Tra. But, fay, what to thine old news? Bion. Why, Petruchio is coming, in a new hat, and an old jerkin; a pair of old breeches, thrice turn'd; a pair of boots that have been candle-cafes, one buckled, another lac'd; an old rufty fword ta'en out of the town armory, with a broken hilt, and chapeless, with two broken points: His horfe hip'd with an old mothy faddle, the stirrups of no kindred: befides, poffefs'd with the glanders, and like to mofe in the chine; troubled with the lampafs, infected with the fashions, full of windgalls, fped with fpavins, raid with the yellows, paft cure of the fives, ftark fpoiled 7 a pair of boots-one buckled, another laced; an old rufty fword ta'en out of the town-a mory, with a broken hilt, and chapeless, with two broken points:] How a fword should have two broken points, I cannot tell. There is, I think, a tranfpofition caused by the feeming relation of point to fword. I read, a pair of boots, one buckled, another laced with two broken points; an old rusty swordwith a brozen bilt, and chapeless. JOHNSON. I fufpect that feveral words giving an account of Petruchio's belt are wanting. The belt was then broad and rich, and worn on the outside of the clothes. Two broken points might therefore have concluded the defcription of its oftentatious meannefs. STEEVENS. The broken points might be the two broken tags to the laces., TOLLET. 8 that have been candle-c-fs,] That is, I fuppofe, boots long left off, and after having been converted into cafes to hold the ends of candles, returning to their first offee. I do not know that I have ever met with the word candle-cafe in any other places, except the following preface to a dramatic dialogue, 1604, entitled, The Cafe is Iter'd, How? "I write upon cafes, nei ther knife-cafes, pin-cafes, nor candle-cafes." And again, in How to choose a Good Wife from a Bad, 1602 : "A bow-cafe, a cap-cafe, a tomb-cate, a lute-cafe, a fiddlecafe, and a candle-cafe." STEEVENS. 9 -infected with the fashions, -paft cure of the fives,] Fashions. So called in the West of England, but by the best writers on farriery, farcens, or farcy. Fives. So called in the Weit: vives elsewhere, and avives by the French; a distemper in horfes, little differing from the trangles. GREY. Shakspeare is not the only writer who ufes fashions fox farcy, 114 fpoiled with the staggers, begnawn with the bots; fway'd in the back, and fhoulder-fhotten; ne'er-legg'd before', and with a half-check'd bit, and a headitali of fheep's leather, which, being reftrain'd to keep him from tumbling, hath been often burst, and now repair'd with knots: one girt fix times piec'd, and a woman's crupper of velure, which hath two letters for her name, fairly fet down in ftuds, and here and there pieced with packthread. Bap. Who comes with him? Bion. Oh, fir, his lacquey, for all the world caparifon'd like the horfe; with a linen ftock' on one leg, and a kerfey boot-hofe on the other, garter'd with a red and blue lift; an old hat, and The humour of So, in Decker's comedy of Old Fortunatus, 1600: "Andel. Fashions. "Shad. That's a beaftly difeafe." Again, in the New Ordinary, by Brome: forty "My old beaft is infected with the fashions, fashion-fick.” Again, in Decker's Guls Hornbook, 1609:-" Fashions was then counted a difeafe, and horfes died of it." STEEVENS. -near-legg'd before.] Perhaps we should read-" ne'er-legg’d before,"-i. e. founder'd in his fore feet; having, as the jockies term it, never a fore leg to land on. The fubfequent words"which being reftrain'd, to keep him from fumbling"-feem to countenance this interpretation. To go near before, is not reckoned a defect, but a perfection in a horse. Since I wrote the above, I have found my conjecture confirmed; for so reads the first folio. MALONE. 2 -a crupper of velure,] Velure is velvet. Velours, Fr. So, in the World toffed at Tennis, 1620, by Middleton and Rowley : "Come, my well-lin'd foldier (with valour "Not velure) keep me warm." Again, in the Noble Gentleman, by Beaumont and Fletcher: an old hat, 3 66. "Lin'd with welure." STEEVENS. -flock] i. c. ftocking. See vol. i. p. 197. STEEVENS. 