er son Cloten; for
she meant to persuade Imogen, when her husband was gone, that her
marriage was not lawful, being contracted without the consent of the
king.

Imogen and Posthumus took a most affectionate leave of each other.
Imogen gave her husband a diamond ring, which had been her mother's,
and Posthumus promised never to part with the ring; and he fastened a
bracelet on the arm of his wife, which he begged she would preserve with
great care, as a token of his love; they then bid each other farewell,
with many vows of everlasting love and fidelity.

Imogen remained a solitary and dejected lady in her father's court, and
Posthumus arrived at Rome, the place he had chosen for his banishment.

Posthumus fell into company at Rome with some gay young men of different
nations, who were talking freely of ladies: each one praising the ladies
of his own country, and his own mistress. Posthumus, who had ever his
own dear lady in his mind, affirmed that his wife, the fair Imogen, was
the most virtuous, wise and constant lady in the world.

One of those gentlemen, whose name was Iachimo, being offended that a
lady of Britain should be so praised above the Roman ladies, his
country-women, provoked Posthumus by seeming to doubt the constancy of
his so highly-praised wife; and at length, after much altercation,
Posthumus consented to a proposal of Iachimo's, that he (Iachimo) should
go to Britain, and endeavour to gain the love of the married Imogen.
They then laid a wager, that if Iachimo did not succeed in this wicked
design, he was to forfeit a large sum of money; but if he could win
Imogen's favour, and prevail upon her to give him the bracelet which
Posthumus had so earnestly desired she would keep as a token of his
love, then the wager was to terminate with Posthumus giving to Iachimo
the ring, which was Imogen's love present when she parted with her
husband. Such firm faith had Posthumus in the fidelity of Imogen, that
he thought he ran no hazard in this trial of her honour.

Iachimo, on his arrival in Britain, gained admittance, and a courteous
welcome from Imogen, as a friend of her husband; but when he began to
make professions of love to her, she repulsed him with disdain, and he
soon found that he could have no hope of succeeding in his dishonourable
design.

The desire Iachimo had to win the wager made him now have recourse to a
stratagem to impose upon Posthumus, and for this purpose he bribed some
of Imogen'