1330 Enter Dogbery and his compartner with the watch. 1331Dog. Are you good men and true?
1332Verg. Yea, or el
se it were pitty but they
should
su
ffer
1333saluation body and
soule.
1334Dogb. Nay, that were a puni
shment too good for
1335them, if they
should haue any allegiance in them, being
1336cho
sen for the Princes watch.
1337Verges. Well, giue them their charge, neighbour
1339Dog. Fir
st, who thinke you the mo
st de
sartle
sse man
1341Watch. 1. Hugh Ote-cake sir, or
George Sea-coale, for
1342they can write and reade.
1343Dogb. Come hither neighbour Sea-coale, God hath
1344ble
st you with a good name: to be a wel-fauoured man,
1345is the gift of Fortune, but to write and reade, comes by
1347Watch 2. Both which Ma
ster Con
stable
1348Dogb. You haue: I knew it would be your an
swere:
1349well, for your fauour
sir, why giue God thankes, & make
1350no boa
st of it, and for your writing and reading, let that
1351appeare when there is no need of
such vanity, you are
1352thought heere to be the mo
st sen
sle
sse and
fit man for the
1353Con
stable of the watch: therefore beare you the lan
- 1354thorne: this is your charge: You
shall comprehend all
1355vagrom men, you are to bid any man
stand in the Prin
- 1357Watch 2. How if a will not
stand?
1358Dogb. Why then take no note of him, but let him go,
1359and pre
sently call the re
st of the Watch together, and
1360thanke God you are ridde of a knaue.
1361Verges. If he will not
stand when he is bidden, hee is
1362none of the Princes
subie
cts.
1363Dogb. True, and they are to meddle with none but
1364the Princes
subie
cts: you
shall al
so make no noi
se in the
1365streetes: for, for the Watch to babble and talke, is mo
st 1366tollerable, and not to be indured.
1367Watch. We will rather
sleepe than talke, wee know
1368what belongs to a Watch.
1369Dog. Why you
speake like an ancient and mo
st quiet
1370watchman, for I cannot
see how
sleeping
should o
ffend:
1371only haue a care that your bills be not
stolne: well, you
1372are to call at all the Alehou
ses, and bid them that are
1373drunke get them to bed.
1374Watch. How if they will not?
1375Dogb. Why then let them alone till they are
sober, if
1376they make you not then the better an
swere, you may
say,
1377they are not the men you tooke them for.
1379Dogb. If you meet a theefe, you may
su
spe
ct him, by
1380vertue of your o
ffice, to be no true man: and for
such
1381kinde of men, the le
sse you meddle or make with them,
1382why the more is for your hone
sty.
1383Watch. If wee know him to be a thiefe,
shall wee not
1385Dogb. Truly by your o
ffice you may, but I think they
1386that touch pitch will be de
fil'd: the mo
st peaceable way
1387for you, if you doe take a theefe, is, to let him
shew him
- 1388selfe what he is, and
steale out of your company.
1389Ver. You haue bin alwaies cal'd a merciful mã partner.
1390Dog. Truely I would not hang a dog by my will, much
1391more a man who hath anie hone
stie in him.
K2 Verges.
112 Much ado about Nothing.
1392Verges. If you heare a child crie in the night you mu
st 1393call to the nur
se, and bid her
still it.
1394Watch. How if the nur
se be a
sleepe and will not
1396Dog. Why then depart in peace, and let the childe
1397wake her with crying, for the ewe that will not heare
1398her Lambe when it baes, will neuer an
swere a calfe when
1400Verges. 'Tis verie true.
1401Dog. This is the end of the charge: you con
stable
1402are to pre
sent the Princes owne per
son, if you meete the
1403Prince in the night, you may
staie him.
1404Verges. Nay birladie that I thinke a cannot.
1405Dog. Fiue
shillings to one on't with anie man that
1406knowes the Statutes, he may
staie him, marrie not with
- 1407out the prince be willing, for indeed the watch ought to
1408o
ffend no man, and it is an o
ffence to
stay a man again
st 1410Verges. Birladie I thinke it be
so.
1411Dog. Ha, ah ha, well ma
sters good night, and there be
1412anie matter of weight chances, call vp me, keepe your
1413fellowes coun
sailes, and your owne, and good night,
1415Watch. Well ma
sters, we heare our charge, let vs go
1416sit here vpon the Church bench till two, and then all to
1418Dog. One word more, hone
st neighbors. I pray you
1419watch about
signior
Leonatoes doore, for the wedding be
- 1420ing there to morrow, there is a great coyle to night,
1421adiew, be vigitant I be
seech you.
