Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew" 215 words

Obey the bride, you that attend on her;
Go to the feast, revel and domineer,
Carouse full measure to her maidenhead;
Be mad and merry, or go hang yourselves.

Gentlemen, importune me no farther,
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.

At last, though long, our jarring notes agree;
And time it is when raging war is done
To smile at scapes and perils overblown.

Fie, doff this habit, shame to your estate,
An eye-sore to our solemn festival!

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 in warm distilled waters,
And burn sweet wood to make the lodging sweet;
Procure me music ready when he w

If it be so, sir, that you are the man
Must stead us all, and me amongst the rest;
And if you break the ice, and do this feat,
Achieve the elder, set the younger free
For our access- whose hap shall be to have her
Will not so graceless be to be ingrate

Sir, I shall not be slack; in sign whereof,
Please ye we may contrive this afternoon,
And quaff carouses to our mistress' health;
And do as adversaries do in law-
Strive mightily, but eat and drink as friends.

Sir, I shall not be slack; in sign whereof,
Please ye we may contrive this afternoon,
And quaff carouses to our mistress' health;
And do as adversaries do in law-
Strive mightily, but eat and drink as friends.

I'll tell you what, sir: an she
stand
him but a little, he will throw a figure in her face, and so
disfigure her with it that she shall have no more eyes to see
withal than a cat.

A witty mother! witless else her son.

What stars do spangle heaven with such beauty
As those two eyes become that heavenly face?

I tell thee, Kate, 'twas burnt and dried away,
And I expressly am forbid to touch it;
For it engenders choler, planteth anger;
And better 'twere that both of us did fast,
Since, of ourselves, ourselves are choleric,
Than feed it with such over-roas

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 sort,
More pleasant, pithy, and effectual,
Than hath been taught by any of my trade;
And there it is in w

Exeunt
SC_2
SCENE II.
A bedchamber in the LORD'S house
Enter aloft SLY, with ATTENDANTS; some with apparel, basin
and ewer, and other appurtenances; and LORD
SLY. For God's sake, a pot of small ale.

Construe them.

And here I take the like unfeigned oath,
Never to marry with her though she would entreat;
Fie on her!

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 sort,
More pleasant, pithy, and effectual,
Than hath been taught by any of my trade;
And there it is in w

Neighbours and friends, though bride and bridegroom
wants
For to supply the places at the table,
You know there wants no junkets at the feast.

Why, thou say'st true; it is a paltry cap,
A custard-coffin, a bauble, a silken pie;
I love thee well in that thou lik'st it not.

Go, get thee gone, thou false deluding slave,
[Beats him]
That feed'st me with the very name of meat.

I tell thee, Kate, 'twas burnt and dried away,
And I expressly am forbid to touch it;
For it engenders choler, planteth anger;
And better 'twere that both of us did fast,
Since, of ourselves, ourselves are choleric,
Than feed it with such over-roas

See thou dissemble not.

The worst is this, that at so slender warning
You are like to have a thin and slender pittance.

Now, Kate, I am a husband for your turn;
For, by this light, whereby I see thy beauty,
Thy beauty that doth make me like thee well,
Thou must be married to no man but me;
For I am he am born to tame you, Kate,
And bring you from a wild Kate to a Kate
C

Signior Hortensio, I have often heard
Of your entire affection to Bianca;
And since mine eyes are witness of her lightness,
I will with you, if you be so contented,
Forswear Bianca and her love for ever.

And with that word she struck me on the head,
And through the instrument my pate made way;
And there I stood amazed for a while,
As on a pillory, looking through the lute,
While she did call me rascal fiddler
And twangling Jack, with twenty such vi

Dally not with the gods, but get thee gone.

'Tis a world to see,
How tame, when men and women are alone,
A meacock wretch can make the curstest shrew.

That's but a cavil; he is old, I young.

Fie, fie! 'tis lewd and filthy;
Why, 'tis a cockle or a walnut-shell,
A knack, a toy, a trick, a baby's cap.

But, wrangling pedant, this is
The patroness of heavenly harmony.

Away, thou rag, thou quantity, thou remnant;
Or I shall so bemete thee with thy yard
As thou shalt think on prating whilst thou liv'st!

Minion, thou liest.

Perhaps you mark'd not what's the pith of all.

Trembled and shook, for why he stamp'd and swore
As if the vicar meant to cozen him.

But, wrangling pedant, this is
The patroness of heavenly harmony.

This is a way to kill a wife with kindness,
And thus I'll curb her mad and headstrong humour.

