Enter ANTIPHOLUS of Ephesus, and DROMIO of Ephesus, from the Courtesan's. Off. That labor may you save; see where he comes. Ant. E. While I go to the goldsmith's house, go thou And buy a rope's end; that will I bestow rope! Dro. E. I buy a thousand pound a year! I buy a I pray you, see him presently discharged, Ant. E. I am not furnished with the present money; 2 Perchance, I will be there as soon as you. Ang. Then you will bring the chain to her yourself? Ant. E. No! bear it with you, lest I come not time enough. Ang. Well, sir, I will; have you the chain about you? 1 The old copy reads their. 2 I will, for I shall, is a Scotticism; but it is not unfrequent in old writers on this side of the Tweed. Ant. E. 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 excuse Your breach of promise to the Porcupine. I should have chid you for not bringing it, But, like a shrew, you first begin to brawl. Mer. The hour steals on; I pray you, sir, despatch. Ang. You hear how he impórtunes me; the chainAnt. E. Why, give it to my wife, and fetch your money. Ang. Come, come, you know I gave it you even now; Either send the chain, or send me by some token. Ant. E. Fie! now 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, whe'r 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, Off. I do arrest you, sir; you hear the suit. Enter DROMIO of Syracuse. Dro. S. Master, there is a bark of Epidamnum, peevish sheep, What ship of Epidamnum stays for me? sir, Why, thou Dro. S. A ship you sent me to, to hire waftage.3 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 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 list me with more heed. To Adriana, villain, hie thee straight; Give her this key, and tell her, in the desk, That's covered 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. SCENE II. The same. Enter ADRIANA and LUCIANA. Adr. Ah, Luciana, did he tempt thee so? Might'st thou perceive austerely in his eye That he did plead in earnest, yea or no? [Exit. Looked he or red, or pale; or sad, or merrily? Luc. First, he denied you had in him no right.1 spite. Luc. Then swore he, that he was a stranger here. Adr. And true he swore, though yet forsworn he were. Luc. Then pleaded I for you. Adr. And what said he? Luc. That love I begged for you, he begged of me. Adr. With what persuasion did he tempt thy love? Luc. With words, that in an honest suit might move. First, he did praise my beauty; then my speech. Adr. Did'st speak him fair? Luc. Have patience, I beseech. Adr. I cannot, nor I will not, hold me still; Ill-faced, worse-bodied, shapeless every where; 2 Stigmatical in making, worse in mind. Luc. Who would be jealous then of such a one? No evil lost is wailed when it is gone. 1 This double negative had the force of a stronger asseveration in the phraseology of that age. 2 Marked or stigmatized by nature with deformity. Adr. Ah! but I think him better than I say, Far from her nest the lapwing cries away;' My heart prays for him, though my tongue do curse. Enter DROMIO 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 garment2 hath him; One, whose hard heart is buttoned up with steel; A fiend, a fairy,3 pitiless and rough; A wolf; nay, worse, a fellow all in buff; A back-friend, a shoulder-clapper, one that counter mands 4 The passages of alleys, creeks, and narrow lands; * well; 5 One that, before the judgment, carries poor souls to hell.6 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. 1 This expression, which appears to have been proverbial, is again alluded to in Measure for Measure, Act i. Sc. 5. 2 The buff or leather jerkin of the sergeant, is called an everlasting garment, because it was so durable. 3 Theobald would read a fury; but a fairy, in Shakspeare's time, sometimes meant a malevolent sprite; and, coupled as it is with pitiless and rough, the meaning is clear. 4 The first folio reads, lans. 5 "To hunt or run counter, signifies that the hounds or beagles hunt it by the heel," i. e. run backward, mistaking the course of the game. To draw dry-foot was to follow the scent or track of the game. There is a quibble upon counter, which points at the prison so called. 6 Hell was the cant term for prison. There was a place of this name under the Exchequer, where the king's debtors were confined. |