Hor. I am afraid, fir, do what you can, Enter Biondello. Yours will not be intreated: Now, where's my wife? Say, I command her to come to me. [Exit Grumio. Pet. What? Hor. She will not. Pet. The fouler fortune mine, and there's an end. Enter Catharine. Bap. Now, by my hollidame, here comes Catharine! [Exit Catharine. life, And awful rule, and right fupremacy; And, to be short, what not, that's fweet and happy. And And fhow more fign of her obedience, Re-enter Catharine, Bianca, and Widow. Catharine, that cap of yours becomes you not; [She pulls off her cap, and throws it down. Wid. Lord, let me never have a cause to figh, 'Till I be brought to fuch a filly pafs! Bian. Fy! what a foolish duty call you this? Luc. I would your duty were as foolish too!. The wifdom of your duty, fair Bianca, Coft me an hundred crowns fince fupper-time. Bian. The more fool you, for laying on my duty. Pet. Catharine, I charge thee, tell these headstrong women, What duty they do owe their lords and husbands. Wid. Come, come, you're mocking; we will have no telling. Pet. Come on, I fay; and firft begin with her. Pet. I fay, fhe fhall; and firft begin with her. brow; And dart not fcornful glances from thofe eyes, ; A woman mov'd is like a fountain troubled, Gg 2 And And for thy maintenance: commits his body My hand is ready, may it do him ease. Pet. Why, there's a wench! Come on, and kifs me, Kate. Luc. Well, gothy ways, old lad; for thou shalt ha't. •Then vail your ftomachs—] i. e. lower your refentments. STEEV Vin. 'Tis a good hearing, when children are toward. Luc. But a harsh hearing, when women are fra ward. Pet. Come, Kate, we'll to-bed : We three are married, but you two are fped. 'Twas I won the wager, tho' you hit the 7 white; And, being a winner, God give you good night! [Exeunt Petruchio and Catharine. Hor. Now go thy ways, thou haft tam'd a curst fhrow. Luc. 'Tis a wonder, by your leave, she will be tam'd [Exeunt omnes.* fo. Though you bit the white.] To hit the white is a phrafe borrowed from archery: the mark was commonly white. Here it alludes to the name Bianca, or white. JOHNSON. * At the conclufion of this piece, Mr. Pope continued his infertions from the old play as follows: Enter two fervants, bearing Sly in his own apparel, and leaving him on the ftage. Then enter a Tapfter. Sly. [awaking.] Sim, give's fome more wine—what, all the players gone? am I not a lord? Tap. A lord, with a murrain? come, art thou drunk ftill? Sly. Who's this? Tapfter! oh, I bave had the bravest dream that ever thou beard'ft in all thy life. Tap. Yea, marry, but thou hadst beft get thee home, for your wife will curfe you for dreaming here all night. Sly. Will be? I know how to tame a fhrew. I dreamt upon it all this night, and thou haft wak'd me out of the best dream that ever I bad. But I'll to my wife, and tame her too if she anger me. Thefe paffages, which have been hitherto printed as part of the work of Shakespeare, I have funk into the notes, that they may be preferved, as they are neceffary to the integrity of the piece, though they really compofe no part of it, being neither published in the folio or quarto editions. The players delivered down this comedy, among the reft, as one of Shakespeare's own; and its intrinfic merit bears fufficient evidence to the propriety of their decifion. Mr. Pope is the only person who appears to have met with the old fpurious play of the fame name. The fpeech which he has quoted from hence, bears little refemblance, in my opinion, to the ftile of Shakespeare; and, if I am not mistaken, exhibits fe veral words, which he has employed in no other of his pieces. It may likewise be remarked, that the old copy of this play, dated 1607, from which Mr. Pope inferted fuch paffages as are now degraded, does not appear to have reached the hands of Dr. Warburton, who inherited all the reft which his friend had enumerated. For this copy I have repeatedly advertised, with fuch offers as might have tempted any indigent owner to have fold it, and, I hope, in fuch terms as might have procured me the loan of it from those who preferved it only on account of its rarity. It was, however, neither to be bought, borrowed, or heard of. I would therefore, excufe myself for having left fuch parts out of the text, as I do not believe to be genuine, for the fame reason that Bernini declined the task of repairing a famous though mutilated statue, because I am unwilling to unite ftucco with Grecian marble. I must add a few more reafons why I neither believe the former comedy of the Taming the Shrew, 1607, nor the old play of King John in two parts, to have been the work of Shakespeare. He generally followed every novel or hiftory from whence he took his plots, as clofely as he could; and is fo often indebted to these ori ginals for his very thoughts and expreffions, that we may fairly pronounce him not to have been above borrowing, to spare himfelf the labour of invention. It is therefore probable, that both thefe plays, (like that of Hen. V. in which Oldcastle is introduced) were the unfuccefsful performances of contemporary authors. Shakespeare faw they were meanly written, and yet that their plans were fuch as would furnish incidents for a better dramatift. He therefore might lazily adopt the order of their fcenes, ftill writing the dialogue anew, and inferting little more from either piece, than a few lines which he might think worth preferving, or was too much in hafte to alter. It is no uncommon thing in the literary world to fee the track of others followed by those who would never have given themselves the trouble to mark out one of their own. STEEVENS. From this play the Tatler formed a story, vol. iv. No. 231. "T HERE are very many ill habits that might with much ease have been prevented, which, after we have indulged ourfelves in them, become incorrigible. We have a fort of proverbial expreffion, of taking a woman down in her wedding shoes, if you would bring her to reafon. An early behaviour of this fort, had a very remarkable good effect in a family wherein I was feveral years an intimate acquaintance. 66 "A gentleman in Lincoln fhire had four daughters, three of which were early married very happily; but the fourth, though no way inferior to any of her fifters, either in perfon or accomplishments, had from her infancy difcovered fo imperious a temper, (ufually called a high fpirit) that it continually made great uneafinefs in the |