COMEDY OF ERRORS.

MEN.

SOLINUS, Duke of Ephefus.
FGEON, a Merchant of Syracufe.

ANTIPHOLIS of Ephesus, Twin-Brothers, and Sons t

ANTIPHOLIS of Syracufe,

Egeon and Emilia, but unknown to each other.

DROMIO of Ephefus, Į Twin-Brothers, and Slaves to DROMIO of Syracufe, the two Antipholis's. BALTHAZAR, a Merchant.

ANGELO, a Goldsmith.

A Merchant, Friend to Antipkolis of Syracufe.
Dr PINCH, a Schoclamafter, and a Conjurer.

WOMEN.

EMILIA, Wife to Egeon, an Abbess at Ephefus. ADRIANA, Wife to Antipholis of Ephefus. LUCIANA, Sifter to Adriana.

LUCE, Servant to Adriana.

A Courtezan.

Jailer, Officers, and other Attendants.

SCENE, Ephefus.

ACT I.

SCENE I. The Duke's Palace.

Enter the Duke of Ephefus, ÆGEON, Jailer, and other

Attendants.

Egeon.

ROCEED, Solinus, to procure my fall,

ROCE

of and all.

duke

Dule. Merchant of Syracufa, plead no more; I am not partial, to infringe our laws: The entity and difcord, which of late Sprung from the rancorous outrage of your To merchants, our well-dealing countrymen,Who, wanting gilders to redeem their lives, Have feal'd his rigorous ftatutes with their bloods, Excludes all pity from our threat'ning looks. For, fince the mortal and intestine jars Twixt thy feditious countrymen and us, It hath in folemn fynod been decreed, Both by the Syracufans and ourselves, To admit no traffick to our adverfe towns: Nay, more, If any, born at Ephefus, Be feen at Syracufan marts and fairs, Again, If any, Syracufan born, Come to the bay of Ephefus, he dies, His goods confifcate to the duke's difpofe; Unleis a thoufand marks be levied, To quit the penalty, and to ransom him.

A 2

Thy

Thy fubftance, valu'd at the highest rate,
Cannot amount unto a hundred marks;
Therefore, by law thou art condemn'd to die.
Egeon. Yet this my comfort; when your words
are done,

My woes end likewise with the evening fun.

Duke. Well, Syracufan, fay, in brief, the cause Why thou departedft from thy native home; And for what caufe thou cam'ft to Ephefus.

Egeon. A heavier task could not have been im-
Than I to speak my griefs unfpeakable: [pos'd,
Yet, that the world may witness, that my end
Was wrought by nature, not by vile offence,
I'll utter what my forrow gives me leave.
In Syracufa 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 profperous voyages I often made
To Epidamnum, till my factor's death;
And he, great care of goods at random left,
Drew me from kind embracements of my fpoufe:
From whom my abfence was not fix months old,
Before herself (almoft at fainting, under
The pleafing punishment that women bear)
Had made provifion for her following me,"
And foon, and safe, arrived where I was.
There fhe had not been long, but she became
A joyful mother of two goodly fons;

And, which was strange, the one fo like the other,
As could not be diftinguifh'd but by names.
That very hour, and in the felf-fame inn,
A poor mean woman was delivered

Of fuch a burden, male twins, both alike:

Thofe,

Thofe, for their parents were exceeding poor, bought, and brought up to attend my fons. My wife, not meanly proud of two such boys, or Made daily motions for our home return: Unwilling I agreed; alas, too soon. We came aboard:

A league from Epidamnum had we fail'd,
Before the always-wind-obeying deep
Gave any tragic inftance of our harm:
But longer did we not retain much hope;
For what obfcured light the heavens did grant
Did but convey into our fearful minds

A doubtful warrant of immediate death;
Which, thoughmyself would gladly have embrac❜d,
Yet the inceffant weepings of my wife,

Weeping before, for what the faw must come,
And piteous plainings of the pretty babes,
That mourn'd for fashion, ignorant what to fear,
Forc'd me to feek delays for them and me.
And this it was,-for other means were none.-
The failors fought for fafety by our boat,
And left the fhip, then finking-ripe, to us:
My wife, more careful for the latter born,
Had faften'd him unto a small spare maft,
Such as fea-faring men provide for ftorms;
To him one of the other twins was bound,
Whil'ft I had been like heedful of the other.
The children thus difpos'd, my wife and I,
Fixing our eyes on whom our care was fix'd,
Faften'd ourselves at either end the mast;
And floating ftraight, obedient to the stream,
Were carry'd towards Corinth, as we thought.
At length the fun, gazing upon the earth,
Difpers'd thofe vapours that offended us;

And,