They brought one Pinch, a hungry lean-faced villain,

A mere anatomy, a mountebank,

A threadbare juggler and a fortune-teller,

A needy, hollow-eyed, sharp-looking wretch,

240

A living-dead man: this pernicious slave,
Forsooth, took on him as a conjurer,

And, gazing in mine eyes, feeling my pulse,
And with no face, as 't were, outfacing me,
Cries out, I was possess'd. Then all together.
They fell upon me, bound me, bore me thence
And in a dark and dankish vault at home
There left me and my man, both bound together;
Till, gnawing with my teeth my bonds in sunder,
I gain'd my freedom and immediately

Ran hither to your grace; whom I beseech
To give me ample satisfaction

For these deep shames and great indignities.

Ang. My lord, in truth, thus far I witness with him, That he din'd not at home, but was lock'd out.

Duke. But had he such a chain of thee or no? Ang. He had, my lord: and when he ran in here, These people saw the chain about his neck.

250

Sec. Mer. Besides, I will be sworn these ears of mine

260

Heard you confess you had the chain of him
After you first forswore it on the mart:
And thereupon I drew my sword on you;
And then you fled into this abbey here,

From whence, I think, you are come by miracle.
Ant. E. I never came within these abbey-walls,
Nor ever didst thou draw thy sword on me:
I never saw the chain, so help me Heaven!

And this is false you burden me withal.

Duke. Why, what an intricate impeach is this!

I think you all have drunk of Circe's cup.

270

If here you hous'd him, here he would have been ;

If he were mad, he would not plead so coldly:
You say he din'd at home; the goldsmith here
Denies that saying. Sirrah, what say you?

Dro. E. Sir, Le din'd with her there, at the Porpentine.
Cour. He did, and from my finger snatch'd that ring.
Ant. E. 'Tis true, my liege, this ring I had of her.
Duke. Saw'st thou him enter at the abbey here?
Cour. As sure, my liege, as I do see your grace.
Duke. Why, this is strange. Go call the abbess hither.

I think you are all mated or stark mad.

280

[Exit one to the Abbess.

370 Circe's cup. Circe, a beautiful sorceress, besotted and embruted all her admirers 281 mated: confused, bewildered.

Ege. Most mighty Duke, vouchsafe me speak a word: Haply I see a friend will save my

life

And pay the sum that may deliver me.

Duke. Speak freely, Syracusian, what thou wilt.
Ege. Is not your name, sir, call'd Antipholus?
And is not that your bondman, Dromio?

Dro. E. Within this hour I was his bondman, sir,
But he, I thank him, gnaw'd in two my cords :
Now am I Dromio and his man unbound.

Ege. I am sure you both of you remember me.
Dro. E. Ourselves we do remember, sir, by you;
For lately we were bound, as you are now.
You are not Pinch's patient, are you, sir?

Ege. Why look you strange on me? you know me well.
Ant. E. I never saw you in my life till now.

Ege. O, grief hath chang'd me since you saw me last,
And careful hours with time's deformed hand

Have written strange defeatures in my face:

But tell me yet, dost thou not know my voice?
Ant. E. Neither.

Ege. Dromio, nor thou?
Dro. E.

Ege. I am sure thou dost.

No, trust me, sir, nor I.

290

300

Dro. E. Ay, sir, but I am sure I do not; and whatsoever a man denies, you are now bound to believe him.

Ege. Not know my voice! O time's extremity,
Hast thou so crack'd and splitted my poor tongue
In seven short years, that here my only son
Knows not my feeble key of untun'd cares?
Though now this grained face of mine be hid
In sap-consuming winter's drizzled snow
And all the conduits of my blood froze up,
Yet hath my night of life some memory,
My wasting lamps some fading glimmer left,
My dull deaf ears a little use to hear:
All these old witnesses I cannot err —
Tell me thou art my son Antipholus.

Ant. E. I never saw my father in my life. Ege. But seven years since, in Syracusa, boy, Thou know'st we parted: but perhaps, my son, Thou sham'st to acknowledge me in misery.

310

320

Ant. E. The Duke and all that know me in the city

Can witness with me that it is not so:

I ne'er saw Syracusa in my life.

Have I been patron to Antipholus,

Duke. I tell thee, Syracusian, twenty years

During which time he ne'er saw Syracusa :
I see thy age and dangers make thee dote.

Re-enter Abbess, with ANTIPHOLUS of Syracuse and DROMIO of Syracuse.

Abb. Most mighty Duke, behold a man much wrong'd.
[All gather to see them.

Adr. I see two husbands, or mine eyes deceive me.
Duke. One of these men is Genius to the other;
And so of these. Which is the natural man,
And which the spirit? who deciphers them?

