From out the state of hellish cruelty?
This comes too near the praising of myself!
Therefore, no more of it: hear other things.
Lorenzo, I commit into your hands
The husbandry and manage of my house,
Until my lord's return; for mine own part,
I have toward heaven breath'd a secret vow,
To live in prayer and contemplation,
Only attended by Nerissa here,
Until her husband and my lord's return:
There is a monastery two miles off,
And there we will abide. I do desire you,
Not to deny this imposition;
The which my love, and some necessity,
Now lays upon you.
Lor.
Madam, with all my heart;
I shall obey you in all fair commands.
Por. My people do already know my mind,
And will acknowledge you and Jessica
In place of lord Bassanio and myself.
So fare you well, till we shall meet again.
Lor. Fair thoughts, and happy hours, attend
Jes. I wish your ladyship all heart's content. Por. I thank you for your wish, and am well pleas'd
To wish it back on you: fare you well, Jessica.[Exeunt Jessica and Lorenzo.
As I have ever found thee honest, true,
So let me find thee still: Take this same letter,
And use thou all the endeavour of a man,
In speed to Padua: see thou render this
Into my cousin's hand, doctor Bellario;
And, look, what notes and garments he doth
give thee,
Bring them, I pray thee, with imagin'd speed
Unto the tranect, to the common ferry
Which trades to Venice-waste no time in
words,
But get thee gone: I shall be there before thee. Balth. Madam, I go with all convenient speed. [Exit. Por. Come on, Nerissa; I have work in hand, That you yet know not of: we'll see our husbands,
Before they think of us.
Ner.
Shall they see us? Por. They shall, Nerissa; but in such a habit, That they shall think we are accomplished With what we lack. I'll hold thee any wager, When we are both accouter'd like young men, I'll prove the prettier fellow of the two, And wear my dagger with the braver grace: And speak, between the change of man and boy, With a reed voice; and turn two mincing steps Into a manly stride; and speak of frays, Like a fine bragging youth and tell quaint lies, How honourable ladies sought my love, Which I denying, they fell sick and died; I could not do withal :-then I'll repent, And wish, for all that, that I had not kill'd them: And twenty of these puny lies I'll tell, That men shall swear, I have discontinued school Above a twelvemonth:-I have within my mind A thousand raw tricks of these bragging Jacks, Which I will practise.
Why, shall we turn to men ? Por. Fie; what a question's that, If thou wert near a lewd interpreter ? But come, I'll tell thee all my whole device When I am in my coach, which stays for us At the park gate; and therefore haste away, For we must measure twenty miles to-day.
SCENE V. The same. A Garden.
Enter Launcelot and Jessica. Laun. Yes, truly: for; look you, the sins of the father are to be laid upon the children; therefore, I promise you, I fear you. I was
always plain with you, and so now I speak my agitation of the matter: Therefore, be of good cheer; for, truly, I think, you are damn'd. There is but one hope in it that can do you any good; and that is but a kind of bastard hope neither.
Jes. And what hope is that, I pray thee?
Laun. Marry, you may partly hope that your father got you not, that you are not the Jew's daughter.
Jes. That were a kind of bastard hope, indeed; so the sins of my mother should be visited upon me.
Laun. Truly then I fear you are damn'd both by father and mother; thus when I shun Scylla, your father, I fall into Charybdis, your mother: well, you are gone both ways.
Jes. I shall be saved by my husband; he hath made me a Christian.
Laun. Truly, the more to blame he; we were Christians enough before; e'en as many as could well live, one by another: This making of Christians will raise the price of hogs; if we grow all to be pork-eaters, we shall not shortly have a rasher on the coals for money.
Jes. I'll tell my husband, Launcelot, what you say; here he comes. Lor. I shall grow jealous of you shortly, Launcelot, if you thus get my wife into corners. Jes. Nay, you need not fear us, Lorenzo; Launcelot and I are out: he tells me flatly, there is no mercy for me in heaven, because I am a Jew's daughter: and he says you are no good member of the commonwealth; for, in converting Jews to Christians, you raise the price of pork.
Lor. I shall answer that better to the commonwealth, than you can the getting up of the negro's belly: the Moor is with child by you, Launcelot.
Laun. It is much, that the Moor should be more than reason: but if she be less than an honest woman, she is, indeed, more than I took
Lor. How every fool can play upon the word! I think, the best grace of wit will shortly turn into silence; and discourse grow commendable in none only but parrots.-Go in, sirrah; bid them prepare for dinner.
