Condemned villain, I do apprehend thee: Rom. I must, indeed; and therefore came I hither.- By urging me to fury:-Oh, be gone! And apprehend thee for a felon here. Rom. Wilt thou provoke me? then, have at thee, boy. [They fight. Page. Oh Lord! they fight: I will go call the watch. [Exit Page. Par. Oh! I am slain. [Falls.]-If thou be merciful, Rom. In faith, I will.-Let me peruse this face: He told me, Paris should have married Juliet: [Dies. 2 I do defy COMMISEBATION,] The corr. fo. 1632 has "thy" erased in this line, as redundant for the metre. The oldest 4to, has conjurations, and the 4to, 1599, commiration: all the other ancient authorities have "thy commiseration." The Rev. Mr. Dyce has declared commiration to be "a stark misprint:" nobody doubts, or has doubted it; the matter is self-evident. The question is, for what it is a misprint? All the other copies, 4to. and folio, tell us that commiration was a blunder for "commiseration" and not for conjurations. Mr. Dyce is of a contrary opinion ("Remarks," p. 175), and we are sorry to differ from him taking commiration for "commiseration," we have the 4tos, 1599 and 1609, as well as the folios, 1623, 1632, 1664 and 1685, in our favour; and moreover, when the old annotator on the folio, 1632, was amending the line, by erasing "thy," he did not think of altering "commiseration" to conjurations. Mr. Dyce does not advert to the important fact that Romeo had commiserated Paris, and had entreated him to fly, rather than remain to be killed. A man of Mr. Dyce's experience need not be told to look to the context before he adopts so decided an opinion: the error was that of the old printer of the 4to, 1597, who committed so many other, and such gross mistakes, and who, not being well acquainted with the word "commiseration" (written no doubt in his day with one m-comiseration), composed coniurations instead of it. All the probabilities are in favour of "commiseration," and although conjurations would answer the purpose, "commiseration " fills the place better: we can have no other ground of preference for one word over the other. Said he not so ? or did I dream it so ? [He takes it. [Laying Paris in the monument. How oft, when men are at the point of death, 3 And death's pale flag is not advanced there.] For the last five lines the 4to, 1597, has only, 4 "Ah! dear Juliet, How well thy beauty doth become this grave!" Shall I believe That unsubstantial death is amorous;] In the old copies (not including the 4to, 1597, where the words are, "Oh! I believe," &c.) I will believe is inserted before "Shall I believe." In our former edition we preserved both, being anxious not to desert the ancient authorities; but on reconsideration we are disposed to think Malone right: he excluded I will believe. 5 Depart again:] After these words the 4tos, 1599 and 1609, and all the folios, add the following passage: "Come, lie thou in my arms. Here's to thy health, where'er thou tumblest in. With worms that are thy chamber-maids; oh! here And shake the yoke of inauspicious stars From this world-wearied flesh.-Eyes, look your last: [Dies. Enter, at the other end of the church-yard, Friar LAURENCE, with a lantern, crow, and spade. Fri. Saint Francis be my speed, how oft to-night Have my old feet stumbled at graves!-Who's there? Bal. Here's one, a friend, and one that knows you well. Fri. Bliss be upon you! Tell me, good my friend, What torch is yond', that vainly lends his light To grubs and eyeless sculls? as I discern, It burneth in the Capels' monument. Bal. It doth so, holy sir; and there's my master, Depart again." Here we see that "Depart again" is twice repeated; and farther on we meet once more with the words, "Oh, true apothecary! thy drugs are quick." There was, no doubt, some strange confusion in this place in the MS. from which the 4to, 1599, was printed. The 4to, 1597, has no trace of any such lines as those above quoted; and it is to be remarked that the 4to, 1637 (which, in other respects, can be of little authority) omits, Come, lie thou in my arms. Here's to thy health, where'er thou tumblest in." • Who's there?] After this line Malone and others added, "Who is it that consorts so late the dead?" from the 4to, 1597; but if inserted at all, it ought to come in after Balthasar's speech, as in the authority from which it was quoted. It is not in any other ancient edition. Bal. I dare not, sir. My master knows not, but I am gone hence; And fearfully did menace me with death, If I did stay to look on his intents. Fri. Stay, then, I'll go alone.-Fear comes upon me; Fri. Romeo! Alack, alack! what blood is this, which stains [Advancing. [Entering the monument. Romeo! Oh, pale! - Who else? what! Paris too? [JULIET wakes. Jul. Oh, comfortable friar! where is my lord? I do remember well where I should be, And there I am.-Where is my Romeo? [Noise within. Fri. I hear some noise.-Lady, come from that nest Of death, contagion, and unnatural sleep. A greater Power than we can contradict Hath thwarted our intents: come, come away. And Paris too: come, I'll dispose of thee Among a sisterhood of holy nuns. Stay not to question, for the watch is coming; Come, go, good Juliet.-[Noise again.] I dare no longer stay. Jul. Go, get thee hence, for I will not away. What's here? a cup, clos'd in my true love's hand? Haply, some poison yet doth hang on them, [Exit. [Kisses him. 7 - some ill UNTHRIFTY thing.] So the 4to, 1599: the 4to, 1609, and the folio, unlucky. Balthasar's next speech is not in the 4to, 1597. It is needless to dwell upon minor variations. 1 Watch. [Within.] Lead, boy:-which way? Jul. Yea, noise ?-then I'll be brief.-Oh happy dagger! [Snatching ROMEO's dagger. This is thy sheath; [Stabs herself;] there rest, and let me die'. Enter Watch, with the Page of PARIS. [Dies. Page. This is the place; there, where the torch doth burn. 1 Watch. The ground is bloody: search about the churchyard.— Go, some of you; whoe'er you find, attach. [Exeunt some. [Exeunt other Watchmen. We see the ground whereon these woes do lie; Enter some of the Watch, with BALTHASAR". 2 Watch. Here's Romeo's man; we found him in the church-yard. 1 Watch. Hold him in safety, till the Prince come hither. Enter another Watchman, with Friar LAURENCE. 3 Watch. Here is a friar, that trembles, sighs, and weeps: We took this mattock and this spade from him, As he was coming from this church-yard side. 8 1 Watch. A great suspicion: stay the friar too. there REST, and let me die.] It is "there rust" in the later impressions, and "there rest" in the 4to, 1597: rust is altered to "rest" in the corr. fo. 1632, which word we on all accounts prefer. As the Rev. Mr. Dyce remarks (p. 177), "the thoughts of Juliet were not likely to wander away to the future rusting of the dagger: she only wishes it, by resting in her bosom as its sheath, to give her instant death." It may be added that if short-hand were employed in the original publication of this play, the words "rest" and rust would be spelt with the same letters. Modern editors have not remarked upon the fact, that in all the folios, "This is thy sheath," is misprinted, "Tis in thy sheath:" even Capell here misrepresents the state of the old text. 9 Enter some of the Watch, with Balthasar.] where the business is shortened, Friar Laurence is stage before Balthasar. According to the 4to, 1597, taken and brought upon the |