And as a bed I'll take thee, and there lie; Ant. S. That's my sister. No; It is thyself, mine own self's better part; Luc. All this my sister is, or else should be. [Exit. Dro. S. A very reverend body; ay, such a one as a man may not speak of, without he say, sir-reverI have but lean luck in the match, and yet she is a wondrous fat marriage. ence. Ant. S. How dost thou mean a fat marriage? Dro. S. Marry, sir, she's the kitchen-wench, and all grease; and I know not what use to put her to, but to make a lamp of her, and run from her by her own light. I warrant, her rags, and the tallow in them, will burn a Polar winter: if she lives till doomsday, she'll burn a week longer than the whole world. Ant. S. What complexion is she of? Dro. S. Swart, like my shoe, but her face nothing like so clean kept: for why? she sweats; a man may go over shoes in the grime of it. Ant. S. That's a fault that water will mend. Dro. S. No, sir; 'tis in grain: Noah's flood could not do it. Ant. S. What's her name? Dro. S. Nell, sir; but her name is three quarters, that is, an ell; and three quarters will not measure her from hip to hip. Ant. S. Where stood Belgia, the Netherlands? Dro. S. O! sir, I did not look so low. To conclude, this drudge, or diviner, laid claim to me; call'd me Dromio; swore, was fassured to her: mark of my shoulder, the mole in my neck, the great told me what privy marks I had about me, as the wart on my left arm, that I, amazed, ran from her as a witch and, I think, if my breast had not been form'd me to a curtail-dog, and made me turn i' the made of faith, and my heart of steel, she had transh wheel. And if the wind blow any way from shore, [Exit. Ant. S. There's none but witches do inhabit here, And therefore 'tis high time that I were hence. She that doth call me husband, even my soul Doth for a wife abhor; but her fair sister, Possess'd with such a gentle sovereign grace, Hath almost made me traitor to myself: Of such enchanting presence and discourse, But, lest myself be guilty of self-wrong, I'll stop mine ears against the mermaid's song. Enter ANGELO. Ang. Master Antipholus? Ang. I know it well, sir. Lo! here is the chain. Ant. S. What is your will that I shall do with this? Ang. What please yourself, sir: I have made it for you. Ant. S. Made it for me, sir? I bespoke it not. "Against her heir," i. e., against Henry IV. of Navarre, whose claim the states of France resisted, on account of his being a protestant." Carracks," i. e., large ships of burden. Affianced.- "Made of faith," an allusion to the popConfounded. "Sir-reverence," an old corruption of ular belief that great faith was a protection against witchsave reverence.- "Swart," i, e., swarthy; dusky. craft-b"Turn i' the wheel," i. e., become a turnspit Ang. Not once, nor twice, but twenty times you have. Go home with it, and please your wife withal; And soon at supper-time I'll visit you, And then receive my money for the chain. Ant. S. I pray you, sir, receive the money now, For fear you ne'er sec chain, nor money, more. Ang. You are a merry man, sir. Fare you well. [Exit. Ant. S. What I should think of this, I can not tell; But this I think, there's no man is so vain, That would refuse so fair an offer'd chain. [thou Off. That labor may you save: see where he comes. Ant. E. While I go to the goldsmith's house, go And buy a rope's end, that will I bestow Among my wife and these confederates, For locking me out of my doors by day.But soft, I see the goldsmith.-Get thee gone; Buy thou a rope, and bring it home to me. Dro. E. I buy a thousand pound a-year? I buy a rope? [Exit. I pray you, see him presently discharg'd, Accruing; growing due. Carat.