But neither chain, nor goldsmith, came to me:
Belike, you thought our love would last too long,
If it were chain'd together; and therefore came not.
Ang. Saving your merry humor, here's the note,
How much your chain weighs to the utmost carat ;
The fineness of the gold, and chargeful fashion;
Which doth amount to three odd ducats more
Than I stand debted to this gentleman;
I pray you, see him presently discharged,
For he is bound to sea, and stays but for it.
Ant. E. I am not furnish'd with the present

money;

Besides, I have some business in the town:
Good signior, take the stranger to my house,
And with you take the chain, and bid my wife
Disburse the sum on the receipt thereof;
Perchance I will be there as soon as you.
Ang. Then wilt thou bring the chain to her your-
self!

Ant. E. No; bear it with you, lest I come not time enough.

Ang. Well, sir, I will: Have you the chain about you?

Ant. É. An if I have not, sir, I hope you have;
Or else you may return without your money.
Ang. Nay, come, I pray you, sir, give me the
chain;

Both wind and tide stays for this gentleman,
And I, to blame, have held him here too long.
Ant. E. Good lord, you use this dalliance, to

now;

Either send the chain, or send by me some token. Ant. E. Fye! how you run this humor out of breath:

Come, where's the chain? I pray you let me see it.
Mer. My business cannot brook this dalliance;
Good sir, say, wher you'll answer me or no;
If not, I'll leave him to the officer.

Ant. E. I answer you! What should I answer you?

Ang. The money that you owe me for the chain.

Ant. E. I owe you none, till I receive the chain. Ang. You know, I gave it you half an hour since.

Ant. E. You gave me none; you wrong me much to say so.

Ang. You wrong me more, sir, in denying it:
Consider, how it stands upon my credit.
Mer. Well, officer, arrest him at my suit.

Off. I do and charge you in the duke's name,

to obey me.

Ang. This touches me in reputation:Either consent to pay this sum for me,

Or I attach you by this officer.

Ant. E. Consent to pay thee that I never had! Arrest me, foolish fellow, if thou dar'st.

Ang. Here is thy fee; arrest him, officer; I would not spare my brother in this case, If he should scorn me so apparently.

Off. I do arrest you, sir; you hear the suit. Ant. E. I do obey thee, till I give thee bail:But, sirrah, you shall buy this sport as dear As all the metal in your shop will answer.

Ang. Sir, sir, I shall have law in Ephesus, To your notorious shame, I doubt it not.

Enter DROMIO of Syracuse.

Dro. S. Master, there is a bark of Epidamnum,
That stays but till her owner comes aboard,
And then, sir, bears away; our fraughtage, sir,
I have convey'd aboard; and I have bought
The oil, the balsamum, and aqua-vitæ.
The ship is in her trim; the merry wind
Blows fair from land: they stay for nought at all,
But for their owner, master, and yourself.
Ant. E. How now! a madman! Why, thou
peevish sheep,

What ship of Epidamnum stays for me?
Freight, cargo.

• Silly.

Dro. S. A ship you sent me to, to hire waftage.1 Ant. E. Thou drunken slave, I sent thee for a rope;

And told thee to what purpose and what end.
Dro. S. You sent me, sir, for a rope's end as soon:
You sent me to the bay, sir, for a bark.

Ant. E. I will debate this matter at more leisure,
And teach your ears to listen with more heed.
To Adriana, villain, hie thee straight:
Give her this key, and tell her, in the desk
That's cover'd o'er with Turkish tapestry,
There is a purse of ducats; let her send it;
Tell her, I am arrested in the street,
And that shall bail me: hie thee, slave; be gone.
On, officer, to prison till it come.

[Exeunt Mer., ANG.. Officer, and ANT. E. Dro. S. To Adriana; that is where we dined, Where Dowsabel did claim me for her husband: She is too big, I hope, for me to compass. Thither I must, although against my will, For servants must their master's minds fulfil.

First he did praise my beauty; then, my speech. Adr. Didst speak him fair!

Luc. Have patience, I beseech. Adr. I cannot, nor I will not, hold me still; My tongue, though not my heart, shall have his will. He is deformed, crooked, old, and sere, Ill-faced, worse-bodied, shapeless every where: Vicious, ungentle, foolish, blunt, unkind; Stigmatical in making, worse in mind.

