Host. I know my remedy, I must go fetch the thirdborough'.
[Exit. Sly. Third, fourth, or fifth borough, I'll answer him by law: I'll not budge an inch, boy; let him come, and kindly. [Falls asleep. 5 Windhorns. Enter a Lord fromhunting with a train. Lord. Huntsman, I charge thee, tender well my hounds:
Brach Merriman,-the poor cur is imbost',-
And couple Clowderwith 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 lose the dog for twenty pound.
Hun. Why, Belman is as good as he, my lord:
He cried upon it at the merest loss,
And twice to-day pick'd out the dullest scent:
Trust me, I take him for the better dog.
Lord. Thou art a fool: if Eccho were as fleet,
I would esteem him worth a dozen such.
But sup them well, and look unto them all;
To-morrow I intend to hunt again.
Lord. What's here? one dead, or drunk? See, doth he breathe?
And with a low submissive reverence,
Say,--What is it your honour will command?
Let one attend him with a silver bason,
Full of rose-water, and bestrew'd with flowers:
Another bear the ewer, the third a diaper,
And say,-Will't please your lordship, cool your
hands:
Some one be ready with a costly suit,
And ask him what apparel he will wear;
10 Another tell him of his hounds and horse,
And that his lady mourns at his disease:
Persuade him that he hath been lunatick;
And, when he says he is,-say that he dreams,
For he is nothing but a mighty lord.
15 This do, and do it kindly, gentle sirs;
It will be pastime passing excellent,
If it be husbanded with modesty *.
1 Hun. My lord, I warrant you, we'll play our
As he shall think, by our true diligence, [part,
20 He is no less than what we say he is.
Lord. Take him up gently, andto bed with him;
And each one to his office when he wakes.-
2 Hun. He breathes, my lord: Were he not 25 warm'd with ale,
This were a bed but cold to sleep so soundly.
Lord. O monstrous beast! how like a swine he
Grim death, how foul and loathsome is thine 30
Sirs, I will practise on this drunken man.-
What think you, if he were convey'd to bed,
Wrap'd in sweet cloaths, rings put upon his fingers,
A most delicious banquet by his bed,
And brave attendants near him when he wakes,
Would not the beggar then forget himself?
1 Hun. Believe me, lord, Ithink he cannot chuse.
2 Hun. It would seem strange unto him when he
wak'd.
Lord. Even as a flattering dream, or worthless
fancy.
Then take him up, and manage well the jest:-
Carry him gently to my fairest chamber,
And hang it round with all my wanton pictures:
Balm his foul head with warm distilled waters,
And burn sweet wood to make the lodging sweet:
Procure me music ready when he wakes,
To make a dulcet and a heavenly sound;
And if he chance to speak, be ready straight,
[Some bear out Sly. Sound trumpets. Sirrah, go see what trumpet 'tis that sounds;Belike some noble gentleman, that means, [Exeunt Servants. Travelling some journey, to repose him here.Re-enter a Servant.
How now? who is it?
Ser. An 't please your honour, players,
That offer service to your lordship.
Lord. Bid them come near:
Now, fellows, you are welcome.
Play. We thank your honour.
Lord. Do you intend to stay with ine to-night?
2 Play. So please your lordship to accept our
duty.
Lord. With all my heart. This fellow I re-
member,
Since once he play'd a farmer's eldest son;—
Twas where you woo'd the gentlewoman so well:
I have forgot your name; but, sure, that part
Was aptly fitted, and naturally perform'd.
Sincklo. I think 'twas Soto that your honour
Lord.'Tis very true;-thou did'st it excellent.-
Well, you are come to me in happy time;
The rather for I have some sport in hand,
[50]Wherein your cunning can assist me much.
king is busy? Hiero. Oh, is he so? King. Who is he that interrupts our business? Hiero. "Not I:-Hieronymo, beware; go by, go by. So Sly here, not caring to be dunn'd by the Hos"tess, cries to her in effect, Don't be troublesome, don't interrupt me, go by." The thirdbo rough of ancient times was an officer similar to the present constable. Mr. Edwards explains Brach to signify a hound in general; while Mr. Steevens thinks it to have been a particular sort of hound: and Mr. Tollet observes, that brache originally meant a bitch; and adds, from Ulitius, that "bitches having a superior sagacity of nose; hence, perhaps, any hound with eminent quickness of "scent, whether dog or bitch, was called brache, for the term brache is sometimes applied to males. "Our ancestors hunted much with the large southern hounds, and had in every pack a couple of dogs "peculiarly good and cunning to find game or recover the scent. To this custom Shakspeare seems "to allude, by naming two braches, which, in my opinion, are beagles; and this discriminates brache "from the lym, a blood-hound mentioned together with it, in the tragedy of King Lear." 3 Imbost is a term in hunting. When a dog is strained with hard running (especially upon hard ground) he will have his knees swelled, and then he is said to be emboss'd; from the French word bosse, signifying a tumour. Meaning, with moderation.