Exeunt. 1422 Enter Borachio and Conrade. 1424Watch. Peace,
stir not.
1426Con. Here man, I am at thy elbow.
1427Bor. Mas and my elbow itcht, I thought there would
1429Con. I will owe thee an an
swere for that, and now
1430forward with thy tale.
1431Bor. Stand thee clo
se then vnder this penthou
se, for it
1432dri
ssels raine, and I will, like a true drunkard, vtter all to
1434Watch. Some trea
son ma
sters, yet
stand clo
se.
1435Bor. Therefore know, I haue earned of
Don Iohn a
1437Con. Is it po
ssible that anie villanie
should be
so deare?
1438Bor. Thou
should'
st rather aske if it were po
ssible a
- 1439nie villanie
should be
so rich? for when rich villains haue
1440neede of poore ones, poore ones may make what price
1443Bor. That
shewes thou art vncon
firm'd, thou knowe
st 1444that the fa
shion of a doublet, or a hat, or a cloake, is no
- 1446Con. Yes, it is apparell.
1447Bor. I meane the fa
shion.
1448Con. Yes the fa
shion is the fa
shion.
1449Bor. Tu
sh, I may as well
say the foole's the foole, but
1450see
st thou not what a deformed theefe this fa
shion is?
1451Watch. I know that deformed, a has bin a vile theefe,
1452this vii. yeares, a goes vp and downe like a gentle man:
1454Bor. Did'
st thou not heare
some bodie?
1455Con. No, 'twas the vaine on the hou
se.
1456Bor. See
st thou not (I
say) what a deformed thiefe
1457this fa
shion is, how giddily a turnes about all the Hot
- 1458blouds, betweene foureteene &
fiue & thirtie,
sometimes
1459fa
shioning them like
Pharaoes souldiours in the rechie
1460painting,
sometime like god Bels prie
sts in the old
1461Church window,
sometime like the
shauen
Hercules in
1462the
smircht worm eaten tape
strie, where his cod-peece
1463seemes as ma
ssie as his club.
1464Con. All this I
see, and
see that the fa
shion weares out
1465more apparrell then the man; but art not thou thy
selfe
1466giddie with the fa
shion too that thou ha
st shifted out of
1467thy tale into telling me of the fa
shion?
1468Bor. Not
so neither, but know that I haue to night
1469wooed
Margaret the Lady
Heroes gentle-woman, by the
1470name of
Hero,
she leanes me out at her mi
stris chamber
- 1471vvindow, bids me a thou
sand times good night: I tell
1472this tale vildly. I
should
fir
st tell thee how the Prince
1473Claudio and my Ma
ster planted, and placed, and po
sse
ssed
1474by my Ma
ster
Don Iohn,
saw a far o
ff in the Orchard this
1476Con. And thought thy
Margaret was
Hero?
1477Bor. Two of them did, the Prince and
Claudio, but the
1478diuell my Ma
ster knew
she was
Margaret and partly by
1479his oathes, which
fir
st po
sse
st them, partly by the darke
1480night which did deceiue them, but chiefely, by my villa
- 1481nie, which did con
firme any
slander that
Don Iohn had
1482made, away vvent
Claudio enraged,
swore hee vvould
1483meete her as he was apointed next morning at the Tem
- 1484ple, and there, before the whole congregation
shame her
1485with vvhat he
saw o're night, and
send her home againe
1487Watch. 1. We charge you in the Princes name
stand.
1488Watch. 2. Call vp the right ma
ster Con
stable, vve haue
1489here recouered the mo
st dangerouspeece of lechery, that
1490euer vvas knowne in the Common-wealth.
1491Watch. 1. And one Deformed is one of them, I know
1492him, a vveares a locke.
1493Conr. Ma
sters, ma
sters.
1494Watch. 2. Youle be made bring deformed forth I war
- 1496Conr. Ma
sters, neuer
speake, vve charge you, let vs o
- 1497bey you to goe vvith vs.
1498Bor. We are like to proue a goodly commoditie, be
- 1499ing taken vp of the
se mens bils.
1500Conr. A commoditie in que
stion I warrant you, come
1501vveele obey you.
Exeunt.