thus afflicted with these strange flies, these fashion mongers, these perdona-mi's, who stand so much on the new form, that they cannot sit at ease on the old bench? 0, their bones, their bones! Enter ROMEO. Ben. Here comes Romeo, here comes Romeo. Mer. Without his roe, like a dried herring: O flesh, flesh, how art thou fishified! Now is he for the numbers that Petrarch flowed in: Laura to his lady was but a kitchen-wench; marry, she had a better love to be-rhyme her; Dido a dowdy; Cleopatra a gipsy; Helen and Hero hildings and harlots; Thisbe a grey eye or so, but not to the purpose. Signior Romeo, bon jour! there's a French salutation to your French slop. You gave us the counterfeit fairly last night. Rom. Good morrow to you both. I give you? What counterfeit did Mer. The slip, sir, the slip; can you not conceive? 50 Rom. Pardon, good Mercutio, my business was great; and in such a case as mine a man may strain courtesy. Mer. That's as much as to say, such a case as yours constrains a man to bow in the hams. Rom. Meaning, to court'sy. Mer. Thou hast most kindly hit it. Rom. A most courteous exposition. Mer. Nay, I am the very pink of courtesy. Mer. Right. Rom. Why, then is my pump well flowered. 60 Mer. Well said: follow me this jest now till thou hast worn out thy pump, that when the single sole of it is worn, the jest may remain after the wearing sole singular., Rom. O, single-soled jest, solely singular for the singleness! 70 Mer. Come between us, good Benvolio; my wits faint. Rom. Switch and spurs, switch and spurs; or I'fl cry a match. Mer. Nay, if thy wits run the wild-goose chase, I have done, for thou hast more of the wild-goose in one of thy wits than, I am sure, I have in my whole five: was I with you there for the goose? Rom. Thou wast never with me for anything when thou was not there for the goose. Mer. I will bite thee by the ear for that jest. 80 Mer. Thy wit is a very bitter sweeting; it is a most sharp sauce. Rom. And is it not well served in to a sweet goose? Mer. O, here's a wit of cheveril, that stretches from an inch narrow to an ell broad! Rom. I stretch it out for that word "broad;" which added to the goose, proves thee far and wide a broad goose. 91 Mer. Why, is not this better now than groaning for love? now art thou sociable, now art thou Romeo; now art thou what thou art, by art as well as by nature: for this driv elling love is like a great natural, that runs lolling up and down to hide his bauble in a hole. Ben. Stop there, stop there. Mer. Thou desirest me to stop in my tale against the hair. Ben. Thou wouldst else have made thy tale large. 100 Mer. O, thou art deceived; I would have made it short: for I was come to the whole depth of my tale; and meant, indeed, to occupy the argument no longer. Rom. Here's goodly gear! Enter Nurse and PETER. Mer. A sail, a sail! Ben. Two, two; a shirt and a smock. Nurse. Peter! Peter. Anon! Nurse. My fan, Peter. 110 Mer. Good Peter, to hide her face; for her fan's the fairer face. Nurse. God ye good morrow, gentlemen. Mer. God ye good den, fair gentlewoman. Mer. 'Tis no less, I tell you, for the bawdy hand of the dial is now upon the prick of noon. Nurse. Out upon you! what a man are you! 119 Rom. One, gentlewoman, that God hath made for himself to mar. Nurse. By my troth, it is well said; "for himself to mar," quoth a'? Gentlemen, can any of you tell me where I may find the young Romeo? Rom. I can tell you; but young Romeo will be older when you have found him than he was when you sought him: I am the youngest of that name, for fault of a worse. Nurse. You say well. 130 Mer. Yea, is the worst well? very well took, i' faith; wisely, wisely. ་ Nurse. If you be he, sir, I desire some confidence with you. Ben. She will indite him to some supper. Mer. No hare, sir; unless a hare, sir, in a lenten pie, that is something stale and hoar ere it be spent. An old hare hoar, And an old hare hoar, Is too much for a score, When it hoars ere it be spent. [Sings. 140 Romeo, will you come to your father's? we'll to dinner, thither. Rom. I will follow you. lady, Mer. Farewell, ancient lady; farewell, [singing] lady, lady." [Exeunt Mercutio and Benvolio. 