He that is strucken blind, cannot forget
The precious treasure of his eye-fight loft.
Shew me a mistress that is passing fair ;
What doth her beauty serve, but as a note,
Where I may read, who pass’d that pafling fair?
Farewel, thou canst not teach me to forget.
Ben, I'll pay that doctrine, or else die in debt.

(Exeunt,'
Enter Capulet, Paris, and Servant.
Cap. And Montague is bound as well as I,
In penalty alike; and 'tis not hard
For men so cld as we to keep the peace.

Par. Of honourable reck'ning are you both,
And, pity 'tis, you liv'd at odds so long :
But now, my Lord, what say you to my suit?

Cap. But saying o'er what I have said before:
My child is yet a stranger in the world,
She hath not seen the change of fourteen years ;
Let two more summers wither in their pride,
Ere we may think her ripe to be a bride.

Par. Younger than she are happy mothers made.

Cap. And too foon marr'd are those so early made: The earth hath swallowed all my hopes but she. She is the hopeful lady of my earth: But woo her, gentle Paris, get her heart, My will to her consent is but a part; If the agree, within her scope of choice Lies my confent, and fair according voice: This night, I hold an old accuftom'd feast, Whereto I have invited many a guest, Such as I love ; and you, among the store, One more, most welcome, makes my number more. At my poor house, look to behold this night Earth-trading itars that make dark heaven's light. Such comfort as do lufty young men feel, When well-apparel'd April on the heel Of limping Winter reads, even such delight Among frelh female buds fhall you this night

Inherit

Inherit at my house; hear all, all see,
And like her most, whose merit moit shall be:
Which on more view of many, mine, being one,
- Miay stand in number, tho' in reck’ning none.
Come, go with me. Go, firrah, trudge about,
Through fair Verona ; find those persons out
Whose names are written there ; and to them say,
My house and welcome on their pleasure stay.

(Exeunt Capulet and Paris. Serw. Find them out whose names are written here?

-It is written, that the Shoemaker should meddle with his yard, and the ?'aylor with his last, the Fisher with his pencił, and the Painter with his nets. But I am fent to find those persons whose names are here writ; and can never find what names the writing person hath here writ. I must to the Learned.-In good time,

Enter Benvolio and Romeo.
Ben. Tut, man! one fire burns out another's burning,

One pain is lefsen'd by another's anguish :
Turn giddy, and be help'd by backward turning;

One desperate grief cure with another's languish:
Take thou some new infection to the eye,
And the rank poison of the old will die.

Rom. Your plantan leaf is excellent for that.
Ben. For what, I pray thee?
Rom. For your broken shin.
Ben. Why, Romeo, art thou mad ?

Rom. Not mad, but bound more than a mad-man is:
Shut up in prison, kept without my food,
Whipt and tormented; and-Good e'en, good fellow.

(To the Servant.
Serv. God gi' good e’en: I pray, Sir, can you read?
Rom. Ay, mine own fortune is my misery
Şerv. Perhaps, you have learn'd it without book:

but, I pray,
Can you read any thing you see?
Róm. Ay, if I know the letters and the language.
Serv. Ye say honeftly, reft you merry..
Rom. Stay, fellow, i can read.

(He

G

(He reads the letter.] Ignior Martino, and his wife and daughters : Count

. : truvio ; Signior Placentio, and his lovelynieces; Mercutia and his brother Valentine ; mine uncle Capulet, his wife and daughiers; my fair niece Rosaline; Livia; Signior va lentio, and his coupon Tybalt; Lucio,and the lively Helena. A fair assembly; whither should they come? (0)

Serv. Up
Rom. Whither?
Sera. To supper, to our house.
Rom. Whore house?
Serv. My master's.
kom. Indeed, I thould have askt you that before.

Serv, Now I'll tell you without asking. My master is the

great rich Capulet, and if you be not of the house of Montagues, I pray, come and crush a cup of wine. Ret you merry.

[Exit. Ben. At this fame ancient feast of Capulet's Sups the fair Rosaline, whom thou so lov'it ; With all th' admired beauties of Verona. Go thither, and, with unattainted eye, Compare her face with fome that I shall show, And I will make thee think thy swan a crow.

