eyes

of mine

Then, through her troubled breft, even from the fartheft part,
An hollow figh, a meffenger the fendeth from her hart.
O Romeus, (quod fhe) in whom all vertues shine,
Welcome thou art into this place, where from these
Such teary ftreames did flowe, that I suppose wel ny
The fource of all my bitter teares is altogether drye.
Abfence fo pynde my heart, which on thy prefence fed,
And of thy fafety and thy health fo much I ftood in dred.
But now what is decreed by fatall defteny,

I force it not; let Fortune do and death their woorst to me.
Full recompenfd am I for all my paffed harmes,

In that the Gods have granted me to clafpe thee in mine armes.
The chryftall teares began to ftand in Romeus eyes,

When he unto his ladies woordes gan aunswere in this wife:

Though cruell Fortune be so much my deadly foe,

That I ne can by lively proofe caufe thee, fayre dame, to know
How much I am by love enthralled unto thee,

Ne yet what mighty powre thou haft, by thy defert, on me,
Ne torments that for thee I did ere this enduré,

Yet of thus much (ne will I fayne) I may thee well affure;
The leaft of many paines which of thy abfence sproong,

More painfully than death it felfe my tender hart hath wroong.
Ere this, one death had reft a thousand deathes away,
But life prolonged was by hope of this defyred day;
Which fo juft tribute payes of all my paffed mone,
That I as well contented am as if my felfe alone
Did from the ocean reigne unto the sea of Ynde.
Wherefore now let us wipe away old cares out of our mynde;
For, as the wretched ftate is now redrest at last,

So is it fkill behinde our backe the curfed care to caft.
Since Fortune of her grace hath place and time affinde,
Where we with pleasure may content our uncontented mynde,
In Lethes hyde we depe all greefe and all annoy,

Whilft we do bathe in bliffe, and fill our hungry harts with joye.
And, for the time to comme, let be our bufy care

So wifely to direct our love, as no wight els be ware;
Left envious foes by force defpoyle our new delight,

And us threw backe from happy state to more unhappy plight."
Fayre Juliet began to aunfwere what he fayde,

But foorth in haft the old nurce stept, and fo her aunfwere stayde. Who takes no time (quoth the) when time well offred is,

An other time fhall feeke for tyme, and yet of time shall miffe.
And when occafion ferves, who fo doth let it flippe,

Is worthy fure, if I might judge, of lafhes with a whippe.
Wherefore if eche of you hath harmde the other fo,
And eche of you hath ben the caufe of others wayled woe,
VOL. XX.

U

Lo here a field (she shewd a field-bed ready dight)

Where you may, if you lift, in armes revenge yourfelf by fight. Whereto these lovers both gan eafely affent,

And to the place of mylde revenge with pleafant cheere they

Where they were left alone (the nurce is gone to reft)

How can this be? they reftlefs lye, ne yet they feele unreft.
I graunt that I envie the bliffe they lived in;

O that I might have found the like! I with it for no fin,
But that I might as well with pen their joyes depaynt,
As heretofore I have difplayd their fecret hidden playnt.
Of fhyvering care and dred I have felt many a fit,

But Fortune fuch delight as theyrs dyd never graunt me yet.
By proofe no certain truth can I unhappy write,

But what I geffe by likelihod, that dare I to endyte.
The blindfold goddeffe that with frowning face doth fraye,
feate the mighty kinges throwes down with head-
long fway,

And from thay

Begynneth now

to turn to thefe her fmyling face;

Nedes muft they taft of great delight, fo much in Fortunes grace. If Cupid, god of love, be god of pleafant fport,

I think, O Romeus, Mars himfelfe envies thy happy fort.

Ne Venus juftly might (as I fuppofe) repent,

If in thy flead, O Juliet, this pleafant time the fpent.

Thus paffe they foorth the night, in fport, in joly game;
The haftines of Phoebus fteeds in great defpyte they blame.
And now the vyrgins fort hath warlike Romeus got,
In which as yet no breache was made by force of canon fhot,
And now in eafe he doth poffeffe the hoped place:

How glad was he, fpeake you, that may your lovers parts

embrace.