Luc. Who would be jealous then of such a one; No evil lost is waild when it is gone. Adr. Ah! but I think him better than I say, And yet would herein others' eyes were worse: Far from her nest the lapwing cries away;5 My heart prays for him, though my tongue do

curse.

Enter DROM10 of Syracuse Dro. S. Here, go; the desk, the purse; sweet now, make haste.

Luc. How hast thou lost thy breath? Dro. S. By running fast. Adr. Where is thy master, Dromio! is he well? Dro. S. No, he's in Tartar limbo, worse than hell: A devil in an everlasting garments hath him, One, whose hard heart is button'd up with steel; A fiend, a fairy, pitiless and rough;

A wolf, nay worse, a fellow all in buff;

A back-friend, a shoulder-clapper, one that countermands

The passages of alleys, creeks, and narrow lands; A hound that runs counter, and yet draws dry-foot well;

One that, before the judgment, carries poor souls to hell.

Adr. Why, man, what is the matter?

Dro. S. I do not know the matter: he is 'rested on the case.

Adr. What, is he arrested? tell me, at whose suit. Dro. S. I know not at whose suit he is arrested, well;

But he's in a suit of buff, which 'rested him, that can I tell ;

Will you send him, mistress, redemption, the money in the desk!

Adr Go fetch it, sister.-This I wonder at,

Exit LUCIANA. That he, unknown to me, should be in debt: Tell me, was he arrested on a band?s

Dro. S. Not on a band, but on a stronger thing; A chain, a chain; do you not hear it ring? Adr. What, the chain?

Dro. S. No, no, the bell; 'tis time that I were gone. It was two ere I left him, and now the clock strikes

one.

SCENE III.-The same.

Enter ANTIPHOLUS of Syracuse.

Ant. S. There's not a man I meet, but doth salute me

As if I were their well-acquainted friend;
And every one doth call me by my name.
Some tender money to me, some invite me;
Some other give me thanks for kindnesses;
Some offer me commodities to buy:
Even now a tailor call'd me in his shop,

And show'd me silks that he had bought for me,
And, therewithal, took measure of my body.
Sure, these are but imaginary wiles,
And Lapland sorcerers inhabit here.

Enter DROMIO of Syracuse.

Dro. S. Master, here's the gold you sent me for: What, have you got the picture of old Adam new apparel'd?

Ant. S. What gold is this? what Adam dost thou mean?

Dro. S. Not that Adam, that kept the paradise, but that Adam, that keeps the prison: he that goes in the calf's-skin that was kill'd for the prodigal; he that came behind you, sir, like an evil angel, and bid you forsake your liberty.

Ant. S. I understand thee not.

Dro. S. No? why, 'tis a plain case: he that went like a base-viol, in a case of leather; the man, sir,

that, when gentlemen are tired, gives them a fob, and 'rests them; he, sir, that takes pity on decayed men, and gives them suits of durance; he that sets up his rest to do more exploits with his mace, than morris-pike.

Ant. S. What! thou mean'st an officer?

Dro. S. Ay, sir, the sergeant of the band; he, that brings any man to answer it, that breaks his band; one that thinks a man always going to bed, and says, God give you good rest!

Ant. S. Well, sir, there rest in your foolery. Is there any ship puts forth to-night? may we be gone?

Dro. S. Why, sir, I brought you word an hour since, that the bark Expedition put forth to-night, and then were you hindered by the sergeant, to tarry for the hoy, Delay: Here are the angels, that you sent for, to deliver you.

Ant. S. The fellow is distract, and so am I ;
And here we wander in illusions;
Some blessed power deliver us from hence!
Fanciful conception.

i Bond.

Enter a Courtezan.

Cour. Well met, well met, master Antipholus. Is that the chain, you promised me to-day? I see, sir, you have found the goldsmith now;

Ant. S. Satan, avoid! I charge thee, tempt me not!

Dro. S. Master, is this mistress Satan?
Ant. S. It is the devil.

Dro. S. Nay, she is worse, she is the devil's dam; and here she comes in the habit of a light wench; and thereof comes, that the wenches say, God damn me, that's as much as to say, God make me a light wench. It is written, they appear to men fire will burn; ergo, light wenches will burn; Come like angels of light: light is an effect of fire, and

not near her.

Cour. Your man and you are marvellous merry, sir. Will you go with me? We'll mend our dinner here. bespeak a long spoon. Dro. S. Master, if you do expect spoon-meat,

Ant. S. Why, Dromio?

