Whilst I had been like heedful of the other. And floating straight, obedient to the stream, But ere they came,-O, let me say no more! Duke. Nay, forward, old man; do not break off so, For we may pity, though not pardon thee. Ege. O, had the gods done so, I had not now Worthily term'd them merciless to us! For, ere the ships could meet by twice five leagues, Which being violently borne upon, Our helpful ship was splitted in the midst; Which being violently borne UPON,] The first folio has up, and the second up upon. The present is, no doubt, the true reading, as fixed by Malone. 7 Gave HEALTHFUL welcome] The second folio reads helpful, which is probably wrong, as we have had that word just before. Malone adopted the change without sufficient reason. And would have reft the fishers of their prey, And therefore homeward did they bend their course.- To tell sad stories of my own mishaps. Duke. And, for the sake of them thou sorrowest for, Do me the favour to dilate at full What hath befall'n of them, and thee, till now. At eighteen years became inquisitive Duke. Hapless Egeon, whom the fates have mark'd To bear the extremity of dire mishap! Now, trust me, were it not against our laws, * Had not their BARK] The first folio has back for "bark," as it is correctly printed in the folio 1632. "What hath befall'n of them, and thee, till now.] This is the reading of the second folio: the first gives the line thus : "What have befall'n of them and they, till now." 10 MY YOUNGEST boy,] Monck Mason remarks, that Shakespeare has here been forgetful, and that it was Ægeon's wife who had been fastened on the mast near the youngest boy. So she may have been; but our author does not say so, though he may leave it to be inferred: he only says that the wife was "careful of the latter born," and therefore fastened that child to the mast. Which princes, would they, may not disannul, Jail. I will, my lord. Ege. Hopeless, and helpless, doth Ægeon wend, But to procrastinate his lifeless end. [Exeunt. SCENE II. A public Place. Enter ANTIPHOLUS and DROMIO of Syracuse, and a Merchant. Mer. Therefore, give out you are of Epidamnum, Lest that your goods too soon be confiscate. This very day, a Syracusian merchant Is apprehended for arrival here; And, not being able to buy out his life 1 To seek thy HELP by beneficial HELP.] Some of the editors would substitute "life" for help in the first instance; and Steevens recommends "means" for help in the second instance. Perhaps Shakespeare wrote "To seek thy hope by beneficial help.” That is, to seek what you hope by beneficial help to acquire-money for your This is consistent with Ægeon's exclamation just afterwards, ransom. "Hopeless and helpless doth Ægeon wend," &c. The folios have it as it stands in the text. 2 Enter Antipholus] The old stage-direction is "Enter Antipholis Erotes.” Dies ere the weary sun set in the west. Ant. S. Go, bear it to the Centaur, where we host, Get thee away. Dro. S. Many a man would take you at your word, And go indeed, having so good a mean. [Exit. Ant. S. A trusty villain, sir; that very oft, Mer. I am invited, sir, to certain merchants, And wander up and down to view the city. Mer. Sir, I commend you to your own content. [Exit. Ant. S. He that commends me to mine own content, Commends me to the thing I cannot get. I to the world am like a drop of water, 3 Soon at five o'clock ;] i. e. About five o'clock. A. iii. sc. 2, we have " soon at supper-time." "Soon at night," is a common expression. And afterwards CONSORT you till bed-time :] i. e. Keep you company till bed-time. 5 CONFOUNDS himself:] "To confound," says Malone, "in old language So I, to find a mother, and a brother, Enter DROMIO of Ephesus. Here comes the almanack of my true date .- late. The capon burns, the pig falls from the spit, The meat is cold, because you come not home; Ant. S. Stop in your wind, sir. Tell me this, I pray; Ant. S. I am not in a sportive humour now. Tell me, and dally not, where is the money? We being strangers here, how dar'st thou trust So great a charge from thine own custody? Dro. E. I pray you, jest, sir, as you sit at dinner. I from my mistress come to you in post; If I return, I shall be post indeed, signifies to destroy." So it may, but that is not the meaning of the word here: confounds, in this place, is to be interpreted by what Antipholus just afterwards says, "So I, to find a mother and a brother, in the same way that a drop is lost in the sea, and confounded with the great mass of waters. 6 Here comes the almanack of my true date.] Because he and Dromio were born at the same hour. He, of course, mistakes Dromio of Ephesus for his own man. |