All's Well That Ends Well

by William Shakespeare

Act IV, Scene I

Without the Florentine camp.

Enter Second French Lord, with five or six other Soldiers in ambush

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.

Good captain, let me be the interpreter.

Art not acquainted with him? knows he not thy voice?

No, sir, I warrant you.

But what linsey-woolsey hast thou to speak to us again?

E'en such as you speak to me.

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: 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,
and then to return and swear the lies he forges.

Enter 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
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.

This is the first truth that e'er thine own tongue
was guilty of.

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 mule, if you prattle me into these perils.

Is it possible he should know what he is, and be
that he is?

I would the cutting of my garments would serve the
turn, or the breaking of my Spanish sword.

We cannot afford you so.

Or the baring of my beard; and to say it was in
stratagem.

'Twould not do.

Or to drown my clothes, and say I was stripped.

Hardly serve.

Though I swore I leaped from the window of the citadel.

How deep?

Thirty fathom.

Three great oaths would scarce make that be believed.

I would I had any drum of the enemy's: I would swear
I recovered it.

You shall hear one anon.

A drum now of the enemy's,—

Alarum within

Throca movousus, cargo, cargo, cargo.

Cargo, cargo, cargo, villiando par corbo, cargo.

O, ransom, ransom! do not hide mine eyes.

They seize and blindfold him

Boskos thromuldo boskos.

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; I'll
Discover that which shall undo the Florentine.

Boskos vauvado: I understand thee, and can speak
thy tongue. Kerely bonto, sir, betake thee to thy
faith, for seventeen poniards are at thy bosom.

O!

O, pray, pray, pray! Manka revania dulche.

Oscorbidulchos volivorco.

The general is content to spare thee yet;
And, hoodwink'd as thou art, will lead thee on
To gather from thee: haply thou mayst inform
Something to save thy life.

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.

But wilt thou faithfully?

If I do not, damn me.

Acordo linta.
Come on; thou art granted space.

Exit, with PAROLLES guarded. A short alarum within

Go, tell the Count Rousillon, and my brother,
We have caught the woodcock, and will keep him muffled
Till we do hear from them.

Captain, I will.

A' will betray us all unto ourselves:
Inform on that.

So I will, sir.

Till then I'll keep him dark and safely lock'd.

Exeunt

Next Scene

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