Hopeless to find, yet loath to leave unsought, Duke. Hapless Egeon, whom the fates have mark'd To bear the extremity of dire mishap! Now, trust me, were it not against our laws, And live; if not †, then thou art doom'd to die :- Gaol. I will, my lord. Ege. Hopeless, and helpless, doth Ægeon wend', But to procrastinate his lifeless end. SCENE II. A publick Place. [Exeunt. Enter ANTIPHOLUS and DROMIO of Syracuse, and a Mer. Therefore, give out, you are of Epidamnum, Lest that your goods too soon be confiscate. This very day, a Syracusan 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, 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, 5 A trusty villain,] i. e. servant. confounds himself:] i. e. destroys himself. MALone. 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.- Ant. S. Stop in your wind, sir; tell me this, I pray ; Where have you left the money that I gave you? Dro. E. 0,-six-pence, that I had o'Wednesday last, To pay the saddler for my mistress' crupper ;The saddler had it, sir, I kept it not. Ant. S. I am not in a sportive humour now: Tell me, and dally not, where is the money? We being strangers here, how dar'st thou trust So great a charge from thine own custody? 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, And strike you home without a messenger. Ant. S. Come, Dromio, come, these jests are out of For she will score your fault upon my pate.] Perhaps, before writing was a general accomplishment, a kind of rough reckoning, concerning wares issued out of a shop, was kept by chalk or notches on a post, till it could be entered on the books of a trader. 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, 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, Being forbid? There, take you that, sir knave. Dro. E. What mean you, sir? for God's sake, hold your hands; Nay, an you will not, sir, I'll take my heels. [Exit DRO. E. Ant. S. Upon my life, by some device or other, The villain is o'er-raught of all my money. + 7 S bestow'd] i. e. stowed or lodged it. They say, this town is full of cozenage '; [Exit. ACT II. SCENE I-A publick 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? They say, this town is full racter the ancients give of it. of cozenage;] This was the chaHence Epεoia aλığıpappaka was proverbial amongst them. Thus Menander uses it, and Epoia yoappara, in the same sense. 1 WARBURTON. liberties of sin:] By liberties of sin, Shakspeare perhaps means licensed offenders, such as mountebanks, fortune-tellers, &c. who cheat with impunity; or it may mean sinful liberties. |