276

VOL. X.

KOM. AND

JULIET. THE TRAGICALL HYSTORY

O F

ROMEUS AND JULIET:

Contayning in it a rare Example of true Conftancie;

With the fubtill Counfels and practises of an old Fryer, and their ill Event.

"

Res eft folliciti plena timoris amor.

TO THE READER.

Amid the defert rockes the mountaine beare
Bringes forth unformd, unlyke herfelfe, her yonge,
Nought els but lumpes of fiefhe, withouten heare;
In tract of time, her often lycking tong

Geves them fuch fhape, as doth, ere long, delight.
The lookers on; or, when one dogge doth fhake
With moofled mouth the joyntes too weake to fight,
Or, when upright he ftandeth by his ftake,'
(A noble creaft!) or wylde in favage wood
A dofyn dogges one holdeth at a baye,

With gaping mouth and stayned jawes with blood;
Or els, when from the fartheft heavens, they
The lode starres are, the wery pilates marke,
In stormes to gyde to haven the toffed barke;

Right fo my mufe

Hath now, at length, with travell long, brought forth
Her tender whelpes, her divers kindes of style,
Such as they are, or nought, or little woorth,
Which carefull travell and a longer whyle

May

May better shape. The eldest of them loe
I offer to the stake; my youthfull woorke,
Which one reprochefull mouth might overthrowe:
The reft, unlickt as yet, a whyle fhall lurke,

Tyll Tyme geve ftrength, to meete and match in fight
With Slaunder's whelpes. Then fhall they tell of ftryfe,
Of noble trymphes, and deedes of martial might;
And shall geve rules of chaft and honest lyfe.
The whyle, I pray, that ye with favour blame,
Or rather not reprove the laughing game

Of this my mufe.

VOL. X.

ROM. AND
JULIET.

THE ARGUMENT.

Love hath inflamed twayne by fodayn fight,
And both do graunt the thing that both defyre;
They wed in thrift, by counfell of a frier;
Yong Romeus clymes fayre Juliet's bower by night.
Three monthes he doth enjoy his cheefe delight:
By Tybalt's rage provoked unto yre,

He payeth death to Tybalt for his hyre.
A banisht man, he scapes by fecret flight:

New mariage is offred to his wyfe;

She drinkes a drinke that feemes to reve her breath;
They bury her, that fleping yet hath lyfe.

Her hufband heares the tydinges of her death

He drinkes his bane; and the, with Romeus' knyfe,
When the awakes, herfelfe, alas! fhe fleath.

VOL. X.

ROM. AND
JULIET.

ROMEUS AND JULIET *.

There is beyond the Alps a towne of ancient fame,

Where bright renoune yet fhineth cleare, Verona men it name;
Bylt in an happy time, bylt on a fertile foyle,

Maynteined by the heavenly fates, and by the townish toyle.
The fruitefull hilles above, the pleasant vales belowe,

The filver streame with chanel depe, that through the towne doth
flow;

The

The original relater of this story was Luigi da Porto, a gentleman of Vicenza, who died in 1529. His novel did not appear till fome years after his death; being firft printed at Venice, in octavo, in 1535, under the title of La Giulietta. A fecond edition was published in 1539. And it was again reprinted at the fame place in 1553, (without the author's name) with the following title: Hiftoria nuovamente ritrovata di due nobili Amanti, con la loro pietola morte; intervenuta gia nella Citta di Verona, nell tempo del Signor Bartolomeo dalla Scala. Nuovamente Stampata -There are fame variations in the editions. In an epiftle prefixed to this work, which is addreffed Alla belliffima e leggiadra Madonnà Lucina Savorgnana, the author gives the following account of the manner in which he became acquainted with this story:

"Siccome voi teffa vedefte, mentre il cielo verfo me in tutte ogni fuo fdegno rivolto non ebbe, nel bel principio di mia giovanezza al meftier dell'arme mi diedi, è in quella molti grandi et va Jorofi uomini feguendo, nella dilettevole voftra patria del Frioli al cun anno mi effercitai; per la quale, fecondo i cafi, quando privata. mente or quinci or quindi fervendo, m'era bifogno di andare. Aveva jo per continuo ufo cavalcando di menar meco uno mio arciero, uomo di forfe cinquanta anni, pratico nell' arte e piacevoliffimo, e come quafi tutti que' di Verona (ov' egli nacque) fono, parlante molto, et chiamato Peregrino. Quefti oltra che animofo et ef perto foldate fuffe, leggiadro & forfe più di quello che agli anni fuoi fi faria convenuto, innamorato fempre fi ritrovava, il che al fuo vaJore doppio valore aggiugneva: onde le più belle novelle & con miglior ordine e grazia fi dilettava di raccontare; e maffimamente quelle che di amore parlavano, che alcun altro, ch' io udiffi giammai. Per la qual cofa partendo io da Gradifca, ove in alloggiamenti mi ftava, & con coftui e due altri miei, forfe d'amore fofpinto, verso Udine venendo; la quale strada molto folinga, e tutta per la guerra arfa e diftrutta in quel tempo era, e molto dal penfiero foppreffo e lontano dagli altri venendomi, accoftatomifi il detto Peregrino, come quello che i miei penfieri indovinava, così mi diffe: Volete voi fempre in trifta vita vivere, perchè una bella crudele, altramente moftrando, poco vi ami? E benchè contro a me fteffo dica, pure perchè meglio si danno, che non fi ritengono, i configli, vi dirà,

Patron

The store of springes that ferve for ufe, and eke for ease,
And other moe commodities, which profit may and please;
Eke many certayne fignes of thinges betyde of olde,
To fyll the houngry eyes of thofe that curioufly beholde;
Doe make this towne to be be preferde above the rest
Of Lombard townes, or, at the leaft, compared with the best.
In which whyle Efcalus as prince alone did raygne,

To reache rewarde unto the good, to paye the lewde with payne,
Alas! I rewe to thinke, an heavy happe befell,

Which Boccace fkant, not my rude tonge, were able foorth to
tell.

