 | Comedy of Errors |  |
42
Enter ANGELO and Second Merhant
Angelo.
I am sorry, sir, that I have hinder'd you;
But I protest he had the jewel of me,
Though most dishonestly he did deny it.
2nd Mer.
How is the man esteem'd here in the city?
An.
Of very reverend estimation, sir,
Of credit infinite, highly belov'd,
Second to none that lives within our walls.
His word might bear my wealth at any time.
2nd Mer.
Speak softly; yonder, as I think, he comes.
An.
Tis so, and that same bracelet on his arm,
Which he forswore most nonstrously to have.
Good sit, draw near to me, I'll speak to him.
Enter ANTIPHOLIS of Syracuse, and DROMIO of Syracuse
Signor Antipholis I wonder much
That you would put me to this shame and trouble,
And not without some scandal yourself;
With circumstance and oaths so to deny
This bracelet which you wear so openly.
Besides the charge, the shame imprisonment,
You have done wrong to this my honest friend;
Who, but for staying on our controversy,
Had hoisted sail and put to sea today.
This jewel you had of me -can you deny it?
An. of Syr.
I know I had -I never did deny it.
2nd Mer.
Yes, that you did, sir -and forswore it too.
An. OF Syr.
Who heard me to deny, or to forswear it?
2nd Mer.
These ears of mine, thou knowst well, did hear thee.
Fie on thee, wretch! tis pity that thou liv'st
To walk, where any honest men resort.
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An. of Syr.
Thou art a villain to imprach me thus:
I'll prove mine honour and mine honesty
Against thee, with my life, if thou dar'st stand it.
2nd Mer.
I dare, and do defy thee for a villain.
Enter ADRIANA, LUCIANA, LESBIA and Attendents.
Ad.
Hold! hurt him not, for heaven's sake -he's mad.
Dr. of Syr.
Run, master, run for heavens sake, take house.
This is some priory; -in, or we are spoil'd.
Exeunt to the Priory -the rest following.
Ad.
Pursue them, I beseech ye -bring them back.
Enter the Abbess from the Priory
Abbess.
Be quiet, people! wherefore throng ye hither?
Ad.
To fetch my poor, distracted husband hence.
Let us come in, that we may bind him fast,
And bear him mome for his recovery.
An.
I knew he was not his perfect wits.
2nd Mer.
I am sorry now, that I did draw upon him.
Abbess.
How long has this possession held the man?
Ad.
This week he hath been heavy, sour and sad,
And much, much different from the man he was;
But 'till this afternoon, his fatal passion
Ne'er broke into extremity of rage.
Abbess.
Hath he not lost much wealth by wreck at sea?
Buried some dear friend? Hath not else his eye
Stray'd his affection in unlawful love?
A sin, prevailing much in youthful men.
Who give their eyes the liberty of gazing! -
Which of these sorrows is he subject to?
Ad.
To none of them except it be the last,
Namely some love, that drew him oft from home.
Abbess.
You should for that have reprehended him.
Ad.
Why, so I did.
Abbess
Ay, but not rough enough.
Ad.
As roughly as my modesty would let me.
Abbess.
Haply in private.
Ad.
And in asemblies too.
Abbess.
Ay, but not enough.
Ad.
It was the copy of our conference -
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At board he fed not for my urging it;
Alone, it was the subject of my theme;
In company I often glanc'd at it;
Still did I tell him it was vile and base.
Abbess.
And therefore came it that the man was mad
The venom'd 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 therefoe comes it, that his head is light.
Thou say'st his meas 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 with thy brawls;
Sweet recreation barr'd, what toth ensue,
But moody, mopish, and dull melancholy,
Kinsman to grim, and comfortless despair!
And, at here heels, a huge, infectious troop,
Of pale distemperatures, and foes to life?
The confequence is then, thy jealousies
Have scar'd thy husband from his better sense.
Luc.
She never reprehended him but gently,
When he demean'd himself rough, rude, and wild.
