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Jul. Go, fhut the door, and when thou haft done

fo, Come weep with me, past hope, past cure, paft help. Fri. O juliet. I already know thy grief,

It trains me paft the Compafs of my Wits.
I hear, you must, and nothing may prorogue it,
On Thursday next be married to this Count.

Jul. Tell me not, Friar, that thou hear'ft of this, Unless thou tell me how I may prevent it.

If in thy wisdom thou canst give no help,
Do thou but call my refolution wife,
And with this knife I'll help it presently.

God join'd my heart and Romeo's; thou, our hands;
And ere this hand, by thee to Romeo feal'd,
Shall be the label to another deed,

Or my true heart with treacherous revolt
Turn to another, this fhall lay them both:
Therefore out of thy long-experienc'd time,
Give me fome prefent counfel; or, behold,
'Twixt my extremes and me this bloody knife
Shall play the umpire; arbitrating that,
Which the commiffion of thy years and art
Could to no iffue of true honour bring:
Be not fo long to fpeak; I long to die,
If what thou fpeak'ft fpeak not of remedy.
Fri. Hold, daughter, I do 'fpy a kind of hope,
Which craves as defperate an execution,
As That is defp'rate which we would prevent.
If, rather than to marry County Paris,
Thou haft the ftrength of will to lay thyself,
Then it is likely, thou wilt undertake

A thing like death to chide away this fhame,
That cop'ft with death himself, to 'fcape from it:
And if thou dar'ft, I'll give thee remedy.

Jul. O, bid me leap, rather than marry Paris,
From off the battlements of yonder tower:
Or chain me to fome fleepy mountain's top,
Where roaring bears and favage lions roam;

Or

Or fhut me nightly in a carnel house,
O'er-cover'd quite with dead men's ratling bones,
With reeky thanks, and yellow chapless skulls ;
Or bid me go into a new-made Grave,
And hide me with a dead man in his shroud;
(Things, that to hear them nam'd, have made me
tremble :)

And I will do it without fear or doubt,
To live an unftain'd wife to my fweet love.

Fri. Hold, then, go home, be merry, give confent
To marry Paris; Wednesday is to-morrow;
To-morrow Night, look, that thou lie alone.
(Let not thy Nurfe lie with thee in thy chamber:
Take thou this phial, being then in Bed,
And this diftilled liquor drink thou off;
When presently through all thy veins fhall run
A cold and drowly humour, which shall seize
Each vital fpirit; for no Pulfe fhall keep
His nat'ral progrefs, but furceafe to beat.
No warmth, no breath, fhall teftify thou liveft;
The roles in thy lips and cheeks shall fade
To paly afhes; thy eyes' windows fall,
Like death, when he fhuts up the day of life;
Each Part, depriv'd of fupple Government,
Shall ftiff, and stark, and cold appear like Death :
And in this borrowed likeness of fhrunk death
Thou shalt continue two and forty hours,
And then awake, as from a pleasant sleep.
Now when the bridegroom in the morning comes
To roufe thee from thy bed, there art thou dead:
Then, as the manner of our Country is,
In thy best robes uncover'd on the bier,
Be borne to burial in thy kindred's Grave:
Thou shalt be borne to that fame ancient vault,
Where all the kindred of the Capulets lie.
In the mean time, against thou shalt awake,
Shall Romeo by my letters know our drift,
And hither fhall he come; and he and I

Will watch thy Waking, and that very night
Shall Romeo bear thee hence to Mantua;

And This fhall free thee from this prefent Shame, If no unconftant toy, nor womanish fear,

Abate thy valour in the acting it.

Jul. Give me, oh give me, tell me not of fear.

[Taking the phial. Fri. Hold, get you gone, be strong and profperous In this Refolve; I'll fend a Friar with speed

To Mantua, with my letters to thy lord.

Jul. Love, give me ftrength, and ftrength fhall help afford.

Farewel, dear father!

J

SCENE

[Exeunt.

II.

Changes to Capulet's House.

Enter Capulet, Lady Capulet, Nurfe, and two or three

Cap.

Servants.

So many Guefts invite, as here are writ;

Sirrah, go hire me twenty cunning cooks. Ser. You fhall have none ill, Sir, for I'll try if they can lick their fingers.

Cap. How canft thou try them fo?

Ser. 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, be gone.

We shall be much unfurnifh'd for this time:
What, is my daughter gone to Friar Lawrence?
Nurfe. Ay, forfooth.

Cap. Well, he may chance to do fome good on her: A peevish felf-will'd harlotry it is.

Enter Juliet.

Nurfe. See, where she comes from Shrift with merry

Look.

Cap.

Cap. How now, my head-ftrong? where have you been gadding?

Jul. Where I have learnt me to repent the fin
Of difobedient oppofition

To You and your Behefts; and am enjoin'd
By holy Lawrence to fall proftrate here,

And beg your pardon: Pardon, I beseech you!
Henceforward I am ever rul'd by you.

Cap. Send for the County, go tell him of this,
I'll have this knot knit up to-morrow morning.
Jul. I met the youthful lord at Lawrence' cell,
And gave him what becoming love I might,
Not ftepping o'er the bounds of Modefty.

Cap. Why, I am glad on't, this is well, ftand up; This is as't fhould be; let me fee the County: Ay, marry, go, I fay, and fetch him hither. Now, afore God, this reverend holy Friar, * All our whole city is much bound to him. Ju!. Nurfe, will you go with me into my clofet, To help me fort fuch needful ornaments As think fit to furnish me to-morrow? you

La. Cap. No, not till Thursday, there is time enough. Cap. Go, nurse, go with her; we'll to Church to [Exeunt Juliet and Nurfe. La. Cap. We fhall be fhort in our provifion; 'Tis now near night.

morrow.

Cap. Tufh, I will fir about,

And all things fhall be well, I warrant thee, wife : Go thou to Juliet, help to deck up her,

I'll not to bed to-night, let me alone:

I'll play the housewife for this once-What, ho!
They are all forth; well, I will walk myself
To County Paris, to prepare him up

Againft to-morrow. My heart's wondrous light,
Since this fame way-ward girl is fo reclaim'd.

[Exeunt Capulet and lady Capulet.

*All our whole city is much bound to him.] Without doubt Shakespear

wrote,

-much bound to hymn.

SCENE

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Jul. Y, thofe attires are beft; but. gentle nurfe, pray thee, leave me to myself to-night:

I

For I have need of many Orisons

To move the heav'ns to fmile upon my State, Which, well thou know'ft, is crofs, and full of Sin.

Enter lady Capulet.

La. Cap. What, are you bufy, do you need my help? Jul. No, Madam, we have cull'd fuch neceffaries As are behoveful for our flate to-morrow:

So please you, let me now be left alone,

And let the nurfe this night fit up with you:
For, I am fure, you have your hands full all,
In this fo fudden bulinefs.

La. Cap. Good-night,

Get thee to bed and reft, for thou haft need. [Exeunt. Jul. Farewel-God knows, when we shall meet again!

I have a faint cold fear thrills through my veins,
That almost freezes up the heat of life.

I'll call them back again to comfort me.
Nurfe what fhould fhe do here?

My dismal scene I needs must act alone:

Come, phial--What if this mixture do not work at all? Shall I of force be marry'd to the Count?

No, no, this fhall forbid it; lie thou there

[Pointing to a dagger.

What if it be a poison, which the Frair
Subtly hath miniftred, to have me dead,
Left in this marriage he should be dishonour'd,
Because he married me before to Romeo?

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