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Gra. I have a suit to you.

Bass.

You have obtain❜d it. Gra. You must not deny me; I must go with you to Belmont.

Bass. 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 thou art not known, why, there they show
Something too liberal 12;-pray thee, take pain
To allay with some cold drops of modesty 13
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,

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 eyes
Thus with my hat 14, and sigh, and say, amen;
Use all the observance of civility,

Like one well studied in a sad ostent 15
To please his grandam, never trust me more.
Bass. Well, we shall see your bearing 16.

12 Gross, licentious.

13 So in Hamlet:

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Upon the heat and flame of thy distemper
Sprinkle cool patience.'

14 It was anciently the custom to wear the hat on during the time of dinner.

15 i. e. grave appearance; show of staid and serious behaviour. Ostent is a word very commonly used for show among old dramatic writers. So in the VIIIth Scene of this Act:

'Be merry and employ your chiefest thoughts,
To courtships and such fair ostents of love.'

16 Carriage, deportment.

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

Bass.

No, that were pity;
I would entreat you rather to put on

Your boldest suit of mirth, for we have friends
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.

SCENE III.

[Exeunt.

The same. A Room in Shylock's House.

Enter JESSICA and LAUNCelot.

Jess. 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 talk with thee.

Laun. Adieu!-tears exhibit my tongue.-Most beautiful pagan,-most sweet Jew! If a Christian did not play the knave, and get thee, I am much deceived: But adieu! these foolish drops do somewhat drown my manly spirit; adieu!

Jess. 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,

[Exit.

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.

SCENE IV.

The same. A Street.

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. Salan. '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:—

Enter LAUNCELOT, with a Letter.

Friend Launcelot, what's the news? Laun. An it shall please you to break up1 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.
Laun. By your leave, sir.

Lor. Whither goest thou?

Love-news, in faith.

Laun. Marry, sir, to bid my old master the Jew to sup to-night with my new master the Christian.

Lor. Hold here, take this :-tell gentle Jessica, I will not fail her;-speak it privately; go.Gentlemen, [Exit LAUNCelot. Will you prepare you for this masque to-night? I am provided of a torch-bearer.

1 To break up was a term in carving. This term is used again metaphorically for breaking the seal of a letter or opening it in Love's Labour's Lost:

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

Lor.

Meet me, and Gratiano,

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

[Exeunt SALAR. and SALAN.

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; What page's suit she hath in readiness. If e'er the Jew her father come to heaven, It will be for his gentle daughter's sake: And never dare misfortune cross her foot, Unless she do it under this excuse,—

That she is issue to a faithless Jew.

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

SCENE V. The same. Before Shylock's House.

Enter SHYLOCK and LAUNCelot.

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!

Laun.

Why, Jessica!

Shy. Who bids thee call? I do not bid thee call. Laun. 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 bid1 forth to supper,

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 Christian2.-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.

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

Shy. So do I his.

Laun. 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-Monday3 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,
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;
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;

1 Invited.

2 Shakspeare meant to heighten the malignity of Shylock's character by thus making him depart from his most settled resolve (that he will neither eat, drink, nor pray with Christians), for the prosecution of his revenge.

3 i. e. Easter-Monday. It was called Black-Monday from the severity of that day, April 4, 1360, which was so extraordinary that, of Edward the Third's soldiers, then before Paris, many died of the cold. Anciently a superstitious belief was annexed to the accident of bleeding at the nose.

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