Cistellaria, or The Casket (716-739)

and whom a certain Courtesan gave to her?

(aside.) She’s talking about this matter of ours. According as she gives these indications by her talk, she must surely know where your daughter is.

Now is she desirous of her own accord to restore her to her father and mother, whose daughter she is; prithee, my good sir, you are attending to something else; I commend my matter to you.

I’m giving my attention to this, and this is as good as food to me, that you are talking of; but amid my attending to this matter, I was answering this mistress of mine what she was enquiring; now I return to you. If you have need of anything, say you, and give your orders. What were you looking, for?

My good sir and my good madam, I greet you.

And we you. But what are you looking for?

I’m tracing footsteps here,

the way that something has escaped me here, I don’t know how.

What is it?

What is it, pray?[*]

Something to bring a loss to another, and a calamity on our family.

A worthless baggage is this, mistress, and a crafty one.

I’ faith, and so she seems.

She imitates a worthless animal and a mischievous.

Which one, prithee?

A caterpillar, which twisting about winds itself in the leaf of the vine;

just in the same way does she begin a story that twists about. (To HALISCA.) What are you looking for?

A casket, my good young man, has flown away from me here.

You ought to have put it in a cage.

I’ faith, the booty was no great one.

It’s a wonder, if a whole troop of slaves[*] isn’t there in the casket.

Do let her speak.

If indeed she would speak.

Come say you, what was in it?

Trinkets only.

There’s a certain man, who declares that he knows where it is.

But, by my faith, he’ll confer an obligation on a certain woman if he’ll discover it.

But this certain man wishes a reward to be given to him.

But, by my faith, this certain woman, that has lost this casket, declares that she has nothing to give to this certain man.

But still this certain man looks for some money.