Will't please your honour taste of these
conserves?

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.

Have to my widow; and if she be froward,
Then hast thou taught Hortensio to be untoward.

[Sings] It was the friar of orders grey,
As he forth walked on his way-
Out, you rogue! you pluck my foot awry;
Take that, and mend the plucking off the other.

I'll not budge an inch, boy; let him come, and kindly.

Exit one with the PLAYERS
Sirrah, go you to Bartholomew my page,
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.

My mind hath been as big as one of yours,
My heart as great, my reason haply more,
To bandy word for word and frown for frown;
But now I see our lances are but straws,
Our strength as weak, our weakness past compare,
That seeming to be most which w

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.

Her silence flouts me, and I'll be reveng'd.

'Twas told me you were rough, and coy, and sullen,
And now I find report a very liar;
For thou art pleasant, gamesome, passing courteous,
But slow in speech, yet sweet as springtime flowers.

Thou canst not frown, thou canst not look askance,
Nor bite the lip, as angry wenches will,
Nor hast thou pleasure to be cross in talk;
But thou with mildness entertain'st thy wooers;
With gentle conference, soft and affable.

And with that word she struck me on the head,
And through the instrument my pate made way;
And there I stood amazed for a while,
As on a pillory, looking through the lute,
While she did call me rascal fiddler
And twangling Jack, with twenty such vi

Why, Petruchio is coming- in a new hat and an old
jerkin; a pair of old breeches thrice turn'd; a pair of boots
that have been candle-cases, one buckled, another lac'd; an
old
rusty sword ta'en out of the town armoury, with a broken
hilt,
and chapeless; w

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 sort,
More pleasant, pithy, and effectual,
Than hath been taught by any of my trade;
And there it is in w

Well, go with me, and be not so discomfited;
Proceed in practice with my younger daughter;
She's apt to learn, and thankful for good turns.

I am a gentleman of Verona, sir,
That, hearing of her beauty and her wit,
Her affability and bashful modesty,
Her wondrous qualities and mild behaviour,
Am bold to show myself a forward guest
Within your house, to make mine eye the witness
Of that

But in the other's silence do I see
Maid's mild behaviour and sobriety.

Nay, look not big, nor stamp, nor stare, nor fret;
I will be master of what is mine own-
She is my goods, my chattels, she is my house,
My household stuff, my field, my barn,
My horse, my ox, my ass, my any thing,
And here she stands; touch her who

I'll in to counsel them; haply my presence
May well abate the over-merry spleen,
Which otherwise would grow into extremes.

I wonder what it bodes.

I know she is an irksome brawling scold;
If that be all, masters, I hear no harm.

That by degrees we mean to look into
And watch our vantage in this business;
We'll over-reach the greybeard, Gremio,
The narrow-prying father, Minola,
The quaint musician, amorous Licio-
All for my master's sake, Lucentio.

If he be credulous and trust my tale,
I'll make him glad to seem Vincentio,
And give assurance to Baptista Minola
As if he were the right Vincentio.

A woman mov'd is like a fountain troubled-
Muddy, ill-seeming, thick, bereft of beauty;
And while it is so, none so dry or thirsty
Will deign to sip or touch one drop of it.

But I
would
be loath to fall into my dreams again.

Her father is Baptista Minola,
An affable and courteous gentleman;
Her name is Katherina Minola,
Renown'd in Padua for her scolding tongue.

Your fellow Tranio here, to save my life,
Puts my apparel and my count'nance on,
And I for my escape have put on his;
For in a quarrel since I came ashore
I kill'd a man, and fear I was descried.

INDUCTION.

Why, that is nothing; for I tell you, father,
I am as peremptory as she proud-minded;
And where two raging fires meet together,
They do consume the thing that feeds their fury.

Fie, fie! 'tis lewd and filthy;
Why, 'tis a cockle or a walnut-shell,
A knack, a toy, a trick, a baby's cap.

Fear not, my lord; we can contain ourselves,
Were he the veriest antic in the world.

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 in warm distilled waters,
And burn sweet wood to make the lodging sweet;
Procure me music ready wh

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 in warm distilled waters,
And burn sweet wood to make the lodging sweet;
Procure me music ready when he w

Kate like the hazel-twig
Is straight and slender, and as brown in hue
As hazel-nuts, and sweeter than the kernels.

A good swift simile, but something currish.

'Tis like you'll prove a jolly surly groom
That take it on you at the first so roundly.

SLY. Now, Lord be thanked for my good amends!

