Like death, when he shuts up the day of life; Now when the bridegroom in the morning comes In thy best robes uncover'd on the bier,9 not occur either in Painter's prose translation, or Brooke's me. "To sallow ashes turnde the hue "The blood forsooke the wonted course, "And left the limmes as cold and swarfe "As coles that wastes with fire." Steevens. To paly ashes;] These words are not in the original copy. The quarto, 1599, and the folio, read-To many ashes, for which the editor of the second folio substituted-mealy ashes. The true reading is found in the undated quarto. This uncommon adjective occurs again in King Henry V: and through their paly flames, "Each battle sees the other's umber'd face." We have had too already, in a former scene-"Pale, pale as ashes." Malone. 8 thy eyes' windows fall,] See Antony and Cleopatra, Act V, sc. ii, Vol. XIII. Malone. 9 Then (as the manner of our country is) In thy best robes uncover'd on the bier,] The Italian custom here alluded to, of carrying the dead body to the grave with the face uncovered, (which is not mentioned by Painter) our author found particularly described in The Tragicall Hystory of Romeus and Juliet: "Another use there is, that whosoever dies, "Borne to their church with open face upon the bier he lies, "In wonted weed attir'd, not wrapt in winding-sheet Malone: Thou shalt be borne to that same ancient vault, Jul. Give me, O give me! tell me not of fear.3 Thus also Ophelia's Song in Hamlet: "They bore him bare-fac'd on the bier,—." Steevens. In thy best robes uncover'd on the bier,] Between this line and the next, the quartos 1599, 1609, and the first folio, introduce the following verse, which the poet, very probably, had struck out, on his revisal, because it is quite unnecessary, as the sense of it is repeated, and as it will not connect with either: "Be borne to burial in thy kindred's grave." Had Virgil lived to have revised his Æneid, he would hardly have permitted both of the following lines to remain in his text: "At Venus obscuro gradientes aere sepsit; "Et multo nebulæ circum dea fudit amictu." The aukward repetition of the nominative case in the second of them, seems to decide very strongly against it. Fletcher, in his Knight of Malta, has imitated the foregoing passage: and thus thought dead, "In her best habit, as the custom is "You know, in Malta, with all ceremonies "She's buried in her family's monument," &c. Steevens. 1 and he and I Will watch thy waking,] These words are not in the folio. Johnson. 2 If no unconstant toy, &c.] If no fickle freak, no light caprice, no change of fancy, hinder the performance. Johnson. If no unconstant toy, nor womanish fear, Abate thy valour in the acting it.] These expressions are bor rowed from the poem: "Cast off from thee at once the weed of womanish dread, Malone 3 Give me, O give me! tell me not of fear.] The old copies un: metrically read: Give me, give me! O tell me not &c. Steevens. Fri. Hold; get you gone, be strong and prosperous In this resolve: I'll send a friar with speed To Mantua, with my letters to thy lord. Jul. Love, give me strength! and strength shall help afford. Farewel, dear father! SCENE II. A Room in Capulet's House. [Exeunt. Enter CAPULET, Lady CAPULET, Nurse, and Servant. Cap. So many guests invite as here are writ.— Sirrah, go hire me twenty cunning cooks.4 [Exit Serv. 2 Serv. You shall have none ill, sir; for I'll try if they can lick their fingers. Cap. How canst thou try them so? 2 Serv. Marry, sir, 'tis an ill cook that cannot lick his own fingers: therefore he, that cannot lick his fingers, goes not with me. Cap. Go, begone. [Exit Serv. We shall be much unfurnish'd for this time.- Cap. Well, he may chance to do some good on her: A peevish self-will'd harlotry it is. Enter JULIET. Nurse. See, where she comes from shrift with merry look. -go hire me twenty cunning cooks.] Twenty cooks for half a dozen guests! Either Capulet has altered his mind strangely, or our author forgot what he had just made him tell us. See p. 325. Ritson. 5 lick his own fingers:] I find this adage in Puttenham's Arte of English Poesie, 1589, p. 157: 6 "As the olde cocke crowes so doeth the chick: "A bad cooke that cannot his owne fingers lick." Steevens. -from shrift] i. e. from confession. So, in The Merry Devil of Edmonton, 1608: "Ay, like a wench comes roundly to her shrift." In the old Morality of Every Man, bl. 1. no date, confession is personified: "Now I pray you, shrifte, mother of salvacyon." Steevens. Cap. How now, my headstrong? where have gadding?7 Jul. Where I have learn'd me to repent the sin To you, and your behests; and am enjoin'd Cap. Send for the county; go tell him of this; Cap. Why, I am glad on 't; this is well,-stand up: Now, afore God, this reverend holy friar, All our whole city is much bound to him.9 Jul. Nurse, will you go with me into my closet, La. Cap. No, not till Thursday; there is time enough. Cap. Go, nurse, go with her:-we 'll to church to[Exeunt JUL. and Nurse. La. Cap. We shall be shorti in our provision; 'Tis now near night.2 morrow. 7 gadding?] The primitive sense of this word was to straggle from house to house, and collect money, under pretence of singing carols to the Blessed Virgin. See Mr. T. Warton's note on Milton's Lycidas, v. 40. Steevens. 8 ·becomed love-] Becomed for becoming: one participle for the other; a frequent practice with our author. Steevens. 9 this reverend holy friar, All our whole city is much bound to him.] So, in Romeus and Juliet, 1562: this is not, wife, the friar's first desert; "In all our commonweal scarce one is to be found, Malone. Thus the folio, and the quartos, 1599, and 1609. The oldest quarto reads, I think, more grammatically: All our whole city is much bound unto. Steevens. 1 We shall be short-] That is, we shall be defective. Johnson. 2 'Tis now near night.] It appears, in a foregoing scene, that Ro Cap. Tush! I will stir about, And all things shall be well, I warrant thee, wife: I'll not to bed to-night; let me alone; I'll play the housewife for this once.-What, ho !— To county Paris, to prepare him up Against to-morrow: my heart is wond'rous light, SCENE III. Juliet's Chamber. Enter JULIET and Nurse. Jul. Ay, those attires are best :-But, gentle nurse, I pray thee, leave me to myself to-night; For I have need of many orisons4 meo parted from his bride at day-break on Tuesday morning. Immediately afterwards she went to Friar Laurence, and he particularly mentions the day of the week, ["Wednesday is to-morrow."] She could not well have remained more than an hour or two with the friar, and she is just now returned from shrift ;-yet lady Capulet says, "tis near night," and this same night is ascertained to be Tuesday. This is one out of the many instances of our author's inaccuracy in the computation of time. Malone. 3 Enter Juliet and Nurse.] Instead of the next speech, the quarto, 1597, supplies the following short and simple dialogue: "Nurse. Come, come; what need you anie thing else? Juliet. Nothing, good Nurse, but leave me to myselfe. "Nurse. Well there's a cleane smocke under your pillow, and so good night." Steevens. 4 For I have need &c.] Juliet plays most of her pranks under the appearance of religion: perhaps Shakspeare meant to punish her hypocrisy. Johnson. The pretence of Juliet's, in order to get rid of the Nurse, was suggested by The Tragicall Hystory of Romeus and Juliet, and some of the expressions of this speech were borrowed from thence : "Dear friend, quoth she, you know to-morrow is the day "Of new contract; wherefore, this night, my purpose is to pray "Unto the heavenly minds that dwell above the skies, "That all the remnant of my life may be exempt from sor row; |