In "Much Ado about Nothing" the incident is dragged in by the ears, and
the whole treatment is most remarkable. Every one will remember how
Claudio tells the Prince that he loves Hero, and asks his friend's
assistance: "your highness now may do me good." There's no reason for
Claudio's shyness: no reason why he should call upon the Prince for help
in a case where most men prefer to use their own tongues; but Claudio is
young, and so we glide over the inherent improbability of the incident.
The Prince at once promises to plead for Claudio with Hero and with her
father:
"And thou shalt have her. Was't not to this end
That thou began'st to twist so fine a story?"
Now comes the peculiar handling of the incident. Claudio knows the
Prince is wooing Hero for him, therefore when Don John tells him that
the Prince "is enamoured on Hero," he should at once infer that Don John
is mistaken through ignorance of this fact; but instead of that he falls
suspicious, and questions:
"How know you he loves her?
D.
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