Gra. Signior Bassanio,

Bas. Gratiano!

Gra. I have a suit to you.

Ba's.

You have obtained it.

Gra. You must not deny me: I must go with you to Belmont.

Bas. Why, then you must.-But hear thee, Gratiano; Thou art too wild, too rude, and bold of voice;

Parts, that become thee happily enough,

And in such eyes as ours appear not faults;

But, where they are not known, why, there they show
Something too liberal:"-pray thee take pain

To allay with some cold drops of modesty

Thy skipping spirit; lest, through thy wild behaviour,
I be misconstrued in the place I go to,

And lose my hopes.

Gra.

Signior Bassanio, hear me : If I do not put on a sober habit,

15

Talk with respect, and swear but now and then,
Wear prayer-books in my pocket, look demurely;
Nay more, while grace is saying, hood mine eyes15
Thus with my hat, and sigh, and say amen;
Use all the observance of civility,

Like one well studied in a sad ostent;"

16

To please his grandam,-never trust me more.

Bas. Well, we shall see your bearing."

Gra. Nay, but I bar to-night; you shall not gage me By what we do to-night.

Bas.

No, that were pity;

I would entreat you rather to put on

Your boldest suit of mirth, for we have friends

14

something too liberal:-] Gross or coarse.

15 hood mine eyes] Alluding to the manner of covering a hawk's eyes.

18-sad ostent;] Grave appearance-show of staid and serious behaviour. Ostent is a word very commonly used for show among the old dramatic writers.

17 —we shall see your bearing.] Bearing is carriage-deportment.

That

purpose merriment: But fare you well,

I have some business.

Gra. And I must to Lorenzo and the rest; But we will visit you at supper time.

[Exeunt.

Enter JESSICA and LAUNCELOT from SHYLOCK's house.

Jes. I am sorry thou wilt leave my father so;
Our house is hell, and thou, a merry devil,
Didst rob it of some taste of tediousness:
But fare thee well: there is a ducat for thee;
And, Launcelot, soon at supper shalt thou see
Lorenzo, who is thy new master's guest:
Give him this letter; do it secretly,

And so farewell; I would not have my father
See me in talk with thee.

Lau. Adieu!-Tears exhibit my tongue. Most beautiful

pagan, most sweet Jew!

Adieu! these foolish drops do

[Exit.

somewhat drown my manly spirit: adieu.

Jes. Farewell, good Launcelot.

Alack, what heinous sin is it in me,
To be asham'd to be my father's child!
But though I am a daughter to his blood,

I am not to his manners: O Lorenzo,

If thou keep promise, I shall end this strife;

Become a Christian, and thy loving wife. [Exit into house.

Enter GRATIANO, LORENZO, SALARINO, and SALANIO.

Lor. Nay, we will slink away in supper time; Disguise us at my lodging, and return

All in an hour.

Gra. We have not made good preparation.

Salar. We have not spoke us yet of torch-bearers.18
Sal. 'Tis vile, unless it may be quaintly order'd;

And better, in my mind, not undertook.

Lor. 'Tis now but four o'clock; we have two hours

To furnish us.― ·

18 We have not spoke us yet of torch-bearers.] Id est, we have not yet bespoken the torch-bearers.

c 2

Enter LAUNCELOT with a letter.

Friend Launcelot, what's the news?

19

Lau. An it shall please you to break up this, it shall

seem to signify.

Lor. I know the hand: in faith, 'tis a fair hand;

And whiter than the paper it writ on

Is the fair hand that writ.

Gra.

Love-news, in faith.

Lau. By your leave, sir.

Lor. Whither goest thou?

Lau. Marry, sir, to bid my old master the Jew to sup tonight with my new master the Christian.

Lor. Hold here, take this:-tell gentle Jessica,

I will not fail her ;-speak it privately; go.
Gentlemen,
Will you prepare you for this masque to-night?
I am provided of a torch-bearer.

[Exit LAUNCELOT into house.

Salar. Ay, marry, I'll be gone about it straight.
Sal. And so will I.

Lor.

Meet me and Gratiano

At Gratiano's lodging some hour hence.
Salar. 'Tis good we do so.

