ACT IV SCENE I

All’s Well That Ends Well

ACT IV SCENE I	Without the Florentine camp.
[ Enter Second French Lord, with five or six other Soldiers in ambush ]
Second 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	5
	must produce for an interpreter.
First Soldier	Good captain, let me be the interpreter.
Second Lord	Art not acquainted with him? knows he not thy voice?
First Soldier	No, sir, I warrant you.
Second Lord	But what linsey-woolsey hast thou to speak to us again?	10
First Soldier	E’en such as you speak to me.
Second 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	15
	speak one to another; so we seem to know, is to
	know straight our purpose: choughs’ 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,	20
	and then to return and swear the lies he forges.
[Enter PAROLLES]
PAROLLES	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	25
	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.
Second Lord	This is the first truth that e’er thine own tongue	30
	was guilty of.
PAROLLES	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	35
	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	40
	Bajazet’s mule, if you prattle me into these perils.
Second Lord	Is it possible he should know what he is, and be
	that he is?
PAROLLES	I would the cutting of my garments would serve the
	turn, or the breaking of my Spanish sword.	45
Second Lord	We cannot afford you so.
PAROLLES	Or the baring of my beard; and to say it was in
	stratagem.
Second Lord	‘Twould not do.
PAROLLES	Or to drown my clothes, and say I was stripped.	50
Second Lord	Hardly serve.
PAROLLES	Though I swore I leaped from the window of the citadel.
Second Lord	How deep?
PAROLLES	Thirty fathom.
Second Lord	Three great oaths would scarce make that be believed.	55
PAROLLES	I would I had any drum of the enemy’s: I would swear
	I recovered it.
Second Lord	You shall hear one anon.
PAROLLES	A drum now of the enemy’s,–
[Alarum within]
Second Lord	Throca movousus, cargo, cargo, cargo.	60
All	Cargo, cargo, cargo, villiando par corbo, cargo.
PAROLLES	O, ransom, ransom! do not hide mine eyes.
[They seize and blindfold him]
First Soldier	Boskos thromuldo boskos.
PAROLLES	I know you are the Muskos’ regiment:
	And I shall lose my life for want of language;	65
	If there be here German, or Dane, low Dutch,
	Italian, or French, let him speak to me; I’ll
	Discover that which shall undo the Florentine.
First Soldier	Boskos vauvado: I understand thee, and can speak
	thy tongue. Kerely bonto, sir, betake thee to thy	70
	faith, for seventeen poniards are at thy bosom.
PAROLLES	O!
First Soldier	O, pray, pray, pray! Manka revania dulche.
Second Lord	Oscorbidulchos volivorco.
First Soldier	The general is content to spare thee yet;	75
	And, hoodwink’d as thou art, will lead thee on
	To gather from thee: haply thou mayst inform
	Something to save thy life.
PAROLLES	O, let me live!
	And all the secrets of our camp I’ll show,	80
	Their force, their purposes; nay, I’ll speak that
	Which you will wonder at.
First Soldier	But wilt thou faithfully?
PAROLLES	If I do not, damn me.
First Soldier	Acordo linta.	85
	Come on; thou art granted space.
[Exit, with PAROLLES guarded. A short alarum within]
Second Lord	Go, tell the Count Rousillon, and my brother,
	We have caught the woodcock, and will keep him muffled
	Till we do hear from them.
Second Soldier	Captain, I will.	90
Second Lord	A’ will betray us all unto ourselves:
	Inform on that.
Second Soldier	So I will, sir.
Second Lord	Till then I’ll keep him dark and safely lock’d.
[Exeunt]

Next: All’s Well That Ends Well, Act 4, Scene 2