Had been her husband, rather than a Christian!

[Aside.

In which predicament, I say, thou stand'st;
For it appears by manifest proceeding,
That indirectly, and directly too,

Thou hast contriv'd against the very life
Of the defendant; and thou hast incurr'd
The danger formerly by me rebears'd.
Down, therefore, and beg mercy of the duke.
Grd. Beg, that thou may'st have leave to bang
thyself:

And yet, thy wealth being forfeit to the state, We trifle time; I pray thee, pursue sentence. Thou hast not left the value of a cord: Por. A pound of that same merchant's flesh, Therefore, thou must be hang'd at the state's is thine;

The court awards it, and the law doth give it.

Shy. Most rightful judge!

charge. Duke. That thou shalt see the difference of our spirit,

Por. And you must cut this flesh from off his I pardon thee thy life before thou ask it:

For half thy wealth, it is Antonio's;
The other half comes to the general state,
Which humbleness may drive unto a tine.

Por. Ay, for the state; not for Antonio.
Shy. Nay, take my life and all, pardon not
that:

You take my house, when you do take the prop
That doth sustain my house; you take my life,
When you do take the means whereby I live.
Por. What mercy can you render him, AD-

tonio ?

Gra. A halter gratis; nothing else; for God's sake.

Ant. So please my lord the duke, and all the court,

To quit the fine for one half of his goods;

I am content, so he will let me have The other half in use,-to render it, Upon his death, unto the gentleman That lately stole his daughter : learn-Two things provided more,-That, for this fa vour,

Thou shalt have justice more than thou desir'st.
Gra. O learned judge 1-Mark, Jew;-a
ed judge!

Shy. I take this offer then;-pay the bond
thrice,

And let the Christian go.

Bass. Here is the money.
Por. Soft!

(haste ;

The Jew shall have all justice ;-soft -no
He shall have nothing but the penalty.

Gra. O Jew an upright judge, a learned
judge!

Por. Therefore, prepare thee to cut off the flesh.

Shed thou no blood; nor cut thou less, nor

more,

But just a pound of flesh if thou tak'st more,
Or less, than a just pound,-be it but so much
As makes it light, or heavy, in the substance,
Or the division of the twentieth part

Of one poor scruple; nay, if the scale do turn
But in the estimation of a hair,-
Thou diest, and all thy goods are confiscate.
Gra. A second Daniel, a Daniel, Jew!
Now, infidel, I have thee on the hip.

Por. Why doth the Jew pause? take the for-
feiture.

Shy. Give me my principal, and let me go.
Bass. I have it ready for thee; here it is.
Por. He hath refus'd it in the open court;
He shall have merely justice and his bond.
Gra. A Daniel, still say I; a second Daniel!-
I thank thee, Jew, for teaching me that word.
Shy. Shall I not have barely my principal?
Por. Thou shalt have nothing but the forfei

ture

To be so taken at thy peril, Jew.

Have, by your wisdom, been this day acquitted

Shy. Why then the devil give him good of it! Of grievous penalties; in lieu whereof,

I'll stay no longer question.

Por. Tarry, Jew;

The law hath yet another hold on you.

It is enacted in the laws of Venice,

If it be prov'd against an alien,

That by direct or indirect attempts,

He seek the life of any citizen,

The party, 'gainst the which he doth contrive,

Shall seize one half his goods; the other half
Comes to the privy coffer of the state;
And the offender's life lies in the mercy
Of the duke only, 'gainst all other voice.

Three thousand ducats, due unto the Jew,
We freely cope your courteous pains withal,
Ant. And stand indebted, over and above,

In love and service to you evermore.
Por. He is well paid, that is well satisfied;
And I, delivering you, am satisfied,
And therein do account myself well paid;

My mind was never yet more mercenary,

I pray you, know me, when we meet again;

I wish you well, and so I take my leave.
Bass. Dear Sir, of force I must attempt you

further;

And you in love shall not deny me this.