There is a lord will hear you play to-night:
But I am doubtful of your modesties;
Lest, over-eyeing of his odd behaviour,
(For yet his honour never heard a play)
You break into some merry passion,
And so offend him; for I tell you, sirs,
If you should smile, he grows impatient. [selves,
Play. Fear not, my lord; we can contain our-
Were he the veriest antick in the world.
Lord. Go, sirrah, take them to the buttery,
And give them friendly welcome every one;
Let them want nothing that my house affords.-
[Exit one with the Players.
Sly. I am Christopher Sly:-call not me-honour, nor lordship: I ne'er drank sack in my life; and if you give me any conserves, give me conserves of beef: Ne'er ask me what raiment I'll 5 wear; for I have no more doublets than backs, no more stockings than legs, nor no more shoes than feet; nay, sometimes, more feet than shoes, or such shoes as my toes look through the overleather.
Lord. Heaven cease this idle humour in your
honour!
Oh, that a mighty man, of such descent,
Of such possessions, and so high esteem,
Should be infused with so foul a spirit!
Sty. What, would you make me mad? Am not I Christopher Sly, old Sly's son of Burton-` heath: by birth a pedlar, by education a cardmaker, by transmutation a bear-herd, and now by present profession a tinker? Ask Marian Hacket, 20 the fat ale-wife of Wincot, if she know me not: if she say I am not fourteen pence on the score for sheer ale, score me up for the lying'st knave in Christendom. What, I am not bestraught': Here's
Sirrah, go you to Bartholomew my page,
And see him dress'd in all suits like a lady: [ber, 15
That done, conduct him to the drunkard's cham-
And call him-madam, do him obeisance.
Tell him from me, (as he will win my love)
He bear himself with honourable action,
Such as he hath obsery'd in noble ladies
Unto their lords, by them accomplished:
Such duty to the drunkard let him do,
With soft low tongue, and lowly courtesy;
And say,-What is 't your honour will command,
Wherein your lady, and your humble wife,
May shew her duty, and make known her love?
And then-with kind embracements, tempting
And with declining head into his bosom,-[kisses,
Bid him shed tears, as being over-joy'd
To see her noble lord restor❜d to health,
Who for twice seven years hath esteemed him
No better than a poor and loathsome beggar:
And if the boy have not a woman's gift,
To rain a shower of commanded tears,
An onion will do well for such a shift;
Which in a napkin being close convey'd,
Shall in despight enforce a watery eye.
See this dispatch'd with all the haste thou canst;
Anon I'll give thee more instructions.-[Ex.
I know, the boy will well usurp the grace,
Voice, gait, and action of a gentlewoman:
I long to hear him call the drunkard husband; [ter,
And how my men will stay themselves from laugh-
When they do homage to this simple peasant.
I'll in to counsel them: haply my presence
May well abate the over-merry spleen,
Which otherwise would grow into extremes.
[Exit Lord.
SCENE II.
A Room in the Lord's House.
Enter Sly, with Attendants, some with apparel, bason and ewer, and other appurtenances. Re-enter Lord.
Sly. For God's sake, a pot of small ale.
1 Man. Will't please your lordship drink a cup
2 Man. Will't please your honour taste of these
3 Man. What raiment will your honour wear to-day?
i Man. Oh, this it is that makes your lady
[droop.
2 Man. Oh, this it is that makes your servants'
Lord. Hence comes it that your kindred shun
your house,
30 As beaten hence by your strange lunacy.
Oh, noble lord, bethink thee of thy birth;
Call home thy ancient thoughts from banishment,
And banish hence these abject lowly dreams:
Look, how thy servants do attend on thee,
35 Each in his office ready at thy beck.
Wilt thou have musick? hark! Apollo plays,
[Musick.
And twenty caged nightingales do sing:
Or wilt thou sleep? we'll have thee to a couch,
40 Softer and sweeter than the lustful bed
On purpose trimm'd
up for Semiramis.
