PERSONS REPRESENTED.

DUKE OF VENICE.
Appears, Act IV. sc. 1.

PRINCE OF ARRAGON, suitor to Portia.
Appears, Act II. sc. 9.

PRINCE OF MOROCCO, suitor to Portia.
Appears, Act II. sc. 1; sc. 7.

ANTONIO, the Merchant of Venice.
Appears, Act I. sc. 1; sc. 3.
Act IV. sc. 1.

Act II. sc. 6. Act III. sc. 3.
Act. V. sc. 1.

SALARINO, friend to Antonio and Bassanio.

Appears, Act I. sc. 1. Act II. sc. 4; sc. 6; sc. 8.
Act III. sc. 1; sc. 3. Act IV. sc. 1.

GRATIANO, friend to Antonio and Bassanio.

Appears, Act I. sc. 1. Act II. sc. 2; sc. 4; sc. 6. Act III. sc. 2. Act IV. sc.. 1; sc. 2. Act V. sc. 1.

Appears, Act I. sc. 3. Act II. sc. 5. Act III. sc. 1; sc. 3.

Act IV. sc. 1.

TUBAL, a Jew, friend to Shylock.

Appears, Act III. sc. 1.

LAUNCELOT GOBBO, a clown, servant to Shylock. Appears, Act II. sc. 2; sc. 3; sc. 4; sc. 5. Act III. sc. 5. Act V. sc. 1.

Old GOBBO, father to Launcelot.
Appears, Act II. sc. 2.

LEONARDO, servant to Bassanio.
Appears, Act II. sc. 2.

BALTHAZAR, servant to Portia.
Appears, Act III. sc. 4.

STEPHANO, servant to Portia.
Appears, Act V. sc. 1.

PORTIA, a rich heiress.

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

Act III. sc. 2; sc. 4.

Act IV. sc. 1; sc. 2.

NERISSA, waiting-maid to Portia.

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

7; sc. 9.
Act V. sc. 1.

7; sc. 9.
Act V. sc. 1.

JESSICA, daughter to Shylock.
Appears, Act II. sc. 3; sc. 5; sc. 6.

Act III. sc. 2; sc. 4; sc. 5. Act V. sc. 1.

Magnificoes of Venice, Officers of the Court of Justice, Gaoler,
Servants, and other Attendants.

SCENE,-PARTLY AT VENICE; AND PARTLY AT BELMONT, THE SEAT
OF PORTIA, ON THE CONTINENT.

"THE MERCHANT OF VENICE was first printed in 1600, two editions appearing in the same year-the one bearing the name of a publisher, Thomas Heyes, the other that of a printer, J. Roberts. The play was not reprinted till it appeared in the folio of 1623. In that edition there are a few variations from the quartos. All these editions present the internal evidence of having been printed from correct copies. The Merchant of Venice' is one of the plays of Shakspere mentioned by Francis Meres in 1598, and it is the last mentioned in his list.

THE MERCHANT OF VENICE.

ACT I.

SCENE I-Venice. A Street.

Enter ANTONIO, SALARINO, and SOLANIO.

ANT. In sooth, I know not why I am so sad;
It wearies me; you say it wearies you;

But how I caught it, found it, or came by it,
What stuff 't is made of, whereof it is born,
I am to learn;

And such a want-wit sadness makes of me,
That I have much ado to know myself.

SALAR. Your mind is tossing on the ocean;
There, where your argosies with portly sail,
Like signiors and rich burghers on the flood,
Or, as it were, the pageants of the sea,
Do overpeer the petty traffickers,

That curt'sy to them, do them reverence,
As they fly by them with their woven wings.
SOLAN. Believe me, sir, had I such venture forth,
The better part of my affections would

Be with my hopes abroad. I should be still
Plucking the grass, to know where sits the wind;
Peering in maps, for ports, and piers, and roads;
And every object that might make me fear
Misfortune to my ventures, out of doubt,
Would make me sad.

SALAR.

My wind, cooling my broth,
Would blow me to an ague, when I thought
What harm a wind too great might do at sea.