Mer. Yes, that you did, sir, and forswore Thou say'st his meat was sauc'd with thy upit too. [swear it? Unquiet meals make ill digestions, [braidings: Thereof the raging fire of fever bred; And what's a fever but a fit of madness? Thou say'st his sports were hinder'd by thy brawls: Ant. S. Who heard me to deny it or forMer. These ears of mine, thou know'st, did hear thee. Fie on thee, wretch! 'tis pity that thou liv'st To walk where any honest men resort. [thus: Ant. S. Thou art a villain to impeach me I'll prove mine honour and mine honesty Against thee presently, if thou dar st stand. Mer. I dare, and do defy thee for a villain. [They draw. Enter Adriana, Luciana, Courtezan, and others. Adr. Hold hurt him not, for God's sake! he is mad. Some get within him; take his sword away. Bind Dromio too, and bear them to my house. Dro. S. Run, master, run; for God's sake, take a house! This is some priory :-in, or we are spoil'd. [Exeunt Ant. S. and Dro. S. into the Abbey. Enter the Abbess. Abb. Be quiet, people. Wherefore throng you hither? [hence. Adr. To fetch my poor distracted husband Let us come in, that we may bind him fast, And bear him home for his recovery. Ang. I knew he was not in his perfect wits. Mer. I am sorry now, that I did draw on him. [the man? Abb. How long hath this possession held Adr. This week he hath been heavy, sour, sad, And much different from the man he was; Abb. Hath he not lost much wealth by wreck at sea? Buried some dear friend? Hath not else his eye Adr. To none of these, except it be the last; Adr. It was the copy of our conference : Still did I tell him it was vile and bad. [mad : And thereof comes it, that his head is light. Sweet recreation barr'd, what doth ensue, Why bear you these rebukes, and answer not? (tuary, Abb. Neither; he took this place for sancAnd it shall privilege him from your hands Till I have brought him to his wits again, Or lose my labour in assaying it. Adr. I will attend my husband, be his nurse, Diet his sickness; for it is my office And will have no attorney but myself; And therefore let me have him home with me. Abb. Be patient; for I will not let him stir Till I have us'd the approved means I have, With wholesome syrups, drugs, and holy prayers, To make of him a formal man again: And ill it doth beseem your holiness Adr. Come, go: I will fall prostrate at his And never rise until my tears and prayers Have won his grace to come in person hither, And take perforce my husband from the abbess. See. Mer. By this, I think, the dial points at five : Anon, I'm sure, the duke himself in person Ang. Upon what cause? Sec. Mer. To see a reverend Syracusan Who put unluckily into this bay [merchant, Against the laws and statutes of this town, Beheaded publicly for his offence. [his death. Ang. See where they come : we will behold Luc. Kneel to the duke before he pass the abbey. Enter Duke attended; Ægeon bare-headed; with the Headsman and other Officers. Duke. Yet once again proclaim it publicly, If any friend will pay the sum for him, He shall not die, so much we tender him. Adr. Justice, most sacred duke, against the abbess ! Duke. She is a virtuous and a reverend lady: It cannot be that she hath done thee wrong. Adr. May it please your grace, Antipholus, my husband, Whom I made lord of me and all I had, street, With him his bondman, all as mad as he,— By rushing in their houses, bearing thence Adr. Peace, fool! thy master and his man are here, And that is false thou dost report to us. Serv. Mistress, upon my life, I tell you true; I have not breath'd almost, since I did see it. He cries for you, and vows, if he can take you, To scorch your face, and to disfigure you. [Cry within. Hark, hark! I hear him, mistress: fly, be gone! Duke. Come, stand by me ; fear nothing.Guard with halberds! Adr. Ah me, it is my husband: Witness That he is borne about invisible: [you, Even now we hous'd him in the abbey here; And now he's there, past thought of human Even for the service that long since I did thee, He broke from those that had the guard of I see my son Antipholus, and Dromio! him; And with his mad attendant and himself, Met us again, and, madly bent on us, Therefore, most gracious duke, with thy comLet him be brought forth, and borne hence for help. Duke. Long since thy husband serv'd me in Ant. E. Justice, sweet prince, against that woman there! She whom thou gav'st to me to be my wife, thou so? Adr. No, my good lord: myself, he, and To-day did dine together. So befall my soul, As this is false he burdens me withal! Luc. Ne'er may I look on day, nor sleep on [villain, A threadbare juggler, and a fortune-teller, Heard you confess you had the chain of him, Nor ever didst thou draw thy sword on me: If he were mad, he would not plead so coldly: And careful hours, with Time's deformed hand, Have written strange defeatures in my face: But tell me yet, dost thou not know my voice? Ant. E. Neither. Ege. Dromio, nor thou? Dro. E. No, trust me, sir, nor I. Dro. E. Ay, sir; but I am sure I do not; and whatsoever a man denies, you are now bound to believe him. Ege. Not know my voice? O, time's ex tremity! Hast thou so crack'd and splitted my poor tongue In seven short years, that here my only son Ant. E. I never saw my father in my life. Ege. But seven years since, in Syracusa, boy, Thou know'st we parted: but perhaps, my son, Thou sham'st to acknowledge me in misery. Ant. E. The duke, and all that knows me in the city, Can witness with me that it is not so: I ne'er saw Syracusa in my life. Duke. I tell thee, Syracusan, twenty years Have I been patron to Antipholus, During which time he ne'er saw Syracusa. Duke. Saw'st thou him enter at the abbey I see, thy age and dangers make thee dote. Cour. As sure, my liege, as I do see your Re-enter Abbess, with Antipholus of Syracuse grace. and Dromio of Syracuse. Abb. Most mighty duke, behold a man much wrong'd. [All gather to see him. Duke. Why, this is strange.