Dro. S. I, sir, am Dromio: command him away.
Dro. E. I, sir, am Dromio: pray, let me stay.
Ant. S. Egeon art thou not? or else his ghost?
Dro. S. O, my old master! who hath bound him here?
Abb. Whoever bound him, I will loose his bonds

And gain a husband by his liberty.

Speak, old Ægeon, if thou be'st the man
That hadst a wife once call'd Æmilia
That bore thee at a burden two fair sons:
O, if thou be'st the same Ægeon, speak,
And speak unto the same Æmilia!

Ege. If I dream not, thou art Æmilia:
If thou art she, tell me where is that son
That floated with thee on the fatal raft?

Abb. By men of Epidamnum he and I And the twin Dromio all were taken up; But by and by rude fishermen of Corinth

330

340

By force took Dromio and my son from them,
And me they left with those of Epidamnum.
What then became of them I cannot tell;

350

I to this fortune that you see me in.

-

Duke. Why, here begins his morning story right:
These two Antipholuses, these two so like,
And these two Dromios, one in semblance,
Besides her urging of her wrack at sea,
These are the parents to these children,
Which accidentally are met together.
Antipholus, thou cam'st from Corinth first?

Ant. S. No, sir, not I; I came from Syracuse.

Duke. Stay, stand apart; I know not which is which.
Ant. E. I came from Corinth, my most gracious lord,
Dro. E. And I with him.

360

Ant. E. Brought to this town by that most famous warrior, Duke Menaphon, your most renowned uncle.

Adr. Which of you two did dine with me to-day?

Ant. S. I, gentle mistress.

Adr.

And are not you my husband?

Ant. E.

No; I say nay to that.

370

Ant. S. And so do I; yet did she call me so:

And this fair gentlewoman, her sister here,

Did call me brother. [To Luc.] What I told you then,
I hope I shall have leisure to make good;

If this be not a dream I see and hear.

Ang. That is the chain, sir, which you had of me.
Ant. S. I think it be, sir; I deny it not.

Ant. E. And you, sir, for this chain arrested me.
Ang. I think I did, sir; I deny it not.

Adr. I sent you money, sir, to be your bail,
By Dromio; but I think he brought it not.
Dro. E. No, none by me.

Ant. S. This purse of ducats I receiv'd from you
And Dromio my man did bring them me.

I see we still did meet each other's man,
And I was ta'en for him, and he for me,
And thereupon these errors are arose.

To

Ant. E. These ducats pawn I for my father here.
Duke. It shall not need; thy father hath his life.
Cour. Sir, I must have that diamond from you.

380

390

Ant. E. There, take it; and much thanks for my good cheer.

Abb. Renowned Duke, vouchsafe to take the pains

go with us into the abbey here

And hear at large discoursed all our fortunes:

And all that are assembled in this place,
That by this sympathized one day's error
Have suffer'd wrong, go keep us company,
And we shall make full satisfaction.
Thirty-three years have I but gone in travail
Of you, my sons; and till this present hour
My heavy burthen ne'er delivered.

The Duke, my husband and my children both,
And you the calendars of their nativity,

Go to a gossips' feast, and go with me ;

After so long grief, such festivity!

Duke. With all my heart, I'll gossip at this feast.

400

[Exeunt all but Ant. S., Ant. E., Dro. S., and Dro. E Dro. S. Master, shall I go fetch your stuff from shipboard? Ant. E. Dromio, what stuff of mine hast thou embark'd?

887 are arose. This has been changed to "all arose; "a very plausible and apparently much needed correction. But the more I consider the question, the stronger becomes my belief that S. wrote "errors are arose "

398 satisfaction: five syllables.

399 Thirty-three years. As Egeon had parted from his son seven years before, when the boy was eighteen years old, it was only twenty-five years; but for such matters 8. eared little.

Dro. S. Your goods that lay at host, sir, in the Centaur. Ant. S. He speaks to me. I am your master, Dromio: 410 Come, go with us; we 'll look to that anon:

Embrace thy brother there; rejoice with him.

[Exeunt Ant. S. and Ant. E.

Dro. S. There is a fat friend at your master's house,

That kitchen'd me for you to-day at dinner:

She now shall be my sister, not my wife.

Dro. E. Methinks you are my glass, and not my brother: I see by you I am a sweet-faced youth.

Will you walk in to see their gossiping?

Dro. S. Not I, sir; you are my elder.

Dro. E. That's a question: how shall we try it?

420

Dro. S. We'll draw cuts for the senior: till then lead thou first.

Dro. E. Nay, then, thus:

We came into the world like brother and brother;

And now let's go hand in hand, not one before another. [Exeunt,

19