Grumio

“ Till Katherine the curst have got a husband.
GRUMIO. Katherine the curst!
A title for a maid of all titles the worst.
HORTENSIO. Now shall my friend Petruchio do me grace,
And offer me disguis'd in sober robes
To old Baptista as a schoolmaster
Well seen in music, to instruct Bianca;
That so I may by this device at least
Have leave and leisure to make love to her,
And unsuspected court her by herself.
Enter GREMIO with LUCENTIO disguised as CAMBIO
GRUMIO. Here's no knavery! See, to beguile the old folks, how
the
young folks lay their heads together! ”

“ PETRUCHIO. Verona, for a while I take my leave, To see my friends in Padua; but of all My best beloved and approved friend, Hortensio; and I trow this is his house. Here, sirrah Grumio, knock, I say. GRUMIO. Knock, sir! Whom should I knock? Is there any man has rebus'd your worship? PETRUCHIO. Villain, I say, knock me here soundly. GRUMIO. Knock you here, sir? Why, sir, what am I, sir, that I should knock you here, sir? PETRUCHIO. Villain, I say, knock me at this gate, And rap me well, or I'll knock your knave's pate. GRUMIO. My master is grown quarrelsome. ”

“ CURTIS.
Come, you are so full of cony-catching.
GRUMIO.
Why, therefore, fire; for I have caught extreme cold. Where’s the cook? Is supper ready, the house trimmed, rushes strewed, cobwebs swept, the servingmen in their new fustian, their white stockings, and every officer his wedding-garment on? ”

“ GRUMIO.
Ay; and that thou and the proudest of you all shall find when he comes home. But what talk I of this? Call forth Nathaniel, Joseph, Nicholas, Philip, Walter, Sugarsop, and the rest; let their heads be sleekly combed, their blue coats brush’d and their garters of an indifferent knit; let them curtsy with their left legs, and not presume to touch a hair of my master’s horse-tail till they kiss their hands. Are they all ready?
CURTIS.
They are.
GRUMIO.
Call them forth.
CURTIS.
Do you hear? ho! You must meet my master to countenance my mistress. ”

“ But for the obstinate effects of this impression, it is difficult to conceive how any one could miss the original invention of Shakspeare in the induction, and such scenes as that between Grumio and the tailor; the humour of which shines, even in the feeble reflection of the imitation, in striking contrast with those comic (?) scenes which are the undisputed invention of the author of the Taming of a Shrew.
The first passage I take is from Act IV. Sc. 3.
"Grumio. Thou hast fac'd many things?
"Tailor. I have.
"Gru. Face not me: thou hast brav'd many men; brave not me. ”

“ GRUMIO. O, sir, the conceit is deeper than you think for. Take up my mistress' gown to his master's use! O fie, fie, fie! PETRUCHIO. [Aside] Hortensio, say thou wilt see the tailor paid.- Go take it hence; be gone, and say no more. HORTENSIO. Tailor, I'll pay thee for thy gown to-morrow; Take no unkindness of his hasty words. Away, I say; commend me to thy master. Exit TAILOR PETRUCHIO. Well, come, my Kate; we will unto your father's Even in these honest mean habiliments; Our purses shall be proud, our garments poor; For 'tis the mind that makes the body rich ”

“ TRANIO. Sir, I shall not be slack; in sign whereof,
Please ye we may contrive this afternoon,
And quaff carouses to our mistress' health;
And do as adversaries do in law-
Strive mightily, but eat and drink as friends.
GRUMIO, BIONDELLO. O excellent motion! Fellows, let's be gone.
HORTENSIO. The motion's good indeed, and be it so.
Petruchio, I shall be your ben venuto. ”

“ Rise Grumio rise, we will compound this quarrell
Gru. Nay 'tis no matter sir, what he leges in Latine. If this be not a lawfull cause for me to leaue his seruice, looke you sir: He bid me knocke him, & rap him soundly sir. Well, was it fit for a seruant to vse his master so, being perhaps (for ought I see) two and thirty, a peepe out? Whom would to God I had well knockt at first, then had not Grumio come by the worst
Petr. A sencelesse villaine: good Hortensio,
I bad the rascall knocke vpon your gate,
And could not get him for my heart to do it
Gru. ”

