THE

TAM

AMING

OF THE

SHRE E W.

A

Characters in the Induction.

Lord, before whom the Play is fuppos'd to be play'd.
Christopher Sky, a drunken Tinker.

Hoftefs.

Page, Players, Huntsmen, and other Servants attending on the Lord.

Dramatis Perfonæ.

Baptifta, Father to Catharina and Bianca, very rich.
Vincentio, an old gentleman of Pisa.

Lucentio, Son to Vincentio, in love with Bianca.
Petruchio, a Gentleman of Verona, a fuitor to Catharina
Gremio,
Hortenfio,

Tranio,
Biondello.

}Pretenders to Bianca.

}

Servants to Lucentio.

Grumio, Servant to Petruchio.

Pedant, an old fellow fet up to perfonate Vincentio

Catharina, the Shrew.

Bianca, her Sifter. Widow.

Taylor, Haberdashers; with Servants attending on Baptifta and Petruchio.

SCENE, fometimes in Padua; and fometimes in Petruchio's House in the Country.

THE

IN DUCTION. SCENE, before an Ale-houfe, on a Heath.

Enter Hoftefs and Sly.

SLY.

"'LL pheeze you, in faith.

Hoft. A pair of stocks, you rogue!

Sly. Y'are a baggage; the Slies are no rogues. Look in the Chronicles, we came in with Richard Conqueror ; therefore, paucus pallabris ; (1) let the world flide: Seffa. Hoft. You will not pay for the glaffes you have burst? Sly. No, not a deniere: go by, Jeronimo-go to thy cold bed, and warm thee. (2)

Heft,

(1) paucus pallabris.] Shy, as an ignorant fellow, is purposely made to aim at languages out of his knowledge, and knock the words out of joint. The Spaniards fay, pocas palabras, i. e. few words: as they do likewife, Ceffa, i. e. be quiet.

(2) Go by S. Jeronimy, go to thy cold bed, and warm thee.] All the editions have coin'd a faint here, for Sly to fwear by. But the poet had no fuch intentions. The paffage has particular humour in it, and must have been very pleafing at that time of day. But I must clear up a piece of hage-hiftory, to make it understood, There is a fustian

old

Hoft. I know my remedy; I muft go fetch the Thirdborough. (3).

[Exit. Sly.

old play, call'd, Hieronyme; or, The Spanish Tragedy: which, I find,
was the common butt of rallery to all the poets of Shakespeare's time:
and a paffage, that appear'd very ridiculous in that play, is here hu-
morously alluded to. Hieronymo, thinking himself injur'd, applies to the
King for juftice; but the courtiers, who did not defire his wrongs fhould
be fet in the true light, attempt to hinder him from an audience,
Hiero. Juftice, oh! juftice to Hieronymo.

Lor. Back;-fee'ft thou not, the King is bufy?
Hier. Oh, is he fo?

King. Who is he, that interrupts our business?

Hier. Not I:Hieronymo, beware; go by, go by.

So Sly here, not caring to be dun'd by the Hoftefs, cries to her in effect, "Don't be troublesome, don't interrupt me, goby"; and, to fix the fatire in his allufion, pleasantly calls her Jeronymo. What he fays farther to her, go to thy cold bed and warm thee, I take likewise to be a banter upon another verse in that play.

Hier. What outcry calls me from my naked bed?

But this particular paffage of---Go, by, Hieronymo ;---was so strong a ridicule, that most of the poets of that time have had a fling at it. For inftance;

B. Jobnfon, in his Every Man in his Humour;

What new book have you there? what !

Go by, Hieronymo !

And Beaumont and Fletcher, in their Captain:

and whoot at thee;

And call thee bloody-benes, and spade, and spitfire ;
And gaffer madman, and go by, Jeronymo.

So Marfion, in the induction to his Antonio and Mellida;

Nay, if you cannot bear two subtle fronts under one hood, ideot; go by, go by, off this world's stage..

For 'tis plain, tho' Feronymo is not mention'd, the paffage is here alluded to. And Decker in his Weftward-boe has rallied it very neatly by way of Simily.

A woman, when there be rofes in her cheeks, cherries on her Hips, civet in her breath, ivory in her teeth, lilies in her hand, and liquorish in her heart, why, fhe's like a play: if new, very good company, very good company: but if ftale, like old Feronymo,---go, by, go by.

(3) I must go fetch the Headborough.

Sly. Third, or fourth, or fifth borough, &c.] This corrupt reading had pafs'd down through all the copies, and none of the editors pretended to guefs at the poet's conceit. What an infipid, unmeaning reply does Sly make to his hostess? how do third, or fourth or j.fib. borough relate to Headborough: the author intended but a poor wit-.

ticifm,

Sly. Third, or fourth, or fifth borough, I'll anfwer him by law; I'll not budge an inch, bay; let him come,. and kindly. [Falls afleep.

Wind horns. Enter a Lord from hunting, with a Train. Lord. Huntsman, I charge thee, tender well my hounds; (Brach, Merriman !-the poor cur is imboft;) And couple Clowder with the deep-mouth'd Brach. Saw'st thou not, boy, how Silver made it good At the hedge-corner in the coldest fault? I would not lofe the dog for twenty pound.

Hun. Why, Belman is as good as he, my Lord;
He cried upon it at the meerest lofs,

And twice to-day pick'd out the dulleft fcent:
Truft me, I take him for the better dog.

Lord. Thou art a fool: if Eccho were as fleet,
I would efteem him worth a dozen fuch.

But fup them well, and look unto them all,,
To-morrow I intend to hunt again.

Hun. I will, my Lord.

[breathe ?

Lord.What's here? one dead, or drunk ♪ see, doth he 2 Hun. He breathes, my Lord. Were he not warm'd with This were a bed but cold, to fleep fo foundly..

[ale,

ticifm, and even that is loft. The hoftefs would fay, that she'll fetch a Conftable and this officer fhe calls by his other name, a Third-borough: and upon this term Sly founds the conundrum in his answer to her. Who does not perceive, at a fingle glance, fome conceit ftarted by this certain correction? there is an attempt at wit, tolerable enough for a tinker, and one drunk too. Third-borough is a Saxonterm fufficiently explain'd by the Gloffaries: and in our Statute books, no farther back than the 28th year of Henry VIIIth, we find it ufed, to fignify a Constable.. The word continued current in people's mouths to our author's time; and he has again employ'd it in another of his plays: vix. Love's Labour's loft.

Dull. I myself reprebend his own perfon; for I am his Grace's Tharborough.

The word, 'tis true, is corrupted here; but this is done on purpose... Dull, reprefents the character of an ignornat Conftable; and to make him appear more truly fuch, the poet humorously makes him corrupt the very name of his office; and blunder Thirdborough into 7 barborough, as he does reprefent into reprebend. - I made this emendation, when I publish'd my SHAKESPEARE reftor'd; and Mr. Pope has vouchfaf'd to adopt it in his laft edition.

Lord,