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PERSONS REPRESENTED.

SOLINUS, Duke of Ephesus.
Appears, Act I. sc. 1. Act V. sc. 1.

ÆGEON, a Merchant of Syracuse.
Appears, Act I. sc. 1. Act V. sc. 1.

ANTIPHOLUS OF EPHESUS, twin-brother to Antipholus of Syracuse, but unknown to him, and son to Ægeon and Æmilia. Appears, Act III. sc. 1. Act IV. sc. 1. Act V. sc. 1.

ANTIPHOLUS OF SYRACUSE, twin-brother to Antipholus of Ephesus, but unknown to him, and son to Ægeon and Emilia.

Appears, Act I. sc. 2. Act II. sc. 2. Act III. sc. 2. Act IV. sc. 3; sc. 4 Act V. sc. 1.

DROMIO OF EPHESUS, tuin-brother to Dromio of Syracuse, and an attendant on Antipholus of Ephesus.

Appears, Act I. sc. 2. Act II. sc. 1. Act III. sc. 1. Act IV. sc. 1; sc. 4. Act V. sc. 1.

DROMIO OF SYRACUSE, twin-brother to Dromio of Ephesus, and an attendant on Antipholus of Syracuse.

Appears, Act I. sc. 2. Act II. sc. 2. Act III. sc. 1; sc. 2.

Act IV. sc. 1; sc. 2; sc. 3; sc. 4.

BALTHAZAR, a merchant.

Appears, Act III. sc. 1.

ANGELO, a goldsmith.

Act V. sc. 1.

Appears, Act III. sc. 1; sc. 2. Act IV. sc. 1.

Act V. sc. 1.

A Merchant, friend to Antipholus of Syracuse.
Appears, Act I. sc. 2. Act IV. sc. 1. Act V. sc. 1.

PINCH, a schoolmaster and a conjurer.
Appears, Act IV. sc. 4.

EMILIA, wife to Ægeon, an abbess at Ephesus.
Appears, Act V. sc. 1.

ADRIANA, wife to Antipholus of Ephesus.

Appears, Act 11. sc. 1; sc. 2. Act IV. sc. 2; sc. 4. Act V. so. 1.

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THE COMEDY OF ERRORS was first printed in the folio edition of 1623. In a work by Francis Meres, published in 1598, it is mentioned under the name of Errors,' as written by Shakspere. It held its place on the stage: for on the 28th of December, 1604, it was represented before the Court c James I., at Whitehall.

There was an old play called 'The History of Error,' which was acted at Hampton Court on New Year's Night, 1576-7. Some critics consider that The Comedy of Errors' was founded on this old play.

There

But The Comedy of Errors,' in many respects, bears a general resemblance to the Menæchmi.' of the old Roman dramatist Plautus. was a translation of that play published in 1595. There are great differences between Plautus and Shakspere in the management of the story; and the principal difference is, that although there are two twin-brainer one of whom is in search of the other, who was stolen, there are not two twin-servants. We have twin-Antipholuses, but not twin-Dromios.

It is to be remarked that, although the 'Comedy of Errors' follows, in a considerable degree, the ancient comedy of 'The Menæchmi,' we are not to infer that Shakspere intended to place his action at the same period as the Roman play. There is no allusion whatever to the classical mythology, with which the play of Plautus abounds. The dialogue is full of what are called anachronisms. But when Shakspere talks of rapiers, and striking clocks, and ducats, and the map of America, he uses terms to convey ideas which should be intelligible to his audience, without carrying them into modern times. And for the same reason we may accept the scene Ephesus as belonging to no definite period in the history of that famous city.

THE COMEDY OF ERRORS.

ACT I.

SCENE I.-A Hall in the Duke's Palace.

Enter DUKE, ÆGEON, Gaoler, Officers, and other Attendants

ÆGE. Proceed, Solinus, to procure my fall,
And, by the doom of death, end woes and all.
DUKE. Merchant of Syracusa, plead no more;
I am not partial, to infringe our laws;
The enmity and discord, which of late

Sprung from the rancorous outrage of your duke
To merchants, our well-dealing countrymen,-
Who, wanting guilders to redeem their lives,
Have seal'd his rigorous statutes with their bloods,—
Excludes all pity from our threat'ning looks.
For, since the mortal and intestine jars
"Twixt thy seditious countrymen and us,
It hath in solemn synods been decreed,
Both by the Syracusans and ourselves,
To admit no traffic in our adverse towns:
Nay, more, If any, born at Ephesus,
Be seen at any Syracusan marts and fairs,
Again, If any Syracusan born,

Come to the bay of Ephesus, he dies,
His goods confiscate to the duke's dispose;
Unless a thousand marks be levied,
To quit the penalty, and to ransom him.
Thy substance, valued at the highest rate,
Cannot amount unto a hundred marks;
Therefore, by law thou art condemn'd to die.

EGE. Yet this my comfort; when your words are done My woes end likewise with the evening sun.

DUKE. Well, Syracusan, say, in brief, the cause
Why thou departedst from thy native home;
And for what cause thou cam'st to Ephesus.

ÆGE. A heavier task could not have been impos'd, Than I to speak my griefs unspeakable.

Yet, that the world may witness that my end
Was wrought by nature, not by vile offence,
I'll utter what my sorrow gives me leave.
In Syracusa was I born; and wed
Unto a woman, happy but for me,

And by me, too, had not our hap been bad.
With her I liv'd in joy; our wealth increas'd,
By prosperous voyages I often made

To Epidamnum, till my factor's death,
And the great care of goods at random left,
Drew me from kind embracements of my spouse
From whom my absence was not six months old.
Before herself (almost at fainting under
The pleasing punishment that women bear)
Had made provision for her following me,
And soon, and safe, arrived where I was.
There had she not been long, but she became
A joyful mother of two goodly sons;

And, which was strange, the one so like the other
As could not be distinguish'd but by names.
That very hour, and in the self-same inn,
A poor mean woman was delivered

We came aboard:

Of such a burthen, male twins, both alike:
Those, for their parents were exceeding poor,
I bought, and brought up to attend my sons.
My wife, not meanly proud of two such boys,
Made daily motions for our home return:
Unwilling I agreed; alas, too soon.
A league from Epidamnum had we sail'd
Before the always-wind-obeying deep
Gave any tragic instance of our harm:
But longer did we not retain much hope;
For what obscured light the heavens did grant
Did but convey unto our fearful minds

A doubtful warrant of immediate death;

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