r to your grace; whom I beseech
he ample satisfaction
deep shames, and great indignities.
1, in truth, thus far I witness with him,
in'd not at home, but was lock'd out.
ad he such a chain of thee, or no?
, my lord; and when he ran in here,
ple saw the chain about his neck.
s, I will be sworn, these ears of mine
1 confess you had the chain of him,
first forswore it on the mart,
eupon, I drew my sword on you;
you fled into this abbey here,
ence, I think, you are come by miracle.
ver came within these abbey walls,
didst thou draw thy sword on me;
w the chain so help me heaven
false you burthen me withal a.
what an intricate impeach is this!
ɔu all have drunk of Circe's cup.
ou hous'd him, here he would have been:
e mad, he would not plead so coldly:
e din'd at home; the goldsmith here
at saying-Sirrah, what say you?
he din'd with her there, at the Porpentine.
1; and from my finger snatch'd that ring.
true, my liege, this ring I had of her.
thou him enter at the abbey here?
-e, my liege, as I do see your grace.
this is strange-Go call the abbess hither; ou are all mated, or stark mad.
nighty duke, vouchsafe me speak a word;
see a friend will save my life,
he sum that may deliver me.
freely, Syracusan, what thou wilt.
your name, sir, call'd Antipholus?
t that your bondman Dromio?
hin this hour I was his bondman, sir,
thank him, gnaw'd in two my cords:
part of the scene Adriana says,
As this is false he burthens me withal."
to print, and we fell into the error,
"I never saw the chain, so help me heaven!
And this is false," &c.
Now am I Dromio, and his man, unbound.
ÆGE. I am sure you both of you remember me.
DRO. E. Ourselves we do remember, sir, by you;
For lately we were bound, as you are now.
You are not Pinch's patient, are you, sir?
EGE. Why look you strange on me? you know me well.
ANT. E. I never saw you in my life, till now.
EGE. Oh! grief hath chang'd me, since you saw me last;
And careful hours, with Time's deformed hand,
Have written strange defeatures in my face:
But tell me yet, dost thou not know my voice?
ANT. E. Neither.
DRO. E. Ay, sir? but I am sure I do not; and whatsoever a man denies you
are bound to believe him.
EGE. Not know my voice! O, time's extremity!
Hast thou so crack'd and splitted my poor tongue,
In seven short years, that here my only son
Knows not my feeble key of untun'd cares?
Though now this grained face of mine be hid
In sap-consuming winter's drizzled snow,
And all the conduits of my blood froze up,
Yet hath my night of life some memory,
My wasting lamps some fading glimmer left,
My dull deaf ears a little use to hear :
All these old witnesses (I cannot err)
Tell me, thou art my son Antipholus.
ANT. E. I never saw my father in my life.
EGE. But seven years since, in Syracusa, boy,
Thou know'st we parted: but, perhaps, my son,
Thou sham'st to acknowledge me in misery.
ANT. E. The duke, and all that know me in the city,
Can witness with me that it is not so;
I ne'er saw Syracusa in my life.
DUKE. I tell thee, Syracusan, twenty years.
Have I been patron to Antipholus,
During which time he ne'er saw Syracusa :
I see, thy age and dangers make thee dote.
Enter the ABBESS, with ANTIPHOLUS of Syracuse, and DROMIO of Syracuse.
ABB. Most mighty duke, behold a man much wrong'd.
ADR. I see two husbands, or mine eyes deceive me.
DUKE. One of these men is genius to the other;
And so of these: Which is the natural man,
And which the spirit? Who deciphers them?
DRO. S. I, sir, am Dromio; command him away.
DRO. E. I, sir, am Dromio; pray, let me stay.
ANT. S. Ægeon, art thou not? or else his ghost?
DRO. S. O, my old master, who hath bound him here?
ABB. Whoever bound him, I will loose his bonds,
And gain a husband by his liberty:
Speak, old Ægeon, if thou be'st the man
That hadst a wife once called Æmilia,
That bore thee at a burthen two fair sons:
O, if thou be'st the same Egeon, speak,
And speak unto the same Emilia !
ÆGE. If I dream not, thou art Æmilia:
If thou art she, tell me, where is that son
That floated with thee on the fatal raft?
