SALINUS, Duke of Ephefus.
EGEON, a Merchant of Syracuse.
ANTIPHOLIS of Ephefus, Twin Brothers, and Sons to ÆGEON and
ANTIPHOLIS of Syracuse, EMILIA, but unknown to each other.
DROMIO of Ephefus, Twin Brothers, and Slaves to the two
DROMIO of Syracufe, ANTIPHOLIS'S.
BALTHAZAR, a Merchant.
A Merchant, Friend to ANTIPHOLIS of Syracufe.
Dr. PINCH, a School-mafter, and a Conjurer.
EMILIA, Wife to EGEON, an Abbess at Ephefus.
ADRIANA, Wife to ANTIPHOLIS of Ephesus.
LUCIANA, Sifter to ADRIANA.
LUCE, Servant to ADRIANA.
Failer, Officers, and other Attendants.
The Plot taken from the Menæchmi of PLAUTUS.
ACT I. SCENE I.
Enter the Duke of Ephefus, Ægeon, Jailer, and other Attendants.
ROCEED, Salinus, to procure my fall,
And by the doom of death end woes and all.
Duke. Merchant of Syracufa, plead no more;
I am not partial to infringe our laws:
The enmity, and discord, which of late
Sprung from the ranc'rous outrage of your duke,
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 threatning looks.
For, fince the mortal and inteftine jars
"Twixt thy feditious countrymen and us,
It hath in folemn fynods been decreed,
Both by the Syracufans and ourselves,
T'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,
Unlefs a thousand marks be levied
To quit the penalty, and ransom him.
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 'tis 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 departed'ft from thy native home;
And for what cause thou cam'ft to Ephefus.
Egeon. A heavier task could not have been impos'd,
Than I to speak my grief unspeakable:
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 store of goods at random leaving,
Drew me from kind embracements of my spouse;
From whom my absence was not fix months old,
Before herself (almost at fainting, under
The pleasing punishment that women bear)
Had made provifion for her following me,
And foon and safe arrived where I was.
There she had not been long, but she became
A joyful mother of two goodly fons;
And, which was ftrange, the one so like other,
As could not be diftinguish'd but by names.
That very hour, and in the self-fame inn,
A poor mean woman was delivered
Of fuch a burthen, male-twins both alike:
Those (for their parents were exceeding poor)
• That is, by a natural event, by the course of providence.
I bought, and brought up to attend my fons.
My wife, not meanly proud of two such boys,
Made daily motions for our home return :
Unwilling I agreed; alas, too foon!
We came aboard.
A league from Epidamnum had we fail'd,
Before the always-wind-obeying deep
Gave any tragick inftance of our harm;
But longer did we not retain much hope:
For what obfcured light the heav'ns did grant,
Did but convey unto our fearful minds
A doubtful warrant of immediate death;
Which though myself would gladly have embrac'd,
Yet the inceffant weeping of my wife,
Weeping before for what fhe 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 elder born,
Had faften'd him unto a small spare mast,
Such as fea-faring men provide for storms;
To him one of the other twins was bound,
Whilft 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 th' end of either mast,
And floating straight, 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 by the benefit of his wifh'd light
The feas wax'd calm, and we discovered
Two ships from far making amain to us,
Of Corinth that, of Epidaurus this;
But ere they came -o, let me fay no more;
Gather the fequel by that went before.
Duke. Nay, forward, old man, do not break off so; For we may pity, though not pardon thee.
Egeon. O, had the gods done fo, I had not now Worthily term'd them merciless to us;
For ere the ships could meet by twice five leagues,
We were encountred by a mighty rock;
Which being violently born upon,
Our helpless ship was splitted in the midft:
So that in this unjust divorce of us
Fortune had left to both of us alike
What to delight in, what to forrow for.
Her part, poor foul! feeming as burdened
With leffer weight, but not with leffer wo,
Was carry'd with more speed before the wind,
And in our fight the three were taken up
By fishermen of Corinth, as we thought.
At length, the other ship had seiz'd on us;
And, knowing whom it was their hap to fave,
Gave helpful welcome to their shipwreck'd guefts,
And would have 'reft the fishers of their prey,
Had not their bark been very flow of fail;
And therefore homeward did they bend their course.
Thus have you heard me fever'd from my bliss;
Thus by misfortunes was my life prolong'd,
To tell fad ftories of my own mishaps.
Duke. And, for the fakes of them thou forrow'ft for, Do me the favour to dilate at full
What hath befall'n of them and thee 'till now.
Egeon. My youngest boy, and yet my eldest care, At eighteen years became inquifitive
After his brother, and importun'd me,
That his attendant (for his cafe was like,
'Reft of his brother, but retain'd his name,)
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