Be gone! I will not hear thy vain excuse;

But, as thou lov'st thy life, make speed from hence.-Two G. of V., iii. 1.
Run, boy; run, run, and seek him out.-Ibid., iii. 1.

The time now serves not to expostulate:

Come, I'll convey thee through the city-gate.-—Ibid., iii. 1.

I pray thee, Launce, an if thou see'st my boy,

Bid him make haste, and meet me at the north gate.

Go, sirrah, find him out. Come, Valentine.—Ibid., iii. 1.

Thou must run to him, for thou hast stayed so long, that going will scarce serve the turn.—Ibid., iii. 1.

Let us into the city presently,

To sort some gentlemen well skill'd in music.

About it, gentlemen. . . Even now about it.- Ibid., iii. 2.

...

Madam, good even to your ladyship.-Ibid., iv. 2.

By this pale queen of night I swear.-Ibid., iv. 2.

This is the hour that Madam Silvia

Entreated me to call, and know her mind.—Ibid., iv. 3.

Sir Eglamour, a thousand times good morrow.—Ibid., iv. 3.
I am thus early come, to know what service

It is your pleasure to command me in.-Ibid., iv. 3.

When will you go?—

This evening coming.-Ibid., iv. 3.

Go presently, and take this ring with thee.—Ibid., iv. 4.
The sun begins to gild the western sky;

And now it is about the very hour

That Silvia at Friar Patrick's cell should meet me.

If we recover that, we are sure enough.-Ibid., v. I.

Therefore, I pray you, stand not to discourse,
But mount you presently. .

Despatch, sweet gentlemen, and follow me.—Ibid., v. 2.

So far, Short Time: now comes Long Time :—

To Milan let me hear from thee by letters,

Of thy success in love, and what news else

Betideth here in absence of thy friend;

And I likewise will visit thee in mine.-Ibid., i. 1.

Nor need'st thou much importune me to that

Whereon this month I have been hammering.-Ibid., i. 3.

He writes

How happily he lives, how well belov'd,

And daily graced by the emperor;

Wishing me with him, partner of his fortune.-Ibid., i. 3.

You were wont, when you laugh'd, to crow like a cock; when you walk'd, to walk like one of the lions; when you fasted, it was presently after dinner; when you look'd sadly, it was for want of money and now you are metamorphosed with a mistress.-Ibid., ii. 1.

She that you gaze on so, as she sits at supper ?—Ibid., ii. 1.

For often have you writ to her; and she, in modesty,

Or else for want of idle time, could not again reply.—Ibid., ii. 1.

Here is my hand for my true constancy;
And when that hour o'erslips me in the day
Wherein I sigh not, Julia, for thy sake,
The next ensuing hour some foul mischance

Torment me for my love's forgetfulness.-Two G. of V., ii. 2.
Ay, Proteus, but that life is alter'd now :

I have done penance for contemning love;

Whose high imperious thoughts have punish'd me
With bitter fasts, with penitential groans,

With nightly tears, and daily heart-sore sighs.-Ibid., ii. 4.
This love of theirs myself have often seen,

Haply, when they have judg'd me fast asleep;

And oftentimes have purpos'd to forbid

Sir Valentine her company, and my court.-Ibid., iii. 1.

I nightly lodge her in an upper tower.-Ibid., iii. 1.
Since his exile she hath despis'd me most.-Ibid., iii. 2.
Whence came you?—

From Milan.

Have you long sojourned there?

Some sixteen months.-Ibid., iv. 1.

But, host, doth this Sir Proteus, that we talk on,
Often resort unto this gentlewoman?-Ibid., iv. 2.

For I have heard him say, a thousand times,

His Julia gave it him at his departure.—Ibid., iv. 4.

To think upon her woes, I do protest,

That I have wept a hundred several times.-Ibid., iv. 4.

O thou, that dost inhabit in my breast,

Leave not the mansion so long tenantless,

Lest, growing ruinous, the building fall,

And leave no memory of what it was!

Repair me with thy presence, Silvia !—Ibid., v. 4.

In his play of "The Merry Wives of Windsor," the author had to confine its time within the limits of natural and visible transaction before the spectators' eyes, and yet to allow time for the various tricks played off by the two merry dames upon their obese wooer: he has accordingly managed to imply current actual time together with several days' time in his own ingenious method:

Come, we have a hot venison pasty to dinner: come, gentlemen, I hope we shall drink down all unkindness.-Merry W., i. 1.

The dinner is on the table; my father desires your worships' company. . . . I will not be absence at the grace. The dinner attends you, sir. . . . may not go in without your worship: they will not sit, till you come. . I pray you, sir, walk in. . . . Come, gentle Master Slender, come; we stay for you. Come, come. ... Come

on, sir.-Ibid., i. I.

I pray you, be gone. I will make an end of my dinner; there's pippins and cheese to come.-Ibid., i. 2.

