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SCENE I.-The Same.

ACT IV.

Enter a Merchant, ANGELO, and an Officer.
Mer. You know, since Pentecost the sum is due,
And since I have not much importun'd you;
Nor now I had not, but that I am bound
To Persia, and want gilders for my voyage:
Therefore, make present satisfaction,
Or I'll attach you by this officer.

Ang. Even just the sum, that I do owe to you,

Is growing to me by Antipholus;

And, in the instant that I met with you,
He had of me a chain: at five o'clock,

I shall receive the money for the same.
Pleaseth you walk with me down to his house,
I will discharge my bond, and thank you too.
Enter ANTIPHOLUS of Ephesus, and DROMIO of Ephesus,
from the Courtezan's.

Off. That labour 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
Among my wife and these confederates,
For locking me out of my doors by day.-

But soft, I see the goldsmith.-Get thee gone;
Buy thou a rope, and bring it home to me.

Dro. E. I buy a thousand pound a-year? I buy a
rope?
[Exit.

Ant. E. A man is well holp up that trusts to you:
I promis'd me your presence, and the chain,
But neither chain, nor goldsmith, came to me.
Belike, you thought our love would last too long,
If it were chain'd together, and therefore came not.
Ang. Saving your merry humour, here's the note
How much your chain weighs to the utmost caract,
The fineness of the gold, and chargeful fashion,
Which doth amount to three odd ducats more
Than I stand debted to this gentleman:

I pray you, see him presently discharg'd,
For he is bound to sea, and stays but for it.

Ant. E. I am not furnish'd with the present money;
Besides, I have some business in the town.
Good signior, take the stranger to my house,
And with you take the chain, and bid my wife
Disburse the sum on the receipt thereof:
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? 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 stay 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, dispatch. Ang. You hear, how he importunes 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 by me some token.

Ant. E. Fie! now you run this humour 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 for 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,
If he should scorn me so apparently.

Off. I do arrest you, sir. You hear the suit.
Ant. E. I do obey thee, till I give thee bail.-
But, sirrah, you shall buy this sport as dear,
As all the metal in your shop will answer.

Ang. Sir, sir, I shall have law in Ephesus,
To your notorious shame, I doubt it not.
Enter DROMIO of Syracuse.

Dro. S. Master, there is a bark of Epidamnum, That stays but till her owner comes aboard, And then, sir, she bears away. Our fraughtage, sir, I have convey'd aboard, and I have bought The oil, the balsamum, and aqua-vitæ. The ship is in her trim: the merry wind Blows fair from land; they stay for nought at all, But for their owner, master, and yourself.

Ant. E. How now? a madman! Why, thou peevish sheep,

What ship of Epidamnum stays for me?

Dro. S. A ship you sent me to, to hire waftage. 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 cover'd 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 Merchant, ANGELO, Officer, and ANT. E Dro. S. To Adriana? that is where we din'd, Where Dowsabel did claim me for her husband: She is too big, I hope, for me to compass. Thither I must, although against my will, For servants must their masters' minds fulfil. [Exi 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?

Look'd he or red, or pale? or sad, or merry?
What observation mad'st thou in this case,
Of his heart's meteors tilting in his face?

Luc. First he denied you had in him no right.

Adr. He meant, he did me none: the more my 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 begg'd for you, he begg'd 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: My tongue, though not my heart, shall have his will. He is deformed, crooked, old, and sere, Ill-fac'd, worse bodied, shapeless every where; Vicious, ungentle, foolish, blunt, unkind, Stigmatical in making, worse in mind.

Luc. Who would be jealous, then, of such a one? No evil lost is wail'd when it is gone.

Adr. Ah! but I think him better than I say, And yet would herein others' eyes were worse. Far from her nest the lapwing cries away:

My heart prays for him, though my tongue do curse. Enter DROMIO of Syracuse, running.

Dro. S. Here, go: the desk! the purse! swift, 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 garment hath him fell,
One whose hard heart is button'd up with steel;
Who knows no touch of mercy, cannot feel;
A fiend, a fury, pitiless and rough;

A wolf, nay, worse, a fellow all in buff;

A back-friend, a shoulder-clapper, one that countermands

The passages and alleys, creeks and narrow lands:
A hound that runs counter, and yet draws dry-foot well;
One that, before the judgment, carries poor souls to hell.
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. Dro. S. I know not at whose suit he is arrested well; But he's in a suit of buff which 'rested him, that can I tell. Will you send him, mistress, redemption? the money in his desk?

