SCENE IV. Padua. Before Baptista’s house.

Enter Tranio and the Pedant¹ dressed like Vincentio

 

TRANIO.

Sir, this is the house; please it you that I call?

 

PEDANT.

Ay, what else? and, but I be deceived,

Signior Baptista may remember me,

Near twenty years ago in Genoa,

Where we were lodgers² at the Pegasus.

 

TRANIO.

’Tis well; and hold your own, in any case,

With such austerity as ’longeth to a father.

 

PEDANT.

I warrant you. But, sir, here comes your boy;

’Twere good he were school’d.

 

Enter Biondello.

 

TRANIO.

Fear you not him. Sirrah Biondello,

Now do your duty throughly, I advise you.

Imagine ’twere the right Vincentio.

 

BIONDELLO.

Tut! fear not me.

 

TRANIO.

But hast thou done thy errand to Baptista?

 

BIONDELLO.

I told him that your father was at Venice,

And that you look’d for him this day in Padua.

 

TRANIO.

Th’art a tall fellow; hold thee that to drink.

Here comes Baptista. Set your countenance³, sir.

 

Enter Baptista and Lucentio.

 

Signior Baptista, you are happily met.

[To the Pedant] Sir, this is the gentleman I told you of;

I pray you stand good father to me now;

Give me Bianca for my patrimony⁵.

 

PEDANT.

Soft, son!

Sir, by your leave: having come to Padua

To gather in some debts, my son Lucentio

Made me acquainted with a weighty cause

Of love between your daughter and himself:

And,—for the good report I hear of you,

And for the love he beareth to your daughter,

And she to him,—to stay him not too long,

I am content, in a good father’s care,

To have him match’d; and, if you please to like

No worse than I, upon some agreement

Me shall you find ready and willing

With one consent to have her so bestow’d;

For curious I cannot be with you,

Signior Baptista, of whom I hear so well.

 

BAPTISTA.

Sir, pardon me in what I have to say.

Your plainness and your shortness please me well.

Right true it is your son Lucentio here

Doth love my daughter, and she loveth him,

Or both dissemble deeply their affections;

And therefore, if you say no more than this,

That like a father you will deal with him,

And pass my daughter a sufficient dower,

The match is made, and all is done:

Your son shall have my daughter with consent.

 

TRANIO.

I thank you, sir. Where then do you know best

We be affied, and such assurance ta’en

As shall with either part’s agreement stand?

 

BAPTISTA.

Not in my house, Lucentio, for you know

Pitchers⁶ have ears, and I have many servants;

Besides, old Gremio is hearkening still,

And happily we might be interrupted.

 

TRANIO.

Then at my lodging⁷, and it like you:

There doth my father lie; and there this night

We’ll pass the business privately⁸ and well.

Send for your daughter by your servant here;

My boy shall fetch the scrivener presently.

The worst is this, that at so slender warning

You are like to have a thin and slender pittance⁹.

 

BAPTISTA.

It likes me well. Cambio, hie you home,

And bid Bianca make her ready straight;

And, if you will, tell what hath happened:

Lucentio’s father is arriv’d in Padua,

And how she’s like to be Lucentio’s wife.

 

LUCENTIO.

I pray the gods she may, with all my heart!

 

TRANIO.

Dally¹⁰ not with the gods, but get thee gone.

Signior Baptista, shall I lead the way?

Welcome! One mess is like to be your cheer;

Come, sir; we will better it in Pisa.

 

BAPTISTA.

I follow you.

 

[Exeunt Tranio, Pedant and Baptista.]

 

BIONDELLO.

Cambio!

 

LUCENTIO.

What say’st thou, Biondello?

 

BIONDELLO.

You saw my master wink¹¹ and laugh upon you?

 

LUCENTIO.

Biondello, what of that?

 

BIONDELLO.

Faith, nothing; but has left me here behind to expound¹² the meaning or moral of his signs and tokens.

 

LUCENTIO.

I pray thee moralize them.

 

BIONDELLO.

Then thus: Baptista is safe, talking with the deceiving father of a deceitful son.

 

LUCENTIO.

And what of him?

 

BIONDELLO.

His daughter is to be brought by you to the supper.

 

LUCENTIO.

And then?

 

BIONDELLO.

The old priest at Saint Luke’s church is at your command at all hours.