Dro. S. Marry, he must have a long spoon, that must eat with the devil.

Ant. S. Avoid then, fiend! what tell'st thou me Thou art, as you are all, a sorceress: of supping?

I conjure thee to leave me, and be gone.
Cour. Give me the ring of mine you had at dinner,
Or, for my diamond, the chain you promis'd:
And I'll be gone, sir, and not trouble you.

Dro. S. Some devils ask but the paring of one's nail,

A rush, a hair, a drop of blood, a pin,
A nut, a cherry-stone: but she, more covetous,
Would have a chain.

Master, be wise; and if you give it her,
The devil will shake her chain, and fright us with it.
Cour. I pray you, sir, my ring, or else the chain;

I hope, you do not mean to cheat me so.
Ant. Š. Avaunt, thou witch! Come, Dromio, let

us go.

Dro. S. Fly pride, says the peacock: Mistress, that you know,

[Exeunt ANT. S. and DRO. S. Cour. Now, out of doubt, Antipholus is mad, Else would he never so demean himself: A ring he hath of mine worth forty ducats, And for the same he promis'd me a chain! Both one, and other, he denies me now. The reason that I gather he is mad, (Besides this present instance of his rage,) Is a mad tale, he told to-day at dinner, Of his own doors being shut against his entrance. Belike, his wife, acquainted with his fits, On purpose shut the doors against his way. My way is now, to hie home to his house, And tell his wife, that, being a lunatic, He rush'd into my house, and took perforce My ring away: This course I fittest choose; For forty ducats is too much to lose.

SCENE IV.-The same.

[Exit.

Enter ANTIPHOLUS of Ephesus, and an Officer.

Ant. E. Fear me not, man, I will not break away; I'll give thee, ere I leave thee, so much money To warrant thee, as I am rested for. My wife is in a wayward mood to-day: And will not lightly trust the messenger, That I should be attach d in Ephesus:

I tell you, 'twill sound harshly in her ears.

Enter DROMIO of Ephesus, with a rope's end. Here comes my man; I think, he brings the money How now, sir? have you that I sent you for? Dro. E. Here's that, I warrant you, will pay

them all.1

Ant. E. But where's the money?

Dro. E. Why, sir, I gave the money for the rope. Ant. E. Five hundred ducats, villain, for a rope? Dro. E. I'll serve you, sir, five hundred at the rate. Ant. E. To what end did I bid thee hie thee home? Dro. E. To a rope's end, sir; and to that end am I return'd.

Ant. E. And to that end, sir, I will welcome you [Beating him.

1 Correct them all.

Off. Good sir, be patient.

Dro. E. Nay, 'tis for me to be patient; I am in adversity.

Off. Good now, hold thy tongue.

Dro. E. Nay, rather persuade him to hold his hands.

Ant. E. Thou whoreson, senseless villain! Dro. E. I would I were senseless, sir, that I might not feel your blows.

Ant. E. Thou art sensible in nothing but blows, and so is an ass.

Dro. E. I am an ass indeed; you may prove it by my long ears. I have served him from the hour of my nativity to this instant, and have nothing at his hands for my service, but blows: when I am cold, he heats me with beating: when I am warm, he cools me with beating: I am waked with it when I sleep; raised with it, when I sit; driven out of doors with it, when I go from home; welcomed home with it, when I return: nay, I bear it on my shoulders, as a beggar wont her brat; and, I think, when he hath lamed me, I shall beg with it from door to door.

Enter ADRIANA, LUCIANA, and the Courtezan, with PINCH, and others.

Ant. E. Come, go along; my wife is coming yonder.

Dro. E. Mistress, respic finem, respect your end; or rather the prophecy, like the parrot, Beware the rope's end. [Beats him.

Ant. E. Wilt thou still talk?

Cour. How say you now? is not your husband mad?

Adr. His incivility confirms no less.Good doctor Pinch, you are a conjurer; Establish him in his true sense again, And I will please you what you will demand. Luc. Alas, how fiery and how sharp he looks! Cour. Mark, how he trembles in his ecstasy! Pinch. Give me your hand, and let me feel your pulse.

Ant. E. There is my hand, and let it feel your car. Pinch. I charge thee, Satan, hous'd within this

mad.

Adr. O, that thou wert not, poor distressed soul! Ant. E. You minion, you, are these your customers?