ABB. By men of Epidamnum, he, and I,
And the twin Dromio, all were taken up :
But, by and by, rude fishermen of Corinth
By force took Dromio and my son from them,
And me they left with those of Epidamnum :
What then became of them I cannot tell;
I, to this fortune that you see me in.
DUKE. Why, here begins his morning story right.
These two Antipholus', these two so like,
And these two Dromios, one in semblance,-
Besides her urging of her wrack at sea,-
These are the parents to these children,
Which accidentally are met together a.
Antipholus, thou cam'st from Corinth first?
ANT. S. No, sir, not I; I came from Syracuse.
DUKE. Stay, stand apart; I know not which is which.
ANT. E. I came from Corinth, my most gracious lord.
DRO. E. And I with him.
ANT. E. Brought to this town by that famous warrior
Duke Menaphon, your most renowned uncle.
ADR. Which of you two did dine with me to-day?
ANT. S. I, gentle mistress.
And are not you my husband?
ANT. E. No, I say nay to that.
ANT. S. And so do I, yet did she call me so ;
And this fair gentlewoman, her sister here,
In the original these six lines of the Duke's speech follow the line spoken by the Abbess
"And speak unto the same Æmilia.”
The transposition, which was made by Malone, is necessary to the sense.
Did call me brother :-What I told you then,
I hope I shall have leisure to make good;
If this be not a dream I see and hear.
ANG. That is the chain, sir, which you had of me.
ANT. S. I think it be, sir; I deny it not.
ANT. E. And you, sir, for this chain arrested me.
ANG. I think I did, sir; I deny it not.
ADR. I sent you money, sir, to be your bail,
By Dromio; but I think he brought it not.
DRO. E. No, none by me.
ANT. S. This purse of ducats I receiv'd from you,
And Dromio my man did bring them me:
I see, we still did meet each other's man,
And I was ta'en for him, and he for me,
And thereupon these Errors are arose.
ANT. E. These ducats pawn I for my father here.
DUKE. It shall not need; thy father hath his life.
COUR. Sir, I must have that diamond from you.
ANT. E. There, take it; and much thanks for my good cheer.
ABB. Renowned duke, vouchsafe to take the pains
To go with us into the abbey here,
And hear at large discoursed all our fortunes:
And all that are assembled in this place,
That by this sympathized one day's error
Have suffer'd wrong, go, keep us company,
And we shall make full satisfaction.
Twenty-five years have I but gone in travail
Of you, my sons; nor, till this present hour,
My heavy burdens are delivered a :
The duke, my husband, and my children both,
And you the calendars of their nativity,
Go to a gossip's feast, and go with me;
After so long grief, such nativity!
DUKE. With all my heart, I 'll gossip at this feast.
[Exeunt DUKE, Abbess, EGEON, Courtezan, Merchant, ANGELO, and Attendants.
DRO. S. Master, shall I fetch your stuff from shipboard ?
"The passage in the original stands thus:
Thirty-three years have I but gone in travail
Of you, my sons, and till this present hour
My heavy burthen are delivered."
Theobald altered the number to twenty-five. In the first scene, Ægeon says, that at eighteen years his youngest boy became inquisitive after his brother: and when he supposes that he recognises this son, in the last scene, he says, "but seven years since" we parted. Mr. Dyce recommends and to be retained instead of nor, and instead of are to substitute ne'er. Either reading gives the sense, which has been obscured by a typographical mistake of one or the other word.
ANT. E. Dromio, what stuff of mine hast thou embark'd?
DRO. S. Your goods, that lay at host, sir, in the Centaur.
ANT. S. He speaks to me; I am your master, Dromio:
Come, go with us; we 'll look to that anon:
Embrace thy brother there, rejoice with him.
[Exeunt ANT. S. and E., ADR. and Luc.
DRO. S. There is a fat friend at your master's house,
That kitchen'd me for you to-day at dinner;
She now shall be my sister,
DRO. E. Methinks, you are my glass, and not my brother:
I see, by you, I am a sweet-faced youth.
Will you walk in to see their gossiping?
DRO. S. Not I, sir; you are my elder.
DRO. E. That's a question: how shall we try it?
DRO. S. We will draw cuts for the senior: till then, lead thou first.
DRO. E. Nay, then thus:
We came into the world like brother and brother:
And now let's go hand in hand, not one before another.
|
