Enter Basanio, Antbonio, Gratiano, and their followers.

Bal. We should hold day * with the Antipodes, If you would walk in absence of the sun.

Por. Let me give light, but let me not be light ; For a light wife doth make a heavy husband, And never be Bassanio fo for me ; But, God fort all !-You are welcome home, my lord.

Bal. I thank you, madam: give welcome to my friend.This is the man, this is Anthonio, To whom I am so infinitely bound.

Por. You should in all sense be much bound to him, For, as I hear, he was much bound for you.

Anth. No more than I am well acquitted of.

Por. Sir, you are very welcome to our house : It must appear in other ways than words, Therefore I scant'this breathing courtesy.

[Gratiano and Nerisa seem to talk apart. Gra. By yonder moon, I swear, you do me wrong; In faith, I gave it the judge's clerk : Would he were gelt that had it, for my part, Since you do take it, love, so much at heart.

Por. A quarrel, ho, already ? what's the matter?

Gra. About a hoop of gold, a paltry ring
That she did give me ; whose poesy was
For all the world, like cutler's

poetry Upon a knife, Love me, and leave me not.

Ner. What talk you of the poesy, or the value ?
You swore to me, when I did give it you,
That you would wear it till your hour of death;
And that it should lie with

you

in

your grave :

ke with the Antipodes,]-as they do now.

bis breathing]-verbal, these professions of.

Though

Though not for me, yet for your vehement oaths,
You should have been respective, and have kept it.
Gave it a judge's clerk !--but well I know,
The clerk will ne'er wear hair on his face that had it.

Gra. He will, an if he live to be a man.
Ner. Ay, if a woman live to be a man.

Gra. Now, by this hand, I gave it to a youth,
A kind of boy; a little " scrubbed boy,
No higher than thyself, the judge's clerk ;
A prating boy, that begg’d it as a fee ;
I could not for my heart deny it him.

Por. You were to blame, I must be plain with you,
Το
part so Nightly with your

wife's first gift;
A thing stuck on with oaths upon your finger,
And riveted with faith unto your flesh.
I gave my love a ring, and made him swear
Never to part with it; and here he stands :
I dare be sworn for him, he would not leave it,
Nor pluck it from his finger, for the wealth
That the world masters. Now, in faith, Gratiano,
You give your wife too unkind a cause of grief ;
An 'twere to me, I should be mad at it.

Ball. Why, I were best to cut my left hand off,
And swear, I lost the ring defending it.

[Afide.
Gra. My lord Bassanio gave his ring away
Unto the judge that begg’d it, and, indeed,
Deserv'd it too ; and then the boy, his clerk,
That took some pains in writing, he begg’d mine :
And neither man, nor master, would take aught
But the two rings.

Por. What ring gave you, my lord ?
Not that, I hope, which you receivd of me.

.

repeative, ]-regardful, careful. * scrubbed] Sorry, worthless ; Aubbed, itunted,

Bal.

Baf. If I could add a lye unto a fault,
I would deny it, but you see, my finger
Hath not the ring upon it, it is gone.

Por. Even fo void is your false heart of truth.
By heaven, I will ne'er come in your bed
Until I see the ring.

Ner. Nor I in yours, 'Till I again see mine.

Bal. Sweet Portia,
If you did know to whom I gave the ring,
If you did know for whom I gave the ring,
And would conceive for what I gave the ring,
And how unwillingly I left the ring,
When nought would be accepted but the ring,
You would abate the strength of your displeasure.

Por. If you had known the virtue of the ring,
Or half her worthiness that gave the ring,
Or your own honour to o retain the ring,
You would not then have parted with the ring.
What man is there so much unreasonable,
If

you had pleas'd to have defended it
With any terms of zeal, P wanted the modesty
To urge the thing held as a ceremony?
Neriffa teaches me what to believe ;
I'll die for't, but some woman had the ring.

Bas. No, by mine honour, madam, by my soul,
No woman had it, but a civil doctor,
Who did refuse three thousand ducats of me,
And begg’d the ring; the which I did deny him,
And suffer'd him to go displeas'd away ;
Even he that had held

up
the

very life

contain, P wanted the modefty &c.]—wanted modesty so much, as to press you for a thing, kept on lo folemn an account.

of

Of

my dear friend. What should I say, sweet lady?
I was enforc'd to send it after him ;
I was beset with shame and courtesy ;
My honour would not let ingratitude
So much besmear it : Pardon me, good lady s
For, by these blessed 9 candles of the night,
Had

you been there, I think, you would have begg’d The ring of me to give the worthy doctor.

Por. Let not that doctor e'er come near my house:
Since he hath got the jewel that I lov’d,
And that which you did swear to keep for me,
I will become as liberal as you;
I'll not deny him any thing I have,
No, not my body, nor my husband's bed :
Know him I shall, I am well sure of it:
Lie not a night from home ; watch me, like Argus :
If
you
do

not, if I be left alone,
Now, by mine honour, which is yet my own,
I'll have that doctor for my bed--fellow.

Ner. And I his clerk; therefore be well advis’d, How you

do leave me to mine own protection.
Gra. Well, do you so: let me not take him then ;
For, if I do, I'll mar the young clerk's pen.

Antb. I am the unhappy subject of these quarrels.
Por. Sir, grieve not you ; You are welcome notwith-

standing
Bas. Portia, forgive me this ' enforced wrong;
And, in the hearing of these many friends,
I swear to thee, even by thine own fair eyes,

9 candles of the night,)-
Night's candles are burnt out.”

Romeo AND JULIET, Ac III, S. 5. Rom, “ As those gold candles fix'd in heaven's air.”

POEMS, 598. enforced wrong ; ]-that I was constrain’d to commit.

Wherein

Wherein I see myself,
Por. Mark

you

but that!
In both mine eyes he doubly fees himself:
In each eye, one :- {wear by your double self,
And there's an oath of credit.

Bas. Nay, but hear me:
Pardon this fault, and by my soul I swear,
I never more will break an oath with thee.

Anth. I once did lend my body for his wealth ;
Which, but for him that had your husband's ring,

[To Portina Had quite miscarry'd: I dare be bound again, My soul upon the forfeit, that your lord Will never more break faith "advisedly.

Por. Then you shall be his surety : Give him this; And bid him keep it better than the other.

Anth. Here, lord Bassanio; swear to keep this ring. Bal. By heaven, it is the same I gave the doctor.

Por. I had it of him : pardon me, Bassanio ; For by this ring the doctor lay with me.

Ner. And pardon me, my gentle Gratiano;
For that same scrubbed boy, the doctor's clerk,
In lieu of this, last night did lie with me.

Gra. Why, this is like the mending of high-ways
In summer, where the ways are fair enough:
What! are we cuckolds, ere we have deserv'd it?

Por. Speak not so grossly,—You are all amaz’d:
Here is a letter, read it at your leisure ;
It comes from Padua, from Bellario :
There

you

shall find, that Portia was the doctor ; Nerissa there, her clerk: Lorenzo here

double-false, full of duplicity. I wealth ; ]-advantage, welfare, happiness. u advijidly.]-knowingly,

Shall