Luc. Sir, give him head; I know, he'll prove a jade.
Pet. Hortenfio, to what end are all these words?
Hor. Sir, let me be fo bold as to ask you,
Did you yet ever see Baptifa's daughter ?.

Tra. No, Sir; but, hear I do, that he hath two :
The one as famous for a scolding tongue,
As the other is for beauteous modesty.

Pet. Sir, Sir, the firft's for me; let her go by.
Gre. Yea, leave that labour to great Hercules;
And let it be more than Alcides twelve.

Pet. Sir. underftand you this of me, insooth:
The youngest daughter, whom you hearken for,
Her father keeps from all accefs of fuitors,
And will not promife her to any man,
Until the eldest fifter first be wed:
The younger then is free, and not before.
Tra. If it be fo, Sir, that you are the man
Muft fteed us all, and me amongst the reft;
And if you break the ice, and do this feat,
Archieve the elder, fet the younger free
For our accefs; whofe hap fhall be to have her,
Will not fo gracelefs be, to be ingrate.

Hor. Sir, you fay well, and well you do conceive:

And fince you do profefs to be a fuitor,

You must, as we do, gratify this gentleman,

To whom we all reft generally beholden.

Tra. (10) Sir, I fhall not be flack; in fign whereof,

(10) Sir, I shall not be flack; in fign whereof,

Picafe you, we may contrive ibis afternoon,]

Pleafe

What were they to contrive? or how is it any teftimony of Tranio's confenting to be liberal, that he will join in contriving with them? in fhort, a foolish corruption poffeffes the place, that quite ftrips the poet of his intended humour. What was faid here is purely eve, as the old Scholiafts call it, in character. Tranio is but a fuppos'd gentleman: his habit is all the gentility he has about him: and the poet, I am perfuaded, meant that the Servingman's qualities fhould break out upon him; and that his mind fhould rather run on good. sheer than contrivances. I have therefore ventuṛ'd to fufpect;

Pleafe you we may convive this afternoon,

This agrees with, quaff carouses; and with what he fays at the conclufion of this fpeech, but cat and drink as friends. And this word

Please ye, we may convive this afternoon,
And quaff caroufes to our mistress' health;
And do as adverfaries do in law,

Strive mightily, but eat and drink as friends.

Gru. Bion. O excellent motion: fellows, let's be gone. Hor. The motion's good indeed, and be it fo, Petruchio, I fhall be your ben venuto.

[Exeunt.

[The Prefenters, above. Speak here. I Man. My Lord, you nod; you do not mind the play. Sly. Yea, by St. Ann, do I: a good matter, furely? comes there any more of it?

Lady. My Lova, 'tis but begun.

Sly. 'Tis a very excellent piece of work, Madam Lady. Would 'twere done!

A C T II.

SCENE, Baptifta's Houfe in Padua,

Go

Enter Catharina and Bianca.

BIANEA.

OOD Sfter, wrong me not, nor wrong yourself, To make a bond-maid and a flave of me; That I difdain; (11) but for these other gawds,

Unbind

convive, however queint and uncommon it may be, is again used by our poet in his Troilus and Creffila:

Firft, al you Peels of Greece, go to my tent;

There in the full convive you.

It is regularly deriv'd from convivium of the Latins; and the active verb, ufed more obfoletely inftead of the parlive.

And,

Si calendis convivant, idibus cœnant foris.

Malo bercle fuo magno convivant fine modo. Say Pomponius and Ennius, as quoted by Nonius Marcellus.

(11) But for these other goods,] This is fo triffing and unexpressive a word, that, I am fatisfied, our author wrote, gawds, (i. e.

toys,

Unbind my hands, I'll pull them off myself;
Yea, all my raiment, to my petticoat,
Or, what you will command me, will I do;
So well I know my duty to my elders.

Catb. Of all thy fuitors here, I charge thee, tell
Whom thou lov'ft beft: fee, thou diffemble not.
Bian. Believe me, fifter, of all men alive

I never yet beheld that special face,

Which I could fancy more than any other.

Cath. Minion, thou lyeft; is't not Hortenfio?
Bian. If you affect him, fifter, here I fwear,
I'll plead for you myself, but you fhall have him.
Cath. Oh, then, belike, you fancy riches more;
You will have Gremio, to keep you fair..

Bian. Is it for him you do fo envy me?
Nay, then you jeft; and now, I well perceive,.
You have but jefted with me all this while;
I pr'ythee, fifter Kate, untie my hands.

Cath. If that be jeft, then all the reft was fo.

Enter Baptifta.

[Strikes ber

Bay. Why, how now, dame, whence grows this infolence? Bianca, ftand afide; poor girl, fhe weeps ;.

