The time was once, when thou, unurg'd, would'st vow,
That never words were music to thine ear,

That never object, pleasing in thine eye,
That never touch were welcome to thine hand,
That never food, well savour'd to the taste,
Unless I spake, or look'd, or touch'd, or carv'd.
How comes it now, my husband, oh! how comes it,
That thou art thus estranged to thyself?
Thyself, I call it, being strange to me-
Oh, do not tear thyself away from me!
For know, my love, as easy may'st thou fall
A drop of water in the breaking gulf,
And take unmingled thence, that drop again,
As take from me thyself.

Ant. of Syr. Plead you to me, fair dame? I know

you not;

In Ephesus, I am but two hours old,
As strange unto your town, as to your talk.

Luc. Fie, brother! how the world is chang'd with

you!

When were you wont to use my sister thus?
She sent for you, by Dromio, home to dinner.

Ant. of Syr. By Dromio ?

Dro. of Syr. By me!

Adr. By thee, and thus thou didst return from him,

That he did buffet thee, and in his blows,
Denied my house for his, me, for his wife.

Ant. of Syr. Did you converse, sir, with this gen

tlewoman?

Dro. of Syr. I, sir? I never saw her till this moment!

Ant. of Syr. Villain, thou liest! for even her very

words

Didst thou deliver to me on the mart.

Dro. of Syr. I never spoke with her in all my life. Ant. of Syr. How can she then thus call us by

Adr. How ill agrees it with your gravity,
To counterfeit thus grossly with your slave,
Abetting him to thwart me in my mood!
Come, I will fasten thus upon thy arm;
Thou art an elm, my husband, I, a vine,
Whose weakness, married to thy stronger state,
Shares in thy virtues, and partakes thy strength.
If ought possess thee from me, it is dross,
Usurping ivy, idle moss, or briar,
Who, all for want of pruning, with intrusion
Infect thy sap, and live on thy destruction..

Ant. of Syr. To me she speaks-she moves me for

her theme

What, was I married to her, in my sleep?..
Or sleep I now, and dream I hear all this?
What error thus deceives our eyes and ears?
Yet, that the mystery I may explore,

I'll seem to entertain the fallacy.

Luc. Dromio, go bid the servants spread for dinner.

Dro. of Syr. Meaning me ?

Luc. Ay, thee, thou slug!

Dro. of Syr. Spread for dinner?

Ant. of Syr. Am I alive? Am I Antipholis ?
Sleeping, or waking? Mad, or well-advis'd ?
Known unto these, yet to myself unknown;
Fain would I learn from whence these wonders flow;
But, that I almost fear to trace the source,
So strange is every thing I see and hear.

Adr. Come, come, no longer will I be a fool,
To put the finger in the eye, and weep.
While man and master laugh my woes to scorn.
Come, sir, to dinner-Dromio, keep the gate-
Husband, I'll dine above with you, to-day,
And shrive you of a thousand idle pranks.
Sirrah, if any ask you for your master,
Say, he dines forth, and let no creature enter.
Come, sister-Dromio, play the porter well.

[Exit, with LUCIANA and ANTIPHOLIS.

.

Dro. of Syr. Spread for dinner! I am afraid I shall

:

Be somewhat awkward, as I am not
Acquainted with the ways of the house;
Though, I suppose they'll be so courteous
As to instruct a new comer. Ay, there they go ;-
The house with the green doors, and have taken
My master with them; I must follow-Sure
We are in the fairy land, and converse with
'Sprites and goblins. I wish they mayn't have
Infected my poor master already; for, even
Now, he swore to a discourse, I held with him
On the Mart: when I can swear, I was talking
To the strong box at the Centaur.-Mighty odd
All this! However, my comfort is, that, whatsoever
Mischief we light on, the master takes place

Of the servant, and must fall into it first.

[Exit.

ACT THE THIRD.

SCENE I.

A Street, with a View of ANTIPHOLIS'S House.

Enter ANTIPHOLIS OF EPHESUS, DROMIO OF
EPHESUS, ANGELO, and BALTHASAR.

Ant. of Eph. Good Signor Angelo, you must ex

cuse us;

My wife is shrewish, when I keep not hours.
Say, that I linger'd with you at your shop,

D

To see the making of her bracelet,
And that, to-morrow, you will bring it home.
But here's a villain, that would face me down,
He met me on the Mart, and, that I beat him,
And charged him with a thousand marks in gold,
And, that I did deny my wife and house.-
Thou drunkard, thou, what didst thou mean by

this?

Dro. of Eph. Say what you will, sir, but I know what I know,

That you beat me at the Mart, I have the marks to

witness.

Ant. of Eph. Silence, thou sot, or I shall sober thee!

You're sad, Signor Balthasar; 'pray Heaven, our cheer May answer.my good will, and your good welcomeBut soft, my door is locked--Sirrah, ring the bell !

Dro. of Eph. Oh, he's a little soberer, and he does know his own house now!

Ant. of Eph. Will they not hear?

[Rings.

Dro. of Eph. In good truth, I think they will notMy mistress, sure, means to be quits with you, master-you denied her a while ago, and now she's determined to deny you.

Ant. of Eph. Have done, thou varlet! Call to them; bid them let us in.

Dro. of Eph. Maud! Bridget! Marian! Cicely, Gillian! Madge !

Dro. of Syr. [Within.] Mome, Malt-horse, Capon, Coxcomb, Idiot, Patch!---Dost thou conjure for wenches, that thou call'st for such store, when one is one too many. - Go, get thee from the gate!

Dro. of Eph. What patch is made our porter?-My master stays in the street.

Dro. of Syr. [Within.] Let him walk from whence he came, lest he catch cold in his feet.

Ant. of Eph. Who talks within there? -Hoa! open the door!

Dro. of Syr. [Within.] Right, sir-I'll tell you when, an you'll tell me wherefore.

Ant. of Eph. What art thou, there, that keep'st me from mine own house?

Dro. of Syr. [Within.) The porter, sir, and my name is Dromio.

Dro. of Eph. O villain, thou hast stole both mine office, and my name.

Bridget. [Within.] Why, what a coil is there!Dromio, who are those, at the door?

Dro. of Eph. Let my master in, Bridget.

Bridget. [Within.] Peace, fool! thy master's here already.

Ant. of Eph. Do you hear, you minion?-you'll let us in, I trow?

Bridget. [Within.] Can you tell for whose sake? Dro. of Eph. Master, knock at the door hard. Dro. of Syr. [Within.] Let him knock till it ake. Adriana. [Within.] Who is at the gate, that keeps all this noise ?

Ant. of Eph. Are you there, wife? you might have come before.

Adr. [Within.] Your wife, Sir Knave!-Go, get you from the gate.

Ant. of Eph. Get from the gate! What means this saucy language ?

There's something more in this!-- Why, Adriana!
Adr. [Within.] Hence, you familiar coxcomb !---
Cease your noise,

Or you shall dearly pay for all this outrage.
Dromio, be sure you keep fast the doors against them.
Ant. of Eph. Why, wife, I say !

Dro. of Syr. [Within.] She's gone back to dinner, sir, to take a refreshing cup, and has no time to answer idle questions now.

Ant. of Eph. Now, on my soul, some strange mys

terious guile,

Lurks underneath this unaccustom'd usage.