Ant. E. Thou drunken slave, I sent thee for a One, whose hard heart is button'd up with steel;
A fiend, a fairy, pitiless and rough;
A wolf, nay, worse, a fellow all in buff;'

rope;

And told thee to what purpose and what end.

Dro. S. You sent me, sir, for a rope's end as A back-friend, a shoulder-clapper, one that coun

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 listen 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 Mer. Ang. Off. and Ant. E.
Dro. S. To Adriana! that is where he 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. [Ex.|
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 merrily?
What observation mad'st thou in this case,
Of his heart's 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 were.

First he did praise my beauty; then, my speech.
Adr. Lid'st speak him fair?
Luc.
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,2
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.

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;4
My heart prays for him, though my tongue do

curse.

Enter Dromio of Syracuse.

termands

The passages of alleys, creeks, and narrow lands; A hound that runs counter, and yet draws dry-foot well

One that, before the judgment, carries poor souls

to hell.

Adr. Why, man, what is the matter?

Dro. S. I do not know the matter: he is 'rested

on the case.

Adr. What, is he arrested? tell me, at whose suit. Dro. S. I know not at whose suit he is arrested, well;

But he's in a suit of buff, which 'rested him, that can I tell :

Will you send him, mistress, redemption, the mo-
ney in the 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?

Dro. S. No, no, the bell: 'tis time, that I were

Adr. The hours come back! that did I never hear. Dro. S. O yes, if any hour meet a sergeant, a'turns back for very fear.

Adr. As if time were in debt! how fondly dost thou reason!

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 sergeant in the way,
Hath he not reason to turn back an hour in a day?

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. [Exeunt. SCENE III.-The same. Enter Antipholus of Syracuse.

Ant. S. There's not a man I meet, but doth
salute me

As if I were their well-acquainted friend;
And every one doth call me by my name.
Some tender money to me, some invite me;
Some other give me thanks for kindnesses;
Some offer me commodities to buy:
Even now a tailor call'd me in his shop,
And show'd me silks that he had bought for me,

Dro. S. Here, go; the desk, the purse; sweet And, therewithal, took measure of my body.
now, make haste.

Luc. How hast thou lost thy breath?
Dro. S.
By running fast.
Adr. Where is thy master, Dromio? is he well?
Io. S. No, he's in tartar limbo, worse than hell:
A devil in an everlasting garment hath him,

(1) An allusion to the redness of the northern
lights likened to the appearance of armies.
(2) Dry, withered.

(3) Marked by nature with deformity.
(4) Who crieth most where her nest is not.

Sure, these are but imaginary wiles,
And Lapland sorcerers inhabit here.

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?

(5) The officers in those days were clad in buff, which is also a cant expression for a man's skin. (6) Hell was the cant term for prison. (7) i. e. Bond. (8) Fanciful conception.

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's-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. Š. I understand thee not.

Dro. S. No? why, 'tis a plain case: he that went like a base-viol, in a case of leather; the man, sir, that, when gentlemen are tired, gives them a fob, 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 a morris-pike.

Ant. S. What! thou mean'st an officer? Dro. S. Ay, sir, the sergeant 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.

Dro. S. Fly pride, says the peacock: Mistress,
that you know. [Exeunt Ant. and Dro.
Cour. Now, out of doubt, Antipholus is mad,
Else would he never so demean himself:
A ring he hath of mine, worth forty ducats,
And for the same he promis'd me a chain!
Both one, and other, he denies me now.
The reason that I gather he is mad,
(Besides this present instance of his rage,)
Is a mad tale, he told to-day at dinner,
Of his own doors being shut against his entrance.
Belike, his wife, acquainted with his fits,
On purpose shut the doors against his way.
My way is now, to hie home to his house,
And tell his wife, that, being lunatic,
He rush'd into my house, and took perforce
My ring away: This course I fittest choose;
For forty ducats is too much to lose.
SCENE IV.-The same. Enter Antipholus of
Ephesus, and an Officer.

Exit.