Laun. That is done, sir; they have all stomachs.
Lor. Goodly lord, what a wit-snapper are you! then bid them prepare dinner. Laun. That is done too, sir; only, cover is the word.
Lor. Will you cover then, sir?
Laun. Not so, sir, neither; I know my duty. Lor. Yet more quarrelling with occasion! Wilt thou show the whole wealth of thy wit in an instant? I pray thee, understand a plain man in his plain meaning: go to thy fellows; bid them cover the table, serve in the meat, and we will come into dinner.
Laun. For the table, sir, it shall be served in: for the meat, sir, it shall be covered; for your coming in to dinner, sir, why, let it be as humours and conceits shall govern.
[Exit Launcelot. Lor. O dear discretion, how his words are suited!
The fool hath planted in his memory
An army of good words: And I do know
A many fools, that stand in better place,
Garnish'd like him, that for a tricksy word
Defy the matter. How cheer'st thou, Jessica ?
And now, good sweet, say thy opinion,
How dost thou like the lord Bassanio's wife 7
Jes. Past all expressing: It is very meet,
The lord Bassanio live an upright life;
For, having such a blessing in his lady,
Duke. What, is Antonio here ?
Ant. Ready, so please your grace.
And I be pleas'd to give ten thousand ducats
To have it baned? What, are you answer'd ye':
Some men there are love not a gaping pig;
Some, that are mad, if they behold a cat;
And others, when the bag-pipe sings i' the nose,
Cannot contain their urine: For affection,
Master of passion, sways it to the mood
Of what it likes, or loathes: Now, for your
As there is no firm reason to be render'd,
Why he cannot abide a gaping pig;
Why he, a harmless necessary cat;
Why he, a woollen bag-pipe; but of force
Must yield to such inevitable shame,
As to offend, himself being offended;
So can I give no reason, nor I will not,
More than a lodg'd hate, and a certain loathing
I bear Antonio, that I follow thus
A losing suit against him. Are you answer'd
Bass. This is no answer, thou unfeeling man
To excuse the current of thy cruelty.
Shy. I am not bound to please thee with my
Ant. I pray you, think you question with a Jew:
Duke. I am sorry for thee; thou art come to You may as well go stand upon the beach,
Duke. Make room, and let him stand before our face.
Shylock, the world thinks, and I think so too,
That thou but lead'st this fashion of thy malice
To the last hour of act; and then 'tis thought,
Thou'lt shew thy mercy, and remorse, inore
strange
Than is thy strange apparent cruelty:
And where thou now exact'st the penalty,
(Which is a pound of this poor merchant's flesh,)
Thou wilt not only lose the forfeiture,
But, touch'd with human gentleness and love,
Forgive a moiety of the principal;
Glancing an eye of pity on his losses,
That have of late so huddled on his back;
Enough to press a royal merchant down,
And pluck commiseration of his state
From brassy bosoms, and rough hearts of flint,
From stubborn Turks, and Tartars, never train'd
To offices of tender courtesy.
We all expect a gentle answer, Jew.
Shy. I have possess'd your grace of what
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And bid the main Hood bate his usual height;
You may as well use question with the wolf,
Why he hath made the ewe bleat for the lamb;
You may as well forbid the mountain pines
To wag their high tops, and to make no noise,
When they are fretted with the gusts of heaven;
You may as well do any thing most hard,
As seek to soften that (than which what's
harder ?)
His Jewish heart:-Therefore I do beseech you,
Make no more offers, use no further means,
But, with all brief and plain conveniency,
Let me have judgment, and the Jew his will.
Bass. For thy three thousand ducats here is six.
Shy. If every ducat in six thousand ducats
Were in six parts, and every part a ducat,
I would not draw them, I would have my bond.
Duke. How shalt thou hope for mercy, rend'-
ring none?
Shy. What judgment shall I dread doing no wrong?
You have among you many a purchas'd slave, Which, like your asses, and your dogs, and mules,
You use in abject and in slavish parts,
Because you bought them:-Shall I say to you,
Let them be free, marry them to your heirs?
Why sweat they under burdens? let their beds
Be made as soft as yours, and let their palates
Be season'd with such viands? You will answer,
The slaves are ours :-So do I answer you:
The pound of flesh which 1 demand of him,
Is dearly bought, 'tis mine, and I will have it:
If you deny me, fie upon your law!
There is no force in the decrees of Venice:
I stand for judgment: answer; shall I have it
Duke. Upon my power, I may dismiss th
Unless Bellario, a learned doctor,
I Whom I have sent for to determine this,
Come here to-day.
