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Abb. No, not a creature enter in my house.
Adr. Then, let your fervants bring my husband forth.
Abb. Neither; he took this place for fanctuary,
And it shall privilege him from your hands;
'Till I have brought him to his wits again,
Or lofe my labour in affaying it.

Adr. I will attend my husband, be his nurse,
Diet his fickness, for it is my office;
And will have no attorney but myself;

And therefore let me have him home with me.
Abb. Be patient, for I will not let him stir,
"Till I have us'd th' approved means I have,
With wholfome firups, drugs, and holy prayers
To make of him a formal man again;

It is a branch and parcel of mine oath,
A charitable duty of my order;

Therefore depart, and leave him here with me.

Adr. I will not hence, and leave my husband here; And ill it doth befeem your holiness

To separate the husband and the wife.

Abb. Be quiet and depart, thou fhalt not have him. Luc. Complain unto the Duke of this indignity. [Exit Abbels. Adr. Come, go; I will fall proftrate at his feet, And never rife, until my tears and prayers Have won his Grace to come in person hither; And take perforce my husband from the Abbefs. Mer. By this, I think, the dial points at five: Anon, I'm fure, the Duke himself in perfon Comes this way to the melancholy vale; The place of death and forry execution, Behind the ditches of the abbey here. Ang. Upon what cause ?

Mer. To fee a reverend Syracufan merchant, Who put unluckily into this bay

Against the laws and ftatutes of this town,

Beheaded publickly for his offence.

Ang. See, where they come; we will behold his death.

Luc. Kneel to the Duke, before he pass the abbey.

Enter

Enter the Duke, and Ægeon bare-headed; with the
Headfman, and other Officers.

Duke. Yet once again proclaim it publickly,
If any friend will pay the fum for him,
He shall not die, fo much we tender him.

Adr. Juftice, moft facred Duke, against the Abbefs.
Duke. She is a virtuous and a reverend Lady;
It cannot be, that she hath done thee wrong.
Adr. May it please your Grace, Antipholis my huf-
band,

(Whom I made lord of me and all I had,
At your important letters,) this ill day
A moft outrageous fit of madness took him;
That defp'rately he hurry'd through the street,
With him his bondman all as mad as he,
Doing difpleasure to the citizens,

By rushing in their houses; bearing thence
Rings, jewels, any thing his rage did like.
Once did I get him bound, and fent him home,
Whilft to take order for the wrongs I went,
That here and there his fury had committed:
Anon, I wot not by what strong escape,

He broke from thofe, that had the guard of him:
And, with his mad attendant and himself,
Each one with ireful paffion, with drawn fwords,
Met us again, and, madly bent on us,
Chas'd us away; 'till, raifing of more aid,
We came again to bind them; then they fled
Into this abbey, whither we purfu'd them
And here the Abbefs fhuts the gates on us,
And will not fuffer us to fetch him out,

Nor fend him forth, that we may bear him hence.
Therefore, most gracious Duke, with thy command,
Let him be brought forth, and borne hence for help.
Duke. Long fince thy husband ferv'd me in my wars,
And I to thee ingag'd a Prince's word,

(When thou didst make him mafter of thy bed,)
To do him all the grace and good I could.
Go, fome of you, knock at the abbey-gate;

And

And bid the lady Abbefs come to me.

I will determine this, before I ftir.

Enter a Meffenger:

Me: O mistress, miftrefs, fhift and fave your felf;
My mafter and his man are both broke loose,
Beaten the maids a-row, and bound the doctor,
Whose beard they have fing'd off with brands of fire;
And ever as it blaz'd, they threw on him

Great pails of puddled mire to quench the hair;
My mafter preaches patience to him, and the while
His man with feiffars nicks him like a fool:
And, fure, unless you fend fomé present help,
Between them they will kill the conjurer.

Adr. Peace, fool, thy mafter and his man are here, And that is falfe, thou doft report to us.

Me. Miftrefs, upon my life, I tell you true; I have not breath'd almoft, fince I did fee it.

He

crys for you, and vows if he can take you,

To fcorch your face, and to disfigure you. [Cry within. Hark, hark, I hear him, miftrefs; fly, be gone.

Duke. Come, ftand by me, fear nothing: guard with halberds.

Adr: Ay me, it is my husband; witness you,

That he is borne about invifible!

