There is a purse of ducats: let her send it; [Exeunt Mer. ANG. Officer, and ANT. E. For servants must their masters' minds fulfil. [Exit. LUCIANA. eye and Look'd he or red, or pale; or sad, or merrily? Luc. First, he denied you had in him no right.2 Luc Then swore he, that he was a stranger here. Stigmatical in making, worse in mind. A hound that runs counter, and yet draws dry foot well;" One that, before the judgment, carries poor souls to hell.10 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 is in a suit of buff, which 'rested him, that can I tell : Will you send him, mistress, redemption, the money Adr. Go fetch it, sister.-This I wonder at, Dro. S. No, no, the bell : 'tis time that I were gone. one. Adr. The hours come back! that did I never hear. Dro. S. O yes, If any hour meet a sergeant, 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 Nay, he's a thief too: Have you not heard men say, way, IIath he not reason to turn back an hour in a day? Ar. Go, Dromio; there's the money, bear it And bring thy master home immediately. Luc. Who would be jealous then of such a one? Come, sister: I am press'd down with conceit ;1a No evil lost is wail'd when it is gone. say, Adr. Ah! but I think him better than I Enter DROMIO of Syracuse. Conceit, my comfort, and my injury. [Exeunt. SCENE III. The same. Enter ANTIPHOLUS of Syracuse. Ant. S. There's not a man I meet, but doth salute me As if I were their well acquainted friend ;' Dro. S. Here, go; the desk, the purse; sweet And every one doth call me by my name. now, make haste. Luc. How hast thou lost thy breath? By running fast. A back-friend, a shoulder-clapper, one that counter- The passages of alleys, creeks, and narrow lands; 1 The allusion is to those meteors which have sometimes been thought to resemble armies meeting in the shock of battle. The following comparison in the second book of Paradise Lost best explains it: As when to wara proud cities, war appears Wag'd in the troubled sky, and armies rush To battle in the clouds, before each van Prick forth the aery knights, and couch their spears, Till thickest legions close; with feats of arms From either end of heaven the welkin burns.' 2 This double negative had the force of a stronger everation in the phraseology of that age. 3 Dry, withered. Some tender money to me, some invite me; 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 ?1 S The first folio reads, lans. Shakspeare would have put lanes but for the sake of the rhyme. 9 To hunt or run counter, signifies that the house s or beagles hunt it by the heel,' i. e. run backward, rus taking the course of the game. To draw dry foot was to follow the scent or track of the game. There is a quibble upon counter, which points at the prison so called. 10 Hell was the cant term for prison. There was a as-place of this name under the Exchequer, where the king's debtors were confined. 4 Marked or stigmatized by nature with deformity. 5 This expression, which appears to have been pro. verbial, is again alluded to in Measure for Measure, Act i. Sc. 5. 6 The buff or leather jerkin of the sergeant is called an everlasting garment, because it was se durable. 7 Theobald would read a fury; but a fairy, in Shak 11 Thus the old authentic copy. The omission of the personal pronoun was formerly very comma: wt should now write he's. 12 i. e. a bond. Shakspeare takes advantage of the old spelling to produce a quibble. 13 The old copy reads, If I, &c.' 14 Fanciful conception. 15 This actually happened to Sir H. Wetton when ca speare's time, sometimes meant a malevolent sprite, | his travels. See Reliquia Wottonianæ, 168, p. 676. and coupled as it is with pitiless and rough, the meaning is clear. 16 Theobald reads, What, have you got rid of the picture of old Adam? The emendation is approved misd 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. Dr. 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 sergeant of the band; he, that brings any man to answer it, that breaks his band: one that thinks a man always going 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 begone? 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 sergeant, 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. Ant. S. Satan, avoid! I charge thee tempt me not: 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 e, 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, or 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 then, fiend! what tell'st thou me Thou art, as you are all, a sorceress : 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, Master, be wise; an if you give it her, Ant. S. Avaunt, thou witch! Come, Dromio, let us go. adopted by Malone; but I think, with Johnson, that the text does not require interpolation. Dro. S. Fly pride, says the peacock: Mistress, [Exit. Enter ANTIPHOLUS of Ant. E. Fear me not man, I will not break away; Enter DROMIO of Ephesus with a rope's end. 