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SCENE V.

Enter Adriana, and Luciana.

Adr. Ay, ay, Antipholis, look strange, and frown; Some other mistress hath some sweet afpects,

I am not Adriana, nor thy wife.

The time was once, when thou unurg'd wouldft vow,
That never words were mufick to thine ear,
That never object pleasing in thine eye,

That never touch well welcome to thy hand,
That never meat sweet-favour'd in thy taste,
Unless I fpake, or look'd, or touch'd, or carv'd.
How comes it now, my husband, o, how comes it,
That thou art thus eftranged from thyself?
Thyfelf I call it, being strange to me:
That, undividable, incorporate,

Am better than thy dear felf'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'ft thou but hear I were licentious?
And that this body, confecrate to thee,
By ruffian luft should be contaminate ?
Would'ft thou not spit at me, and fpurn at me,
And hurl the name of husband in my face,
And tear the ftain'd skin off my harlot-brow,

Ant. You would all this time have prov'd, there is no time for all things.

S. Dro. Marry, and did, fir; namely, no time to recover hair loft by nature.
Ant. But your reafon was not fubftantial, why there is no time to recover.

S. Dro. Thus I mend it: Time himself is bald, and, therefore, to the world's end, will have bald followers.

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And from my falfe hand cut the wedding-ring,
And break it with a deep-divorcing vow?

I know, thou would'ft; and therefore, fee, thou do it.
I am poffefs'd with an adulterate blot;

My blood is mingled with the crime of luft:

For if we two be one, and thou play false,
I do digeft the poison of thy flesh,

Being ftrumpeted by thy contagion.

Keep then fair league and truce with thy true bed;

I live unftain'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.*

Luc. Fie, brother, how the world is chang'd with you! When were you wont to use my sister 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, fir, with this gentlewoman ?
What is the course and drift of your compact?

S. Dro. I, fir? I never faw her 'till this time.
Ant. Villain, thou lieft; for even her

Didft thou deliver to me on the mart.

very words

S. Dro. I never spake with her in all my life.
Ant. How can fhe 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!

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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, &c.

Be

Be it my wrong, you are from me exempt,
But wrong not that wrong with a more contempt.
Come, I will faften on this fleeve of thine;
Thou art an elm, my husband, I a vine:
Whose weakness marry'd to thy ftronger state,
Makes me with thy ftrength to communicate;
If ought poffefs thee from me, it is dross,
Ufurping ivy, brier, or idle moss,

Which all for want of pruning, with intrufion,
Infect thy fap, and live on thy confufion.

Ant. To me fhe speaks; she 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 amifs?
Until I know this fure uncertainty,

I'll entertain the favour'd fallacy.

Luc. Dromio, go, bid the fervants fpread for dinner.*
Adr. Come, come, no longer will I be a fool,
To put the finger in the
eye, and weep,

Whilft man and mafter laugh my woes to scorn.
Come, fir, to dinner; Dromio, keep the gate;
Husband, I'll dine above with you to-day,
And shrive you of a thousand idle pranks ;
for your master,

Sirrah, if any ask
afk you

3

----- fervants fpread for dinner.

S. Dro. O for my beads! I crofs me for a finner.

This is the fairy land: o fpite of fpites!

We talk with goblins, owls, and elvish sprights;

If we obey them not, this will enfue,

They'll fuck our breath, or pinch us black and blue.
Luc. Why prat'ft thou to thyself,

Dromio, thou Dromio, fnail, thou flug, thou fot?

S. Dro. I am transformed, mafter, am I not?

Ant. I think, thou art in mind, and fo am I.

S. Dro. Nay, mafter, both in mind and in my fhape..
Ant. Thou haft thine own form.

S. Dro. No; I am an ape.

Luc. If thou art chang'd to ought, 'tis to an afs.

S. Dro. "Tis true, the rides me, and I long for grass..

'Tis fo, I am an afs; elfe it could never be,

But I should know her as well as fhe knows. me.

Adr. Come, come, &c.

Say,

Say, he dines forth, and let 110 creature enter:
Come, fifter; 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 fay, and perfever fo;

And in this mift at all adventures, go.

S. Dro. Mafter, fhall I be porter at the gate?
Adr. Ay, let none enter, left I break your pate.
Luc. Come, come, Antipholis, we dine too late. [Exeunt.

ACT III. SCENE I.

The Street before Antipholis's House.

Enter Antipholis of Ephefus, Dromio of Ephefus, Angelo,

Go

and Balthazar.

E. ANTIPHOLIS.

OOD fignior Angelo, you must excuse us;
My wife is fhrewish when I'keep not hours;
Say, that I linger'd with you at your shop
To see 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 didft thou mean by this?a
I think, thou art an ass.

didst thou mean by this?

E. Dro. Say what you will, fir, 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 hand-writing would tell you what I think.

E. Ant. I think, &c.

E. Dro.

E. Dro. Marry, doth it fo appear

By the wrongs I fuffer, and the blows I bear?

I should kick being kick'd; and, being at that pass,

You would keep from my heels, and beware of an afs.

E. Ant. Y'are fad, fignior Balthazar. Pray god, our cheer May answer my good will, and your good welcome. But, foft; my door is lock'd; go, bid them let us in.

E. Dro. Maud, Bridget, Marian, Cicely, Gillian!

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'ft for such store,
When one is one too many? go, get thee from the door."

and your good welcome.

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

E. Ant. Ah fignior Balthazar, either at flesh or fish,

A table-full of welcome makes scarce one dainty difh.

Bal. Good meat, fir, is common; that every churl affords.

E. Ant. And welcome more common; for that's nothing but words.

Bal. Small cheer, and good welcome, makes a merry feast.

E. Ant. Ay, to a niggardly hoft, and more fparing gueft:

But though my cates be mean, take them in good part;
Better cheer may you have, but not with better heart.
But, foft; my door is lock'd; &c.

get thee from the door.

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

S. Dro. Right, fir, 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. Dro. Nor to-day here you must not: come again when you may.
E. Ant. What art thou that keep'ft me out from the house I owe?

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

E. Dro. O villain, thou haft stol'n both mine office and my name. The one ne'er got me credit, the other mickle blame ;

If thou hadft been Dromio to-day in my place,

Thou would'st have chang'd thy face for a name, or thy name for an ass.
Luce. [within.] What a coil is there! Dromio, who are thofe at the gate?

E. Dro. Let my mafter in, Luce.

Luce. 'Faith, no; he comes too late;

And fo tell your mafter.

E. Dro. Ó lord, I muft laugh;

Have at you with a proverb: Shall I fet in my staff?

Luce. Have at you with another; that's, when? can you tell?

S. Dro. If thy name be called Luce, Luce, thou haft answer'd him well.

S. Ant. Do you hear, you minion, you'll let us in, I hope?

Luce. I thought to have afk'd you.

S. Dro. And you faid, no.

E. Dro. So, come, help, well ftruck; there was blow for blow.

E. Ant. Thou baggage, let me in.

VOL. I.

Eee

Luce,

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