Gra. In christening thou shalt have two god-| SCENE II.-The same. A street. Enter Portia

fathers;

and Nerissa.

Had I been judge, thou should'st have had tenj

more,

To bring thee to the gallows, not the font.
[Exit Shylock.
Duke. Sir, I entreat you home with me to dinner.
Pur. I humbly do desire your grace of pardon;
I must away this night toward Padua,
And it is meet, I presently set forth.

Enter Gratiano.

Duke. I am sorry, that your leisure serves you My lord Bassanio, upon more advice,'
Gra. Fair sir, you are well overtaken:
Hath sent you here this ring; and doch entreat
Your company at dinner.

not.

Antonio, gratify this gentleman;
For, in my mind, you are much bound to him.
[Exeunt Duke, magnificoes, and train.
Bass. Most worthy gent eman, 1 and my friend,
Have by your wisdom been this day acquitted
Of grievous penalties; in lieu whereof,
Three thousand ducats, due unto the Jew,
We freely cope your courteous pains withal.

Ant. And stand indebted, over and above,
In love and service to you everinore.

Por. He is well paid, that is well satisfied;
And I, delivering you, am satisfied,
And therein do account myself well paid;
My mind was never yet more mercenary,
I pray you, know me, when we met again;
I wish you well, and so I take my leave.

Buss, Dear sir, of force I must attempt you fur-
ther;

Take some remembrance of us, as a tribute,
Not as a fee: grant me two things, I pray you,
Not to deny me, and to pardon me.

Por. You press me far, and therefore I will
yield.

Give me your gloves, I'll wear them for your sake;
And, for your love, I'll take this ring from you :—
Do not draw back your hand; I'll take no more;
And you in love shall not deny me this.

Bass. This ring, good sir,-alas, it is a trifle;
I will not shame myself to give you this.

Por. I will have nothing else but only this; And now, methinks, I have a mind to it.

Bass. There's more depends on this, than on
the value.

The dearest ring in Venice will I give you,
And find it out by proclamation;
Only for this, I pray you, pardon me.

Por. I see, sir, you are liberal in offers:
You taught me first to beg; and now, methinks,
You teach me how a beggar should be answer'd.
Bass. Good sir, this ring was given me by my
wife;

And, when she put it on, she made me vow,
That I should neither sell, nor give, nor lose it.
Por. That 'scuse serves many men to save their

gifts.

An if your wife be not a mad woman,
And know how well I have deserv'd this ring,
She would not ho'd out enemy for ever,
For giving it to me. Well, peace be with you!
[Exeunt Portia and Nerissa.
Ant. My lord Bassanio, let him have the ring;
Let his deservings, and my love withal,
Be valued 'gainst your wife's commandment.

Bass. Go, Gratiano, run and overtake him,
Give him the ring; and bring him, if thou canst,
Unto Antonio's house :-away, make haste.
[Exit Gratiano.
Come, you and I will thither presently;
And in the morning early will we both
Fly toward Belmont: Come, Antonio. [Exeunt.

(1) Reflection.

Por. Inquire the Jew's house out, give him this deed,

And let him sign it; we'll away to-night,
And be a day before our husbands home:
This deed will be well welcome to Lorenzo.

Por.

That cannot be :

This ring I do accept most thankfully,
And so, I pray you, tell him: Furthermore,
pray you, show my youth old Shylock's house.
Gra. That will I do.

I

Ner.
Sir, I would speak with you:-
I'll see if I can get my husband's ring, [To Portia.
Which I did make him swear to keep for ever.
Por. Thou may'st, I warrant: We shall have
old swearing,

That they did give the rings away to men,
But we'il outface them, and outswear them too.
Away, make haste; thou know'st where I will tarry.
Ner. Come, good sir, will you show me to this
house?
[Exeunt.

And yet no matter;-Why should we go in?
My friend Stephano, signify, I pray you,
Within the house, your mistress is at hand;
And bring your music forth into the air.-
[Exit Stephano.
How sweet the moonlight sleeps upon this bank!
Here will we sit, and let the sounds of music
Creep in our ears; soft stillness, and the night,
Become the touches of sweet harmony.
Si, Jessica: Look, how the floor of heaven
Is thick inlaid with patines' of bright gold;
There's not the smallest orb, which thou behold'st,
But in his motion like an angel sings,
Still quiring to the young-ey'd cherubins:
Such harmony is in immortal souls;
But, whilst this muddy vesture of decay
Doth grossly close it in, we cannot hear it.-

Enter musicians.

