iculty in persuading the gentle Hero herself to listen to the
suit of the noble Claudio, who was a lord of rare endowments, and highly
accomplished, and Claudio, assisted by his kind prince, soon prevailed
upon Leonato to fix an early day for the celebration of his marriage
with Hero.

Claudio was to wait but a few days before he was to be married to his
fair lady; yet he complained of the interval being tedious, as indeed
most young men are impatient when they are waiting for the
accomplishment of any event they have set their hearts upon: the prince,
therefore, to make the time seem short to him, proposed as a kind of
merry pastime that they should invent some artful scheme to make
Benedick and Beatrice fall in love with each other. Claudio entered with
great satisfaction into this whim of the prince, and Leonato promised
them his assistance, and even Hero said she would do any modest office
to help her cousin to a good husband.

The device the prince invented was, that the gentlemen should make
Benedick believe that Beatrice was in love with him, and that Hero
should make Beatrice believe that Benedick was in love with her.

The prince, Leonato, and Claudio began their operations first: and
watching upon an opportunity when Benedick was quietly seated reading in
an arbour, the prince and his assistants took their station among the
trees behind the arbour, so near that Benedick could not choose but hear
all they said; and after some careless talk the prince said, "Come
hither, Leonato. What was it you told me the other day--that your niece
Beatrice was in love with signior Benedick? I did never think that lady
would have loved any man." "No, nor I neither, my lord," answered
Leonato. "It is most wonderful that she should so dote on Benedick, whom
she in all outward behaviour seemed ever to dislike." Claudio confirmed
all this with saying that Hero had told him Beatrice was so in love with
Benedick, that she would certainly die of grief, if he could not be
brought to love her; which Leonato and Claudio seemed to agree was
impossible, he having always been such a railer against all fair ladies,
and in particular against Beatrice.

The prince affected to hearken to all this with great compassion for
Beatrice, and he said, "It were good that Benedick were told of this."
"To what end?" said Claudio; "he would but make sport of it, and torment
the poor lady worse." "And if he should," said the prince, "it were a
good de