Within my trembling hande my penne doth shake for feare,
And, on my colde amazed head, upright doth stand my heare.
But fith fhee doeth commaunde, whofe heft I must obeye,
In moorning verfe a woful chaunce to tell I will affaye.
Helpe learned Pallas, helpe ye Mufes with your art,
Help all ye damned feends, to tell of joyes retourn'd to smart :
Help eke, ye fifters three, my skilleffe pen tindyte,

For

you

it caus'd which I alas! unable am to wryte.
There were two auncient stocks, which Fortune hygh did place
Above the reft, indewd with welth, and nobler of their race;
Lov'd of the common forte, lov'd of the prince alike,

And lyke unhappy were they both, when Fortune lift to stryke;
Whofe prayfe with equal blaft Fame in her trumpet blew ;
The one was clyped Capelet, and thother Mountague.
A wonted ufe it is, that men of likely forte,

(I wot not by what furye fors'd) envye eache others porte.
So thefe, whofe egall ftate bred envye pale of hew,

And then of grudging envie's roote blacke hate and rancor grew;

As of a littel fparke oft ryfeth mighty fyre,

VOL. X.

ROM. AND

JULIET.

So, of a kyndled fparke of grudge, in flames flash oute their eyre:
And then theyr deadly foode, first hatch'd of trifling ftryfe,
Did bathe in bloud of fmarting woundes,-it reved breth and lyfe.
No legend lye I tell; fcarce yet theyr eyes be drye,
That did behold the grifly fight with wet and weeping eye.
But when the prudent prince who there the fcepter helde,
So great a new diforder in his commonweale behelde,
By jentyl meane he fought their choler to affwage,
And by perfwafion to appease their blameful furious rage;

Patron mio, che oltra che a voi nell' effercizio, che fiete, lo ftar
molto nella prigion d'amore fi difdica; sì trifti fon quafi tutti i
fini, a'quali egli ci conduce, ch'è uno pericolo il feguirlo: Ein
teftimonianza di ciò, quando a voi piaceffe, potre' io una novella
nella mia città avvenuta, che la ftrada men folitaria, e men rin-
crefcevole ci faria, raccontarvi; nella quale fentirefte come due no-
bili amanti a mifera e piatofa morte guidati foffero. E già avendo
jo fatto fegno di udirlo volontieri, egli così cominciò."

VOL. X. But both his woords and tyme the prince hath spent in vayne So rooted was the inward hate, he loft his buyfy payne. When frendly fage advife ne gentyll woords avayle,

ROM. AND
JULIET.

By thondring threats and princely powre their courage gan he quayle;

In hope that when he had the wafting flame fuppreft,

In time he fhould quyte quench the sparke that boornd within their breft.

Now whylft these kyndreds do remayne in this eftate,

And eche with outward frendly fhew doth hyde his inward hate,
One Romeus, who was of race a Mountague,

Upon whofe tender chyn as yet no manlyke beard there grewe,
Whose beauty and whofe fhape fo farre the reft dyd ftayne,
That from the cheef of Veron youth he greatest fame dyd gayne,
Hath founde a mayde fo fayre (he founde fo foule his happe)
Whose beauty, shape, and comely grace, did fo his heart entrappe,
That from his owne affayres his thought she did remove;
Onely he fought to honor her, to ferve her and to love.
To her he writeth oft, oft meffengers are fent,

At length, in hope of better fpede, himfelfe the lover went;
Prefent to pleade for grace, which absent was not founde,
And to discover to her eye his new receaved wounde.
But the that from her youth was foftred evermore

With vertue's foode, and taught in fchole of wisdome's skilfull
lore,

By aunfwere did cutte off thaffections of his love,

That he no more occafion had fo vayne a fute to move:
So fterne fhe was of chere, (for all the payne he tooke)
That, in reward of toyle, he would not geve a frendly looke;
And yet how much she did with conftant mind retyre,
So much the more his fervent minde was prickt fourth by defyre,
But when he, many monthes, hopeless of his recure,
Had ferved her, who forced not what paynes he did endure,
At length he thought to leave Verona, and to prove

If chaunge of place might chaunge away his ill-bestowed love;
And fpeaking to himfelfe, thus gan he make his mone:
"What booteth me to love and ferve a fell unthankfull one,
Sith that my humble fute, and labour fowde in vayne,
Can reape none other fruite at all but fcorne and proude disdayne?
What way fhe feekes to goe, the fame I feeke to runne,
But the the path wherein I treade with fpedy flight doth fhunne,
I cannot live except that nere to her I be;

She is ay beft content when the is farthest of from me..
Wherefore henceforth I will farre from her take my flight;
Perhaps, mine eye once banished by abfence from her fight,
This fyre of myne, that by her pleafant eyne is fed,
Shall little and little weare away, and quite at laft be ded."

But