Rom. When the devout religion of mine eye

Maintains such falshoods, then turn tears to fires; And these, who, often drown'd, could never die,

Transparent hereticks, be burnt for liars!
One fairer than my love! th' all-seeing Sun
Ne'er saw her match, since first the world begun.

Ben. Tut! tut! you saw her fair, none else being by; Herself pois'd with herself, in either eye:

(6) A fair assembly: wbieber foould obey come?
Serv. Up.
Rom. Wbither? to supper ?

Serv. To our boufe.] Romeo had read over the lift of invited guests, but he must be a prophet, to know they were inviied to supper. This comes much more aptly from the servant's answer, thaa Romeo's ques. non; and muft undoubtedly be placed to him. Mr. Warburton.

Bet

But in those crystal scales, let there be weigh'd
Your lady-love against some other maid, (7)
That I will shew you, shining at this feast,
And she will shew scant well, that now shews beft.

Rom. I'll go along, no such fight to be shewn,
But to rejoice in fplendor of mine own. [Exeunt.

SCENE changes to Capulet's House.

Enter Lady Capulet, and Nurse.
La.
Cap.

URSE, where's my daughters call her

forth to me. Nurse. Now (by my maiden-head, at twelve years old) I bade her come; what, lamb,--what, lady-bird, God. forbid where's this girl? what, Juliet ?

Enter Juliet.
Jul. How now, who calls ?
Nurse. Your mother,
Jul. Madam, I am here, what is

your

will ? La. Cap. This is the matter- -Nursë, give leave a while, we must talk in secret; Nurse, come back again, I have remember'd me, thou shalt hear our counsel ; thou know it my daughter's of a pretty age.

Nurse. Faith, I can tell her age unto an hour.
La. Cap. She's not fourteen.

Nurse. I'll lay fourteen of my teeth, (and yet to my teen be it spoken, I have but four;) she's not fourteen; how long is it now to Lammas-tide?

La. Cap. A fortnight and odd days.

Nurse. Even or odd, of all days in the year, come Lammas-eve at night, shall she be fourteen. Susan and (7)

let there be weigh'd Your lady's love again some other maid.) But the comparison was not to be betwixt the love that Romco's mistress paid him, and the perfon of any other young woman : but tetwixt Romeo's mistress her. self, and some other that should be match'd against her. The Poet therefore must certainly have wrote ;

Your lady.love against some other maid, So the comparison ftands right, and sensibly.

The

the (God rest all christian souls!) were of an age. Well, Susan is with God, she was too good for me.

But as I said, on Lammas.eve at night shall she be fourteen, that fhall she, marry, I remember it well. 'Tis since the earthquake now eleven years, and she was wean'd, I never fall forget it, of all the days in the year, upon that day; for I had then laid wormwood to my dug, fitting in the fun under the dove-house wall, my Lord and you were then at Mantua

-nay, I do bear a brain. But, as I said, when it did taste the wormwood on the nipple of my dug, and felt it bitter, pretty fool, to see it teachy, and fall out with the dug. Shake, quoth the dove-house

-'twas no need I trow, to bid me trudge; and since that time it is eleven years, for then the could stand alone; nay, by th' rood, she could have sun, and waddled all about; for even the day before she broke her brow, and then my husband, (God be with his soul, a' was a merry man;) took up

the child ; Yea. quoth he, dost thou fall upon thy face? thoa wilt fall backward when thou hast more wit, wilt thou not, Jules and, by my holy dam, the pretty wretch left crying, and said, Ay. To see now, how a jest shall come about. - I warrant, an' I should live a thousand years, I should not forget it: Wilt thou not Juli ? quoth he: and, pretty fool, it flinted, and faid, Ay.

La. Cap. Enough of this, I pray thee, hold thy peace.

Nurse. Yes, Madam; yet I cannot chuse but laugh, to think it should leave crying, and fay, Ay; and yet, I warrant it had upon its brow a bump as big as a young cockrel's stone: a perilous knock, and it cried bitterly. Yea, quoth my husband, fallt upon thy face ? thou wilt fall backward when thou comeft to age, wilt thou not, Julé? it ftinted, and said, Ay.

Jul. And stint thee too, I pray thee, nurse, say I. Nurse. Peace, I have done: God mark thee to his

grace! Thou wait the prettiest babe, that e'er I nurst. An' I might live to see thee married once, I have my wish. La. Cap. And that same marriage is the very theme

I came