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Without the Florentine Camp. | |
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Enter First French Lord, with five or six Soldiers in ambush. | |
| First 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 Sold. Good captain, let me be the interpreter. | |
| First Lord. Art not acquainted with him? knows he not thy voice? | 5 |
| First Sold. No, sir, I warrant you. | |
| First Lord. But what linsey-woolsey hast thou to speak to us again? | |
| First Sold. Even such as you speak to me. | |
| First 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: chough’s language, gabble enough, and good enough. As for you, interpreter, you must seem very politic. But couch, ho! here he comes, to beguile two hours in a sleep, and then to return and swear the lies he forges. | |
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Enter PAROLLES. | 10 |
| Par. 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. | |
| First Lord. This is the first truth that e’er thine own tongue was guilty of. | |
| Par. 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 butter-woman’s mouth, and buy myself another of Bajazet’s mute, if you prattle me into these perils. | |
| First Lord. Is it possible he should know what he is, and be that he is? | |
| Par. I would the cutting of my garments would serve the turn or the breaking of my Spanish sword. | 15 |
| First Lord. We cannot afford you so. | |
| Par. Or the baring of my beard, and to say it was in stratagem. | |
| First Lord. ’Twould not do. | |
| Par. Or to drown my clothes, and say I was stripped. | |
| First Lord. Hardly serve. | 20 |
| Par. Though I swore I leaped from the window of the citadel— | |
| First Lord. How deep? | |
| Par. Thirty fathom. | |
| First Lord. Three great oaths would scarce make that be believed. | |
| Par. I would I had any drum of the enemy’s: I would swear I recovered it. | 25 |
| First Lord. Thou shalt hear one anon. | |
| Par. A drum now of the enemy’s! [Alarum within. | |
| First Lord. Throca movousus, cargo, cargo, cargo. | |
| All. Cargo, cargo, villianda par corbo, cargo. [They seize and blindfold him. | |
| Par. O! ransom, ransom! Do not hide mine eyes. | 30 |
| First Sold. Boskos thromuldo boskos. | |
| Par. 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: | 35 |
| I will discover that which shall undo | |
| The Florentine. | |
| First Sold. Boskos vauvado: | |
| I understand thee, and can speak thy tongue: | |
| Kerelybonto: Sir, | 40 |
| Betake thee to thy faith, for seventeen poniards | |
| Are at thy bosom. | |
| Par. O! | |
| First Sold. O! pray, pray, pray. | |
| Manka revania dulche. | 45 |
| First Lord. Oscorbidulchos volivorco. | |
| First Sold. The general is content to spare thee yet; | |
| And, hoodwink’d as thou art, will lead thee on | |
| To gather from thee: haply thou may’st inform | |
| Something to save thy life. | 50 |
| Par. O! let me live, | |
| 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 Sold. But wilt thou faithfully? | 55 |
| Par. If I do not, damn me. | |
| First Sold. Acordo linta. | |
| Come on; thou art granted space. [Exit, with PAROLLES guarded. A short alarum within. | |
| First Lord. Go, tell the Count Rousillon, and my brother, | |
| We have caught the woodcock, and will keep him muffled | 60 |
| Till we do hear from them. | |
| Sec. Sold. Captain, I will. | |
| First Lord. A’ will betray us all unto ourselves: | |
| Inform on that. | |
| Sec. Sold. So I will, sir. | 65 |
| First Lord. Till then, I’ll keep him dark and safely lock’d. [Exeunt. | |
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