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 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 younger daughter, whom you hearken for,
Her father keeps from all access of suitors ;
And will not promise her to any man,
Until the eldest 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 do you 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,
And quaff carouses to our mistress' health;
And do as adversaries do in law,-

Strive mightily, but eat and drink as friends.

Gru. Bion. O excellent motion !-Fellows, lets be

gone.

Hor. The motion's good indeed, and be it so ;Petruchio, I shall be

your

ben venuto.

[Exeunt.

ACT II.

SCENE 1.-The same. A Room in BAPTISTA's House. Enter KATHARINA and BIANCA.

Bianca.

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 :
I pr'ythee, 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 insolence?

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

-For shame, thou hildings 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. Will you not suffer me? Nay, now I see,
She is your treasure, she must have a husband;
I must dance bare-foot on her wedding-day,
And, for your love to her, lead apes in hell.6
Talk not to me; I will go sit and weep,
Till I find occasion of revenge.

[Exit KATH.

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

[5] The word hilding or hinderling, is a low wretch: it is applied to Katharine for the coarseness of her behaviour JOHNS.

[6] "To lead apes" was in our author's time, as at present one of the employments of a bear herd, who often carries abour one of those animals along with his bear but i know not how this phrase came to be applied to old maids. MALONE.

:

That women who refused to bear children, should, after death, be condemned to the care of apes in leading-strings, might have been considered as an act of posthumous retribution.

STEEV.

Enter GREMIO, with LUCENTIO in the habit of a mean man; PETRUCHIO, 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

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 HORTENSIO.
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. Petruchio 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, Petruchio, I pray,

Let us, that are poor petitioners, speak too:
Baccare!7 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.

[7] The word is an old proverbial one. FARMER.

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

Bap. A thousand thanks, signior Gremio:-Welcome, good Cambio.-But, gentle sir, methinks, you walk like a stranger; [To TRANIO.] 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.[Ex. Servant, with HORT. LUCEN. 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,

[8] In Queen Elizabeth's time the young ladies of quality were usually instructed in the learned languages, if any pains were bestowed on their minds at all. Lady Jane Grey and her sisters, Queen Elizabeth, &c. are trite instances. PERCY.

And every day I cannot come 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,-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,
This 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 may'st 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? 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, 9

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,

[9] A fret is that stop of a musical instrument which causes or regulates the vibration of the string. JOHNSON.