though he pretended to love him. “The Duke shall know youbetter if I live to report you，” said the Duke， grimly. Then heasked Escalus， whom he saw in the street， what he thought ofhis ducal master. Escalus， who imagined he was speaking to afriar， replied， “The Duke is a very temperate gentleman， whoprefers to see another merry to being merry himself.”
The Duke then proceeded to call on Mariana.
Isabella arrived immediately afterwards， and the Dukeintroduced the two girls to one another， both of whom thoughthe was a friar. They went into a chamber apart from him todiscuss the saving of Claudio， and while they talked in low andearnest tones， the Duke looked out of the window and saw thebroken sheds and flowerbeds black with moss， which betrayedMariana’s indifference to her country dwelling. Some womenwould have beautified their garden： not she. She was for thetown； she neglected the joys of the country. He was sure thatAngelo would not make her unhappier.
“We are agreed， father，” said Isabella， as she returned withMariana.
So Angelo was deceived by the girl whom he had dismissedfrom his love， and put on her finger a ring he wore， in whichwas set a milky stone which flashed in the light with secret colors.
Hearing of her success， the Duke went next day to theprison prepared to learn that an order had arrived for Claudio’srelease. It had not， however， but a letter was banded to theProvost while he waited. His amazement was great when theProvost read aloud these words， “Whatsoever you may hear tothe contrary， let Claudio be executed by four of the clock. Letme have his head sent me by five.”
But the Duke said to the Provost， “You must show the Deputyanother head，” and he held out a letter and a signet. “Here，” hesaid， “are the hand and seal of the Duke. He is to return， I tellyou， and Angelo knows it not. Give Angelo another head.”
The Provost thought， “This friar speaks with power. I knowthe Duke’s signet and I know his hand.”
He said at length， “A man died in prison this morning， apirate of the age of Claudio， with a beard of his color. I willshow his head.”
The pirate’s head was duly shown to Angelo， who wasdeceived by its resemblance to Claudio’s.
The Duke’s return was so popular that the citizens removed thecity gates from their hinges to assist his entry into Vienna. Angeloand Escalus duly presented themselves， and were profuselypraised for their conduct of affairs in the Duke’s absence.
It was， therefore， the more unpleasant for Angelo whenIsabella， passionately angered by his treachery， knelt beforethe Duke， and cried for justice.
When her story was told， the Duke cried， “To prison withher for a slanderer of our right hand！ But stay， who persuadedyou to come here？”
“Friar Lodowick，” said she.
“Who knows him？” inquired the Duke.
“I do， my lord，” replied Lucio. “I beat him because he spakeagainst your Grace.”
A friar called Peter here said， “Friar Lodowick is a holy man.”
Isabella was removed by an officer， and Mariana cameforward. She took off her veil， and said to Angelo， “This is theface you once swore was worth looking on.”
Bravely he faced her as she put out her hand and said， “Thisis the hand which wears the ring you thought to give another.”
“I know the woman，” said Angelo. “Once there was talk ofmarriage between us， but I found her frivolous.”
Mariana here burst out that they were affianced by thestrongest vows. Angelo replied by asking the Duke to insist onthe production of Friar Lodowick.
“He shall appear，” promised the Duke， and bade Escalusexamine the missing witness thoroughly while he was elsewhere.
Presently the Duke reappeared in the character of FriarLodowick， and accompanied by Isabella and the Provost. Hewas not so much examined as abused and threatened by Escalus.
Lucio asked him to deny， if he dared， that he called the Duke afool and a coward， and had had his nose pulled for his impudence.
“To prison with him！” shouted Escalus， but as hands werelaid upon him， the Duke pulled off his friar’s hood， and was aDuke before them all.
“Now，” he said to Angelo， “if you have any impudence thatcan yet serve you， work it for all it’s worth.”
“Immediate sentence and death is all I beg，” was the reply.
“Were you affianced to Mariana？” asked the Duke.
“I was，” said Angelo.
“Then marry her instantly，” said his master. “Marry them，”
he said to Friar Peter， “and return with them here.”
“Come hither， Isabel，” said the Duke， in tender tones. “Yourfriar is now your Prince， and grieves he was too late to save yourbrother；” but well the roguish Duke knew he had saved him.
“O pardon me，” she cried， “that I employed my Sovereign inmy trouble.”
“You are pardoned，” he said， gaily.
At that moment Angelo and his wife reentered. “And now，Angelo，” said the Duke， gravely， “we condemn thee to theblock on which Claudio laid his head！”
“O my most gracious lord，” cried Mariana， “mock me not！”
“You shall buy a better husband，” said the Duke.
“O my dear lord，” said she， “I crave no better man.”
Isabella nobly added her prayer to Mariana’s， but the Dukefeigned inflexibility.
“Provost，” he said， “how came it that Claudio as executed atan unusual hour？”
Afraid to confess the lie he had imposed upon Angelo， theProvost said， “I had a private message.”
“You are discharged from your office，” said the Duke. TheProvost then departed. Angelo said， “I am sorry to have causedsuch sorrow. I prefer death to mercy.” Soon there was a motionin the crowd. The Provost reappeared with Claudio. Like a bigchild the Provost said， “I saved this man； he is like Claudio.”
The Duke was amused， and said to Isabella， “I pardon himbecause he is like your brother. He is like my brother， too， ifyou， dear Isabel， will be mine.”
She was his with a smile， and the Duke forgave Angelo， andpromoted the Provost.
Lucio he condemned to marry a stout woman with a bittertongue.