Enter a Messenger.

Mel. O miftrefs, mistress, shift and fave yourself; My mafter and his man are both broke loose, Beaten the maids a-row, and bound the doctor, ? Whose beard they have fing'd off with brands of fire;

And ever as it blaz'd, they threw on him

Great pails of puddled mire to quench the hair:
My mafter preaches patience to him, and the while
His man with fciffars nicks him like a fool:
And, fure, unless you fend fome present help,
Between them they will kill the conjurer.

Adr. Peace, fool, thy master and his man are here, And that is falfe, thou doft report to us.

Meff. Miftrefs, upon my life, I tell you true I have not breath'd almoft, fince I did fee it. He cries for you, and vows if he can take take you, To fcorch your face, and to disfigure you.

[Cry within. Hark, hark, I hear him, miftrefs; fly, be gone. Duke. Come, ftand by me, fear nothing: guard with halberds.

Whofe beard they have fing'd off with brands of fire;] Such a ludicrous circumftance is not unworthy of the farce in which we find it introduced; but is rather extraordinary to be met with in an epic poem, amidst all the horrors and carnage of a battle. Obvius ambuftum torrem Chorinæus ab ara Corripit, et venienti Ebufo, plagamque ferenti Occupat os flammis. Illi ingens barba reluxit Nidoremque ambufta dedit.

i To SCORCH your face,

hack, cut. WARBURTON.

Virg. Æneis, lib. xii.
STEEVENS.

-] We fhould read scotch, i. e.

To fcorch I believe is right. He would have punished her as he had punished the conjurer before.

STEEVENS.

Adr

Adr. Ay me, it is my husband; witness you, That he is borne about invifible !

Even now we hous'd him in the abbey here,
And now he's there, past thought of human reafon.

Enter Antipholis and Dromio of Ephefus.

E. Ant. Juftice, moft gracious Duke, oh, grant me juftice!

Even for the fervice that long fince I did thee,
When I bestrid thee in the wars, and took
Deep scars to fave thy life; even for the blood
That then I loft for thee, now grant me juftice.
Egeon. Unless the fear of death doth make me
dote,

I fee my fon Antipholis, and Dromio.

E. Ant. Juftice, fweet prince, against that woman there:

She whom thou gav'ft to me to be my wife;

That hath abufed and difhonour'd me,

Even in the strength and height of injury !
Beyond imagination is the wrong,

That the this day hath fhameless thrown on me.
Duke. Discover how, and thou fhalt find me juft.
E. Ant. This day, great Duke, she shut the doors

upon me,

Whilft fhe with harlots feasted in my house.

Duke, A grievous fault: fay, woman, didst thou fo?

Adr. No, my good lord;-myfelf, he, and my
fifter,

To-day did dine together: So befal my foul,
As this is falfe, he burdens me withal!

Luc. Ne'er may I look on day, nor fleep on night, But fhe tells to your highness fimple truth!

Ang. O perjur'd woman! They are both forfworn. In this the mad-man juftly chargeth them.

P 3

E. Ant.

E. Ant. My liege, I am advised, what I say: Neither difturb'd with the effect of wine, Nor, heady-rash, provok'd with raging ire, Albeit, my wrongs might make one wifer mad. This woman lock'd me out this day from dinner: That goldfmith there, were he not pack'd with her, Could witnefs it, for he was with me then; Who parted with me to go fetch a chain, Promifing to bring it to the Porcupine, Where Balthazar and I did dine together. Our dinner done, and he not coming thither, I went to feek him: in the street I met him; And in his company, that gentleman.

There did this perjur'd goldfmith fwear me down, That I this day from him receiv'd the chain, Which, God he knows, I faw not: for the which, He did arreft me with an officer.

I did obey; and fent my peafant home

For certain ducats: he with none return'd.
Then fairly I bespoke the officer,

To go in perfon with me to my house.

By the way we met my wife, her fifter, and
A rabble more of vile confederates;

Along with them

They brought one Pinch; a hungry lean-fac'd villain,
A meer anatomy, a mountebank,

A thread-bare juggler, and a fortune-teller,
A needy, hollow-ey'd, fharp-looking wretch,
A living dead man. This pernicious flave,
Forfooth, took on him as a conjurer;
And, gazing in my eyes, feeling my puife,
And with no-face, as it were, out-facing me,
Cries out, I was poffefs'd. Then altogether
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

'Till gnawing with my teeth my bonds afunder,
I gain'd my freedom, and immediately
Ran hither to your grace; whom I beseech
To give me ample fatisfaction

For these deep fhames and great indignities.

Ang. My lord, in truth, thus far I witnefs with him; That he din'd not at home, but was lock'd out. Duke. But had he fuch 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.

Mer. Befides, I will be fworn, thefe ears of mine Heard you confefs, you had the chain of him, After you first forfwore it on the mart; And, thereupon, I drew my fword on you; And then you fled into this abbey here, From whence, I think, you are come by miracle. E. Ant. I never came within these abbey-walls, Nor ever didft thou draw thy fword on me: I never faw the chain, fo help me heaven! And this is falfe, you burden me withal.

Duke. Why, what an intricate impeach is this! I think, you all have drank of Circe's cup. If here you hous'd him, here he would have been ; If he were mad, he would not plead fo coldly: You fay, he din'd at home; the goldfmith here Denies that faying. Sirrah, what fay you?

-

;

E. Dro. Sir, he din'd with her there, at the Porcupine.

Cour. He did, and from my finger fnatch'd that ring. E. Ant. 'Tis true, my liege, this ring had of her. Duke. Saw'st thou him enter at the abbey here? Cour. As fure, my liege, as I do fee your grace. Duke. Why, this is ftrange: go call the Abbefs hither;

I think, you are all mated, or ftark mad.

[Exit one to the Abbess.

mated,] i. e. confused.

STEEVINS,

P 4

Egeon.

Egeon. Most mighty Duke, vouchsafe me fpeak
a word;

Haply, I fee a friend, will fave my life;
And pay the fum that may deliver me.

Duke. Speak freely, Syracufan, what thou wilt. Egeon. Is not your name, fir, call'd Antipholis ?.. And is not that your bondman Dromio?

E. Dro. Within this hour I was his bond-man, fir, But he, I thank him, gnaw'd in two my cords; Now am I Dromio, and his man, unbound.

Egeon. I am fure, you both of you remember me. E. Dro. Ourfelves we do remember, fir, by you; For lately we were bound, as you are now. You are not Pinch's patient, are you, fir?

Egeon. Why look you ftrange on me? you know
me well.

E. Ant. I never faw you in my life, 'till now.
Egeon. Oh! grief hath chang'd me, fince you faw

me laft;

2

And careful hours, with time's deformed hand
Have written strange defeatures in my face:
But tell me yet, doft thou not know my voice?
E. Ant. Neither.

Egeon. Dromio, nor thou?

E. Dro. No, trust me, fir, nor I.
Egeon. I am fure, thou doft.

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

Egeon. Not know my voice! Oh, time's extremity!

Haft thou fo crack'd and fplitted my poor tongue,
In seven short years, that here my only fon
Knows not my feeble key of untun'd cares?

2 Strange defeatures.] Defeature is the privative of feature. The meaning is, time hath cancelled my features. JOHNSON.

Tho'