My lord, here stays without A messenger with letters from the doctor, New come from Padua.
Duke. Bring us the letters; Call the messenger Bass. Good cheer, Antonio! What, man.
The Jew shall have my flesh, blood, bones, an all,
Ere thou shalt lose for me one drop of blood.
Ant. I am a tainted wether of the flock,
Meetest for death; the weakest kind of fruit
Drops earliest to the ground, and so let me:
You cannot better be employ'd, Bassanio,
Than to live still, and write mine epitaph.
Enter Nerissa, dressed like a Lawyer's Clerk.
Duke. Came you from Padua, from Bellario?
Ner. From both, my lord; Bellario greets
your grace.
[Presents a Letter.
Bass. Why dost thou whet thy knife so ear-
nestly 7
Shy. To cut the forfeiture from that bankrupt
Por. Is your name Shylock?
Shy.
Shylock is my name.
Por. Of a strange nature is the suit you follow;
Yet in such rule, that the Venetian law
Cannot impugn you, as you do proceed.-
You stand within his danger, do you not 7
[To Antonio.
Ant. Ay, so he says.
Por.
Do you confess the bond?
Ant. I do. Por. Then must the Jew be merciful. Shy. On what compulsion must 1? tell me that. Por. The quality of mercy is not strain'd; It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven Upon the place beneath: it is twice bless'd; It blesseth him that gives, and him that takes: Thou mak'st thy knife keen: but no metal can,Tis mightiest in the mightiest; It becomes No, not the hangman's axe, bear half the keen-The throned monarch better than his crown:
Gra. Not on thy sole, but on thy soul, harsh
Jew,
Of thy sharp envy. Can no prayers pierce thee?
Shy. No, none that thou hast wit enough to
make.
Gra. O, be thou damn'd, inexorable dog!
And for thy life let justice be accus'd.
Thou almost mak'st me waver in my faith,
To hold opinion with Pythagoras,
That souls of animals infuse themselves
Into the trunks of men: thy currish spirit
Govern'd a wolf, who, hang'd for human slaugh-
Even from the gallows did his fell soul fleet,
And whilst thou lay'st in thy unhallow'd dam,
Infus'd itself in thee; for thy desires.
Are wolfish, bloody, starv'd, and ravenous.
Shy. Till thou canst rail the seal from off my
bond,
Thou but offend'st thy lungs to speak so loud:
Repair thy wit, good youth, or it will fall
To cureless ruin.-I stand here for law.
Duke. This letter from Bellario doth commend
A young and learned doctor to our court :-
Where is he?
He attendeth here hard oy,
To know your answer, whether you'll admit
Duke. With all my heart:-some three or four of you,
His sceptre shows the force of temporal power,
The attribute to awe and majesty,
Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings;
But mercy is above this scepired sway,
It is enthroned in the hearts of kings,
It is an attribute to God himself;
And earthly power doth then show likest God's
When mercy seasons justice. Therefore, Jew,
Though justice be thy plea, consider this,-
That in the course of justice, none of us
Should see salvation; we do pray for mercy;
And that same prayer doth teach us all to render
The deeds of mercy. I have spoke thus much,
To mitigate the justice of thy plea;
Which if thou follow, this strict court of Venice
Must needs give sentence 'gainst the merchant
there.
Shy. My deeds upon my head? I crave the law,
The penalty and forfeit of my bond.
Por. Is he not able to discharge the money?
Yea, twice the sum: if that will not suffice,
Bass. Yes, here I tender it for him in the court;
I will be bound to pay it ten times o'er,
On forfeit of my hands, my head, my heart:
If this will not suffice, it must appear
That malice bears down truth. And I beseech
Wrest once the law to your authority:
And curb this cruel devil of his will.
To do a great right, do a little wrong;
Por. It must not be; there is no power in
Venice
Can alter a decree established;
"Twill be recorded for a precedent;
And many an error, by the same example,
Will rush into the state: it cannot be.
