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Have won his grace to come in perfon hither,
And take perforce my husband from the abbess.
Enter Merchant, and Angelo.

Mer. By this, I think, the dial points at five:
Anon, I'm fure, the duke himself in perfon
Comes this way to the melancholy vale,
The place of death and forry execution,
Behind the ditches of the abbey here.
Ang. Upon what cause ?

Mer. To fee a reverend Syracufan merchant,
Who put unluckily into this bay

Against the laws and statutes of this town,

Beheaded publickly for his offence.

Ang. See, where they come, we will behold his death.
Luc. Kneel to the duke before he pass the abbey.

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Enter the Duke, and Egeon bare-headed, with the Headfman, and other Officers.

If

Duke. Yet once again proclaim it publickly,

any friend will pay the fum for him

He fhall not die, fo much we tender him.

Adr. Juftice, moft facred duke, against the abbefs!

Duke. She is a virtuous and a reverend lady;

It cannot be that fhe hath done thee wrong.

Adr. May it please your grace, Antipholis my husband, Whom I made lord of me and all I had

At your important letters, this ill day

A most outrageous fit of madness took him,
That defp'rately he hurry'd through the street,
With him his bondman all as mad as he,
Doing displeasure to the citizens,
By rufhing in their houses; bearing thence
Rings, jewels, any thing his rage did like.

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Once

Once did I get him bound, and sent him home,
Whilst to take order for the wrongs I went,
That here and there his fury had committed:
Anon, I wot not by what strong escape,
He broke from those that had the guard of him,
And with his mad attendant mad himself,
Each one with ireful paffion, with drawn fwords
Met us again, and, madly bent on us,
Chas'd us away; till raifing of more aid
We came again to bind them; then they fled
Into this abbey, whither we purfu'd them;
And here the abbefs fhuts the gates on us,
And will not fuffer us to fetch him out,

Nor fend him forth that we may bear him hence.
Therefore, moft gracious duke, with thy command,
Let him be brought forth, and born hence for help.

Duke. Long fince thy husband ferv'd me in my wars,
And I to thee engag'd a prince's word,

When thou didst make him master of thy bed,
To do him all the grace and good I could.
Go, fome of you, knock at the abbey-gate,
And bid the lady abbefs come to me.

I will determine this before I ftir.

SCENE IV.

Enter a Messenger.

Meff. O miftrefs, mistress, shift and fave yourself!
My master and his man are both broke loose,
Beaten the maids a-row, and bound the doctor,
Whose beard they have fing'd off with brands of fire;
And ever as it blaz'd, they threw on him

Great pails of puddled mire to quench the hair;
My master preaches patience to him, the while
His man with fciffars nicks him like a fool:
And, fure, unlefs you fend fome present help,

Between

Between them they will kill the conjurer.

Adr. Peace, fool, thy mafter and his man are here; And that is falfe thou doft report to us.

Me. Miftrefs, upon my life, I tell you true,

I have not breath'd almost fince I did fee it.
He crys for you, and vows if he can take you,
To fcotch your face, and to disfigure you.
Hark, hark, I hear him, miftrefs; fly, be gone.

[Cry within.

Duke. Come, ftand by me, fear nothing: guard with halberds. Adr. Ay me, it is my husband! witness you, That he is born about invifible.

Ev'n now we hous'd him in the abbey here;

And now he's there, past thought of human reason.

SCENE V.

Enter Antipholis, and Dromio of Ephefus.

E. Ant. Juftice, moft gracious duke, o, grant me juftice ! Even for the fervice that long fince I did thee, When I beftrid thee in the wars, and took

Deep scars to fave thy life, even for the blood

That then I loft for thee, now grant me juftice!

Egeon. Unless the fear of death doth make me dote, I fee my fon Antipholis, and Dromio.

E. Ant. Juftice, sweet prince, against that woman there ; She whom thou gav'ft to me to be my wife;

That hath abused and difhonour'd me,

Ev'n in the strength and height of injury !

Beyond imagination is the wrong

That she this day hath fhameless thrown on me.

Duke. Discover how, and thou shalt find me just.

E. Ant. This day, great duke, fhe fhut the doors upon me;

Whilft fhe with harlots feafted in my house.

Duke. A grievous fault: fay, woman, didft thou fo? Adr. No, my good lord: myself, he, and my sister,, Did dine together: fo befall my foul,

Asi

As this is false he burthens me withal!

Luc. Ne'er may I look on day, nor fleep on night, But she tells to your highness fimple truth!

Ang. O perjur'd woman! they are both forfworn. In this the mad-man juftly chargeth them.

E. Ant. My liege, I am advised what I fay,
Neither difturb'd with the effect of wine,
Nor heady-rash, provok'd with raging ire,
Albeit my wrongs might make one wifer mad.
This woman lock'd me out this day from dinner;
That goldsmith there, were he not pack'd with her,
Could witness it, for he was with me then;
Who parted with me to go fetch a chain,
Promifing to bring it to the porcupine,
Where Balthazar and I did dine together.
Our dinner done, and he not coming thither,
I went to seek him; in the street I met him,
And in his company that gentleman.

There did this perjur'd goldfmith swear me down,
That I this day from him receiv'd the chain,
Which, god he knows, I faw not; for the which
He did arreft me with an officer.

I did obey, and fent my peasant home

For certain ducats; he with none return'd.

Then fairly I bespoke the officer

To go in perfon with me to my house.

By th' way we met my wife, her fifter, and

A rabble more of vile confederates;

They brought one Pinch, a hungry lean-fac'd villain, A mere anatomy, a mountebank,

A thread-bare juggler, and a fortune-teller,

A needy, hollow-ey'd, fharp-looking wretch,
A living dead man. This pernicious flave,
Forfooth, took on him as a conjurer;
And, gazing in my eyes, feeling my pulse,
And with no face, as 'twere, out-facing me,

Cries out, I was poffefs'd. Then all together
They fell upon me, bound me, bore me thence,
And in a dark and dankish vault at home

There left me and my man, both bound together;
'Till, gnawing with my teeth my bonds afunder,
I gain'd my freedom, and immediately

Ran hither to your grace; whom I beseech
To give me ample fatisfaction

For thefe deep thames and great indignities.

Ang. My lord, in truth thus far I witnefs with him;
That he din'd not at home, but was lock'd out.
Duke. But had he fuch a chain of thee, or no?
Ang. He had, my lord; and when he ran in here,
These people faw the chain about his neck.

Mer. Befides, I will be fworn these ears of mine

Heard you confefs you had the chain of him,
After you first forswore it on the mart,
And, thereupon, I drew my fword on you;
And then you fled into this abbey here,
From whence, I think, you're come by miracle.
E. Ant. I never came within these abbey-walls,
Nor ever didst thou draw thy fword on me;
I never saw the chain, fo help me heav'n!
And this is false you burthen me withal.

Duke. Why, what an intricate impeach is this!
I think, you all have drunk of Circe's cup:
If here you hous'd him, here he would have been.
If he were mad, he would not plead fo coldly:
You fay, he din'd at home, the goldsmith here
Denies that faying. Sirrah, what say you?

E. Dro. Sir, he din'd with her there, at the porcupine.
Cour. He did; and from my finger fnatch'd that ring.
E. Ant. 'Tis true, my liege, this ring I had of her.
Duke. Saw'ft thou him enter at the abbey here?
Cour. As fure, my liege, as I do fee your grace.

Duke.

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