Adr. Go fetch it, sister.-This I wonder at;
[Exit LUCIANA.
That he, unknown to me, should be in debt :-
Tell me, was he arrested on a band?

Dro. S. Not on a band, but on a stronger thing;
A chain, a chain: do you not hear it ring?
Adr. What, the chain?

Dro. S. No, no, the bell. 'Tis time that I were gone : It was two ere I left him, and now the clock strikes one. Adr. The hours come back! that did I never hear. Dro. S. O yes; if any hour meet a serjeant, 'a turns back for very fear.

Adr. As if time were in debt! how fondly dost thou reason!

Dro. S. Time is a very bankrupt, and owes more than he's worth, to season.

Nay, he's a thief too: have you not heard men say, That time comes stealing on by night and day?

If he be in debt and theft, and a serjeant in the way, Hath he not reason to turn back any hour in a day? Re-enter LUCIANA.

Adr. Go, Dromio: there's the money, bear it straight,

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Enter ANTIPHOLUS of Syracuse, wearing the chain. Ant. S. There's not a man I meet but doth salute me, As if I were their well acquainted friend; And every one doth call me by my name. Some tender money to me, some invite me; Some other give me thanks for kindnesses; Some offer me commodities to buy: Even now a tailor call'd me in his shop, And show'd me silks that he had bought for me, And, therewithal, took measure of my body. Sure, these are but imaginary wiles,

And Lapland sorcerers inhabit here.

Enter DROMIO of Syracuse.

Dro. S. Master, here's the gold you sent me for. What have you got the picture of old Adam new apparell'd?

Ant. S. What gold is this? What Adam dost thou mean? Dro. S. Not that Adam that kept the paradise, but that Adam that keeps the prison: he that goes in the calf's-skin that was kill'd for the prodigal: he that came behind you, sir, like an evil angel, and bid you forsake your liberty.

Ant. S. I understand thee not.

Dro. S. No? why, 'tis a plain case: he that went, like a base-viol, in a case of leather: the man, sir, that, when gentlemen are tired, gives them a fob, and 'rests them: he, sir, that takes pity on decayed men, and gives them suits of durance; he that sets up his rest to do more exploits with his mace, than a morris-pike. Ant. S. What, thou mean'st an officer?

Dro. S. Ay, sir, the serjeant of the band; he that brings any man to answer it, that breaks his band; one that thinks a man always going to bed, and says, "God give you good rest!"

Ant. S. Well, sir, there rest in your foolery. Is there any ship puts forth to-night? may we be gone?

Dro. S. Why, sir, I brought you word an hour since, that the bark Expedition put forth to-night; and then were you hindered by the serjeant to tarry for the hoy Delay. Here are the angels that you sent for to deliver you.

Ant. S. The fellow is distract, and so am I,
And here we wander in illusions.
Some blessed power deliver us from hence!
Enter a Courtezan.
Cour. Well met, well met, master Antipholus.
I see, sir, you have found the goldsmith now:
Is that the chain, you promis'd me to-day?

Ant. S. Satan, avoid! I charge thee, tempt me not!
Dro. S. Master, is this mistress Satan?
Ant. S. It is the devil.

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Dro. S. Nay, she is worse, she is the devil's dam; and here she comes in the habit of a light wench: and thereof comes that the wenches say, "God damn me,' that's as much as to say, "God make me a light wench." It is written, they appear to men like angels of light: light is an effect of fire, and fire will burn; ergo, light wenches will burn. Come not near her.

Cour. Your man and you are marvellous merry, sir. Will you go with me? we'll mend our dinner here. Dro. S. Master, if you do expect spoon-meat, bespeak a long spoon.

Ant. S. Why, Dromio?

Dro. S. Marry, he must have a long spoon that must eat with the devil.

Ant. S. Avoid, thou fiend! what tell'st thou me of my nativity to this instant, and have nothing at his supping?