Why bear you these rebukes, and answer not?
Ad.
She did betray me to my own reproof.
Good people, enter, and lay hold on him.
Abbess.
No, not a creature enters in my house.
Ad.
Then let your servants bring my husband forth.
Abbess.
Neither -He took this place for sanctuary;
And it shall privelege him from your hands,
'Till I have brought him to his wits again,
Or lose my labour in essaying it.
Ad.
I will attend my husband; be his nurse,
Diet his sickness, for it is my office,
And therefore let me have him home with me.
Abbess
Be patient, for I will not let him stir,
'Till I have used th'approved means I know,
With wholesome syrups, drugs, and holy prayers,
To bring him to his former state again.
It is a branch, and parcel of my oath,
A charitable duty of my order;
Therefore depart, and leave him here with me.
Ad.
I will not hence, ad leave my husband here,
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To seperate the husband and the wife.
Abbess.
Be quiet, and depart -thou shalt not have him.
Exit to the priory.
Luc.
Complain unto the Duke of this indignity.
Ad.
Come then, I will fall prostrate at his feet,
And never rise until my prayers and tears
Have won his grace to come in person hither,
And take perforce my husband from this abbess.
2nd Mer.
By this, I think, the dial points at five.
Anon, I'm sure the duke himself, in person
Comes this way to the melancholy vale;
The place of death, and sorry execution
Behind the ditches of the abbey here.
An.
Upon what cause?
2nd Mer.
To see a reverend Syracusan merchant,
Who put unlikely into this bay,
Against the laws and statutes of this town,
Beheaded publicly for his offence.
Ad!
See where they come. We will behold his death.
Luc.
Kneel to the Duke before he pass the Abbey.
Enter DUKE, AEGEON, Executioner, Officers and Guards.
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.
Ad.
Justice, most sacred Duke, against the abbess.
Duke.
She is a virtous and a reverend lady!
It cannot be that she hath done thee wrong.
Ad.
May it please your grace, Antipholis, 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 seiz'd him;
That desperately he hurried thro' 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 order for the wrongs, I went,
Which here and there his fury had committed.
Anon (I wot not by what strong escape)
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And with his mad attendant, with drawn swords,
Met us again, and madly bent on us,
Chas'd us away; 'till, raising of more aid,
We came again to bind 'em -then they fled
Into this abbey, whither we pursued 'em;
But here the abbess shuts the gate on us,
And will not suffer us to fethc him out,
Nor send him forth, that we may bear hum hence.
Therefore, most gracious duke, with thy command,
Let him be brought forth, and borne hence for help.
Duke.
Long since thy husband serv'd me in my wars,
And I to thee engag'd a Prince's word,
When thou dist make him master of thy bed,
To do him all the good and grace I could.
Go some of ye, knock at the abbey-gate,
And bid the lady-abbess come to me.
I will determine this, before I stir.
Enter a messenger.
Mess.
O! mistress, mistress haste and save yourself,
My master and his man are both broke loose.
Ad.
Peace fool! thy master and his man are here,
And that is false thou dost report to us.
Mess.
Mistress upon my life I tell you true,
I have not breath'd, almost, since I did see 'em.
Hark! hark! I hear'em mistress -fly! begone!.
Exit.
Duke.
Fear nothing, I'll protect you.
Ad.
Ah me! it is my husband! Witness all,
That he is borne about invisible!
Ev'n now we hous'd him in the abbey there,
And now he's here, past thought of human reason.
Enter ANTIPHOLIS of Ephesus and DROMIO of Ephesus.
An. of Eph.
Justice, most gracious duke -O! grant me justice!
Ev'n for the service, that, long since, I did thee,
When I bestrode thee in the wars, and took
Deep scars to save thy life; ev'n for the blood
Which then I lost for thee, now grat me justice.
Aegeon
Unless the fear fo death doth make me doat,
I see my son Antipholis and Dromio.
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An. of Eph.
