Luc. She never reprehended him but mildly, When he demean'd himself rough, rude, and wildly. Why bear you these rebukes, and answer not? Adr. She did betray me to my own reproof.Good people, enter, and lay hold on him. Abb. No; not a creature enters in my house. Adr. Then, let your servants bring my husband forth. : Abb. Neither he took this place for sanctuary, Adr. I will attend my husband, be his nurse, And therefore let me have him home with me. It is a branch and parcel of mine oath, A charitable duty of my order; Therefore depart, and leave him here with me. 45 Adr. I will not hence, and leave my husband here; And ill it doth beseem your holiness To separate the husband and the wife. Abb. Be quiet, and depart: thou shalt not have him. [Exit Abbess. Luc. Complain unto the duke of this indignity. Adr. Come, go: I will fall prostrate at his feet, And never rise until my tears and prayers Have won his grace to come in person hither, And take perforce my husband from the abbess. Mer. By this, I think, the dial points at five: Anon, I'm sure, the duke himself in person Comes this way to the melancholy vale, The place of death and sorry execution, Behind the ditches of the abbey here. Ang. Upon what cause? Mer. To see a reverend Syracusian merchant, Who put unluckily into this bay Against the laws and statutes of this town, Ang. See, where they come: we will behold his death. Luc. Kneel to the duke before he pass the abbey. 29 Enter DUKE attended; ÆGEON bare-headed; with the Headsman and other Officers. Duke. Yet once again proclaim it publicly, Adr. Justice, most sacred duke, against the abbess! Duke. She is a virtuous and a reverend lady: Whom I made lord of me, and all I had, By rushing in their houses, bearing thence Nor send him forth, that we may bear him hence. Duke. Long since thy husband serv'd me in my wars, And I to thee engag'd a prince's word, I will determine this, before I stir. Enter a Servant. Serv. O mistress, mistress! shift and save yourself. My master and his man are both broke loose, And ever as it blazed they threw on him Adr. Peace, fool! thy master and his man are here: And that is false, thou dost report to us. Serv. Mistress, upon my life, I tell you true ; I have not breath'd almost, since I did see it. He cries for you, and vows, if he can take you, To scorch your face, and to disfigure you. [Cry within. Hark, hark, I hear him, mistress: fly, be gone. Duke. Come, stand by me; fear nothing. Guard with halberds! Adr. Ah me, it is my husband! Witness you, That he is borne about invisible: Even for the service that long since I did thee, I see my son Antipholus, and Dromio! Ant. E. Justice, sweet prince, against that woman there! She whom thou gav'st to me to be my wife That she this day hath shameless thrown on me. In this the madman justly chargeth them. Ant. E. My liege, I am advised what I say; I did obey, and sent my peasant home To go in person with me to my house. My wife, her sister, and a rabble more A thread-bare juggler, and a fortune-teller, There left me and my man, both bound together; For these deep shames, and great indignities. That he din'd not at home, but was lock'd out. Duke. But had he such a chain of thee, or no? Ang. He had, my lord; and when he ran in here, These people saw the chain about his neck. Mer. Besides, I will be sworn, these ears of mine Heard you confess you had the chain of him, After you first forswore it on the mart, And, thereupon, I drew my sword on you; And then you fled into this abbey here, From whence, I think, you are come by miracle. Ant. E. I never came within these abbey walls, Nor ever did'st thou draw thy sword on me. I never saw the chain, so help me heaven! And this is false you burden me withal. Duke. Why, what an intricate impeach is this! I think, you all have drank of Circe's cup. If here you hous'd him, here he would have been; If he were mad, he would not plead so coldly :You say, he dined at home; the goldsmith here Denies that saying.-Sirrah, what say you? Dro. E. Sir, he dined with her, there, at the Porcupine. Cour. He did, and from my finger snatch'd that ring. Ant. E. 'Tis true, my liege; this ring I had of her. Duke. Saw'st thou him enter at the abbey here? Cour. As sure, my liege, as I do see your grace. Duke. Why, this is strange.-Go call the abbess hither. I think you are all mated, or stark mad. [Exit an Attendant. Ege. Most mighty duke, vouchsafe me speak a word. Haply, I see a friend will save my life, Duke. Speak freely, Syracusian, what thou wilt. Ege. Is not your name, sir, call'd Antipholus, And is not that your bondman Dromio? Dro. E. Within this hour I was his bondman, sir; But he, I thank him, gnaw'd in two my cords: Ege. I am sure you both of you remember me. Ant. E. I never saw you in my life, till now. Ege. O! grief hath chang'd me, since you saw me last; And careful hours, with time's deformed hand, Ege. Dromio, nor thou? Dro. E. No, trust me, sir, nor I. Æge. I am sure thou dost. Dro. E. Ay, sir; but I am sure I do not; and whatsoever a man denies, you are now bound to believe him. Ege. Not know my voice? O, time's extremity! Hast thou so crack'd and splitted my poor tongue 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, Syracusian, 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 Abbess, with ANTIPHOLUS of Syracuse, and DROMIO of Syracuse. Abb. Most mighty duke, behold a man much wrong'd. [All gather to see them. 