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THE

COMEDY

O F

ERROR S.

Dra

Dramatis Perfonæ.

SALINUS, Duke of Ephefus.
Ægeon, a Merchant of Syracufe.
Antipholis of Ephefus,
Antipholis of Syracuse,

Dromio of Ephefus,}

Twin-Brothers, and Sons to Egeon and Emilia, but unknown to each other.

Dromio of Ephesus, Į Twin-Brothers, and Slaves to the Dromio of Syracufe, two Antipholis's.

Balthazar, a Merchant.

Angelo, a Goldsmith.

A Merchant, Friend to Antipholis of Syracufe.
Dr. Pinch, a School-mafter, and a Conjurer.

Emilia, Wife to Egeon, an Abbefs at Ephefus.
Adriana, Wife to Antipholis of Ephefus.
Luciana, Sifter to Adriana.

Luce, Servant to Adriana.

Jailor, Officers, and other Attendants.

SCENE, Ephefus.

THE

THE

COMEDY of ERRORS.

ACT I.

SCENE I.

The Duke's Palace.

Enter the Duke of Ephefus, Egeon, Jailor, and other

Attendants.

EGEON.

ROCEED, Salinus, to procure my fall,

PROC

And by the doom of death end woes and all. Duke. Merchant of Syracufe, plead no more;

I am not partial to infringe our laws:

The enmity, and difcord, which of late

Sprung from the ranc'rous outrage of your Duke,
To merchants, our well-dealing countrymen,
(Who, wanting gilders to redeem their lives,
Have feal'd his rigorous ftatutes with their bloods)
Excludes all pity from our threatning looks.
For, fince the mortal and inteftine jars
'Twixt thy feditious countrymen and us,
It hath in folemn fynods been decreed,
Both by the Syracufans and ourselves,
T'admit no traffic to our adverfe towns.
Nay, more; if any born at Ephefus
Be feen at Syracufan marts and fairs,
Again, if any Syracufan born

Come to the bay of Ephefus, he dies:
VOL. IV.

B

His

His goods confiscate to the Duke's dispose,
Unless a thousand marks be levied
To quit the penalty, and ransom him.
Thy fubftance, valu'd at the highest rate,
Cannot amount unto a hundred marks;
Therefore, by law thou art condemn'd to die.

Egeon. Yet this my comfort, when your words are done,

My woes end likewife with the evening fun."
Duke. Well, Syracufan, fay, in brief, the cause,
Why thou departed'ft from thy native home;
And for what cause thou cam'ft to Ephefus.

Ægeon. A heavier tafk could not have been impos'd, Than I to speak my grief unfpeakable:

Yet that the world may witnefs, that my end
Was wrought by nature, not by vile offence,
I'll utter what my forrow gives me leave.
In Syracufa was I born, and wed

Unto a woman, happy but for me;

And by me too, had not our hap been bad:
With her I liv'd in joy; our wealth increas'd,
By profperous voyages I often made
To Epidamnum; 'till my factor's death,
And the great care of goods at random left,
Drew me from kind embracements of my spouse;
From whom my abfence was not fix months old,
Before herself (almoft at fainting under
The pleafing punishment that women bear)
Had made provifion for her following me,
And foon, and safe, arrived where I was.
There he had not been long, but she became

A joyful mother of two goodly fons;

And, which was ftrange, the one fo like the other,
As could not be diftinguifh'd but by names.
That very hour, and in the felf-fame inn,

A poor mean woman was delivered
Of fuch a burden, male-twins both alike:
Thofe (for their parents were exceeding poor)

I bought,

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