My land amounts but to fo much in all : Tra. Gremio, 'tis known, my father hath no less Tra. Why, then the maid is mine from all the world, By your firm promife; Gremio is out-vied. Bap. I must confefs, your offer is the best;` If Gre. And may not young men die, as well as old? · My daughter Catharine is to be married: And so I take my leave, and thank you both. [Exit. Gre. Adieu, good neighbour.-Now I fear thee not: Sirrah, young Gamefter, your father were a fool To give thee all; and in his waining age Set foot under thy table: tut! a toy! Tra. A vengeance on your crafty wither'd hide! [Exit. } negative monofyllable in the fecond line, which Mr. Warburton pre fcrib'd, falves the abfurdity, and fets the paffage right. Gremio and Tranio are vying in their offers to carry Bianca: The latter boldly preposes to fettle land to the amount of 2000 ducats per Annum. Ay, fays the other; my whole eftate in land amounts but to that value: Yet the fhall have that, I'll endow her with the Whole; and confign a rich veffel to her ufe, over and above. Thus all is intelligible, and he goes on to outbid his rival. Yet I have fac'd it with a card of ten : Do get their children; but in this case of wooing, Sly. Sim, when will the fool come again? Sim. Anon, my Lord. Sly. Give's fome more drink here bere, Sim, eat fome of these things. Sim. So I do, my Lord. Sly. Here, Sim, I drink to thee. where's the tapfter? ACT III. SCENE, Baptifta's House. Enter Lucentio, Hortenfio, and Bianca. LUCENTIO. Idler, forbear; you grow too forward, Sir: Have you fo foon forgot the entertainment Her fifter Catharine welcom❜d you withal? Hor. [She is a fhrew, but,] Wrangling pedant, this is(15) The patronefs of heavenly harmony; (15) --Wrangling Pedant, this The patronefs of beavenly barmony.] There can be no reafon, why Hortenfio fhould begin with an hemiftich: but much lefs, why Mr Pope fhould have yet curtail'd this hemiftich, against the authority of all the old copies, which read; But, wrangling Pedant, this is The words which I have added to fill the verfe, being purely by conjecture, and fupply'd by the fenfe that feems requir'd, without any traces of a corrupted reading left, to authorize or found them upon; I have for that reafon inclofed them within crotchets, to be imbraced or rejected, at every reader's pleasure, Then Then give me leave to have prerogative; Then give me leave to read philofophy, Hor. Sirrah, I will not bear thefe braves of thine. Luc. Here, Madam: Hacibat Simois, bic eft Sigeia tellus, Hic fteterat Priami regia celfa fenis. Bian. Conftrue them. Luc. Hac ibat, as I told you before, Simois, I am Lucentio, bic eft, fon unto Vincentio of Pifa, Sigeia tellus, difguifed thus to get your love, hic fteterat, and that Lucentio that comes a wooing, Priami, is my man Tra nio, regia, bearing my port, celfa fenis, that we might beguile the old pantalooon. Hor. Madam, my inftrument's in tune. [Returning. Bian. Let's hear. O fy, the treble jars. Luc. Spit in the hole, man, and tune again. Bian. Now let me fee, if I can conftrue it: Hac ibat Simois, I know you not, hic eft Sigeia tellus, I trust you not, hic fteterat Priami, take heed he hear us not, regia, prefume not, celfa fenis, despair not. Hor. Madam, 'tis now in tune. Luc. All but the base. Hor. The bafe is right, 'tis the bafe knave that jars. How fiery and how froward is our pedant! Now, for my life, that knave doth court my love; Bian. In time I may believe, yet I mistrust. (16) - Was Ajax, call'd fo from his grandfather. Bian. I must believe my mafter, else I promise you, Good mafters, take it not unkindly, pray, Hor. You may go walk, and give me leave a while; My leffons make no mufick in three parts. Luc. Are you fo formal, Sir? well, I must wait, And watch withal; for, but I be deceiv'd, Our fine musician groweth amorous. Hor. Madam, before you touch the inftrument, Bian. Why, I am paít my Gamut long ago. Bian. [reading.] Gamut I am, the ground of all accord, Bimi, Bianca, take him for thy Lord, Dfol re, one cliff, but two.notes have I. Call you this Gamut? tut, I like it not; (16) Intime Imay believe, yet I mistrust.] This and the feven verfes, that follow, have in all the editions been ftupidly shuffled and mifplac'd to wrong fpeakers: So that every word faid was glaringly out of character. I first directed the true regulation of them in my SHAKESPEARE reftor'd, and Mr. Pope has fince embraced it in his laft edition. I ought to take notice, the ingenious Dr. Thirlby, with cut feeing my book, had struck out the felf-fame regulation. Old Old fashions please me beft; I'm not so nice (17) Enter a Servant. Serv. Miftrefs, your father pray's you leave your books, And help to dress your fifter's chamber up; You know, to-morrow is the wedding-day. Bian. Farewel, fweet mafters, both; I must be gone. [Exit. Luc. Faith, miftrefs, then I have no caufe to ftay. [Exit. Hor. But I have caufe to pry into this pedant; Methinks, he looks as tho' he were in love: Yet if thy thoughts, Bianca, be fo humble, To caft thy wandring eyes on every stale; Seize thee, who lift; if once I find thee ranging, Hortenfio will be quit with thee by changing. [Exit. Enter Baptifta, Gremio, Tranio, Catharina, Lucentio, Bap. Signior Lucentio, this is the 'pointed day What fays Lucentio to this fhame of ours? Cath. No fhame, but mine; I muft, forfooth, be forc'd To give my hand oppos'd against my heart, Unto a mad-brain rudesby, full of spleen; Who woo'd in haste, and means to wed at leisure. I told you, I, he was a frantick fool, Hiding his bitter jests in blunt behaviour: (17). Old fashions please me beft: I'm not fo nice To change true rules for new inventions.] This is fenfe and the meaning of the paffage, but the reading of the fecond verfe, for all that, fophifticated. The genuine copies all concur in reading, To change true rules for old inventions. This, indeed, is contrary to the very thing it should exprefs But the eafy alteration, which I have made, reffores the fenfe, but adds contraft in the terms perfectly juft, True rules are oppos'd to ods inventions; i. e. Whimfies. |