O ABOUT NOTHING

There lived in the palace at Messina two ladies, whose names were Hero
and Beatrice. Hero was the daughter, and Beatrice the niece, of
Leonato, the governor of Messina.

Beatrice was of a lively temper, and loved to divert her cousin Hero,
who was of a more serious disposition, with her sprightly sallies.
Whatever was going forward was sure to make matter of mirth for the
light-hearted Beatrice.

At the time the history of these ladies commences some young men of
high rank in the army, as they were passing through Messina on their
return from a war that was just ended, in which they had distinguished
themselves by their great bravery, came to visit Leonato. Among these
were Don Pedro, the prince of Arragon; and his friend Claudio, who was
a lord of Florence; and with them came the wild and witty Benedick, and
he was a lord of Padua.

These strangers had been at Messina before, and the hospitable governor
introduced them to his daughter and his niece as their old friends and
acquaintance.

Benedick, the moment he entered the room, began a lively conversation
with Leonato and the prince. Beatrice, who liked not to be left out of
any discourse, interrupted Benedick with saying: 'I wonder that you
will still be talking, signior Benedick: nobody marks you.' Benedick
was just such another rattle-brain as Beatrice, yet he was not pleased
at this free salutation; he thought it did not become a well-bred lady
to be so flippant with her tongue; and he remembered, when he was last
at Messina, that Beatrice used to select him to make her merry jests
upon. And as there is no one who so little likes to be made a jest of
as those who are apt to take the same liberty themselves, so it was
with Benedick and Beatrice; these two sharp wits never met in former
times but a perfect war of raillery was kept up between them, and they
always parted mutually displeased with each other. Therefore when
Beatrice stopped him in the middle of his discourse with telling him
nobody marked what he was saying, Benedick, affecting not to have
observed before that she was present, said: 'What, my dear lady
Disdain, are you yet living?' And now war broke out afresh between
them, and a long jangling argument ensued, during which Beatrice,
although she knew he had so well approved his velour in the late war,
said that she would eat all he had killed there: and observing the
prince take delight in Benedick's conversation, she called trim