Changes to an open walk before the Duke's palace.

Enter Rofalind and Celia.

Cel. I pray thee, Rofalind, sweet my coz, be merry. Rof. Dear Celia, I fhow more mirth than I am miftrefs of; and would you yet I were merrier? Unless you could teach me to forget a banish'd father, you must not learn me how to remember any extraordinary pleafure.

Cel. Herein I fee thou lov'ft me not with the full weight that I love thee. If my uncle, thy banished father, had banished thy uncle the Duke my father, fo thou hadst been ftill with me, I could have taught my love to take thy father for mine; fo would'ft thou, if the truth of thy love to me were fo righteously temper'd as mine is to thee.

Rof. Well, I will forget the condition of my eftate, To rejoice in your's.

Cel. You know my father hath no child but I, nor none is like to have; and, truly, when he dies, thou fhalt be his heir: for what he hath taken away from thy father perforce, I will render thee again in affection; by mine honour I will; and when I break that oath, let me turn monfter: therefore, my sweet Rose, my dear Rofe, be merry.

Rof. From henceforth I will, coz, and devife sports. Let me fee, what think you of falling in love?

Cel. Marry, I pr'ythee, do, to make fport withal: but love no man in good earnest, nor no further in sport neither, than with fafety of a pure blush thou may'st in honour come off again.

Rof. What fhall be our fport then?

Cel. Let us fit, and mock the good housewife Fortune from her wheel, that her gifts may henceforth be beftowed equally.

Rof. I would we could do fo; for her benefits are mightily mifplaced, and the bountiful blind woman doth moft mistake in her gifts to women.

Cel. 'Tis true; for thofe that the makes fair, the

fcarce makes honeft; and thofe that fhe makes honeft, fhe makes very ill-favoured.

Ref. Nay, now thou goeft from Fortune's office to Nature's Fortune reigns in gifts of the world, not in the lineaments of nature.

Enter Touchftone, a clown.

Cel. No! when Nature hath made a fair creature, may the not by fortune fall into the fire? though Nature hath given us wit to flout at Fortune, hath not Fortune fent in this fool to cut off this argument?

Ref. Indeed there is fortune too hard for nature; when Fortune makes Nature's natural the cutter off of nature's wit.

Cel. Peradventure this is not Fortune's work neither, but Nature's; who, perceiving our natural wits too dull to reafon of fuch goddeffes, hath fent this natural for our whetstone : for always the dulnefs of the fool is the whetstone of the wits. How now, Wit, whither wander you?

Clo. Miftrefs, you must come away to your father.
Cel. Were you made the meffenger?

Clo. No, by mine honour; but I was bid to come

for you.

Rof. Where learned you that oath, fool?

Clo. "Of a certain Knight, that fwore by his honour they were good pancakes, and fwore by his ho366 nour the mustard was naught." Now, I'll ftand to it, the pancakes were naught, and the mustard was good, and yet was not the Knight forsworn.

Cel. How prove you that in the great heap of your knowledge?

Ref. Ay, marry; now unmuzzle your wifdom. Clo. Stand you both forth now; ftroke your: chins, and fwear by your beards that I am a knave.

Cel. By our beards, if we had them, thou art. Clo. By my knavery, if I had it, then I were; but if you fwear by that that is not, you are not forfworn: no more was this Knight fwearing by his honour, for he never had any; or if he had, he had fworn it away before ever he saw those pancakes or that mustard, Cel. Pr'ythee, who is that thou mean'ft ?

Clo, One that old Frederick your father loves.

Gel. My father's love is enough to honour him enough; fpeak no more of him, you'll be whipp'd for taxation one of thefe days.

Clo. The more pity that fools may not fpeak wifely what wife men do foolishly.

Cel. By my troth, thou fay'ft true; for fince the little wit that fools have was filenc'd, the little foolery

that wife men have makes a great fhow. Here comes Monfieur Le Beu..

SCENE V. Enter Le Beu..

Rof. With his mouth full of news.

Cel. Which he will put on us, as pidgeons feed their young.

Rof. Then fhall we be news-cramm'd.

Cel. All the better, we shall be the more marketable. Bon jour, Monfieur le Beu, what news?

Le Beu. Fair Princefs, you have loft much good sport..
Cel. Sport; of what colour?

