Rom. Stay, fellow; I can read.

[Reads.

"Signior Martino and his wife and daughters: County Anselme and his beauteous sisters; the lady widow of Vitruvio; Signior Placentio and his lovely nieces; Mercutio and his brother Valentine; mine uncle Capulet, his wife and daughters; my fair niece Rosaline; Livia; Signior Valentio, and his cousin Tybalt; Lucio, and the lively Helena.”

A fair assembly: whither should they come?
Serv. Up.

Rom. Whither?

Serv. To supper; to our house.

Rom. Whose house?

Serv. My master's.

Rom. Indeed, I should have asked 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

crush a cup of wine.

Ben. At this same

Montagues, I pray, come and
Rest you merry!
ancient feast of Capulet's

[Exit.

Sups the fair Rosaline whom thou so lov'st,
With all the admiréd beauties of Verona :
Go thither; and with unattainted eye
Compare her face with some that I shall show,

And I will make thee think thy swan a crow.
Rom. When the devout religion of mine eye
Maintains such falsehood, then turn tears to

fires;

And these, who, often drowned, could never die,
Transparent heretics, be burnt for liars.
One fairer than my love! the all-seeing sun
Ne'er saw her match, since first the world begun.

Ben. Tut! you saw her fair, none else being by,
Herself poised with herself in either eye;
But in that crystal scales let there be weighed
Your lady's love against some other maid

That I will show you shining at this feast,

And she shall scant show well that now shows

best.

Rom. I'll go along, no such sight to be shown, But to rejoice in splendour of mine own.

[Exeunt.

SCENE III.-A Room in CAPULET'S House

Enter Lady CAPULET and Nurse

La. Cap. Nurse, where's my daughter? call her forth to me.

Nurse. Now, by my maidenhead at twelve year

old,

I bade her come. -What, lamb! what, ladybird!— God forbid !-where's this girl?——--what, Juliet !

La. Cap. This is the matter.-Nurse, give leave

awhile,

We must talk in secret.-Nurse, come back again : I have remembered me, thou's hear our counsel. Thou know'st, 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 is 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 she-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 shall she, marry; I remember it well.
"T is since the earthquake now eleven years;
And she was weaned,-I never shall forget it,-
Of all the days of the year, upon that day;
For I had then laid wormwood to my dug,
Sitting in the sun 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 tetchy, and fall out with the dug!
Shake, quoth the dove-house : 't was no need, I trow,
To bid me trudge.

And since that time it is eleven years;

For then she could stand alone, nay, by the rood,
She could have run 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?
Thou wilt fall backward when thou hast more wit,
Wilt thou not, Jule?' and, by my holidame,
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 never should forget it: 'Wilt thou not, Jule!'

quoth he;

And, pretty fool, it stinted, and said-' Ay.'

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

peace.

Nurse. Yes, madam. Yet I cannot choose but
laugh,

To think it should leave crying, and say—‘Ay :'
And yet, I warrant, it had upon its brow
A bump as big as a young cockerel's stone;
A perilous knock; and it cried bitterly :
'Yea,' quoth my husband, 'fall'st upon thy face?
Thou wilt fall backward, when thou com'st to age;
Wilt thou not, Jule?' it stinted, and said- Ay.'
Jul. And stint thou too, I pray thee, nurse,

say I.

Nurse. Peace, I have done. God mark thee to his grace!

Thou wast the prettiest babe that e'er I nursed :

An I might live to see thee married once,

I have my wish.

La. Cap. Marry, that marry is the very theme I come to talk of. Tell me, daughter Juliet, How stands your disposition to be married? Jul. It is an honour that I dream not of. Nurse. An honour! were not I thine only nurse,