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 forcé despoyle our new delight,
And vs throwe backe from happy state to more vnhappy plight."
Fayre Juliet began to aunswere 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.

For after many ioyes some feele but little payne,

And from that little greefe they toorne to happy ioy againe. But other somme there are, that liuing long in woe,

At length they be in quiet ease, but long abide not so;
Whose greefe is much increast by myrth that went before,
Because the sodayne chaunge of thinges doth make it seeme the

more.

Of this vnlucky sorte our Romeus is one,

For all his hap turnes to mishap, and all his myrth to mone.
And ioyfull Juliet another leafe must toorne;

As woont she was, (her ioyes bereft) she must begin to moorne.
The summer of their blisse doth last a month or twayne,
But winters blast with spedy foote doth bring the fall agayne.
Whom glorious Fortune erst had heaued to the skies,
By enuious Fortune ouerthrowne, on earth now groueling lyes.
She payd theyr former greefe with pleasures doubled gayne,
But now, for pleasures vsury, ten folde redoubleth
payne.

The prince could neuer cause those housholds so agree,
But that some sparcles of their wrath as yet remaining bee;
Which lye this while raakd vp in ashes pale and ded,

Till tyme do serue that they agayne in wasting flame may spred.
At holiest times, men say, most heynous crimes are donne;
The morowe after Easter-day the mischiefe new begonne.
A band of Capilets did meete (my hart it rewes)

Within the walles, by Pursers gate, a band of Montagewes.
The Capilets as cheefe a yong man haue chose out,
Best exercisd in feates of armes, and noblest of the rowte,
Our Juliets vnkles sonne, that cliped was Tibalt ;

He was of body tall and strong, and of his courage halt.
They neede no trumpet sounde to byd them geue the charge,
So lowde he cryde with strayned voyce and mouth out-stretched

large:

"Now, now, (quod he,) my frends, our selfe so let vs wreake,
That of this dayes reuenge and vs our childrens heyres may speake.
Now once for all let vs their swelling pryde asswage;
Let none of them escape aliue,"-then he with furious rage,
And they with him, gave charge vpon theyr present foes,
And then forthwith a skyrmishe great upon this fray arose.
For loe the Montagewes thought shame away to flye,
And rather then to liue with shame, with prayse did choose
to dye.

The woordes that Tybalt vsd to styrre his folke to yre,
Haue in the brestes of Montagewes kindled a furious fyre.
With Lyons hartes they fight, warely them selfe defende;

To wound his foe, his present wit and force eche one doth bend,

יד.

This furious fray is long on eche side stoutly fought,
That whether part had got the woorst, full doutfull were the
thought.

The noyse

hereof anon throughout the towne doth flye,
And parts are taken on euery side; both kinreds thether hye.
Here one doth gaspe for breth, his frend bestrideth him;
And he hath lost a hand, and he another maymed lym:
His leg is cutte whilst he strikes at an other full,

And who he would haue thrust quite through, hath cleft hys
cracked skull.

Theyr valiant harts forbode theyr foote to geue the grounde;
With vnappauled cheere they tooke full deepe and doutfull

wounde.

Thus foote by foote long while, and shield to shield set fast,
One foe doth make another faynt, but makes him not agast.
And whilst this noyse is ryfe in euery townes mans eare,
Eke, walking with his frendes, the noyse doth wofull Romeus
heare.

With spedy foote he ronnes vnto the fray apace;

With him, those fewe that were with him he leadeth to the place.
They pittie much to see the slaughter made so greate,

That wetshod they might stand in blood on eyther side the

streate.

Part frendes, (said he,) part frendes, helpe, frendes, to part the

fray,

And to the rest, enough, (he cryes) now time it is to staye.
Gods farther wrath you styrre, beside the hurt you feele,
And with this new vprore confounde all this our common wele.
But they so busy are in fight, so egar, feerce,

That through theyr eares his sage aduise no leysure had to pearce.
Then lept he in the throng, to part and barre the blowes
As well of those that were his frendes, as of his dedly foes.

As soon as Tybalt had our Romeus espyde,

He threw a thrust at him that would have past from side to side;
But Romeus euer went, (douting his foes,) well armde,

So that the swerd, (kept out by mayle,) had nothing Romeus

harmde.

Thou doest me wrong, (quoth he,) for I but part the fraye;
Not dread, but other waighty cause my hasty hand doth stay.
Thou art the cheefe of thine, the noblest eke thou art,
Wherfore leaue of thy malice now, and helpe these folke to part.
Many are hurt, some slayne, and some are like to dye:-
No, coward, traytor boy, (quod he,) straight way I mynd to trye,
Whether thy sugred talke, and tong so smoothely fylde,
Against the force of this my swerd shall serue thee for a shylde.