And, when fhe

put it on, fhe made me vow,

That I fhould neither fell, nor give, nor lose it.

Por. That 'fcufe ferves many men to fave their gifts; And if your wife be not a mad woman,

And know how well I have deferv'd the ring,'
She wou'd not hold out enmity for ever,
For giving it to me. Well, peace be with you!
[Exit with Neriffa.

Ant. My Lord Baffanio, let him have the ring.
Let his defervings, and my love withal,
Be valu'd 'gainft your wife's commandment.

Baff. Go, Gratiano, run and overtake him,
Give him the ring; and bring him, if thou can'ft,
Unto Anthonio's house: away, make hafte. [Exit. Gra.
Come, you and I will thither presently;
And in the morning early will we both
Fly toward Belmont; come, Anthonio.

Re-enter Portia with Neriffa.

[Exeunt.

Por. Inquire the Jew's houfe out, give him this deed, And let him fign it; we'll away to-night,

And be a day before our husbands home:
This deed will be well welcome to Lorenzo.
Enter Gratiano.

Gra. Fair Sir, you are well o'erta'en:
My Lord Baffanio, upon more advice,
Hath fent you here this ring, and doth intreat
Your company at dinner.

Por. That cannot be.

This ring I do accept moft thankfully,

And fo, I pray you, tell him; furthermore,
I pray you, fhew my youth old Shylock's house.

Gra. That will I do.

Ner. Sir, I would speak with you.

I'll fee if I can get my husband's ring:

[To Por.

Which I did make him fwear to keep for ever.

We fhall have old

Por. Thou may'st, I warrant. That they did give the rings away to men; [fwearing, But we'll out-face them, and out-fwear them too: Away, make haste, thou know'ft where I will tarry. Ner. Come, good Sir, will you fhew me to this house?

[Exeunt.

A CT V. SCENE I.

Belmont. A grove or green place before Portia's houfe Enter Lorenzo and Jeffica.

HE moon fhines bright: in fuch a night as

Lor. This,

When the sweet wind did gently kiss the trees,
And they did make no noife; in fuch a night
Troilus, methinks, mounted the Trojan wall;
And figh'd his foul toward the Grecian tents,
Where Creffid lay that night.

Jef. In fuch a night

Did Thisbe fearfully o'er-trip the dew;
And faw the lion's fhadow ere himself,
And ran difmay'd away.

Lor. In such a night

Stood Dido with a willow in her hand

Upon the wild fea-banks, and wav'd her love
To come again to Carthage.

Jef. In fuch a night

Medea gather'd the inchanted herbs,
That did renew old Æfon.

Lor. In fuch a night

Did Jeffica fteal from the wealthy Jew,

And with an unthrift love did run from Venice,
As far as Belmont.

Jef. And in fuch a night.

Did young Lorenzo fwear he lov'd her well;
Stealing her foul with many vows of faith,
And ne'er a true one.

Lor. And in fuch a night

Did pretty Jeffica, (like a little fhrew),
Slander her love, and he forgave it her.

Jef. I would out-night you, did no body come
But hark, I hear the footing of a man.

Enter Stephano.

Lor. Who comes so fast in silence of the night?
Mef. A friend.

Lor. What friend? Your name, I pray you, friend?
VOL. II.

M

Mef. Stephano is my name, and I bring word,
My mistress will before the break of day
Be here at Belmont: she doth stray about
By holy croffes, where the kneels, and prays,
For happy wedlock hours.

Lor. Who comes with her?

Mef. None but a holy hermit and her maid. I pray you, is my mafter yet return'd ?

Lor. He is not, nor have we yet heard from him, But go we in, I pray thee, Jeflica,

And ceremoniously let us prepare

Some welcome for the miftrefs of the house.

Enter Launcelot.

Laun. Sola, fola, wo ha, ho, fola, fola!

Lor. Who calls?

Laun. Sola! did you fee Mafter Lorenzo and Miftrefs Lorenzo? fola, fola !

Lor. Leave hollowing, man: here

Laun. Sola! where? where ?

Lor. Here.

Laun. Tell him, there's a poft come from my mafter with his horn full of good news. My mafter will be here ere morning.