-Go call the abbess hither. [Exit an Attendant. Adr. I see two husbands, or mine eyes deceive me ! Adr. I sent you money, sir, to be your bail, [other; By Dromio; but I think he brought it not. Duke. One of these men is Genius to the Dro. E. No, none by me. [from you, And so of these which is the natural man, Ant. S. This purse of ducats I received And which the spirit? Who deciphers them? And Dromio, my man, did bring them me. Dre. S. I, sir, am Dromio: command him I see, we still did meet each other's man ; away. [stay. And I was ta'en for him, and he for me; And thereupon these Errors are arose. [here. Ant. E. These ducats pawn I for my father Duke. It shall not need; thy father hath his [you. Dro. E. I, sir, am Dromio: pray let me Ege. If I dream not, thou art Æmilia: life. Cour. Sir, I must have that diamond from Ant. E. There, take it; and much thanks for my good cheer. Abb. Renownèd duke, vouchsafe to take the To go with us into the abbey here, [pains And hear at large discoursed all our fortunes;And all that are assembled in this place, That by this sympathized one day's error Have suffer'd wrong, go, keep us company, And we shall make full satisfaction.--Twenty-five years have I but gone in travail Of you, my sons; nor, till this present hour, My heavy burdens are delivered. The duke, my husband, and my children both, And you the calendars of their nativity, Go to a gossip's feast, and go with me: After so long grief, such nativity! [feast. Duke. With all my heart; I'll gossip at this [Exeunt Duke, Abbess, Egeon, Courtezan, Merchant, Angelo, and Attendants. Dro. S. Master, shall I fetch your stuff from shipboard? [thou embark'd? Ant. E. Dromio, what stuff of mine hast Dro. S. Your goods that lay at host, sir, in the Centaur. [master, Dromio: Ant. S. He speaks to me.— I am your [gracious lord,-Come, go with us; we'll look to that anon: Embrace thy brother there; rejoice with him. [Exeunt Ant. S. and Ant. E., Adr. and Luc. Dro. S. There is a fat friend at your master's house, Abb. By men of Epidamnum, he and I, Ant. E. I came from Corinth, my most [so; Adr. And are not you my husband! Ang. I think I did, sir; I deny it not. not my brother: I see by you I am a sweet-faced youth. Dro. S. We'll draw cuts for the senior: till MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING. Don Pedro, Prince of Arragon. Leonato, Governor of Messina. DRAMATIS PERSONE. Balthazar, attendant on Don Pedro. Borachio, followers of Don John. Conrade, ACT I. Hero, daughter to Leonato. Margaret. Gentlewomen attending on Hero. SCENE,-Messina. Enter Leonato, Hero, and Beatrice, with a Messenger. Leon. I learn in this letter, that Don Pedro of Arragon comes this night to Messina. Mess. He is very near by this: he was not three leagues off when I left him. Leon. How many gentlemen have you lost in this action? Mess. But few of any sort, and none of name. Leon. A victory is twice itself, when the achiever brings home full numbers. I find here, that Don Pedro hath bestowed much honour on a young Florentine, called Claudio. Mess. Much deserved on his part, and equally He hath borne remembered by Don Pedro. himself beyond the promise of his age; doing, in the figure of a lamb, the feats of a lion: he hath, indeed, better bettered expectation, than you must expect of me to tell you how. Leon. He hath an uncle here in Messina will be very much glad of it. Mess. I have already delivered him letters, and there appears much joy in him; even so much, that joy could not show itself modest enough without a badge of bitterness. Leon. Did he break out into tears? Messengers, Watch, Attendants, &c. Beat. He set up his bills here in Messina, and challenged Cupid at the flight; and my uncle's fool, reading the challenge, subscribed for Cupid, and challenged him at the birdbolt.-I pray you, how many hath he killed and eaten in these wars? But how many hath he killed? for, indeed, I promised to eat all of his killing. Leon. Faith, niece, you tax signior Benedick too much; but he'll be meet with you, I doubt it not. Mess. He hath done good service, lady, in these wars. Beat. You had musty victual, and he hath holp to eat it he is a very valiant trencherman; he hath an excellent stomach. Mess. And a good soldier, too, lady. Beat. And a good soldier to a lady ;-but what is he to a lord? Mess. A lord to a lord, a man to a man ; stuffed with all honourable virtues. Beat. It is so, indeed; he is no less than a stuffed man: but for the stuffing--Well, we are all mortal. Leon. You must not, sir, mistake my niece; there is a kind of merry war betwixt signior Benedick and her; they never meet, but there's a skirmish of wit between them. In Beat. Alas, he gets nothing by that! our last conflict four of his five wits went halting off, and now is the whole man governed Leon. A kind overflow of kindness: there with one: so that if he have wit enough to are no faces truer than those that are so keep himself warm, let him bear it for a difwashed. How much better is it to weep at ference between himself and his horse; for it is all the wealth that he hath left, to be known joy, than to joy at weeping! Beat. I pray you is signior Montanto re- a reasonable creature.-Who is his companion now? He hath every month a new sworn turned from the wars or no? Mess. Is't possible? Mess. I know none of that name, lady: brother. there was none such in the army of any sort. | Leon. What is he that you ask for, niece? Beat. Very easily possible: he wears his Hero. My cousin means signior Benedick of faith but as the fashion of his hat; it ever Padua. (as ever he was. changes with the next block. [your books. Mess. O, he is returned; and as pleasant Mess. I see, lady, the gentleman is not in |