Characters in the Induction.... Lord, before whom the Play is suppos'd to be play' d. a drunken Tinker. A Chriftopher Sly, Hostess. Page, Players, Huntsmen, and other Servants attending on the Lord. Dramatis Personx. Baptifta, Father to Catharina and Bianca; very rich. Vincentio, an old gentleman of Pisa. Lucentio, Son to Vincentio, in love with Bianca. Petruchio, a gentleman of Verona, a fuitor to Catha Gremio, Tranio, Biondello, rina. } Grumio, Servant to Petruchio. Pedant, an old fellow fet up to perfonate Vincentio. Taylor, Haberdashers; with Servants attending on Baptifta, and Petruchio. SCENE, fometimes in Padua; and sometimes in Petruchio's House in the Country. THE THE TAMING of the SHREW. INDUCTION: SCENE, before an Alehouse on a Heath. Enter Hostess and Sly. SLY. 'LL pheeze you, in faith. Hoft. A pair of stocks, you rogue! Sly. Y'are a baggage; the Slies are no rogues. Look in the Chronicles, we came in with Richard Conqueror; therefore, paucus pallabris; (1) let the world flide: Seffa. Hoft. You will not pay for the glasses you have burst? Sly. No, not a deniere: go by, Jeronimo to thy cold bed, and warm thee. (2) go Hoft. (1) paucus pallabris.] Sly, as an ignorant Fellow, is purposely made to aim at Languages out of his Knowledge, and knock the words out of Joint. The Spaniards say, pócas palabras, i. e. few words: as they do likewise, ceffa, i. e. be quiet. (2) Go by S. Jeronimy, go to thy cold Bed, and warm thee.] All the Editions have coin'd a Saint here, for Siy to swear by. Bus Hoft. I know my remedy; I must go fetch the Third-borough. (3) Sly. Third, or fourth, or fifth borough, I'll answer him by law; I'll not budge an inch, boy; let him come, and kindly. [Falls asleep. But the Poet had no such Intentions. The Passage has particular Humour in it, and must have been very pleasing at that time of day. But I must clear up a Piece of Stage hiftory, to make it understood. There is a fustian old Play, call'd, Hieronymo; Or, The Spanish Tragedy: which, I find, was the comnron But of Rallery to all the Poets of Shakespeare's Time: and a Passage, that appear'd very ridiculous in that Play, is here humourously alluded to. Hieronymo, thinking himself injur'd, applies to the King for Justice; but the Courtiers, who did not defire his Wrongs should be set in a true Light, attempo to hinder him from an Audience. Hicro. Justice, oh! justice to Hieronymo. Lor. Back; fee'st thou not, the King is busie? Hiero. Oh, is he so ? King. Who is He, that interrupts our Business? Hier. Not 1: Hieronymo, beware; go by, go by. So Sly here, not caring to be dun'd by the Hostess, cries to her in Effect, " Don't be troublesom, don't interrupt me, go by"; and, to fix the Satire in his Allusion, pleasantly calls her Jero nyms. (3)I'must go fetch the Headborough. Sly. Third, or fourth, or fifth Borough, &c.] This corrupt Reading had pass'd down through all the Copies, and none of the Editors pretended to guess at the Poet's Conceit. What an infipid, unmeaning Reply does Sly make to his Hostess? How do third, or fourth, or fifth Borough relate to Headborough: The Author intended but a poor Witticism, and even That is Joft. The Hostess would say, that she'll fetch a Constable: and this Officer the calls by his other Name, a Third-borough: and upon this Term Sly founds the Conundrum in his Answer to her. Who does not perceive, at a fingle glance, some Conceit started by this certain Correction? There is an Attempt at Wit, tolerable enough for a Tinker, and one drunk too. ThirdBorough is a Saxon-term sufficiently explain'd by the Gloffaries: and in our Statute books, no farther back than the 28th Year of Henry VIIlth. we find it wsed to fignify a Constable... |