Thou art, as you are all, a sorceress :

I conjure thee to leave me, and be gone.

hands for my service, but blows. When I am cold, he heats me with beating; when I am warm, he cools me with beating: I am wak'd with it, when I sleep; rais'd

Cour. Give me the ring of mine you had at dinner, with it, when I sit; driven out of doors with it, when

Or for my diamond the chain you promised,
And I'll be gone, sir, and not trouble you.

Dro. S. Some devils ask but the parings of one's
nail,

A rush, a hair, a drop of blood, a pin, a nut, a cherry-
stone;

But she, more covetous, would have a chain.
Master, be wise: an if you give it her,

The devil will shake her chain, and fright us with it.
Cour. I pray you, sir, my ring, or else the chain.
I hope you do not mean to cheat me so.

Ant. S. Avaunt, thou witch! Come, Dromio, let us go.
Dro. S. Fly pride, says the peacock: mistress, that
you know.
[Exeunt ANT. and DRO.
Cour. Now, out of doubt, Antipholus is mad,
Else would he never so demean himself.
A ring he hath of mine worth forty ducats,
And for the same he promis'd me a chain:
Both one and other he denies me now.
The reason that I gather he is mad,
Besides this present instance of his rage,
Is a mad tale he told to-day at dinner

Of his own doors being shut against his entrance.
Belike, his wife, acquainted with his fits,
On purpose shut the doors against his way.
My way is now, to hie home to his house,
And tell his wife, that, being lunatic,
He rush'd into my house, and took perforce
My ring away. This course I fittest choose,
For forty ducats is too much to lose.

SCENE IV.-The Same.

I go from home; welcomed home with it, when I
return nay, I bear it on my shoulders, as a beggar
wont her brat; and, I think, when he hath lamed me,
I shall beg with it from door to door.

Ant. E. Come, go along: my wife is coming yonder.
Enter ADRIANA, LUCIANA, the Courtezan, and a
Schoolmaster called PINCH.

Dro. E. Mistress, respice finem, respect your end; or rather the prophecy, like the parrot, "beware the rope's end."

Ant. E. Wilt thou still talk?

[Beats him.
Cour. How say you now? is not your husband mad?
Adr. His incivility confirms no less.-
Good doctor Pinch, you are a conjurer;
Establish him in his true sense again,
And I will please you what you will demand.

Luc. Alas, how fiery and how sharp he looks!
Cour. Mark, how he trembles in his ecstasy!
Pinch. Give me your hand, and let me feel your
pulse.

Ant. E. There is my hand, and let it feel your ear.
Pinch. I charge thee, Satan, hous'd within this man,
To yield possession to my holy prayers,

And to thy state of darkness hie thee straight:

I conjure thee by all the saints in heaven.
Ant. E. Peace, doting wizard, peace! I am not mad.
Adr. O, that thou wert not, poor distressed soul !
Ant. E. You minion, you; are these your customers?
Did this companion with the saffron face

[Exit. Revel and feast it at my house to-day,
Whilst upon me the guilty doors were shut,
And I denied to enter in my house?

Enter ANTIPHOLUS of Ephesus, and a Jailor.
Ant. E. Fear me not, man; I will not break away:
I'll give thee, ere I leave thee, so much money,
To warrant thee, as I am 'rested for.

My wife is in a wayward mood to-day,
And will not lightly trust the messenger:
That I should be attach'd in Ephesus,

I tell you, 'twill sound harshly in her ears.

Enter DROMIO of Ephesus with a rope's-end.
Here comes my man: I think he brings the money.-
How now, sir? have you that I sent you for?

Dro. E. Here's that, I warrant you, will pay them all.
Ant. E. But where's the money?

Dro. E. Why, sir, I gave the money for the rope.
Ant. E. Five hundred ducats, villain, for a rope?
Dro. E. I'll serve you, sir, five hundred at the rate.
Ant. E. To what end did I bid thee hie thee home?
Dro. E. To a rope's end, sir; and to that end am I
return'd.

Ant. E. And to that end, sir, I will welcome you.
[Beating him.

Jail. Good sir, be patient.

Dro. E. Nay, 'tis for me to be patient; I am in adversity.

Jail. Good now, hold thy tongue.

Dro. E. Nay, rather persuade him to hold his hands.
Ant. E. Thou whoreson, senseless villain!