 

LUCENTIO.

And what of all this?

 

BIONDELLO.

I cannot tell, except they are busied about a counterfeit¹³ assurance. Take your assurance of her, cum privilegio ad imprimendum solum; to the church! take the priest, clerk, and some sufficient honest witnesses.

If this be not that you look for, I have more to say,

But bid Bianca farewell for ever and a day.

 

[Going.]

 

LUCENTIO.

Hear’st thou, Biondello?

 

BIONDELLO.

I cannot tarry: I knew a wench married in an afternoon as she went to the garden for parsley to stuff a rabbit; and so may you, sir; and so adieu, sir. My master hath appointed me to go to Saint Luke’s to bid the priest be ready to come against you come with your appendix.

 

[Exit.]

 

LUCENTIO.

I may, and will, if she be so contented¹⁴.

She will be pleas’d; then wherefore should I doubt?

Hap⁴ what hap may, I’ll roundly go about her;

It shall go hard if Cambio go without her:

 

[Exit.]

 

1 pedant   

n.迂儒；卖弄学问的人

参考例句：

• He's a bit of a pedant.这人有点迂。
• A man of talent is one thing,and a pedant another.有才能的人和卖弄学问的人是不一样的。

2 lodgers   

n.房客，租住者( lodger的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He takes in lodgers. 他招收房客。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A good proportion of my lodgers is connected with the theaters. 住客里面有不少人是跟戏院子有往来的。 来自辞典例句

3 countenance   

n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同

参考例句：

• At the sight of this photograph he changed his countenance.他一看见这张照片脸色就变了。
• I made a fierce countenance as if I would eat him alive.我脸色恶狠狠地，仿佛要把他活生生地吞下去。

4 hap   

n.运气；v.偶然发生

参考例句：

• Some have the hap,some stick in the gap.有的人走运, 有的人倒霉。
• May your son be blessed by hap and happiness.愿你儿子走运幸福。

5 patrimony   

n.世袭财产，继承物

参考例句：

• I left my parents' house,relinquished my estate and my patrimony.我离开了父母的家，放弃了我的房产和祖传财产。
• His grandfather left the patrimony to him.他的祖父把祖传的财物留给了他。

6 pitchers   

大水罐( pitcher的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Over the next five years, he became one of the greatest pitchers in baseball. 在接下来的5年时间里，他成为了最了不起的棒球投手之一。
• Why he probably won't: Pitchers on also-rans can win the award. 为什麽不是他得奖：投手在失败的球队可以赢得赛扬奖。

7 lodging   

n.寄宿，住所；(大学生的)校外宿舍

参考例句：

• The bill is inclusive of the food and lodging. 账单包括吃、住费用。
• Where can you find lodging for the night? 你今晚在哪里借宿?

8 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

9 pittance   

n.微薄的薪水，少量

参考例句：

• Her secretaries work tirelessly for a pittance.她的秘书们为一点微薄的工资不知疲倦地工作。
• The widow must live on her slender pittance.那寡妇只能靠自己微薄的收入过活。

10 dally   

v.荒废(时日)，调情

参考例句：

• You should not dally away your time.你不应该浪费时间。
• One shouldn't dally with a girl's affection.一个人不该玩弄女孩子的感情。

11 wink   

n.眨眼，使眼色，瞬间；v.眨眼，使眼色，闪烁

参考例句：

• He tipped me the wink not to buy at that price.他眨眼暗示我按那个价格就不要买。
• The satellite disappeared in a wink.瞬息之间，那颗卫星就消失了。

12 expound   

v.详述；解释；阐述

参考例句：

• Why not get a diviner to expound my dream?为什么不去叫一个占卜者来解释我的梦呢？
• The speaker has an hour to expound his views to the public.讲演者有1小时时间向公众阐明他的观点。

13 counterfeit   

vt.伪造，仿造；adj.伪造的，假冒的

参考例句：

• It is a crime to counterfeit money.伪造货币是犯罪行为。
• The painting looked old but was a recent counterfeit.这幅画看上去年代久远，实际是最近的一幅赝品。

14 contented   

adj.满意的，安心的，知足的

参考例句：

• He won't be contented until he's upset everyone in the office.不把办公室里的每个人弄得心烦意乱他就不会满足。
• The people are making a good living and are contented,each in his station.人民安居乐业。