Vpon an alters step, where she deuoutly prayes,
And therevpon her tender knees the wery lady stayes;
Whilst she doth send her mayde the certain truth to know,
If frier Lawrence laysure had to heare her shrift, or no.
Out of his shriuing place he commes with pleasant cheere;
The shamefast mayde with bashfull brow to himward draweth

neere.

Some great offence (quod he) you have committed late, Perhaps you haue displeasd your frend by geuing him a mate. Then turning to the nurce and to the other mayde,

Go heare a masse or two, (quod he) which straightway shalbe sayde.

For, her confession heard, I will vnto you twayne

The charge that I receiud of you restore to you agayne.
What, was not Juliet, trow you, right well apayde,

That for this trusty fryre hath chaungde her yong mistrusting mayde?

I dare well say, there is in all Verona none,

But Romeus, with whom she would so gladly be alone.
Thus to the fryers cell they both foorth walked bin;
He shuts the doore as soon as he and Juliet were in.

But Romeus, her frend, was entred in before,

And there had wayted for his loue, two howers large and more.
Eche minute seemde an howre, and euery howre a day,
Twixt hope he liued and despayre of cumming or of stay.
Now wauering hope and feare are quite fled out of sight,
For, what he hopde he hath at hande, his pleasant cheefe de-
light.

And ioyfull Juliet is healde of all her smart,

For now the rest of all her parts haue found her straying hart.
Both theyr confessions first the fryer hath heard them make,
And then to her with lowder voyce thus fryer Lawrence spake:
Fayre lady Juliet, my gostly doughter deere,

As farre as I of Romeus learne, who by you standeth here,
Twixt you it is agreed, that you shalbe his wyfe,

And he your spouse in steady truth, till death shall end your life.
Are you both fully bent to kepe this great behest?

And both the louers said, it was theyr onely harts request.
When he did see theyr myndes in linkes of loue so fast,

When in the prayse of wedlocks state some skilfull talke was past.
When he had told at length the wife what was her due,
His duety eke by gostly talke the youthfull busband knew;
How that the wife in loue must honor and obay,
What loue and honor he doth owe, and dette that he must pay,
The woords pronounced were which holy church of olde
Appointed hath for mariage, and she a ring of golde

Receiued of Romeus; and then they both arose.

To whom the frier then said: Perchaunce apart you will disclose,
Betwixt your selfe alone, the bottome of your hart;

Say on at once, for time it is that hence you should depart.
Then Romeus said to her, (both loth to part so soone)

"Fayre lady, send to me agayne your nurce this after noone. Of corde I will bespeake a ladder by that time;

By which, this night, while other sleepe, I will your window clime.

Then will we talke of loue and of our olde dispayres,

And then with longer laysure had dispose our great affaires." These said, they kisse, and then part to theyr fathers house, The ioyfull bryde vnto her home, to his eke goth the Contented both, and yet both vncontented still,

spouse;

Till night and Venus child geue leaue the wedding to fulfill. The painful souldiour, sore ybet with wery warre,

The merchant eke that nedefull things doth dred to fetch from

farre,

The ploughman that, for doute of feerce inuading foes,
Rather to sit in ydle ease then sowe his tilt hath chose,
Reioice to heare proclaymd the tydinges of the peace;
Not pleasurd with the sound so much, but, when the warres do

cease,

Then ceased are the harmes which cruell warre bringes foorth: The merchant then may boldly fetch his wares of precious

woorth;

Dredeless the husbandman doth till his fertile feeld.

For welth, her mate, not for her selfe, is peace so precious held: So louers liue in care, in dread, and in vnrest,

And dedly warre by striuing thoughts they kepe within their

brest;

But wedlocke is the peace wherby is freedome wonne

To do a thousand pleasant thinges that should not els be donne.
The newes of ended warre these two haue hard with ioy,
But now they long the fruite of peace with pleasure to enioy.
In stormy wind and waue, in daunger to be lost,

Thy stearles ship, (O Romeus,) hath been long while betost;
The seas are now appeasd, and thou, by happy starre,

Art comme in sight of quiet hauen; and, now the wrackfull barre

Is hid with swelling tyde, boldly thou mayst resort
Vnto thy wedded ladies bed, thy long desyred port.
God graunt, no follies mist so dymme thy inward sight,

That thou do misse the chanell that doth leade to thy delight!
God graunt, no daungers rocke, y-lurking in the darke,
Before thou win the happy port, wracke thy sea-beaten barke.

A seruant Romeus had, of woord and deede so iust,

That with his life, (if nede requierd,) his master would him

trust.

His faithfulnes had oft our Romeus proued of olde;

And therefore all that yet was done vnto his man he tolde.
Who straight, as he was charged, a corden ladder lookes,
To which he hath made fast two strong and crooked yron hookes.
The bryde to send the nurce at twylight fayleth not,
To whom the bridegroome yeven hath the ladder that he got.
And then to watch for him appointeth her an howre,
For, whether Fortune smyle on him, or if she list to lowre,
He will not misse to comme to his appoynted place,
Where wont he was to take by stelth the view of Juliets face.
How long these louers thought the lasting of the day,
Let other iudge that woonted are lyke passions to assay:
For my part, I do gesse eche howre seemes twenty yere:
So that I deeme, if they might haue (as of Alcume we heare)
The sunne bond to theyr will, if they the heauens might gyde,
Black shade of night and doubled darke should straight all ouer-
hyde.

