Ped. Ay, what else? and, but I be deceived, We were lodgers at the Pegasus. Tra. 6 'Tis well; And hold your own, in any case, with such Austerity as 'longeth to a father. Enter BIONDELLO. 5 Ped. I warrant you: But, sir, here comes your boy; 'Twere good, he were school'd. Tra. Fear you not him. Sirrah, Biondello, Now do your duty throughly, I advise you; Bion. Tut! fear not me. Tra. But hast thou done thy errand to Baptista? Bion. I told him, that your father was at Venice; And that you look'd for him this day in Padua. Tra. Thou 'rt a tall fellow; hold thee that to drink. Here comes Baptista: - set your countenance, sir.Enter BAPTISTA and LUCENTIO.7 Signior Baptista, you are happily met: 5- but I be deceived,] But, in the present instance, signifies, without, unless. So, in Antony and Cleopatra: "But being charg'd, we will be still by land." Steevens. • We were lodgers at the Pegasus.) This line has in all the editions hitherto been given to Tranio. But Tranio could with no propriety speak this either in his assumed or real character. Lucentio was too young to know any thing of lodging with his father, twenty years before at Genoa: and Tranio must be as much too young, or very unfit to represent and personate Lucentio. I have ventured to place the line to the Pedant, to whom it must certainly belong, and is a sequel of what he was before saying. Theobald. Shakspeare has taken a sign out of London, and hung it up in Padua: "Meet me an hour hence at the sign of the Pegasus in Cheapside." Return from Parnassus, 1606: Again, in The Jealous Lovers, by Randolph, 1632: The Pegasus is the arms of the Middle-Temple; and from that circumstance, became a popular sign. Steevens. 7 Enter Baptista and Lucentio.] and (according to the old copy) Pedant, booted and bareheaded. Ritson. Sir, [to the Ped.] This is the gentleman I told you of; Ped. Soft, son! Sir, by your leave; having come to Padua Signior Baptista, of whom I hear so well. 8 Bap. Sir, pardon me in what I have to say ;- 8 Me shall you find most ready and most willing-] The repeated word most, is not in the old copy, but was supplied by Sir T. Hanmer, to complete the measure. Steevens. 9 For curious I cannot be with you,] Curious is scrupulous. So, in Holinshed, p. 888: "The emperor obeying more compassion than the reason of things, was not curious to condescend to performe so good an office." Again, p. 890: "- and was not curious to call him to eat with him at his table." Steevens. 1 And pass my daughter a sufficient dower,] To pass is, in this place, synonymous to assure or convey; as it sometimes occurs in the covenant of a purchase deed, that the granter has power to bargain, sell, &c. "and thereby to pass and convey" the premises to the grantee. Ritson. 2 The match is fully made, and all is done:] The word-fully (to complete the verse) was inserted by Sir T. Hanmer, who Your son shall have my daughter with consent. Tra. I thank you, sir. Where then do you know best, We be affied; and such assurance ta'en, As shall with either part's agreement stand? Bap. Not in my house, Lucentio; for, you know, Tra. Then at my lodging, an it like you, sir:5 Bap. It likes me well:-Cambio, hie you home, Luc. I pray the gods she may, with all my heart!" might have justified his emendation by a foregoing passage in this comedy: "Nathaniel's coat, sir, was not fully made." Steevens. 3 We be affied;] i. e. betrothed. So, in King Henry VI, P. II: "For daring to affy a mighty lord "Unto the daughter of a worthless king." Steevens. 4 And, happily, we might be interrupetd.] Thus the old copy. Mr. Pope reads: And haply then we might be interrupted. Steevens. Happily, in Shakspeare's time, signified accidentally, as well as fortunately. It is rather surprising, that an editor should be guilty of so gross a corruption of his author's language, for the sake of modernizing his orthography. Tyrwhitt. 5-an it like you, sir:] The latter word, which is not in the old copy, was added by the editor of the second folio. Malone. 6 Luc. I pray &c.] In the old copy this line is by mistake given to Biondello. Corrected by Mr. Rowe. Malone. 7 Dally not with the gods, but get thee gone.] Here the old copy adds-Enter Peter. Ritson. get thee gone.] It seems odd management to make Lucentio go out here for nothing that appears, but that he may return Signior Baptista, shall I lead the way? Come, sir; we'll better it in Pisa. Bion. Cambio.- I follow you. [Exeunt TRA. Ped. and BAP. What say'st thou, Biondello? Bion. You saw my master wink and laugh upon you? Luc. Biondello, what of that? Bion. 'Faith nothing; but he has left me here behind, to expound the meaning or moral of his signs and tokens. Luc. I pray thee, moralize them. Bion. Then thus. Baptista is safe, talking with the deceiving father of a deceitful son. Luc. And what of him? Bion. His daughter is to be brought by you to the supper. Luc. And then? Bion. The old priest at saint Luke's church is at your command at all hours. Luc. And what of all this? Bion. I cannot tell; except they are busied about a counterfeit assurance: Take you assurance of her, cum privilegio ad imprimendum solùm: 1 to the church; 2-take the priest, clerk, and some sufficient honest witnesses: If this be not that you look for, I have no more to say, But, bid Bianca farewel for ever and a day. [Going. again five lines lower. It would be better, I think, to suppose that he lingers upon the stage, till the rest are gone, in order to talk with Biondello in private. Tyrwhitt. I have availed myself of the regulation proposed by Mr. Tyrwhitt. Steevens. 8 or moral-] i. e. the secret purpose. Malone. 9 I cannot tell; except -) The first folio reads expect. Malone. Except is the reading of the second folio. Expect, says Mr., Malone, means-wait the event. Steevens. 1 cum privilegio ad imprimendum solùm:] It is scarce necessary to observe, that these are the words which commonly were put on books where an exclusive right had been granted to particular persons for printing them. Reed. 2 - to the church;] i. e. go to the church, &c. Tyrwhitt. Luc. Hear'st thou, Biondello? Bion. I cannot tarry: I knew a wench married in an afternoon as she went to the garden for parsley to stuff a rabbit; and so may you, sir; and so adieu, sir. 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. [Exit. Luc. I may, and will, if she be so contented: [Exit.3 3 Exit.] Here, in the original play, the Tinker speaks again, and the scene continues thus: "Slie. Sim, must they be married now? "Lord. I, my lord. "Enter Ferando, and Kate, and Sander. "Slie. Looke, Sim, the foole is come againe now. "Feran. Sirha, go fetch our horses forth; and bring them to the backe-gate presently. "San. I wil, sir, I warrant you. [Exit San. "Feran. Come, Kate: the moone shines cleere to-night, methinkes. "Kate. The moone; why husband you are deceiv'd; it is the sun. "Feran. Yet againe? come backe againe; it shall be the moone ere we come at your fathers. "Kate. Why Ile say as you say; it is the moone. "Feran. Iesus, save the glorious moone! "Kate. Iesus, save the glorious moone! "Feran. I am glad, Kate, your stomacke is come downe; "I know it well thou knowst it is the sun, "But I did trie to see if thou wouldst speake, "And crosse me now as thou hast done before: "And trust me, Kate, hadst thou not namde the moone, "We had gone backe againe as sure as death. "But soft, who's this that's coming here? "Enter the Duke of Cestus alone. "Duke. Thus al alone from Cestus am I come, "To come to Athens, and in this disguise [Feran. speaks to the old man. His speech is very partially and incorrectly quoted by Mr. Pope in p. 131. Steevens. |