Ev'n now we hous'd him in the abbey here,
And now he's there, past thought of human reason.

Enter Antipholis, and Dromio of Ephefus.

E. Ant. Juftice, moft gracious Duke, oh, grant me juftice.

Even for the fervice that long fince I did thee,

When I beftrid thee in the wars, and took

Deep fears to fave thy life, even for the blood

That then I loft for thee, now grant me juftice.

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Egeon. Unless the fear of death doth make me dote,

I fee my fon Antipholis, and Dromio.

E. Ant. Juftice, fweet Prince, against that woman there: She whom thou gav't to me to be my wife;

That hath abused and difhonour'd me,

Ev'n in the strength and height of injury.

Beyond imagination is the wrong,

That the this day hath fhameless thrown on me.
Duke. Difcover how, and thou fhalt find me juft.
E. Ant. This day, great Duke, fhe fhut the doors
upon me;

Whilft the with harlots feafted in my house.

Duke. A grievous fault; fay, woman, didft thou fo? Adr. No, my good lord: myfelf, he, and my fifter, To day did dine together: fo befal my foul,

As this is falfe, he burthens me withal!

Luc. Ne'er may I look on day, nor fleep on night, But fhe tells to your highness fimple truth!

Ang. O perjur'd woman! they are both forfworn.
In this the mad-man juftly chargeth them.

E. Ant. My Liege, I am advised, what I fay.
Neither disturb'd with the effect of wine,
Nor, heady-rafh, provok'd with raging ire;
Albeit, my wrongs might make one wiser mad.
This woman lock'd me out this day from dinner;
That goldfmith there, were he not pack'd with her,,
Could witnefs it; for he was with me then;
Who parted with me to go fetch a chain,
Promifing to bring it to the Porcupine,
Where Balthazar and I did dine together.
Our dinner done, and he not coming thither,
I went to feek him; in the street I met him,
And in his company that gentleman.

There did this perjur'd goldfmith fwear me down,
That I this day from him receiv'd the chain;

Which, God he knows, I faw not; for the which,
He did arreft me with an officer.

I did obey, and fent my peasant home

For certain ducats; he with none return'd..
Then fairly I bespoke the officer,

To go in perfon with me to my house.

By th' way we met my wife, her fifter, and
A rabble more of vile confederates;

They brought one Pinch, a hungry lean-fac'd villain,
A meer anatomy, a mountebank,

A

A thread bare juggler, and a fortune-teller,
A needy, hollow-ey'd, fharp-looking wretch,
A living dead man. This pernicious flave,
Forfooth, took on him as a conjurer;
And, gazing in my eyes, feeling my pulfe,
And with no-face, as 'twere, out-facing me,
Cries out, I was poffeft. Then all together
They fell upon me, bound me, bore me thence;
And in a dark and dankish vault at home

There left me and my man, both bound together;
Till, gnawing with my teeth my bonds afunder,
I gain'd my freedom, and immediately

Ran hither to your Grace; whom I beseech
To give me ample fatisfaction

For thefe deep fhames and great indignities.

Ang. My lord, in truth, thus far I witness with him; That he din'd not at home, but was lock'd out.

Duke. But had he fuch a chain of thee, or no?
Ang. He had, my lord; and when he ran in here,
These people faw the chain about his neck.

Mer. Befides, I will be fworn, these ears of mine
Heard you confefs, you had the chain of him,

After you firft forfwore it on the mart;
And thereupon I drew my fword on you;
And then you fled into this abbey here,

From whence, I think, you're come by miracle.
E. Ant. I never came within these abbey-walls,
Nor ever didst thou draw thy fword on me;
I never faw the chain, fo help me heav'n!
And this is falfe, you burthen me withal.

Duke. Why, what an intricate impeach is this?
I think, you all have drunk of Circe's cup:
If here you hous'd him, here he would have been ;
If he were mad, he would not plead fo coldly :
You fay, he din'd at home; the goldsmith here
Denies that faying. Sirrah, what fay you ?

E. Dro. Sir, he din'd with her there, at the Porcupine.
Cour. He did, and from my finger fnatch'd that ring.
E. Ant. 'Tis true, my Liege, this ring I had of her.
Duke. Saw'st thou him enter at the abbey here?

Cour

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