Madam, undress you, and come now to bed. Sim, drink to her.

Lady. Thrice-noble Lord, let me intreat of you
To pardon me yet for a night or two;
Or, if not fo, until the fun be fet;
For your phyficians have exprefsly charg'd,
In peril to incur your former malady,
That I fhould yet abfent me from your bed;
I hope this reason ftands for my excuse.

I

Sly. Ay, it ftands fo, that I may hardly tarry fo long; but I would be loth to fall into my dream again. will therefore tarry in defpight of the flesh and the blood.

SCENE. VI.

Enter a Meffenger.

[ment,

Mell. Your Honour's players, hearing your amendAre come to play a pleafant comedy; For fo your Doctors hold it very meet,

Seeing too much fadness hath congeal'd your blood;
And melancholy is the nurse of frenzy.

Therefore they thought it good you hear a play,
And frame your mind to mirth and merriment;
Which bars a thousand harms, and lengthens life.

Sly Marry, I will; let them play; is it not a commodity a Christmas gambol, or a tumbling trick? Lady. No, my good Lord, it is more pleasing stuff. Sly. What, houfhold ftuff?

Lady. It is a kind of history.

Sly. Well, we'll fee't: come, Madam wife, fit by my fide, and let the world flip, we fhall ne'er be younger.

The

298

The TAMING of the SHREW.

Luc.

ACT I.
I. SCENE I.

Aftreet in Padua.

Flourish. Enter Lucentio and Tranio.

T

Ranio, fince for the great defire I had
To fee fair Padua, nurfery of arts,
I am arriv'd from fruitful Lombardy,
The pleasant garden of great Italy;
And, by my father's love and leave, am arm'd
With his good-will, and thy good company:
Moft trufty fervant, well approv'd in all,
Here let us breathe, and happily institute
A courfe of learning, and ingenious ftudies.
Pifa, renowned for grave citizens,

Cave me my being; and my father first,
A merchant of great traffic through the world:
Vincentio's come of the Bentivolii,

Vincentio his fon, brought up in Florence,
It shall become to ferve all hopes conceiv'd,
To deck his fortune with his virtuous deeds:
And therefore, Tranio, for the time I study,
To virtue and that part of philofophy
Will I apply, that treats of happiness
By virtue fpecially to be atchiev'd.
Tell me thy mind, for I have Pifa left,
And am to Padua come, as he that leaves
A fhallow plafh, to plunge him in the deep,
And with fatiety feeks to quench his thirst.

Tra. Me pardonato, gentle mafter mine,
I am in all affected as yourself:

Glad that you thus continue your refolve,
To fuck the fweets of fwect philosophy :
Only, good mafter, while we do admire
This virtue, and this moral difcipline,
Let's be no Stoics, nor no ftocks, I pray;
Or fo devote to Ariftotle's checks,

As Ovid be an outcaft quite abjur'd.

Talk logic with acquaintance that you have,
And practife rhetoric in your common talk;
Mufic and poefy ufe to quicken you;
The mathematics, and the metaphyfics,

Fall to them, as you find your ftomach ferves you.
No profit grows, where is no pleasure ta'en:
In brief, Sir, ftudy what you most affect.

Luc. Gramercies, Tranio, well doft thou advife;
If, Biondello, thou wert come ashore,

We could at once put us in readiness;
And take a lodging fit to entertain

Such friends, as time in Padua shall beget.
But ftay a while, what company is this?

Tra. Mafter, fome fhow to welcome us to town.

Enter Baptifta, with Catharina and Bianca, Gremio and Hortenfio. Lucentio and Tranio fand by.

Bap. Gentlemen both, importune me no farther,
For how I firmly am refolv'd, you know;
That is, not to beftow my youngest daughter,
Before I have a husband for the elder:

If either of you both love Catharina,

Because I know you well, and love you well,
Leave fhall you have to court her at your pleasure.

Gre. To cart her rather.-She's too rough for me:
There, there, Hortenfio, will you any wife?
Cath. I pray you, Sir, is it your will

To make a tale of me amongst these mates?