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. Egeon, 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 Emilia, That bore thee at a burden two fair sons. O! if thou be'st the same Egeon, speak, And speak unto the same Emilia ! Ege. If I dream not, thou art Æmilia. Abb. By men of Epidamnum, he, and I, Duke. Why, here begins his morning story right. 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 most famous warrior, Duke Menaphon, your most renowned uncle. Adr. Which of you two did dine with me to-day? Adr. And are not you my husband? Ant. S. And so do I, yet did she call me so; me. 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 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 received 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; 32 My heavy burden ne'er delivered.- Duke. With all my heart: I'll gossip at this feast. [Exeunt Duke, Abbess, EGEON, Courtesan, Merchant, ANGELO, and Attendants. Dro. S. Master, shall I fetch your stuff from ship-board? 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, Come, go with us; we'll look to that anon. [Exeunt all, except the two DROMIO brothers. Dro. S. There is a fat friend at your master's house, That kitchen'd me for you to-day at dinner: I see by you I am a sweet-faced youth. Dro. S. Not I, sir; you are my elder. Dro. E. That's a question: how shall we try it? Dro. S. We'll 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. [Exeunt. ACT I.-SCENE I. "It hath in solemn synods been decreed, Both by the Syracusians and ourselves, To admit no traffic to our adverse towns," etc. "The offence which Egeon had committed, and the penalty which he had incurred, are pointed out with a minuteness by which the Poet doubtless intended to convey his sense of the gross injustice of such enactments. In the TAMING OF THE SHREW, written most probably about the same period as the COMEDY OF ERRORS, the jealousies of commercial states, exhibiting themselves in violent decrees and impracticable regulations, are also depicted by the same powerful hand." KNIGHT. The obvious meaning is, that they came "aboard too soon," as a storm immediately followed. "So his case was like"-"So" is the reading of the first folio-not for, as in many editions: his case was so like that of Antipholus. "To seek thy HELP by benfiecial HELP"-Pope and other editors would substitute life for "help," where it first occurs. Stevens recommends means for "help," at the end of the line. Collier suggests To seek thy hope by beneficial help. That is, to seek what you hope by beneficial help to acquire-money for your ransom. This is consistent with Egeon's exclamation just afterwards,-" Hopeless and helpless doth Egeon wend," etc. The folios have it as it stands in the text. SCENE II. "Soon "SOON AT five o'clock"-i. e. About five o'clock. In act iii. scene 2, we have "soon at supper-time." at night," is a common expression. "CONFOUNDS himself"-This is explained by what Antipholus afterwards says, So I, to find a mother and a brother, In quest of them, unhappy, lose myself;as a drop is lost in the sea, and confounded with the mass of waters. "Here comes the ALMANACK of my true date"-i. e. Because he and Dromio were born at the same hour. He mistakes Dromio of Ephesus for his own man. "Are PENITENT for your default to-day"-In the sense of doing penance. "-SCORE your fault upon my pate"-The reference is here to the custom of keeping a score upon a post, instead of entering the item in a book. 111 is O'ER-RAUGHT OF"-i. e. Over-reached. ACT II.-SCENE I. -some other WHERE"-i. e. Somewhere else, as we now familiarly express it. Johnson suggests that we should read "start some other hare," and Stevens is for taking "where" as a noun; but no alteration is required. Adriana says afterwards, "I know his eye doth homage other where." "This FOOL-BEGG'D patience"-" She seems," says Johnson, "to mean by fool-begg'd patience,' that patience which is so near to idiotical simplicity, that your next relation would take advantage from it to represent you as a fool, and beg the guardianship of your fortune." This would seem a far-fetched interpretation, were it not evident from other dramatic writers, even as late as Congreve, that this abuse of that regal prerogative was a familiar source of sarcastic allusion. |