The Merchant of Venice (7 page)

BASSANIO
   Thou speak’st it well. Go, father, with thy son.
     Take leave of thy old master and
inquire
     My lodging out
¹³⁶
.—Give him a livery

To a Servant

     More
guarded
¹³⁸
than his fellows’. See it done.

LANCELET
   Father, in. I cannot get a service, no. I have ne’er a
     tongue in my head. Well, if any man in Italy have a

Points to his palm

     fairer
table
¹⁴¹
which doth offer to swear upon a book,
     I shall have good fortune. Go to, here’s a
simple
¹⁴²
line of life,
     here’s a small
trifle
¹⁴³
of wives. Alas, fifteen wives is nothing!
     Eleven widows and nine maids is a
simple
¹⁴⁴
coming-in for one
     man, and then to
scape
¹⁴⁵
drowning thrice, and to be in peril
     of my life with the
edge of a feather-bed
¹⁴⁶
. Here are simple
     
scapes
¹⁴⁷
. Well, if Fortune be a woman, she’s a good wench for
     this
gear
¹⁴⁸
. Father, come; I’ll take my leave of the Jew in the
     twinkling.

Exit Clown
[
Lancelet with Old Gobbo
]

BASSANIO
   I pray thee good Leonardo, think on this.

Gives a list

     These things being bought and orderly
bestowed
¹⁵¹
,
     Return in haste, for I do
feast
¹⁵²
tonight
     My best-esteemed acquaintance. Hie thee, go.

LEONARDO
   My best endeavours shall be done
herein
¹⁵⁴
.

Enter Gratiano

GRATIANO
   Where’s your master?

LEONARDO
   Yonder, sir, he walks.

Exit

GRATIANO
   Signior Bassanio!

BASSANIO
   Gratiano!

GRATIANO
   I have a suit to you.

BASSANIO
   You have
obtained it
¹⁶⁰
.

GRATIANO
   You must not deny me. I must go with you to
     Belmont.

BASSANIO
   Why then you must. But hear thee, Gratiano,
     Thou art too wild, too
rude
¹⁶⁴
and bold of voice,
     
Parts
¹⁶⁵
that become thee happily enough
     And in such eyes as ours appear not faults;
     But where they are not known, why, there they
show
¹⁶⁷
     
Something too
liberal
¹⁶⁸
. Pray thee take pain
     To
allay
¹⁶⁹
with some cold drops of modesty
     Thy
skipping
¹⁷⁰
spirit, lest through thy wild behaviour
     I be
misconstered
¹⁷¹
in the place I go to,
     And lose my hopes.

GRATIANO
   Signior Bassanio, hear me:
     If I do not put on a sober
habit
¹⁷⁴
,
     Talk with respect and swear
but
¹⁷⁵
now and then,
     Wear prayer-books in my pocket, look demurely,
     Nay more, while grace is
saying
¹⁷⁷
, hood mine eyes
     Thus with my hat, and sigh and say ‘Amen’,

Covers his face

     Use all the observance of civility,
     Like one well
studied in a sad ostent
¹⁸⁰
     To please his
grandam
¹⁸¹
, never trust me more.

BASSANIO
   Well, we shall see your bearing.

GRATIANO
   Nay, but I
bar
¹⁸³
tonight. You shall not gauge me
     By what we do tonight.

BASSANIO
   No, that were pity.
     I would entreat you rather to put on
     Your boldest suit of mirth, for we have friends
     That
purpose
¹⁸⁸
merriment. But fare you well.
     I have some business.

GRATIANO
   And I must to Lorenzo and the rest,
     But we will visit you at suppertime.

Exeunt

Enter
Jessica
and the Clown
[
Lancelet
]

JESSICA
   I am sorry thou wilt leave my father so.
     Our house is hell, and thou, a merry devil,
     Didst rob it of some taste of tediousness;
     But fare thee well. There is a ducat for thee.

Gives money

     
And, Lancelet, soon at supper shalt thou see
     Lorenzo, who is thy new master’s guest:
     Give him this letter. Do it secretly.

Gives a letter

     And so farewell. I would not have my father
     See me talk with thee.

LANCELET
   Adieu! Tears
exhibit
¹⁰
my tongue, most beautiful
     pagan, most sweet Jew! If a Christian did not play the knave
     and
get
¹²
thee, I am much deceived; but adieu. These foolish
     drops do somewhat drown my manly spirit. Adieu.

Exit

JESSICA
   Farewell, good Lancelet.
     Alack, what heinous sin is it in me
     To be ashamed to be my father’s child!
     But though I am a daughter to his blood,
     I am not to his
manners
¹⁸
. O Lorenzo,
     If thou keep promise, I shall end this
strife
¹⁹
,
     Become a Christian and thy loving wife.

Exit

Enter Gratiano, Lorenzo, Salerio and Solanio

LORENZO
   Nay, we will slink away
in
¹
suppertime,
     Disguise us at my lodging and return
     All in an hour.

GRATIANO
   We have not made good preparation.

SALERIO
   We have not
spoke us yet of
⁵
torchbearers.

SOLANIO
   ’Tis
vile
⁶
, unless it may be quaintly ordered,
     And better in my mind not undertook.

LORENZO
   ’Tis now but four of clock. We have two hours
     To
furnish us
⁹
.—Friend Lancelet, what’s the news?

Enter Lancelet, with a letter

LANCELET
   
An
¹⁰
it shall please you to break up this,

Gives him the letter

     shall it
seem to signify
¹¹
.

