And brave attendants near him when he wakes, Would not the beggar then forget himself? 1 Hun. Believe me, lord, I think he cannot choose.

Well, you are come to me in happy time;
The rather for I have some sport in hand,
Wherein your cunning can assist me much.
There is a lord will hear you play to-night:
But I am doubtful of your modesties:
Lest, over-eying 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.
1 Play. Fear not, my lord; we can contain
ourselves,

Procure me music ready when he wakes,
To make a dulcet and a heavenly sound;
And if he chance to speak, be ready straight,
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,t
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; Another tell him of his hounds and horse, And that his lady mourns at his disease: Persuade him, that he hath been lunatic; And, when he says he is, say, that he dreams, For he is nothing but a mighty lord.

This do, and do it kindly, gentle Sirs;

It will be pastime passing excellent,

If it be husbanded with modesty.

Were he the veriest antick in the world.

Lord. Go, sirrab, take them to the buttery, And give them friendly welcome every one: Let them want nothing that my house affords. [Exeunt SERVANT and PLAYERS. Sirrah, go you to Bartholomew my page,

[To a SERVANT.

And see him dress'd in all suits like a lady: That done, conduct him to the drunkard's

chamber,

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 com-

mand,

Wherein your lady, and your humble wife, May show her duty, and make known her love? And then-with kind embracements, tempting

kisses,

And with declining head into his bosom,

our part,

As he shall think, by our true diligence,
He is no less than what we say he is.

Lord. Take him up gently, and to bed with

him;

And each one to his office, when he wakes.[Some bear out SLY. A trumpet sounds. Sirrah, go see what trumpet 'tis that sounds:[Exit SERVANT. Belike, some noble gentleman; that means, Travelling some journey, to repose him here.

Re-enter a SERVANT.

How now? who is it?

Serv. An it please your honour, Players that offer service to your lordship. Lord. Bid them come near :

Enter PLAYERS.

Now, fellows, you are welcome.

1 Play. We thank your honour.

Lord. Do you intend to stay with me tonight?

2 Play. So please your lordship to accept our duty.

Lord. With all my heart. This fellow I re remember,

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.

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 despite enforce a watery eye. (canst;
See this despatch'd with all the haste thou
Anon I'll give thee more instructions.
[Exit SERVANT.

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;
And how my men will stay themselves from

1 Play. I think, 'twas Soto that your honour

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

means.

Lord. 'Tis very true;-thou didst it excellent.

+ Napkin. Moderation.

honour, nor lordship. I never drank sack in my life; and if you give me any conserves, give ne conserves of beef: Ne'er ask me what raiment I'll 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.

Lord. Heaven cease this idle humour in your honour!

O, 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, 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 lyingest knave in Christendom. What, I am not bestraught:* Here's

1 Serv. O, this it is, that makes your lady

mourn.

2 Serv. O, this it is that makes your servants droop.

Lord. Hence comes it that your kindred shun your house,

As beaten hence by your strange lunacy.

O, noble lord, bethink thee of thy birth; [ment,
Call home thy ancient thoughts from banish-
And banish hence these abject lowly dreams:
Look how thy servants do attend on thee,
Each in his office ready at thy beck.
Wilt thou have music? hark! Apollo plays,
[Music.

And twenty caged nightingales do sing;
Or wilt thou sleep? we'll have thee to a couch,
Softer and sweeter than the lustful bed
On purpose trimm'd up for Semiramis. [ground:
Say, thou wilt walk; we will bestrew the
Or wilt thou ride? thy horses shall be trapp'd,
Their harness studded all with gold and pearl.
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 Serv. Say, thou wilt course; thy greyhounds are as swift

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; I smell sweet savours, and I feel soft things:Upon my life, I am a lord, indeed; And not a tinker, nor Christophero Sly.Well, bring our lady hither to our sight; And once again, a pot o' the smallest ale. 2 Serv. Will't please your mightiness to wash your hands?

[SERVANTS present an ewer, basin, and napkin. O, how we joy to see your wit restor'd! O, that once more you knew but what you are! These fifteen years you have been in a dream: Or, when you wak'd, so wak'd as if you slept Śly. These fifteen years, by my fay, a goodly

nap.

But did I never speak of all that time?

1 Serv. O, yes, my lord; but very idle words:ï 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,t Because she brought stone jugs and no seal'd quarts: [Hacket. Sometimes you would call out for Cicely Sly. Ay, the woman's maid of the house. 3 Serv. Why, Sir, you know no house, nor

no such maid;

Nor no such men, as you have reckon'd on -
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
amends!

man.

fetch thee straight

Adonis, painted by a running brook:
And Cytherea all in sedges hid;
[breath,
Which seem to move and wanton with her
Even as the waving sedges play with wind.

Lord. We'll show thee lo, as she was a maid;
And how she was beguiled and surpris'd,
As lively painted as the deed was done.

3 Serv. Or Daphne, roaming through a thorny wood; [bleeds: Scratching her legs that one shall swear she 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 Thou hast a lady far more beautiful [lord: Than any woman in this waning age.

1 Serv. 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.

Distracted.

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

Sly. Al'ce madam, or Joan madam ?

Lord. Madam, and nothing else; so lords

call ladies.

Sly. Madam wife, they say that I have dream'd, and slept

Above some fifteen year and more.

Page. 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. Page. Thrice noble lord, let me entreat 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.

Enter a SERVANT.