Ant. S. Well, sir, there rest in your foolery. Is there any ship puts forth to-night? may we be gone? Ant. E. Fear me not, man, I will not break away; Dro. S. Why, sir, I brought you word an hour I'll give thee, ere I leave thee, so much money since, that the bark Expedition put forth to-night; To warrant thee, as I am 'rested for. and then were you hindered by the sergeant, to My wife is in a wayward mood to-day; tarry for the hoy, Delay: Here are the angels that And will not lightly trust the messenger, That I should be attach'd in Ephesus: 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.
I see, sir, you have found the goldsmith now;
Is that the chain, you promis'd me to-day?

Ant. S. Satan, avoid! I charge thee, tempt me

not!

Dro. S. Master, is this mistress Satan?
Ant. S. It is the devil.

I tell you, 'twill sound harshly in her ears.

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.1

Ant. E. But where's the money?

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

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 am I return'd. damn me, that's as much as to say, God make me a light wench. It is written, they appear to men you. 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. Marry, he must have a long spoon, that must eat with the devil.

Ant. S. Avoid then, fiend! what tell'st thou me
of supping?

Thou art, as you are all, a sorceress :
I conjure thee to leave me, and be gone.
Cour. Give me the ring of mine you had
dinner,

Or, for my diamond, the chain you promis'd;
And I'll be gone, sir, and not trouble you.

Ant. E. And to that end, sir, I will welcome [Beating him.

Off. Good sir, be patient. Dro. E. Nay, 'tis for me to be patient; I am in adversity.

Off. 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 nativity to this instant, and have nothing at his hands for my service, but blows: when I am cold, at he heats me with beating: when I am warm, he cools me with beating: I am waked with it, when I sleep; raised 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.

Dro. S. Some devils ask but the paring of one's nail,

A rush, a hair, a drop of blood, a pin,

A nut, a cherry-stone: but she, more covetous,
Would have a chain.

Master, be wise; and if you give it her,

The devil will shake her chain, and fright us with it.
Cour. I pray you, sir, my ring, or else the chain;
I hope, you do not mean to cheat me so.
Ant. S. Avaunt, thou witch! Come, Dromio,
let us go.

Enter Adriana, Luciana, and the Courtezan, with
Pinch, and others.

Ant. E. Come, go along; my wife is coming
yonder.

(1) Correct them all.

respect your I know it by their pale and deadly looks: parrot, Be- They must be bound, and laid in some dark room. Ant. E. Say, wherefore didst thou lock me forth [Beats him. Cour. How say you now? is not your husband mad?

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,)

Ant. E. Went'st not thou to her for a purse of Straight after, did I meet him with a chain.

To have them bound again.
Off.
Away, they'll kill us.
[Exeunt Off. Adr. and Luc.
Ant. S. I see, these witches are afraid of swords.
Dro. S. She, that would be your wife, now ran
from you.

Ant. S. Come to the Centaur; fetch our stuff
from thence:

I long, that we were safe and sound aboard.

Dro. S. Faith, stay here this night, they will surely do us no harm; you saw, they speak us fair, give us gold methinks, they are such a gentle nation, that, but for the mountain of mad flesh that claims 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.

ACT V.

SCENE I.-The same.

Adr. To fetch my poor distracted husband hence;
Let us come in, that we may bind him fast,
And bear him home for his recovery.

Ang. I knew, he was not in his perfect wits.
Mer. I am sorry now, that I did draw on him.
Abb. How long, hath this possession held the
man?

Adr. This week he hath been heavy, sour, sad,
And much, much different from the man he was;
But, till this afternoon, his passion
Ne'er brake into extremity of rage.

Abb. Hath he not lost much wealth by wreck at
sea?

[Exe. Bury'd some dear friend? Hath not else his eye
Stray'd his affection in unlawful love?
A sin, prevailing much in youthful men,
Who give their eyes the liberty of gazing.
Which of these sorrows is he subject to?