Justice, sweet prince, against that woman there,
She whom thou gav'st to me to be my wife,
She hath abuseg dishonoured me,
Ev'n in the strength and heighth of injury.
Duke.
Disvover how, and thou shalt find me just.
An. of Eph.
This day, great duke, she shut the doors upon me,
While she within was feasting with her minions.
Duke.
A grievous fault! Say, woman, didst thou so?
Ad.
No, my good lord; myself, he, and my sister,
To -day dine togehter-so befal my soul,
As that is false, he buedems me withal.
Luc.
Ne'er may I look on day, nor sleep on night,
But she doth tell your highness simple truth!
Angelo.
O, perjur'd woman! they are both forsworn;
In this madman justly chargeth them.
My lord, in truth, thus far I witness with him,
Tat he din'd not at home, but was lock'd out.
Duke
Why, what an intricate impeach this is!
I think you all have drank of Circe's cup.
If here you hous'd him, here would he have been.
You say he din'd at home; the goldsmith here
Denies that saying -sirrah what say you?
Dr. of Eph.
Sir, he din'd with her there at the porcupine.
Les.
He did, and from my finger snatch'd that ring.
An. of Eph.
'Tis true, my liege, this ring I had of her.
Duke.
Saw'st thou him enter at the abbey here?
Les.
As sure, my liege, as I do see your grace.
Duke.
This is most strange! go, call the abbess hither.
Exit one to the Abbess.
Aegeon
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, Syracusan, what thou wilt.
Aegeon.
Is not your name, sir, call'd Antipholis?
And is not that your bondman, Dromio?
An. of Eph.
True, reverend hapless man, we are so call'd.
Aegeon.
I am sure, both of ye remember me.
An. of Eph.
Remember you!
Aegeon.
Why look you strange on me? you know me well.
An. of Eph.
I never say you in my life 'till now.
Aegeon
O! grief hath chang'd me, since you saw me last;
And careful hours; with time's deforming hand,
Have written strange defeatures in my face.
But tell me yet, dost thou not know my voice?
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An. of Eph.
Neither.
Aegeon.
Not know my voice! O! times extremity!
Hast thou so crack'd and splitted my poor tongue,
In seven short years, that here mu only son
Knows not my feeble key of untun'd cares?
Tho' 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 lamp some fading glimmer left,
All these old witnesses -I cannot err -
Tell me thou art my son, Antipholis.
An. of Eph.
I never saw my father in my life.
Aegeon.
But seven years since, in Syracusa, boy,
Thou know'st we parted -but perhaps, my son,
Thou sham'st t'acknowledge me in misery.
An. of Eph.
The duke, and that know me in the city,
Can witness with me that it is not so.
I ne'er saw Syracusa in my life.
Duke.
I tell thee, Syracusan, twenty years,
Have I been patron to Antipholis,
During which time, he ne'er saw Syracusa.
I see thy age and dangers make thee doat
Enter Abbess with ANTIPHOLIS of Syracuse, and DROMIO of
Syracuse from the Piory.>
Abbess.
Most mighty duke behold a man much wrong'd.
An.
I see two husbands, or my eyes deceive me.
Duke.
One of these men is genius to the other!
But of the two, which is the natural man,
And which the spirit? who decyphers them!
An. of Syr.
Aegeon art thou not!
O, my dear father! who hath bound him thus?
Abbess.
Whoever bound him I will loose his bonds,
And gain a husband by his liberty.
Speak, old Aegeon, if thou be'st the man,
That had'st a wife once call'd Aemilia,
Who bore thee, at a burthen, two fair sons;
O! if thou be'st the same Aegeon, speak,
And speak unto the same Aemilia.
Aegeon.
Aemilia!O! support thyself, my soul!
'Till I, once more, have caught within my arms,
Their long-lost happiness!
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Aemilia.
Thou art Aegeon, then? -I do not dream -
My husband! take, take the reviving heart,
Spotless and pure as when it first was thine,
Which from the closter of religious solitude,
No voice byt thine, could ever have recalled.
An.of Syr.