151 Nurse. Marry, farewell! I pray you, sir, what saucy merchant was this, that was so full of his ropery? Rom. A gentleman, nurse, that loves to hear himself talk, and will speak more in a minute than he will stand to in a month. Nurse. An a' speak any thing against me, I'll take him down, an 'a were lustier than he is, and twenty such Jacks; and if I cannot, I'll find those that shall. Scurvy knave! I am none of his flirt gills; I am none of his skainsmates. And thou must stand by too, and suffer every knave to use me at his pleasure? Peter. I saw no man use you at his pleasure; if I had, my weapon should quickly have been out, I warrant you: I dare draw as soon as another man, if I see occasion in a good quarrel, and the law on my side. 169 Nurse. Now, afore God, I am so vexed, that every part about me quivers. Scurvy knave! Pray you, sir, a word: and as I told you, my young lady bade me inquire you out; what she bade me say, I will keep to myself: but first let me tell ye, if ye should lead her into a fool's paradise, as they say, it were a very gross kind of behaviour, as they say: for the gentlewoman is young; and, therefore, if you should deal double with her, truly it were an ill thing to be offered to any gentlewoman, and very weak dealing. 181 Rom. Nurse, commend me to thy lady and mistress. I protest unto thee Nurse. Good heart, and, i' faith, I will tell her as much: Lord, Lord, she will be a joyful woman. Rom. What wilt thou tell her, nurse? thou dost not mark me. Nurse. I will tell her, sir, that you do protest; which, as I take it, is a gentlemanlike offer. Rom. Bid her devise Some means to come to shrift this afternoon; And there she shall at Friar Laurence' cell Be shrived and married. Here is for thy pains. Rom. Go to; I say you shall. Nurse. This afternoon, sir? well, she shall be there. And bring thee cords made like a tackled stair; Farewell; be trusty, and I'll quit thy pains: Farewell; commend me to thy mistress. 191 200 Nurse. Now God in heaven bless thee! Hark you, sir. Rom. What say'st thou, my dear nurse? 210 Nurse. Is your man secret? Did you ne'er hear say, Two may keep counsel, putting one away? Rom. I warrant thee, my man's as true as steel. Nurse. Well, sir; my mistress is the sweetest lady-Lord, Lord! when 'twas a little prating thing:-0, there is a nobleman in town, one Paris, that would fain lay knife aboard; but she, good soul, had as lief see a toad, a very toad, as see him. I anger her sometimes and tell her that Paris is the properer man; but, I'll warrant you, when I say so, she looks as pale as any clout in the versal world. Doth not rosemary and Romeo begin both with a letter? 220 Rom. Ay, nurse; what of that? both with an R. Nurse. Ah, mocker! that's the dog's name; R is for the -No; I know it begins with some other letter:-and she hath the prettiest sententious of it, of you and rosemary, that it would do you good to hear it. Rom. Commend me to thy lady. Nurse. Ay, a thousand times. [Exit Romeo.] Peter! Pet. Anon! Nurse. Peter, take my fan, and go before, and apace. 280 [Exeunt. SCENE V. Capulet's orchard. Enter JULIET. Jul. The clock struck nine when I did send the nurse; In half an hour she promised to return. Perchance she cannot meet him: that's not so. O, she is lame! love's heralds should be thoughts, +But old folks, many feign as they were dead; Enter Nurse and PETER. O honey nurse, what news? Hast thou met with him? Send thy man away. Nurse. Peter, stay at the gate. 10 [Exit Peter. Jul. Now, good sweet nurse, -O Lord, why look'st thou sad? Though news be sad, yet tell them merrily; If good, thou shamest the music of sweet news By playing it to me with so sour a face. Nurse. I am a-weary, give me leave awhile: Fie, how my bones ache! what a jaunt have I had! Nay, come, I pray thee, speak; good, good nurse, speak. Do you not see that I am out of breath? 21 80 Jul. How art thou out of breath, when thou hast breath To say to me that thou art out of breath? The excuse that thou dost make in this delay Is longer than the tale thou dost excuse. Is thy news good, or bad? answer to that; Nurse. Well, you have made a simple choice; you know not how to choose a man: Romeo! no not he; though his |