Dro. E. I would I were senseless, sir; that I might not feel your blows.

Ant. E. Thou art sensible in nothing but blows, and so is an ass.

Dro. E. I am an ass, indeed: you may prove it by my long ears. I have serv'd him from the hour of

Adr. O, husband, God doth know, you din'd at home;
Where 'would you had remain'd until this time,
Free from these slanders, and this open shame!

Ant. E. Din'd at home! Thou, villain, what say'st
thou?

Dro. E. Sir, sooth to say, you did not dine at home.
Ant. E. Were not my doors lock'd up, and I shut

out?

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Ant. E. And did not she herself revile me there?
Dro. E. Sans fable, she herself revil'd you there.
Ant. E. Did not her kitchen-maid rail, taunt, and
scorn me?

Dro. E. Certes, she did; the kitchen-vestal scorn'd
you.

Ant. E. And did not I in rage depart from thence ?
Dro. E. In verity, you did :-
:-my
bones bear witness,
That since have felt the rigour of his rage.
Adr. Is't good to soothe him in these contraries?
Pinch. It is no shame: the fellow finds his vein,
And, yielding to him, humours well his frenzy.
Ant. E. Thou hast suborn'd the goldsmith to arrest me.
Adr. Alas, I sent you money to redeem you,
By Dromio here, who came in haste for it.

Dro. E. Money by me! heart and good-will you
might;

But, surely, master, not a rag of money.

Ant. E. Went'st not thou to her for a purse of ducats!
Adr. He came to me, and I deliver'd it.

Luc. And I am witness with ber that she did.
Dro. E. God and the rope-maker now bear me
witness,

That I was sent for nothing but a rope!

Pinch. Mistress, both man and master is possessed: I know it by their pale and deadly looks. They must be bound, and laid in some dark room. Ant. E. Say, wherefore didst thou lock me forth to-day?

And why dost thou deny the bag of gold?

Adr. I did not, gentle husband, lock thee forth. Dro. E. And, gentle master, I receiv'd no gold; But I confess, sir, that we were lock'd out.

Adr. Dissembling villain! thou speak'st false in both. Ant. E. Dissembling harlot! thou art false in all, And art confederate with a damned pack To make a loathsome, abject scorn of me; But with these nails I'll pluck out those false eyes, That would behold in me this shameful sport. Enter three or four, and bind ANTIPHOLUS and DROMIO. Adr. O bind him, bind him! let him not come near

me.

Pinch. More company!-the fiend is strong within him.

Luc. Ah me! poor man, how pale and wan he looks. Ant. E. What, will you murder me? Thou jailor, thou,

I am thy prisoner: wilt thou suffer them
To make a rescue?

Jail.

Masters, let him go:

He is my prisoner, and you shall not have him.
Pinch. Go, bind this man, for he is frantic too.
Adr. What wilt thou do, thou peevish officer?
Hast thou delight to see a wretched man
Do outrage and displeasure to himself?

Jail. He is my prisoner: if I let him go,
The debt he owes will be requir'd of me.

Adr. I will discharge thee, ere I go from thee.
Bear me forthwith unto his creditor,
And, knowing how the debt grows, I will pay it.
Good master doctor, see him safe convey'd
Home to my house.-O, most unhappy day!
Ant. E. O, most unhappy strumpet !

Dro. E. Master, I am here enter'd in bond for you. Ant. E. Out on thee, villain! wherefore dost thou mad me?

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Luc. God help, poor souls! how idly do they talk. Adr. Go bear him hence.-Sister, go you with me.[Exeunt PINCH and assistants with ANT. and DRO. Say now, whose suit is he arrested at? Jail. One Angelo, a goldsmith; do you know him? Adr. I know the man. What is the sum he owes? Jail. Two hundred ducats.

Adr.

Say, how grows it due? Jail. Due for a chain your husband had of him. Adr. He did bespeak a chain for me, but had it not. Cour. When as your husband, all in rage, to-day Came to my house, and took away my ring,, (The ring I saw upon his finger now) Straight after did I meet him with a chain.

Adr. It may be so, but I did never see it.Come, jailor, bring me where the goldsmith is: I long to know the truth hereof at large. Enter ANTIPHOLUS of Syracuse, with his rapier drawn, and DROMIO of Syracuse.