The marriage thus made up, and both the parties pleafd,
The nigh approche of days retoorne thefe fely foles difeafd.
And for they might no while in pleasure paffe theyr time,
Ne leyfure had they much to blame the hafty mornings crime,
With friendly kiffe in armes of her his leave he takes,
And every other night, to come, a folemne othe he makes,
By one felfe meane, and eke to come at one felfe howre:
And fo he doth, till Fortune lift to fawfe his fweete with fowre,
But who is he that can his prefent state affure?
And fay unto himselfe, thy joyes fhall yet a day endure?
So wavering fortunes whele, her chaunges be fo ftraunge;
And every wight y-thralled is by Fate unto her chaunge:
Who raignes fo over all, that eche man hath his part,
Although not aye, perchaunce, alike of pleasure and of smart.

For after many joyes fome feele but little paine,

And from that little greefe they toorne to happy joy againe.
But other fome there are, that living long in woe,

At length they be in quiet ease, but long abide not fo;

Whofe greefe is much increaft by myrth that went before, Because the fodayne chaunge of thinges doth make it feeme the

more.

Of this unlucky forte our Romeus is one,

For all his hap turnes to mishap, and all his myrth to mone.
And joyfull Juliet another leafe must toorne;

As woont fhe was, (her joyes bereft) the muft begin to moorne..
The fummer of their bliffe doth laft a month or twayne,
But winters blaft with fpedy foote doth bring the fall agayne.
Whom glorious Fortune erft had heaved to the skies,

By envious Fortune overthrowne, on earth now groveling Iyes.
She payd theyr former greefe with pleafures doubled gayne,
But now, for pleasures ufury, ten folde redoubleth

payne.

The prince could never cause those houfholds fo agree,
But that fome fparcles of theyr wrath as yet remayning bee;
Which lye this while raaked up in ashes pale and ded,
Till tyme do ferve that they agayne in wafting flame may spred.
At holiest times, men fay, moft heynous crimes are donne;
The morrowe after Eafter-day the mischiefe new begonne.
A band of Capilets dyd meet (my hart it rewes)

Within the walles, by Purfers gate, a band of Montagewes.
The Capilets as cheefe a yong man have chofe out,
Beft exercifd in feates of armes, and nobleft of the rowte,
Our Juliets unkles fonne, that cleped was Tibalt ;

He was of body tall and strong, and of his courage halt.
They neede no trumpet founde to byd them geve the charge,
So lowde he cryde with ftrayned voyce and mouth out-firetched
large:

"Now, now, quoth he, my friends, our felfe so let us wreake, That of this dayes revenge and us our childrens heyres may speake. Now once for all let us their fwelling pryde affwage;

Let none of them efcape alive." Then he with furious rage,
And they with him, gave charge upon theyr prefent foes,
And then forthwith a fkirmish great upon this fray arose.
For loe the Montagewes thought fhame away to flye,

And rather than to live with fhame, with prayfe did choose to dye.

The woords that Tybalt used to ftyrre his folke to yre,

Have in the breftes of Montagewes kindled a furious fyre.
With lyons harts they fight, warely them felfe defend;

To wound his foe, his prefent wit and force eche one doth bend.

This furious fray is long on eche fide ftoutly fought, That whether part had got the woorft, full doubtfull were the thought.

The noyse hereof anon throughout the towne doth flye,

And parts are taken on every fide; both kindreds thether hye. Here one doth grafpe for breth, his frend beftrydeth him; And he hath lost a hand, and he another maymed lym :

His leg is cutte whilst he strikes at an other full,

And whom he would have thruft quite through, hath cleft his cracked skull.

Theyr valiant harts forbode theyr foote to geve the grounde; With unappauled cheere they tooke full deepe and doutful

wounde.

