Cast of from thee at once the weede of womannish dread,
With manly courage arme thyselfe from heele vnto the head;
For onely on the feare or boldnes of thy brest
The happy happe or yll mishappe of thy affayre doth rest.
Receiue this vyoll small and keepe it as thine eye;
And on thy marriage day, before the sunne doe cleare the skye,
Fill it with water full vp to the very brim,
Then drinke it of, and thou shalt feele throughout eche vayne

and lim
A pleasant slumber slide, and quite dispred at length
On all thy partes, from euery part reue all thy kindly strength; .
Withouten mouing thus thy ydle parts shall rest,
No pulse shall goe, ne hart once beate within thy hollow brest,
But thou shalt lye as she that dyeth in a traunce: .
Thy kinsmen and thy trusty frendes shall wayle the sodaine

chaunce; The corps then will they bring to graue in this churchyarde, Where thy forefathers long agoe a costly tombe preparde, . Both for him selfe and eke for those that should come after, Both deepe it is, and long and large where thou shalt rest, my

daughter, Till I to Mantua sende for Romeus, thy knight; . Out of the tombe both he and I will take thee forth that night. And whenout of thy slepe thou shalt awake agayne, Then may'st thou goe with him from hence; and, healed of thy

payne, In Mantua lead with him vnknowne a pleasant life; And yet perhaps in time to comme, when cease shall all the

er,

strife,

And that the peace is made twixt Romeus and his foes,
My selfe may finde so fit a time these secretes to dysclose,
Both to my prayse, and to thy tender parentes ioy,
That daungerles, without reproche, thou shalt thy loue enioy.”

When of his skilfull tale the fryer had made an ende,
To which our Juliet so well her care and wits dyd bend,.. .
That she hath heard it all and hath forgotten nought,
Her fainting hart was comforted with hope and pleasant thought,
And then to him she said—“ doubte not but that I will
With stoute and vnapauled hart your happy hest fulfill.
Yea, if I wist it were a venemous dedly drinke,
Rather would I that through my throte the certaine bane should

sinke,
Then I, (not drinking it,) into his handes should fall,
That hath no part of me as yet, ne ought to haue at all.
Much more I ought with bold and with a willing hart
To greatest daunger yelde my selfe, and to the dedly smart,

To comme to him on whome my life doth wholy stay,
That is my onely hartes delight, and so he shalbe aye.”
“ Then goe, quoth he, (my childe,) I pray that God on hye
Direct thy foote, and by thy hand vpon the way thee gye.
God graunt he so confirme in thee thy present will,
That no inconstant toy thee let thy promesse to fulfill.”

A thousand thankes and more our Juliet gaue the fryer,
And homeward to her fathers house ioyfull she doth retyre;
And as with stately gate she passed through the streete,
She saw her mother in the doore, that with her there would

Smeete, In mynd to aske if she her purpose yet did hold, In mynd also, apart twixt them, her duety to haue tolde ; Wherfore with pleasant face, and with vnwonted chere, As soone as she was vnto her approched sumwhat nere, Before the mother spake, thus did she fyrst begin : “ Madame, at sainct Frauncis churche have I this morning byn, Where I did make abode a longer while, (percase,) Then dewty would; yet haue I not been absent from this place So long a while, whithout a great and iust cause why; This frute have I receaued there ;-my hart, erst lyke to dye, Is now reuiued agayne, and my afflicted brest, : Released from affiction, restored is to rest ! For lo! my troubled gost, (alas too sore diseasde) By gostly counsell and aduise hath fryer Lawrence easde ; To whome I dyd at large discourse my former lyfe, And in confession did I tell of all our passed stryfe: Of Counte Paris sute, and how my lord, my syre, By my vngrate and stubborn stryfe I styrred vnto yre; But lo, the holy fryer hath by his gostly lore Made me another woman now than I had been before. By strength of argumentes he charged so my mynde, That, (though I sought,) no sure defence my serching thought

could finde. So forced I was at length to yeld vp witles will, And promist to be orderd by the friers praysed skill. Wherfore, albeit I had rashely, long before, The bed and rytes of mariage for many yeres forswore, Yet mother, now behold your daughter at your will, Ready, (if you commaunde her ought,) your pleasure to fulfill. Wherfore in humble wise, dere madam, I you pray, To go vnto my lord and syre, withouten long delay; Of hym fyrst pardon craue of faultes already past, And shew him, (if it pleaseth you,) his child is now at last Obedient to his iust and to his skilfull hest, And that I will, (God lending life,) on wensday next, be prest

To wayte on him and you, vnto thappoynted place,
Where I will, in your hearing, and before my fathers face,
Vnto the Counte geue my fayth and whole assent,
And take him for my lord and spouse; thus fully am I bent;
And that out of your mynde I may remoue all doute,
Vnto my closet fare I now, to searche and to choose out
The brauest garmentes and the richest iewels there,
Which, (better him to please,) I mynde on wensday next to

weare;
For if I did excell the famous Gretian rape,
Yet might attyre helpe to amende my bewty and my shape.”
The simple mother was rapt into great delight;
Not halfe a word could she bring forth, but in this ioyfull plight
With nimble foote she ran, and with ynwonted pace,
Vnto her pensiue husband, and to him with pleasant face
She tolde what she had heard, and prayseth much the fryer;
And ioyfull teares ranne downe the cheekes of this gray-berded

syer. With hands and eyes heaued-up he thankes God in his hart, And then he sayth: “ This is not (wife,) the fryers first desart; Oft hath he showde to vs great frendship heretofore, By helping vs at nedefull times with wisdomes pretious lore. In all our common weale scarce one is to be founde But is, for somme good torne, vnto this holy father bounde. Oh that the thyrd part of my goods (I doe not fayne) But twenty of his passed yeres might purchase him agayne! So much in recompence of frendship would I geue, So much, (in faith,) his extreme age my frendly hart doth greve.”

