of Montagues, I pray, come and crush a cup of wine. Rest you merry! BENVOLIO. At this same ancient feast of Capulet's Sups the fair Rosaline whom thou so lov'st, ROMEO. When the devout religion of mine eye Exit. Maintains such falsehood, then turn tears to fires; And these, who often drown'd 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. BENVOLIO. Tut, you saw her fair, none else being by, Herself pois'd with herself in either eye: And she shall scant show well that now shows best. ROMEO. 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. LADY CAPULET. Nurse, where 's my daughter? call her forth to me. NURSE. Now, by my maidenhead at twelve year old, We must talk in secret : nurse, come back again; NURSE. Faith, I can tell her age unto an hour. She's not fourteen. LADY CAPULET. 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? LADY CAPULET. A fortnight and odd days. NURSE. Even or odd, of all days in the year, Come Lammas-eve at night shall she be fourteen. Were of an age: well, Susan is with God; To see it tetchy and fall out wi' th' 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, 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? 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." LADY CAPULET. Enough of this; I pray thee, hold thy peace. NURSE. Yes, madam yet I cannot choose but laugh, "Yea, " quoth my husband," fall'st upon thy face? JULIET. 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 nurs'd; An I might live to see thee married once, Romeo and Juliet. I have my wish. LADY CAPULET. Marry, that " marry" is the very theme I came to talk of. Tell me, daughter Juliet, JULIET. It is an honour that I dream not of. NURSE. An honour! were not I thine only nurse, I would say thou hadst suck'd wisdom from thy teat. LADY CAPULET. Well, think of marriage now; younger than you, Are made already mothers: by my count, I was your mother much upon these years Nay, he's a flower; in faith, a very flower. LADY CAPULET. What say you? can you love the gentleman? |