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Dramatis Perfonæ.

SALINUS, Duke of Ephefus.
Ægeon, a Merchant of Syracufe.

Antipholis of Ephefus,
Antipholis of Syracufe,

Twin-Brothers, and Sons to Ægeon and Æmilia, but unknown to each other.

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.

Æmilia, Wife to Ægeon, an Abbess at Ephefus.
Adriana, Wife to Antipholis of Ephefus.

Luciana, Sifter to Adriana.

Luce, Servant to Adriana.

Jailer, Officers, and other Attendants.

SCENE, Ephefus.

THE

THE

COMEDY of ERRORS.

ACT T I.

SCENE, The Duke's Palace.

Enter the Duke of Ephefus, Ægeon, Jailor, and other Attendants.

P

EGEON.

ROCEED, Salinus, to procure my fall,
And by the doom of death end woes and

all.

Duke. Merchant of Syracufe, 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

T'admit no traffick to our adverse 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,
Unless a thousand marks be levied
To quit the penalty, and ranfom 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 caufe,
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 fpeak my grief unfpeakable:

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 fpoufe;
From whom my abfence was not fix months old,
Before herself (almost 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 he 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 diftinguifh'd but by names.
That very hour, and in the felf-fame inn,

A

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 fafhion, 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 ship, 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 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 waxt calm; and we difcovered
Two fhips from far making amain to us,
Of Corinth that, of Epidaurus this;

Eut

But ere they came-oh, 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, tho' not pardon thee.

Egeon. Oh, had the Gods done fo, I had not now Worthily term'd them merciless to us;

For ere the fhips could meet by twice five leagues,
We were encountred by a mighty rock;
Which being violently borne upon,
Our helpless fhip was fplitted in the midft:
So that, in this unjuft 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 woe,
Was carry'd with more fpeed before the wind,
And in our fight they three were taken up
By fishermen of Corinth, as we thought.
At length, another fhip had feiz'd on us;
And knowing whom it was their hap to fave,
Gave helpful welcome to their fhipwreckt guests;
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 blifs;
That 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,)
Might bear him company in queft of him:
Whom whilft I labour'd of a love to fee,
I hazarded the lofs of whom I lov'd,
Five fummers have I spent in farthest Greece,
Roaming clean through the bounds of Afia,

And

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