SCENE II.

The Mart.

Enter ANTIPHOLIS OF SYRACUSE, DROMIO OF
SYRACUSE, and CLEON.

Cleon. Therefore, give out you are of Epidam

num,

Lest that your goods be forfeit to the state.
This very day, a Syracusan merchant
Is apprehended for arrival here;

And, not being able to buy out his life,
Dies ere the weary sun sets in the west.-
There is your money, which I had to keep.

Ant. of Syr. Go, bear it to the Centaur, where we host,

And stay there, Dromio, till I come to thee.
Within this hour it will be dinner-time;
Till then I'll view the manners of the town,
Peruse the traders, gaze upon the buildings,
And then return, and sleep within mine inn;
For, with long travel, I am sick and weary.
Get thee away

!

Dro. of Syr. Many a man would take you at your word,

And go away, indeed, having so great

A treasure in his charge.-Of what strength do
You conceive my honesty, good master,

That you dare put it to such temptation?

Ant. of Syr. Of proof against a greater charge than this:

B

Were it remiss, thy love would strengthen it :

I think thou would'st not wrong me if thou could'st. Dro. of Syr. I hope I should not, sir; but there is such

A thing as trusting too far.-Odds heart! 'tis
A weighty matter, and, if balanced in

A steelyard against my honesty,

I doubt

Ant. of Syr. That very doubt is my security.No further argument, but speed away.

Dro. of Syr. Ay, but master, you know the old saying

Ant. of Syr. Then thou hast no occasion to tell it

me.

Begone, I say.

[Exit DROMIO OF SYRACUSE

A trusty villain, sir, that very oft,
When I am dull with care and melancholy,
Lightens my humour, with his merry jests.→→→→
What, will you walk with me about the town,
And then go to the inn, and dine with me?
Cleon. I am invited, sir, to certain merchants,
Of whom I hope to make much benefit.
I crave your pardon-but, at five o'clock,
Please
I'll meet you
you,
the mart,
And afterwards consort with you till bed-time.
My present business calls me from you now.

here

upon

Ant. of Syr. Farewell till then.-I will go lose my-
self,

And wander up and down to view the city.
Cleon. Sir, I commend y

1

"you to your own content. (Exit CLEON.

Ant. of Syr. He, that commends me to my own

content,

Commends me to the thing I cannot get.
I, to the world, am like a drop of water,
That in the ocean seeks another drop;
Who, failing there to find his fellow out,
Unseen, inquisitive, confounds himself:

So I, to find a mother, and a brother,

In search of them, unhappy, lose myself.

Enter DROMIO OF EPHESUS.

How now! How chance thou art return'd so soon? Dro. of Eph. Return'd so soon! Rather approach'd too late

The capon burns, the pig falls from the spit,
The clock hath strucken twelve upon the bell,
My mistress made it one upon my
cheek

She is so hot, because the meat is cold,

The meat is cold, because you come not home,
You come not home, because you have no stomach,
You have no stomach, having broke your
fast;

But we, that know what 'tis to fast and pray,
Are penitent for your default to-day.

Ant. of Syr. Stop in your wind, sir;—tell me this,
I pray,

Where have you left the money, that I gave you? Dro. of Eph. Money!-Oh, the money that I had on

Wednesday last, to pay for mending my

Mistress's saddle. The saddler had it, sir;
I kept it not.

Ant. of Syr. I am not in a sportive humour now;
Tell me, and dally not-where is the money?
We being strangers here, how dar'st thou trust
So great a charge from thine own custody?

Dro. of Eph. I pray you, jest, sir, as you sit at dinner

I, from my mistress, come to you in haste. Methinks your stomach, like mine, should be your clock,

And send you home without a messenger.

Ant. of Syr. Come, Dromio, come, these jests are out of season;

Reserve them till a merrier hour than this.-
Where is the gold I gave in charge to thee?
Dro. of Eph. To me, sir!-Why, you gave no gold

to me!

Ant. of Syr. Come, come, have done your foolish

ness,

And tell me how thou hast disposed my charge.
Dro. of Eph. My charge was but to fetch you from
the mart,

Home to your house, the Phoenix, sir, to dinner;
My mistress and her sister stay for you.

Ant. of Syr. Now, as I am a Christian, answer me,
In what safe place you have bestow'd my money;
Or I shall break that merry sconce of yours,
That stands on tricks when I am undisposed.
Where are the thousand marks thou had'st of me?
Dro. of Eph. I have some marks of yours upon my

pate, Some of my mistress' marks upon my shoulders; Between you both, they make, perhaps, a thousand: If I should pay your worship these again, Perchance you will not take it patiently.

Ant. of Syr. Thy mistress' marks!-What mis. tress, slave, hast thou?

Dro. of Eph. Your worship's wife, my mistress, at the Phoenix,

She, that doth fast till you come home to dinner,
And
will haste you.

that prays

you

Ant. of Syr. What, wilt thou flout me thus unto my face,

Being forbid?-There, take you that, sir knave! Dro. of Eph. What mean you, sir?-for Heaven's sake, hold your hands

Nay, an you will not, sir, I'll take my heels. [Exit. Ant. of Syr. Upon my life, by some device or other,

The villain has been trick'd of all my money.

They say, this town is full of cozenage;
If it prove so, I will be gone the sooner.
Misguided by my hopes, in doubt I stray,
To seek what I, perchance, may never find.
May not the cruel hand of destiny,

Ere this, have render'd all my searches vain?
If so, how wretched has my folly made me !
In luckless hour, alas! I left my home,
And the fond comforts of a father's love,
That only bliss my fortune had in store,
For dubious pleasures on a foreign shore.

[Exit.

ACT THE SECOND.

SCENE I.

▲ Chamber in Antipholis oF EPHESUS's House.

Enter ADRIANA and LUCIANA.

Adr. Neither my husband, nor the slave return'd, That, in such haste, I sent to seek his master? Sure, Luciana, it is two o'clock.

Luc. Perhaps some merchant has invited him, And, from the mart, he's somewhere gone to dinner. Good sister, let us dine, and never fret;

A man is master of his liberty,

Will come, or go-therefore, be patient, sister.
Adr. Why should their liberty be more than ours?
Luc. Because their bus'ness still lies out of door.
Adr. Look, when I serve him so, he takes it ill.
Luc. He is the bridle of your actions, sister.