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.
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 rehears'd.
Down, therefore, and beg mercy of the duke.

Gra. Beg, that thou may'st have leave to hang thyself:
And yet, thy wealth being forfeit to the state,
Thou hast not left the value of a cord;
Therefore, thou must be hang'd at the state's charge.

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

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, Antonio? 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, 5 so he will let me have

4 Ay, for the state ; &c.] That is, the state's moicty may be commuted for a fine, but not Antonio's. Malone.

5 I am content,] The terms proposed have been misunderstood. Antonio declares, that as the duke quits one half of the forfeit. ure, he is likewise content to abate his claim, and desires not the property but the use or produce only of the half, and that only for the Jew's life, unless we read, as perhaps is right, upon my death."

Fohnson. Antonio tells the duke, that if he will abate the fine for the state's half, he (Antonio) will be contented to take the other, in trust, after Shylock's death, to render it to his daughter's hus. band. That is, it was during Shylock's life, to remain at in

The other half in use,—to render it,
Upon his death, unto the gentleman
That lately stole his daughter:
Two things provided more,—That, for this favour,
He presently become a Christian;
The other, that he do record a gift,
Here in the court, of all he dies possessid,
Unto his son Lorenzo, and his daughter.

Duke. He shall do this; or else I do recant
The pardon, that I late pronounced here.
Por. Art thou contented, Jew? what dost thou say?
Shy. I am content.
Por.

Clerk, draw a deed of gift.
Shy. I pray you, give me leave to go from hence;
I am not well; send the deed after me,
And I will sign it.
Duke.

Get thee gone, but do it.
Gra. In christening thou shalt have two godfathers;
Had I been judge, thou should'st have had ten more,6
To bring thee to the gallows, not the font. [Exit Shy.

Duke. Sir, I entreat you home with me to dinner.
Por. I humbly do desire your grace of pardon;?

terest in Antonio's hands, and Shylock was to enjoy the produce of it. Ritson.

Antonio's offer is, “ that he will quit the fine for one half of his fortune, provided that he will let him have it at interest dur. ing the Jew's life, to render it on his death to Lorezzo.” That is the meaning of the words to let me have in use. M. Mason.

6 thou should'st have had ten more,] i. e. a jury of twelve men, to condemn thee to be hanged. Theobald. So, in The Devil is an Ass, by Ben Jonson :

" I will leave you
“ To your godfathers in law. Let twelve men work."

Steevens. This appears to have been an old joke. So, in A Dialogue both pleasaunt and pietifull, &c. by Dr. William Bulleyne, 1564, (which has been quoted in a former page) one of the speakers, to show his mean opinion of an hostler at an inn, says: “I did see him aske blessinge to xii godfathers at ones. Malone.

7- grace of pardon :) Thus the old copies; the modern edi. tors read, less harshly, but without authority,- your grace's pardon. The same kind of expression occurs in Othello :-“ I humbly do beseech you of your pardon.

In the notes to As you Like it, and A Midsummer Night's Dream, I have given repeated instances of this phraseology. Steevens.

I must away this night toward Padua,
And it is meet, I presently set forth.

Duke. I am sorry, that your leisure serves you not.
Antonio, gratify this gentleman;
For, in my mind, you are much bound to him.

[Exeunt Duke, Magnificoes, and Train. Bass. Most worthy gentleman, I and my friend, Have by your wisdom been this day acquitted Of grievous penalties; in lieu whereof, 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 get 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;
Take some remembrance of us, as a tribute,
Not as a fee: grant me two things, I pray you,
Not to deny me, and to pardon me.

Por. You press me far, and therefore I will yield. Give me your gloves, I 'll wear them for your sake: And, for your love, I 'll take this ring from you:Do not draw back your hand; I 'll take no more; 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.

An if your wife be not a mad woman,
And know how well I have deserv'd this ring,
She would not hold out enemy for ever, 8
For giving it to me. Well, peace be with you!

[Exeunt Por, and NER.
Ant. My lord Bassanio, let him have the ring;
Let his deservings, and my love withal,
Be valued 'gainst your wife's commandement.

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 GRA.
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.
Por. Inquire the Jew's house out, give him 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.

Enter GRATIANO.
Gra. Fair sir, you are well overtaken:
My lord Bassanio, upon more advice, 9
Hath sent you here this ring; and doth entreat
Your company at dinner.

That cannot be:
This ring I do accept most thankfully,
And so, I pray you, tell him: Furthermore,
I pray you, show my youth old Shylock's house.
Gra. That will I do.

Sir, I would speak with you:

Por.

Ner.

8 She would not hold out enemy for ever,] An error of the press. -Read “hold out enmity.” M. Mason.

I believe the reading in the text is the true one. So, in Much Ado about Nothing, Act I, sc. i, the Messenger says to Beatrice: "I will hold friends with you, lady.” Steevens.

9- upon more advice,] i. e, more reflection. So, in All's well that ends well: “ You never did lack advice so much," &c.

Steevens.

I'll see if I can get my husband's ring, [To PoR.
Which I did make him swear to keep for ever.
Por. Thou may'st, I warrant; We shall have old

swearing, 1
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.

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, 2
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, 3

i- old swearing,] Of this once common augmentative in colloquial language, there are various instances in our author. Thus, in The Merry Wives of Windsor : “Here will be an old abusing of God's patience and the King's English.” Again, in King Henry IV, P. II: “_here will be old utis." The same phrase also occurs in Macbeth. Steevens.

2 In such a night as this,] The several speeches beginning with these words, &c. are imitated in the old comedy of Wily Be. guiled; which though not ascertaining the exact date of that play, prove it to have been written after Shakspeare's :

“In such a night did Paris win his love.
“ Lelia. In such a night, Æneas prov'd unkind.
“ Sophos. In such a night did Troilus court his dear.
“ Lelia. In such a night, fair Phillis was betray'd.”

Orig. of the Drama, Vol. III, p. 365. Whalley. Wily Beguiled was written before 1596, being mentioned by Nashe in one of his pamphlets published in that year. Malone.

3 Troilus, methinks, mounted the Trojan walls,] This image is * from Chaucer's Troilus and Cresseide, 5 B. 666 and 1142:

“Upon the wallis fast eke would he walke,
“ And on the Grekis host he would yse, &c.
“The daie goth fast, and after that came eve

“ And yet came not to Troilus Cresseide,
.“ He lokith forth, by hedge, by tre, by greve,

“ And ferre his heade ovir the walle he leide," &c.
VOL. IV.

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