Pet. Sirrah, be gone, or talk not, I advise you.
Hor. Petruchio, patience; I am Grumio's pledge:
Why, this a heavy chance 'twixt him and you;
Your ancient, trusty, pleasant servant, Grumio.
And tell me now, sweet friend,-what happy gale
Blows you to Padua here, from old Verona?
Pet. Such wind as scatters young men through
the world,

To seek their fortunes further than at home,
Where small experience grows. But, in a few,1
Signior Hortensio, thus it stands with me :-
Antonio, my father, is deceas'd;

And I have thrust myself into this maze,
Haply to wive, and thrive, as best I may:
Crowns in my purse I have, and goods at home,
And so am come abroad to see the world.

Hor. Petruchio, shall I then come roundly to thee,
And wish thee to a shrewd ill-favour'd wife?
Thou'dst thank me but a little for my counsel:
And yet I'll promise thee she shall be rich,
And very rich :-But thou'rt too much my friend,
And I'll not wish thee to her.

Pet. Signior Hortensio; 'twixt such friends as we
Few words suffice: and, therefore, if thou know
One rich enough to be Petruchio's wife,

(As wealth is burthen of my wooing dance,)
Be she as foul as was Florentius' love,2
As old as Sibyl, and as curst and shrewd
As Socrates' Xantippe, or a worse,
She moves me not, or not removes, at least,
Affection's edge in me; were she as rough
As are the swelling Adriatic seas;
I come to wive it wealthily in Padua;
If wealthily, then happily in Padua.

Gru. Nay, look you, sir, he tells you flatly what his mind is: Why, give him gold enough and marry him to a puppet, or an aglet-baby;3 or an old trot with ne'er a tooth in her head, though she have as many diseases as two and fifty horses: why, nothing comes amiss, so money comes withal.

Hor. Petruchio, since we have stepp'd thus far in,
I will continue that I broach'd in jest.
I can, Petruchio, help thee to a wife

With wealth enough, and young, and beauteous;
Brought up as best becomes a gentlewoman;
Her only fault (and that is faults enough,)
Is,-that she is intolerably curst,"

And shrewd, and froward; so beyond all measure,
That, were my state far worser than it is,
I would not wed her for a mine of gold.
Pet. Hortensio, peace; thou know'st not gold's

effect:

Tell me her father's name, and 'tis enough;
For I will board her, though she chide as loud
As thunder, when the clouds in autumn crack.
Hor. Her father is Baptista Minola,
An affable and courteous gentleman:
Her name is Katharina Minola,
Renown'd in Padua for her scolding tongue.
Pet. I know her father, though I know not her;
And he knew my deceased father well:
I will not sleep, Hortensio, till I see her;
And therefore let me be thus bold with you,
To give you over at this first encounter,
Unless you will accompany me thither.

as I do, she would think scolding would do little
good upon him: She may, perhaps, call him half
a score knaves or so: why, that's nothing; an he
begin once, he'll rail in his rope-tricks. I'll tell
you what, sir,-an she stand' him but a little, he
will throw a figure in her face, and so disfigure her
with it, that she shall have no more eyes to see
withal than a cat: You know him not, sir.

Hor. Tarry, Petruchio, I must go with thee;
For in Baptista's keep my treasure is:
He hath the jewel of my life in hold,
His youngest daughter, beautiful Bianca;
And her withholds from me, and other more
Suitors to her, and rivals in my love:
Supposing it a thing impossible,
(For those defects I have before rehears❜d,)
That ever Katharina will be woo'd;
Therefore this order1o hath Baptista ta'en;-
That none shall have access unto Bianca,
Till Katharine the curst have got a husband.
Gru. Katharine the curst!

A title for a maid, of all titles the worst.
Hor. Now shall my friend Petruchio do me grace;
And offer me, disguis'd in sober robes,
To old Baptista as a schoolmaster

Well seen in musick, to instruct Bianca:
That so I may by this device, at least,
Have leave and leisure to make love to her,
And, unsuspected, court her by herself.
Enter GREMIO; with him LUCENTIO disguised,
with books under his arm.

Gru. Here's knavery! See, to beguile the old
folks, how the young folks lay their heads together!
Master, master, look about you: Who goes there? ha!
Petruchio, stand by a while.
Hor. Peace, Grumio: 'tis the rival of my love :-

Gru. A proper stripling, and an amorous!

[They retire.