Luc. God, for thy mercy! they are loose again. Adr. And come with naked swords. Let's call more

help, To have them bound again. Jail.

Away! they'll kill us. [Exeunt ADRIANA, LUCIANA, and Jailor. Ant. S. I see, these witches are afraid of swords. Dro. S. She, that would be your wife, now ran from you.

Ant. S. Come to the Centaur; fetch our stuff from thence :

I long, that we were safe and sound aboard.

Dro. S. Faith, stay here this night, they will surely do us no harm; you saw they spake us fair, gave us gold. Methinks they are such a gentle nation, that but for the mountain of mad flesh that claims marriage of me, I could find in my heart to stay here still, and turn witch.

Ant. S. I will not stay to-night for all the town; Therefore away, to get out stuff aboard. [Exeunt.

ACT V.

SCENE I.—The Same. Before an Abbey.
Enter Merchant and ANGELO.

Ang. I am sorry, sir, that I have hinder'd you;
But, I protest, he had the chain of me,
Though most dishonestly he doth deny it.

Mer. How is the man esteem'd here in the city? Ang. Of very reverend reputation, sir, Of credit infinite, highly belov'd, Second to none that lives here in the city: His word might bear my wealth at any time. Mer. Speak softly: yonder, as I think, he walks. Enter ANTIPHOLUS and DROмIO of Syracuse. Ang. 'Tis so; and that self chain about his neck, Which he forswore most monstrously to have. Good sir, draw near with me, I'll speak to him.Signior Antipholus, I wonder much

That

you would put me to this shame and trouble; And not without some scandal to yourself, With circumstance and oaths so to deny This chain, which now you wear so openly: Beside the charge, the shame, imprisonment,

You have done wrong to this my honest friend;
Who, but for staying on our controversy,
Had hoisted sail, and put to sea to-day.
This chain, you had of me : can you deny it?
Ant. S. I think, I had: I never did deny it.
Mer. Yes, that you did, sir; and forswore it too.
Ant. S. Who heard me to deny it, or forswear it?
Mer. These ears of mine, thou knowest, did hear

thee.

Fie on thee, wretch! 'tis pity that thou liv'st
To walk where any honest men resort.

Ant. S. Thou art a villain to impeach me thus.
I'll
prove mine honour and mine honesty
Against thee presently, if thou dar'st stand.

Mer. I dare, and do defy thee for a villain. [They draw.
Enter ADRIANA, LUCIANA, Courtezan, and Others.
Adr. Hold! hurt him not, for God's sake! he is mad.-
Some get within him; take his sword away.
Bind Dromio too, and bear them to my house.
Dro. S. Run, master, run; for God's sake take a house!
This is some priory :-in, or we are spoil'd.

[Exeunt ANTIPHOLUS and DROMIO to the Abbey.

Enter the Lady Abbess.

Abb. Be quiet, people. Wherefore throng you hither?

Adr. To fetch my poor distracted husband hence. Let us come in, that we may bind him fast, And bear him home for his recovery.

Ang. I knew, he was not in his perfect wits. Mer. I am sorry now, that I did draw on him. Abb. How long hath this possession held the man? Adr. This week he hath been heavy, sour, sad; And much different from the man he was; But, till this afternoon, his passion Ne'er brake into extremity of rage.

Abb. Hath he not lost much wealth by wreck of sea? Buried some dear friend? Hath not else his eye Stray'd his affection in unlawful love?

A sin prevailing much in youthful men,
Who give their eyes the liberty of gazing.
Which of these sorrows is he subject to?

Adr. To none of these, except it be the last;
Namely, some love, that drew him oft from home.
Abb. You should for that have reprehended him.
Adr. Why, so I did.
Abb.
Ay, but not rough enough.
Adr. As roughly as my modesty would let me.
Abb. Haply, in private.
Adr.

And in assemblies too.
Abb. Ay, but not enough.
Adr. It was the copy of our conference.
In bed, he slept not for my urging it;
At board, he fed not for my urging it;
Alone, it was the subject of my theme;
In company, I often glanc'd at it:

Still did I tell him it was vile and bad.

Abb. And thereof came it that the man was mad :

The venom clamours of a jealous woman
Poison more deadly than a mad dog's tooth.

