And, when she put it on, she made me vow
That I should neither sell, nor give, nor lose it.
Por. That 'scuse serves many men to save their
gifts.

And if your wife be not a mad woman,

And know how well I have deserv'd this ring,
She would not hold out enemy for ever,
For giving it to me. Well, peace be with you!

[Exeunt PORTIA and NERISSA.
Ant. My lord, Bassanio, let him have the ring;
Let his deservings, and my love withal,
Be valu'd 'gainst your wife's commandment.

Bass. Go, Gratiano, run and overtake him, Give him the ring; and bring him, if thou canst, Unto Antonio's house :-away, make haste.—

[Exit GRATIANO.

Come, you and I will thither presently;
And in the morning early will we both
Fly toward Belmont: Come, Antonio.

[Exeunt.

SCENE II.

A Street in Venice.

Enter NERISSA and PORTIA.

Por. Inquire the Jew's house out, give him this deed,

And let him sign it; we'll away to-night,
And be a day before our husbands home:
This deed will be well welcome to Lorenzo.

Enter GRATIANO.

Gra. Fair sir, you are well overtaken :
My lord Bassanio, upon more advice,

Hath sent you here this ring; and doth entreat
Your company at dinner.

Por. That cannot be :

This ring I do accept most thankfully,

And so, I pray you, tell him: Furthermore,
pray you, show my youth old Shylock's house.
Gra. That will I do.

I

Ner. Sir, I would speak with you :

I'll see if I can get my husband's ring,

Which I did make him swear to keep for ever.

Por. Thou may'st, I warrant: We shall have old swearing,

That they did give the rings away to men;

But we'll outface them, and outswear them too. Away, make haste; thou know'st where I will tarry.

[Exit PORTIA. Ner. Come, good sif, will you show me to this house?

[Exeunt.

ACT THE FIFTH.

SCENE I.

The Avenue to PORTIA's House at Belmont.

LORENZO and JESSICA discovered, seated.

Lor. The moon shines bright:-In such a night as this,

Did Jessica steal from the wealthy Jew;

And, with an unthrift love, did run from Venice,
As far as Belmont.

Jess. And in such a night,

Did young Lorenzo swear he lov'd her well;
Stealing her soul with many vows of faith,
And ne'er a true one.

Lor. And in such a night,

Did pretty Jessica, like a little shrew,
Slander her love, and he forgave it her.

Jess. I would outnight you, did nobody come; But, hark, I hear the footing of a man.

Enter BALTHAZAR.

Lor. Who comes so fast in silence of the night?
Bal. A friend.

Lor. A friend? what friend? your name, I

you, friend?

pray

Bal. Balthazar is my name; and I bring word,

My mistress will, before the break of day,

Be here at Belmont.

I

pray you, is my master yet return'd ♪

Lor. He is not, nor we have not heard from him— But go we in, I pray thee, Jessica,

And ceremoniously let us prepare

Some welcome for the mistress of the house.

Laun. [Within.] Sola, sola, wo ha, ho, sola, sola! Lor. Who calls?

Enter LAUNCьLOT.

Laun. Sola! did you see Master Lorenzo, and Mistress Lorenzo? sola, sola!

Lor. Leave hollaing, man; here.

Laun. Sola! where? where ?

Lor. Here.

Laun. Tell him, there's a post come from my master, with his horn full of good news; my master will be here ere morning. [Exit LAUNCELOT. Lor. My friend, Balthazar, signify, I pray you, Within the house, your mistress is at hand.

[Exit BALTHAZAR.

Enter PORTIA and NERISSA at a Distance.

Por. That light we see is burning in my hall.
How far that little candle throws his beams!
So shines a good deed in a naughty world.
Lor. That is the voice,

Or I am much deceiv'd, of Portia.

Por. He knows me, as the blind man knows the

cuckow,

By the bad voice.

Lor. Dear lady, welcome home.

Por. We have been praying for our husbands' welfare,

Which speed, we hope, the better for our words.
Are they return'd?

Lor. Madam, they are not yet;

But there is come a messenger before,
To signify their coming.

Por. Go in, Nerissa,

Give order to my servants, that they take

No note at all of our being absent hence; [Exit Ner. Nor you, Lorenzo; Jessica, nor you. [A Tucket sounds. Lor. Your husband is at hand, I hear his trumpet.

Enter BASSANIO, ANTONIO, GRATIANO, and NE

RISSA.

Por. You are welcome home, my lord.

Bass. I thank you, madam: give welcome to my friend.

This is the man, this is Antonio,

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.

Ant. 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:

Gra. By yonder moon, I swear you do me wrong; In faith, I gave it to the judge's clerk:

'Would he were hang'd that had it, for my part, Since you do take it, love, so much to heart.

Por. A quarrel, ho, already? what's the matter? Gra. About a hoop of gold, a paltry ring That she did give to me; whose posy was For all the world, like cutler's poetry Upon a knife, love me and leave me not.

Ner. What talk you of the posy, 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: 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 scrubbbed 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,
To part so slightly with your wife's first gift;
A thing stuck on with oaths upon your finger,
And riveted so 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.

Bass. Why, I were best to cut my left hand off, And swear, I lost the ring defending it. [Aside. 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 receiv'd of me.
Bass. If I could add a lie unto a fault,
I would deny it; but you see, my finger
Hath not the ring upon it,—It is gone.