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That never meat sweet-favour'd in thy taste,
Unless I spake, or look'd, or touch'd, or carv'd.

1 How comes it now, my husband, oh, how comes it, That thou art thus estranged from thyself?

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Thyself I call it, being strange to me:

That, undividable, incorporate,

Am better than thy dear self's better part.
Ah, do not tear away thyself from me :
For know, my love, as easy may'st thou fall
A drop of water in the breaking gulph,
And take unmingled thence that drop again,
Without addition or diminishing,
As take from me thyself; and not me too.
How dearly would it touch thee to the quick,
Should'st thou but hear, I was licentious?
And that this body, confecrate to thee,
By ruffian lust should be contaminate?
Would'st thou not spit at me, and spurn at me,
And hurl the name of husband in my face,
And tear the stain'd skin of my harlot-brow,
And from my false hand cut the wedding-ring,
And break it with a deep-divorcing vow?
I know thou canst; and therefore, fee, thou do it.
I am possess'd with an adulterate blot;
My blood is mingled with the Grime of lust:
For if we two be one, and thou play false,
I do digeft the poison of thy flesh,
Being strumpeted by thy contagion.

Keep then fair league, and truce with thy true bed;
I live distain'd, thou undishonoured.

Ant. Plead you to me, fair dame? I know you not:
In Ephesus I am but two hours old,
As strange unto your town as to your talk.
Who, every word by all my wit being scann'd,
Wants wit in all one word to understand.

Luc. Fie, brother! how the world is chang'd with

you;

When

When were you wont to use my fister thus?
She fent for you by Dromio home to dinner.

Ant. By Dromio?

S. Dro. By me?

Adr. By thee; and thus thou didst return from him,

That he did buffet thee; and in his blows
Deny'd my house for his, me for his wife.

Ant. Did you converse, Sir, with this gentlewo

man?

What is the course and drift of your compaся?
S. Dro. I, Sir, I never faw her 'till this time.
Ant. Villain, thou lieft; for even her very words
Didst thou deliver to me on the mart.

S. Dro. I never spoke with her in all my life.
Ant. How can she thus then call us by our names,

Unless it be by inspiration?

Adr. How ill agrees it with your gravity, To counterfeit thus grofly with your flave, Abetting him to thwart me in my mood? Be it my wrong, you are from me exempt, But wrong not that wrong with a more contempt. Come, I will fasten on this fleeve of thine; Thou art an elm, my husband, I a vine: Whose weakness, marry'd to thy stronger state, Makes me with thy strength to communicate; If aught possess thee from me, it is drofs, Ufurping ivy, brier, or idle mofs; Who, all for want of pruning, with intrufion Infect thy fap, and live on thy confufion.

Ant. To me she speaks; the moves me for her

theme;

What, was I marry'd to her in my dream?
Or fleep I now, and think I hear all this?
What error drives our eyes and ears amiss?
Until I know this sure uncertainty,
I'll entertain the favour'd fallacy.

Luc. Dromio, go bid the servants spread for dinner.
S. Dro. Oh, for my beads! I cross me for a finner.
This is the Fairy land: oh, spight of spights!
We talk with goblins, owls, and elvish sprights!
If we obey them not, this will ensue,
They'll fuck our breath, and pinch us black and blue.
Luc. Why prat'st thou to thyself, and answer'st

not?

Dromio, thou drone, thou snail, thou slug, thou fot!
S. Dro. I am transformed, master, am not I?
Ant. I think, thou art in mind, and so am I.
S. Dro. Nay, master, both in mind and in my

shape.

Ant. Thou hast thine own form.
S. Dro. No; I am an ape.

Luc. If thou art chang'd to aught, 'tis to an afs.
S. Dro. 'Tis true; she rides me, and I long for

grafs.

'Tis so, I am an ass; else it could never be,
But I should know her, as well as she knows me.
Adr. Come, come, no longer will I be a fool,
To put the finger in the Eye and weep,
Whilft man and master laugh my woes to scorn.
Come, Sir, to dinner; Dromio, keep the gate;
Husband, I'll dine above with you to day,
And shrive you of a thousand idle pranks;
Sirrah, if any ask you for your mafter,
Say, he dines forth, and let no creature enter :
Come, sister; Dromio, play the porter well.

Ant. Am I in earth, in heaven, or in hell?
Sleeping or waking, mad or well advis'd?.
Known unto these, and to myself disguis'd?
I'll fay as they say, and perfevere so;
And in this mist at all adventures go.

S. Dro. Master, shall I be porter at the gate? Adr. Ay, let none enter, lest I break your pate.

Luc. Come, come, Antipholis, we dine too late.

[Exeunt.

ACT

SCENE I.

ACT III.

The Street before Antipholis's House.

Enter Antipholis of Ephefus, Dromio of Ephefus, Angelo, and Balthazar.

G

E. ANTIPHOLIS.

OOD Signior Angelo, you must excuse us:
My wife is shrewish, when I keep not hours;

Say, that I linger'd with you at your shop
To fee the making of her carkanet;
And that to-morrow you will bring it home.
But here's a villain, that would face me down
He met me on the mart, and that I beat him;
And charg'd him with a thousand marks in gold;
And that I did deny my wife and house :
Thou drunkard, thou, what didst thou mean by this?
E. Dro. Say, what you will, Sir; but I know what

I know;

That you beat me at the mart, I have your hand to show;

If the skin were parchment, and the blows you gave

were ink,

Your own hand-writing would tell you what I think.
E. Ant. I think, thou art an afs.
E. Dro. Marry, fo it doth appear

By the wrongs I fuffer, and the blows I bear;
I should kick, being kickt; and, being at that pass,
You would keep from my heels, and beware of an ass.

E. Ant. Y'are fad, Signior Balthazar. Pray God, our cheer

May answer my good will, and your good welcome

here.

Bal. I hold your dainties cheap, Sir, and your welcome dear.

E. Ant.

al

E. Ant. Ah, Signior Balthazar, either at flesh or fish, A table-full of welcome makes scarce one dainty dish. Bul. Good meat, Sir, is common; that ever churl affords.

E. Ant. And welcome more common; for that's

nothing but words.

Bal. Small cheer, and great welcome, makes a merry feaft.

E. Ant. Ay, to a niggardly host, and more sparing gueft:

But tho' my cates be mean, take them in good part; Better cheer may you have, but not with better heart. But, foft; my door is lockt; go bid them let us in. E. Dro. Maud, Bridget, Marian, Cicely, Gillian, Ginn! S. Dro. [within] Mome, malt-horse, capon, coxcomb, idiot, patch!

Either get thee from the door, or fit down at the hatch: Doft thou conjure for wenches, that thou call'st for

fuch store,

When one is one too many? go, get thee from the door.

E. Dro. What patch is made our porter? my mafter stays in the street.

10

S. Dro. Let him walk from whence he came, left he catch cold on's feet.

E. Ant. Who talks within there? hoa, open the door.

k

S. Dro. Right, Sir, I'll tell you when, an you'll tell

me wherefore.

E. Ant. Wherefore? for my dinner: I have not din'd to day.

S

S. Dro. Nor to day here you must not: come again,

s.

when you may.

P

E. Ant. What art thou, that keep'st me out from the house I owe?

e

S. Dro. The porter for this time, Sir, and my name is Dromio.

11

E. Dro.

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