She eat no meat to-day, nor none shall eat;
Last night she slept not, nor to-night she shall not;
As with the meat, some undeserved fault
I'll find about the making of the bed;
And here I'll fling the pillow, there the bolster,
This way the coverle

Ne'er a whit.

Balk 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 you.

What raiment will your honour wear to-day?

Why, Petruchio is coming- in a new hat and an old
jerkin; a pair of old breeches thrice turn'd; a pair of boots
that have been candle-cases, one buckled, another lac'd; an
old
rusty sword ta'en out of the town armoury, with a broken
hilt,
and chapeless; w

Think you a little din can daunt mine ears?

Why, thou say'st true; it is a paltry cap,
A custard-coffin, a bauble, a silken pie;
I love thee well in that thou lik'st it not.

I know she is an irksome brawling scold;
If that be all, masters, I hear no harm.

Here's snip and nip and cut and slish and slash,
Like to a censer in a barber's shop.

No cock of mine: you crow too like a craven.

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 in warm distilled waters,
And burn sweet wood to make the lodging sweet;
Procure me music ready wh

[He unbinds her]
Go ply thy needle; meddle not with her.

A proper stripling, and an amorous!

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.'

Gentles, methinks you frown;
And wherefore gaze this goodly company
As if they saw some wondrous monument,
Some comet or unusual prodigy?

There, take it to you, trenchers, cups, and all;
[Throws the meat, etc., at them]
You heedless joltheads and unmanner'd slaves!

O, sir, I do; and will repute you ever
The patron of my life and liberty.

A vengeance on your crafty withered hide!

O, you are novices!

Faith, nothing; but has left me here behind to
expound
the meaning or moral of his signs and tokens.

Exit a SERVINGMAN
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 laughter
When they do homage to this simple peasant.

Call home thy ancient thoughts from banishment,
And banish hence these abject lowly dreams.

Preposterous ass, that never read so far
To know the cause why music was ordain'd!

Beggars that come unto my father's door
Upon entreaty have a present alms;
If not, elsewhere they meet with charity;
But I, who never knew how to entreat,
Nor never needed that I should entreat,
Am starv'd for meat, giddy for lack of sleep;
With oa

Here, love, thou seest how diligent I am,
To dress thy meat myself, and bring it thee.

A woman mov'd is like a fountain troubled-
Muddy, ill-seeming, thick, bereft of beauty;
And while it is so, none so dry or thirsty
Will deign to sip or touch one drop of it.

I prithee go and get me some repast;
I care not what, so it be wholesome food.

Why,
nothing
comes amiss, so money comes withal.

Sir, I shall not be slack; in sign whereof,
Please ye we may contrive this afternoon,
And quaff carouses to our mistress' health;
And do as adversaries do in law-
Strive mightily, but eat and drink as friends.

SLY. Ay, it stands so that I may hardly tarry so long.

Why, Petruchio is coming- in a new hat and an old
jerkin; a pair of old breeches thrice turn'd; a pair of boots
that have been candle-cases, one buckled, another lac'd; an
old
rusty sword ta'en out of the town armoury, with a broken
hilt,
and chapeless; w

I promis'd we would be contributors
And bear his charge of wooing, whatsoe'er.

Now, my spruce companions, is all
ready,
and all things neat?

I thank thee for that gird, good Tranio.

Have I not heard the sea, puff'd up with winds,
Rage like an angry boar chafed with sweat?

If she be curst, it is for policy,
For,she's not froward, but modest as the dove;
She is not hot, but temperate as the morn;
For patience she will prove a second Grissel,
And Roman Lucrece for her chastity.

O monstrous arrogance!

O, be thou Dian, and let her be Kate;
And then let Kate be chaste, and Dian sportful!

But I have cause to pry into this pedant;
Methinks he looks as though he were in love.

To leave frivolous circumstances, I pray you
tell
Signior Lucentio that his father is come from Pisa, and is
here
at the door to speak with him.

Another way I have to man my haggard,
To make her come, and know her keeper's call,
That is, to watch her, as we watch these kites
That bate and beat, and will not be obedient.

This do, and do it kindly, gentle sirs;
It will be pastime passing excellent,
If it be husbanded with modesty.

Exit a SERVINGMAN
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 laughter
When they do homage to this simple peasant.

Say she be mute, and will not speak a word;
Then I'll commend her volubility,
And say she uttereth piercing eloquence.

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 in warm distilled waters,
And burn sweet wood to make the lodging sweet;
Procure me music ready wh

But hadst thou not cross'd me, thou shouldst have heard how her horse fell and she under her horse; thou shouldst have heard in how miry a place, how she was bemoil'd, how he left her with the horse upon her, how he beat me because her horse stumbled, how

Though little fire grows great with little wind,
Yet extreme gusts will blow out fire and all.