“ According to the fashion and the time.” And when Petruchio, who is not half so much of a gentleman [243] in this scene as Sartorius, calls the latter “thimble,” “flea,” “skein of thread,” “remnant,” and flings at him a whole vocabulary of vituperation, the gentle schneider still simply asserts that the gown was made according to direction, and that the latter came from Grumio himself. Now Grumio, being a household servant, lies according to the manner of his vocation; and where he does not lie, he equivocates most basely; and where he neither lies nor equivocates, he bullies ”

“ BAPTISTA.
Ay, that Petruchio came.
BIONDELLO.
No, sir; I say his horse comes, with him on his back.
BAPTISTA.
Why, that’s all one.
BIONDELLO.
Nay, by Saint Jamy,
I hold you a penny,
A horse and a man
Is more than one,
And yet not many.
Enter Petruchio and Grumio.
PETRUCHIO.
Come, where be these gallants? Who is at home?
BAPTISTA.
You are welcome, sir.
PETRUCHIO.
And yet I come not well.
BAPTISTA.
And yet you halt not.
TRANIO.
Not so well apparell’d as I wish you were.
PETRUCHIO.
Were it better, I should rush in thus.
But where is Kate? Where is my lovely bride? ”

“ Welcome home Grumio.
Phil.
How now Grumio.
Ios.
What Grumio.
Nick.
Fellow Grumio.
Nat.
How now old lad.
Gru.
Welcome you: how now you: what you: fellow
you: and thus much for greeting. Now my spruce
companions, is all readie, and all things neate?
Nat.
All things is readie, how neere is our master?
Gre.
E'ne at hand, alighted by this: and therefore be
not———Cockes passion, silence, I heare my master.
Enter Petruchio and Kate.
Pet.
Where be these knaues? What no man at doore
To hold my stirrop, nor to take my horse? ”

“ ACT I.—SCENE I. Enter, from the house of THEUROPIDES, GRUMIO,
pushing out TRANIO.
GRU. Get out of the kitchen, will you; out of it, you whip-scoundrel, who are giving me your cavilling talk amid the platters; march out of the house, you ruin of your master. Upon my faith, if I only live, I'll be soundly revenged upon you in the country. Get out, I say, you steam of the kitchen. Why are you skulking thus?
TRA. Why the plague are you making this noise here before the house? Do you fancy yourself to be in the country{1}? Get out of the house; be off into the country. Go and hang yourself. ”

“ A little before, in the same scene, Grumio says, "Master, if ever I said loose-bodied gown, sew me in the skirts of it, and beat me to death with a bottom of brown thread." I am almost tempted to ask if passages such as this be not evidence sufficient. In the Taming of a Shrew, with the variation of "sew me in a seam" for "sew me in the skirts of it," the passage is also to be found; but who can doubt the whole of this scene to be by Shakspeare, rather than by the author of such scenes, intended to be comic, as one referred to in my last communication (No. 15. p. 227., numbered 7.) ”

“ I see my master's son, one who has been corrupted from having been a most excellent young man. (Exit.
{Footnote 1: In the country) —Ver. 7. Grumio appears to have been cook and herdsman combined, and perhaps generally employed at the country farm of Thenropides. On this occasion he seems to have been summoned to town to cook for the entertainment which Philolaches is giving to his friends.}
{Footnote 2: The iron-bound race) —Ver. 18. The gang of slaves, who, for their malpractices, are working in the country in chains.}
{Footnote 3: Live like Greeks) —Ver. 21. "Pergraescamini." ”

“ Grôm’s first impulse was to wake the sleepers with a yell and shepherd them to refuge in the tree––for the gigantic woolly rhinoceros, with his armor of impenetrable hide, was a foe whom Man had not yet learned to handle with any certainty. But a deeper instinct held Grôm motionless. He knew that the monster, whose eyesight was always dim and feeble, could not see him distinctly, and was in all probability staring in stupid wonder at the dancing flames of the camp-fire. As long as no smell of man should reach the brute’s sensitive nostrils to rouse its rage, it was not likely to charge. ”

“ Knowing the temper of the rhinoceros, Grôm expected it to fly into a fury and charge upon the fire at once. His mouth opened, indeed, for the yell of warning which should wake the sleepers and send them leaping into the tree. But he checked himself in time. The monster, for once in its life, seemed to be abashed. The curling red flames were too elusive a foe for it. With a grunt of uneasiness, it drew back into the leafage; and in a moment or two Grôm heard the giant bulk crashing off through the jungle at a gallop. ”

