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Jaq. To see no pastime, I:-what you would

have

I'll stay to know at your abandon'd cave. [Erit. Duke Sen. Proceed, proceed: we will begin these rites,

As we do trust they'll end, in true delights.

EPILOGUE.

sinuate with you in the behalf of a good play!—I am not furnish'd2 like a beggar, therefore to beg will not become me: my way is, to conjure you: and I'll begin with the women. I charge you, O 5 women, for the love you bear to men, to like as much of this play as pleases them; and I charge you, O men, for the love you bear to women, (as I perceive by your simpering, none of you hate them) that between you and the women, the play may please, If I were a woman', I would kiss as many of you as had beards that pleas'd me, complexions that lik'd me, and breaths that I defy'd not: and, I am sure, as many as have good beards, for good faces, or sweet breaths, will, for my kind 15 offer when I make curtsy, bid me farewel. [Exeunt omnes.

Ros. It is not the fashion to see the lady the epiJogue: but it is no more unhandsome, than to see 10 the lord the prologue. If it be true, that good wine needs no bush', 'tis true, that a good play needs no epilogue: Yet to good wine they do use good bushes; and good plays prove the better by the help of good epilogues. What a case am I in then, that am neither a good epilogue, nor can in

'It is even now the custom in some of the midland counties, (particularly Staffordshire) to hang a bush at the door of an ale-house, or, as it is there called, mug-house, 1i. e. dressed. 3 In our author's time, the parts of women were always performed by men or boys.

TAMING

TAMING OF THE

THE SHREW.

CHARACTERS IN THE INDUCTION,

A Lord, before whom the Play is supposed to be play'd.
CHRISTOPHER SLY, a drunken Tinker.

Hostess.

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

PERSONS REPRESENTE D,

BAPTISTA, Father to Katharina and Bianca, very|

rich.

VINCENTIO, an old Gentleman of Pisa.
LUCENTIO, Son to Vincentio, in love with Bianca
PETRUCHIO, a Gentleman of Verona, a suitor to
Katharina.

GREMIO,
HORTENSIO,

}Pretenders to Bianca.

TRANIO,

BIONDELLO,

Servants to Lucentio,

GRUMIO, Servant to Petruchio.

PEDANT, an old Fellow set up to personate Vin centio.

KATHARINA, the Shrew.

BIANCA, her Sister.

Widow,

Taylor, Haberdasher; with Servants attending on Baptista and Petruchio.

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

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A pair of stocks, you rogue !

Sly. Y'are a baggage; the Slies are no2 rogues :

"

Look in the chronicles, we came in with Richard Conqueror. Therefore paucas pallabris': let the world slide: Sessa!

Host. You will not pay for the glasses you

5 burst"?

have

Sly. No, not a denier: Go by, Jeronimy ;Go to thy cold bed, and warm thee'..

3

Host.

Sly, as an ignorant 1i. e. I'll harass or plague you; or perhaps I'll pheese you, may have a meaning similar to the Meaning, no vagrants, but gentlemen. vulgar phrase of I'll comb your head. fellow, is purposely made to aim at languages out of his knowledge and knock the words out of joint. The Spaniards say, pocas palabras, i. e. few words; as they do likewise, Cessa, i. e. be quiet. Mr. Steevens says, this is a burlesque on Hieronymo, which Theobald speaks of in a following note. * A proverbial expression. i, e. broke, Mr. Theobald's comment on this speech is thus: "The passage has particular humour in it, and must have been very pleasing at that time of day. But I "must clear up a piece of stage history, to make it understood. There is a fustian old play, called Hieronymo; or The Spanish Tragedy: which, I find, was the common butt of raillery to all the "poets in Shakspeare's time: and a passage that appeared very ridiculous in that play, is here hu"mourously alluded to. Hieronymo, thinking himself injured, applies to the king for justice; but "the courtiers, who did not desire his wrongs should be set in a true light, attempt to hinder him "king "from an audience. Hiero, Justice, oh! justice to Hieronimo. Lor, Back-see'st thou not the

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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 aLord 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,
1 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.

Hun. I will, my lord.

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.
15This 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.-

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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, I think 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,

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35

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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

means.

Lord.'Tisvery 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, bezvare; 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. 2 Mr. Edwards explains Bruch 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

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TAMING OF THE SHREW.

There is a lord will hear you play to-night:
modesties;
But I am doubtful of your
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-ho-
nour, 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 over-
leather.

10 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!

Sly. What, would you make me mad? Am, not I Christopher Sly, old Sly's son of Burtonheath: 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

25

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 observ'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.

Ser.

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
of sack?

2 Man. Will't please your honour taste of these
conserves?

3 Man. What raiment will your honour wear
to-day?

mourn.

i Man. Ob, 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

50

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

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 dreain'd 'till now?
I do not sleep; I see, I hear, I speak;
I 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.

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2 Man. Will't please your mightiness to wash your hands?

[are!

Oh, how we joy to see your wit restor'd!
Oh! 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

nap.

But did I never speak of all that time?

1 Man. Oh,yes,my lord; but very idle words:For though you lay here in this goodly chamber, Yet would you say, ye were beaten out of door; And rail upon the hostess of the house; And say you would present her at the leet', Because she brought stone jugs, and no seal'd quarts:

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[man. My men shall call me-lord, I am your goodLady. My husband and my lord, my lord and husband;

I am your wife in all obedience.

Sly. I know it well:-What must I call her?
Lord. Madam.

Sly. Alce madam, or Joan madam? [ladies.
Lord. Madam, and nothing else; so lords call
Sly. Madam wife, they say, that I have dream'd
and slept

15 Above some fifteen years and more.

20

25

30

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;

40

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 no 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. 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

I hope this reason stands for my excuse.

bed:

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.

Enter a Messenger.

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,
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, houshold stuff?

Lady. It is a kind of history.

Sly. 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.

A C T

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