Shakespeare's play of the Merchant of Venice Part 19

GLEE.[115]

It was a lover and his la.s.s, With a hey and a ho, and a hey nonino; That o'er the green corn fields did pa.s.s, In the spring-time, the pretty spring time, When birds do sing, hey ding-a-ding, ding:-- Sweet lovers love the spring.

And therefore take the present time, With a hey and a ho, and a hey nonino; For love is crowned with the prime In the spring-time, the pretty spring time, When birds do sing, hey ding-a-ding, ding:-- Sweet lovers love the spring.

_Jes_. I am never merry when I hear sweet music.

_Lor_. The reason is your spirits are attentive: For do but note a wild and wanton herd, If any air of music touch their ears, You shall perceive them make a mutual stand, Their savage eyes turn'd to a modest gaze, By the sweet power of music. Therefore, the poet Did feign that Orpheus drew trees, stones, and floods; Since nought so stockish, hard, and full of rage, But music for the time doth change his nature: The man that hath no music in himself, Nor is not mov'd with concord of sweet sounds, Is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils; The motions of his spirit are dull as night, And his affections dark as Erebus: Let no such man be trusted.--Mark the music.

_Enter_ PORTIA _and_ NERISSA, _at a distance_.

_Por_. That light we see is burning in my hall.

How far that little candle throws his beams!

So shines a good deed in a naughty world. Music! hark!

_Ner_. It is your music, madam, of the house.

_Por_. Nothing is good, I see, without respect;[116]

Methinks it sounds much sweeter than by day.

_Ner_. Silence bestows that virtue on it, madam.

[_Music ceases_.

_Por_. How many things by season season'd are To their light praise, and true-perfection!--

_Lor_. That is the voice, Or I am much deceiv'd, of Portia.

_Por_. He knows me, as the blind man knows the cuckoo, By the bad voice.

_Lor_. Dear lady, welcome home.

_Por_. We have been praying for our husbands' welfare, Which speed, we hope, the better for our words.

Are they return'd?

_Lor_. Madam, they are not yet; But there is come a messenger before, To signify their coming.

_Por_. Go in, Nerissa; Give order to my servants, that they take No note at all of our being absent hence; Nor you, Lorenzo;--Jessica, nor you.

[_A trumpet sounds_.

_Lor_. Your husband is at hand; I hear his trumpet: We are no tell-tales, madam; fear you not.

_Enter_ Ba.s.sANIO, ANTONIO, GRATIANO, _and their Followers_.

_Por_. You are welcome home, my lord.

_Bas_. I thank you, madam: give welcome to my friend.-- This is the man, this is Antonio, To whom I am so infinitely bound.

_Por_. You should in all sense be much bound to him, For, as I hear, he was much bound for you.

_Ant_. No more than I am well acquitted of.

_Por_. Sir, you are very welcome to our house: It must appear in other ways than words, Therefore, I scant this breathing courtesy.[117]

[GRATIANO _and_ NERISSA _seem to talk apart_.

_Gra_. By yonder moon, I swear you do me wrong; In faith, I gave it to the judge's clerk: Would he were hang'd that had it, for my part, Since you do take it, love, so much at heart.

_Por_. A quarrel, ho, already? What's the matter?

_Gra_. About a hoop of gold, a paltry ring That she did give to me; whose posy was For all the world, like cutler's poetry[118]

Upon a knife, '_Love me, and leave me not_.'

_Ner_. What talk you of the posy, or the value?

You swore to me, when I did give it you, That you would wear it till the hour of death: And that it should lie with you in your grave; Though not for me, yet for your vehement oaths, You should have been respective,[119] and have kept it.

Gave it a judge's clerk!--but well I know, The clerk will ne'er wear hair on's face that had it.

_Gra_. He will, an if he live to be a man.

_Ner_. Ay, if a woman live to be a man.

_Gra_. Now, by this hand, I gave it to a youth,-- kind of boy; a little scrubbed boy,[120]

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.

_Bas_. Why, I were best to cut my left hand off, And swear, I lost the ring defending it.

[_Aside_.

_Gra_. My lord Ba.s.sanio 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.

_Bas_. 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.

_Por_. Even so void is your false heart of truth.

By heaven, I will ne'er come in your sight Until I see the ring.

_Ner_. Nor I in yours, Till I again see mine.

_Bas_. Sweet Portia, 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 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.