Say, thou wilt walk; we will bestrow the ground:
Or wilt thou ride? thy horses shall be trapp'd,
Their harness studded all with gold and pearl.
45 Dost thou love hawking? thou hast hawks will soar
Above the morning lark: Or wilt thou hunt?
Thy hounds shall make the welkin answer them,
And fetch shrill echoes from the hollow earth.
1 Man. Say, thou wilt course; thy greyhounds
are as swift
As breathed stags, ay, fleeter than the roe.
2 Man. Dost thou love pictures? we will fetch
thee straight
Adonis, painted by a running brook;
55 And Cytherea all in sedges hid;
Which seem to move and wanton with her breath,
Even as the waving sedges play with wind.
Lord. We'll shew thee lo, as she was a maid;
And how she was beguiled and surpris'd,
60 As lively painted as the deed was done. [wood;
3 Man. Or Daphne, roaming through a thorny
Scratching her legs, that one shall swear she bleeds.
Perhaps we ought to read, distraught, i. e. distracted.
And at that sight shall sad Apollo weep,
So workmanly the blood and tears are drawn.
Lord. Thou art a lord, and nothing but a lord
Thou hast a lady far more beautiful,
Than any woman in this waining age.
1 Man. And, 'till the tears, that she hath shed
for thee,
Like envious floods, o'er-ran her lovely face,
She was the fairest creature in the world;
And yet she is inferior to none.
Sly. Am I a lord? and have I such a lady?
Or do I dream? or have I dream'd 'till now?
I do not sleep; I see, I hear, I speak;
1 smell sweet savours, and I feel soft things:-
Upon my life, I am a lord, indeed;
And not a tinker, nor Christopher Sly.-
Well, bring our lady hither to our sight;
And once again, a pot o' the smallest ale.
2 Man. Will't please your mightiness to wash
your hands?
15 Above some fifteen years and more.
Oh, how we joy to see your wit restor❜d!
Ob! that once more you knew but what you
These fifteen years you have been in a dream!
Or, when you wak'd, so wak'd as if you slept.
Sly. These fifteen years! by my fay, a goodly 25
Sometimes you would call out for Cicely Hacket. 35
Sly. Ay, the woman's maid of the house.
3 Man. Why, sir, you know no house, nor no
such maid;
Lady. Ay, and the time seems thirty unto me;
Being all this time abandon'd from your bed.
Sly. 'Tis much;--Servants, leave me and
her alone.-
Madam, undress you, and come now to bed.
Lady. Thrice noble lord, let me intreat of you,
To pardon me yet for a night or two;
Or, if not so, until the sun be set:
For your physicians have expressly charg'd,
In peril to incur your former malady,
That I should yet absent me from your bed:
I hope this reason stands for my excuse.
Sly. Ay, it stands so, that I may hardly tarry so long. But I would be loth to fall into my dreams again; I will therefore tarry, in despight of the flesh and the blood.
Mess. Your honour's players, hearing your
amendment,
Are come to play a pleasant comedy,
For so your doctors hold it very meet; [blood,
Seeing too much sadness hath congeal'd your
And melancholy is the nurse of phrenzy,
Therefore, they thought it good you hear a play,
40 And frame your mind to mirth and merriment,
Which bars a thousand harms, and lengthens life.
Sly. Marry I will; let them play it: Is not a
commonty' a Christmas gambol, or a tumbling
trick?
[stuff.
Lady. No, my good lord, it is more pleasing
Sly. What, hou hold stuff?
Nor no such men, as you have reckon'd up,-
As Stephen Sly, and old John Naps of Greece',
And Peter Turf, and Henry Pimpernell;
And twenty more such names and men as these,
Which never were, nor uo man ever saw.
Sly. Now, Lord be thanked for my good
All. Amen.
[amends 45
Sly. I thank thee, thou shalt not lose by it.
Enter the Page, as a lady, with attendants.
Lady. How fares my noble lord? [enough.
Sly. Marry, I fare well; for here is cheer
Where is my wife?
Lady. It is a kind of history.
Sty. Well, we'll see it: Come, madam wife, sit by my side, and let the world slip; we shall 50 ne'er be younger.
' Meaning, the Court leet, or courts of the manor. 2 Greece seems here to be no more than a quibble or pun (of which our author was remarkably fond) upon grease; when the expression will only imply that John Naps was a fat Man. Commonty is here probably put for comedy.
SCENE I.
A Street in Padua.
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To see fair Padua, nursery of arts,-
I am arriv'd for 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,
Most trusty servant, well approv'd in all ;
Here let us breathe, and happily institute
A course of learning, and ingenious' studies.
