Laun. Sola! where? where ?

Lor. Here.

Laun. Tell him, there's a poft come from my master, with his horn full of good news. My mafter will be here ere morning.

Lor. Sweet love,
coming.
And yet no matter why fhould we go in ?
My friend Stephano, fignifie, I pray you,
Within the house, your mistress is at hand;

let's in, and there expect their

[Exit Stephano.

And bring your mufick forth into the air.
How fweet the moon-light fleeps upon this bank!
Here will we fit, and let the founds of mufick
Creep in our ears; foft ftillness, and the night
Become the touches of fweet harmony.
Sit, Feica: look, how the floor of heav'n
Is thick inlay'd with patterns of bright gold;
There's not the smallest orb, which thou behold'st,
But in his motion like an angel fings,
Still quiring to the young-ey'd cherubims;
Such harmony is in immortal founds! (19).
But whilst this muddy vefture of decay
Doth grofly clofe us in, we cannot hear it.
Come, ho, and wake Diana with a hymn;
With sweetest touches pierce your mistress' ear,
And draw her home with mufick.

(19) Such Harmony is in immortal Souls; ] But the Harmo ny here described is That of the Spheres, fo much celebrated by the Antients. He fays, the smallest Orb fings like an Angel; and then fubjoins, Such Harmony is in immortal Souls: But the Harmony of Angels is not here meant, but of the Orbs. Nor are we to think, that here the Poet alludes to the Notion, that each Orb has its Intelligence or Angel to direct it; for then with no Propriety could he fay, the Orb Sung like an Angel: he should rather have said, the Angel in the Orb fung. We must therefore corre& the Line thus; Such Harmony is in immortal Sounds: i. in the Mufick of the Spheres,

"

Mi, Warburten.

Jes.

Jef. I'm never merry, when I hear sweet mufick. [Mufick.

Lor. The reason is, your fpirits are attentive; For do but note a wild and wanton herd, Or race of youthful and unhandled colts, Fetching mad bounds, bellowing and neighing loud, (Which is the hot condition of their blood) If they perchance but hear a trumpet found, Or any air of mufick touch their ears, You fhall perceive them make a mutual stand; Their favage eyes turn'd to a modeft gaze, By the fweet power of mufick. Therefore, the Poet Did feign that Orpheus drew trees, ftones, and floods; Since nought fo ftockish, hard and full of rage, But mufick for the time doth change his nature. The man that hath no mufick in himself, Nor is not mov'd with concord of fweet founds, Is fit for treafons, ftratagems, and spoils; The motions of his fpirit are dull as night, And his affections dark as Erebus: Let no fuch man be trufted.

Mark the mufick.

Enter Portia and Neriffa.

Por. That light we fee, is burning in my hall:
How far that little candle throws his beams!
So fhines a good deed in a naughty world.

Ner. When the moon fhone, we did not fee the candle.

Por. So doth the greater glory dim the less;
A fubftitute fhines brightly as a King,
Until a King be by; and then his ftate
Empties it felf, as doth an inland brook
Into the main of waters. Musick, hark!

[Mufick.

Ner. It is the mufick, Madam, of your house.
Por. Nothing is good, I fee, without refpect:
Methinks, it founds much sweeter than by day.

Ner. Silence beftows the virtue on it, Madam.
Por. The crow doth fing as fweetly as the lark,
When neither is attended; and, I think,
The nightingale, if the fhould fing by day,

When

When every goose is cackling, would be thought
No better a mufician than the wren.
How many things by feafon feason❜d are
To their right praife, and true perfection?
Peace! how the moon fleeps with Endimion,
And would not be awaked!

[Mufick ceafes.

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

Lor. Madam, they are not yet;
But there is come a meffenger before,
To fignifie their coming.

Por. Go, Neriffa,

Give order to my fervants, that they take
No note at all of our being abfent hence;
Nor you, Lorenzo; Fefica, nor you. [A Tucket founds.
Lor. Your husband is at hand, I hear his trumpet:
We are no tell-tales, Madam, fear you not.

Por. This night, methinks, is but the day-light fick;
It looks a little paler; 'tis a day,
Such as the day is when the fun is hid.

Enter Baffanio, Anthonio, Gratiano, and their followers.

Baff. We fhould hold day with the Antipodes, If you would walk in abfence of the fun.

Por. Let me give light, but let me not be light;
For a light wife doth make a heavy husband;
And never be Bassanio fo from me ;

But God fort all! you're welcome home, my lord.
Baff. I thank you, Madam: give welcome to my friend;
This is the man, this is Anthonio,

To whom I am fo infinitely bound.

Por. You fhould in all fenfe be much bound to him; For, as I hear, he was much bound for you.

Anth.

Anth. 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 courtefie.

Gra. By yonder moon, I fwear, you do me wrong; In faith, I gave it to the judge's clerk. [To Neriffa. Would he were gelt that had it, for my part, Since you do take it, love, fo much at heart. Por. A quarrel, ho, already! what's the matter? Gra. About a hoop of gold, a paltry ring, That fhe did give me, whofe poefie was For all the world like cutler's poetry Upon a knife; Love me, and leave me not.

Ner. What talk you of the poefie, or the value ? You fwore to me, when I did give it you, That you would wear it 'till your hour of death, And that it should lye with you in your grave: Tho' not for me, yet for your vehement oaths, You should have been refpective, and have kept it. Gave it a Judge's clerk! but well I know, The clerk will ne'er wear hair on's 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 fcrubbed boy, No higher than thy felf, 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 fo flightly with your wife's firft gift; A thing ftuck on with oaths upon your finger, And riveted with faith unto your flesh. I gave my love a ring, and made him fwear Never to part with it; and here he stands, I dare be fworn for him, he would not leave it, Nor pluck it from his finger, for the wealth That the world mafters. Now, in faith, Gratiano, You give your wife too unkind a cause of grief; An 'twere to me, I should be mad at it.

Baff. Why, I were beft to cut my left hand off,

And

And fwear, I loft the ring defending it.

Gra. My lord Bassanio gave his ring away
Unto the Judge that begg'd it, and, indeed,
Deferv'd it too; and then the boy, his clerk,
That took fome pains in writing, He begg'd mine;
And neither man, nor maker, would take aught
But the two rings.

Por. What ring gave you, my lord?
Not that, I hope, which you receiv'd of me.
Baff. If I could add a lie unto a fault,
I would deny it; but you fee my finger
Hath not the ring upon it, it is gone.

Por. Even fo void is your false heart of truth.
By heaven, I will ne'er come in your bed
Until I fee the ring.

Ner. Nor I in yours, 'Till I again fee mine. Baff. Sweet Portia,

If you did know to whom I gave the ring,
If you did know for whom I gave the ring,
And would conceive for what I the ring,
gave
And how unwillingly I left the ring,
When nought would be accepted but the ring,
You would abate the ftrength of your difpleasure.
Por. If you had known the virtue of the ring,
Or half her worthinefs that gave the ring,
Or your own honour to retain the ring,
You would not then have parted with the ring.
What man is there fo much unreasonable,
If you had pleas'd to have defended it
With any terms of zeal, wanted the modefty
To urge the thing held as a ceremony?
Neriffa teaches me what to believe;
I'll die for't, but fome woman had the ring.

Baff. No, by mine honour, Madam, by my foul,.
No woman had it, but a Civil Doctor,
Who did refuse three thousand ducats of me,

[Afide.

And begg'd the ring; the which I did deny him,
And fuffer'd him to go difpleas'd away;

Ev'n he, that did uphold the very life

Of