S. Dro. 'Faith, stay here this night; they will furely do us no harm; you faw, they spake us fair, gave us gold; methinks, they are fuch 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 ftill, and turn witch.

S. Ant. I will not stay to-night for all the town; Therefore away, to get our ftuff aboard.

[Exeunt.

ACT V. SCENE Iv

Ang. I

Aftreet, before a priory.

Enter the Merchant, and Angelo.

Am forry, Sir, that I have hinder'd you ;
But, I proteft he had the chain of me,

Tho' moft difhoneftly he doth deny it.

Mer. How is the man efteem'd here in the city? Ang. Of very reverend reputation, Sir,

Of credit infinite, highly belov'd,

Second to none that lives here in the city;
His word might bear my wealth at any time.
Mer. Speak foftly: yonder, as I think, he walks.
Enter Antipholis and Dromio of Syracufe,

Ang. 'Tis fo; and that self-chain about his neck,
Which he forfwore most monftrously to have.
Good Sir, draw near to me, I'll speak to him.
Signior Antipholis, I wonder much

That you would put me to this fhame and trouble;
And not without fome fcandal to yourself,
With circumstance and oaths fo to deny
This chain, which now you wear fo openly:
Befides the charge, the fhame, imprisonment,
You have done wrong to this my honest friend;
Who, but for ftaying on our controversy,
Had hoifted fail, and put to fea to-day.
This chain you had of me, can you deny it?
S. Ant. I think I had; I never did deny it.
Mer. Yes, that you did, Sir; and forfwore it too.
S. Ant. Who heard me to deny it, or forfwear it?

Mer.

Mer.Thefe ears of mine, thou knoweft did hear thee:" Fie on thee, wretch! 'tis pity that thou liv'ft

To walk where any honeft men resort.

S. nt. Thou art a villain, to impeach me thus.
I'll prove mine honour and my honesty
Against thee prefently, if thou dar'ft ftand.
Mer. I dare, and do defy thee for a villain.

[They draw.

II.

Enter Adriana, Luciana, Courtezan, and others.

Adr. Hold, hurt him not, for God's fake; he is mad; Some get within him, take his fword away: Bind Dromio too, and bear them to my house.

S. Dro. Run, Mafter, run; for God's fake take a This is fome priory; in, or we are spoil'd.

[houfe; [Exeunt to the priory.

Enter Lady Abbefs.

Abb. Be quiet, people; wherefore throng you hither? Adr. To fetch my poor distracted husband hence;

Let us come in, that we may bind him fast,

And bear him home for his recovery.

Ang. I knew he was not in his perfect wits. Mer. I'm forry now that I did draw on him. Abb. How long hath this poffeffion held the man? Adr. This week he hath been heavy, four, fad, And much much different from the man he was: But, till this afternoon, his paffion

Ne'er brake into extremity of rage.

Abb. Hath he not loft much wealth by wreck at sea ? Bury'd fome dear friend? hath not else his eye Stray'd his affection in unlawful love?

A fin, prevailing much in youthful men,
Who give their eyes the liberty of gazing.
Which of thefe forrows is he subject to?

Adr. To none of thefe, except it be the laft;
Namely, fome love that drew him oft from home.
Abb. You fhould for that have reprehended him.
Adr. Why, fo I did.

Abb. Ay, but not rough enough.

I

Adr

Adr. As roughly as my modesty would let me.
Abb. Haply, in private.

Adr. And in affemblies too.

Abb. Ay, but not enough.

Adr. It was the copy* of our conference.
In bed, he slept not for my urging it;
At board, he fed not for my urging it;
Alone, it was the fubject of my theme;
In company, I often glance'd at 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

Poifon more deadly, than a mad dog's tooth.

It seems his fleeps were hinder'd by thy railing;
And thereof comes it that his head is light.

