SALINUS, Duke of Ephesus.
Egeon, a Merchant of Syracufe.
Antipholis of Ephefus,
Twin Brothers, and Sons to Æ
Antipholis of Syracufe,geon and Emilia, but unknown
Dromio of Ephefus, Twin- Brothers, and Slaves to the Dromio of Syracufe, two Antipholis's,
Balthazar, a Merchant.
Angelo, a Goldsmith.
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 Ephefus.
Luciana, Sifter to Adriana.
Luce, Servant to Adriana.
Failer, Officers, and other Attendants.
SCENE, The Duke's Palace.
Enter the Duke of Ephefus, Egeon, Jailor, and
ROCEED, Salinus, to procure my fall And by the doom of death end woes and all.
Duke. Merchant of Syracufe, plead no
I am not partial to infringe our laws:
The enmity, and difcord, 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 statutes 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 adverse towns.
Nay, more; if any born at Ephefus
Be feen at Syracusan marts and fairs,
Again, if any Syracufan born
Come to the bay of Ephefus, he dies;
His goods confifcate to the Duke's difpofe,
Unless 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 this my comfort, when your words are
done,
My woes end likewife 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'A to Ephesus.
Egeon. A heavier task could not have been impos'd,
Than I to fpeak my grief unspeakable :
Yet that the world may witnefs, 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 the great care of goods at random left,
Drew me from kind embracements of my spouse;
From whom my abfence was not fix months old,
Before herself (almoft at fainting under.
The pleafing 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 fo like the other,
As could not be diftinguish'd but by names.
That very hour, and in the felf-fame inn,
A poor mean woman was delivered
Of fuch a burthen, male-twins both alike:
Thofe (for their parents were exceeding poor)
I bought, and brought up to attend my fons.
My wife, not meanly proud of two fuch 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, tho' myself would gladly have embrac'd,
Yet the inceffant weeping of my wife,
(Weeping before, for what the 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 maft,
Such as fea-faring men provide for ftorms;
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 fixt,
Faften'd ourfelves at either end the maft;
And floating ftraight, obedient to the ftream,
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 waxt calm; and we discovered
Two fhips from far making amain to us,
Of Corinth that, of Epidaurus this;
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