Bass. This ring, good Sir,-alas, it is a trifle,
I will not shame myself to give you this.

Por. I will have nothing else but only this;
And now, methinks, I have a mind to it.
Bass. There's more depends on this, than on
the value.

The dearest ring in Venice will I give you,
And find it out by proclamation;
Only for this, I pray you, pardon me.

Por. I see, Sir, you are liberal in offers:
You taught me first to beg; and now, methinks,
You teach me how a beggar should be answer'd.
Bass. Good Sir, this ring was given me by
my wife;

And, when she put it on, she made me vow,
That I should neither sell, nor give, nor lose it.
Por. That 'scuse serves many men to save
their gifts.

And if your wife be not a mad woman,
And know how well I bave deserv'd this ring,
She would not hold out enemy for ever,
For giving it to me. Well, peace be with you!
[Exeunt PORTIA and NERISSA.
Ant. My lord Bassanio, let him have the
ring;

Let his deservings, and my love withal,
Be valued 'gainst your wife's commandment.
Bass. Go, Gratiano, run and overtake him,
Give him the ring; and bring him, if thou
can'st,

Unto Antonio's house :-away, make haste.
[Exit GRATIANO.
Come, you and I will thither presently;
And in the morning early will we both
Fly toward Belmont: Come, Antonio.

[Exeunt.

SCENE II.-The same.-A Street.

Enter PORTIA and NERISSA.

ACT V

SCENE I-Belmont.-Avenue to PORTIA'S
House.

Enter LORENZO and JESSICA.
Lor. The moon shines bright:-In such a
night as this,

When the sweet wind did gently kiss the trees,
And they did make no noise; in such a night,
Troilus, methinks, mounted the Trojan walls,
And sigh'd his soul toward the Grecian tents,
Where Cressid lay that night.

. Jes. In such a night,

Did Thisbe fearfully o'ertrip the dew;
And saw the lion's shadow ere himself,
And ran dismay'd away.

Lor. In such a night,

Stood Dido with a willow in her hand
Upon the wild sea-banks, and wav'd her love
To come again to Carthage.

Jes. In such a night,

Medea gather'd the enchanted herbs
That did renew old son.

Lor. In such a night,

Did Jessica steal from the wealthy Jew:
And with an unthrift love did run from Venice
As far as Belmont.

Jes. And in such a night,

Did young Lorenzo swear he lov'd her well;
Stealing her soul with many vows of faith,
And ne'er a true one.

Lor. And in such a night,

Did pretty Jessica, like a little shrew,
Slander her love and he forgave it her.
Jes. I would out-night you, did no body

come:

But, hark, I hear the footing of a man.

Enter STEPHANO.

Lor. Who comes so fast in silence of the
night?
Steph. A friend.

Lor. A friend? what friend? your name, I

pray you, friend?

Steph. Stephano is my name; and 1 bring
word,

My mistress will before the break of day
Be here at Belmout: she doth stray about
By holy crosses, where she kneels and prays
For happy wedlock hours.

Lor. Who comes with her?

Steph. None, but a holy hermit, and ber maid.

Por. Inquire the Jew's house out, give him pray you, is my master yet return'd?

this deed,

And let him sign it; we'll away to-night,
And be a day before our husbands home:
This deed will be well welcome to Lorenzo.

Gra. That will I do.

Ner. Sir, I would speak with you :I'll see if I can get my husband's ring,

[TO PORTIA. Which I did make him swear to keep for ever. Por. Thou may'st, I warrant: We shall have old swearing,

That they did give the rings away to men;
But we'll outface them, and outswear them too.
Away, make haste; thou know'st where I will
tarry.

Ner. Come, good Sir, will you show me to
this house?
[Exeunt.

• Reflection.

Lor. He is not, nor we have not heard from
him.-

But go we in, I pray thee, Jessica,
And ceremoniously let us prepare

Some welcome for the mistress of the house.