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 hurdred 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. Off. Good sir, be patient. Dro. E. Nay, 'tis for me to be patient; I am in adversity. Off. 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 served him from the hour of my nativity to this instant, and have nothing at his 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 waked with it, when I sleep; raised with it, when I sit; driven out of doors with it, when 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 Enter ADRIANA, LUCIANA, and the Courtezan, with PINCH, and others. Ant. E. Come, go along; my wife is coming yonder. 4 This proverb is alluded to again in the Tempest, This unfortunate phrase is again mistaken here by Act ii. Sc. 2, p. 50:- He who eats with the devil had all the commentators. It has nothing to do with a mus-need of a long spoon." trist; and the rest of u pike is a thing of the ima 5 In the Witch, by Middleton, when a spirit descends, gination. It is a metaphorical expression for being de- Hecate exclaims: termined, or resolutely bent to do a thing, taken from the game of Primero. 2 A morris pike is a moorish pike, commonly used in the 16th century. It was not used in the morris dance, as Johnson erroneously supposed. 3 Probably by purchasing something additional in the adjoining market. 'There's one come down to fetch his dues, A kisse, a coll, a sip of blood,' &c. 6 i. e. punish them all by corporal correction. Falstaff says, in King Henry IV. Part 1. I have pepper'd the rogues; two of them, I'm sure, I've pay'd,'” 7 Long from frequent pulling. 9 In the old copy-and a schoolmaster, called 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. Ant. E. There is my hand and let it feel your ear. Ant. E. Peace, doting wizard, peace; I am not mad. Did this companion with a saffron face Adr. O, husband, God doth know you din'd at 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? Dro. E. Perdy," your doors were lock'd, and Ant. E. And did not she herself revile me there? Dro. E. Certes, she did; the kitchen-vestal scorn'd you. Ant. E. And did not I in rage depart from thence? ness, That since have felt the vigour of his rage. Adr. Is't good to sooth him in these contraries? arrest me. Adr. Alas, I sent you money to redeem you, By Dromio here, who came in haste for it.' 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 faise in all; [PINCH and his Assistants bind ANT. and DRO. 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! I am thy prisoner; wilt thou suffer them Masters, let him go; Of. it. Dro. E. Will you be bound for nothing? be mad, Lue. God help, poor souls, how idly do they ta'k! me. [Exeunt PINCH and Assistants with ANT. Say now, whose suit is he arrested at? Say, how grows it due' Dro. E. Money by me? heart and good-will you (The ring I saw upon his finger now,) might, But, surely, master, not a rag of money. Straight after, did I meet him with a chain. Ant. E. Went'st not thou to her for a purse of Come, gaoler, bring me where the goldsmith is, ducats? Adr. He came to me, and I deliver'd it. Luc. And I am witness with her, that she did. Pinch. Mistress, both man and master is possess'd; Pinch. As learning was necessary for an exorcist, the schoolmaster was often employed. Within a very few years, in country villages the pedagogue was still a reputed conjuror. 1 Buchanan wrote a pamphlet against the Lord of Liddington, which ends with these words: respice firem, respice funem. Shakspeare's quibble may be borrow ed from this. The parrot's prophecy may be understood by means of the following lines in Hudibras: "Could tell what subtlest parrots mean, 2 This tremor was anciently thought to be a sure indication of being possessed by the devil. I long to know the truth hereof at large. Enter ANTIPHOLUS of Syracuse, with his rapier Luc. God, for thy mercy! they are loose again. 3A customer,' says Malone, is used in Othell fr a common woman. Here it seems to signify one who visits such women," It is surprising that a man ke Malone, whose life had been devoted to the study at d elucidation of Shakspeare, should so often seem igifr24 of the language of the poet's time. 'A customer was a familiar, an intimate, a customary haunter of coa place; as any of the old dictionaries would have shown him under the word consuetudo or custom. 4 Companion is a word of contempt, anciently usel as we now use fellow. 5 A corruption of the common French oath par diru 6 Vide before, p. 345, note 6. 7 Unhappy for unlucky, i. e. mischievous. Of Away, they'll kill us. [Exeunt Officer, ADR. and Luc. 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 speak us fair, give 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 our stuff aboard. [Exeunt. 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? That you would put me to this shame and trouble; Fie on thee, wretch! 