Unwilling I agreed-alas! too soon we came aboard: A league from Epidamnum had we sail'd, DUKE. Nay, forward, old man, do not break For we may pity, though not pardon thee. EGE. O, had the gods done so, I had not now Worthily term'd them merciless to us! For, ere the ships could meet by twice five leagues, We were encounter'd by a mighty rock; Which, being violently borne upon,* Our helpful ship was splitted in the midst; So that, in this unjust divorce of us, Fortune had left to both of us alike, What to delight in, what to sorrow for. Her part, poor soul! seeming as burdened With lesser weight, but not with lesser woe, Was carried with more speed before the wind; (*) First folio, borne up. a So his case was like,-] The second folio substituted for in place of so, and has been followed by most of the subsequent editors. Those who adopt the original reading, "so his case was like," interpret it to mean, his case was so like. But does it not rather mean, "as his case was like,"? This use of so we meet again shortly after,-"Am I so round with you, as you with me?" &c. To seek thy hope by beneficial help:] The folio, 1623, has help. And, in our sight, they three were taken up DUKE. And, for the sake of them thou sor- Do me the favour to dilate at full, a I hazarded the loss of whom I lov'd. To bear the extremity of dire mishap! : GAOL. I will, my lord. AGE. Hopeless and helpless doth Ægeon wend, But to procrastinate his liveless end. [Exeunt. "To seek thy help by beneficial means." "To seek thy fine" has also been suggested; and is a plausible conjecture: but as Egeon is made to repeat the Duke's words in hope-less, help-less, and live-less, I have no doubt hope, or holp, was what the poet wrote. SCENE II.-A Public Place. a Enter ANTIPHOLUS and DROMIO of Syracuse, and a Merchant. MER. Therefore, give out you are of Epidamnum, Lest that your goods too soon be confiscate. This very day a Syracusian merchant Is apprehended for arrival here; And, not being able to buy out his life, According to the statute of the town, Dies ere the weary sun set in the west. There is your money that I had to keep. ANT. S. Go bear it to the Centaur, where we host, And stay there, Dromio, till I come to thee. Within this hour it will be dinner-time; Till that, I'll view the manners of the town, Peruse the traders, gaze upon the buildings, And then return, and sleep within mine inn; For with long travel I am stiff and weary. Get thee away. DRO. S. Many a man would take you at your word, And go indeed, having so good a mean. [Exit DRO. S. a ANTIPHOLUs-] The folio, 1623, has, "Enter Antipholis Erotes, a Marchant, and Dromio." b A trusty villain,-] A faithful bondman, or slave. By these appellations each Antipholus, throughout this Comedy, denominates the Dromio attached to him. So in our author's " Rape of Lucrece," where a Roman slave is mentioned : "The homely villain curt'sies to her low."-MALONE. ANT. S. A trusty villain," sir; that very oft, When I am dull with care and melancholy, Lightens my humour with his merry jests. What, will you walk with me about the town, And then go And then go to my inn, and dine with me? MER. I am invited, sir, to certain merchants, Of whom I hope to make much benefit; I crave your pardon. Soon, at five o'clock, Please you, I'll meet with you upon the mart, And afterward consort you till bed-time: My present business calls me from you now. ANT. S. Farewell till then; I will go lose myself, And wander up and down to view the city. MER. Sir, I commend you to your own content. [Exit Merchant. ANT. S. He that commends me to mine own content, Commends me to the thing I cannot get. I to the world am like a drop of water, c Soon, at five o'clock,-] That is, about five o'clock. d And afterward consort you-] Malone proposed to read, "consort with you;" but the original is probably right-consort you meaning companion you, accompany you. e Unseen inquisitive!] This is invariably printed, "Unseen, inquisitive," &c.; but inquisitive, I believe, is used here for inquisitor. Enter DROMIO of Ephesus. Here comes the almanack of my true date."- too late. The capon burns, the pig falls from the spit; The saddler had it, sir; I kept it not. ANT. S. I am not in a sportive humour now: Tell me, and dally not, where is the money? We being strangers here, how dar'st thou trust So great a charge from thine own custody? DRO. E. I pray you, jest, sir, as you sit at I from my mistress come to you in post; And strike you home without a messenger. ANT. S. Stop in your wind, sir: tell me this, Reserve them till a merrier hour than this. I pray, Where have you left the money that I gave you? DRO. E. O sixpence, that I had o' Wednesday last, To pay the saddler for my mistress' crupper, In former times shopkeepers kept a reckoning of their petty dealings by chalk-marks, or notches, on a post of their shop, after the manner of our modern Bonifaces. We have the same quibbling allusion in "Henry IVth," Part I. Act V. Sc. 3:"Though I could 'scape shot-free at London, I fear the shot here; here's no scoring but upon the pate." She that doth fast till you come home to dinner,b And prays that you will hie you home to dinner. ANT. S. What! wilt thou flout me thus unto my face, Being forbid? There, take you that, sir knave. DRO. E. What mean you, sir? for God's sake, hold your hands; Nay, an you will not, sir, I'll take my heels. c ADR. Neither my husband nor the slave return'd, That in such haste I sent to seek his master! Luc. Perhaps some merchant hath invited him, ADRIANA and LUCIANA.] The folio, 1623, has "Enter Adriana, wife to Antipholis Sereptus, with Luciana her Sister." He takes it ill.] The first folio has thus, instead of ill. The latter word, which seems called for by the rhyme, was supplied in the folio of 1632. e Is lash'd with woe.] It was suggested to Steevens by a lady, that we should read leash'd, i. e. coupled like a headstrong hound; Luc. Because their business still lies out o' door. ADR. Look, when I serve him so, he takes it ill.b Luc. O, know, he is the bridle of your will. ADR. There's none but asses will be bridled so. Luc. Why, headstrong liberty is lash'd with woe. c There's nothing situate under heaven's eye but, as he remarks, "when the mariner lashes his guns, the sportsman leashes his dogs, the female laces her clothes, they all perform one act of fastening with a lace or cord." No alteration, therefore, is required. d The first folio reads Man, and master, in this line, and Lord, in the next. Hanmer made the necessary corrections. |