“ The horse took the sword in his mouth, and went to the Armenian. The Armenian loosened the hair, and he became a man again. He made the Armenian king; and he departed home to his mistress, the first one, and wedded her. And he became emperor.
A mere ruin of a folk-tale, but what a fine ruin. The cat reminds one of Grimm’s No. 106, ‘The Poor Miller’s Boy and the Cat’ (ii. 78, 406) , where the cat takes the hero into an enchanted castle, and gives him to eat and to drink. But Grimm’s No. 92, ‘The King of the Golden Mountain’ (ii. 28, 390) , comes much closer to our Gypsy story. ”

“ Quick as thought, Grôm drew his bow and shot at the appalling head. The arrow drove straight into the gaping throat, eliciting a thunderous bellow of rage, but producing no other effect. Then Grôm sprang after his fleeing companions, and raced for his life toward the cave mouth. The cave might be nothing more than a death-trap for them all ”

“ The absence of the mammoths, which he dreaded more than all the other beasts because of the fierce intelligence that gleamed in their eyes, decided Grôm. He would lead his people along to the right, skirting the swamp and marching parallel to the flight of the beasts, calculating thus to have the jungle always for a refuge, though not for a dwelling, until they should come to a region of hills and caves too difficult for the migrating beasts to traverse. ”

“ While the clamoring women snatched the children away to the other side of the encampment, Grôm and the other warriors hurled themselves upon the hideous invaders as they came waddling with amazing nimbleness in between the fires. But these were no assailants to be met with bow and spear. At Grôm’s sharp orders each warrior snatched a blazing brand from the fire, and drove it into the gaping throat of his nearest assailant. In their stupid ferocity the monsters invariably bit upon the brand before they realized its nature. ”

“ It was A-ya’s young brother, Mô, Grôm’s favorite follower and hunting mate; and he had come at speed, being very swift of foot, in answer to Grôm’s signal. Breathing quickly, he stood at Grôm’s side, and looked down with wonder and dislike upon the crouching woman.
Briefly Grôm explained, and then pointed to the inexplicable wounds. The youth, unable to believe that any human creature should be unable to comprehend plain human speech, such as that of the Cave People, tried his own hand at questioning the woman. ”

“ The cries of the Grimaldi were vows of death to Orso Paolo.
Orso had made for the woods with the speed of a hunted 199 deer. But his foes saw his aim; revenge gave them wings, and they succeeded in interposing themselves between him and the hoped-for shelter.
He was surrounded. From every side he saw furious pursuers approaching; already their balls whizzed about his head. It was vain to think of reaching the wood; there was little time to ponder a new plan; he was cut off from the open country; only a house stood near on the mountain-side—the house of his deadly foe Ruggero. ”

“ Crow pretended to laugh. He had been having a rather dull time, waiting for Farmer Green to plant his corn, and he thought that a lively race might put him in better spirits.
Grumpy Nearly Catches Paddy Muskrat. (Page 31)
[Pg 35] "Where do you want to race against Jimmy Rabbit?" Mr. Crow asked.
"We'll start from this wall," said Grumpy sulkily, "because it's always better to start from where you are than where you aren't."
Mr. Crow said that that seemed reasonable.
"When do you want to race?" he added.
"The sooner we start the quicker we'll finish," Grumpy Weasel snapped. ”

“ But Ruggero fell upon his knees before his foe, and while he embraced his feet with sobs, begged his forgiveness, and God's.
"Rise, my friend Grimaldi," said Orso Paolo; "may God so to-day forgive us both, as we forgive each other; and here, before the people of Olmo, swear eternal friendship."
The foes sank into each other's arms, and the people shouted exultingly: Evviva, Orso Paolo!
Antonio soon recovered from his wound; and gay were the festivities of that evening in the village of Monte d'Olmo, when the Grimaldi and the Vincenti celebrated their solemn feast of reconciliation. ”

“ These sambur, on the contrary, seemed rather to welcome the companionship of the tribe, as if looking to it for some protection against the strange pursuing peril. His sleepless sagacity perceiving the value of this great escort as a buffer against the contact of less kindly hordes, Grôm gave strict orders that none of these beasts should be molested. And the Cave Folk, not without apprehension, found themselves traveling in the vanguard of an army of tall, high-antlered beasts which stared at them with mild eyes of inquiry and appeal. ”