'tis pity, that thou liv'st [They draw. Enter ADRIANA, LUCIANA, Courtezan, and others. Adr. Hold, hurt him not, for God's sake; he is mad; Some get within him,2 take his sword away: a house. This is some priory;-In, or we are spoil'd. [Exeunt ANTIPH. and DRO. to the Priory. 1 i. e. baggage. Stuff is the genuine old English word for all moveables. 2 i. e. close, grapple with him. 3 i. e. go into a house: we still say that a dog takes the water. 4The copy,' says Steevens, that is, the theme. We still talk of setting copies for boys! Surely a boy's copy is not a theme? and that word occurs again in the fourth line of this speech. Our poet frequently uses copy for pattern,' says Malone. So in Twelfth Night: And leave the world no copy. I believe Malone's frequently may be reduced to two other instances, one in Henry V. and another in a sounet. I am persuaded that copy in the present instance neither means theme nor pattern, but copie, plenty, copious source, an old latinism, many times used by Ben Jonson. The word is spelt copie in the folio; and in King Henry V. where Enter the Abbess. Abb. Be quiet, people; Wherefore throng you Adr. To fetch my poor distracted husband hence : Ang. I knew, he was not in his perfect wits. Abb. Hath he not lost much wealth by wreck of Buried some dear friend? Hath not else his eye Adr. To none of these, except it be the last; Ay, but not rough enough. Adr. And in assemblies too. Abb. Ay, but not enough. In bed, he slept not for my urging it; Still did I tell him it was vile and bad. Abb. And therefore 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 hinder'd 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 troops 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.- Abb. No, not a creature enters in my house. Abb. Neither; he took this place for sanctuary, Adr. I will attend my husband, be his nurse, Diet his sickness, for it is my office, But the it means pattern, example, it is spelt copy. sense of the passage here will show that my interpretation is right. 5 I think that there is no doubt that this passage has suffered by incorrect printing; I am not satisfied with it, even with the parenthesis in which the third line is enclosed by Steevens. The second line evidently wants a word of two syllables, and I feel inclined to read the passage thus: "Sweet recreation barr'd, what doth ensue, But moody [madness] and dull melancholy Kinsmen to grim and comfortless despair; And at their heels a huge infectious troop?" Heath proposed a similar emendation, but placed moping where I have placed madness. And will have no attorney1 but myself; Mer. To see a reverend Syracusan merchant, Against the laws and statutes of this town, Ang. See, where they come; we will behold his death. Luc. Kneel to the duke, before he pass the abbey. Enter Duke attended; GEON 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 orders for the wrongs I went, That here and there his fury had committed. Anon, I wote not by what strong 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 hind 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 served me in my wars; And I to thee engag'd a prince's word, To do him all the grace and good I could.— Serv. O mistress, mistress, shift and save yourself! My master and his man' are both broke loose, Beaten the maids a-row," and bound the doctor, Whose beard they have singed off with brands of fire; And ever as it blaz'd they threw on him Adr. Peace, fool, thy master and his man are here; And that is false, thou dost report to us. Ser. Mistress, upon my life, I tell you true; I have not breath'd almost, since I did see it." He cries for you, and vows, if he can take you, To scorch your face, and to disfigure you: [Cry within Hark, hark, I hear him, mistress; fly, begone. Duke. Come, stand by me, fear nothing: Guard with halberds. Adr. Ah me, it is my husband! Witness you, That he is borne about invisible: Even now we housed him in the abbey here; And now he's there, past thought of human reason. Enter ANTIPHOLUS and DROMIO of Ephesus. Ant. E. Justice, most gracious duke, oh, grant me justice! Even for the service that long since I did thee, Ege. Unless the fear of death doth make me dote, Ant. E. Justice, sweet prince, against that wo- She whom thou gav'st to me to be my wife; That she this day hath shameless thrown on me. Duke. Discover how, and thou shalt find me just. Adr. No, my good lord;-myself, he, and my To-day did dine together: So befall my soul, Luc. Ne'er may I look on day, nor sleep on night, Ant. E. My liege, I am advised' what I say; Choice of Change, 1598. 10 This act of friendship is frequently mentioned by 6 To wot is to know. Strong escape is an escape Shakspeare. effected by strength or violence. 7 Are is here inaccurately put for have. 8 i. e. successively, one after another. 9 The heads of fools were shaved, or their hair cut close, as appears by the following passage in The 11 Harlot was a term anciently applied to a rogue or base person among men, as well as to wantons among women. See Todd's Johnson. rashly and precipitately, |
