82 SPECIMENS OF LATIN COMEDY. 



There he thought there could not possibly be any danger of dis- 

 covery : in this too he was deceived : where there was no real ground 

 for fear, his apprehensions were most alive, but when he was in actual 

 danger and the place of his deposit was discovered, so far from en- 

 tertaining the least suspicion, he was triumphing in the false confi- 

 dence of imaginary success. For while securing his treasure, he was 

 observed by the slave of a young man, called Lyconides, who had 

 violated Euclio's daughter. The miser, on coming one day to regale 

 himself with a sight of his little Tmolus, is thunderstruck to find it 

 gone, and returns home mortified and in despair ; but in his way 

 meets Lyconides, who having heard of the intended marriage between 

 his uncle and Euclio's daughter, now apologizes for his conduct and 

 offers the reparation of marriage. The miser in his knavish inno- 

 cence, applies all he says about his daughter to the lost treasure ; 

 this is an admirable scene ; Euclio and Lyconides are talking about 

 two different things, each imagining that the other is speaking of the 

 same thing, as himself; and the blunder is not perceived till Lyconi- 

 des discloses a secret only because he thought Euclio would suspect 

 him if he did not ; and the ambiguity of their discourse is aided by 

 the use of the word olla, which might be the old form of ilia, she, or 

 another way of spelling anla, a pot. The play is, as we before inti- 

 mated, imperfect : in the last scene we have the slave of Lyconides 

 surrendering the miser's treasure as the price of his freedom. It is 

 most probable that, in the deficient scenes, Lyconides, by restoring 

 the gold to Euclio, obtained his daughter in marriage. A professor 

 in the University of Bologna, Antonius Codrus Urceus, has finished 

 the play, but in a spirit far inferior to that of Plautus. He most 

 unwarrantably makes the miser suddenly change his nature, and 

 freely present Lyconides with the treasure a remedy to which 

 Plautus certainly would not have had recourse. 



The first scene is exceedingly comic ; exactly characteristic of the 

 miser and equally descriptive of the pestering, housekeeperish inqui- 

 sitiveness of his servant. We cannot help smiling, when he gravely 

 commands her to preserve the cobwebs ; (though there are emer- 

 gencies in the operations of the tonsorial art, in which even they are 

 serviceable ;) or when we are told that he is in the habit of keeping 

 the pairings of his ungulae, and complains of being atrociously 

 robbed, if the smoke is allowed to escape from the chimney ; but we 

 think we have seen his equal. 



Euclio appears on the stage, driving Staphila from his house, 

 " somewhat angerly :" 



Out of my house, I say, out of my house ; 

 Nay, but you must and shall, out of my doors, 

 Good gossip pry- about, poking your eyes, 

 And peering, here and there, in ev'ry corner. 



STAPH. Why do you beat me, a poor wretch ? 



EUCL. To make you 



A poor wretch ; you shall lead a sorry life on't. 



STA#H. Why have you thrust me out o' doors ? 



EUCL. You jade ? 



Give you a reason ? Get you from the door, 



