Much Ado About Nothing (1)

【Enter LEONATO,Governor of Messing, HERO his daughter and BEATRICE his niece, with a Messenger】

LEONATO: I learn in this letter that Don Pedro of Aragon comes this night to Messina.

MESSENGER: He is very near by this. He was not three leagues off when I left him.

LEONATO: How many gentlemen have you lost in this action?

MESSENGER: But few of any sort, and none of name.

LEONATO : A victory is twice itself when the achiever brings home full numbers. I find here that Don Pedro hath bestowed much honour on a young Florentine called Claudio.

MESSENGER: Much deserved on his part, and equally remembered by Don Pedro. He hath borne himself beyond the promise of his age, doing in the figure of a lamb the feats of a lion; he hath indeed better bettered | expectation than you must expect of me to tell you how.

LEONATO: He hath an uncle here in Messina will be verymuch glad of it.

MESSENGER: I have already delivered him letters, and there appears much joy in him, even so much that joy could not show itself modest enough without a badge of bitterness.

LEONATO: Did he break out into tears?

MESSENGER: In great measure.

LEONATO: Akind overflow of kindness; there are no faces truer than those that are so washed. How much better is it to weep at joy than to joy at weeping!

BEATRICE: I pray you, is Signor Mountanto returned from the wars or no?

MESSENGER: I know none of that name, lady; there was none such in the army of any sort.

LEONATO: What is he that you ask for, niece?

HERO: My cousin means Signor Benedick of Padua.

MESSENGER:O he's returned, and as pleasant as ever he was.

BEATRICE: He set up his bills here in Messina and challenged Cupid at the flight; and my uncle's fool, reading the challenge,subscribed for Cupid and challenged him at the bird-bolt. I pray you, how many hath he killed and eaten in these wars? But how many hath he killed? For indeed I promised to eat all of his killing.

LEONATO: Faith, niece, you tax Signor Benedick too much, but he'll be meet with you, I doubt it not.