If I not interupt such sacred feelings,
Thus let me bend, and mingle rears of rapture.
O raise my father, raise your reverend hands,
And bless your truant son!
Aegeon.
My dearest boy!
This is too much -O, curb thy joys a moment,
And have compassion on the father's weakness.
But, if my feeble brain deceives me not,
One anxious question yet remains to ask;
Heart of my heart, resolve me; where's that son,
Who floated with thee on the fatal raft?
Aemilia.
By men of Epidamnum, he and I,
And the twin Dromio, all were taken up,
But, by and by, rude fisherment of Corinth,
By force took Dromio and my son from them,
And me they left with tose of Epidamnum.
What then became of them I cannot tell;
I to this fortune which you see me in.
An. of Eph.
And he reserv'd to share the happier hours
Of his dear parents; whom, till now unknown,
He greets with nature's best and fondest feelings.
Another tye my fortune yet allots,
And thus I claim it!
An. of Syr.
Welcome dearest brother!
They embrace.
Both Drom.
Welcome, dearest brother!
An. of Syr.
Ne'er may we feel a seperation more!
Duke.
Why here begins the morning-Story right.
These plainly are the parents to these children,
Who thus amazingly are met together.
Aemilia.
Most gracious duke.
Duke.
One moments pause, and all your groefs shall end. -
Antipholis, thou cam'st from Corinth first.
An. of Syr.
Not I, my lord; I came from Syracuse.
Duke.
Stay! stand apart! -I know not which is which.
An. of Eph.
I came from Corinth, my most gracious lord..
Dr. of Eph.
And I with him.
An. of Eph.
Brought to this town by that right famous warrior,
Duke Minaphon, your most renowned uncle.
Ad.
That is the bracelet, sir, you had of me.
An. of Syr.
I think it be, sir,, I deny it not.
An. of Eph.
And you sir, for the same, arrested me.
Ad.
I sent you money, sir, to be your bail,
By Dromio -but I think he brought it not.
Dr. of Eph.
No, none by me.
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An. of Syr.
This purse of ducats I received for you,
And Dromio, my man, did bring 'em me,
I see, we still did meet each other's man,
And thereupon these errors all arose.
Dr.of Eph.
You see, broher, these wife folks can't blame us in
these matters.
Dr. of Syr.
Really, brother, I think not.
An. of Eph.
These ducats pawn I for my father here.
An. of Syr.
It shall not be -I will procure his life,
To make some small amends for leaving him,
Alone, ad friendless.
Ad.
Which of you two did dine with me today?
Ad. of Syr.
I, gentle mistress.
Ad.
Are you not my husband?
An. of Eph.
No; I say nay to that.
An. of Syr.
And so do I -yet she did call me so;
And this fair gentlewoman, her siter here,
Did call me brother -what I told you then,
I hope I shall have leisure to make good;
And that the heart which beats alone for you,
May, now the mist of error is dispers'd,
Which made thee fearful for thy virgin fame,
Obtain a gentle hearing.
Luc.
Should I find thee
Worthy, and constant, as my mind suggests,
The general joy, that smiles around, shall not
B' damped by any vain reserve of mine.
Abbess
Renowned duke.vouchsafe to take the pains
To 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 sympathised one day's errors
Have suffer'd wrong, go, keep us company,
And you shall have full satisfaction. -
The duke, my husband and my children both,
And you, the kalendars of their nativity,
Go to a gossip's feast; go all with me -
After so long grief, such festivity!
Duke.
With all my heart, I'll gossip at this feast,
And be a cheerful witness of the blessings,
Your pious fath and virtuous resignation,
Have drawn upon you from relenting Heaven!
Aegeon.
Come, and partake
The joys, that gild the evening of our days.
Aemelia.
Joys past the reach of hope! -our lesson this,
That misery past endears our present bliss;
Wherein we read with wonder and delight,
This sacred truth, 'whatever is, is right.'
Exeunt omnes.
THE END
| Comedy of Errors | |