Thus foote by foote long while, and shylde to shylde set fast,
One foe doth make another faint, but makes him not agaft.
And whilft this noyse is rife in every townesmans eare,

Eke, walking with his frendes, the noyfe doth wofull Romeus

heare.

With fpedy foote he ronnes unto the fray apace;

With him, thofe fewe that were with him he leadeth to the

place.

They pitie much to fee the flaughter made so greate,

That wet fhod they might ftand in blood on eyther fide the

ftreate.

Part frendes, faid he, part frendes, help, frendes, to part the fray,
And to the reft, enough, (he cryes) now time it is to staye.
Gods farther wrath you ftyrre, befide the hurt you feele,
And with this new uprore confounde all this our common wele.
But they fo bufy are in fight, fo egar, fierce,

That through theyr eares his fage advise no leyfure had to pearce.
Then lept he in the throng, to part and barre the blowes
As well of those that were his frends, as of his dedly foes.

As foon as Tybalt had our Romeus efpyde,

He threw a thruft at him that would have paft from fide to fide;

But Romeus ever went, douting his foes, well armde,

So that the fwerd, kept out by mayle, had nothing Romeus harmde.

Thou doeft me wrong, quoth he, for I but part the fraye;
Not dread, but other waighty cause my hafty hand doth stay.
Thou art the cheefe of thine, the nobleft eke thou art,
Wherefore leave of thy malice now, and helpe these folke to part.
Many are hurt, some flayne, and fome are like to dye :-
No, coward, traytor boy, quoth he, ftraight way I mind to trye,.
Whether thy fugred talke, and tong fo fmoothly fylde,
Against the force of this my fwerd fhall ferve thee for a shylde.

--

And then, at Romeus hed a blow he strake fo hard

That might have clove him to the braine but for his cunning ward.

It was but lent to hym that could repay againe,

And geve him deth for intereft, a well-forborne gayne.

Right as a foreft bore, that lodged in the thicke,

Pinched with dog, or els with speare y-pricked to the quicke,

His briftles ftyffe upright upon his backe doth fet,

And in his fomy mouth his fharp and crooked tuikes doth whet; Or as a lyon wilde, that raumpeth in his rage,

His whelps bereft, whofe fury can no weaker beast afswage ;Such feemed Romeus in every others fight,

When he him fhope, of wrong receavde tavenge himself by fight. Even as two thunderbolts throwne downe out of the fkye,

That through the ayre, the maffy earth, and feas, have powre to

flye;

So met these two, and whyle they chaunge a blow or twayne, Our Romeus thruft him through the throte, and fo is Tybalt

flayne.

Loe here the end of those that styrre a dedly ftryfe!

Who thryfteth after others death, him felfe hath loft his lyfe.
The Capilets are quaylde by Tybalts overthrowe,

The courage of the Montagewes by Romeus fight doth growe.
The townesmen waxen ftrong, the Prince doth fend his force;
The fray hath end. The Capilets do bring the bretheless corce
Before the prince, and crave that cruell dedly payne

May be the guerdon of his falt, that hath theyr kinfman flayne.

The Montagewes do pleade theyr Romeus voyde of falt;
The lookers on do fay, the fight begonne was by Tybalt.
The prince doth pawfe, and then geves fentence in a while,
That Romeus, for fleying him, should goe into exyle.
His foes woulde have him hangde, or fterve in prison strong;..
His frends do think, but dare not fay, that Romeus hath wrong.
Both houfholds ftraight are charged on payne of lofing lyfe,
Theyr bloudy weapons layd afide, to cease the ftyrred ftryfe.
This common plage is fpred through all the towne apon,
From fide to fide the towne is fild with murmur and with mone.
For Tybalts hafty death bewayled was of fomme,

Both for his fkill in feates of armes, and for, in time to comme
He fhould, had this not chaunced, been riche and of great powre,
To helpe his frends, and serve the state; which hope within a
howre

Was wafted quite, and he, thus yelding up his breath,

More than he holpe the towne in lyfe, bath harmde it by his

death,