Laun. Tell him, there's a post come from my Imaster, with his born full of good news; my master will be here ere morning. [Pait.

Lor. Sweet soul, let's in, and there expect
their coming.

And yet no matter;-Why should we go in?
My friend Stepbano, signify, I pray you,
Within the house, your mistress is at hand;
And bring your music forth into the air.-

[Exit STEPHANO, How sweet the moonlight sleeps upon this bank !

Here will we sit, and let the sounds of music
Creep in our ears; soft stillness, and the night,
Become the touches of sweet harmony.
Sit, Jessica: Look, how the floor of heaven

Por. He knows me, as the blind man knows I gave my love a ring, and made him swear

Por. If you had known the virtue of the ring,
Or half her worthiness that gave the ring,
Or your own honour to contain the ring,
You would not then have parted with the ring.
What man is there so much unreasonable,
If you had pleas'd to have defended it
With any terms of zeal, wanted the modesty
To urge the thing held as a ceremony?
Nerissa teaches me what to believe;

P'll die for't, but some woman had the ring.
Bass. No, by mine honour, madam, by my
soul,

No woman had it, but a civil doctor,

Which did refuse three thousand ducats of me,
And begg'd the ring; the which I did deny him,
And suffer'd him to go displeas'd away;
Even be that had held up the very life

Ant. I once did lend my body for his wealth;
Which, but for him that bad your husband's ring,
[To PORTIA.
Had quite miscarried: I dare be bound again,
My soul upon the forfeit, that your lord
Will never more break faith advisedly,

Por. Then you shall be his surety: Give him
this;

And bid him keep it better than the other.
Ant. Here, lord Bassanio; swear to keep this
ring.

Bass. By heaven, it is the same I gave the
doctor!

Por. I had it of him: pardon me, Bassanio; For by this ring the doctor lay with me.

Ner. And pardon me, my gentle Gratiano; For that same scrubbed boy, the doctor's clerk, In lieu of this, last night did lie with me.

Gra. Why, this is like the mending of high

ways

In summer, where the ways are fair enough; What! are we cuckolds, ere we have deserv'd it?

Por. Speak not so grossly.-You are all
amaz'd:

Here is a letter, read it at your leisure;
It comes from Padua, from Bellario,
There you shall find, that Portia was the doctor;
Nerissa there, her clerk: Lorenzo here
Shall witness, I set forth as soon as you,
And but even now return'd; I have not yet
Enter'd my house.-Antonio, you are welcome;

Of my dear friend. What should I say, sweet And I have better news in store for yon,

lady?

I was enforc'd to send it after him;

I was beset with shame and courtesy ;
My honour would not let ingratitude

So much besmear it: Pardon me, good lady;
For, by these blessed candles of the night,

Had you been there, I think you would have
begg'd

The ring of me to give the worthy doctor.

Por. Let not that doctor e'er come near my
house;

Since he hath got the jewel that I lov'd,
And that which you did swear to keep for me,
I will become as liberal as you:

I'll not deny him any thing I have,
No, not my body, nor my husband's bed:
Know him I sball, I am well sure of it:

Lie not a night from home; watch me, like
Argus:

If you do not, if I be left alone,

Now, by mine honour, which is yet my own,
I'll have that doctor for my bedfellow.

Ner. And I his clerk; therefore be well ad-
vis'd,

How you do leave me to mine own protection.
Gra. Well, do you so let me not take him

then;

For, if I do, I'll mar the young clerk's pen.
Ant. I am the unhappy subject of these
quarrels.

Por. Sir, grieve not you; You are welcome
notwithstanding.

Bass. Portia, forgive me this enforced

wrong;

And, in the hearing of these many friends,
I swear to thee, even by thine own fair eyes,
Wherein I see myself,-

Por. Mark you but that !

In both my eyes be doubly sees himself:
In each eye, one-swear by your double self,
And there's an oath of credit.