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 sort,
More pleasant, pithy, and effectual,
Than hath been taught by any of my trade;
And there it is in w

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.

Father Baptista, I charge
you
see that he be forthcoming.

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 lying'st knave
in
Christendom.

Fie, fie! 'tis lewd and filthy;
Why, 'tis a cockle or a walnut-shell,
A knack, a toy, a trick, a baby's cap.

Now I promise you
You have show'd a tender fatherly regard
To wish me wed to one half lunatic,
A mad-cap ruffian and a swearing Jack,
That thinks with oaths to face the matter out.

For your physicians have expressly charg'd,
In peril to incur your former malady,
That I should yet absent me from your bed.

Why, that is nothing; for I tell you, father,
I am as peremptory as she proud-minded;
And where two raging fires meet together,
They do consume the thing that feeds their fury.

Well, forward, forward! thus the bowl should run,
And not unluckily against the bias.

Then give me leave to have prerogative;
And when in music we have spent an hour,
Your lecture shall have leisure for as much.

Thou hast a lady far more beautiful
Than any woman in this waning age.

Why, Petruchio is coming- in a new hat and an old
jerkin; a pair of old breeches thrice turn'd; a pair of boots
that have been candle-cases, one buckled, another lac'd; an
old
rusty sword ta'en out of the town armoury, with a broken
hilt,
and chape

Whence grows this insolence?

I did but tell her she mistook her frets,
And bow'd her hand to teach her fingering,
When, with a most impatient devilish spirit,
'Frets, call you these?' quoth she 'I'll fume with them.'

He hath some meaning in his mad attire.

Why, sir, what's your conceit in that?

My lord, I warrant you we will play our part
As he shall think by our true diligence
He is no less than what we say he is.

Signior Hortensio, come you to part the fray?

Happy the parents of so fair a child;
Happier the man whom favourable stars
Allots thee for his lovely bed-fellow.

But hadst thou not cross'd me, thou shouldst have heard how her horse fell and she under her horse; thou shouldst have heard in how miry a place, how she was bemoil'd, how he left her with the horse upon her, how he beat me because her horse stumbled, how

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

My master hath appointed me
to
go to Saint Luke's to bid the priest be ready to come against
you
come with your appendix.

Mark'd you not how her sister
Began to scold and raise up such a storm
That mortal ears might hardly endure the din?

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.

I did but tell her she mistook her frets,
And bow'd her hand to teach her fingering,
When, with a most impatient devilish spirit,
'Frets, call you these?' quoth she 'I'll fume with them.'

'Twas told me you were rough, and coy, and sullen,
And now I find report a very liar;
For thou art pleasant, gamesome, passing courteous,
But slow in speech, yet sweet as springtime flowers.

[They exchange habits]
In brief, sir, sith it your pleasure is,
And I am tied to be obedient-
For so your father charg'd me at our parting:
'Be serviceable to my son' quoth he,
Although I think 'twas in another sense-
I am content to be Lucentio,
B

Hence comes it that your kindred shuns your house,
As beaten hence by your strange lunacy.

'Tis a groom indeed,
A grumbling groom, and that the girl shall find.

I will to Venice; Sunday comes apace;
We will have rings and things, and fine array;
And kiss me, Kate; we will be married a Sunday.

That by degrees we mean to look into
And watch our vantage in this business;
We'll over-reach the greybeard, Gremio,
The narrow-prying father, Minola,
The quaint musician, amorous Licio-
All for my master's sake, Lucentio.

Say she be mute, and will not speak a word;
Then I'll commend her volubility,
And say she uttereth piercing eloquence.

Then at my farm
I have a hundred milch-kine to the pail,
Six score fat oxen standing in my stalls,
And all things answerable to this portion.

If she do bid me pack, I'll give her thanks,
As though she bid me stay by her a week;
If she deny to wed, I'll crave the day
When I shall ask the banns, and when be married.

And, but I be deceived,
Signior Baptista may remember me
Near twenty years ago in Genoa,
Where we were lodgers at the Pegasus.

O monstrous beast, how like a swine he lies!

If I may be bold,
Tell me, I beseech you, which is the readiest way
To the house of Signior Baptista Minola?

