!

PROCEED, Solinus, to procure my fa And, by the doom of death, end woes

Duke. Merchant of Syracusa, plea I am not partial, to infringe our laws The enmity and discord, which of la Sprung from the rancorous outrage To merchants, our well-dealing cour Who, wanting gilders to redeem the Have seal'd his rigorous statutes wi Excludes all pity from our threat'nin For, since the mortal and intestine j 'Twixt thy seditious countrymen an It hath in solemn synods been decre Both by the Syracusans and ourselv To admit no traffic to our adverse to Nay, more,

If any, born at Ephesus, be seen
At any Syracusan marts and fairs,
Again, If any Syracusan born,
Come to the bay of Ephesus, he die
His goods confiscate to the duke's d
Unless a thousand marks be levied,
To quit the penalty, and to ransome
Thy substance, valued at the highe
Cannot amount unto a hundred mark
Therefore, by law thou art condem
Egeon. Yet this my comfort; w

done,

My woes end likewise with the ever Duke. Well, Syracusan, say, in b

Why thou departedst from thy native home;
And for what cause thou cam'st to Ephesus.

Ægeon. A heavier task could not have been impos'd,

Than I to speak my griefs unspeakable :
Yet, that the world may witness that my end
Was wrought by nature, not by vile offence,
I'll utter what my sorrow gives me leave.
In Syracusa was I born; and wed
Unto a woman, happy but for me,
And by me too, had not our hap been bad.
With her I liv'd in joy; our wealth increas'd
By prosperous voyages I often made
To Epidamnum, till my factor's death;
And he (great care of goods at random left)
Drew me from kind embracements of my spouse
From whom my absence was not six months old,
Before herself (almost at fainting, under
The pleasing punishment that women bear)
Had made provision for her following me,
And soon, and safe, arrived where I was.
There she had not been long, but she became
A joyful mother of two goodly sons;
And, which was strange, the one so like the other,
As could not be distinguish'd but by names.
That very hour, and in the self-same inn,
A poor mean woman was delivered
Of such a burden, male-twins, both alike :
Those, for their parents were exceeding poor,
I bought, and brought up to attend my sons.
My wife, not meanly proud of two such boys,
Made daily motions for our home return:
Unwilling I agreed; alas, too soon.
We came aboard:

A league from Epidamnum had we sail'd,
Before the always-wind-obeying deep
Gave any tragic instance of our harm:
But longer did we not retain much hope;
For what obscured light the heavens did grant
Did but convey unto our fearful minds
A doubtful warrant of immediate death;
Which, though myself would gladly have embrac'd,
Yet the incessant weepings of my wife,
Weeping before, for what she saw must come,
And piteous plainings of the pretty babes,.