Information prepared by the Project Gutenberg legal advisor 28 come abroad to see the world.
HORTENSIO. Petruchio, shall I then come roundly to thee And wish thee to a shrewd ill-favour ' d wife? Thou ' dst thank me but a little for my counsel; And yet I ' ll promise thee she shall be rich, And very rich: but th ' art too much my friend, And I ' ll not wish thee to her.
PETRUCHIO. Signior Hortensio, ' twixt such friends as we Few words suffice; and therefore, if thou know One rich enough to be Petruchio ' s wife, As wealth is burden of my wooing dance, Be she as foul as was Florentius ' love, As old as Sibyl, and as curst and shrewd As Socrates ' Xanthippe or a worse, She moves me not, or not removes, at least, Affection ' s edge in me, were she as rough As are the swelling Adriatic seas: I come to wive it wealthily in Padua; If wealthily, then happily in Padua.
GRUMIO. Nay, look you, sir, he tells you flatly what his mind is: why, give him gold enough and marry him to a puppet or an aglet-baby; or an old trot with ne ' er a tooth in her head, though she has as many diseases as two-and-fifty horses: why, nothing comes amiss, so money comes withal.
HORTENSIO. Petruchio, since we are stepp ' d thus far in, I will continue that I broach ' d in jest. I can, Petruchio, help thee to a wife With wealth enough, and young and beauteous; Brought up as best becomes a gentlewoman: Her only fault,--and that is faults enough,-- Is, that she is intolerable curst And shrewd and froward, so beyond all measure, That, were my state far worser than it is, I would not wed her for a mine of gold.
PETRUCHIO. Hortensio, peace! thou know ' st not gold ' s effect: Tell me her father ' s name, and ' tis enough; For I will board her, though she chide as loud As thunder when the clouds in autumn crack.
HORTENSIO. Her father is Baptista Minola, An affable and courteous gentleman; Her name is Katherina Minola, Renown ' d in Padua for her scolding tongue.