Come, ho, and wake Diana with a hymn;
With sweetest touches pierce your mistress' ear,
And draw her home with music.

Jes. I am never merry, when I hear sweet music. [Music.

Enter Launcelot.

Laun. Sola, sola, wo ha, ho, soia, sola!
Lor. Who calls?

Laun. Sola! did you see master Lorenzo, and When neither is attended; and, I think,
mistress Lorenzo? sola, sola!
Lor. Leave hollaing, man; here.
Laun. Sola! where? where?
Lor. Here.

Tell him, there's a post come from my
master, with his horn full of good news; my mas-
ter will be here ere morning.
[Exit.

Lor. Sweet soul, let's in, and there expect their

coming.

Lor. The reason is, your spirits 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 but hear perchance a trumpet sound,
Or any air of music touch their ears,
You shall perceive them make a mutual stand,
Their savage eyes turn'd to a modest gaze,
By the sweet power of music: Therefore, the poet
Did feign that Orpheus drew trees, stones, and
floods;

Since nought so stockish, hard, and fun of rage,
But music for the time doth change his nature:
The man that hath no music in himself,
Nor is not mov'd with concord of sweet sounds,
Is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils;
The motions of his spirit are dull as night,
And his affections dark as Erebus:

Let no such man be trusted.-Mark the music.

(1) A small flat dish, used in the administration of the Eucharist.

Enter Portia and Nerissa, at a distance.
Por. That light we see, is burning in my hall.
How far that little candle throws his beams!
So shines a good deed in a naughty world.
Ner. When the moon shone, we did not see the
candle.

Por. So doth the greater glory dim the less⚫
A substitute shines brightly as a king,
Until a king be by; and then his state
Empties itself, as doth an inland brook
Into the main of waters. Music! hark!

Ner. It is your music, madam, of the house.
Por. Nothing is good, I see, without respect;
Methinks, it sounds much sweeter than by day.

Ner. Silence bestows that virtue on it, madam.
Por. The crow doth sing as sweetly as the lark,

The nightingale, if she should sing by day,
When every goose is cackling, would be thought
No better a musician than the wren.
How many things by season season'd are
To their right praise, and true perfection!-
Peace, hoa! the moon sleeps with Endymion,
And would not be awak'd!" [Music ceases.
Lør.
That is the voice,
Or I am much doceiv'd, of Portia.
Por. He knows me, as the blind man knows the
cuckoo,
By the bad voice.
Lor.

Dear lady, welcome home.
Por. We have been praying for our husbands'
welfare,

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

Lor.
Madam, they are not yet;
But there come a messenger before,
To signify their coming.

Por.
Go in, Nerissa,
Give order to my servants, that they take
No note at all of our being absent hence ;-
Nor you, Lorenzo ;-Jessica, nor you.

[A tucket sounds.
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
sick,

It looks a little paler; 'tis a day,
Such as the day is when the sun is hid.

Bass. We should hold day with the Antipodes,
If you would walk in absence of the sun.

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

But God sort all!-You are welcome home, my lord.
Bass. I thank you, madam: give welcome to
my friend.-

wrong;

(2) A flourish on a trumpet.
(3) Verbal, complimentary form.

This is the man, this is Antonio,
To whom I am so infinitely bound.

Por. You should in all sense be much bound to
him,

For, as I hear, he was much bound for you.
Ant. 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 courtesy."

[Gratiano and Nerissa seem to talk apart. Gra. By yonder moon, I swear, you do me

I chanced on this letter.
Ant.

I am dumb.

Bass. Were you the doctor, and I knew you' not?

Gra. Were you the clerk, that is to make me cuckold?

Ner. Ay; but the clerk that never means to do it,
Unless he live until he be a man.

Biss. Sweet doctor, you shall be my bedfellow;
When I am absent, then lie with my wife.
Ant. Sweet lady, you have given me life, and
living;

For here I read for certain, that my ships
Are safely come to road.

Por.

How now, Lorenzo? My clerk hath some good comforts too for you. Ner. Ay, and I'll give them him without

fee.