[Exeunt SALARINO and SALANIO.

Gra. Was not that letter from fair Jessica?

Lor. I must needs tell thee all: She hath directed
How I shall take her from her father's house;
What gold and jewels she is furnish'd with ;

Come, go with me; peruse this as thou goest:
Fair Jessica shall be my
torch-bearer.

[Exeunt.

Enter SHYLOCK and LAUNCELOT from House.

Shy. Well, thou shalt see, thy eyes shall be thy judge, The difference of old Shylock and Bassanio:

What, Jessica!-thou shalt not gormandize,

As thou hast done with me:-What, Jessica!—
And sleep and snore, and rend apparel out;-
Why, Jessica, I say!

19

-to break up this,] To break up was a term in carving.

Lau.

Why, Jessica!

6

Shy. Who bids thee call? I do not bid thee call, Lau. Your worship was wont to tell me I could do nothing without bidding.

Enter JESSICA.

Jes. Call you? What is your will?

Shy, I am bid forth to supper,20 Jessica;

There are my keys :-But wherefore should I go?
I am not bid for love: they flatter me:

But yet I'll go in hate, to feed upon

The prodigal Christian :-Jessica, my girl,
Look to my house :-I am right loath to go;
There is some ill a brewing towards my rest,
For I did dream of money-bags to night.

Lau. I beseech you, sir, go; my young master doth expect your reproach.

Shy. So do I his.

Lau. And they have conspired together,-I will not say, you shall see a masque; but if you do, then it was not for nothing that my nose fell a bleeding on Black Monday (B) last, at six o'clock i'the morning, falling out that year on Ash-Wednesday was four year in the afternoon.

Shy. What! are there masques? Hear you me, Jessica : Lock up my doors; and when you hear the drum, And the vile squeaking of the wry-neck'd fife,23 Clamber not you up to the casements then, Nor thrust your head into the public street, To gaze on Christian fools with varnish'd faces : But stop my house's ears, I mean my casements;

20 I am bid forth to supper,] I am invited. To bid, in old language, meant to pray.

21 to feed upon the prodigal Christian:] The poet here means to heighten the malignity of Shylock's character, by making him depart from his settled resolve, of "neither to eat, drink nor pray with Christians," for the prosecution of his revenge.

22

nose fell a bleeding] Some superstitious belief was annexed to the accident of bleeding at the nose.

23

wry-neck'd fife,] The upper part or mouth-piece, resembling the beak of a bird.

Let not the sound of shallow foppery enter
My sober house, By Jacob's staff I swear,
I have no mind of feasting forth to-night:
But I will go.-Go you before me, sirrah;
Say, I will come.
Lau.
I will go before, Sir.-
Mistress, look out at window, for all this;
There will come a Christian by,
Will be worth a Jewess' eye."

24 [Exit LAUNCELOT.

Shy. What says that fool of Hagar's offspring, ha? Jes. His words were, Farewell, mistress; nothing else. Shy. The patch is kind enough, but a huge feeder, Snail-slow in profit, and he sleeps by day

25

More than the wild cat: drones hive not with me,
Therefore I part with him; and part with him

To one that I would have him,help to waste

His borrow'd purse.-Well, Jessica, go in ;
Perhaps, I will return immediately;

Do as I bid you,

Shut doors after you: Fast bind, fast find;
A proverb never stale in thrifty mind.

Jes. Farewell; and if my fortune be not crost,

I have a father, you a daughter, lost.

[Exrt.

[Exit into house.

Enter GRATIANO and SALARINO, masqued.

Gra. This is the pent-house, under which Lorenzo Desir'd us to make stand.

Sal.

His hour is almost past.

Gra. And it is marvel he out-dwells his hour,

For lovers ever run before the clock.

Sal. O, ten times faster Venus' pigeons fly

To seal love's bonds new made, than they are wont

To keep obliged faith unforfeited!

Gra. That ever holds: who riseth from a feast,

With that keen appetite that he sits down?

24

worth a Jewess' eye.] It's worth a Jews' eye is a proverbial phrase.

25 The patch is kind enough;] Patch is the name of a Fool, probably in allusion to his patch'd or party colored dress.