Thappointed howre is comme; he, clad in rich araye,
Walkes toward his desyred home:-good fortune gyde his way!
Approching nere the place from whence his hart had life,
So light he wox, he lept the wall, and there he spyde his wife,
Who in the windowe watcht the cumming of her lorde;
Where she so surely had made fast the ladder made of corde,
That daungerles her spouse the chaumber window climes,
Where he ere then had wisht himselfe aboue ten thousand times.
The windowes close are shut; els looke they for no gest;
To light the waxen quariers, the auncient nurce is prest,
Which Juliet had before prepared to be light,

That she at pleasure might beholde her husbandes bewty bright. A Carchef white as snowe ware Juliet on her hed,

Such as she wonted was to weare, attyre meete for the bed.
As soone as she hym spyde, about his necke she clong,
And by her long and slender armes a great while there she hong.
A thousand times she kist, and him vnkist agayne,

Ne could she speake a woord to him, though would she nere so fayne.

And like betwixt his armes to faint his lady is;

She fettes a sigh and clappeth close her closed mouth to his :
And ready then to sownde, she looked ruthfully,

That loe, it made him both at once to liue and eke to dye,
These piteous painfull panges were haply ouerpast,

And she vnto herselfe agayne retorned home at last.

Then, through her troubled brest, euen from the farthest part,
An hollow sigh, a messenger she sendeth from her hart.
O Romeus, (quoth she) in whome all vertues shyne,
Welcome thou art into this place, where from these eyes of myne
Such teary streames dyd flowe, that I suppose welny
The source of all my bitter teares is altogether drye.
Absence so pynde my heart, which on thy presence fed,
And of thy safetie and thy health so much I stood in dred.
But now what is decreed by fatall desteny,

I force it not; let Fortune do and death their woorst to me.
Full recompensd am I for all my passed harmes,

In that the Gods haue graunted me to claspe thee in myne armes. The christall teares began to stand in Romeus eyes,

When he unto his ladies woordes gan aunswere in this wise: "Though cruell Fortune be so much my dedly foe,

That I ne can by lively proofe cause thee, fayre dame, to know
How much I am by loue enthralled vnto thee,

Ne yet what mighty powre thou hast, by thy desert, on me,
Ne tormentes that for thee I did ere this endure,

Yet of thus much (ne will I fayne) I may thee well assure;

The least of many paynes which of thy absence sprong,

More paynefully than death it selfe my tender hart hath wroong.
Ere this, one death had reft a thousand deathes away,
But lyfe prolonged was by hope of this desired day;
Which so iust tribute payes of all my passed mone,
That I as well contented am as if my selfe alone
Did from the Occean reigne vnto the sea of Inde.
Wherfore now let vs wipe away old cares out of our mynde;
For, as the wretched state is now redrest at last,

So is it skill behinde our backe the cursed care to cast.

Since Fortune of her grace hath place and time assinde, Where we with pleasure may content our vncontented minde, In Lethes hyde we deepe all greefe and all annoy,

Whilst we do bath in blisse, and fill our hungry harts with ioye.
And, for the time to comme, let be our busy care

So wisely to direct our loue, as no wight els be ware;
Lest enuious foes by force despoyle our new delight,

And vs throwe backe from happy state to more vnhappy plight."
Fayre Juliet began to auns were what he sayde,

But foorth in hast the old nurce stept, and so her aunswere stayde.
Who takes not time (quoth she) when time well offred is,
An other time shall seeke for time, and yet of time shall misse.
And when occasion serues, who so doth let it slippe,

Is woorthy sure (if I might iudge,) of lashes with a whippe.
Wherfore if eche of you hath harmde the other so,

And eche of you hath been the cause of others wayled woe,

Loe, here a fielde (she shewd a fieeld-bed ready dight)
Where you may, if you list, in armes reuenge yourselfe by fight.
Wherto these louers both gan easely assent,

And to the place of mylde reuenge with pleasant cheere they went,

Where they were left alone-(the nurce is gone to rest)
How can this be? they restless lye, ne yet they feele vnrest.
I graunt that I enuie the blisse they liued in;

Oh that I might haue found the like! I wish it for no sin,
But that I might as well with pen their ioyes depaynt,

As heretofore I haue displayd their secret hidden playnt.
Of shyuering care and dred I haue felt many a fit,

But Fortune such delight as theyrs dyd neuer graunt me yet.
By proofe no certain truth can I vnhappy write,

But what I gesse by likelihod, that dare I to endite.

The blyndfold goddesse that with frowning face doth fraye, And from theyr seate the mighty kinges throwes down with hedlong sway,

Begynneth now to turne to these her smyling face;

Nedes must they tast of great delight, so much in Fortunes grace. If Cupid, god of loue, be god of pleasant sport,

I think, O Romeus, Mars himselfe enuies thy happy sort.

Ne Venus iustly might (as I suppose) repent,

If in thy stead, (O Juliet,) this pleasant time she spent. This passe they foorth the night, in sport, in ioly game; The hastines of Phoebus steeds in great despyte they blame. And now the virgins fort hath warlike Romeus got,

In which as yet no breache was made by force of canon shot, And now in ease he doth possesse the hoped place:

How glad was he, speake you, that may your louers parts embrace.

The mariage thus made vp, and both the parties pleasd,
The nigh approche of days retoorne these seely soles diseasd.
And for they might no while in pleasure passe theyr time,
Ne leysure had they much to blame the hasty mornings crime,
With friendly kisse in armes of her his leaue he takes,
And euery other night, to come, a solemne othe he makes,
By one selfe meane, and eke to come at one selfe howre:
And so he doth, till Fortune list to sawse his sweete with sowre.
But who is he that can his present state assure?
And say vnto himselfe, thy ioyes shall yet a day endure?
So wavering fortunes whele, her chaunges be so straunge;
And euery wight y-thralled is by fate vnto her chaunge:
Who raignes so ouer all, that eche man hath his part,
(Although not aye, perchaunce, alike) of pleasure and of smart.