But cumming to her selfe she knew them, and said thus:
"What, fryer Lawrence, is it you? where is my Romeus?"

that ere long, as I have been the cause, so shall I be the companion of your death: And, having with difficulty spoken these words, she fainted, and, again returning to life, busied herself in sad endeavours to gather with her sweet lips the extreme breath of her dearest lover, who now hastily approached his end.

"In this interval Friar Lorenzo had been informed how and when the damsel had drunk the potion, as also that upon a supposition of her death she had been buried; and, knowing that the time was now arrived when the powder should cease to operate, taking with him a trusty companion, about an hour before day he came to the vault; where being arrived, he heard the cries and lamentations of the lady, and, through a crevice in the cover, seeing a light within, he was greatly surprised, and imagined that, by some means or other, the damsel had contrived to convey with her a lamp into the tomb; and that now, having awaked, she wept and lamented, either through fear of the dead bodies by which she was surrounded, or perhaps from the apprehension of being for ever immured in this dismal place; and having, with the assistance of his companion, speedily opened the tomb, he beheld Julietta, who, with hair all disheveled, and sadly grieving, had raised herself so far as to be seated, and had taken into her lap her dying lover. To her he thus addressed himself: Did you then fear, O my daughter, that I should have left. you to die here inclosed? and she, seeing the friar, and redoubling her lamentations, answered: Far from it; my only fear is that you will drag me hence alive!—alas, for the love of God, away, and close the sepulcher, that I may here perish, or rather reach me a knife, that piercing my breast, I may rid myself of my woes! O, my father, my father! is it thus you have sent me the letter? are these my hopes of happy marriage? is it thus you have conducted me to my Romeo? behold him here in my bosom already dead!—and, pointing to him, she recounted all that had passed. The friar, hearing these things, stood as one bereft of sense, and gazing upon the young man, then ready to pass from this into another life, bitterly weeping, he called to him, saying, O, Romeo, what hard hap has torn you from me? speak to me at least! cast your eyes a moment upon me! O, Romeo, behold your dearest Julietta, who beseeches you to look at her. Why at the least will you not answer her in whose dear bosom you lie? At the beloved name of his mistress, Romeo raised a little his languid eyes, weighed down by the near approach of death, and, looking at her, reclosed them; and, immediately after, death thrilling through his whole frame, all convulsed, and heaving a short sigh, he expired.

"The miserable lover being now dead in the manner I have related, as the day was already approaching, after much lamentation the friar thus addressed the young damsel-And you, Julietta, what do you mean to do?-to which she instantly replied,—here inclosed will I die. Say not so, daughter, said he; come forth from hence; for, though I know not well how to dispose of you, the means can not be wanting of shutting yourself up in some holy monastery, where you may continually offer your supplications to God, as well for yourself as for your deceased husband, if he should need your prayers. Father, replied the lady, one favour alone I entreat of you, which for the love you bear to the memory of him, and so saying she pointed to Romeo,-you will willingly grant me, and that is, that you will never make known our death, that so our bodies may for ever remain united in this sepulcher: and if, by any accident, the manner of our dying should be discovered, by the love VOL. XX.

2

And then the auncient frier, that greatly stoode in feare
Lest if they lingred ouer long they should be taken theare,
In few plaine woordes the whole that was betyde, he tolde,
And with his fingar shewd his corps out-stretched, stiffe, and
colde;

And then perswaded her with pacience to abyde

This sodain great mischaunce; and sayth, that he will soone prouyde

In some religious house for her a quiet place,

Where she may spend the rest of lyfe, and where in time percase
She may with wisdomes meane measure her mourning brest,
And vnto her tormented soule call back exiled rest.
But loe, as soone as she had cast her ruthfull eye

On Romeus face, that pale and wan fast by her side dyd lye,
Straight way she dyd vnstop the conduites of her teares,
And out they gushe;-with cruell hand she tare her golden
heares.

