Bap. Content you, Gentlemen, I will compound this ftrife;
'Tis deeds muft 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 house, or houfe-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.
Myself am ftruck in years, I must confefs,
And if I die to-morrow, this is hers ;
If, whilst I live, fhe will be only mine.

Tra. That only came well in.-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 houses 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 lard amounts not to fo much in all;

Tbat fhe fhall have, and- -]

My i

Though all the copies concur in this reading, surely, if we examine the reasoning, fomething will be found wrong. Gremio is ftartled at the high fettlement Tranio propofes; fays, his whole eftate in land can't match it, yet he'll fettle fo much a year upon her, &c. This is mosk-reasoning, or I don't know what to call it, The change of the

negativi

My land amounts but to fo much in all:
That the fhall have, besides 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; thefe I will affure her,
And twice as much, what e'er thou offer'it 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, the shall 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 must confefs, your offer is the best;
And let your father make her the affurance,
She is your own, elfe you must pardon me:
If you should 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.

Tra. A vengeance on your crafty wither'd hide!

[Exit.

negative monofyllable in the fecond line, which Mr. Warburton prefcrib'd, falves the abfurdity, and fets the paffage right, Gremio and Tranio are vying in their offers to carry Bianca: The latter boldly propoles to fettle land to the amount of 2000 ducats per Annum. Ay, fays the other; my whole estate in land amounts but to that value: Yet he shall 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,

R 2

Yet

Yet I have fac'd it with a card of ten :
'Tis in my head to do my master good:
I fee no reafon, 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 fhall 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 Lerd.

Sly. Give's fome more drink herebere, Sim, eat fome of these things. Sim. So I do, my Lord.

Sly. Here, Sim, I drink to thee.

-where's the taffier?

SCENE, Baptifta's Houfe.

Enter Lucentio, Hortenfio, and Bianca.

LUCENTIO.

Fidler, forbear; you grow too forward, Sir:

Have you fo foon forgot the entertainment Her fifter Catharine welcom'd you withal?

Hor. [She is a fhrew, but, ] Wrangling pedant, this is (15) 'The patronefs of heavenly harmony;

(15)

Wrangling Pedant, this

The patronefs of beavenly barmony.]

There can be no reafon, why Horter fic thould begin with an hemiftich; but much lefs, 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 conjecture, and fupply'd by the fenfe 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.

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 real fɔ far
To know the cause why mufick was ordain'd:
Was it not to refresh the mind of man
After his ftudies, or his ufual pain ?
Then give me leave to read philofophy,
And, while I paufe, ferve 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 fcholar in the fchools;
I'll not be tied to hours, nor pointed times,
But learn my leffons as I pleafe myself;
And, to cut off all strife, here fit we down,
Take you your inftrument, play you the while;
His lecture will be done, ere you have tun'd.

Her. You'll leave his lecture, when I am in tune?
[Hortenfio retirer,
Luc. That will be never: Tune your inftrument.
Bian. Where left we laft?

Luc. Here, Madam: Hac ihat Simois, bic eft Sigeia tellus, Hic feterat Priami regja ceifa fenis.

Bian. Conftrue them.

Luc. Hac ibat, as I told you before, Simois, I am Lucentio, bic eft, fon unto Vincentio of Pisa, Sigeia tellus, difguifed thus to get your love, bic 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.
Bian. Let's hear. O fy, the treble jars.

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

[Returning.

Bian. Now let me fee, if I can conftrue it: Hac ibat Simais, I know you not, hic eft Sigeia tellus, I trust you not, bic fteterat Priami, take heed he hear us not, regia, prefume not, celja fenis, despair not.

Hor. Madam, 'tis now in tune.

Luc. All but the base.

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

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

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

Bian. I must believe my mafter, elfe I promise you,
I should be arguing ftill upon that doubt;
But let it reft. Now, Licio, to you:
Good mafters, take it not unkindly, pray,
That I have been thus pleafant 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, 1 must wait, And watch withal; for, but I be deceiv'd,

Our fine musician groweth amorous.

Her. Madam, before you touch the inftrument,
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,
Are, to plead Hortenfio's paffion;

B mi, Bianca, take him for thy Lord,
Cfaut, that loves with all affection;

D fol re, one cliff, but two notes have I.
Elami, fhow pity, or I die.

Call you this Gamut? tut, I like it not

(16) In time I may believe, yet I miftruft.] This and the feven verfes, that follow, have in all the editions been ftupidly fhuffled and mifplac'd to wrong fpeakers: So that every word faid was glaringly out of character. I first directed the true regulation of them in my SHAKESPEARE refior'd, and Mr. Pope has fince embraced it in his laft edition. I ought to take notice, the ingenious Dr. Thrilby, with out feeing my book, had struck out the felf-fame regulation.

Old