-"Will" for shall, Ant. E. An if I have not, sir, I hope you have, Or else you may return without your money. Ang. Nay, come, I pray you, sir, give me the chain: Both wind and tide stay for this gentleman, And I, to blame, have held him here too long. Ant. E. Good lord! you use this dalliance, to excuse Your breach of promise to the Porcupine. I should have chid you for not bringing it, But, like a shrew, you first begin to brawl. Mer. The hour steals on: I pray you, sir, dispatch. Ang. You hear, how he importunes me: the chainAnt. E. Why, give it to my wife, and fetch your money. [now. Ang. Come, come; you know, I gave it you even Ant. E. I answer you! what should I answer you? Ang. You wrong me more, sir, in denying it: Mer. Well, officer, arrest him at my suit. Off. I do, and charge you in the duke's name to Ang. This touches me in reputation.- [obey me. Either consent to pay this sum for me, Or I attach you by this officer. Ant. E. Consent to pay for that I never had? Ang. Here is thy fee: arrest him, officer.- Off. I do arrest you, sir. You hear the suit. Ang. Sir, sir, I shall have law in Ephesus, d Dro. S. Master, there is a bark of Epidamnum, That stays but till her owner comes aboard, And then, sir, she bears away. Our fraughtage, sir, I have convey'd aboard, and I have bought The oil, the balsamum, and aqua-vitæ. The ship is in her trim: the merry wind Blows fair from land; they stay for nought at all, But for their owner, master, and yourself. Ant. E. How now? a madman! Why, thou peevish What ship of Epidamnum stays for me? [sheep, Dro. S. A ship you sent me to, to hire waftage. Ant. E. Thou drunken slave, I sent thee for a rope; And told thee to what purpose, and what end. Dro. S. You sent me for a rope's end as soon. You sent me to the bay, sir, for a bark. Ant. E. I will debate this matter at more leisure, And teach your ears to list me with more heed. To Adriana, villain, hie thee straight; Give her this key, and tell her, in the desk That's cover'd o'er with Turkish tapestry, There is a purse of ducats: let her send it. Tell her, I am arrested in the street, And that shall bail me. Hie thee, slave, be gone. On, officer, to prison till it come. [Exeunt Merchant, ANGELO, Officer, and ANT. E. Freight; cargo.- Mad; foolish.- Carriage. Dro. S. To Adriana? that is where we din'd, Where Dowsabel did claim me for her husband: She is too big, I hope, for me to compass. Thither I must, although against my will, For servants must their masters' minds fulfil. [Exit. SCENE II.-The Same. Enter ADRIANA and LUCIANA. Adr. Ah! Luciana, did he tempt thee so? Might'st thou perceive austerely in his eye That he did plead in earnest? yea or no? Look'd he or red, or pale? or sad, or 'merry? What observation mad'st thou in this case, Of his heart's a meteors tilting in his face? Luc. First he denied you had in him no right. Adr. He meant, he did me none: the more my spite. Luc. Then swore he, that he was a stranger here. Adr. And true he swore, though yet forsworn he Luc. Then pleaded I for you. [were. Adr. And what said he? Luc. That love I begg'd for you, he begg'd of me. Adr. With what persuasion did he tempt thy love? Luc. With words, that in an honest suit might move. First, he did praise my beauty; then, my speech. Adr. Did'st speak him fair? Luc. b Have patience, I beseech. Adr. I cannot, nor I will not hold me still: My tongue, though not my heart, shall have his will. He is deformed, crooked, old, and sere, Ill-fac'd, worse bodied, shapeless every where; Vicious, ungentle, foolish, blunt, unkind, Stigmatical in making, worse in mind. Luc. Who would be jealous, then, of such a one? No evil lost is wail'd when it is gone. d Adr. Ah! but I think him better than I say, And yet would herein others' eyes were worse. Far from her nest the lapwing cries away: My heart prays for him, though my tongue do curse. Enter DROMIO of Syracuse, running. Dro. S. Here, go: the desk! the purse! 3swift, now make haste. Luc. How hast thou lost thy breath? Dro. S. By running fast. Adr. Where is thy master, Dromio? is he well? Dro. S. No, he's in Tartar limbo, worse than hell: A devil in an everlasting garment hath him fell, One whose hard heart is button'd up with steel; 5 Who knows no touch of mercy, cannot feel; A fiend, a fury, pitiless and rough; 4 A wolf, nay, worse, a fellow all in buff; [mands An allusion to the northern lights, which have the appearance of armies meeting in the shock.