I have writ me a letter to her; here another to Page's wife, who even now gave me good eyes too. Ibid., i. 3.

My humour shall not cool: I will incense Page to deal with poison.—Ibid., i. 3. We'll have a posset for 't soon at night, in faith, at the latter end of a seacoal fire. — Ibid., i. 4.

Well, I shall see her to-day. . . . if thou see'st her before me, commend me. . . . Well, farewell; I am in great haste now.-Ibid., i. 4.

Will you go, Mistress Page?-Have with you. You'll come to dinner, George ?— Ibid., ii. I.

Give your worship good-morrow.-Good-morrow, good wife.-Merry W., ii. 2.
Her husband will be absence from his house between ten and eleven.-Ten and

eleven?-Ay, forsooth. .. Ten and eleven. . . . I will not fail her.-Ibid., ii. 2.

...

He hath sent your worship a morning's draught of sack.-Ibid., ii. 2.

I shall be with her between ten and eleven. . . . Come you to me at night; you shall know how I speed.-Ibid., ii. 2.

Eleven o'clock the hour: I will prevent this, detect my wife, be revenged on Falstaff, and laugh at Page. I will about it; better three hours too soon, than a minute too late.-Ibid., ii. 2.

Vat is de clock, Jack?—'Tis past the hour, sir, that Sir Hugh promised to come.Ibid., ii. 3.

The clock gives me my cue, and my assurance bids me search: there I shall find Falstaff.-Ibid., iii. 2.

I have good cheer at home; and I pray you all to go with me.-I must excuse myself, Master Ford. And so must I, sir: we have appointed to dine with Mistress Anne.Ibid., iii. 2.

I beseech you, heartily, some of you go home with me to dinner: besides your cheer, you shall have sport.-Ibid., iii. 2.

Well, I promised you a dinner; come, come, walk in the Park; I pray you, pardon me.-Ibid., iii. 3.

I pray thee, once to-night give my sweet Nan this ring.-Ibid., iii. 4.

Her husband goes this morning a-birding: she desires you once more to come to her between eight and nine.—Ibid., iii. 5.

Between nine and ten, sayest thou ?-Eight and nine, sir.-Well, be gone: I will not miss her.-Ibid., iii. 5.

Her husband is this morning gone a-birding: I have received from her another embassy of meeting; 'twixt eight and nine is the hour, Master Brook.—'Tis past eight already, sir. Is it? I will then address me to my appointment. Come to me at your convenient leisure, and you shall know how I speed.—Ibid., iii. 5.

Is he at Master Ford's already, thinkest thou?-Sure, he is by this, or will be presently. . . . Mistress Ford desires you to come suddenly.—Ibid., iv. 1.

Get you home, boy. Come, we stay too long.—Ibid., iv. 1.

But are you sure of your husband now?-He's a-birding, sweet Sir John.—Ibid., iv. 2. To-night at Herne's oak, just 'twixt twelve and one,

Must my sweet Nan present the fairy queen.—Ibid., iv. 6.

And here it rests-that you'll procure the vicar

To stay for me at church 'twixt twelve and one.—Ibid., iv. 6.

The matter will be known to-night, or never. Be you in the Park about midnight, at Herne's oak, and you shall see wonders.-Ibid., v. 1.

follow me:

I am in haste; go along with me: I'll tell you all, Master Brook.. I'll tell you strange things of this knave Ford; on whom to-night I will be revenged ... follow: strange things in hand, Master Brook: follow.-Ibid., v. 1.

Come, come; we'll couch i' the Castle ditch, till we see the light of our fairies. . . It hath struck ten o'clock.-The night is dark.—Ibid., v. 2.

Where is Nan now, and her troop of fairies? They are all couched in a pit hard by Herne's oak, with obscured lights; which, at the very instant of Falstaff`s and our meeting, they will at once display to the night. . . . The hour draws on: to the oak, to the oak!-Ibid., v. 3.

...

Trib, trib, fairies: come:

Ibid., v. 4.

...

follow me into the pit;

... come, come; trib, trib.

The Windsor bell hath struck twelve; the minute draws on.-Ibid., v. 5.

Away! disperse! But till 'tis one o'clock,

Our dance of custom round about the oak

Of Herne the hunter, let us not forget.-Ibid., v. 5.

Yet be cheerful, knight: thou shalt eat a posset to-night at my house.—Ibid., v. 5.

Good husband, let us every one go home,
And laugh this sport o'er by a country fire;
Sir John and all.-

Let it be so. Sir John,

To Master Brook you yet shall hold your word;

For he, to-night, shall lie with Mistress Ford.-Merry W., v. 5.

Then, Long Time :

Let's be revenged on him: let's appoint him a meeting; give him a show of comfort in his suit; and lead him on with a fine-baited delay, till he hath pawned his horses to mine host of the Garter.-Ibid., ii. 1.