Did this companion with a saffron face
Revel and feast it at my house to-day,
Whilst upon me the guilty doors were shut,
And I denied to enter in my house?

Adr. O, husband, God doth know, you dined at home,

Where 'would you had remain'd until this time, Free from these slanders, and this open shame! Ant. E. I dined at home! Thou, villain, what

say'st thou ?

Dro. E. Sir, sooth to say, you did not dine at

home.

Ant. E. Were not my doors lock'd up, and I shut out?

Dro. E. Perdy, your doors were lock'd, and you shut out.

Ant. E. And did not she herself revile me there? Dro. E. Sans fable, she herself reviled you there. Ant. E. Did not her kitchen-maid rail, taunt, and scorn me?

Dro. E. Certes, she did; the kitchen-vestal

scorn'd you. Ant. E. And did not I in rage depart from thence? Dro. E. In verity you did;-my bones bear

witness,

That since have felt the vigor of his rage.

Adr. Is't good to sooth him in these contraries? Pinch. It is no shame; the fellow finds his vein, And, yielding to him, humors well his frenzy. Ant. E. Thou hast suborn'd the goldsmith to

arrest me.

Adr. Alas, I sent you money to redeem you, By Dromio here, who came in haste for it."

? A corruption of the French oath-pardieu, Without a fable. • Certainly.

to-day,

And why dost thou deny the bag of gold!
Adr. I did not, gentle husband, lock thee forth.
Dro. E. And, gentle master, I receiv'd no gold;
But I confess, sir, that we were lock'd out.
Adr. Dissembling villain, thou speak st false in
both.

Ant. E. Dissembling harlot, thou art false in all⚫
And art confederate with a damned pack,
But with these nails I'll pluck out these false eyes,
To make a loathsome abject scorn of me:
That would behold in me this shameful sport.

[PINCH and his Assistants bind ANT. E and DRO. E.

Adr. O, bind him, bind him, let him not come

near me.

Pinch. More company!-the fiend is strong within him.

Luc. Ah me, poor man, how pale and wan he looks!

Ant. E. What, will you murder me? Thou gaoler, thou,

I am thy prisoner; wilt thou suffer them
To make a rescue?

Off.
Masters, let him go;
He is my prisoner, and you shall not have him.
Pinch. Go, bind this man, for he is frantic too
Adr. What wilt thou do, thou peevish officer?
Hast thou delight to see a wretched man
Do outrage and displeasure to himself?

Off. He is my prisoner; if I let him go, The debt he owes, will be required of me.

Adr. I will discharge thee, ere I go from thee: Bear me forthwith unto his creditor, Good master doctor, see him safe convey'd And knowing how the debt grows, I will pay it. Home to my house.-0 most unhappy day! Ant. E. O most unhappy strumpet!

Dro. E. Master, 1 am here entered in bond for you.

Ant. É. Out on thee, villain! wherefore dost thou

not.

Came to my house, and took away my ring,
Cour. When as your husband, all in a rage, to-day
The ring I saw upon his finger now,)
Straight after, did I meet him with a chain.

Adr. It may be so, but I did never see it :-
Come, gaoler, bring me where the goldsmith is,
I long to know the truth hereof at large.
Enter ANTIPHOLUS of Syracuse, with his rapier
drawn, and DROMIO of Syracuse.

Luc. God, for thy mercy! they are loose again. Adr. And come with naked swords; let's call more help, To have them bound again. $ Foolish.

Off.

Away, they'll kill us. [Exeunt Officer, Ann., and Luc. Ant. S. I see, these witches are afraid of swords. Dro. S. She, that would be your wife, now ran from you.

Ant. S. Come to the Centaur; fetch our stuff from thence:

I long, that we were safe and sound aboard.

1

Dro. S. Faith, stay here this night, they will surely do us no harm; you saw, they speak us fair give us gold: methinks, they are such a gentle nation, that but for the mountain of mad flesh that claims marriage of me, I could find in my heart to stay here still, and turn witch.

Ant. E. I will not stay to-night for all the town; Therefore away, to get our stuff aboard. [Exeunt.

SCENE I.-The same.

Enter Merchant and ANGELO.

Ang. I am sorry, sir, that I have hinder'd you;

But, I protest, he had the chain of me,
Though most dishonestly he doth deny it.

