But by-and-by rude fishermen of Corinth By force took Dromio and my son from them, I to this fortune that you see me in. Duke. Why, here begins his morning story 20 right: And these two Dromios, one in semblance, — Ant. S. No, sir, not I; I came from Syracuse. Ant. E.- Brought to this town by that most famous warrior, Duke Menaphon, your most renownèd uncle. Adr. Which of you two did dine with me to-day? Ant. S. I, gentle mistress. Adr. And are not you my husband? Ant. E. No; I say nay to that. Ant. S. And so do I; yet did she call me so: And this fair gentlewoman, her sister here, Did call me brother. [To Luc.] What I told you then, I hope I shall have leisure to make good;, If this be not a dream I see and hear. Ang. That is the chain, sir, which you had of me. Ant. S. I think it be, sir; I deny it not. Ant. E. And you, sir, for this chain arrested me. Ang. I think I did, sir; I deny it not. 20 The "morning story" is what Ægeon tells the Duke in the first scene of the play. Adr. I sent you money, sir, to be your bail, By Dromio; but I think he brought it not. Dro. E. No, none by me. Ant. S. This purse of ducats I received from you, I see we still did meet each other's man ; Ant. E. These ducats pawn I for my father here. Ant. E. There, take it; and much thanks for my good cheer. Abb. Renowned Duke, vouchsafe to take the pains Το go with us into the abbey here, And hear at large discoursèd all our fortunes ; And all that are assembled in this place, The Duke, my husband, and my children both, After so long grief, such felicity! 21 The two Dromios are called the calendars of their masters' nativity because they were born the same day. See page 87, note 8. 22 "A gossips' feast" is, literally, a feast of sponsors; gossip being from God sib, and sib meaning kin. Sponsors were wont to have a merry feast together after answering at the Font; and such feasts were apt occasions for gossipping in our sense of the term. The word is used here because Emilia has just spoken of her sons as newly born, which implied them to be candidates for baptism. Duke. With all my heart, I'll gossip at this feast. Dro. S. Dro. S. [Exeunt the DUKE, Abbess, ÆGEON, Courtezan, Your goods that lay at host, sir, in the Centaur. Ant. S. He speaks to me. I am your master, Dromio : 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, That kitchen'd me for you to-day at dinner : She now shall be my sister, not my wife. Dro. E. Methinks you are my glass, and not my brother: I see by you I am a sweet-faced youth. Will you walk in to see their gossiping? Dro. S. Not I, sir; you are my elder. Dro. E. That's a question: how shall we try it? Dro. S. We'll draw cuts for the senior: till then lead thou first. Dro. E. Nay, then, thus: We came into the world like brother and brother; And now let's go hand in hand, not one before another. [Exeunt. CRITICAL NOTES. ACT I., SCENE I. Page 80. Nay, more, if any born at Ephesus Come to the bay of Ephesus, &c. - Here, in the second line, the original reads " seene at any Syracusian"; any being inserted by mistake from the occurrence of the same word just above and just below. Pope's correction. P. 80. To quit the penalty and ransom him. — The original repeats the to before ransom. Corrected in the second folio. And by me too, had not our hap been bad. The first folio omits too, which was supplied in the second. P. 81. And the great care of goods at random left. - The original has "And he great care of goods." Corrected by Theobald. P. 81. That very hour, and in the self-same inn, A meaner woman was delivered Of such a burden.-The original reads "A meane woman," leaving a gap in the verse; which gap the second folio filled by inserting poor. This can hardly be right, as in the next line but one we have "their parents were exceeding poor." Walker says, "Read 'A meaner woman'; one of a lower rank than my wife." P. 82. And thus it was,- for other means was none : — The sailors sought for safety by our boat, &c. So Walker, and rightly, I have no doubt. The old copies, " And this it was.” P. 83. We were encounter'd by a mighty rock; Which being violently borne upon, Our hopeful ship was splitted in the midst.-The original has "Our helpful ship,” which can hardly be right. Rowe changed helpful to helpless, which is evidently much better. Hopeful was proposed by Mr. Swynfen Jervis, and certainly accords well with the context. the second line, the first folio has "borne up"; the second, "borne up upon." - In P. 83. At length, the other ship had seized on us. - So Hanmer; the old copies, "another ship." The correction is prompted, and indeed fairly required by the context. P. 83. Thus by misfortune was my life prolong'd. The old text has That instead of Thus, which is Hanmer's reading. The original also has misfortunes. Corrected by Dyce. P. 84. What hath befall'n of them and thee. -So the second folio; the first, "What have befalne of them and they." P. 84. And importuned me That his attendant-for his case was like, &c. - The first folio so his case was like." Corrected in the second. reads " P. 85. I'll limit thee this day To seek thy life by beneficial help.-So Pope, followed by Theobald, Hanmer, White, and Dyce, and approved by Walker. Of course the meaning is, "seek to save thy life." The old copies read "To seek thy help by beneficial help"; which is palpably wrong. reads "To seek thy hope," &c. P. 85. Beg thou, or borrow, to make up the sum, And live; if not, then thou art doom'd to die.— Staunton Jailer, now take him to thy custody. — The original has “if no”; "a stark error," says Dyce. In the last line, now, wanting in the old copies, is supplied by Hanmer and Collier's second folio. Walker proposes "Go, jailer, take," &c. I am not sure but Capell's reading, "So, jailer, take," &c., is the best of all. |