Adr. To none of these, except it be the last:
Enter Merchant and Namely, some love, that drew him oft from home.
Abb. You should for that have reprehended him.
Adr. Why, so I did.
Abb.
Ay, but not rough enough.
Ar. As roughly, as my modesty would let me.
Abb. Haply, in private.
Adr.

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 to 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:
Besides the charge, the shame, imprisonment,
You have done wrong to this my honest friend;
Who, but for staying on our controversy,
Had hoisted sail, and put to sea to-day:
This chain you had of me, can you deny it?
Ant. S. I think, I had; I never did deny it.
Mer. Yes, that you did, sir; and forswore it too.
Ant. S. Who heard me to deny it, or forswear it?
Mer. These ears of mine, thou knowest, did

hear thee:

Fie on thee, wretch! 'tis pity, that thou liv'st
To walk where any honest men resort.

Ant. S. Thou art a villain, to impeach me thus:
I'll prove mine honour, and mine honesty,
Against thee presently, if thou dar'st stand.
Mer. I dare, and do defy thee for a villain.
[They draw.
Enter Adriana, Luciana, Courtezan, and others.
Adr. Hold, hurt him not, for God's sake; he is
mad:-

Some get within him,2 take his sword away:
Bind Dromio too, and bear them to my house.
Dro. S. Run, master, run; for God's sake, take
a house.3

This is some priory ;-In, or we are spoil'd.
[Exeunt Ant. and Dro. to the priory.
(2) t. e. Close, grapple with him.

gage.

And in assemblies too.

Abb. Ay, but not enough.
Adr. It was the copy of our conference:
In bed, he slept not for my urging it:
At board, he fed not for my urging it:
Alone, it was the subject of my theme;
In company, I often glanced it;

Still did I tell him it was vile and bad.

Abb. And thereof came it, that the man was mad:
The venom clamours of a jealous woman
Poison more deadly than a mad dog's tooth.
It seems his sleeps were hindered by thy railing;
And thereof comes it that his head is light.
Thou say'st his meat was sauc'd with thy upbraid-
ings:

Unquiet meals make ill digestions,
Thereof the raging fire of fever bred;
And what's a fever but a fit of madness?
Thou say'st, his sports were hinder'd by thy brawls:
Sweet recreation barr'd, what doth ensue,
But moody and dull melancholy,
(Kinsman to grim and comfortless despair ;)
And, at her heels, a huge infectious troop
Of pale distemperatures, and foes to life?
In food, in sport, and life-preserving rest,
To be disturb'd, would mad or man, or beast;
The consequence is then, thy jealous fits
Have scared thy husband from the use of wits.

Luc. She never reprehended him but mildly, When he demeaned himself rough, rude, and wildly.

Why bear you these rebukes, and answer not?
Adr. She did betray me to my own reproof.-
Good people, enter, and lay hold on him.

Abb. No, not a creature enters in my house.
Adr. Then, let your servants bring my husband
forth.

Abb. Neither; he took this place for sanctuary,
And it shall privilege him from your hands,
Till I have brought him to his wits again,
Or lose my labour in assaying it.

Adr. I will attend my husband, be his nurse,
Diet his sickness, for it is my office,
And will have no attorney but myself;
(3) i. e. Go into a house

(4) Theme.

By rushing in their houses, bearing thence
Rings, jewels, any thing his rage did like.
Once did I get him bound, and sent him home,
Whilst to take orders for the wrongs I went,
That here and there his fury had committed.
Anon, I wot not by what strong escape,
He broke from those that had the guard of him;
And, with his mad attendant and himself,
Each one with ireful passion, with drawn swords,
Met us again, and, madly bent on us,
Chas'd us away; till raising of more aid,
We came again to bind them: then they fled
Into this abbey, whither we pursued them;
And here the abbess shuts the gates on us,
And will not suffer us to fetch him out,

Nor send 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.

(1) i. e. To bring him back to his senses.
(2) Part. (3) Sad. (4) Importunate.
(5) 1. e. To take measures.
(7) i. e. Successively, one after another.