Bass. Nay, but hear me :

Pardon this fault, and by my soul I swear,
I never more will break an oath with thee.

Than you expect: unseal this letter soon;
There you shall find, three of your argosies
Are richly come to harbour suddenly:
You shall not know by what strange accident
I chanced on this letter.

[fee

My clerk bath some good comforts too for yon..
Ner. Ay, and I'll give them him without a
There do I give to you, and Jessica,
From the rich Jew, a special deed of gift,
After his death, of all he dies possess'd of.
Lor. Fair ladies, you drop mianna in the way
Of starved people.

Por. It is almost morning,
And yet, I am sure, you are not satisfied
Of these events at full: Let us go in ; i
And charge us there upon intergatories,
And we will answer all things faithfully.

Gra. Let it be so: The first intergatory
That my Nerissa shall be sworn on, is,
Whether till the next night she had rather stay,
Or go to bed now, being two hours to-day:
But were the day come, I should wish it dark,
That I were couching with the doctor's clerk.
Well, while I live, I'll fear no other thing
So sore, as keeping safe Nerissa's ring.

• Advantage.

[Exeunt,

MEASURE FOR MEASURE.

LITERARY AND HISTORICAL NOTICE.

THE fable of this play (written in 1603) was taken from the Promos and Cassandra of George Whetstone. That p duction is described as very meagre and insipid, though forming a complete embryo of Mesure for Meand if the genius of Shakspeare enabled him to avoid the faults of his modelist, by imparting a greate degree of interest to his own drama, it did not give him strength to resist the besetting sin of his pieces-an indulgence in obscenity, buffoonery, and quibble. Some portion of this would naturally resalt from the indelicate and improbable incident which he took for the ground-work of his plet. Such an occurreare cuali only be wrought into a catastrophe, by the introduction of agents whom morality condemus, and by the tw of allusions at which modesty revolts. But neither the necessities of the story, nor the purposes of entertainment, can justify such a strange admixture of pathetic contingencies and unmeaning trifles--of canabing sentiment and disgusting ribaldry as are exhibited in this piece. Still the moral is of excellent applica 葡 tion; since there are few situations of life in which delegated authority is not capable of abuse. Satire may fail in restraining tyranny, and precept in correcting intolerance; but they teach mankind the ne cessity of caution in conferring power, by shewing “the fantastic tricks” which mortals are prone to play, when "dressed in a little authority," and entrusted with" the thunder of Jove." Though Shakspeare wrote to ' gratify monarchs, he never descended to palliste oppression; and in the scene between Angelo and Isabella, where the latter pleads for her brother's life, the reader will meet with another eloquent vindication of the principles of justice and humanity---differing from the speech of Portia, on a somewhat similar occasion, bat excellently opposed to that mild and dispassionate appeal, by the cutting and indignant sarcasm with which it lashes "the insolence of office." Dr. Johnson animadverts upon the peculiarities of the play, and thus decides upon its merits: "The light or comic part is very natural and pleasing; but the grave scenes (s few passages excepted) have more labour than elegance. The plot is more intricate than artful."

ACT 1.

SCENE 1.-An apartment in the
Palace.

DUKE'S

Enter DUKE, ESCALUS, Lords, and

Atten

dants.

Duke. Escalus,

Escal. My lord.

fold,

But that to your sufficiency, as your worth is
able,

And let them work. The nature of our people,
Our city's institutions, and the terms
For common justice, you are as pregnaut + in,
As art and practice hath enriched any
That we remember: There is our commission,
From which we would not have you wasp.→
Call hither,

Duke. Of government the properties to un-I say, bid come before us Angelo.

Would seem in me to affect speech and dis

course;

Since I am put to know, that your own science,
Exceeds, in that the lists, of all advice
My strength can give you; Then no more re-

[Exit an Attendant.
What figure of us think you be will bear?
For you must know, we have with special soul
Elected him our absence to supply;

Lent him our terror, drest him with our love;