Yet will I favour thee in what I can: Try all the friends thou hast in Ephesus; And live; if not, then thou art doom'd to die :— Gaol. I will, my lord. Æge. Hopeless, and helpless, doth Ægeon wend, But to procrastinate his lifeless end. SCENE II.-4 publick place. [Exeunt. Enter ANTIPHOLUS and DROMIO of Syracuse, und a Merchant. Mer. Therefore, give out, you are of Epidamnum, Is apprehended for arrival here; Ant. S. Go bear it to the Centaur, where we host, Dro. S. Many a man would take you at your word, And go indeed, having so good a mean. [Exit DRO. S Ant. S. A trusty villain, sir; that very oft, When I am dull with care and melancholy, Lightens my humour with his merry jests. What, will you walk with me about the town, And then go to my inn, and dine with me? Mer. I am invited, sir, to certain merchants, Of whom I hope to make much benefit; I crave your pardon. Soon, at five o'clock, Please you, I'll meet with you upon the mart, And afterwards consort you till bed-time; My present business calls me from you now. Ant. S. Farewell till then: I will go lose myself, And wander up and down, to view the city. Mer. Sir, I commend you to your own content. [Exit Merchant. 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, That in the ocean seeks another drop; Who, falling there to find his fellow forth, Unseen, inquisitive, confounds himself: So I, to find a mother, and a brother, In quest of them, unhappy, lose myself. Enter DROMIO of Ephesus. Here comes the almanack of my true date.— The capon burns, the pig falls from the spit; The meat is cold, because you come not home; You come not home, because you have no stomach; Ant. S. Stop in your wind, sir; tell me this, I pray; Ant. S. I am not in a sportive humour now: For she will score your fault upon my pate. 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 foolish ness, And tell me, how thou hast dispos'd thy charge. Dro. E. My charge was but to fetch you from the mart Home to your house, the Phoenix, sir, to dinner; Ant. S. Now, as I am a christian, answer me, Or I shall break that merry sconce of yours, Ant. S. Thy mistress' marks! what mistress, slave, hast thou? Dro. E. Your worship's wife, my mistress at the She that doth fast, till you come home to dinner, Ant. S. What, wilt thou flout me thus unto my face, Nay, an you will not, sir, I'll take my heels. [Exit DRO. E. Ant. S. Upon ry life, by some device or other, The villain is o'er-raught of all my money. They say, this town is full of cozenage; As, nimble jugglers, that deceive the eye, Dark-working sorcerers, that change the mind, Soul-killing witches, that deform the body; Disguised cheaters, prating mountebanks, And many such like liberties of sin: If it prove so, I will be gone the sooner. I'll to the Centaur, to go seek this slave; I greatly fear, my money is not safe. [Exit. ACT II. SCENE I-A public place. 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? Adr. This servitude makes you to keep unwed. |