- Dry; withered. "Stigmatical," i. e., stigmatized or marked by nature with deformity. The lapwing is said to draw pursuers from her nest by crying in other places. See Measure for Measure, Aet i Scene 5- The buff or leather jerkin of the serjeant is called an everlasting garment, because it was so durable. To run counter, in sportman's phrase, signifies that the hounds, mistaking the course of the game, run backward; to draw dry foot was to follow the scent or track of the game. There is a quibble upon the word counter, which points at a well-known prison in London, so called.-"Hell" was the cant term for a prison. But he's in a suit of buff which 'rested him, that can I tell. Will you send him, mistress, redemption? the money in his desk? Adr. Go fetch it, sister.-This I wonder at; [Exit LUCIANA, That he, unknown to me, should be in debt:Tell me, was he arrested on a band? Dro. S. Not on a band, but on a stronger thing; A chain, a chain: do you not hear it ring? Adr. What, the chain? [gone: Dro. S. No, no, the bell. 'Tis time that I were It was two ere I left him, and now the clock strikes one. Adr. The hours come back! that did I never hear. Dro. S. O yes; if any hour meet a serjeant, 'a turns back for very fear. [reason! Adr. As if time were in debt! how fondly dost thou Dro. S. Time is a very bankrupt, and owes more than he's worth, to season. Nay, he's a thief too: have you not heard men say, That time comes stealing on by night and day? If he be in debt and theft, and a serjeant in the way, Hath he not reason to turn back any hour in a day? Re-enter LUCIANA. Adr. Go, Dromio: there's the money, bear it straight, And bring thy master home immediately.Come, sister; I am press'd down with 'conceit, Conceit, my comfort, and my injury. SCENE III.-The Same. [Exeunt. Enter ANTIPHOLUS of Syracuse, wearing the chain. Enter DROMIO of Syracuse. Dro. S. Master, here's the gold you sent me for. What, have you got the picture of old Adam new apparell'd? Ant. S. What gold is this? What Adam dost thou mean? Dro. S. Not that Adam that kept the paradise, but that Adam that keeps the prison: he that goes in the calf-skin that was kill'd for the prodigal: he that came behind you, sir, like an evil angel, and bid you forsake your liberty. Ant. S. I understand thee not. Dro. S. No? why, 'tis a plain case: he that went, that, when gentlemen are tired, gives them a fob, like a base-viol, in a case of leather: the man, sir, and 'rests them: he, sir, that takes pity on decayed men, and gives them suits of durance; he that sets up his rest to do more exploits with his mace, than amorris-pike. Ant. S. What, thou mean'st an officer? Dro. S. Ay, sir, the serjeant of the band; he that brings any man to answer it, that breaks his band; one that thinks a man always going to bed, and says, "God give you good rest!" Bond.-"Conceit," i. e., fanciful conception.-"To set up one's rest," signified to be firmly resolved to do a thing. A "morris-pike" is a Moorish pike, used in the 16th cen tury. Ant. S. Well, sir, there rest in your foolery. Is there any ship puts forth to-night? may we be gone? Dro. S. Why, sir, I brought you word an hour since, that the bark Expedition put forth to-night; and then were you hindered by the serjeant to tarry for the hoy Delay. Here are the angels that you sent for to deliver you. Ant. S. The fellow is distract, and so am I, And here we wander in illusions. Some blessed power deliver us from hence! Enter a Courtezan. Cour, Well met, well met, master Antipholus. Ant. S. Satan, avoid! I charge thee, tempt me not! Dro. S. Nay, she is worse, she is the devil's dam; and here she comes in the habit of a light wench: and thereof comes that the wenches say, "God damn me," that's as much as to say, "God make me a light wench." It is written, they appear to men like angels of light: light is an effect of fire, and fire will burn; ergo, light wenches will burn. Come not near her. Cour. Your man and you are marvellous merry, sir. Will you go with me? we'll mend our dinner here. Dro. S. Master, if you do expect spoon-meat, bespeak a long spoon. Ant. S. Why, Dromio? Dro. S. Some devils ask but the parings of one's A rush, a hair, a drop of blood, a pin, a nut, a cherryBut she, more covetous, would have a chain. [stone; Master, be wise: an if you give it her, [us go. The devil will shake her chain, and fright us with it. Of his own doors being shut against his entrance. Belike, his wife, acquainted with his fits, SCENE IV.