Abbildungen der Seite
PDF
EPUB

Bap. Content you, Gentlemen, I will compound this ftrife;

'Tis deeds must win the prize; and he, of Both, That can affure my daughter greatest dower, Shall have Bianca's love.

Say, Signior Gremio, what can you affure her?

Gre. Firft, as you know, my house within the city Is richly furnished with plate and gold,

Bafons and ewers to lave her dainty hands:
My hangings all of Tyrian tapestry;

In ivory coffers I have ftufft my crowns;
In cypress chefts my arras, counterpanes,
Coftly apparel, tents and canopies,

Fine linnen, Turkey cushions bofs'd with pearl;
Valance of Venice gold in needle-work;
Pewter and brafs, and all things that belong
To houfe, or house-keeping: then, at my farm,
I have a hundred milch-kine to the pail,
Sixfcore fat oxen ftanding in my ftalls;
And all things anfwerable to this portion.
My felf am ftruck in years, I must confess,
And if I die to morrow, this is hers;
If, whilft I live, fhe will be only mine.
Tra. That only came well in.

[ocr errors]

Sir, lift to me;
I am my father's heir, and only fon;
If I may have your daughter to my wife,
I'll leave her houfes three or four as good,
Within rich Pifa walls, as any one
Old Signior Gremio has in Padua ;
Befides two thousand ducats by the year

Of fruitful land; all which shall be her jointure.

What, have I pinch'd you, Signior Gremio?

Gre. Two thousand ducats by the year of land! (14)

(14) Gre. Two thousand Ducats by the year of Land!

My Land amounts not to fo much in all:

[blocks in formation]

]

My

Tho' all the Copies concur in this Reading, furely, if We examine the Reafoning, fomething will be found wrong. Gremio is startled at the high Settlement Tranio propofes; fays, his whole Eftate in Land can't match it, yet he'll fettle fo much a Year upon her, & This is Mock

X 3

reasoning,

My land amounts but to fo much in all:
That the fhall have, befides an Argofie
That now is lying in Marfeilles's road.
What, have I choakt you with an Argofie?

Tra. Gremio, 'tis known, my father hath no less
Than three great Argofies, befides two galliaffes,
And twelve tight gallies; these I will affure her,
And twice as much, what e'er thou offer'st next.
Gre. Nay, I have offer'd all; I have no more;
And the can have no more than all I have;
If you like me, fhe fhall have me and mine.

Tra. Why, then the maid is mine from all the world,

By your firm promife; Gremio is out-vied.

Bap. I muit confefs, your offer is the beft;
And let your father make her the affurance,
She is your own, else you must pardon mẹ:
If you fhould die before him, where's her dower?
Tra. That's but a cavil; he is old, I young.
Gre. And may not young men die, as well as old?
Bap. Well, gentlemen, then I am thus refolv'd:
On Sunday next, you know,

My daughter Catharine is to be married:
Now on the Sunday following fhall Bianca
Be bride to you, if you make this affurance;
If not, to Signior Gremio:

And fo 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!
An old Italian fox is not so kind, my boy.

[Exit.

reafoning, or I don't know what to call it. The Change of the negative Monofyllable in the 2d Line, which Mr. Warburton prefcrib'd, falves the Abfurdity, and fets the Paffage right. Gremio and Tranio are vyeing in their Offers to carry Bianca: The latter boldly proposes 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.

Tra.

Tra. A vengeance on your crafty wither'd hide!
Yet I have fac'd it with a card of ten :
'Tis in my head to do my mafter good:
I fee no reason, but fuppos'd Lucentio
May get a father, call'd, fuppos'd Vincentio ;
And that's a wonder: fathers commonly

Do get their children; but in this cafe of wooing,
A child shall get a fire, if I fail not of my cunning. [Exit.
[The Prefenters, above, fpeak here.

Sly. Sim, when will the fool come again?
Sim. Anon, my Lord.

Sly. Give's fome more drink here

fter? here, Sim, eat some of these things. Sim. So I do, my Lord.

Sly. Here, Sim, I drink to thee.

where's the tap

F

ACT III.'

SCENE, Baptifta's Houfe.

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 Shrew, but,] Wrangling Pedant, this is (15)

[blocks in formation]

The Patronefs of Heavenly Harmony.]

The

There can be no Reafon, why Hortenfio fhould begin with an Hemiftich; but much less, why Mr. Pope fhould have yet curtail'd this Hemistich, 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 Con

X 4

jecture,

1

The patronefs of heavenly harmony;
Then give me leave to have prerogative;
And when in mufick we have spent an hour,
Your lecture fhall have leifure for as much.

Luc. Prepofterous afs! that never read fo far
To know the cause why mufick was ordain'd:
Was it not to refresh the mind of man

After his studies, or his usual pain?

Then give me leave ro read philosophy,
And, while I pause, serve in your harmony.

Hor. Sirrah, I will not bear these Braves of thine.
Bian. Why, Gentlemen, you do me double wrong,
To ftrive for That which refteth in my choice:
I am no breeching scholar in the schools;
I'll not be tied to hours, nor pointed times,
But learn my leffons as I pleafe my felf;
And, to cut off all ftrife, here fit we down,
Take you your inftrument, play you the while;
His lecture will be done, ere you have tun'd.
Hor. You'll leave his lecture, when I am in tune?
[Hortenfio retires.
Luc. That will be never: tune your inftrument.
Bian. Where left we laft?

Luc. Here, Madam: Hac ibat Simois, hic eft Sigeia
tellus,

Hic fteterat Priami regia celfa fenis.

Bian. Conftrue them,

Luc. Hac ibat, as I told you before, Simois, I am Lucentio, hic 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 Tranio, regia, bearing my port, celfa fenis, that we might beguile the old Pantaloon.

Hor. Madam, my inftrument's in tune. [Returning.
Bian. Let's hear. O fie, the treble jars.

Luc. Spit in the hole, man, and tune again.

jecture, and fupply'd by the Senfe 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 embraced or rejected, at every Reader's pleasure.

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, bic fteterat Priami, take heed he hear us not, regia, prefume not, celfa fenis, defpair not.

[ocr errors]

Hor. Madam, 'tis now in tune.

Luc. All but the base.

Hor. The base is right, 'tis the base knave that jars. How fiery and how froward is our Pedant!

Now, for my life, that knave doth court my love;
Pedafcule, I'll watch you better yet.

Bian. In time I may believe, yet I miftruft. (16)
Luc. Miftruft it not, for, fure, Eacides
Was Ajax, call'd fo from his grandfather.

Bian. I muft believe my mafter, elfe I promise you, I fhould be arguing still upon that doubt;

But let it reft. Now, Licio, to you:

Good mafters, take it not unkindly, pray,
That I have been thus pleasant with you both.

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 instrument,
To learn the order of my fingering,
I must begin with rudiments of art;
To teach you Gamut in a briefer fort,
More pleasant, pithy, and effectual,
Than hath been taught by any of my trade;
And there it is in writing fairly drawn.

Bian. Why, I am paft my Gamut long ago.
Hor. Yet read the Gamut of Hortenfio.

Bian. [reading] Gamut I am, the ground of all accord,

(16) In time I may believe, yet I miftruft.] This and the 7 Verfes, that follow, have in all the Editions been ftupidly fhuffled and misplac'd to wrong Speakers: fo 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, without feeing my Book, had ftruck out the self-fame Regulation.

Art,

« ZurückWeiter »