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 To allay with some cold drops of modesty Thy skipping spirit; lest, through thy wild behaviour, 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, 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; And so farewell; I would not have my father 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, 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 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. [Exit LAUNCELOT into house. Salar. Ay, marry, I'll be gone about it straight. Lor. Meet me and Gratiano At Gratiano's lodging some hour hence. [Exeunt SALARINO and SALANIO. Gra. Was not that letter from fair Jessica? Lor. I must needs tell thee all: She hath directed Come, go with me; peruse this as thou goest: [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!— 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? But yet I'll go in hate, to feed upon The prodigal Christian :-Jessica, my girl, 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 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, To one that I would have him,help to waste His borrow'd purse.-Well, Jessica, go in ; Do as I bid you, Shut doors after you: Fast bind, fast find; 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. |