DRO. S. I am transformed, master, am not I?9 ANT. S. I think, thou art, in mind, and so am I. DRO. S. Nay, master, both in mind, and in my shape. ANT. S. Thou hast thine own form. DRO. S. No, I am an ape. Luc. If thou art chang'd to aught, 'tis to an ass. DRO. S. 'Tis true; she rides me, and I long for grass. 'Tis so, I am an ass; else it could never be, But I should know her as well as she knows me. ADR. Come, come, no longer will I be a fool, To put the finger in the eye and weep, Whilst man, and master, laugh my woes to scorn.Come, sir, to dinner; Dromio, keep the gate :Husband, I'll dine above with you to-day, And shrive you' of a thousand idle pranks: Sirrah, if any ask you for your master, Say, he dines forth, and let no creature enter.--Come, sister :-Dromio, play the porter well. ANT. S. Am I in earth, in heaven, or in hell? Sleeping or waking? mad, or well-advis'd? Known unto these, and to myself disguis'd! Drone is also a term of reproach applied by Shylock to Launcelot, in The Merchant of Venice: 66 he sleeps by day "More than the wild cat; drones hive not with me." STEEVENS. am not I] Old copy-am I not? Corrected by Mr. Theobald. MALONE. And shrive you-] That is, I will call you to confession, and make you tell your tricks. JOHNSON. So, in Hamlet: " - not shriving time allow'd." STEEVENS. I'll say as they say, and perséver so, DRO. S. Master, shall I be porter at the gate? ADR. Ay; and let none enter, lest I break your pate. Luc. Come, come, Antipholus, we dine too late. [Exeunt. ACT III. SCENE I. The same. Enter ANTIPHOLUS of Ephesus, DROMIO of Ephesus, ANGELO, and BALTHAZAR. ANT. E. Good signior Angelo, you must excuse us all;2 My wife is shrewish, when I keep not hours: Good signior Angelo, you must excuse us all;] I suppose, the word-all, which overloads the measure, without improvement of the sense, might be safely omitted, as an interpolation. STEEVENS. 3 carkanet,] Seems to have been a necklace, or rather chain, perhaps hanging down double from the neck. So, Lovelace, in his poem: " JOHNSON. "The empress spreads her carcanets.' "Quarquan, ornement d'or qu'on mit au col des damoiselles." Le grand Dict. de Nicot. A carkanet seems to have been a necklace set with stones, or strung with pearls. Thus, in Partheneia Sacra, &c. 1633: And that to-morrow you will bring it home. DRO. E. Say what you will, sir, but I know what That you beat me at the mart, I have your hand to show: If the skin were parchment, and the blows you gave were ink, Your own handwriting would tell you what I think. ANT. E. I think, thou art an ass. DRO. E. Marry, so it doth appear By the wrongs I suffer, and the blows I bear. "Seeke not vermillion or ceruse in the face, bracelets of oriental pearls on the wrist, rubie carkanets on the neck, and a most exquisite fan of feathers in the hand.” Again, in Histriomastix, or the Player whipt, 1610: 66 Nay, I'll be matchless for a carcanet, "Whose pearls and diamonds plac'd with ruby rocks "Shall circle this fair neck to set it forth." Again, in Sir W. D'Avenant's comedy of The Wits, 1636: "Threading a carkanet of pure round pearl Again, in The Changes, or Love in a Maze, 1632: the drops "Shew like a carkanet of pearl upon it." In the play of Soliman and Perseda, 1599, the word carcanet occurs eight or nine times. STEEVENS. Marry, so it doth appear By the wrongs I suffer, and the blows I bear.] Thus all the printed copies; but, certainly, this is cross-purposes in rea soning. It appears, Dromio is an ass by his making no resistance; I should kick, being kick'd; and, being at that pass, You would keep from my heels, and beware of an ass. ANT. E. You are sad, signior Balthazar: 'Pray God, our cheer May answer my good will, and your good welcome here. BAL. I hold your dainties cheap, sir, and your welcome dear. ANT. E. O, signior Balthazar, either at flesh or fish, A table full of welcome makes scarce one dainty dish. BAL. Good meat, sir, is common; that every churl affords. ANT. E. And welcome more common; for that's nothing but words. BAL. Small cheer, and great welcome, makes a merry feast. ANT. E. Ay, to a niggardly host, and more sparing guest: But though my cates be mean, take them in good part; Better cheer may you have, but not with better heart. that because an ass, being kicked, kicks again. Our author never argues at this wild rate, where his text is genuine. THEOBALD. Mr. Theobald, instead of doth, reads-don't. MALONE. I do not think this emendation necessary. He first says, his wrongs and blows prove him an ass; but immediately, with a correction of his former sentiment, such as may be hourly observed in conversation, he observes that, if he had been an ass, he should, when he was kicked, have kicked again. JOHNSON. But, soft; my door is lock'd; Go bid them let us in. DRO. E. Maud, Bridget, Marian, Cicely, Gillian, Jen'! DRO. S. [Within.] Mome, malt-horse, capon, coxcomb, idiot, patch!" Either get thee from the door, or sit down at the hatch: Dost thou conjure for wenches, that thou call'st for such store, When one is one too many? Go, get thee from the door. 5 DRO. E. What patch is made our porter? My master stays in the street. DRO. S. Let him walk from whence he came, lest he catch cold on's feet. ANT. E. Who talks within there? ho, open the door. DRO. S. Right, sir, I'll tell you when, an you'll tell me wherefóre. Mome,] A dull stupid blockhead, a stock, a post. This owes its original to the French word Momon, which signifies the gaming at dice in masquerade, the custom and rule of which is, that a strict silence is to be observed: whatever sum one stakes, another covers, but not a word is to be spoken. From hence also comes our word mum! for silence. HAWKINS. So, in Heywood's Rape of Lucrece, 1630: "Important are th' affairs we have in hand; 66 Brutus, forbear the presence." STEEVENS. -patch!] i. e. fool. Alluding to the parti-coloured coats worn by the licensed fools or jesters of the age. So, in Macbeth: "what soldiers, patch ?" See notes on A Midsummer-Night's Dream, Act III. sc. ii. and The Merchant of Venice, Act I. sc. i. STEEVENS. |