Lor. Sweet love, let's in, and there expect their And yet no matter why fhould we go in? [coming. My friend Stephano, fignify, I pray you,

Within the house, your mistress is at hand;

[Exit. Stephano. And bring your mufic forth into the air.

How fweet the moon-light fleeps upon this bank! • Here will we fit, and let the founds of mufic Creep in our ears; foft ftillnefs, and the night Become the touches of fweet harmony.

Sit, Jeffica: look how the floor of heav'n
Is thick inlay'd with patens of bright gold;
There's not the fmalleft orb which thou behold,
But in his motion like an angel fings,

Still quiring to the young-ey'd cherubims;
Such harmony is in immortal founds!
But whilft this muddy vefture of decay

Doth grofsly clofe us in, we cannot hear it.”

Come, ho, and wake Diana with a hymn;

With fweetest touches pierce your
And draw her home with mufic.

mistress' ear,

Jef. I'm never merry when I hear sweet music.

[Mufic Lor. The reafon is, your fpirits are attentive; For do but note a wild and wanton herd,

"Or race of youthful and unhandled colts,

،

་

Fetching mad bounds, bellowing and neighing loud, (Which is the hot condition of their blood),

If they perchance but hear a trumpet found,
Or any air of mufic touch their cars,

"You fhall perceive them make a mutual ftand;
Their favage eyes turn'd to a modest gaze,

By the fweet power of mufic. Therefore the poet
Did feign that Orpheus drew trees, ftones, and floods
Since nought fo ftockish, hard, and full of rage,
• But mufic for the time doth change his nature.
The man that hath no mufic in himself,

Nor is not mov'd with concord of fweet founds,
Is fit for treafons, ftratagems, and fpoils;
The motions of his fpirit are dull as night,
And his affections dark as Erebus :

"Let no fuch man be trufted-Mark the mufic."

Enter Portia and Neriffa.

Por. That light we fee, is burning in my hall : How far that little candle throws his beams!

So fhines a good deed in a naughty world.

Ner. When the moon fhone, we did not fee the candle Por. So doth the greater glory dim the lefs; A fubftitute fhines brightly as a King, Until a King be by; and then his ftate Empties itself, as doth an inland brook Into the main of waters. Mufic, hark!

[Mufic

Ner. It is the mufic, Madam, of your houfe.
Por. Nothing is good, I fee, without refpect:
Methinks it founds much fweeter than by day.

Ner. Silence beftows the virtue on it, Madam.
Por. The crow doth fing as sweetly as the lark,
When neither is attended; and, I think,
The nightingale, if the fhould fing by day,

When every goofe is cackling, would be thought
No better a musician than the wren.
How many things by season feafon'd are
To their right praife, and true perfection?
Peace! how the moon fleeps with Endymion,
And would not be awak'd!

Lor. That is the voice,

Or I am much deceiv'd, of Portia.

[Mufic ceafes.

Por. He knows me as the blind man knows the cuc

By the bad voice.

Lor. Dear Lady, welcome home.

[kow,

Por. We have been praying for our husbands healths, Which speed we hope the better for our words. Are they return'd?

Lor. Madam, they are not yet;

But there is come a meffenger before,
To fignify their coming.

Por. Go, Neriffa,

Give order to my fervants, that they take
No note at all of our being absent hence;
Nor you, Lorenzo; Jeffica, nor you.

[A tucket founds. Lor. Your husband is at hand, I hear his trumpet: We are no tell-tales, Madam, fear you not.

Por. This night, methinks, is but the day-light fick; It looks a little paler; 'tis a day,

Such as the day is when the fun is hid.

Enter Baffanio, Anthonio, Gratiano, and their followers.
Baff. We fhould hold day with the Antipodes,
If you would walk in absence of the fun.

Por. Let me give light, but let me not be light;
For a light wife doth make a heavy husband;

And never be Baffanio fo from me;

But God fort all! You're welcome home, my Lord. Baff. I thank you, Madam: Give welcome to my This is the man, this is Anthonio,

To whom am fo infinitely bound.

[friend;

Por. You fhould in all fenfe be much bound to him; For, as I hear, he was much bound for you. Ant. No more than I am well acquitted of.

Per. Sir, you are very welcome to our house