Thou fay'ft, his meat was fauce'd with thy upbraidings;

Unquiet meals make ill digeftions;

Thereof the raging fire of fever bred;

And what's a fever, but a fit of madness?
Thou fay'ft, his sports were hinder'd by thy brawls.
Sweet recreation barr'd, what doth enfue,
But moody and dull melancholy,

[Kinfman to grim and comfortless defpair +],
And at her heels a huge infectious troop
Of pale diftemperatures, and foes to life?
In food, in fport, and life-preferving reft,
To be disturb'd, would mad or man or beast:
The confequence is then, thy jealous fits
Have fear'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 anfwer not?
Adr. She did betray me to my own reproof.
Good people, enter, and lay hold on him.
Abb. No, not a creature enter in my houfe.
Adr. Then, let your fervants bring my husband forth.
Abb. Neither; he took this place for fanctuary,

And it shall privilege him from your hands;

By copy here is to be understood abundance, fulness, as copia fig

nifies in Latin.

This line feems to be spurious.

VOL. III.

B b

Till

Till I have brought him to his wits again,
Or lofe my labour in affaying it.

Adr. I will attend my husband, be his nurse,
Diet his ficknefs, for it is my office;
And will have no attorney but myself;

And therefore let me have him home with me.
Abb. Be patient; for I will not let him ftir,
Till I have us'd th' approved means I have,
With wholfome fyrups, drugs, and holy prayers,
To make of him a formal man again;

It is a branch and parcel of mine oath,
A charitable duty of my order;

Therefore depart, and leave him here with me.
Adr. I will not hence, and leave my husband here';
And ill it doth befeem your holiness
To feparate the husband and the wife.

Abb. Be quiet, and depart; thou shalt not have him.
Luc. Complain unto the Duke of this indignity.
[Exit Abbefs.

Adr. Come, go; I will fall proftrate at his feet,
And never rife, until my tears and prayers
Have won his Grace to come in perfon hither;
And take perforce my husband from the Abbefs.
Mer. By this, I think, the dial points at five :
Anon, I'm fure, the Duke himself in perfon
Comes this way to the melancholy vale;
The place of death and forry execution,
Behind the ditches of the abbey here.

Ang. Upon what cause ?

Mer. To fee a reverend Syracufan merchant,

Who put unluckily into this bay

Against the laws and ftatutes of this town,

Beheaded publicly for his offence.

Ang. See, where they come; we will behold his

death.

Luc. Kneel to the Duke, before he pass the abbey.

Enter the Duke, and Egeon bare-headed; with the headfman, and other officers.

Duke. Yet once again proclaim it publicly,

If

If

any friend will pay the fum for him, He shall not die, fo much we tender him.

Adr. Juftice, moft facred Duke, against the Abbefs. Duke. She is a virtuous and a reverend lady;

It cannot be that fhe hath done thee wrong.

[band,

Adr. May it please your Grace, Antipholis my huf-
(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 defp'rately he hurry'd through the street,
With him his bondman all as mad as he,
Doing difpleafure to the citizens,

By rufhing in their houses; bearing thence
Rings, jewels, any thing his rage did like.
Once did I get him bound, and sent him home,
Whilft to take order for the wrongs I went,
That here and there his fury had committed :
Anon, I wot not by what ftrong escape,
He broke from those that had the guard of him :
And, with his mad attendant mad himself,
Each one with ireful paffion, with drawn fwords,
Met us again, and, madly bent on us,
Chas'd us away; till raising of more aid,
We came again to bind them; then they fled
Into this abbey, whither we purfu'd them;
And here the Abbefs fhuts the gates on us,
And will not fuffer us to fetch him out,

Nor fend him forth, that we may bear him hence.
Therefore, moft gracious Duke, with thy command,
Let him be brought forth, and borne hence for help.
Duke. Long fince thy husband ferv'd me in my wars,
And I to thee engage'd a prince's word,

When thou didft make him mafter of thy bed,
To do him all the grace and good I could.
Go, fome of you, knock at the abbey-gate;
And bid the Lady Abbefs come to me.
I will determine this before I ftir.

SCENE IV. Enter a Messenger.

Me. O miftrefs, miftrefs, fhift and fave yourself; My master and his men are both broke loose, Beaten the maids a-row, and bound the Doctor,