These said, the glad old man from home goeth straight abrode, And to the stately palace hyeth where Paris made abode; Whom he desyres to be on wensday next his geast, At Freetowne, where he myndes to make for him a costly feast. But loe, the Earle saith, such feasting were but lost, And counsels him till mariage time to spare so great a cost. For then he knoweth well the charges wilbe great ; The whilst, his hart desyreth still her sight, and not his meate. He craues of Capilet that he may straight go see Fayre Juliet ; wherto he doth right willingly agree. The mother, warnde before, her daughter doth prepare; She warneth and she chargeth her that in no wyse she spare Her curteous speche, her pleasant lookes, and commely grace, But liberally to geue them foorth when Paris commes in place: Which she as cunningly could set forth to the shewe, As cunning craftesman to the sale do set theie wares on rew; : That ere the County did out of her sight depart, So secretely vnwares to him she stale away his hart,

That of his lyfe and death the wyly wench hath powre; ' . And now his longing hart thinkes long for theyr appoynted

howre, And with importune sute the parentes doth he pray The wedlocke knot to knit soone vp, and hast the mariage day.

The woer hath past forth the first day in this sort, And many other more then this, in pleasure and disport. : At length the wished time of long hoped delight (As Paris thought) drew nere; but nere approched heauy plight. Against the bridall day the parentes did prepare Such rich attyre, such furniture, such store of dainty fare, That they which did behold the same the night before, Did thinke and say, a man could scarcely wishe for any more. Nothing did seeme to deere; the deerest thinges were bought; And, (as the written story saith,) in dede there wanted nought, That longd to his degree, and honor of his stocke; . But Juliet, the whilst, her thoughts within her brest did locke; Euen from the trusty nurce, whose secretnes was tryde, The secret counsell of her hart the nurce-childe seekes to hide. For sith, to mocke her dame, she dyd not sticke to lye, She thought no sinne with shew of truth to bleare her nurces eye. In chamber secretly the tale she gan renew, That at the doore she told her dame, as though it had been trew. The flattring nurce did prayse the fryer for his skill, And said that she had done right well by wit to order will. She setteth forth at large the fathers furious rage, And eke she prayseth much to her the second mariage; . And County Paris now she praiseth ten times more, By wrong, then she her selfe by right had Romeus praysde before. Paris shall dwell there still, Romeus shall not retourne; What shall it boote her life to languish still and mourne. The pleasures past before she must account as gayne; But if he doe retorne-what then?_forone she shall hauetwayne. The one shall use her as his lawful wedded wyfe; In wanton loue with equall ioy the other leade his lyfe ; And best shall she be sped of any townish dame, Of husband and of paramour to fynde her chaunge of game. These words and like the nurce did speake, in hope to please, But greatly did these wicked wordes the ladies mynde disease; But ay she hid her wrath, and seemed well content, When dayly dyd the naughty nurce new argumentes inuent. But when the bryde perceued her howre opproched nere, She sought, (the best she could,) to fayne, and tempted so her

cheere, That by her outward looke no liuing wight could gesse Her inward woe; and yet anew renewde is her distresse.

Vnto her chaumber doth the pensiue wight repayre,
And in her hand a percher light the nurce beares vp the stayre.
In Juliets chaumber was her wonted vse to lye;
Wherfore her mistres, dreading that she should her work des-

crye, .
As sone as she began her pallet to vnfold,
Thinking to lye that night where she was wont to lye of olde,
Doth gently pray her seeke her lodgeing somewhere els ;
And, lest the crafty should suspect, a ready reason telles.
“ Dere frend, (quoth she,) you knowe, tomorow is the day
Of new contract; wherefore, this night, my purpose is to pray
Vnto the heauenly myndes that dwell aboue the skyes,
And order all the course of thinges as they can best deuyse,
That they so smyle vpon the doynges of Tomorow,
That all the remnant of my lyfe may be exempt from sorow : :
Wherfore, I pray you, leaue me here alone this night,
But see that you tomorow comme before the dawning light,
For you must coorle my heare, and set on my attyre;" —
And easely the louing nurse did yelde to her desire.
For she within her hed dyd cast before no doute;
She little knew the close attempt her nurce-childe went about.

The nurce departed once, the chamber doore shut close, Assured that no liuing wight her doing myght disclose, She powred forth into the vyole of the fryer, Water, out of a silver ewer, that on the boord stoode by her. The slepy mixture made, fayre Juliet doth it hyde Vnder her bolster soft, and so vnto her bed she hyed: Where diuers nouel thoughts arise within her hed, And she is so inuironed about with deadly dred, That what before she had resolued vndoutedly The same she calleth into doute : and lying doutfully Whilst honest loue did striue with dred of dedly payne, With handes y-wrong, and weping eyes, thus gan she to com

plaine: “ What, is there any one, beneth the heauens hye, So much vnfortunate as I? so much past hope as I? What, am I not my selfe, of all that yet were borne, The depest drenched in dispayre, and most in Fortunes skorne? For loe the world for me hath nothing els to finde, Beside mishap and wretchednes and anguish of the mynde; Since that the cruel cause of my vnhappines Hath put me to this sodaine plonge, and brought to such distres. As, (to the end I may my name and conscience saue,) I must deuowre the mixed drinke that by me here I haue, Whose woorking and whose force as yet I doe not know. " And of this piteous plaint began an other doute to growe: