And therefore homeward did they bend their course.-
Thus have you heard me fever'd from my blifs;
That by misfortunes was my life prolong'd,
To tell fad ftories of my own mishaps.

Duke. And, for the fakes of them thou forrow'ft for, Do me the favour to dilate at full

What hath befall'n of them, and thee, 'till now. Egeon. My youngest boy, and yet my eldest care, At eighteen years became inquifitive

After his brother; and importun'd me,

That his attendant, (for his case was like,
Reft of his brother, but retain'd his name,)
Might bear him company in queft of him:
Whom whilft I labour'd of a love to fee,
I hazarded the lofs of whom I lov'd.
Five fummers have I spent in farthest Greece,
Roaming clean through the bounds of Afia,
And coafting homeward, came to Epkefus.
Hopeless to find, yet loth to leave unfought,
Or that, or any place that harbours men.
But here muft end the ftory of my life;
And happy were I in my timely death,
Could all my travels warrant me they live.

Duke. Haplefs Egeon, whom the fates have markt To bear th' extremity of dire mishap;

Now, trust me, were it not againft our laws,
(Which Princes, would they, may not difannul;)
Against my crown, my oath, my dignity,
My foul fhould fue as advocate for thee.
But, tho' thou art adjudged to the death,
And paffed fentence may not be recall'd,
But to our honour's great difparagement;
Yet will I favour thee in what I can;
I therefore, merchant, limit thee this day,
To feek thy life by beneficial help:
Try all the friends thou haft in Ephefus,
Beg thou, or borrow, to make up the fum,

And

And live; if not, then thou art doom'd to die.
Jailor, take him to thy custody.

Jail. I will, my Lord.

[Exeunt Duke, and Train.

Egeon. Hopeless and helpless doth Egeon wend, But to procraftinate his liveless end.

[Exeunt Egeon, and Jailor.

SCENE II.

Changes to the Street.

Enter Antipholis of Syracufe, a Merchant, and Dromio.

Mer.

Herefore give out, you are of Epidamnum,

Left that your goods too foon be confifcate.

This very day, a Syracufan merchant

Is apprehended for arrival here;

And, not being able to buy out his life,
According to the ftatute of the town,
Dies ere the weary fun fet in the west:
There is your mony, that I had to keep.
Ant. Go bear it to the Centaur, where we hoft,
And stay there, Dromio, 'till I come to thee:
Within this hour it will be dinner-time;
'Till that I'll view the manners of the town,
Peruse the traders, gaze upon the buildings,
And then return and fleep within mine inn;
For with long travel I am stiff and weary.
Get thee away.

Dro. Many a man would take you at your word,
And go indeed, having fo good a means.

[Exit Dromio.

Ant. A trufty villain, Sir, that very oft, When I am dull with care and melancholy, Lightens my hun:our with his merry jefts. What, will you walk with me about the town,

And

And then go to the 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 afterward confort with you 'till bed-time:
My present bufinefs calls me from you now.
Ant. Farewel 'till then; I will go lofe myfelf,
And wander up and down to view the city.
Mer. Sir, I commend you to your own content.
[Exit Merchant.

Ant. He that commends me to my own content, Commends me to the thing I cannot get. I to the world am like a drop of water, That in the ocean feeks another drop, Who falling there to find his fellow forth, Unfeen, inquifitive, confounds himself: So I, to find a mother and a brother, In queft of them, unhappy, lofe myself.

Enter Dromio of Ephefus.

Here comes the almanack of my true date.
What now? how chance, thou art return'd fo foon?
E. Dro. Return'd fo foon! rather approach'd too

late:

The capon burns; the pig falls from the fpit;
The clock has ftrucken twelve upon the bell;
My mistress made it one upon my cheek;
She is fo hot, becaule the meat is cold;
The meat is cold, because you come not home;
You come not home, because you have no ttomach;
You have no ftomach, having broke your fast;
But we, that know what 'tis to fast and pray,
Are penitent for your default to-day.

Ant.

Ant. Stop in your wind, Sir; tell me this, I pray, Where you have left the mony that I gave you? E. Dro. Oh,-fix-pence, that I had a Wednesday last, Το pay the fadler for my miftrefs' crupper? The fadler had it, Sir; I kept it not.

Ant. I am not in a sportive humour now; Tell me and dally not, where is the mony ? We being strangers here, how dar'st thou truft So great a charge from thine own cuftody?

E. Dro. I pray you, jeft, Sir, as you fit at dinner:
I from my miftrefs come to you in post;
If I return, I shall be poft indeed;

For she will score your fault upon my pate:
Methinks, your maw, like mine, fhould be your clock;
And strike you home without a meffenger.

Ant. Come, Dromio, come, thefe jefts are out of feafon :

Referve them 'till a merrier hour than this:
Where is the gold I gave in charge to thee?

E. Dro. To me, Sir? why, you gave no gold to me. Ant. Come on, Sir knave, have done your foolishnefs;

And tell me, how thou haft difpos'd thy charge?
E. Dro. My charge was but to fetch you from the

mart

Home to your houfe, the Phenix, Sir, to dinner;
My miftrefs and her fifter ftay for you.

Ant. Now, as I am a chriftian, answer me,
In what fafe place you have beftow'd my mony;
Or I fhall break that merry fconce of yours,
That ftands on tricks when I am undifpos'd:
Where are the thousand marks thou hadft of me?

E. Dro. I have fome marks of yours upon my pate;
Some of my miftrefs' marks upon my fhoulders;
But not a thousand marks between you both.
If I should pay your worship thofe again,
Perhaps, you will not bear them patiently.

Ant.

Ant. Thy miftrefs' marks? what miftrefs, flave,

haft thou?

E. Dro. Your worship's wife, my mistress at the
Phenix;

She, that doth faft, 'till you come home to dinner;
And prays, that you will hie you home to dinner.
Ant. What, wilt thou flout me thus unto my face,
Being forbid? there take you that, Sir knave.

E. Dro. What mean you, Sir? for God's fake, hold your hands;

Nay, an you will not, Sir, I'll take my heels.

[Exit Dromio.

Ant. Upon my life, by fome device or other,
The villain is o'er-raught of all my money.
They fay, this town is full of couzenage2;
As nimble jugglers, that deceive the eye 3;
Dark-working forcerers, that change the mind;
Soul-killing witches, that deform the body;

✦ That is, over-reached.
2 They fay, this town is full

of couzenage;] This was the character the ancients give of it. Hence 'Epécia árežipáquana was proverbial amongst them. Thus Menander ufes it, and 'Epica pala, in the same sense.

WARBURTON. 3 As nimble Jugglers, that de

ceive the eye; Dark working Sorcerers, that change the mind; Soul-killing Witches, that deform

the Body;] Thofe, who attentively confider thefe three Lines, muft confider, that the Poet intended, the Epithet given to each of thefe mifcreants, bould declare the power by which they perform their feats, and which would therefore be a juft Characteristick of each of them.

Difguifed

Thus, by nimble Jugglers, we are taught that they perform their Tricks by Slight, of Hand: and by Soul-killing Witches, we are informed, the mifchief they do is by the affiftance of the Devil, to whom they have given their Souls: But then, by dark-working Sorcerers, we are not inftructed in the means by which they perform their Ends. Befides, this Epithet agrees as well to Witches, as to them; and therefore, certainly, our Author could not defign This in their Characteristick. We fhould read;

Drug working Sorcerers, that

change the mind;