Hor. Mates, maid, how mean you that? no mates for you;

Unless you were of gentler, milder mould.

Cath. I' faith, Sir, you fhall never need to fear,

I wis, it is not half way to her heart :

But if it were, doubt not, her care fhall be
To comb your noddle with a three-legg'd ftool,
And paint your face, and ufe you like a fool.

Hor, From all fuch devils, good Lord, deliver us.
Gre. And me too, good Lord,

Tra. Hush, Mafter, here's fome good paftime toward;

That wench is stark mad, or wonderful fro

ward.

Luc. But in the other's filence I do fee Maid's mild behaviour and sobriety.

Peace, Tranio.

Tra. Well faid, Mafter; mum ! and gaze your fill.

Bap. Gentlemen, that I may foon make good
What I have faid, Bianca, get you in;

And let it not difpleafe thee, good Bianca;
For I will love thee ne'er the lefs, my girl.

Afide.

Cath. A pretty peat! it is beft put finger in the eye,

an fhe knew why.

Bian. Sifter, content you in my difcontent.
Sir, to your pleasure humbly I fubscribe:

My books and inftruments fhall be my company,
On them to look, and practife by myself.

Luc. Hark, Tranio, thou may'st hear Minerva speak.

[Afide. Hor. Signior Baptifta, will you be so strange ! Sorry am I, that our good will effects

Bianca's grief.

Gre. Why will you mew her up,

Signior Baptifta, for this fiend of hell,

And make her bear the penance of her tongue?
Bap. Gentlemen, content ye; I am refolv'd:
Go in, Bianca.-

[Exit Bianca.

And for I know, she taketh moft delight
In mufic, inftruments, and poetry;
Schoolmafters will I keep within my house,
Fit to inftruct her youth. If you, Hortenfio,
Or Signior Gremio, you, know any fuch,
Prefer them hither: for to cunning men
I will be very kind; and liberal

To mine own children, in good bringing up;
And fo farewel. Catharina, you may stay,
For I have more to commune with Bianca.

[Exit.

Cath. Why, and, I truft, I may go too, may I not? What, fhall I be appointed hours, as tho', belike, I

knew not what to take, and what to leave? ha!

SCENE

III.

[Exit.

Gre. You may go to the devil's dam: your gifts are fo good, here is none will hold you. Our love is not fo great, Hortenfio, but we may blow our nails together, and faft it fairly out. Our cake's dow on both fides. Farewel; yet for the love I bear my sweet Bianca, if I can by any means light on a fit man to teach her that wherein the delights, I will with him to her father.

Hor. So will I, Signior Gremio. But a word, I pray : tho' the nature of our quarrel never yet brook'd parle, know now, upon advice, it toucheth us both, that we may yet again have accefs to our fair miftrefs, and be happy rivals in Bianca's love, to labour and effect one thing 'specially.

Gre. What's that, I pray?

Hor. Marry, Sir, to get a husband for her fifter.
Gre. A hufband! a devil.-

Hor. I fay, a husband.

Gre. I fay, a devil. Think'ft thou, Hortenfio, tho' her father be very rich, any man is so very a fool to be married to hell?

Hor. Tufh, Gremio; tho' it pafs your patience and mine to endure her loud alarms, why, man, there be good fellows in the world, an a man could light on them, would take her with all her faults, and money enough.

Gre. I cannot tell; but I had as lief take her dowry with this condition, to be whipp'd at the high-crofs every morning.

Hor. 'Faith, as you fay, there's a fmall choice in rotten apples. But, come, fince this bar in law makes us friends, it fhall be fo far forth friendly maintain'd, till by helping Baptifta's eldest daughter to a husband, we fet his youngest free for a husband, and then have to't afresh. Sweet Bianca! happy man be his dole! he that runs fafteft gets the ring; how fay you, Signior Gremio ?

Gre. I am agreed; and would I had given him the
VOL. II.
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