And live; if not, then thou art doom'd to die :— Gaoler, take him to thy custody. Gaol. I will, my lord. Æge. Hopeless, and helpless, doth Ægeon wend, But to procrastinate his lifeless end. [Exeunt. SCENE II-A Public Place. Enter ANTIPHOLUS and DROMIO of Syracuse, and a Merchant. Mer. Therefore give out you are of Epidamnum, Lest that your goods too soon be confiscate. This very day, a Syracusian merchant Is apprehended for arrival here; And, not being able to buy out his life, Ant. S. Go, bear it to the Centaur, where we host, Dro. S. Many a man would take you at your word, Ant. S. A trusty villain, sir; that very oft, [Exit. And afterward consort you till bed-time; Ant. S. Farewell till then I will go lose myself, Mer. Sir, I commend you to your own content. [Exit. Ant. S. He that commends me to mine own content Commends me to the thing I cannot get. I to the world am like a drop of water, Enter DROMIO of Ephesus. What now? How chance thou art return'd so soon? Ant. S. Stop in your wind, sir; tell me this, I pray; Ant. S. I am not in a sportive humour now: Dro. E. I pray you, jest, sir, as you sit at dinner: I from my mistress come to you in post; If I return, I shall be post indeed ; For she will score your fault upon my pate. Methinks your maw, like mine, should be your clock, Ant. S. Come, Dromio, come, these jests are out of season; Reserve them till a merrier hour than this: Where is the gold I gave in charge to thee? Dro. E. To me, sir? why you gave no gold to me. Ant. S. Come on, sir knave; have done your foolishness, Dro. E. My charge was but to fetch you from the mart Ant. S. Now, as I am a Christian, answer me, Perchance you will not bear them patiently. Ant. S. Thy mistress' marks! what mistress, slave, hast thou? Dro. E. Your worship's wife, my mistress at the Phoenix; She that doth fast till you come home to dinner, And prays that you will hie you home to dinner. Ant. S. What, wilt thou flout me thus unto my face, Being forbid? There, take you that, sir knave. [Beating him. Dro. E. What mean you, sir? for God's sake, hold your hands; Nay, an you will not, sir, I'll take my heels. Ant. S. Upon my life, by some device or other, The villain is o'er-raught of all my money. They say, this town is full of cozenage; [Exit. As, nimble jugglers that deceive the eye, [Exit. SCENE I-Before the house of ANTIPHOLUS of Ephesus. Enter ADRIANA and LUCIANA. Adr. Neither my husband nor the slave return'd, That in such haste I sent to seek his master! Sure, Luciana, it is two o'clock. Luc. Perhaps, some merchant hath invited him, And from the mart he's somewhere gone to dinner. Good sister, let us dine, and never fret: A man is master of his liberty: Time is their master; and, when they see time, Adr. Why should their liberty than ours be more? |