And tell me now, sweet friend, - what happy gale PET. Such wind as scatters young men through the world, To feek their fortunes further than at home, Hor. Petruchio, shall I then come roundly to thee, And with thee to a shrewd ill-favour'd wife? PET. Signior Hortenfio, 'twixt such friends as we, Few words fuffice: and, therefore, if thou know One rich enough to be Petruchio's wife, (As wealth is burthen of my wooing dance,) Be the as foul as was Florentius' love, 5 Where small experience grows. But, in a few,] In a few, means the fame as in short, in few words. JOHNSON. So, in K. Henry IV. Part II: " In few; his death, whose spirit lent a fire," &c. STEEVENS. 6 (As wealth is burthen of my wooing dance,)] The burthen of a dance is an expression which I have never heard; the burthen of his wooing fong had been more proper. JOHNSON. 1 Be she as foul as was Florentius' love,] I suppose this alludes to the story of a Florentine, which is met with in the eleventh Book of Thomas Lupton's Thousand Notable Things, and perhaps in other Collections. GRE. BAP. Gentlemen, content ye; I am refolv'd:Go in, Bianca. [Exit BIANCA. And for I know, she taketh most delight KATH. Why, and I trust, I may go too, May I not? What, shall I be appointed hours; as though, belike, I knew not what to take, and what to leave? Ha! [Exit. GRE. You may go to the devil's dam; your gifts are fo good, here is none will hold you. Their love is not fo great, Hortenfio, but we may blow our nails together, and fast it fairly out; our cake's 5 cunning men, Cunning had not yet lost its original fignification of knowing, learned, as may be observed in the tranflation of the Bible. JOHNSON. 7 6-your gifts - Gifts for endowments. MALONE. So, before in this comedy : a woman's gift, "To rain a shower of commanded tears." STEEVENS. Their love is not so great, Hortenfio, but we may blow our nails together, and fast it fairly out;) I cannot conceive whose love Gremio can mean by the words their love, as they had been talking of no love but that which they themselves felt for Bianca. We muft therefore read, our love, instead of their. M. MASON. Perhaps we should read-lour love. In the old manner of writing y' ftood for either their or your. The editor of the third dough on both fides. Farewell:-Yet, for the love I bear my fweet Bianca, if I can by any means light on a fit man, to teach her that wherein she delights, I will wish him to her father. 8 HOR. So will I, fignior Gremio: But a word, I pray. 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. GRE. What's that, I pray? Hor. Marry, fir, to get a husband for her sister. GRE. A husband! a devil. Hor. I say, a husband. GRE. I say, a devil: Think'st thou, Hortenfio, though her father be very rich, any man is so very a fool to be married to hell? Hor. Tush, Gremio! 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. GRE. I cannot tell: but I had as lief take her dowry with this condition, -to be whipp'd at the high-cross every morning. folio and fome modern editors, with, I think, less probability, read If their love be right, it must mean the good will of Baptifta and Bianca towards us. MALONE. our. 8 I will wish him to her father.] i. e. I will recommend him. So, in Much ado about Nothing: 9 "To wish him wrestle with affection." REED. - upon advice,] i. e. on confideration, or reflection. So, in The Two Gentlemen of Verona: "How shall I dote on her, with more advice, "That thus, without advice, begin to love her!" STEEVENS, Is, that she is intolerably curst, And fhrewd, and froward; fo beyond all measure, PET. Hortenfio, peace; thou know'ft not gold's effect : Tell me her father's name, and 'tis enough; Hor. Her father is Baptista Minola, PET. I know her father, though I know not her; GRU. I pray you, fir, let him go while the humour lafts. O' my word, an fhe knew him as well as I do, she would think scolding would do little good upon him: She may, perhaps, call him half a score knaves, or fo: why, that's nothing; an he begin once, he'll rail in his rope-tricks.' I'll tell you 4-sprewd,] here means, having the qualities of a prew. The adjective is now used only in the sense of acute, intelligent. MALONE. I believe shrewd only signifies bitter, fevere. So, in As you Like it, fc. ult: "That have endur'd shrewd days and nights with us." 5 STEEVENS. an be begin once, he'll rail in his rope-tricks.] This is obscure. Sir Thomas Hanmer reads he'll rail in his rhetorick; I'll tell you, &c. Rhetorick agrees very well with figure in the fucceeding part of the speech, yet I am inclined to believe that ropetricks is the true word. JOHNSON. what, fir,-an she stand him but a little, he will throw a figure in her face, and fso disfigure her with it, that she shall have no more eyes to fee withal than a cat: You know him not, fir. In Romeo and Juliet, Shakspeare uses ropery for roguery, and therefore certainly wrote rope-tricks. Rope-tricks we may suppose to mean tricks of which the contriver would deferve the rope. STEEVENS. Rope-tricks is certainly right.-Ropery or rope-tricks originally fignified abusive language, without any determinate idea; fuch language as parrots are taught to speak. So, in Hudibras: "Could tell what fubt'left parrots mean, "That speak, and think contrary clean; "What member 'tis of whom they talk, " When they cry rope, and walk, knave, walk." The following passage in Wilfon's Arte of Rhetorique, 1553, shews that this was the meaning of the term: " Another good fellow in the countrey, being an officer and maiour of a toune, and defirous to speak like a fine learned man, having just occafion to rebuke a runnegate fellow, said after this wife in great heate: Thou yngram and vacation knave, if I take thee any more within the circumcifion of my damnacion, I will fo corrupte thee that all vacation knaves shall take ill sample by thee." This the author in the margin calls "rope-ripe chiding." So, in May-day, a comedy by Chapman, 1611: "Lord! how you roll in your rope-ripe terms." MALONE. 7 -stand him-] i. e. withstand, refift him. STEEVENS. that she shall have no more eyes to fee withal than a cat :] The humour of this passage I do not understand. This animal is remarkable for the keenness of its fight. In the Caftell of Laboure, however, printed by Wynkyn de Worde, 1506, is the following line: "That was as blereyed as a cat." There are two proverbs which any reader who can, may apply to this allusion of Grumio: "Well might the cat wink when both her eyes were out." "A muffled cat was never a good hunter." The first is in Ray's Collection, the second in Kelly's. STEEVENS. It may mean, that he shall swell up her eyes with blows, till she shall feem to peep with a contracted pupil, like a cat in the light. JOHNSON. |