Stop thy unhallowed toil, vile Montague; Obey, and go with me; for thou must die. Rom. I must, indeed; and therefore came I hither.Good gentle youth, tempt not a desperate man ; Fly hence and leave me;-think upon these gone; Let them affright thee.-I beseech thee, youth, Heap not another sin upon my head, By urging me to fury.-O, be gone! By Heaven, I love thee better than myself; For I come hither armed against myself. Stay not; begone;-live, and hereafter sayA madman's mercy bade thee run away. Par. I do defy thy conjurations,1 And do attach thee as a felon here. Rom. Wilt thou provoke me? Then have at thee, boy. [They fight. Page. O Lord! they fight. I will go call the watch. [Exit Page. Par. O, I am slain! [Falls.]—If thou be merciful, Open the tomb, lay me with Juliet. [Dies. Rom. In faith, I will.-Let me peruse this face; Mercutio's kinsman, noble county Paris. What said my man, when my betossed soul Did not attend him as we rode? I think He told me Paris should have married Juliet. Said he not so ? or did I dream it so? Or am I mad, hearing him talk of Juliet, To think it was so ?-O, give me thy hand, One writ with me in sour misfortune's book! I'll bury thee in a triumphant grave ;— 2 A grave? O, no; a lantern, slaughtered youth; 1 I refuse to do as thou conjurest me to do, i. e. depart. So Constance, in King John, says :— "No, I defy all counsel, all redress." 2 A lantern may here signify what in ancient records is styled lanternium, i. e. a spacious round or octagonal turret, full of windows, by means of which cathedrals and sometimes halls are illuminated. A presence is a public room, which is, at times, the presence-chamber of a sovereign. For here lies Juliet, and her beauty makes [Laying PARIS in the monument. Than with that hand that cut thy youth in twain, With worms that are thy chambermaids; O, here And shake the yoke of inauspicious stars 3 From this world-wearied flesh.-Eyes, look your last! [Dies. 1 The first quarto reads, " But how," &c. This idea very frequently occurs in our old dramas. 2 See note 1, Enter, at the other end of the church-yard, FRIAR LAURENCE, with a lantern, crow, and spade. Fri. Saint Francis be my speed! how oft to-night Have my old feet stumbled at graves!'-Who's there? Who is it that consorts, so late, the dead? Bal. Here's one, a friend, and one that knows you well. Fri. Bliss be upon you! Tell me, good my friend, What torch is yond' that vainly lends his light To grubs and eyeless skulls? as I discern, It burneth in the Capels' monument. Bal. It doth so, holy sir; and there's my master, One that you love. Fri. Bal. Who is it? Romeo. Full half an hour. Fri. How long hath he been there? Bal. Fri. Go with me to the vault. I dare not, sir. My master knows not but I am gone hence; If I did stay to look on his intents. Fri. Stay, then, I'll go alone.-Fear comes upon me ; O, much I fear some ill, unlucky thing. Bal. As I did sleep under this yew-tree here, I dreamed my master and another fought,2 And that my master slew him. Fri. Romeo? [Advances. Alack, alack, what blood is this, which stains [Enters the monument. Romeo! O, pale!-Who else? what, Paris too? 1 This accident was reckoned ominous. 2 This was one of the touches of nature that would have escaped the hand of any painter less attentive to it than Shakspeare. What happens to a person while he is under the manifest influence of fear, will seem to him, when he is recovered from it, like a dream. And steeped in blood! Ah, what an unkind hour The lady stirs. [JULIET wakes, and stirs. Jul. O comfortable friar! where is my lord? I do remember well where I should be, And there I am.-Where is my Romeo? [Noise within. Fri. I hear some noise.-Lady, come from that nest Of death, contagion, and unnatural sleep; A greater power than we can contradict Hath thwarted our intents; come, come away. Stay not to question, for the watch is coming; no longer. [Exit. Jul. Go, get thee hence, for I will not away. What's here? a cup, closed in my true love's hand? Poison, I see, hath been his timeless end. O churl! drink all; and leave no friendly drop, [Kisses him. I Watch. [Within.] Lead, boy.-Which way? dagger! [Snatching ROMEO's dagger. This is thy sheath. [Stabs herself.] There rust, and let me die.1 [Falls on ROMEO's body, and dies. Enter Watch, with the Page of PARIS. Page. This is the place; there, where the torch doth burn. 1 Watch. The ground is bloody; search about the church-yard: 1 Thus the quarto of 1599. That of 1597 reads: "Ay, noise? then must I be resolute, Oh, happy dagger! thou shalt end my fear; Go, some of you, whoe'er you find, attach. [Exeunt some. Pitiful sight! here lies the county slain; Enter some of the Watch, with BALTHAZAR. 2 Watch. Here's Romeo's man; we found him in the church-yard. 1 Watch. Hold him in safety, till the prince come hither. Enter another Watchman, with FRIAR LAURENCE. 3 Watch. Here is a friar, that trembles, sighs, and We took this mattock and this spade from him, Enter the Prince and Attendants. Prince. What misadventure is so early up, That calls our person from our morning's rest? Enter CAPULET, LADY CAPULET, and others. Cap. What should it be, that they so shriek abroad? La. Cap. The people in the street cry-Romeo, Some-Juliet, and some-Paris; and all run, With open outcry, toward our monument. Prince. What fear is this, which startles in our ears? 1 Watch. Sovereign, here lies the county Paris slain ; |