-The Same. [Exit. Enter ANTIPHOLUS of Ephesus, and a Jailor. Ant. E. Fear me not, man; I will not break away! I'll give thee, ere I leave thee, so much money, To warrant thee, as I am 'rested for. My wife is in a wayward mood to-day, And will not lightly trust the messenger: Enter DROMIO of Ephesus with a rope's-end. Here comes my man: I think he brings the money.— How now, sir? have you that I sent you for? Dro. E. Here's that, I warrant you, will pay them all. Dro. E. Why, sir, I gave the money for the rope. Ant. E. Five hundred ducats, villain, for a rope? Dro. E. I'll serve you, sir, five hundred at the rate. Ant. E. To what end did I bid thee hie thee home? Dro. E. To a rope's end, sir; and to that end am I return'd. Ant. E. And to that end, sir, I will welcome you. [Beating him. Jail. Good sir, be patient. Dro. E. Nay, 'tis for me to be patient; I am in adversity. Jail. Good now, hold thy tongue. Dro. E. Nay, rather persuade him to hold his hands. Ant. E. Thou whoreson, senseless villain! Dro. E. I would I were senseless, sir; that I might not feel your blows. Ant. E. Thou art sensible in nothing but blows, and so is an ass. Dro. E. I am an ass, indeed: you may prove it by my long ears. I have serv'd him from the hour of my nativity to this instant, and have nothing at his hands for my service, but blows. When I am cold, he heats me with beating; when I am warm, he cools me with beating: I am wak'd with it, when I sleep; rais'd with it, when I sit; driven out of doors with it, when I go from home; welcomed home with it, when I return: nay, I bear it on my shoulders, as a beggar wont her brat; and, I think, when he hath lamed me, I shall beg with it from door to door. Ant. E. Come, go along: my wife is coming yonder. Enter ADRIANA, LUCIANA, the Courtezan, and a schoolmaster called PINCH. Dro. E. Mistress, respice finem, respect your end; or rather the prophecy, like the parrot, "beware the rope's end." [Beats him. Ant. E. Wilt thou still talk? Cour. How say you now? is not your husband mad? Adr. His incivility confirms no less.Good doctor Pinch, you are a conjurer; Establish him in his true sense again, And I will please you what you will demand. C Luc. Alas, how fiery and how sharp he looks! Cour. Mark, how he trembles in his ecstasy! Pinch. Give me your hand, and let me feel your pulse. Ant. E. There is my hand, and let it feel your ear. Pinch. I charge thee, Satan, hous'd within this man, To yield possession to my holy prayers, And to thy state of darkness hie thee straight: I conjure thee by all the saints in heaven. Ant. E. Peace, doting wizard, peace! I am not mad. Did this companion with the saffron face [home; Adr. O, husband, God doth know, you din'd at Long from frequent pulling.-b" Wont," i. e., is wont, accustomed to. This tremor was anciently thought to be a sure indication of demoniacal possession,-"Customers," e., familiars; intimates.-"Companion," a word of con. tempt, anciently used as we now use fellow. Where 'would you had remain'd until this time, Dro. E. Sir, sooth to say, you did not dine at home. up, and I shut Ant. E. Out on thee, villain! wherefore dost thou mad me? [good master; Dro. E. Will you be bound for nothing? be mad, Cry, the devil.— Luc. God help, poor souls! how idly do they talk. Adr. Go bear him hence.-Sister, go you with me.