Le Beu. What colour, Madam? how fhall I anfwer:

you?

Rof. As wit and fortune will.

Clo. Or as the deftinies decree..

Gel. Well faid; that was laid on with a trowel:
Clo. Nay, if I keep not my rank,-

Rof. Thou lofeft thy old fmell..

Le Beu. You.amaze me, Ladies; I would have told' you of good wrestling, which you have loft the fight of., Rof. Yet tell us the manner of the wrestling.

Le Beu, I will tell you the beginning; and; if it pleafe your Ladyfhips, you may fee the end, for the beft is yet to do; and here where you are they are. Coming to perform it.

Cel. Well, the beginning that is dead and buried.

Le Beu. There comes an old man and his threes Sons,

Cel. I could match this beginning with an old tale. Le Beu. Three proper young men, of excellent growth and prefence ;

Rof. With bills on their necks.

Glo, Be it known unto all men by thefe prefents

Le Beu. The eldest of the three wreftled with Charles the Duke's wreftler; which Charles in a moment threw him, and broke three of his ribs, that there is little hope of life in him: fo he ferv'd the fecond, and fo the third yonder they lie, the poor old man their father making fuch pitiful dole over them, that all the beholders take his part with weeping.

Rof. Alas!

Clo. But what is the fport, Monfieur, that the ladies have loft?

Le Beu. Why this that I fpeak of.

Clo. Thus men may grow wifer every day! It is the first time that ever I heard breaking of ribs was sport for ladies.

Cel. Or I, I promise thee.

Rof. But is there any elfe longs to fet this broken mufic in his fides? is there yet another doats upon ribbreaking? fhall we fee this wrestling, coufin?

Le Beu. You must, if you stay here; for here is the place appointed for the wreftling; and they are ready to perform it.

Cel. Yonder, fure, they are coming; let us now ftay and fee it.

Flourish. Enter Duke Frederick, Lords, Orlando, Charles, and attendants.

Duke. Come on; fince the youth will not be intreated, his own peril on his forwardness.

Rof. Is yonder the man?

Le Beu. Even he, Madam.

Cel. Alas, he is too young; yet he looks fuccefsfully. Duke. How now, daughter and coufin; are you crept hither to fee the wrestling?

Rof. Ay, my Liege, so please you give us leave.

Duke. You will take little delight in it, I can tell you, there is fuch odds in the men. In pity of the challenger's youth, I would fain diffuade him, but he will not be intreated. Speak to him, Ladies, fee if you can move him.

Cel. Call him hither, good Monfieur Le Beu.

Duke. Do fo; I'll not be by.

[Duke goes apart.

Le Beu. Monfieur the challenger, the Princeffes call

for you.

Orla. I attend them with all respect and duty.
Ref. Young man, have you challeng'd Charles the

wreftler?

Orla. No, fair Princefs; he is the general challenger: I come but in, as others do, to try with him the itrength of my youth.

Cel. Young Gentleman, your spirits are too bold for your years: you have feen cruel proof of this man's ftrength. If you faw yourself with our eyes, or knew yourself with our judgment, the fear of your adventure would counfel you to a more equal enterprise. Wę pray you, for your own fake, to embrace your own fafety, and give over this attempt.

Rof. Do, young Sir; your reputation shall not therefore be mifprifed; we will make it our fuit to the Duke, that the wrestling might not go forward.

Orla. I befeech you, punish me not with your hard thoughts, wherein I confefs me much guilty, to deny fo fair and excellent ladies any thing. But let your fair eyes and gentle wishes go with me to my trial; wherein if I be foil'd, there is but one fham'd that was never gracious; if kill'd, but one dead that is willing to be fo. I fhall do my friends no wrong, for I have none to lament me; the world no injury, for in it I have nothing; only in the world I fill up a place, which may be better fupplied when I have made it empty.

Rof. The little ftrength that I have I would it were with you.

Gel. And mine to eek out her's.

Rof. Fare you well; pray Heav'n I be deceiv'd in

you.

Orla. Your hearts' defires be with you

Cha. Come, where is this young gallant that is fo defirous to lie with his mother earth?

Orla. Ready, Sir; but his will hath in it a more modeft working.

Duke. You fhall try but one fall.

Cha, No, I warrant your Grace, you fhall not in