ACT II.

SCENE I.-The same. A Room in Baptista's House. Enter KATHARINA and BIANCA.

Bian. Good sister, wrong me not, nor wrong yourself,
To make a bondmaid and a slave of me;
That I disdain: But for these other gawds,
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.

Kath. Of all thy suitors, here I charge thee, tell
Whom thou lov'st best: see thou dissemble not.
Bian. Believe me, sister, of all the men alive,
I never yet beheld that special face

Which I could fancy more than any other.

Kath. Minion, thou liest: Is 't not Hortensio ? Bian. If you affect him, sister, here I swear, I'll plead for you myself, but you shall have him. Kath. O then, belike, you fancy riches more; You will have Gremio to keep you fair.

Bian. Is it for him you do envy me so? Nay, then you jest; and now I well perceive, You have but jested with me all this while : prithee, sister Kate, untie my hands.

Kath. If that be jest, then all the rest was so.

Enter BAPTISTA.

[Strikes her.

Bap. Why, how now, dame! whence grows this in

solence?

Bianca, stand aside;-poor girl! she weeps:-
Go ply thy needle; meddle not with her,

For shame, thou hilding,a of a devilish spirit,
Why dost thou wrong her that did ne'er wrong thee?
When did she cross thee with a bitter word?

Kath. Her silence flouts me, and I'll be reveng'd.
[Flies after BIANCA.

Bap. What, in my sight?-Bianca, get thee in.

Exit BIANCA. Kath. What, will you not suffer me? Nay, now I see She is your treasure, she must have a husband; I must dance barefoot on her wedding-day, And, for your love to her, lead apes in hell.b Talk not to me. I will go sit and weep, Till I can find occasion of revenge.

[Exit KATH. Bap. Was ever gentleman thus griev'd as I? But who comes here?

Enter GREMIO, with LUCENTIO in the habit of a mean man; PETRUCIO, with HORTENSIO as a musician; and TRANIO, with BIONDELLO bearing a lute and books.

Gre. Good morrow, neighbour Baptista.

Bap. Good morrow, neighbour Gremio: God save you, gentlemen!

Pet. And you, good sir! Pray, have you not a daughter

Call'd Katharina, fair and virtuous?

Bap. I have a daughter, sir, call'd Katharina.
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 show myself a forward guest

a Hilding-a mean-spirited person.

b A proverbial expression, applied to the ill-used class of old maids.

Within your house, to make mine eye the witness
Of that report which I so oft have heard.

And, for an entrance to my entertainment,

I do present you with a man of mine, [Presenting HOR.
Cunning in music, and the mathematics,

To instruct her fully in those sciences,
Whereof, I know, she is not ignorant :
Accept of him, or else you do me wrong;
His name is Licio, born in Mantua.

Bap. You 're welcome, sir; and he for your good sake:
But for my daughter Katharine, this I know,
She is not for your turn, the more my grief.

Pet. I see you do not mean to part with her; Or else you like not of my company.

Bap. Mistake me not, I speak but as I find. Whence are you, sir? what may I call your name? Pet. Petrucio is my name; Antonio's son, A man well known throughout all Italy.

Bap. I know him well: you are welcome for his sake.
Gre. Saving your tale, Petrucio, I pray,

Let us, that are poor petitioners, speak too:
Baccare! you are marvellous forward.

Pet. O, pardon me, signior Gremio; I would fain be doing.

Gre. I doubt it not, sir; but you will curse your wooing.

Neighbour, this is a gift very grateful, I am sure of it. To express the like kindness myself, that have been more kindly beholding to you than any, I freely give unto you this young scholar, [presenting LUCENTIO] that hath been long studying at Rheims; as cunning in Greek, Latin, and other languages, as the other in music and mathematics: his name is Cambio; pray accept his service.

Bap. A thousand thanks, signior Gremio: welcome, good Cambio.-But, gentle sir, [to TRANIO] methinks a Baccare-a word once in common use, meaning go back.

you walk like a stranger. May I be so bold to know

the cause of your coming?

Tra. Pardon me, sir, the boldness is mine own;

That, being a stranger in this city here,

Do make myself a suitor to your daughter,

Unto Bianca, fair, and virtuous.

Nor is your firm resolve unknown to me,
In the preferment of the eldest sister:
This liberty is all that I request,—
That, upon knowledge of my parentage,

I may have welcome 'mongst the rest that woo,
And free access and favour as the rest.
And, toward the education of your daughters,
I here bestow a simple instrument,

And this small packet of Greek and Latin books:
If you accept them, then their worth is great.
Bap. Lucentio is your name? of whence, I pray?
Tra. Of Pisa, sir; son to Vincentio.

Bap. A mighty man of Pisa: by report

I know him well: you are very welcome, sir. Take you [to HOR.] the lute, and you [to Luc.] the set of books,

You shall go see your pupils presently.

Holla, within!

Sirrah, lead

Enter a Servant.

These gentlemen to my daughters; and tell them both, These are their tutors; bid them use them well.

[Exit Servant, with HOR., Luc., and BION.

We will go walk a little in the orchard,

And then to dinner: You are passing welcome,
And so I pray you all to think yourselves.

Pet. Signior Baptista, my business asketh haste,

And every day I cannot come to woo.a

a The burthen of an old ballad, called The Ingenious Braggadocio,' was

"And I cannot come every day to woo."

You knew my father well; and in him, me,
Left solely heir to all his lands and goods,
Which I have better'd rather than decreas'd:
Then tell me,-If I get your daughter's love,
What dowry shall I have with her to wife?

Bap. After my death, the one half of my lands:
And, in possession, twenty thousand crowns.

Pet. And, for that dowry, I'll assure her of
Her widowhood,a--be it that she survive me,-
In all my lands and leases whatsoever :
Let specialties be therefore drawn between us,
That covenants may be kept on either hand.

Bap. Ay, when the special thing is well obtain'd,
That is, her love; for that is all in all.

Pet. Why, that is nothing; for I tell you, father,
I am as peremptory as she proud-minded;
And where two raging fires meet together,
They do consume the thing that feeds their fury:
Though little fire grows great with little wind,
Yet extreme gusts will blow out fire and all :
So I to her, and so she yields to me;

For I am rough, and woo not like a babe.

Bap. Well mayst thou woo, and happy be thy speed!

But be thou arm'd for some unhappy words.

Pet. Ay, to the proof; as mountains are for winds, That shake not, though they blow perpetually.

Re-enter HORTENSIO, with his head broken.

Bap. How now, my friend? why dost thou look so pale?
Hor. For fear, I promise you, if I look pale.
Bap. What, will my daughter prove a good musician?

a Her widowhood. Widowhood must here mean, not the condition of a widow, but the property to which the widow would be entitled. Petrucio would assure Katharina of a widow's full provision in all his "lands and leases." would not "bar dower,"-by fine and recovery.

He