Adr. It was the copy of our conference: In bed, he slept not for my urging it;

Ang. Of very reverend reputation, sir,

Of credit infinite, highly belov'd,

Second to none that lives here in the city;
His word might bear my wealth at any time.
Mer. Speak softly: yonder, as I think, he walks.
Enter ANTIPUOLUS, and DROMIO of Syracuse.
Ang. 'Tis so; and that self chain about his neck,
Which he forswore, most monstrously, to have.
Good sir, draw near to me, I'll speak to him.
Signior Antipholus, I wonder much

That you would put me to this shame and trouble;
And not without some scandal to yourself,
With circumstance, and oaths, so to deny
This chain, which now you wear so openly:
Besides the charge, the shame, imprisonment,
You have done wrong to this my honest friend,
Who, but for staying on our controversy,
Had hoisted sail, and put to sea to-day:
This chain you had of me, can you deny it?
Ant. S. I think, I had; I never did deny it.
Mer. Yes, that you did, sir; and forswore it too.
Ant. S. Who heard me to deny it, or forswear it?
Mer. These ears of mine, thou knowest, did hear
thee:

Fye on thee, wretch! 'tis pity, that thou liv'st
To walk where any honest men resort.

Ant. S. Thou art a villain, to impeach me thus:
I'll prove mine honor, and mine honesty
Against thee presently, if thou dar'st stand.
Mer. I dare, and do defy thee for a villain.

[They draw. Enter ADRIANA, LUCIANA, Courtezan, and others. Adr. Hold, hurt him not, for God's sake; he is

mad;

Some get within him, take his sword away:
Bind Dromio too, and bear them to my house.
Dro. S. Run, master, run; for God's sake, take a
house.

This is some priory;-In, or we are spoil'd.
Exeunt ANT. S. and Duo. S. to the Priory.

Enter the ABBESS.

Abb. Be quiet, people; Wherefore throng you hither?

Adr. To fetch my poor distracted husband hence: Let us come in, that we may bind him fast, And bear him home for his recovery.

Ang. I knew, he was not in his perfect wits. Mr. I am sorry now, that I did draw on him. Abb. How long hath this possession held the man? Adr. This week he hath been heavy, sour, sad, And much, much different from the man he was; But, till this afternoon, his passion

Ne'er brake into extremity of rage.

Abb. Hath he not lost much wealth by wreck at sea?

Buried some dear friend? Hath not else his eye
Stray'd his affection in unlawful love?
A sin, prevailing much in youthful men,
Who give their eyes the liberty of gazing.
Which of these sorrows is he subject to?

Adr. To none of these, except it be the last;
Namely, some love, that drew him oft from home.
Abb. You should for that have reprehended him.
Adr Why, so I did.
Abb.

Ay, but not rough enough.
Baggage.

i. c. Close, grapple with him.

Alone, it was the subject of my theme;
In company, I often glanced it;

Still did I tell him it was vile and bad.

Abb. And thereof came it, that the man was mad:
The venom clamors of a jealous woman
Poison more deadly than a mad dog's tooth.
It seems his sleeps were hinder'd by thy railing:
And thereof comes it that his head is light.
Thou say st his meat was sauced with thy up-
braidings:

Unquiet meals make ill digestions,
Thereof the raging fire of fever bred;

And what's a fever but a fit of madness?
Thou say st his sports were hinder'd by thy brawls.
Sweet recreation barr'd, what doth ensue,
But moody and dull melancholy;
(Kinsman to grim and comfortless despair;)
And, at her heels, a huge infectious troop
Of pale distemperatures, and foes to life?
In food, in sport, and life-preserving rest
To be disturbed, would mad or man, or beast;
The consequence is then, thy jealous fits
Have scared thy husband from the use of wits.

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, And it shall privilege him from your hands, Till I have brought him to his wits again, Or lose my labor in essaying it.

Adr. I will attend my husband, be his nurse,
Diet his sickness, for it is my office,
And will have no attorney but myself;
And therefore let me have him home with me.
Till I have used the approved means I have,
Abb. Be patient; for I will not let him stir,
With wholesome syrups, drugs and holy prayers,
To make of him a formal man again:
It is a branch and parcel of mine oath,
A charitable duty of my order;
Therefore depart, and leave him here with me.
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.
[Erit ABRESS
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 am 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 Syracusan mercnant,
Who put unluckily into this bay