrifles: a corruption of quelques choses. a gay courtly dance. fa reference to mutton and caper-sauce. s a backward Paper in dancing.

n of the Zodiac. influences:

ha running dance. ithe Constellation Taurus-the second The old belief was that all parts of the body were subject to Chaucer tells us that "Taurus governed the anckle and throte."

Duke. Cesario,

Vio.

Thou know'st no less but 'all; I have unclasped
To thee the book, even of my secret 'soul:
Therefore, good youth, address thy gait unto her;"
Be not 'denied access; stand at her doors,

And tell them,"-there thy fixéd foot shall 'grow,
Till thou have audience.

Sure, my noble lord,-
If she be 'so abandoned to her sorrow

As it is 'spoke, she 'never will admit me.
Duke. Be clamorous, and 'leap all civil bounds,a
Rather than make 'unprofited return.

Vio. Say, I'do speak with her, my lord, what then?
Duke. O, then unfold the passion of 'my 'love;

She will attend it better in thy 'youth,

Than in a nuncio of more 'grave aspect.

Vio. 'I think not so, my lord.

Duke.

Vio.

Dear lad, 'believe it;

For 'they shall yet belie thy happy years,
That say, thou art a 'man: 'Diana's' lip

Is not more smooth and rubious; thy small 'pipe1
Is as the 'maiden's organ, shrill in' sound,

I know, thy constellation is right apt
For this affair :-Go:-prosper 'well in this,
And thou shalt live as freely as thy 'lord,
To call 'his fortunes 'thine.

I'll do my 'best
To woo your lady:-[aside] yet, a 'barful' strife!
Whoe'er I 'woo, 'myself would be his wife.

[Exeunt.

Before asking you again to accompany us to Lady Olivia's "merry" house of mourning, we desire to make you acquainted with a few more of its inmates. You already know the bibulous, impecunious Sir Toby Belch-the half-besotted wealthy jackass, Sir Andrew Ague-cheek—and the merry mocking-bird Maria.

The next in order is my lady's Steward, Malvolio; big with ignorance and vanity—the paragon of coxcombs—full of inordinate self-esteem, ill concealed by a grave drapery of modesty. Then we have Fabian, my lady's "own man," a fellow of most enormous "hall-kitchen " consequence and ever redolent with perfumed grease the emptiness of his head being compensated by the massiveness of his hair. Then there is the Clown, or Fool, retained to rouse household merriment by his humour, or to shelter some shrewd fellow in his idleness.

-

The Clown has been absent, and Maria is calling him to order:

с

g red like a ruby).

e a messenger. i O. R. and.

go to her residence. b her attendants. reported. d restraints. fthe goddess of purity. h treble voice. jposition of the heavenly bodies, as shown by the Astrolabe, at the time of a person's birth. k full of bars or difficulties.