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Come, ho, and wake Diana with a hymn;
With fweeteft touches pierce your
miftrefs' ear,
And draw her home with mufic.

Jef. I'm never merry when I hear fweet mufic.

[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,

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

‹ Ìf they perchance but hear a trumpet found, 'Or any air of mufic touch their ears,

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 foods; Since nought fo ftockifh, 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 sweet founds, Is fit for treafons, fratageins, and spoils;

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 substitute shines brightly as a King, Until a King be by; and then his state Empties itself, as doth an inland brook Into the main of waters. Mufic, hark!

[Mufic.

Ner. It is the mufic, Madam, of your house.
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 fweetly as the lark,
When neither is attended; and, I think,
The nightingale, if she should fing by day,

M 2

When

When every goofe is cackling, would be thought
No better a mufician than the wren.

How many things by feafon 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 cucBy 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 Ballanio, Anthonio, Gratiano, and their followers. Baf. We fhould hold day with the Antipodes,

If you would walk in abfence 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,
[friend;

To whom I am fo infinitely bound.

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.

Por. Sir, you are very welcome to our house;

It

It must appear in other ways than words;
Therefore I fcant this breathing courtefy.
Gra. By yonder moon I fwear you do me wrong;
In faith, I gave it to the judge's clerk. [To Neriffa,
Would he were gelt that had it, for my part,
Since you do take it, love, so much at heart.
Por. A quarrel, ho, already! what's the matter?
Gra. About a hoop of gold, a paltry ring,
That fhe did give me, whofe poefy was,
For all the world, like cutlers poetry
Upon a knife: Love me and leave me not.

Ner. What, talk you of the poesy, or the value?
You fwore to me, when I did give it you,
That you would wear it till your hour of death;
And that it fhould lie with you in your grave:
Though not for me, yet for your vehement oaths,
You thould have been refpective, and have kept it.
Gave it a judge's clerk! but well I know,

The clerk will ne'er wear hair on's face that had it.
Gra. He will, an' if he live to be a man.
Ner. Ay, if a woman live to be a man.
Gra. Now, by this hand, I gave it to a youth,

A kind of boy, a little fcrubbed boy,

No higher than thyfelf, the judge's clerk;

A pratting boy, that begg'd it as a fee:

I could not for my heart deny it him.

For. You were to blame, I must be plain with you,
To part fo flightly with your wife's firit gift;
A thing ftuck on with oaths upon your finger,
And riveted with faith unto your fleth.

I gave my love a ring, and made him swear
Never to part with it; and here he stands,
I dare be fworn for him, he would not leave it,
Nor pluck it from his finger, for the wealth
That the world mafters. Now, in faith, Gratiano,
You give your wife too unkind a. cause of grief;
An 'twere to me, I fhould be mad at it.

Baff. Why, I were beft to cut my left hand off,
And fwear I loft the ring defending it.

Gra. My Lord Bassanio gave his ring away Unto the judge that begg'd it, and indeed Deferv'd it too; and then the boy his clerk,

M 3

[Afide.

That

That took fome pains in writing, he begg'd mine;
And neither man nor master would take aught
But the two rings.

Por. What ring gave you, my Lord?
Not that, I hope, which you receiv'd of me.
Baff. If I could add a lie unto a fault,
I would deny it; but you fee my finger
Hath not the ring upon it, it is gone.

Por. Even fo void is your falfe heart of truth.
By Heav'n, I will ne'er come in

Until I fee the ring.

Ner. Nor I in your's,

Till I again fee mine.
Baff. Sweet Portia,

If

your bed

you did know to whom I gave the ring,
If you did know for whom I gave the ring,
And would conceive for what ! gave
the ring,
And how unwillingly I left the ring,
When nought would be accepted but the ring,
You would abate the ftrength of your difpleafure.
Por. If you had known the virtue of the ring,
Or half her worthinefs that gave the ring,
Or your own honour to retain the ring,

You would not then have parted with the ring.
What man is there fo much unreasonable,

If you

had pleas'd to have defended it

With any terms of zeal, wanted the modesty
Το urge the thing held as a ceremony?

Neriffa teaches me what to believe;

I'll die for't, but fome woman had the ring.

Bal. No, by mine honour, Madam, by my foul,

No woman had it, but a civil doctor,

Who did refufe three thousand ducats of me,

And begg'd the ring; the which I did deny him,
And fuffer'd him to go difpleas'd away;

Ev'n he that did uphold the very life

Of my dear friend. What fhould I fay, fweet Lady?
I was enforce'd to fend it after him;

I was befet with flame and courtefy;
My honour would not let ingratitude

So much befmcar it. Pardon me, good lady;
And by thefe, bleffed candles of the night,

Had

Had you been there, I think you would have begg'd The ring of me to give the worthy Doctor.

Por. Let not that Doctor e'er come near my house, Since he hath got the jewel that I lov'd,

And that which you did fwear to keep for me;
I will become as liberal as you;

I'll not deny him any thing I have,

No, not my body, nor my husband's bed;
Know him I fhall, I am well sure of it.

Lie not a night from home; watch me, like Argus:
If you do not, if I be left alone,

Now, by mine honour, which is yet my own,
I'll have that Doctor for my bedfellow.

Ner. And I his clerk; therefore be well advis'd,
How you do leave me to mine own protection.

Gra. Well, do you fo; let me not take him then : For, if I do, I'll mar the young clerk's pen.

Ant. I am th' unhappy fubject of these quarrels. Por. Sir, grieve not you; you are welcome, not withstanding.

Baf. Portia, forgive me this inforced wrong.
And in the hearing of these many friends,
I fwear to thee, ev'n by thine own fair eyes,
Wherein I fee myself--

Por. Mark you but that!

In both mine eyes he doubly fees himself;
In each eye one; fwear by your double self,
And there's an oath of credit!

Baff. Nay, but hear me :

Pardon this fault, and by my foul I swear
I never more will break an oath with thee.
Ant. I once did lend my body for his weal;
Which, but for him that had your husband's ring,
[To Portia.
Had quite mifcarry'd. I dare be bound again,
My foul upon the forfeit, that your Lord
Will never more break faith advisedly.

Por. Then you fhall be his furety; give him this, And bid him keep it better than the other.

Ant. Here, Lord Baffanio, fwear to keep this ring. Baff. By heav'n, it is the fame I gave the Doctor. Por. I had it of him: pardon me, Baffanio;

For

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