And take a lodging, fit to entertain
Such friends, as time in Padua shall beget.
But stay awhile: What company is this;
Tra. Master, some show, to welcome us to
town.

blood,

And melancholy is the nurse of frenzy, 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.

SCENE I.-Padua. A public Place.
Enter LUCENTIO and TRANIO.

Luc. Tranio, since for the great desire I had
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 ingenioust 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 achiev'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. Mi perdonate, 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 stoics, nor no stocks, I pray;
Or so devote to Aristotle's checks,|[
As Ovid be an outcast quite abjur'd:
Talk logic with acquaintance that you have,
And practise rhetoric in your common talk:
Music and poesy use to quicken you:
The mathematics, and the metaphysics,

Fall to them, as you find your stomach serves

and HORTENSIO. LUCENTIO and TRANIO stand aside.

Bap. Gentlemen, impórtune 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, [To BAP.] is it your will

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 I wis, it is not half way to her heart: [fear; But, if it were, doubt not her care should 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 pas

time toward;

That wench is stark mad, or wonderful froward
Luc. But in the other's silence I do see
Maids' mild behaviour and sobriety.
Peace, Tranio.

Tra. Well said, master: mum! and gaze your

fill.

Bap. Gentlemen, that I may soon make good What I have said, -Bianca, get you in: 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.Sir, to your pleasure humbly I subscribe: My books, and instruments, shall be my com

pany;

va speak.

On them to look, and practise by myself.
Luc. Hark, Tranio! thou may'st hear Miner-
[Aside.
Hor. Signior Baptista, will you be so strange?
Sorry am I, that our good will effects
Bianca's grief.

Gre. Why, will you mews her up,
Signior Baptista, for this fiend of hell,
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 music, instruments, and poetry,
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
To mine own children in good bringing up;
And so farewell. Katharina you may stay;
For I have more to commune with Bianca.

[Evil. † Pet. Recommend, 1 Knowing, learned.

* A bait or decoy. + Think. Shut

R

259

Your fellow Tranio here, to save my life,
Puts my apparel and my countenance on,
And I for my escape have put on his;
For in a quarrel, since I came ashore,
Ikill'd a man, and fear I was descried :*
Wait you on him, I charge you, as becomes,
While I make way from hence to save my life:
You understand me?

Bion. I, Sir, ne'er a whit.

Luc. And not a jot of Tranio in your mouth; Tranio is chang'd into Lucentio.

Bion. The better for him; Would I were so too!

Tra. So would I, faith, boy, to have the next wish after,[daughter. That Lucentio indeed had Baptista's youngest But, sirrah,-not for my sake, but your mas

ter's,-I advise

You use your manners discreetly in all kind of companies:

When I am alone, why, then I am Tranio; But in all places else, your master Lucentio. Luc. Tranio, let's go :

One thing more rests, that thyself execute;To make one among these wooers: If thou ask

me why,Sufficeth, my reasons are both good and weighty. [Exeunt.

1 Serv. My lord, you nod; you do not mind the play. Sly. Yes, by saint Anne, do I. A good matter, urely; Comes there any more of it? Page. My lord, 'tis but begun.

quarrel.

Gru. Nay, 'tis no matter, what he 'leges* in Latin. If this be not a lawful cause for me to leave his service,-Look you, Sir,-he bid me knock him, and rap him soundly, Sir: Well, was it fit for a servant to use his master so; being, perhaps, (for aught I see,) two and thirty, -a pip out?

Whom, 'would to God, I had well knock'd at

first,

Then had not Grumio come by the worst. Pet. A senseless villain-Good Hortensio, I bade the rascal knock upon your gate, And could not get him for my heart to do it. Gru. Knock at the gate?-O heavens! Spake you not these words plain, Sirrah, knock me here, [soundly? Rap me here, knock me well, and knock me And come you now with-knocking at the gate? Pet. Sirrah, be gone, or talk not, I advise Hor. Petruchio, patience; I am Grumio's pledge:

you.

Why, this a heavy chance 'twixt him and you; Your ancient, trusty, pleasant servant Grumio. And tell me now, sweet friend, what happy gale Blows you to Padua here, from old Verona? Pet. Such wind as scatters young men through the world,

To seek their fortunes further than at home, Where small experience grows. But, in a few,t

Enter PETRUCHIO and GRUMIO.

Pet. Verona, for a while I take my leave, To see my friends in Padua; but, of all, My best beloved and approved friend, Hortensio; and, I trow, this is his house :Here, sirrah Grumio; knock, I say.

Gru. Knock, Sir! whom should I knock? is there any man has rebused your worship?

Pet. Villain, I say, knock me here soundly. Gru. Knock you here, Sir? why, Sir, what am I, Sir, that I should knock you here, Sir? Pet. Villain, I say, knock me at this gate, And rap me well, or I'll knock your knave's

pate.

Gru. My master is grown quarrelsome: I should knock you first,

And then I know after who comes by the worst. Pet. Will it not be?

'Faith, sirrah, an you'll not knock, I'll wring I'll try how you can sol, fa, and sing it.

[He wrings GRUMIO by the ears. [it; Gru. Help, masters, help! my master is mad.

Pet. Now, knock when I bid you: sirrah! villain!

Con tutto il core bene trovato, may I say. Hor. A ja nostra casa bene venuto, Molto kor orato signor mio Petruchio.

as we,

Hor. Petruchio, since we have stepp'd thus

far in,

+ Few words.

See the story, No. 39, of "A Thousand Notable A small image on the tag of a iace.