The Works of Charles and Mary Lamb — Volume 3: Books for ChildrenLamb, Charles
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The Works of Charles and Mary Lamb — Volume 3: Books for Children
Lamb, Charles
Children's poetry; Children's stories
While he was thus meditating on his weary travels, which had hitherto
been so useless, Dromio (as he thought) returned. Antipholis,
wondering that he came back so soon, asked him where he had left the
money. Now it was not his own Dromio, but the twin-brother that lived
with Antipholis of Ephesus, that he spoke to. The two Dromios and the
two Antipholises were still as much alike as Ægeon had said they were
in their infancy; therefore no wonder Antipholis thought it was his
own slave returned, and asked him why he came back so soon. Dromio
replied, "My mistress sent me to bid you come to dinner. The capon
burns, and the pig falls from the spit, and the meat will be all
cold if you do not come home." "These jests are out of season," said
Antipholis: "where did you leave the money?" Dromio still answering,
that his mistress had sent him to fetch Antipholis to dinner: "What
mistress?" said Antipholis. "Why, your worship's wife, sir," replied
Dromio. Antipholis having no wife, he was very angry with Dromio, and
said, "Because I familiarly sometimes chat with you, you presume to
jest with me in this free manner. I am not in a sportive humour now:
where is the money? we being strangers here, how dare you trust so
great a charge from your own custody?" Dromio hearing his master, as
he thought him, talk of their being strangers, supposing Antipholis
was jesting, replied merrily, "I pray you, sir, jest as you sit
at dinner: I had no charge but to fetch you home, to dine with my
mistress and her sister." Now Antipholis lost all patience, and beat
Dromio, who ran home, and told his mistress that his master had
refused to come to dinner, and said that he had no wife.
Adriana, the wife of Antipholis of Ephesus, was very angry, when she
heard that her husband said he had no wife; for she was of a jealous
temper, and she said her husband meant that he loved another lady
better than herself; and she began to fret, and say unkind words of
jealousy and reproach of her husband; and her sister Luciana, who
lived with her, tried in vain to persuade her out of her groundless
suspicions.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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