poverty of material. There are comedies which are more vitally related to character and shed clearer light on the motives, the passions, and the foibles of men, but there is none more brilliantly conceived and executed than "Much Ado About Nothing."

HAMILTON WRIGHT MABIE.

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING

1 The piece was first published in quarto in 1600. A copy of the quarto edition, corrected for purposes of the theatre forms the text of the First Folio. A list of "dramatis personæ was first supplied by Rowe in 1709, together with the intimation of the "scene." In the stage directions in the early editions, at the opening of the play and at the beginning of Act II, sc. i,—Leonato's wife is mentioned as entering with him, and at the first reference she is given the name of Innogen. This character figures nowhere else in the play, and since Theobald's time has been rightly omitted from the list of "dramatis persona."

Enter LEONATO, HERO, and BEATRICE, with a Messenger

LEONATO

LEARN IN THIS LETTER that Don Pedro of Arragon comes this night to Messina.

MESS. He is very near by this: he was not three leagues off when I left him.

LEON. How many gentlemen have you lost in this action? MESS. But few of any sort, and none of name.

LEON. A victory is twice itself when the achiever brings home full numbers. I find here that Don Pedro hath bestowed much honour on a young Florentine called Claudio.

MESS. Much deserved on his part, and equally remembered by Don Pedro: he hath borne himself beyond

the promise of his age; doing, in the figure of a lamb, the feats of a lion: he hath indeed better bettered expectation than you must expect of me to tell you how.

LEON. He hath an uncle here in Messina will be very much glad of it.

MESS. I have already delivered him letters, and there appears much joy in him; even so much, that joy could not show itself modest enough without a badge of bitterness.

LEON. Did he break out into tears?
MESS. In great measure.

LEON. A kind overflow of kindness: there are no faces truer than those that are so washed. How much better is it to weep at joy than to joy at weeping!

BEAT. I pray you, is Signior Mountanto returned from the wars or no?

MESS. I know none of that name, lady: there was none such in the army of any sort.

LEON. What is he that you ask for, niece?

20

HERO. My cousin means Signior Benedick of Padua. 30 MESS. O, he's returned; and as pleasant as ever he

was.

BEAT. He set up his bills here in Messina and challenged Cupid at the flight; and my uncle's fool, reading

25 Mountanto] a fencing term for an upward thrust; here derisively applied to a skilled fencer.

32 set up his bills] placarded or advertised his challenge, after the manner of a professional prize fighter, fencer, or wrestler.

33 at the flight] long-distance shooting, for which a long, sharp arrow

was needed.