THE TAMING OF THE SHREW.

Note (1.)

Induction 1, Line 16,—

“Huntsman, I charge thee, tender well my hounds :
Brush Merriman, the poor cur is emboss'd;

And couple Clowder with the deep-mouth'd brach.” "Brush Merriman." Compare Turberville's Booke of Hunting, p. 31, ed. 1611,—

“Hee must take two wispes of cleane straw and put them under his girdel, with a little brush or duster to rubbe and dust his hounds." “When you have thus walked them in the morning, and that the sun beginneth now to be high, the Hunt must go into some faire meadow, and call all his dogges about him, and then must they take their wisps and brushes, to brush and dust their hounds as softly as may be."- "It may suffice to rubbe and currie the hound three times in a weeke, but Greyhounds ought to be rubbed once every day."

"And in coupling them he must take good heed that he couple not the Dogges together, for feare least they fight one with another, and if there be any young hounds, it shalbe good to couple them with the old bitches, to teach them to follow."

As "to uncouple" signifies to commence the chase (see Note (5) M. W. W.), so, at its close, the hounds were at once coupled up again. So Ib. page 33,

“And then after let them couple them up again fayre and gently; for if one do roughly handle a yong hound at the first coupling, he will not easily come againe to the coupling another time. When they are coupled up againe, they must lead them to their kennell." The folio has "Brach Meriman," an evident error. Dyce and Singer print " Trash." But a trash (see Note (4) Tempest) was used in training a young dog; not when hounds were hunted in a pack. It is ludicrous to suppose it would be used to tire still more a

hound already fairly spent. The other compared eds. retain the old text; the Camb. eds. marking it as corrupt. "Brach" is a bitch hound.

Note (2.)

66

Induction 2, Line 115,

"Sly. Madam, wife, they say that I have dream'd, And slept alone some fifteen year or more.

Page. Ay, and the time seems thirty unto me,

Being all this time abandon'd from your bed."

The folio has "And slept aboue," the third folio has 'about," and so Dyce and Singer print. The other compared eds. retain "above."

Note (3). Act I. Scene 2, Line 276,—

"Sir, I shall not be slack: in sign whereof, Please ye we may contrive this afternoon And quaff carouses to our mistress' health." "Contrive" bring about, to manage. v. 2, 6,—

66

So Hy. V.

And, as a branch and member of this royalty,
By whom this great assembly is contriv'd,
We do salute you, Duke of Burgundy."

1 Hy. VI. 1, 4, 77,—

"Accursed tower! accursed fatal hand,
That hath contriv'd this woful tragedy!"

But the construction Contrive is used in this

"And quaff" is colloquially used for to quaff = the quaffing. Warburton explained contrive in the Latin sense, to wear away, to spend. "and quaff” is against this. sense by Spenser, F. Q. b. ii. c. ix. s. 48, but the instances of such use are rare. Shakespeare does not employ it. Johnson, Dyce, Singer, Staunton, and the Camb. eds. adopt Warburton's explanation. Schmidt

K

(S. Lex.) inclines to reject it. The construction, of

course, is,―

"Please ye we may, this afternoon, contrive

And quaff, &c."

Compare also T. A. iv. 1, 36,—

"till the heavens

Reveal the damn'd contriver of this deed."

And Macb. iii. 5, 7,

"And I, the mistress of your charms,

The close contriver of all harms."

"Contriver" deviser and effector, the bringer about. Ainsworth, Dict., gives,

"Contriver, auctor, inventor, and, to contrive (1) devise, (2) plot, (3) manage, administrare, tractare."

Note (4.) Act II. Scene 1, Line 202,

"Kath. Asses are made to bear, and so are you.
Pet. Women are made to bear, and so are you.
Kath. No such a Jack as you, if me you mean."

Compare line 290,—

"You've show'd a tender fatherly regard,
To wish me wed to one half lunatic;
A mad-cap ruffian and a swearing Jack."

And line 159,

"While she did call me rascal fiddler

And twangling Jack; with twenty such vile terms."

And R. and J. iii. 1, 12,

"Come, come, thou art as hot a Jack in thy mood as any in Italy."

The folio has "No such Iade."

print,

Dyce and Delius

"No such jade as bear you."

Singer has,

"No such load, sir, as you."

"Sir" is the introduction of the second folio; the line being imperfect in the first folio. The other compared eds. retain the old text. Farmer suggested the

Pet. O slow wing'd turtle! shall a buzzard take thee?
Kath. Ay, for a turtle,—as she takes a buzzard.”

"Should be! [bee]. "Well ta'en," &c. i.e. you have taken my meaning well, and like a beetle. "As blind as a buzzard," or " as a beetle," was proverbial: see Nares. "Shall a buzzard take thee?" buzzard, here — kite, buteo ignavus, the sluggish buzzard: see Nares. 'Ay, for a turtle." i.e. take me to be a turtle.

"As

she takes a buzzard." i.e. as she takes the meaning of you, a worthless kite. Buzzard, a kite, was a term of contempt. Steevens cites The Three Lords of London, 1590,

"Hast no more skill,

Than take a faulcon for a buzzard?"

The folio misprints, "as he takes a buzzard." the compared eds. retain the old text.

Note (6.) Act III. Scene 2, Line 92,—

"Tra.

As I wish you were.

Not so well apparell'd

Pet. Were it not better, I should rush in-thus?
But where is Kate? where is my lovely bride?"

All

"Were it not better," &c. i.e. Were it not better, I

should rush in, thus-all travel-stain'd, regardless of

dress, in my impatience? But [no time for this where is Kate? Petruchio is in haste; Falstaff can give reasons, at his leisure,

"O, if I had had time to have made new liveries, I would have bestowed the thousand pound I borrowed of you. But 'tis no matter; this poor show doth better: this doth infer the zeal I had to see him—as it were, to ride day and night; and not to deliberate, not to remember, not to have patience to shift me,—but to stand stained with travel, and sweating with desire to see him."

(2 Hy. IV. v. 5, 10.) The folio has, "Were it better," "not" having dropped out, as both the sense and metre indicate. The correction is by Lettsom. compared eds. retain the old text.

Note (7.)

"Hor.

Act IV. Scene 2, Line 35,

Signior Lucentio,

Here is my hand, aud here I firmly vow
Never to woo her more; but do forswear her,

"Tra. And here I take the like unfeigned oath,
Never to marry wi' her though she'd entreat;
Fie on her! see, how beastly she doth court him!

All the

Hor. Would all the world but he had quite forsworn her!"

And line 47,

"Tra. Nay, I have ta'en you napping, gentle love;

And have forsworn you, with Hortensio.

Beau. Tranio, you jest: but have you both forsworn me ?” The folio has,

“Would all the world but he had quite forsworn"

There being no point after "forsworn". tion is by Rowe and is adopted by Dyce.

The correc

The other

compared eds. print "forsworn!" which seems without meaning.