4 an old hat, and the humour of forty tancies prick'd in't for a father:] This was fome ballad of drollery of that time, which the forty fancies prick'd in't for a feather: a monfter, a very monster in apparel; and not like a Chriftian foot boy, or a gentleman's lacquey, Tra. Tis, fome odd humour pricks him to this Yet often times he goes but mean apparell'd Bap. Didit thou not fay, he comes? Bap. Ay, that Petruchio came, Bion. No, fir; I fay, his horfe comes with him on his back. Bap. Why, that's all one. Bion. Nay, by faint Jamy, I hold you a penny, A horfe and a man is more than one, and yet not many. Enter Petruchico and Grumio s. Pet. Come, where be these gallants? who is at home? Bap. the poet here ridicules, by making Petruchio prick it up in his foot boy's old hat for a feather. His fpeakers are perpetually quoting fcraps and ftanzas of old ballads, and often very obfcurely; for, fo well are they adapted to the occafion, that they feem of a piece with the reft. In Shakspeare's time, the kingdom was overrun with thefe doggrel compofitions. And he feems to have borne them a very particular grudge. He frequently ridicules both them and their makers with excellent humour. In Much Ado about Nothing, he makes Benedick fay, Prove that ever I lofe more blood with love than I get again with drinking, prick out my eyes with a ballad maker's pen. As the bluntnefs of it would make the execution of it extremely painful. And again, in Troilus and Creffida, Pandarus in his diftrefs having repeated a very stupid stanza from an old ballad, fays, with the highest humour, There never was a truer rhyme; let's caft away nothing, for we may live to have need of such a verfe. We fee it, we fee it. WARBURTON. Enter Petruchio and Grumic. Thus in the original play- "Alfon Bap.. You are welcome, fir. Pet. And yet I come, not well. As I wish you were. Pet. Were it better, I fhould rush in thus, As if they faw fome wondrous monument, Bap. Why, fir, you know, this is your weddingday: First, were we fad, fearing you would not come; Now fadder, that you come fo unprovided. "Alfon. Yea, marry fonne: we were almoft perfuaded "That we fhould fearce have had our bridegroom here: "But fay, why art thou thus bafely attired? "Feran. Thus richly, farher, you should have faide; "For when my wife and I are married once, "Shee's fuch a fhrew, if we fhould once fall out, "Sheele pull my coftly futes over mine cars, "And therefore I am thus attir'd a while : "For many things I tell you's in my head, "And none must know thereof but Kate and I; "For we fhall live like lambes and lions fure: "Nor lambes nor lions never were fo tame, "If once they lie within the lions pawes, "As Kate to me, if we were married once : "And therefore, come, let's to church prefently. "Pol. Fie, Ferando! not thus attir'd: for fhame, "Come to my chamber, and there fuite thyfelfe, Of twenty futes that I did never weare. "Feran. Tuh, Polidor, I have as many futes "Fantastike made to fit my humour fo, As any in Athens; and as richly wrought "As was the maffie robe that late adorn'd The ftately legat of the Perfian king, "And this from them I have made choice to weare. Alfon. I prethee, Ferando, let me intreat, "Before thou go'ft unto the church with us, "To put fome other fute upon thy backe. 3 "Feran. Not for the world," &c. STEEVENS. Fye ! Fye! doff this habit, fhame to your eftate, Tra. And tell us, what occafion of import Pet. Tedious it were to tell, and harsh to hear; Sufficeth I am come to keep my word, 4 Though in fome part enforced to digrefs +; But, where is Kate? I ftay too long from her; Pet. Not I, believe me; thus I'll vifit her. To me fhe's marry'd, not unto my cloaths: [Exeunt Pet. Gru. and Bion. Tra. He hath fome meaning in his mad attire: We will perfuade him, be it poffible, To put on better ore he go to church. Bap. I'll after him, and fee the event of this. [Exit. Her 4 to digrefs;] to deviate from any promife. JOHNSON. 5 Tra. But, fir, our love] Our is an injudicious interpolation. The first folio reads-But, fir, love concerneth us to add, Her father's liking-which I think, fhould be thus corrected: But, fir, to her love concerneth us to add We |