It seems, his sleeps were hind'red by thy railing,
And thereof comes it, that his head is light.

Thou say'st, his meat was sauc'd with thy upbraidings:
Unquiet meals make ill digestions;
Thereof the raging fire of fever bred :
And what's a fever but a fit of madness?
Thou say'st, his sports were hinder'd by thy brawls:
Sweet recreation barr'd, what doth ensue,
But moody and dull melancholy,
Kinsman to grim and comfortless despair,
And at her heels a huge infectious troop
Of pale distemperatures, and foes to life?
In food, in sport, and life-preserving rest
To be disturb'd, would mad or man or beast.
The consequence is, then, thy jealous fits
Have scar'd thy husband from the use of wits.

Luc. She never reprehended him but mildly, When he demean'd himself rough, rude, and wildly. Why bear you these rebukes, and answer not?

Adr. She did betray me to my own reproof.Good people, enter, and lay hold on him.

Abb. No; not a creature enters in my house.
Adr. Then, let your servants bring my husband forth.
Abb. Neither: he took this place for sanctuary,
And it shall privilege him from your hands,
Till I have brought him to his wits again,
Or lose my labour in essaying it.

Adr. I will attend my husband, be his nurse,
Diet his sickness; for it is my office,
And will have no attorney but myself,

And therefore let me have him home with me.
Abb. Be patient; for I will not let him stir,
Till I have us'd the approved means I have,

With wholesome syrups, drugs, and holy prayers,
To make of him a formal man again.
It is a branch and parcel of mine oath,
A charitable duty of my order;

Therefore depart, and leave him here with me.
Adr. I will not hence, and leave my husband here;
And ill it doth beseem your holiness

To separate the husband and the wife.

Abb. Be quiet, and depart : thou shalt not have him.
[Exit Abbess.
Luc. Complain unto the duke of this indignity.
Adr. Come, go: I will fall prostrate at his feet,
And never rise, until my tears and prayers
Have won his grace to come in person hither,
And take perforce my husband from the abbess.

Mer. By this, I think, the dial points at five:
Anon, I'm sure, the duke himself in person
Comes this way to the melancholy vale,
The place of death and solemn execution,
Behind the ditches of the abbey here.
Ang. Upon what cause?

Mer. To see a reverend Syracusian merchant,
Who put unluckily into this bay

Against the laws and statutes of this town,
Beheaded publicly for his offence.

Ang. See, where they come: we will behold his death. Luc. Kneel to the duke before he pass the abbey. Enter DUKE attended; ÆGEON bare-headed; with the Headsman and other Officers.

Duke. Yet once again proclaim it publicly,
If any friend will pay the sum for him,
He shall not die, so much we tender him.

Adr. Justice, most sacred duke, against the abbess!
Duke. She is a virtuous and a reverend lady:

It cannot be, that she hath done thee wrong.
Adr. May it please your grace, Antipholus, my
husband,

Whom I made lord of me, and all I had,
At your important letters, this ill day
A most outrageous fit of madness took him,
That desperately he hurried through the street,
(With him his bondman, all as mad as he)
Doing displeasure to the citizens

By rushing in their houses, bearing thence
Rings, jewels, any thing his rage did like.
Once did I get him bound, and sent him home,
Whilst to take order for the wrongs I went,
That here and there his fury had committed.
Anon, I wot not by what strange escape,
He broke from those that had the guard of him,
And with his mad attendant and himself,
Each one with ireful passion, with drawn swords,
Met us again, and, madly bent on us,
Chas'd us away; till, raising of more aid,
We came again to bind them. Then they fled
Into this abbey, whither we pursued them;
And here the abbess shuts the gates on us,
And will not suffer us to fetch him out,
Nor send him forth, that we may bear him hence.
Therefore, most gracious duke, with thy command,
Let him be brought forth, and borne hence for help.

Duke. Long since thy husband serv'd me in my wars
And I to thee engag'd a prince's word,
When thou didst make him master of thy bed,
To do him all the grace and good I could.-
Go, some of you, knock at the abbey gate,
And bid the lady abbess come to me.

I will determine this, before I stir.

Enter a Servant.

Serv. O mistress, mistress! shift and save yourself

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