LORENZO
   I know the
hand
¹²
. In faith, ’tis a fair hand,
     And whiter than the paper it writ on
     Is the fair hand that writ.

GRATIANO
   Love-news, in faith.

LANCELET
   
By your leave
¹⁶
, sir.

Starts to leave

LORENZO
   Whither goest thou?

LANCELET
   Marry, sir, to bid my old master the Jew to
sup
¹⁸
     tonight with my new master the Christian.

LORENZO
   Hold here, take this. Tell gentle Jessica

Gives money

     I will not fail her. Speak it privately.
     
Go
²²
, gentlemen,
     Will you prepare you for this
masque
²³
tonight?
     I am provided
of
²⁴
a torchbearer.

Exit Clown
[
Lancelet
]

SALERIO
   Ay, marry, I’ll be gone about it straight.

SOLANIO
   And so will I.

LORENZO
   Meet me and Gratiano
     At Gratiano’s lodging
some
²⁸
hour hence.

SALERIO
   ’Tis good we do so.

Exit
[
Salerio with Solanio
]

GRATIANO
   Was not that letter from fair Jessica?

LORENZO
   I
must needs
³¹
tell thee all. She hath directed
     How I shall take her from her father’s house,
     What gold and jewels she is furnished with,
     What page’s suit she hath in readiness.
     If e’er the Jew her father come to heaven,
     It will be for his
gentle
³⁶
daughter’s sake;
     And never dare misfortune cross her
foot
³⁷
,
     Unless
she
³⁸
do it under this excuse,
     That
she
³⁹
is issue to a faithless Jew.
     Come, go with me, peruse this as thou goest.

Gives the letter

     Fair Jessica shall be my torchbearer.

Exeunt

Enter
[
Shylock the
]
Jew and
[
Lancelet
,]
his man that was, the Clown

SHYLOCK
   Well, thou shall see, thy eyes shall be thy judge,
     The difference
of
²
old Shylock and Bassanio.—
     What, Jessica!—Thou shalt not
gormandize
³
     As thou hast done with me—What, Jessica!—
     And sleep and snore, and
rend apparel out
⁵
—
     Why, Jessica, I say!

LANCELET
   Why, Jessica!

SHYLOCK
   Who bids thee call? I do not bid thee call.

LANCELET
   Your worship was
wont
⁹
to tell me
     I could do nothing without bidding.

Enter Jessica

JESSICA
   Call you? What is your will?

SHYLOCK
   I am
bid forth
¹²
to supper, Jessica.
     There are my keys. But
wherefore
¹³
should I go?
     I am not bid for love, they flatter me.
     But yet I’ll go in hate, to feed
upon
¹⁵
     The
prodigal
¹⁶
Christian. Jessica, my girl,
     Look
to
¹⁷
my house. I am right loath to go.
     There is some
ill
¹⁸
a-brewing towards my rest,
     For I did dream of money-bags
tonight
¹⁹
.

LANCELET
   I beseech you, sir, go. My young master doth
expect
²⁰
     your
reproach
²¹
.

SHYLOCK
   So do I his.

LANCELET
   An they have conspired together. I will not say you
     shall see a masque, but if you do, then it was not for nothing
     that my
nose fell a-bleeding
²⁵
on Black Monday last at
     six o’clock i’th’morning, falling out that year on Ash
     Wednesday was four year, in th’afternoon.

SHYLOCK
   What, are there masques? Hear you me, Jessica:
     Lock up my doors, and when you hear the drum
     And the vile squealing of the
wry-necked
³⁰
fife,
     Clamber not you up to the
casements
³¹
then,
     Nor thrust your head into the public street
     To gaze on Christian fools with
varnished faces
³³
,
     But
stop
³⁴
my house’s ears, I mean my casements.
     Let not the sound of shallow
fopp’ry
³⁵
enter
     My sober house. By
Jacob’s staff
³⁶
, I swear,
     I have no
mind of
³⁷
feasting forth tonight,
     But I will go. Go you before me, sirrah,
     Say I will come.

LANCELET
   I will go before, sir.—Mistress, look out

Aside to Jessica

     at window,
for
⁴¹
all this,
     There will come a Christian by,
     Will be worth
a Jewès eye
⁴³
.

[
Exit Lancelet
]

SHYLOCK
   What says that fool of
Hagar’s offspring
⁴⁴
, ha?

JESSICA
   His words were ‘Farewell mistress’, nothing else.

SHYLOCK
   The
patch
⁴⁶
is kind enough, but a huge feeder,
     Snail-slow in
profit
⁴⁷
, but he sleeps by day
     More than the wild-cat.
Drones
⁴⁸
hive not with me:
     Therefore I part with him, and part with him
     To one that I would have him help to waste
     His borrowed purse. Well, Jessica, go in.
     Perhaps I will return immediately.
     Do as I bid you, shut doors after you.
     
Fast bind, fast find
⁵⁴
—
     A proverb never stale in thrifty mind.

Exit

JESSICA
   Farewell, and if my fortune be not
crossed
⁵⁶
,
     I have a father, you a daughter lost.

Exit

Enter the masquers, Gratiano and Salerio

GRATIANO
   This is the
penthouse
¹
under which Lorenzo
     Desired us to
make a stand
²
.

SALERIO
   
His hour is almost past
³
.

GRATIANO
   And it is
marvel
⁴
he out-dwells his hour,
     For lovers
ever
⁵
run before the clock.

SALERIO
   O, ten times faster
Venus’ pigeons
⁶
fly
     To seal love’s bonds new-made, than they are wont
     To keep
obligèd
⁸
faith unforfeited!