Gre. Firft, as you know, my house within the city Is richly furnished with plate and gold; Fine linen, Turky cufhions bofs'd with pearl, Tra. That, only, came well in--Sir, lift to me, I am my father's heir, and only fon: 9 -counterpoints,] So, in a Knack to know a Knave, 1594: "Then I will have rich counterpoints, and musk.” Thefe coverings for beds are at prefent called counterpanes; but either mode of fpelling is proper. Counterpoint is the monkifh term for a particular fpecies of mufic, in which notes of equal duration, but of different harmony, are fet in oppofition to each other. In like manner counterpanes were anciently compofed of patch. work, and fo contrived that every pane or partition in them, was contrafted with one of a different colour, though of the fame dimentions. STEEVENS. tents and canopies,] I fuppofe by tents old Gremio means work of that kind which the ladies call tent-fitch.. He would hardly enumerate tents (in their common acceptation) among his domeftic riches. STEEVENS. 2 Pewter We may fuppofe that pewter was, even in the time of queen Elizabeth, too coftly to be used in common. It appears from "The regulations and establishment of the house. hold of Henry Algernon Percy, the fifth earl of Northumber land, &c." that veffels of pewter were hired by the year. This boufebold-book was begun in the year 1512. See. Holinfhed's Defcription of England, p. 188, and 189. STEEVENS. If I may have your daughter to my wife. Befides two thousand ducats by the year Gre. Two thousand ducats by the year, of land3! Tra. Gremio, 'tis known, my father hath no lefs Than three great argofies; befides two galliaffes, And twelve tight gallies: thefe I will affure her, 3 Gre. Two thousand ducats by the year, of land! That he ball have; befides]· Though all the copics concur in this reading, furely, if we examine the reafoning, fomething will be found wrong. Gremio is ftartled at the high fettlement Tranio propofes: fays, his whole eftate in land can't match it, yet he'll fettle fo much a year upon her, &c. This is playing at crofs purposes. The change of the negative in the fecond line falves the abfurdity, and fets the paffage right. Gremio and Tranio vyeing in their offers to carry Bianca the latter boldly propofes to fettie land to the amount of two thousand ducats per annum. My whole eftate, fays the other, in land, amounts but to that value; yet the fhall have that: I'll endow her with the whole; and confign a rich veffel to her ufe over and above. Thus all is intelligible, and he goes on to out-bid his rival. WARBURTON. Gremio only fays, his whole eftate in land doth not indeed amount to two thousand ducats a year, but the fhall have that, whatever be its value, and an argofy over and above; which ar gofy must be understood to be of very great value from his subjoining: What, have I choak'd you with an argofy? REVISAL. tavo galliaffes] A galeas or galliafs, is a heavy lowbuilt veffel of burthen, with both fails and oars, partaking at once of the nature of a fhip and a galley. So, in the Noble Sol dier, 163.1: -to have rich gulls come aboard their pinnaces, for then they are fure to build galliaffes." STERVENS. And And twice as much, what'er thou offer'ft next. By your firm promife; Gremio is out-vied. I am thus refolv'd:-On Sunday next you know, And fo I take my leave, and thank you both. [Exit. not; Sirrah, young gamefter, your father were a fool [Exit. Tra. A vengeance on your crafty wither'd hide! Yet I have fac'd it with a card of ten°. "Tis 5-out-vied.] This is a term at the old game of gleek. When one man was vied upon another, he was faid to be out-wied. See P. 475. STEEVENS. Yet I have fac'd it with a card of ten.] That is, with the higheft card, in the old fimple games of our ancestors. So that this became a proverbial expreffion. So, Skelton: 66 "Fyrfte pycke a quarrel, and fall out with him then, And, Ben Jonfon, in his Sad Shepherd: 66 a Hart of ten "I trow he be." i. e. an extraordinary good one. WARBURTON. 1 'Tis in my head to do my mafter good:- [Exit. ACT If the word bart be right, I do not fee any ufe of the latter quotation. JOHNSON. A bart of ten is an expreffion taken from the Laws of the Foreft, When a hart is past fix years and relates to the age of the deer, of age, he is generally call'd a heart of ten. Foreft Laws, 4to, 1598. Again, in the fixth fcene of the Sad Shepherd: a great large deer! "Rob. What head? John. Forked. A bart of ten." The former expreffion is very common. So, in Law-Tricks, &c. 1608 : « 1 I may be out-fac'd with a card of ten.” In the Chances, by Beaumont and Fletcher, a card of five is mentioned; and in the Emperor of the Eaft, by Mallinger: "He is a deer of ten, at the least.” As we are on the fubject of cards, it may not be amifs to take We call notice of a common blunder relative to their names. the king, queen, and knave, court-cards, whereas they were antiently denominated coats or coat-cards, from their coats or dreffes. So, Ben Jonfon, in his New Inn: "When he is pleas'd to trick or trump mankind, "Some may be coats, as in the cards.” Again, in May-Day, a comedy, by Chapman, 1611: She had in her hand the ace of harts and a coat-card. She led the board with her coat; I plaid the varlet, and took up her coat; and meaning to lay my finger on her ace of hearts, up farted a quite contrary card." Again, in Rowley's When you fee me you know me, 1613: "You have been at noddy, I fee Ay, and the first card comes to my hand is a kuce. "I am a coat-card, indeed. "Then thou must needs be a knave, for thou art neither queen nor king." STEEVENS. -If I fail not of my cunning.] As this is the conclufion of an act, I fufpect that the poet defign'd a rhyming couplet. In ftead ACT III. SCENE I. Baptifta's house. Enter Lucentio, Hortenfio, and Bianca. Luc. Fidler, forbear; you grow too forward, fir: Have you fo foon forgot the entertainment Her fifter Katharine welcom'd you withal? Hor. But, wrangling pedant, this is The patronefs of heavenly harmony: Then give me leave to have prerogative; And when in mufick we have spent an hour, Your lecture fhall have leifure for as much. Luc. Prepofterous afs! that never read fo far To know the cause why musick was ordain'd! ftead of cunning we might read-doing, which is often used by Shakspeare in the fenfe here wanted, and agrees perfectly well with the beginning of the line-" a child shall get a fire.” After this, the former editors add, Sly. Sim, when will the fool come again? Sim. Anon, my lord. Sly. Give us fome more drink here; where's the tapfter? Here, Sim, eat fome of these things. Sim. I do, my lord. Sly. Here, Sim, I drink to thee. Thefe fpeeches of the prefenters, (as they are called) are nei ther to be found in the folio or quarto. Mr. Popc, as in fome former inftances, introduced them from the old fpurious play of the fame name; and therefore we may eafily account for their want of connection with the prefent comedy. I have degraded them as ufual into the note. By the fool in the original piece, is either meant Sander the fervant to Ferando (who is the Petruchio of Shakspeare) or Ferando himself. STEEVENS. *When will the fool come again?] The character of the fool has not been introduced in this drama, therefore I believe that the word again fhould be omitted, and that Sly afks, When will the fool come? the fool being the favourite of the vulgar, or, as we now phrase it, of the upper gallery, was naturally expected in every interlude. JOHNSON. VOL. III. I i Was |