The fearful passage of their death-mark'd love,
And the continuance of their parents' rage,
Which, but their children's end, nought could remove,
Is now the two hours' traffic of our stage;
The which if you with patient ears attend,
What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend.

ACT I. SCENE I.

A public Place.

Enter SAMPSON and GREGORY, armed with Swords and
Bucklers.

Sam. Gregory, on my word, we 'll not carry coals.

Gre. No, for then we should be colliers.

Sam. I mean, an we be in choler, we 'll draw.

Gre. Ay, while you live, draw your neck out of the collar. Sam. I strike quickly, being moved.

Gre. But thou art not quickly moved to strike.

Sam. A dog of the house of Montague moves me.

Gre. To move is to stir, and to be valiant is to stand; therefore, if thou art moved, thou run'st away.

Sam. A dog of that house shall move me to stand. I will take the wall of any man or maid of Montague's.

Gre. That shows thee a weak slave; for the weakest goes to the wall.

Sam. 'T is true; and therefore women, being the weaker vessels, are ever thrust to the wall: therefore, I will push Montague's men from the wall, and thrust his maids to the wall.

Gre. The quarrel is between our masters, and us their men. Sam. 'T is all one, I will show myself a tyrant: when I have fought with the men, I will be civil with the maids; I will cut off their heads.

Sam. Ay, the heads of the maids, or their maidenheads; take it in what sense thou wilt.

Gre. They must take it in sense, that feel it.

Sam. Me they shall feel, while I am able to stand; and, known, I am a pretty piece of flesh.

't is

Gre. 'Tis well, thou art not fish; if thou hadst, thou hadst been poor John. Draw thy tool; here comes two of the house of the Montagues.

list.

Enter ABRAM and BALTHASAR.

Sam. My naked weapon is out: quarrel, I will back thee.
Gre. How! turn thy back, and run n?

Gre. No marry: I fear thee!

Sam. Let us take the law of our sides; let them begin.

Gre. I will frown as I pass by, and let them take it as they

Sam.

Nay, as they dare. I will bite my thumb at them;

which is a disgrace to them, if they bear it.

Abr. Do you bite your thumb at us, Sir?

Sam. I do bite my thumb, Sir.

Abr. Do you bite your thumb
Sam. Is the law of our side,

Gre. No.

at us, Sir?

if I s

I say - ay?

Sam. No, Sir, I do not bite my thumb at you, Sir; but I bite my thumb, Sir.

Gre. Do you quarrel, Sir.

Abr. Quarrel, Sir? no, Sir.

Sam. If you do, Sir, I am for you I serve as good a man

as you.

Abr. No better.

Sam. Well, Sir.

Enter BENVOLIO, at a Distance.

Gre. Say-better: here comes one of my master's kinsmen.
Sam. Yes, better, Sir.

Abr. You lie.

Sam. Draw, if you be men.

swashing blow.

Gregory, remember thy

[They fight.

Ben. Part, fools! put up your swords; you know not what you do. [Beats down their Swords.

Enter TYBALT.

Tyb. What! art thou drawn among these heartless hinds? Turn thee, Benvolio; look upon thy death.

Ben. I do but keep the peace: put up thy sword,

Or manage it to part these men with me.

Tyb. What! drawn, and talk of peace? I hate the word, As I hate hell, all Montagues, and thee.

Have at thee, coward.

[They fight.

Enter several persons of both Houses, who join the Fray; then enter Citizens, with Clubs or Partisans.

1 Cit. Clubs, bills, and partisans! strike! beat them down! Down with the Capulets! down with the Montagues!

Enter CAPULET, in his Gown; and Lady CAPUlet.

Cap. What noise is this? Give me my long sword, ho!
La. Cap. A crutch, a crutch!
Cap. My sword, I say!

Why call you for a sword? Old Montague is come,

And flourishes his blade in spite of me.

Enter MONTAGUE and Lady Montague.

Mon. Thou villain Capulet! Hold me not; let me go.
La. Mon.

Thou shalt not stir one foot to seek a foe.

Enter Prince, with his Train.

Prin. Rebellious subjects, enemies to peace, Profaners of this neighbour-stained steel,

Will they not hear?- what ho! you men, you beasts,
That quench the fire of your pernicious rage
With purple fountains issuing from your veins,
On pain of torture, from those bloody hands
Throw your mis-temper'd weapons to the ground,
And hear the sentence of your moved prince.
Three civil brawls, bred of an airy word,
By thee, old Capulet, and Montague,
Have thrice disturb'd the quiet of our streets;

And made Verona's ancient citizens
Cast by their grave beseeming ornaments,
To wield old partizans, in hands as old,
Canker'd with peace, to part your canker'd hate.
If ever you disturb our streets again,

Your lives shall pay the forfeit of the peace:
For this time, all the rest depart away.

You, Capulet, shall go along with me;
And, Montague, come you this afternoon,
To know our farther pleasure in this case,
To old Free-town, our common judgment-place.
Once more, on pain of death, all men depart.

[Exeunt Prince, and Attendants; CAPULET, Lady
CAPULET, TYBALT, Citizens, and Servants.
Mon. Who set this ancient quarrel new abroach?
Speak, nephew, were you by when it began?

Ben. Here were the servants of your adversary,
And yours, close fighting ere I did approach.
I drew to part them: in the instant came
The fiery Tybalt, with his sword prepar'd;
Which, as he breath'd defiance to my ears,
He swung about his head, and cut the winds,
Who, nothing hurt withal, hiss'd him in scorn.
While we were interchanging thrusts and blows,
Came more and more, and fought on part and part,
Till the prince came, who parted either part.

La. Mon. O! where is Romeo? Right glad I am he was not at this fray.

saw you him to-day?

Ben. Madam, an hour before the worshipp'd sun
Peer'd forth the golden window of the east,

A troubled mind drave me to walk abroad;
Where, underneath the grove of sycamore
That westward rooteth from the city's side,
So early walking did I see your son.
Towards him I made; but he was 'ware of me,
And stole into the covert of the wood:

I, measuring his affections by my own,

Which then most sought, where most might not be found,
Being one too many by my weary self,

Pursu'd my humour, not pursuing his,

And gladly shunn'd who gladly fled from me.

Mon. Many a morning hath he there been seen,
With tears augmenting the fresh morning's dew,
Adding to clouds more clouds with his deep sighs:
But all so soon as the all-cheering sun
Should in the farthest east begin to draw
The shady curtains from Aurora's bed,
Away from light steals home my heavy son,
And private in his chamber pens himself;
Shuts up his windows, locks fair daylight out,
And makes himself an artificial night.
Black and portentous must this humour prove,
Unless good counsel may the cause remove.

Ben.

My noble uncle, do you know the cause?
Mon. I neither know it, nor can learn of him.
Ben. Have you importun'd him by any means?
Mon. Both by myself, and many other friends:
But he, his own affections' counsellor,
Is to himself—I will not say, how true
But to himself so secret and so close,

So far from sounding and discovery,
As is the bud bit with an envious worm,

Ere he can spread his sweet leaves to the air,

Or dedicate his beauty to the same.

Could we but learn from whence his sorrows grow,

We would as willingly give cure, as know.

Enter ROMEO, at a distance.

Ben. See, where he comes: so please you, step aside;

I'll know his grievance, or be much denied.

Mon. I would, thou wert so happy by thy stay,