Gre. O, very well; I have perus'd the note.
All books of love, see that at any hand;12
Hark you, sir; I'll have them very fairly bound:
And see you read no other lectures to her:
Signior Baptista's liberality,
You understand me;-Over and beside

I'll mend it with a largess: Take your papers too,
And let me have them very well perfum'd;
To whom they go. What will you read to her?
For she is sweeter than perfume itself,

Luc. Whate'er I read to her, I'll plead for you,
As firmly as yourself were still in place:
As for my patron, (stand you so assur'd,)
Yea, and (perhaps) with more successful words
Than you, unless you were a scholar, sir.

Gre. O this learning; what a thing it is!
Gru. O this woodcock! what an ass it is!
Pet. Peace, sirrah.

Hor. Grumio, mum!-God save you, signior
Gremio!

Gre. And you're well met, signior Hortensio.
Trow you,

Whither I am going ?-To Baptista Minola.
I promis'd to enquire carefully

About a schoolmaster for fair Bianca:
And, by good fortune, I have lighted well
hu-carved on an aglet or jewel; such as Queen Mab is
described:--

Gru. I pray you, sir, let him go while the mour lasts. O''my word, an she knew him as well Perhaps it was passed over because it was not understood? The allusion is to the old game of Bone-ace or one-and-thirty. A pip is a spot upon a card. The old copy has it peepe.

1 In a few, means the same as in short, in a few words.

2 This allusion is to a story told by Gower in the first book of his Confessio Amantis. Florent is the name of a knight who bound himself to marry a deformed hag provided she taught him the solution of a riddle on which his life depended.

In shape no bigger than an agate stone
On the fore-finger of an aiderman.'

4 The fifty diseases of a horse seems to be proverbial,
of which, probably, the text is only an exaggeration.
5 Cross, froward, petulant.

6 i. e. roguish tricks. Ropery is used by Shakspeare in Romeo and Juliet for roguery. A rope-ripe is one for whom the gallows groans, according to Cotgrave. 7 Withstand.

8 To endeavour to explain this would certainly be lost labour. Mr. Boswell justly remarks that nothing is more common in ludicrous or playful discourse than to use a comparison where no resemblance is intended." 9 Keep here means care, keeping, custody. 10 To take order is to take measures.

3 i. e. a diminutive being, not exceeding in size the tag of a point,' says Steevens; a small image or head cut on the tag of a point or lace,' says Malone. It was no such thing; an uglet was not only a tag of a point, but a brooch or jewel in one's cap,' as Baret explains it. in it. An aglet-baby, therefore was a diminutive figure'

11 To be well seen in any art was to be well skilled 12 Rate.

13 Present.

On this young man; for learning and behaviour,
Fit for her turn; well read in poetry
And other books,-good ones, I warrant you.
Hor. 'Tis well: and I have met a gentleman,
Hath promis'd me to help me to another,
A fine musician to instruct our mistress;
So shall I no whit be behind in duty
To fair Bianca, so belov'd of me.

Gre. Belov'd of me,—and that my deeds shall

prove.

Gru. And that his bags shall prove.

[Aside.
Hor. Gremio, 'tis now no time to vent our love:
Listen to me, and if you speak me fair,
I'll tell you news indifferent good for either.
Here is a gentleman, whom by chance I met,
Upon agreement from us to his liking,
Will undertake to woo curst Katharine;
Yea, and to marry her, if her dowry please.
Gre. So said, so done, is well:
Hortensio, have you told him all her faults?
Pet. I know, she is an irksome brawling scold;
If that be all, masters, I hear no harm.

Gre. No! say'st me so, friend? What countryman?
Pet. Born in Verona, old Antonio's son:
My father dead, my fortune lives for me;
And I do hope good days, and long, to see.

Gre. O, sir, such a life, with such a wife, were
strange:

But, if you have a stomach, to't o' God's name,
You shall have me assisting you in all.
But will you woo this wild cat?

Will I live?

Pet.
Gru. Will he woo her? ay, or I'll hang her.

[Aside.

Pet. Why came I hither, but to that intent?
Think you, a little din can daunt mine ears?
Have I not in my time heard lions roar?
Have I not heard the sea, puff'd up with winds,
Rage like an angry boar, chafed with sweat?
Have I not heard great ordnance in the field,
And heaven's artillery thunder in the skies?
Have I not in a pitched battle heard

Loud 'larums, neighing steeds, and trumpets' clang?
And do you tell me of a woman's tongue,
That gives not half so great a blow to the ear
As will a chestnut in a farmer's fire?
Tush! tush! fear boys with bugs.'
Gru.

