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And, not obedient to his honest will,
What is she, but a foul contending rebel,
And graceless traitor to her loving lord?-
I am asham'd, that women are so simple
To offer war, where they should kneel for peace;
Or seek for rule, supremacy, and sway,

When they are bound to serve, love, and obey.
Why are our bodies soft, and weak, and smooth,
Unapt to toil and trouble in the world;
But that our soft conditions, and our hearts,
Should well agree with our external parts?
Come, come, you froward and unable worms!
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 we least are.
Then vail your stomachs, for it is no boot;
And place your hands below your husband's foot:
In token of which duty, if he please,

My hand is ready, may it do him ease.

Pet. Why, there's a wench! Come on, and kiss me, Kate.

Luc. Well, go thy ways, old lad; for thou shalt

ha't.

Vin. 'Tis a good hearing, when children are to

ward.

Luc. But a harsh hearing, when women are fro. ward.

Pet. Come, Kate, we'll to-bed:

We three are married, but you two are sped.

"Twas I won the wager, though you hit the white;

[TO LUCENTIO. And, being a winner, God give you good night!

[Exeunt PETRUCHIO and KATH. Hor. Now go thy ways, thou hast tam'd a curst shrew. Luc. 'Tis a wonder, by your leave, she will be tam'd

So.

[Exeunt.

END OF VOL. IV.

Stereotyped and printed by A. WILSON,
Duke-Street, Lincoln's-Inn Fields.

ANNOTATIONS

ON

THE TAMING OF THE SHREW.

INDUCTION.

LINE 1. I'll pheese you,] To pheeze or fease, is to separate a twist into single threads. In the figurative sense it may well enough be taken, like teaze or toze, for to harass, to plague. Perhaps I'll pheeze you, may be equivalent to I'll comb your head, a phrase vulgarly used by persons of Sly's character on like occasions. JOHNSON.

Line 2. -no rogues :] That is, vagrants, no mean fellows, but gentlemen. JOHNSON.

Line 5. -paucas 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, pocas palabras, i. e. few words: as they do likewise, Cessa, i. e. be quiet. THEOBALD.

Line 7. -you have burst?] To burst and to break were anciently synonimous. Falstaff says-that John of Gaunt burst Shallow's head for crowding in among the marshal's STEEVENS.

men.

Line 11. I must go fetch the thirdborough.] In the old copies headborough, i. e. a constable; of what class it is use

2

ANNOTATIONS ON

[ACT I. less to demonstrate, though the commentators have taken great pains to ascertain.

Line 18. Brach' Merriman,-the poor cur is emboss'd,] Here, says Pope, brach signifies a degenerate hound: but Edwards explains it a hound in general.

The meaning of the latter part of the paragraph seems to be, "I am so little skilled in hunting, that I can hardly "tell whether a bitch be a bitch or not; my judgment goes 66 no further, than just to direct me to call either dog or "bitch by their general name-Hound." WARTON.

Line 71. And, when he says he is,—say, that he dreams,
For he is nothing but a mighty lord.] Sir T. Han-

mer thinks that Shakspeare wrote,

"And when he says he's poor, say, that he dreams." The dignity of a lord is then significantly opposed to the poverty which it would be natural for him to acknowledge. STEEVENS.

Line 75. -modesty.] By modesty is n.eant moderation, without suffering our merriment to break into an excess.

Line 91.

JOHNSON.

-to accept our duty.] It was in those times the custom of players to travel in companies, and offer their ser vice at great houses.

JOHNSON.

Line 97. I think, 't was Soto-] I take our author here to be paying a compliment to Beaumont and Fletcher's Women pleas'd, in which comedy there is the character of Soto, who is a farmer's son, and a very facetions servingman. Mr. Rowe and Mr. Pope prefix the name of Sim to the line here spoken; but the first folio has it Sincklow; which, no doubt, was the name of one of the players here introduced, and who had played the part of Soto with applause. THEOBALD.

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