Pisa, renowned for grave citizens,
Gave me my being, and my father first,
A merchant of great traffic through the world,
Vincentio, come of the Bentivolii.
Vincentio his son', brought up in Florence,
It shall become, to serve all hopes conceiv'd,
To deck his fortune with his virtuous deeds:
And therefore, Tranio, for the time I study,
Virtue, and that part of philosophy
Will I apply', that treats of happiness
By virtue'specially to be atchiev'd.
Tell me thy mind: for I have Pisa left,
And am to Padua come; as he that leaves
A shallow plash, to plunge him in the deep,
And with satiety seeks to quench his thirst.
Tra. Me pardonato*, gentle master mine,
I am in all affected as yourself;
Glad that you thus continue your resolve,
To suck the sweets of sweet philosophy,
Only, good master, while we do admire
This virtue, and this moral discipline,
Let's be no stoicks, nor no stocks, i pray;
Or so devote to Aristotle's checks',
As Ovid be an outcast quite abjur'd;
Talk logick with acquaintance that you have,
And practise rhetorick in your comn.on taik;
Music, and poesy, use to quicken you;
The mathematicks, and the metaphysicks,
Fall to them, as you find your stomach serves you:
No profit grows where is no pleasure ta'en ;-
In brief, sir, study what you most affect.
Luc. Gramercies, Tranio, well dost thou advise.
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 stay a while: What company is this?
Tra. Master, some shew to welcome us to town.
Enter Baptista, with Katharina and Bianca. Gre
mio and Hortensio. Lucentio and Tranio stand by.
Bap. Gentlemen, importune me no further,
For how I firmly am resolv'd you know;
That is,-not to bestow my youngest daughter,
Before I have a husband for the elder:
If either of you both love Katharina,
Because I know you well, and love you well,
Leave shall you have to court her at your pleasure.
Gre. To cart her rather: She's too rough for me:
There, there, Hortensio, will you any wife?
Kath. I pray you, sir, is it your will
10 To make a stale of me amongst these mates?
Hor. Mates, maid! How mean you that? no
mates for you,
Unless you were of gentler, milder mould.
Kath. I'faith, sir, you shall never need to fear;
15 I-wis, it is not half way to her heart:
But, if it were, doubt not, her care shall be
To comb your noddle with a three-legg'd stool,
And paint your face, and use you like a fool.
Hor. From all such devils, good Lord, deliver us!
Gre. And me too, good Lord!
Tra. Hush, master! here is some good pastime
toward;
That wench is stark mad or wonderful froward.
Luc. But in the other's silence I do see
25 Maid's mild behaviour and sobriety.
Peace, Tranio.
Tra. Well said, master; mum! and gaze your
Bap. Gentlemen, that I may soon make good
What I have said-Bianca, get you in:
30 And let it not displease thee, good Bianca;
For I will love thee ne'er the less, my girl.
Kath. A pretty peat' ! 'tis best
Put finger in the eye,-an she knew why.
Bian. Sister, content you in my discontent.→ 35 Sir, to your pleasure humbly I subscribe: My books, and instruments, shall be my company; On them to look, and practise by myself. Luc. Hark, Tranio! thou may'st hear Minerva speak. [Aside. Hor. Signior Baptista, will you be so strange3? Sorry am I that our good will affects Bianca's grief.
Gre. Why, will you mew her up,
Signior Baptista, for this fiend of hell,
45 And make her bear the penance of her tongue?
Bap. Gentlemen, content ye; I am resolv'd:-
Go in, Bianca.
[Exit Bianca.
And, for I know she taketh most delight
In musick, instruments, and poetry,
50 Schoolmasters will I keep within my house,
Fit to instruct her youth. If you, Hortensio,-
Or signior Gremio, you,-know any such,
Prefer them hither; for to cunning men'
I will be very kind and liberal
55 To mine own children in good bringing-up;
Perhaps we ought to read, ingenuous. 2 i. e. Vincentio's son. 'i. e. will I apply to. correct Italian words are, "Mi perdonate." Meaning his rules. "i. e. knowledge. pet, is a word of endearment, from petit, little. Cunning here retains its original signification of knowing, learned; in which sense it is used in the translation of the Bible.
And so farewell. Katharina, you may stay;
For I have more to commune with Bianca. [Exit.
Kath. Why, and I trust I may go too, may
not? What, shall I be appointed hours; as though,
belike, I knew not what to take, and what to 5
leave? Ha!
