[SCENE II. The same.

A street.

431

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.

440

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.

And if your wife be not a mad-woman,
And know how well I have deserv'd this ring,
She would not hold 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:

449

Let his deservings, and my love withal,1
Be valued against 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.

Lor. Who comes so fast in silence of the night? Steph. A friend.

Lor. A friend! what friend? your name, I pray you, friend?

Steph. Stephano is my name; and I bring word
My mistress will before the break of day
Be here at Belmont: she doth stray about 30
By holy crosses, where she kneels and prays
For happy wedlock hours.

Lor.
Who comes with her?
Steph. None but a holy hermit and her maid.

I pray you, is my master yet return'd?
Lor. He is not, nor we have not heard from
him.-

But go we in, I pray thee, Jessica,

And ceremoniously let us prepare

Some welcome for the mistress of the house.

40

Lor.

In such a night as this.-(Act v. 1. 1.)

Ner. Silence bestows that virtue on it, madam.

Por. The crow doth sing as sweetly as the lark,

When neither is attended; and I think
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, ho! the moon sleeps with Endymion,
And would not be awak'd. [Music ceases.
That is the voice,

Lor.

131

For a light wife doth make a heavy husband,
And never be Bassanio so for me:
But God sort all!]-You're welcome home,
my lord.

[Gratiano and Nerissa converse apart. Bass. I thank you, madam. Give welcome to my friend:

This is the man, this is Antonio,

To whom I am so infinitely bound.

Por. You should in all sense9 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, 140 Therefore I scant this breathing courtesy.10

Gra. [To Nerissa] By yonder moon I swear you do me wrong;

In faith, I gave it to the judge's clerk: [Would he were gelt that had it, for my part, Since you do take it, love, so much at heart.] Por. A quarrel, ho, already! what's the matter?

169

To part so slightly with your wife's first gift;
A thing stuck on with oaths upon your finger,
And riveted with faith unto your flesh.
I gave my love a ring, and made him swear
Never to part with it; and here he stands,-
I dare be sworn for him, he would not leave
it,3

Nor pluck it from his finger, for the wealth That the world masters. Now, in faith, Gratiano,

You give your wife too únkind cause of grief: An 't were to me, I should be mad at it.

Bass. [Aside] Why, I were best to cut my left hand off,

And swear I lost the ring defending it.

Gra. My Lord Bassanio gave his ring away Unto the judge that begg'd it, and indeed 180 Deserv'd it too; and then the boy, his clerk, That took some pains in writing, he begg'd mine:

And neither man nor master would take aught

But the two rings.

Por. What ring gave you, my lord? Not that, I hope, which you receiv'd of me. Bass. If I could add a lie unto a fault, I would deny it; but you see my finger Hath not the ring upon it,-it is gone. Por. Even so void is your false heart of truth.

1 Have been respective have been regardful.

2 Scrubbed scrubby, i.e. stunted, mean-looking. 3 Leave it, part with it.