Enter BAPTISTA, GREMIO, TRANIO, CATHARINE, LUCENTIO, BIANCA, and Attendants."

Bap. Signior Lucentio, this is the 'pointed day That Cathrine and Petruchio. fhould be married; And yet we hear not of our fon-in-law.

What will be faid? what mockery will it be,
To want the bridegroom, when the priest attends
To fpeak the ceremonial rites of marriage?
What fays Lucentio to this fhame of ours?

Cath. No fhame, but mine; I must, forfooth, be To give myŝhand oppofed against my heart, [forc'd Unto a mad-brain rudefby, full of ip een;

Who woo'd in hafe, and means to wed at leifure.
I told you, I, he was a frantic fool,

Hiding his bitter jefts in blunt behaviour:
And to be noted for a merry man,

He'll wooe a thoufand, 'point the day of marriage,
Make friends, invite, yea, and proclaim the banns;
Yet never means to wed where he hath wooed.
Now muft the world point at poor Catharine,
And fay, lo! there is mad Petruchio's wife,
If it would please him come and marry her.
Tra. Patience, good Catharine, and Baptifta too
Upon my life, Petruchio means but well,
Whatever fortune ftays hiin from his word.
Tho' he be blunt, I know him pafling wife;
Tho' he be merry, yet withal he's honeft.

Cath. Would Catharine had never feen him tho'!.

[Exit weeping Bap. Go, girl; I cannot blame thee now to weep; For fuch an injury would vex a faint,

Much more a threw of thy impatient humour.

Enter BIONDELLO.

Bion. Mafter, mafter, old news, and fuch news as you never heard of.

Bap. Is it new and old too? how may that be? Bion. Why, is it not news to hear of Petruchio's coming?

Bap. Is he come?

Bion. Why, no, Sir.

Bap. What then?

Bion. He is coming.

Bap. When will he be here?..

Bion. When he stands where I am,

there.

and fees you

Tra. But, fay, what to thine old news?

Bion. Why, Petruchio is coming in a new hat and an old jerkin; a pair of old breeches thrice turned; a pair of boots that have been candle-cafes, one buckled, another laced; an old rufty fword ta'en out of the town armory, with a broken hilt, and chapeless, with two broken points; his horse hip'd with an old mothy faddle, the ftirrups of no kindred; befides, poffeffed with the glanders, and like to mofe in the chine, troubled with the lampaffe, infected with the fafhions, full of windgalls, fped with spavins; raied with the yellows, paft cure of the fives, ftark spoiled with the ftaggers, begnawn with the bots, waid in the back and fhoulder-fhotten, ncar-legged before, and with a half-checkt bit, and a headitall of theep's leather, which being reftrained, to keep him from stumbling, hath been often burst, and now repaired with knots; one girth fix times pieced, and a woman's crupper of velure, which hath two letters for her name, fairly fet down in ftuds, and here and there pieced with packthread. Bap. Who comes with him?

Bion. Oh, Sir, his lackey, for all the world caparifoned like the horfe, with a linen stock on one leg, and a kerfey boot-hofe on the other, gartered VOL. IV.

-U

with a red and blue lift, an old hat, and the hu mour of forty fancies prickt up in't for a feather: a monster, a very monster in apparel, and not like a Christian footboy, or a gentleman's lackey.

Tra. Tis fome odd humour pricks him to this fashion; yet oftentimes he goes but mean apparelled. Bap. I am glad he's come, howsoever he comes. Bion. Why, Sir, he comes not.

Bap. Didit thou not fay he comes?
Bion. Who? that Petruchio came?
Bap. Ay, that Petruchio came.

Bion. No, Sir; I fay, his horse comes with him on his back.

Bap. Why, that's all one.

Bion. Nay, by St Jamy, I hold you a penny, A horfe and a man is more than one, and yet not

many.

Enter PETRUCHIO and GRUMIO fantastically habited.
Pet.Come, where be these gallants? who is at home?
Bap. You're welcome, Sir.

Pet. And yet I come not well.
Bap. And yet you halt not.

Tra. Not fo well 'parelled as I wish you were.
Pet. Were it better, I fhould rush in thus.
But where is Kate? where is my lovely bride?
How does my father? gentles, methinks you frown:
And wherefore gaze this goodly company,
As if they faw fome wondrous monument,
Some comet, or unusual prodigy?

[day:

Bap. Why, Sir, you know this is your weddingFirst, were we fad, fearing you would not come; Now fadder, that you come fo unprovided. Fy, doff this habit, fhame to your estate, ¡ An eye-fore to our folemn feftival!

Tra. And tell us what occafion of import

Hath all fo long detained you from your wife,
And fent you hither fo unlike yourself?

Pet. Tedious it were to tell, and harth to hear:
Sufficeth, I am come to keep my word,
Tho' in fome part enforced to digress,
Which at more leifure I will so excufe,
As you fhall well be fatisfied withal.

But, where is Kate? I ftay too long from her; · The morning wears; 'tis time we were at church. Tra. See not your bride in these unreverent robes; Go to my chamber, put on cloaths of mine.lack Pet. Not I; believe me, thus I'll vifit her.

Bap. But thus, I truft, you will not marry her. Pet. Good footh, even thus; therefore ha' done with words;

To me the's married, not unto my cloaths:
Could I repair what fhe will wear in me,
As I could change thefe poor accoutreinents,
'Twere well for Kate, and better for myself.
But what a fool am I to chat with you,
When I fhould bid good-morrow to my bride,
And feal' the title with a lovely kifs? [Exit.
Tra. He hath fome meaning in his mad attire:
We will perfuade him, be it poflible,
To put on better ere he go to church.

Bap. I'll after him and fee the event of this. [Exit.
Tra. But, Sir, our love concerneth us to add
Her father's liking; which to bring to país,
As I before imparted to your Worship,
I am to get a man, (whate'er he be,

It skills not much; we'll fit him to our turn;)
And he fhall be Vincentio of Pifa,

And make affurance here in Padua ak

Of greater fums than I have promised! So fhall you quietly enjoy your hope," fweet Bianca with confent.

And marry

Luc. Were it not that my fellow schoolmaster Doth watch Bianca's fteps fo narrowly,

Twere good, methinks, to steal our marriage;. Which once performed, let all the world fay, no, I'll keep my own, defpight of all the world.

Tra. That by degrees we mean to look into,
And watch our 'vantage in this business:
We'll over-reach the gray-beard Gremio,
The narrow prying father Minola,
The quaint-mufician amorous Licio;
All for my mafter's fake, Lucentio,
Enter GREMIO.

Now, Signior Gremio, come you from the church?
Gre. As willingly as e'er I came from school.
Tra. And is the bride and bridegroom coming
home?

Gre. A bridegroom, fay you? 'tis a groom, indeed, A grumbling groom, and that the girl fhall find, Tra. Curfter than the? why, 'tis impoffible. Gre. Why, he's a devil, a devil, a very fiend. Tra. Why, fhe's a devil, a devil, the devil's dam. Gre. Tut, fhe's a lamb, a dove, a fool to him: I'll tell you, Sir Lucentio; when the priest Should ask if Catharine (hould be his wife? Ay, by gogs woons, quoth he; and fwore fo loud, That, all amazed, the prieft let fall the book; And as he ftooped again to take it up,

This mad-brained bridegroom took him fuch a cuff, That down fell prieft and book, and book and priest. Now take them up, quoth he, if any lift.

Tra. What faid the wench, when he rofe up again? Gre. Trembled and fhook; for why, he ftamped [and fwore,

As if the vicar meant to cozen him.

But after many ceremonies done,

He calls for wine: a health, quoth he; as if