[Exeunt PINCH and assistants with ANT. and DRO. Dro. E. Perdy, your doors were lock'd, and you Say now, whose suit is he arrested at ? shut out. Ant. E. And did not she herself revile me there? Dro. E. Sans fable, she herself revil'd you there. Ant. E. Did not her kitchen-maid rail, taunt, and scorn me? [you. Dro. E. Certes, she did; the kitchen-vestal scorn'd Ant. E. And did not I in rage depart from thence? Dro. E. In verity, you did ;-my bones bear witness, That since have felt the rigor of his rage. Adr. Is't good to soothe him in these contraries? Pinch. It is no shame: the fellow finds his vein, And, yielding to him, humors well his frenzy. [me. Ant. E. Thou hast suborn'd the goldsmith to arrest Adr. Alas, I sent you money to redeem you, By Dromio here, who came in haste for it. Dro. E. Money by me! heart and good-will you But, surely, master, not a rag of money. [might; Ant. E. Went'st not thou to her for a purse of ducats! Adr. He came to me, and I deliver'd it. Luc. And I am witness with her that she did. Dro. E. God and the rope-maker now bear me That I was sent for nothing but a rope! [witness, Pinch. Mistress, both man and master is possessed: I know it by their pale and deadly looks. They must be bound, and laid in some dark room. Ant. E. Say, wherefore didst thou lock me forth And why dost thou deny the bag of gold? [to-day? Adr. I did not, gentle husband, lock thee forth. Dro. E. And, gentle master, I receiv'd no gold; But I confess, sir, that we were lock'd out. [both. Adr. Dissembling villain! thou speak'st false in Ant. E. Dissembling harlot! thou art false in all, And art confederate with a damned pack To make a loathsome, abject scorn of me; But with these nails I'll pluck out 3 those false eyes, That would behold in me this shameful sport. Enter three or four, and bind ANTIPHOLUS and DROMIO. C He is my prisoner, and you shall not have him. Adr. I will discharge thee, ere I go from thee. e “Perdy," a corruption of the French oath, par Dieu.Certainly; in truth.- Mad; foolish.-"How the debt grows," i. e., how it has accrued. Unlucky; mischievous. Jail. One Angelo, a goldsmith; do you know him? Adr. I know the man. What is the sum he owes? Jail. Two hundred ducats. Adr. Say, how grows it due? Jail. Due for a chain your husband had of him. Adr. He did bespeak a chain for me, but had it not. Cour. When as your husband, all in rage, to-day Came to my house, and took away my ring, (The ring I saw upon his finger now) Straight after did I meet him with a chain. Adr. It but I did never see it.may be 80, Come, jailor, bring me where the goldsmith is: I long to know the truth hereof at large. Enter ANTIPHOLUS of Syracuse, with his rapier drawn, and DROMIO of Syracuse. Jail. Luc. God, for thy mercy! they are loose again. Adr. And come with naked swords. Let's call To have them bound again. [more help, Away! they'll kill us. Exeunt ADRIANA, LUCIANA, and Jailor. Ant. S. I see, these witches are afraid of swords. Dro. S. She, that would be your wife, now ran from you. [thence: Ant. S. Come to the Centaur; fetch our stuff from I long, that we were safe and sound aboard. do us no harm; you saw they spake us fair, gave Dro. S. Faith, stay here this night, they will surely us gold. Methinks they are such a gentle nation, that but for the mountain of mad flesh that claims 4 marriage of me, I could find in my heart to stay here still, and turn witch. Ant. S. I will not stay to-night for all the town; Therefore away, to get our stuff aboard. [Exeunt. Enter Merchant and ANGelo. Ang. I am sorry, sir, that I have hinder'd you; But, I protest, he had the chain of me, Though most dishonestly he doth deny it. Mer. How is the man esteem'd here in the city? Ang. Of very reverend reputation, sir, Of credit infinite, highly belov'd, Second to none that lives here in the city: His word might bear my wealth at any time. Mer. Speak softly: yonder, as I think, he walks. Enter ANTIPHOLUS and DROMIO of Syracuse. Ang. 'Tis so; and that self chain about his neck, Which he forswore most monstrously to have. Good sir, draw near 5 with me, I'll speak to him.Signior Antipholus, I wonder much That you would put me to this shame and trouble; And not without some scandal to yourself, With circumstance and oaths so to deny This chain, which now you wear so openly: You have done wrong to this my honest friend; Beside the charge, the shame, imprisonment, Who, but for staying on our controversy, Becomes.- Baggage. |