Shy. A Daniel come to judgment! yea, a
Go, give him courteous conduct to this place. Mean time, the court shall hear Bellario's letter. [Clerk reads.] Your grace shall understand, that, at the receipt of your letter, I am very sick: but in the instant that your messenger came, in loving visitation was with me a young doctor of Rome, his name is Balthasar: I acquainted him with the cause in controversy between the Jew and Antonio the merchant: we turned o'er many books together: he is fur-0 wise young judge, how do I honour thee! nish'd with my opinion; which, better'd with Por. I pray you, let me look upon the bond. his own learning, (the greatness whereof I cannot enough commend,) comes with him, at my Por. Shylock, there's thrice thy money offer'd Shy. Here 'tis, most reverend doctor, here it is. importunity, to fill up your graces request in my stead. 1 beseech you, let his lack of years be no impediment to let him lack a reverend estimation; for I never knew so young a body with so old a head. I leave him to your gracious acceptance, whose trial shall better publish his commendation. Duke. You hear the learn'd Bellario, what he
Shy. An oath, an oath, I have an oath in hea.
Shall I lay perjury upon my soul?
No, not for Venice.
Por.
Why, this bond is forfeit ;
A pound of flesh, to be by him cut off
And lawfully by this the Jew may claim
Nearest the merchant's heart :-Be merciful;
Take thrice thy money; bid me tear the bond.
Shy. When it is paid according to the tenour.-
It doth appear, you are a worthy judge;
You know the law, your exposition
Hath been most sound: I charge you by the law,
Whereof you are a well-deserving pillar,
Proceed to judgment: by my soul I swear,
There is no power in the tongue of man
To alter me: 1 stay here on my bond.
Ant. Most heartily do I beseech the court
To give the judgment.
Por.
Why then, thus it is.
You must prepare your bosom for his knife:
Shy. O noble judge! O excellent young man!
Por. For the intent and purpose of the law
Hath full relation to the penalty,
Which here appeareth due upon the bond.
Shy. 'Tis very true: O wise and upright judge!
How much more elder art thou than thy looks!
Por. Therefore lay bare your bosom.
Shy.
Ay, his breast:
So says the bond :-Doth it not, noble judge 7-
Nearest his heart, those are the very words.
Por. It is so. Are there balance here, to weigh
The flesh?
Por. Have by some surgeon, Shylock, on your
To stop his wounds, lest he do bleed to death.
Shy. Is it so nominated in the bond?
Por. It is not so express'd; But what of that?
"Twere good you do so much for charity.
Shy. I cannot find it; 'tis not in the bond.
Por. Come, merchant, have you any thing to
say?
Ant. But little; I am arm'd, and well pre-
par'd.-
Give me your hand, Bassanio! fare you well!
Grieve not that I am fallen to this for you:
For herein fortune shows herself more kind
Than is her custom: it is still her use,
To let the wretched man outlive his wealth,
To view with hollow eye, and wrinkled brow,
An age of poverty; from which lingering pe-
Of such a misery doth she cut me off.
Commend me to your honourable wife:
Tell her the process of Antonio's end,
Say, how I lov'd you, speak me fair in death;
And, when the tale is told, bid her be judge,
Whether Bassanio had not once a love.
Repent not you, that you shall lose your friend.
And he repents not that he pays your debt;
For, if the Jew do cut but deep enough,
I'll pay it instantly with all my heart.
Bass. Antonio, I am married to a wife,
Which is as dear to me as life itself;
But life itself, my wife, and all the world,
Are not with me esteem'd above thy life:
I would lose all, ay, sacrifice them all
Here to this devil to deliver you.
Por. Your wife would give you little thanks
for that,
If she were by, to hear you make the offer.
Gra. I have a wife, whom, I protest, I love;
I would she were in heaven, so she could
Entreat some power to change this currish Jew.
Ner. "Tis well you offer it behind her back;
The wish would make else an unquiet house.
Shy. These be the Christian husbands: I have
a daughter:
'Would any of the stock of Barrabas
Had been her husband, rather than a Christian!
[Aside.
We trifle time: I pray thee, pursue sentence.
Por. A pound of that same merchant's flesh is
thine;
The court awards it, and the law doth give it.
Shy. Most rightful judge!
Por. And you must cut this flesh from off his
breast;
The law allows it, and the court awards it.
Shy. Most learned judge! a sentence: come,
prepare.
Por. Tarry a little:-there is something else.
This bond doth give thee here no jot of blood;
The words expressly are, a pound of flesh:
Take then thy bond, take thou thy pound of flesh;
But, in the cutting it, if thou dost shed
One drop of Christian blood, thy lands and goods
Are, by the laws of Venice, confiscate
Unto the state of Venice.
Gra. O upright judge!-Mark, Jew ;-O learn-
ed judge!
Thyself shalt see the act?
For as thou urgest justice, be assur'd,
Thou shalt have justice, more than thou desir'st.
Gra. O learned judge!-Mark, Jew ;-a learn
ed judge!