But when she neither could her swelling sorow swage,

Ne

yet her tender hart abyde her sicknes furious rage, Falne on his corps she lay long panting on his face,

And then with all her force and strength the ded corps dyd em

brace,

As though with sighes, with sobs, with force, and busy payne,
She would him rayse, and him restore from death to lyfe agayne:
A thousand times she kist his mouth, as cold as stone,
And it unkist agayne as oft; then gan she thus to mone:
"Ah pleasant prop of all my thoughtes, ah onely ground
Of all the sweete delightes that yet in all my lyfe I found,

already mentioned I conjure you, that in both our names you would implore our miserable parents that they should make no difficulty of suffering those whom love has consumed in one fire, and conducted to one death, to remain in one and the same tomb;-then turning to the prostrate body of Romeo, whose head she had placed on a pillow which had been left with her in the vault, having carefully closed his eyes, and bathing his cold visage with tears,-lord of my heart, said she, without you what should I do with life? and what more remains to be done by me toward you but to follow you in death? certainly nothing more! in order that death itself, which alone could possibly have separated you from me, should not now be able to part us!— and having thus spoken, reflecting upon the horrour of her destiny, and calling to mind the loss of her dear lover, determined no longer to live, she suppressed her respiration, and for a long space holding in her breath, at length sent it forth with a loud cry, and fell dead upon the dead body."

For the foregoing faithful and elegant translation, as well as that in a former page, I am indebted to a most dear and valued friend, whose knowledge of the Italian language is so much superior to any that I can pretend to, that I am confident no reader will regret that the task has been executed by another.

MALONE.

Did such assured trust within thy hart repose,

That in this place and at this time, thy church-yarde thou hast

chose,

Betwixt the armes of me, thy perfect louing make,

And thus by meanes of me to ende thy lyfe, and for my sake? Euen in the flowring of thy youth, when vnto thee

Thy lyfe most deare (as to the most) and pleasant ought to bee, How could this tender corps withstand the cruell fight

Of furious death, that wonts to fray the stoutest with his sight? How could thy dainty youth agree with willing hart

In this so fowle infected place (to dwell,) where now thou art? Where spitefull Fortune hath appoynted thee to bee

The dainty foode of greedy woormes, vnworthy sure of thee.
Alas, alas, alas, what neded now anew

My wonted sorowes, doubled twise, agayne thus to renewe:
Which both the tyme and eke my pacient long abode

Should now at length have quenched quite, and vnder foote haue trode ?

Ah wretch and caytiue that I am, euen when I thought

To find my painefull passions salue, I myst the tng I sought;
And to my mortall harme the fatall knyfe I grounde,
That gaue to me so deepe, so wyde, so cruell dedly wounde.
Ah thou, most fortunate and most vnhappy tombe!

For thou shalt beare, from age to age, witnes in time to comme
Of the most perfect league betwixt a payre of louers,

That were the most vnfortunate and fortunate of others;
Receaue the latter sigh, receaue the latter pang,

Of the most cruell of cruell slaues that wrath and death ay

wrang.'

And when our Juliet would continue still her mone,

The fryer and the seruant fled, and left her there alone;
For they a sodayne noyse fast by the place did heare,

And lest they might be taken there, greatly they stoode in feare.
When Juliet saw herselfe left in the vaulte alone,

That freely she might worke her will, for let or stay was none,
Then once for all she tooke the cause of all her harmes,
The body dead of Romeus, and claspd it in her armes ;
Then she with earnest kisse sufficiently did proue,

That more then by the feare of death, she was attaint by loue;
And then, past deadly feare, for lyfe ne had she care

With hasty hand she did draw out the dagger that he ware.
"O welcome death, (quoth she,) end of vnhappines,
That also art begginning of assured happines,
Feare not to darte me nowe, thy stripe no longer stay,
Prolong no longer now my lyfe, I hate this long delaye;

For straight my parting sprite, out of this carkas fled,
At ease shall finde my Romeus sprite emong so many ded.
And thou, my louing lord, Romeus, my trusty feere,

If knowledge yet doe rest in thee, if thou these woordes dost heer,
Receue thou her, whom thou didst loue so lawfully,

That causd alas! thy violent death, although vnwillingly;
And therfore willingly offers to thee her gost,

To thend that no wight els but thou might haue iust cause to boste

Thinioying of my loue, which ay I haue reserved

Free from the rest, bound vnto thee, that hast it well deserued:
That so our parted sprites from light that we see here,
In place of endlesse light and blisse may euer liue y-fere."