Tra. Why, sir, I pray, are not the streets as free For me as for you?

Gre.

But so is not she.
Tra. For what reason, I beseech you?
Gre. For this reason, if you'll know,-
That she's the choice love of Signior Gremio.
Hor. That she's the chosen of Signior Hortensio.
Tra. Softly, my masters! if you be gentlemen,
Do me this right,-hear me with patience.
Baptista is a noble gentleman,

To whom my father is not all unknown;
And, were his daughter fairer than she is,
She may more suitors have, and me for one.
Fair Leda's daughter had a thousand wooers;
Then well one more may fair Bianca have:
And so she shall; Lucentio shall make one,
Though Paris came in hope to speed alone.

Gre. What! this gentleman will out-talk us all
Luc. Sir, give him head; I know he'll prove a
jade.

Pet. Hortensio, to what end are all these words?
Hor. Sir, let me be so bold as ask
you,
Did you yet ever see Baptista's daughter?
Tra. No, sir; but hear I do that he hath two;
The one as famous for a scolding tongue,
As is the other for beauteous modesty.

Pet. Sir, sir, the first'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, understand you this of me, insooth;-
The youngest daughter, whom you hearken for,
Her father keeps from all access of suitors:
And will not promise her to any man,
Until the elder sister first be wed:
The younger then is free, and not before.

Tra. If it be so, sir, that you are the man
Must stead us all, and me among the rest;
An if you break the ice, and do this feat,-
Achieve the elder, set the younger free
For our access,-whose hap shall be to have her,
Will not so graceless be, to be ingrate.

Hor. Sir, you say well, and well you do conceive;
And since you do profess to be a suitor,
You must, as we do, gratify this gentleman,
To whom we all rest generally beholden.
Tra. Sir, I shall not be slack: in sign whereof,
Please ye we may contrive this afternoon,
For he fears none. [Aside. And quaff carouses to our mistress' health;
And do as adversaries' do in law,-
Strive mightily, but eat and drink as friends.
Gre. Bion. O excellent motion! Fellows, let's
begone.

Gre. Hortensio, hark!
This gentleman is happily arriv'd,
My mind presumes, for his own good, and ours.
Hor. I promis'd, we would be contributors,
And bear his charge of wooing, whatsoe'er.

Gre. And so we will; provided that he win her.
Gru. I would, I were as sure of a good dinner.

[Aside.

Enter TRANIO, bravely apparell'd; and BIONDELLO.
Tra. Gentlemen, God save you! If I may be bold,
Tell me,
I beseech you, which is the readiest way
To the house of signior Baptista Minola?
Bion. He that has the two fair daughters :-is't
[Aside to TRANIO] he you mean?

Tra. Even he, Biondello.

Gre. Hark you, sir; You mean not her to
Tra. Perhaps him and her, sir; What have you
to do?

Pet. Not her that chides, sir; at any hand, I pray.
Tra. I love no chiders, sir:-Biondello, let's away.
Laic. Well begun, Tranio.
[Aside.

Hor. Sir, a word ere you go;-
Are you a suitor to the maid you talk of, yea or no?
Tra. An if I be, sir, is it any offence?
Gre. No; if without more words, you will get
you hence.

Hor. The motion's good indeed, and be it so; Petruchio, I shall be your ben venuto. [Exerint.

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 put 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, teil
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.

5 Adversaries most probably here signifies contend ing barristers, or counsellors; surely not their clients? 6 Fellows means companions, and not fellow-servants, as Malone supposed. 7 Toys, trifling ornaments. 8 Love.

し

Remove you hence: I knew you at the first,
You were a moveable.

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.

Bup. Well may'st thou woo, and happy be thy
speed!

But be thou arm'd for some unhappy words.
P. 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 mu-
sician?

Hor. I think, she'll sooner prove a soldier;
Iron may hold with her, but never lutes.

Bap. Why then thou canst not break her to the
lute?

Hor. Why, no; for she hath broke the lute to me.
I did but tell her, she mistook her frets,1
And bow'd her hand to teach her fingering;
When, with a most impatient devilish spirit,
Frets, call you these? quoth she: I'll fume with them:
And, with that word, she struck me on the head,
And through the instrument my pate made way;
And there I stood amazed for a while,
As on a pillory, looking through the lute:
While she did call me,-rascal fiddler,
And-twangling Jack; with twenty such vile terms,
As she had studied to misuse me so.

