A kind of boy; a little scrubbed boy,"

No higher than thyself; the judge's clerk;
A prating boy, that begg'd it as a fee:

I could not for my heart deny it him.

Por. You were to blame, I must be plain with

you,

To part so slightly with your wife's first gift;
A thing stuck on with oaths upon your finger,
And so riveted with faith unto your flesh.
I gave my love a ring, and made him swear
Never to part with it; and here he stands:
I dare be sworn for him, he would not leave it,
Nor pluck it from his finger, for the wealth
That the world masters. Now, in faith, Gratiano,
You give your wife too unkind a cause of grief:
An 'twere to me, I should be mad at it.

Bass. [Aside.] Why, I were best to cut my left hand off,

And swear I lost the ring defending it.

Gra. My lord Bassanio gave his ring away Unto the judge that begg'd it, and, indeed, Deserv'd it too; and then the boy, his clerk, That took some pains in writing, he begg'd mine : And neither man, nor master, would take aught But the two rings.

Por.

What ring gave you, my lord? Not that, I hope, which you receiv'd of me. Bass. If I could add a lie unto a fault, I would deny it; but you see my finger Hath not the ring upon it: it is gone.

11 Scrubbed is here used in the sense of stunted; as in Hol land's Pliny: "Such will never prove fair trees, but scrubs only." And Mr. Verplanck observes that the name scrub oak was from the first settlement of this country given to the dwarf or bush oak. How the word came to bear this sense doth not appear, unless because the thing originally signified by it was used for scrub bing.

H

Por. Even so void is your false heart of truth. By Heaven, I will ne'er come in your bed

If you did know to whom I gave the ring,
If you did know for whom I gave the ring,
And would conceive for what I gave the ring,
And how unwillingly I left the ring,

When nought would be accepted but the ring,
You would abate the strength of your displeasure.
Por. If you had known the virtue of the ring,
Or half her worthiness that gave the ring,
Or your own honour to contain 12 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:

I'll die for't, but some woman had the ring.

13

Bass. No, by mine honour, madam, by my ..oul, 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 he that had held up the very life

Of my dear friend.

lady?

What should I say, sweet

I was enforc'd to send it after him:

12 Contain was sometimes used in the sense of retain. So, in Bacon's Essays: "To containe anger from mischiefe, though it take hold of a man, there be two things."

13 A civil doctor was a doctor of the Civil Law,

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 shall, 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 mine own,
I'll have that doctor for my bedfellow.

Ner. And I his clerk; therefore be well advis'd,
How you do leave me to mine own protection.
Gra. Well, do you so let not me 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!

swear by your double self,

In both my eyes he doubly sees himself;

In each eye, one:

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.

Ant. I once did lend my body for his wealth;"
Which, but for him that had your husband's ring,
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, when 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 e'en now return'd: I have not yet
Enter'd my house. — Antonio, you are welcome;

14 That is, for his advantage; to obtain his happiness. Wealth is only another form of weal; we say indifferently common-weal or common-wealth.

And I have better news in store for you,

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.

Ant.

I am dumb.

Bass. Were you the doctor, and I knew you

not?

Gra. Were you the clerk, that is to make me cuckold?

Ner. Ay; but the clerk that never means to do it,

Unless he live until he be a man.

Bass. Sweet doctor, you shall be my bedfellow : When I am absent, then lie with my wife.

Ant. Sweet lady, you have given me life, and

living;

For here I read for certain, that my ships

Are safely come to road.

How now,

Lorenzo ?

Por. My clerk hath some good comforts, too, for you. Ner. Ay, and I'll give them him without a fee. 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 manna 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 ;
And charge us there upon inter❜gatories,
And we will answer all things faithfully.

Gra. Let it be so: the first inter❜gatory,

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