These said, her ruthlesse hand through gyrt her valiant hart: Ah, Ladies, helpe with teares to wayle the ladies dedly smart! She grones, she stretcheth out her limmes, she shuttes her eyes, And from her corps the sprite doth flye;-what should I say?

she dyes.

The watchemen of the towne the whilst are passed by,

And through he gates the candel light within the tomb they

spye;

Wherby they did suppose inchaunters to be comme,

That with prepared instrumentes had opend wide the tombe, In purpose to abuse the bodies of the ded,

Which, by their science ayde abusde, do stand them oft in sted. Theyr curious harts desire the trueth herof to know;

Then they by certaine steppes descend, where they do fynd below,

In clasped armes y-wrapt the husband and the wyfe,

In whom as yet they seemd to see somme certaine markes of lyfe.

But when more curiously with leysure they did vew,

The certainty of both theyr deathes assuredly they knew:
Then here and there so long with carefull eye they sought,
That at the length hidden they found the murthrers;-so they
thought.

In dungeon depe that night they lodgde them vnder grounde; The next day do they tell the prince the mischefe that they found.

The newes was by and by throughout the towne dyspred, Both of the takyng of the fryer, and of the two found ded. Thether might you haue seene whole housholdes forth to ronne, For to the tombe where they did heare this wonder straunge was donne,

The great, the small, the riche, the poore, the yong, the olde, With hasty pace do ronne to see, but rew when they beholde.

And that the murtherers to all men might be knowne,
Like as the murders brute abrode through all the towne was

blowne,

The prince did straight ordaine, the corses that were founde
Should be set forth vpon a stage hye raysed from the grounde,
Right in the selfe same fourme, (shewde forth to all mens sight,)
That in the hollow valt they had been found that other night;
And eke that Romeus man and fryer Lawrence should
Be openly examined; for els the people would
Have murmured, or faynd there were some wayghty cause
Why openly they were not calde, and so conuict by lawes.
The holy fryer now, and reuerent by his age,

In great reproche set to the shew vpon the open stage,
(A thing that ill beseemde a man of siluer heares)

His beard as whyte as mylke he bathes with great fast-falling

teares:

Whom straight the dredfull judge commaundeth to declare Both, how this murther hath been donne, and who the murth

rers are;

For that he pere the tombe was found at howres vnfitte,
And had with hym those yron tooles for such a purpose fitte.
The frier was of liuely sprite and free of speche,

The judges wordes appald him not, ne were his wittes to seeche.
But with aduised heed a whyle fyrst did he stay,

And then with bold assured voyce aloude thus gan he say:

66

My lordes, there is not one emong you, set togyther,

So that, (affection set aside,) by wisdome he consider

My former passed lyfe, and this my extreme age,

And eke this heauy sight, the wreke of frantike Fortunes rage, But that, amased much, doth wonder at this chaunge,

So great, so sodainly befalne, vnlooked for, and straunge.

For I that in the space of lx yeres and tenne,

Since first I did begin, to soone, to leade my lyfe with men,
And with the worldes vaine thinges myselfe I did acquaint,
Was neuer yet, in open place, at any time attaynt
With any cryme, in waight as heauy as a rushe,
Ne is there any stander by can make me gylty blushe;
(Although before the face of God I doe confesse

Myselfe to be the sinfulst wretch of all this mighty presse.)
When readiest I am and likeliest to make

My great accompt, which no man els for me shall vndertake;
When wormes, the earth, and death, doe cyte me euery howre,
Tappeare before the iudgment seate of euerlasting powre,
And falling ripe I steppe vpon my graues brinke,

Euen then, am I, most wretched wight, (as eche of you doth thinke,)