I'll give you a pottle of burnt sack to give me recourse to him, and tell him my name is Brook; only for a jest.-My hand, bully: thou shalt have egress and regress; said I well? and thy name shall be Brook.-Ibid., ii. 1.

She bade me tell your worship, that her husband is seldom from home; but, she hopes, there will come a time.—Ibid., ii. 2.

We have lingered about a match between Anne Page and my cousin Slender, and this day we shall have our answer.-Ibid., iii. 2.

Let him be sent for to-morrow, eight o'clock, to have amends.—Ibid., iii. 3.

I do invite you to-morrow morning to my house to breakfast: after, we 'll a-birding together.-Ibid., iii. 3.

I pray you now, remembrance to-morrow on the lousy knave, mine host.—Ibid., iii. 3. You wrong me, sir, thus still to haunt my house:

I told you, sir, my daughter is dispos'd of.-Ibid., iii. 4.

I was at her house the hour she appointed me.-And sped you, sir?-Very illfavouredly. they conveyed me into a buck-basket.-Ibid., iii. 5.

...

There was one conveyed out of my house yesterday in this basket.—Ibid., iv. 2. Let our wives

Yet once again, to make us public sport,

Appoint a meeting with this fat old fellow,

Where we may take him, and disgrace him for it.

There is no better way than that they spoke of.

.How? to send him word they 'll meet him in the Park at midnight ?—Ibid., iv. 4.

And ask him why, that hour of fairy revel,

In their so sacred paths he dares to tread

In shape profane.

and in that time

Shall Master Slender steal my Nan away.-Ibid., iv. 4.

Went you not to her yesterday, sir, as you told me you had appointed?-I went to her, Master Brook, like a poor old man: but I came from her, Master Brook, like a poor old woman.-Ibid., v. 1.

As Shakespeare had to denote in his grandly moral drama of "Measure for Measure" speedy retribution for sin committed, together with sufficient space for the supposed period of the duke's absence, during which he may duly watch the conduct of Angelo in the administration of justice, the Dramatic Time is managed with peculiar skill in the introduction of coexistent accelerating touches, and retarding touches.

First, for the accelerating touches :

Claudio to prison! 'tis not so.

Nay, but I know 'tis so: I saw him arrested; saw him carried away; and, which is more, within these three days his head is to be chopped off.-M. for M., i. 2.

This may be he promised to meet me two hours since, and he was ever precise in promise-keeping--Ibid., i. 2.

Here comes Signior Claudio, led by the provost to prison.-Ibid., i. 2.

The new deputy now for the duke,

Whether it be the fault and glimpse of newness,
Or whether that the body public be

A horse whereon the governor doth ride,
Who, newly in the seat,

but this new governor

Awakes me all the enrolled penalties.
and, for a name,

Now puts the drowsy and neglected act
Freshly on me.-M. for M., i. 3.

Send after the duke, and appeal to him.—

I have done so, but he's not to be found.-Ibid., i. 3.
This day my sister should the cloister enter,
And there receive her approbation:

Acquaint her with the danger of my state;
Implore her, in my voice, that she make friends

To the strict deputy; bid herself assay him.—Ibid., i. 3.
I'll to her.... within two hours.-Ibid., i. 3.

Be executed by nine to-morrow morning.

Bring him his confessor, let him be prepar'd;

For that's the utmost of his pilgrimage.-Ibid., ii. 1.

What's o'clock, think you?-Eleven, sir.-I pray you home to dinner with me.—

Ibid., ii. 1.

Is it your will Claudio shall die to-morrow?—

Did I not tell thee, yea? hadst thou not order?-Ibid., ii. 2.

Here is the sister of the man condemn'd

Desires access to you.-Ibid., ii. 2.

He's sentenc'd; 'tis too late.-Ibid., ii. 2.

spare him!

He must die to-morrow.-
To-morrow? O, that's sudden! Spare him,
He's not prepar'd for death.-Ibid., ii. 2.
When must he die ?--

As I do think, to-morrow.-Ibid., ii. 3.

Your partner, as I hear, must die to-morrow,
And I am going with instruction to him.-..
Must die to-morrow.—Ibid., ii. 3.

To sue to live, I find I seek to die;

.

And, seeking death, find life: let it come on.-Ibid., iii. 1.

Lord Angelo, having affairs to heaven,

Intends you for his swift embassador,

Where you shall be an everlasting leiger:

Therefore, your best appointment make with speed:

To-morrow you set on.-Ibid., iii. 1.

This night's the time

That I should do what I abhor to name,

Or else thou diest to-morrow.-Ibid., iii. 1.

Be ready, Claudio, for your death to-morrow.—Ibid., iii. 1.

Therefore prepare yourself to death. Do not satisfy your resolution with hopes that are fallible: to-morrow you must die; go to your knees, and make ready.-Ibid., iii. I.

I