[Exit.
Gre. You may go to the devil's dam; your gifts are so good, here is none will hold you. Their love is not so great, Hortensio, but we may blow our nails together, and fast it fairly out; our cake's 10 dough on both sides. Farewell:-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 she delights, I will wish him to her father.
Hor. So will I, signior Gremio: but a word, 115
pray. Though the nature of our quarrel never yet
brook'd parle, know now, upon advice, it touch-
ethus both, that we may yet again have access to
our fair mistress, 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 sister.
Gre. A husband! a devil.
Hor. I say, a husband.
Gre. I say, a devil: Think'st thou, Hortensio, 25 though her father be very rich, any man is so very a fool to be married to hell?
Hor. Tush, Gremio! though it pass your patience, and mine, to endure her loud alarums, why, man, there be good fellows in the world, an 30 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 cross every morning.
Hor. 'Faith, as you say, there's small choice in rotten apples. But, come; since this bar in law makes us friends, it shall be so far forth friendly maintain'd, till by helping Baptista's eldest daughter to a husband, we set his youngest free 40 for a husband, and then have to't afresh.-Sweet Bianca! Happy man be his dole'! He that runs fastest, gets the ring. How say you, signior Gremio ?
Gre. I am agreed: and 'would I had given him 45 the best horse in Padua to begin his wooing, that would thoroughly woo her, wed her, and bed her, and rid the house of her. Come on.
[Exeunt Gremio and Hortensio.
Manent Tranio and Lucentio.
Tra. I pray, sir, tell me,-Is it possible
That love should of a sudden take such hold?
Luc. Oh, Tranio, till I found it to be true,
I never thought it possible, or likely;
But see! while idly I stood looking on,
I found the effect of love in idleness;
And now in plainness do confess to thee,
That art to me as secret, and as dear,
As Anna to the queen of Carthage was,-
Tranio, I burn, I pine, I perish, Tranio,
If I atchieve not this young modest girl:
Counsel me, Tranio, for I know thou canst ;
Assist me, Tranio, for I know thou wilt.
Tra. Master, it is no time to chide you now;
Affection is not rated from the heart;
If love have touch'd' you, nought remains but so,
Redime te captum quam queas minimo. [tents;
Luc. Gramercies, lad; go forward: this con-
The rest will comfort, for thy counsel's sound.
Tra. Master, you look'd so longly on the maid,
Perhaps you mark'd not what's the pith of all.
Luc. O yes, I saw sweet beauty in her face,
Such as the daughter of Agenor had
That made great Jove to humble him to her hand,
When with his knees he kiss'd the Cretan strand.
Tra. Saw you no more? mark'd you not, how
her sister
Began to scold; and raise up such a storm,
That mortal ears might hardly endure the din?
Luc. Tranio, I saw her coral lips to move,
And with her breath she did perfume the air;
Sacred, and sweet, was all I saw in her.
Tra. Nay then, 'tis time to stir him from his
pray, awake, sir; If you love the maid,
Bend thoughts and wits to atchieve her. Thus it
stands:-
Her eldest sister is so curst and shrewd,
That, 'till the father rid his hands of her,
Master, your love must live a maid at home;
And therefore has he closely mew'd her up,
Because she shall not be annoy'd with suitors.
Luc. Ah, Tranio, what a cruel father's he!
But art thou not advis'd, he took some care
To get her cunning schoolmasters to instruct her!
Tra. Ay, marry, am I, sir; and now 'tis plotted.
Luc. I have it, Tranio.
Tra. Master, for my hand,
Both our inventions meet and jump in one.
Luc. Tell me thine first.
Tra. You will be schoolmaster,
And undertake the teaching of the maid:
That's your device.
Luc. It is: May it be done?
Tra. Not possible; For who shall bear your part,
And be in Padua here Vincentio's son;
50 Keep house, and ply his book; welcome his friends;
Visit his countrymen, and banquet them?
Luc. Basta; content thee; for I have it full.
We have not yet been seen in any house;
Nor can we be distinguished by our faces,
55 For man, or master: then it follows thus ;-
Thou shalt be master, Tranio, in my stead,
Keep house, and port', and servants, as I should:
1 A proverbial expression. Dole originally meant, the provision given away at the doors of great men's houses. 2 That is, taken you in his toils, his nets; alluding to the captus est, habet, of Lilly. 'Europa, to possess whom Jupiter is fabled to have transformed himself into a bull. and Spanish word, signifying enough. Port means figure, show, appearance,
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