-Strikes

him.

Ant. S. What, 'wilt thou flout me thus unto my face,
Being 'forbid? There, take you 'that, sir knave? [S
Dro. E. What mean you, sir? for peace' sake, hold your
hands!
[Exit E.

Nay, an you will not, sir, I'll take my 'heels.
Ant. S. Upon my life, by some device or other
The villain is o'er-raught of all my money.
They say, this town is full of cozenage;"
As nimble 'jugglers, that deceive the 'eye;
Dark-working 'sorcerers, that change the 'mind;
Soul-killing 'witches, that deform the 'body;
Disguised 'cheaters, prating 'mountebanks,
And 'many such-like libertines of sin:
If it 'prove so, I will be gone the sooner.
I'll to the "Centaur" to go seek this slave :
I greatly fear my money is not safe.

Exit Dro.

[Exit.

We proceed now to the house of Antipholus of Ephesus, (the elder son of Ægeon,) who had by this time become wealthy as a citizen ;) and we overhear a conversation between his wife Adriana, and her spinster sister Luciana:

Adr. Neither my husband nor the slave returned,

That, in such haste, I sent to 'seek his master!
Sure, Luciana, it is 'two o'clock.

Luc. Perhaps, some merchant hath invited him,
And from the Mart he's somewhere gone to dinner.
A 'man is master of his liberty:

Time is 'their master; and, when they see cause,
They'll go, or come: if so, be patient, sister.
Adr. Why should 'their liberty than ours be more?
Luc. Because their 'business still lies 'out-o'-door.
Adr. Look, when I serve 'him so, he takes it 'ill.
Luc. O, know he is the bridle of your will.
Adr. There's none but 'asses will be bridled so.
Luc. Why, 'headstrong liberty is leashed' with woe.
There's nothing situate under heaven's eye
But hath his 'bound,-in earth, in sea, in sky:
The beasts, the fishes, and the wingéd fowls,
Are their males' subjects, and at their controls.
'Men, more divine, the masters of all these,
Lords of the wide world, and wild watery seas,

*(over-reached) cheated out of.

bfraud under pretence of friendship.
O. R. thus.
gman.
h master.

CO. R. liberties.
dO. R. time.
fcoupled, like hounds in leash, (O. R. lasht.)

Are 'masters to their 'females, and their 'lords:
Then, let 'your will attend on 'their accords.
Adr. But, were 'you wedded, you would bear some sway?
Luc. Ere I learn 'love, I'll practise to 'obey.

Adr. How if your husband start some other where?
Luc. Till he come home again, I would forbear.

Adr. Patience unmoved! no marvel though she pause;"
'They can be meek, that have no 'other cause.
A wretched soul, bruised with adversity,
We bid "Be quiet," when we hear it cry;
But were 'we burdened with 'like weight of pain,
As much, or more, we should 'ourselves complain;
So thou, that hast 'no unkind mate to grieve thee,
With urging helpless 'patience wouldst relieve me:
But if thou live to see 'like right bereft,

No fool-begged patience in thee will be left.
Luc. Well, I will marry 'one day, but to 'try.-

Here comes your 'man.' Now is your 'husband nigh.

Dromio of Ephesus enters, and the vexed mistress inquires:

Adr. Say, is your tardy master now at-'hand?

Dro. E. Nay, he is at 'two hands with 'me; and that my two 'ears can witness.

Adr. Say, didst thou speak with him? Know'st thou his 'mind?

Dro. E. Ay, ay; he 'told his mind upon mine 'ear.

Beshrew his hand," I scarce could under-stand" it. Luc. Spake he so 'doubtfully, thou couldst not feel his 'meaning?

Dro. E. Nay, he struck so 'plainly, I could too well feel his 'blows.

Adr. But say, I pr'ythee, is he coming 'home?

Dro. E. Why, mistress, sure my master is stark' mad!
When I desired him to come home to dinner,

He asked me for a thousand marks in gold:

66

""T is dinner-time," quoth I; "My gold!" quoth he: "Your meat doth burn," quoth I; "My gold!" quoth he: "Where is the thousand marks I gave thee, villain?" "The pig," quoth I, "is burned;" "My gold!"quoth he: "My mistress, sir,"-quoth I; "Hang-up thy mistress! I know not thy mistress: 'out on thy mistress!"

Luc. Quoth who?

Dro. E. Quoth my master:

"I know," quoth he, "no house, no wife, no mistress!"
So that my errand, due unto my 'tongue,

I thank him, I bear home upon my 'shoulders;
For, in conclusion, he did 'beat me there.
Adr. Go back again, thou slave, and 'fetch him home.
Dro. E. Go back again, and be 'new-beaten home?
In mercy, send some other messenger.

Adr. Hence, prating peasant! 'fetch thy 'master 'home.
Dro. E. Am I so rounda with you, as you with me,

That, like a football, you do 'spurn me thus?

[Exit.