Shy. I take this offer then :-pay the bond
thrice,
And let the Christian go.
Bass.
The Jew shall have all justice :-soft !-no haste;
He shall have nothing but the penalty.
Por. Therefore prepare thee to cut off the flesh
Gra. O Jew! an upright judge, a learned judge!
Shed thou no blood; nor cut thou less, nor more
But just a pound of flesh if thou tak'st more,
Or less than a just pound,-be it but so much"
As makes it light, or heavy, in the substance,
Or the division of the twentieth part
Of one poor scruple; nay, if the scale do turn
But in the estimation of a hair,-
Thou diest, and all thy goods are confiscate.
Gra. A second Daniel, a Daniel, Jew!
Now, infidel, I have thee on the hip.
Por. Why doth the Jew pause? take thy for-
feiture.
Shy. Give me my principal, and let me go.
Bass. I have it ready for thee; here it is.
Por. He hath refus'd it in the open court;
He shall have merely justice, and his bond.
Gra. A Daniel, still say I; a second Daniel!
I thank thee, Jew, for teaching me that word.
Shy. Shall I not have barely my principal?
Por. Thou shalt have nothing but the for
To be so taken at thy peril, Jew.
feiture,
Shy. Why, then the devil give him good of it
I'll stay no longer question.
Tarry, Jew;
The law hath yet another holy on you.
It is enacted in the laws of Venice,-
If it be proved against an alien,
That by direct, or indirect attempts,
He seek the life of any citizen,
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 mayst 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.
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Duke. That thou shalt see the difference of our
spirit,
pardon thee thy life before thon 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
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, An-
Gra. A halter gratis; nothing else, for God's
tonio ?
Ant. So please my lord the duke and all the
To quit the fine for one half of his goods;
I am content, so he will let me have
The other half in use,-to render it,
Upon his death, unto the gentleman
That lately stole his daughter:
She would not hold out enemy for ever,"
For giving it to me. Well, peace be with you!
[Exeunt Portia and Nerissa.
Ant. My lord Bassanio, let him have the ring;
Two things provided more.-That, for this favour, Let his deservings, and my love withal,
He presently become a Christian;
The other, that he do record a gift,
Here in the court, of all he dies possess'd,
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?
Clerk, draw a deed of gift. Shy. I pray you, give me leave to go from
am not well; send the deed after me,
Get thee gone, but do it.
Be valued 'gainst your wife's commandment.
Bass. Go, Gratiano, run and overtake him,
Give him the ring; and bring him, if thou canst,
Unto Antonio's house :-away, make haste.
[Exit Gratiano.
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,
Gra. In christening thou shalt have two god-And be a day before our husbands home: fathers;
Had I been judge, thou shouldst have had ten
more;
To bring thee to the gallows, not to the font.
[Exit Shylock.
Duke. Sir, I entreat you home with me to
dinner.
This deed will be well welcome to Lorenzo.
Enter Gratiano.
Gra. Fair sir, you are well overtaken: My lord Bassanio, upon more advice. Hath sent you here this ring; and doth entreat Your company at dinner. Por. That cannot be: This ring I do accept most thankfully, And so, I pray you, tell him: Furthermore, Duke. I am sorry that your leisure serves you I pray you, show my youth old Shylock's house. Gra. That will I do.
Por. I humbly do desire your grace of pardon;
I must away this night toward Padua,
And it is meet I presently set forth.
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 yet 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 1 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
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
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,
SCENE I. Belmont. Avenue to Portia's House.
Enter Lorenzo and Jessica.
Lor. The moon shines bright :-In such a night
as this,
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,
And sigh'd his soul toward the Grecían tents,
Where Cressid lay that night.
In such a night,
Did Thisbe fearfully o'ertrip the dew;
And saw the lion's shadow ere himself,
And ran dismay'd away.
Lor.
In such a night,
Stood Dido, with a willow in her hand,
Upon the wild sea banks, and wav'd her love
To come again to Carthage.
Jes.
In such a night,
Medea gather'd the enchanted herbs
That did renew old son.
In such a night,
Did Jessica steal from the wealthy Jew:
And with an unthrift love did run from Venice,
As far as Belmont.
Jes.
And in such a night,
Did young Lorenzo swear he lov'd her well;
Stealing her soul with many vows of faith,
And ne'er a true one.
And in such a night,
Did pretty Jessica, like a little shrew,
Slander her love, and he forgave it her.
Jes. I would out-night you, did nobody como
But, hark. I hear the footing of a man.
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