Go ply thy needle, meddle not with her.

toys; trifling ornaments;) a term that he frequently uses and feems fond of,

Midfummer Night's dream.

And again,

༡། *ས་མ།

With bracelets of thy hair, rings, gawds, conceits,
Knacks, trifles,-

As the remembrance of an idle garde, s
Which in my childhood I did doat upon. 10

King John.

Is all too wanton, and too full of gards,

To give me audience,

So Beaumont and Fletcher in their Women pleas'd;.

Her rules and precepts hung with gazuds and ribbands.

And in their Two Noble Kinfmen;

-What a mere child is fancy,

That having two fair gawds of equal sweetness,
Cannot diftinguish, but muft cry for both,

&c. &c. &c.

For fhame, thou hilding of a devilish spirit,
Why doft thou wrong her, that did ne'er wrong thee ?
When did the cross thee with a bitter word?

Cath. Her filence flouts me; and I'll be reveng'd.

· 31 ? [Flies after Bianca.

Bap. What, in my fight? Bianca, get thee in.
[Exit Bian.

Cath. Will you not suffer me? nay, now I fee,
She is your treasure ; fhe must have a husband;
I muft dance bare-foot on her wedding day,
And, for your love to her, lead apes in hell:
Talk not to me, I will fit and weep,
'Till I can find occafion of revenge.
Bap. Was ever gentleman thus griev'd, as I?
But who comes here ?

go

[Exit Cath.

Enter Gremio, Lucentio in the habit of a mean man; Petruchio with Hortenfio, like a musician; Tranio and Biondello bearing a lute and books.

Gre. Good morrow, neighbour Baptifta.

Bap. Good morrow, neighbour Gremio: God fave you, gentlemen.

Pet. And you, good Sir; pray, have you not a daughter call'd Catharina, fair and virtuous?

Bap. I have a daughter, Sir, call'd Catharina.

Gre. You are too blunt; go to it orderly.

Pet. You wrong me. Signior Gremio, give me leave.

I am a gentleman of Verona, Sir,

That hearing of her beauty and her wit

Her affability and bashful modesty.

Her wondrous qualities, and mild behaviour,
Am bold to fhew myself a forward guest

Within your houfe, to make mine eye the witness
Of that report, which I fo oft have heard.
And, for an entrance to my entertainment,

[Presenting Hor.

I do present you with a man of mine,
Cunning in mufick, and the mathematicks,
To inftru&t her fully in those sciences,
Whereof, I know, fhe is not ignorant:

Accept

Accept of him, or else you do me wrong,
His name is Licio, born in Mantua.

Bap. You'are welcome, Sir, and he for your good fake.
But for my daughter Catharine, this I know,
She is not for your turn, the more's my grief.
Pet. I fee you do not mean to part with her;
Or else you like not of my company.

Bap. Miftake me not, I fpeak but what I find. Whence are you, Sir? what may I call your name? Pet. Petruchio is my name, Antonio's fon,

A man well known throughout all Italy.

Bap. I know him well: you are welcome for his fake. Gre. Saving your tale, Petruchio, I pray, let us, that are poor petitioners, fpeak too. Baccalare! you are marvellous forward. (12)

Pet. Oh, pardon me, Signior Gremio, I would fain be doing. (13)

Gre. I doubt it not, Sir, but you will curfe your wooing. Neighbour, this is a gift very grateful, I am fore of it. To exprefs the like kindness myfelf, that have been more kindly beholden to you than any, free leave

(12) Baccare, you are marvellous forward.] But not fo forward, as our editors are indolent and acquiefcing. This is a ftupid corruption of the prefs, that none of them have div'd into. We must read, Baccalare, as Mr. Warburton acutely obferv'd to me; by which the Italians mean, thou arrogant, prefumptuous man! The word is ufed fcornfully, upon any one that would affume a port of grandeur and high repute: Per derifione d'huomo che fia in riputatione, e che grandeggi; fays La Crufca. The French call fuch a character, un Bravache; and the Spaniards, el Fanfarron.

(13) Ob, pardon me, Signor Gremio, I would fain be doing.

Gre. I doubt it not, Sir, but you will curfe your wooing neighbours. This is a gift; It would be very unreasonable, after fuch a number of inftances, to fufpect the editors ever dwelt on the meaning of any paffage: But why fhould Petruchio curfe his woning Neighbours? They were none of them his rivals: Nor, though he fhould curfe his own match afterwards, did he commence his courtship on their accounts. In fhort, Gremio is defign'd to answer to Petruchio in doggrel rhyme, to this purpofe," Yes; I know, you would fain be doing; but "you'll coap with fuch a devil, that you'll have reafon to curfe your

wooing."-and then immediately turns his difcourfe to Baptifta, whom he calls Neighbour, (as he had done before at the beginning of this fccne,) and makes his prefent to him.