'You spurn me 'hence, and 'he will spurn me 'hither:
If I 'last in this service, you must case me in 'leather."
Luc. Fie, how impatience loureth in your face!
Adr. His company must do his 'minions grace,

Whilst 'I, at home, starve for a merry 'look.
Hath homely age the alluring beauty took
From 'my poor cheek? then 'he hath wasted it:
Are 'my discourses dull? barren my wit?
If voluble and sharp discourse be marred,
'Unkindness blunts it, more than marble hard.
Do 'their gay vestments his affections bait ?a
That's not 'my fault; he 's master of my state.
What ruins are in me, that can be found
By 'him not ruined? then is he the ground
Of my de-features. My decayed fair1
A 'sunny look of his would soon repair;
But, (too unruly deer!)" he breaks the pale,"
And feeds 'from home: poor I am but his 'stale.'
Luc. 'Self-harming jealousy -fie! beat it hence!
Adr. Unfeeling fools can with such wrongs dispense.
I know, his eye doth homage 'otherwhere,
Or else, what hinders but he would be here?
Sister, you know he promised me a chain:
'Would 'that alone, alone might him detain !k
Since that 'my beauty cannot please his eye,
I'll 'weep what's left away-and weeping, 'die.
Luc. How many fond fools serve' mad jealousy!

CO. R. lowereth.

[Exeunt.

b cover me with leather (make a foot-ball of me). e change of features loss of beauty). deer and dear.

a free of speech, open-mouthed.
d entice, allure.
g a quibble on
JO. R. what lets it.
I wait on, attend.

fbeauty, (fairness).

i pretended wife.

h boundary.

k O. R. a loue he would detaine.

Then the impatient Adriana determines to go herself, accompanied by her sister, in quest of this truant husband.

In the street, we see Antipholus of Syracuse sauntering cheerily along.

Ant. S. The gold I gave to Dromio is laid up

'Safe at the "Centaur; " and the heedful slave

Is wandered forth, in care to seek me out.
See, here he comes.

Dromio of Syracuse enters.

How now, sir? is your merry humour altered?
As you love strokes, so jest with 'me again.

You know 'no "Centaur"? You received no 'gold?
Your 'mistress sent to have me home to dinner?

My house was at the "Phoenix "?... Wast thou 'mad,
That thus, so madly, thou didst 'answer me?

Dro. S. 'What answer, sir? When spake I such a word?
Ant. S. Even now, even here; not half-an-hour since.
Dro. S. I did not see you since you sent me hence,

...

Home, to the "Centaur," with the gold you gave me. Ant. S. Villain! thou didst 'deny the gold's receipt,

And told'st me of a 'mistress, and a 'dinner;
For which, I hope, thou 'felt'st I was displeased.
Dro. S. I am glad to see you in this 'merry vein;

What 'means this jest? I pray you, master, tell me. Ant. S. Yea! dost thou jeer, and flout me in the teeth? Think'st thou, I 'jest? There,'-take thou that, and that!

[him.

Beating

Dro. S. Hold, sir, I pray you! 'now your jest is 'earnest : Upon what bargain do you give it 'me?

Ant. S. Because that I, familiarly, sometimes

Do use you for my Fool, and chat with you,
Your sauciness will jest upon my love,
And make a 'common of my 'serious hours.

When the sun shines, let foolish gnats make sport ;
But creep in crannies when he 'hides his beams.
If you 'will jest with me, then know my 'aspect ;*
And fashion your demeanour to my looks,

Or I will 'beat this method in your sconce.'

Dro. S. Sconce, call you it? so you would leave battering, I had rather have it a 'head: an you use these blows long, I must 'get a sconces for my head, and 'in-sconce

a blows.

bO. R hold. common property (open to every one). e appearance features). fhead. * protection. h fortify, surround (a sconce is, in military engineering, a round fortification).

dinserted word.

it too; or else I shall seek my wit in my 'shoulders. But, I pray, sir, 'why am I beaten?

Ant. S. Dost thou not 'know?

Dro. S. Nothing, sir, but that I'am beaten.

Ant. S. Shall I tell you why?

Dro. S. Ay, sir, and 'wherefore; for, they say, Every why 'hath a wherefore.

Ant. S. 'Why, first-for flouting me; and then, 'wherefore,

For urging it the 'second time to me.

Dro. S. Was there ever any man thus beaten out of season, When, 'in the "why," and the "wherefore," is neither rhyme nor reason?

Well, sir, . . . I thank you.

Ant. S. Thank me, sir? for what?

Dro. S. Marry, sir, for this 'something, that you gave me for 'nothing.

Ant. S. I'll make you 'amends, next time, to give you 'nothing for something. But say, sir, is it 'dinner-time? Dro. S. No, sir: I think, the meat wants that 'I have-basting.

Ant. S. Well, sir, learn to jest in good time!—

This conversation is interrupted by the approach of Luciana and her angry sister Adriana, who both mistake the young stranger Antipholus of Syracuse, for the absent husband Antipholus of Ephesus. He listens in amazement to their invectives, which, of course, the wife begins:

Adr.... Ay, ay, Antipholus! look strange and frown!
Some 'other mistress hath thy 'sweeter" aspects;

I am not Adriana, nor thy 'wife!

The time was once, when thou, unurged, wouldst vow-
That never words were music to thine 'ear,

That never object pleasing in thine 'eye,

That never touch well-welcome to thy 'hand,

That never meat sweet-savoured in thy 'taste,

Unless 'I spake, or looked, or touched, or carved to
thee.

How comes it 'now, my husband, O, how comes it,
That thou art thus estranged" e'en from thyself?...
Ah, do not tear away thyself from me!

For know, my love, as easy may'st thou fall

A drop of water in the breakinge gulf,