There do I give to you, and Jessica,
From the rich Jew, a special deed of gift,
After his death, of all he dies possess'd of.
Lor. Fair ladies, you drop anna in the way

Of starved people.
Por.
It is almost morning,
And yet, I am sure, you are not satisfied
Of these events at full: Let us go in ;

a

Of the Merchant of Venice the style is even and easy, with few peculiarities of diction, or anomalies of construction. The comic part raises laughter, and the serious fixes expectation. The probability of either one or the other story cannot be maintained. The union of two actions in one event is in this drama eminently happy. Dryden was much pleased with his own address in connecting the two plots of his Spanish Friar, which yet, believe, the critic will find excelled by this play.

JOHNSON.

AS YOU LIKE IT.

PERSONS REPRESENTED.

Duke, living in exile.

Frederick, brother to the Duke, and usurper of A person representing Hymen.

his dominions.

Amiens, lords attending upon the Duke in his
banishment.
Jaques,

Le Beau, a courtier attending upon Frederick.
Charles, his wrestler,

Oliver,

Jaques, sons of sir Rowland de Bois.
Orlando,
Adam,
Dennis,
Touchstone, a clown.
Sir Oliver Mar-text, a vicar.

servants to Oliver.

Sylvius, shepherds.

William, a country fellow, in love with Audrey.

Rosalind, daughter to the banished Duke.
Celia, daughter to Frederick.
Phebe, a shepherdess.
Audrey, a country wench,

Enter Oliver,

Adam. Yonder comes my master, your brother. Orl. Go apart, Adam, and thou shalt hear how he will shake me up.

Oli. Now, sir! what make you here?1 Orl. Nothing: I am not taught to make any thing. (1) What do you here? (2) Villain is used in a double sense; by Oliver for a worthless fellow, and by Orlando for a man

of base extraction.

Lords belonging to the two Dukes; pages, foresters, and other attendants.

The Scene lies, first, near Oliver's house; afterwards, partly in the usurper's court, and partly in the forest of Arden.

ACT I,

Oli. What mar you then, sir?

Orl. Marry, sir, I am helping you to mar that SCENE I-An orchard, near Oliver's house. which God made, a poor unworthy brother of Enter Orlando and Adam. Orlando,

yours, with idleness.

Oli. Marry, sir, be better employ'd, and be naught a while.

Orl. Ay, better than he I am before knows me. know you are my eldest brother, and, in the gen

As I remember, Adam, it was upon this fashion bequeathed me: By will, but a poor thousand crowns; and, as thou say'st, charged my brother, on his blessing, to breed me well: and there begins my sadness. My brother Jaques he keeps at school, and report speaks goldenly of his profit: for my part, he keeps me rustically at home, or, to speak more properly, stays me here at home un-I kept: For call you that keeping for a gentleman le condition of blood, you should so know me: of my birth, that differs not from the stalling of an The courtesy of nations allows you my better, in ox? His horses are bred better; for, besides that that you are the first-born; but the same tradition they are fair with their feeding, they are taught takes not away my blood, were there twenty bro their manage, and to that end riders dearly hired: thers betwixt us: I have as much of my father in but I, his brother, gain nothing under him but me, as you; albeit, I confess, your coming before growth; for the which his animals on his dung me is nearer to his reverence. hills are as much bound to him as I. Besides this nothing that he so plentifully gives me, the something that nature gave me, his countenance seems to take from me: he lets me feed with his hinds, bars me the place of a brother, and, as much as in him lies, mines my gentility with my education. sir Rowland de Bois; he was my father; and he This is it, Adam, that grieves me; and the spirit is thrice a villain, that says, such a father begot of my father, which I think is within me, begins villains: Wert thou not my brother, I would not to mutiny against this servitude: I will no longer take this hand from thy throat, till this other had endure it, though yet I know no wise remedy how pulled out thy tongue for saying so; thou hast railto avoid it. ed on thyself.

Oli. What, boy!

Orl. Come, come, elder brother, you are too young in this.

Oli. Wilt thou lay hands on me, villain?

Orl. I am no villain: I am the youngest son of

Orl. Shall I keep your hogs, and eat husks with them? What prodigal portion have I spent, that I should come to such penury?

Oli. Know you where you are, sir?

Or!. O, sir, very well: here in your orchard.
Oli. Know you before whom, sír?

Adam. Sweet masters, be patient; for your fa-
ther's remembrance, be at accord.
Oli. Let me go,
I say.

Orl. will not, till I please: you shall hear me. My father charged you in his will to give me good education: you have trained me like a peasant, obscuring and hiding from me all gentleman-like qualities: the spirit of my father grows strong in me, and I will no longer endure it: therefore allow me such exercises as may become a gentleman, or

give me the poor allottery my father left me by tes