Now, Kate, I am a husband for your turn;
For, by this light, whereby I see thy beauty,
Thy beauty that doth make me like thee well,
Thou must be married to no man but me;
For I am he am born to tame you, Kate,
And bring you from a wild Kate to a Ka

Hortensio, hark:
This gentleman is happily arriv'd,
My mind presumes, for his own good and ours.

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.

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 achieve

What think you, if he were convey'd to bed,
Wrapp'd in sweet clothes, 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?

Content you, gentlemen; I will compound this strife.

Thus it stands:
Her elder 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 will not be annoy'd with suitors.

A vengeance on your crafty withered hide!

My remedy is then to pluck it out.

Mi perdonato, gentle master mine;
I am in all affected as yourself;
Glad that you thus continue your resolve
To suck the sweets of sweet philosophy.

'Tis marvel- but that you are but newly come,
You might have heard it else proclaim'd about.

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.

But in a few,
Signior Hortensio, thus it stands with me:
Antonio, my father, is deceas'd,
And I have thrust myself into this maze,
Haply to wive and thrive as best I may;
Crowns in my purse I have, and goods at home,
And so am come abroad to see th

Grim death, how foul and loathsome is thine image!

Sir, you say well, and well you do conceive;
And since you do profess to be a suitor,
You must, as we do, gratify this gentleman,
To whom we all rest generally beholding.

Tedious it were to tell, and harsh to hear;
Sufficeth I am come to keep my word,
Though in some part enforced to digress,
Which at more leisure I will so excuse
As you shall well be satisfied withal.

Though
the nature of our quarrel yet never brook'd parle, know now,
upon
advice, it toucheth us 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.

Now shall my friend Petruchio do me grace,
And offer me disguis'd in sober robes
To old Baptista as a schoolmaster
Well seen in music, to instruct Bianca;
That so I may by this device at least
Have leave and leisure to make love to her,
And unsuspe

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

My lord, I warrant you we will play our part
As he shall think by our true diligence
He is no less than what we say he is.

Rise, Grumio, rise; we will compound this quarrel.

Listen to me, and if you speak me fair
I'll tell you news indifferent good for either.

Young budding virgin, fair and fresh and sweet,
Whither away, or where is thy abode?

Sweet Kate, embrace her for her beauty's sake.

Say that she frown; I'll say she looks as clear
As morning roses newly wash'd with dew.

I will not sleep, Hortensio, till I see her;
And therefore let me be thus bold with you
To give you over at this first encounter,
Unless you will accompany me thither.

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 achieve not

Are you so formal, sir?

Talk not to me; I will go sit and weep,
Till I can find occasion of revenge.

Though it pass your patience and mine
to
endure her loud alarums, why, man, there be good fellows in
the
world, an a man could light on them, would take her with all
faults, and money enough.

Thy horses shall be trapp'd,
Their harness studded all with gold and pearl.

For your physicians have expressly charg'd,
In peril to incur your former malady,
That I should yet absent me from your bed.

If I be waspish, best beware my sting.

How fares my noble lord?

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.

I must confess your offer is the best;
And let your father make her the assurance,
She is your own.

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 in warm distilled waters,
And burn sweet wood to make the lodging sweet;
Procure me music ready wh

You will be schoolmaster,
And undertake the teaching of the maid-
That's your device.

Nay, then you jest; and now I well perceive
You have but jested with me all this while.

Is supper ready, the house trimm'd, rushes strew'd, cobwebs swept, the serving-men in their new fustian, their white stockings, and every officer his wedding-garment on?

Heaven cease this idle humour in your honour!

Hark you, sir; I'll have them very fairly bound-
All books of love, see that at any hand;
And see you read no other lectures to her.

See this dispatch'd with all the haste thou canst;
Anon I'll give thee more instructions.

Say thou wilt course; thy greyhounds are as
swift
As breathed stags; ay, fleeter than the roe.

And for that dowry, I'll assure her of
Her widowhood, be it that she survive me,
In all my lands and leases whatsoever.

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 achie

Thou art a fool; if Echo were as fleet,
I would esteem him worth a dozen such.

Signior Lucentio,
Here is my hand, and here I firmly vow
Never to woo her more, but do forswear her,
As one unworthy all the former favours
That I have fondly flatter'd her withal.

O, 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 an

Whate'er I read to her, I'll plead for you
As for my patron, stand you so assur'd,
As firmly as yourself were still in place;
Yea, and perhaps with more successful words
Than you, unless you were a scholar, sir.

Whate'er I read to her, I'll plead for you
As for my patron, stand you so assur'd,
As firmly as yourself were still in place;
Yea, and perhaps with more successful words
Than you, unless you were a scholar, sir.