Pet. Now, by the world, it is a lusty wench;
I love her ten times more than e'er I did:
O, how I long to have some chat with her!

Bap. Well, go with me, and be not so discomfited:
Proceed in practice with my younger daughter;
She's apt to learn, and thankful for good turns.-
Signior Petruchio, will you go with us;
Or, shall I send my daughter Kate to you?
Pet. I pray you, do; I will attend her here,-
[Exeunt BAPTISTA, GREMIO, TRANIO,
and HORTENSIO.

And woo her with some spirit when she comes.
Say, that she rail; Why, then I'll tell her plain,
She sings as sweetly as a nightingale :
Say, that she frown; I'll say she looks as clear
As morning roses newly washed with dew:2
Say, she be mute, and will not speak a word;
Then I'll commend her volubility,
And say she uttereth piercing eloquence:
If she do bid me pack, I'll give her thanks,
As though she bid me stay by her a week:
If she deny to wed, I'll crave the day
When I shall ask the banns, and when be married:
But here she comes; and now, Petruchio, speak.
Enter KATHARINA.

Good-morrow, Kate; for that's your name, I hear.
Kath. Well have you heard, but something hard3
of hearing;

They call me-Katharine, that do talk of me.

Pet. You lie, in faith; for you are call'd plain
Kate,

And bonny Kate, and sometimes Kate the curst;
But Kate, the prettiest Kate in Christendom,
Kate of Kate-Hall, my super-dainty Kate,
For dainties are all cates: and therefore, Kate,
Take this of me, Kate of my consolation;-
Hearing thy mildness prais'd in every town,
Thy virtues spoke of, and thy beauties sounded,
(Yet not so deeply as to thee belongs,)
Myself am mov'd to woo thee for my wife.

Kath. Mov'd! in good time: let him that mov'd
you hither,

1 Frets are the points at which a string is to be stopped, formerly marked on the neck of such instruments as the Jute or guitar.

2 So Milton in L'Allegro :

There on beds of violeta blue,

And fresh blown roses trash'd'in dew.

It is from the old play of the Taming of a Shrew :'As glorious as the morning washt with dew.'

Pet.

Kath. A joint-stool.4

Why, what's a moveable!

Pet.
Thou hast hit it: come, sit on me.
Kath. Asses are made to bear, and so are you.
Pet. Women are made to bear, and so are you.
Kath. No such jade, sir, as you, if me you mean.
Pet. Alas, good Kate, I will not burden thee:
For knowing thee to be but young and light,-
Kath. Too light for such a swain as you to catch;
And yet as heavy as my weight should be.
Pet. Should be? should buz.

Kath.
Well ta'en, and like a buzzard.
Pet. O, slow-wing'd turtle! shall a buzzard take
thee?

Kath. Ay, for a turtle; as he takes a buzzard.'
Pet. Come, come, you wasp; i'faith, you are too

In his tail.

Kath.

Pet.

In his tongue.

Whose tongue?

Kath. Yours, if you talk of tails: and so farewel
Pet. What, with my tongue in your tail? nay,
come again,
Good Kate; I am a gentleman.
Kath.

That I'll try.
[Striking him.
Pet. I swear I'll cuff you, if you strike again.
Kath. So may you lose your arms:

If you strike me, you are no gentleman;
And if no gentleman, why, then no arms.
Pet. A herald, Kate? O, put me in thy books.
Kath. What is your crest? a coxcomb?
Pet. A combless cock, so Kate will be my hen.
Kath. No cock of mine, you crow too like a

O, you are novices! 'tis a world to see,*
How tame, when men and women are alone,
A meacock wretch can make the curstest shrew.-
Give me thy hand, Kate: I will unto Venice,
To buy apparel 'gainst the wedding-day :—
Provide the feast, father, and bid the guests;
I will be sure, my Katharine shall be fine.
Bap. I know not what to sav: but give me your
hands;

1 This appears to allude to some proverb. 2 Thus the first folio. The second folio reads:--a wild Kat to a Kate." The modern editors, a wild cat.' 3 The story of Griselda, so beautifully related by Chaucer, was taken by him from Boccaccio. It is thought to be older than the time of the Florentine, as it is to be found among the old fabliaux. 4 So in the old play :

Redoubling kiss on kiss upon my cheeks.'
To tie was a term in the old vocabulary of gaming, for
to wager the goodness of one hand against another.
There was also to revie, and other variations.

5 This phrase, which frequently occurs in old writers,
la equivalent to, it is a wonder, or a matter of admira