love to be-rhyme her: Dido, a dowdy; Cleopatra, a gipfey; Helen and Hero, hildings and harlots; Thibé, a gray eye or fo, but not to the purpose.Signior Romeo, bon jour! there's a French falutation to your French flop. You gave us the counterfeit fairly last night. 1 Rom. Good-morrow to you both. What counterfeit did I give you? Mer. The flip, fir, the flip: Can you not conceive? Rom. Pardon, good Mercutio, my business was great; and, in fuch a cafe as mine, a man may strain courtesy. Mer. That's as much as to fay-fuch a cafe as yours constrains a man to bow in the hams. Rom. Meaning to court'fy. Mer. Thou haft most kindly hit it. Mer. Nay, I am the very pink of courtesy. Mer. Right. Rom. Why, then is my pump well flower'd. Mer. Well faid: follow me this jeft now, 'till thou haft worn out thy pump; that, when the fingle fole of it is worn, the jeft may remain after the wearing, folely fingular. Rom. O fingle-fol'd jeft, folely fingular for the fingleness! Mer. Come between us, good Benvolio; my wit faints. Rom. Switch and fpurs, switch and spurs! or I'll cry a match. Mer. Nay, if thy wits run the wild-goofe chace, I am done; for thou haft more of the wild-goofe in one of thy wits, than, I am fure, I have in my whole five: Was I with you there for the goofe? Rom Rom. Thou waft never with me for any thing, when thou waft not there for the goofe. Mer. I will bite thee by the ear for that jest. Mer. Thy wit is a very bitter fweating; it is a most fharp fauce. Rom. And is it not well ferv'd in to a sweet goose? Mer. O, here's a wit of cheverel, that ftretches from an inch narrow to an ell broad! Rom. I ftretch it out for that word-broad; which added to the goose, proves thee far and wide a broad goose. Mer. Why, is not this better now than groaning for love? now thou art fociable, now art thou Romeo: now art thou what thou art, by art as well as by nature for this driveling love is like a great natural, that runs lolling up and down to hide his bauble in a hole. Ben. Stop there, ftop there. Mer. Thou defireft me to stop in the hair. my tale against Ben. Thou wouldst elfe have made thy tale large. Mer. O, thou art deceiv'd, I would have made it fhort: for I was come to the whole depth of my tale; and meant, indeed, to occupy the argument no longer, Rom. Here's goodly geer! Enter Nurfe, and PETER. Mer. A fail, a fail, a fail ! Ben. Two, two; a shirt and a smock. Nurfe. Peter! Peter. Anon? Nurfe. My fan, Peter. D 3 Mer. Mer. Do, good Peter, to hide her face; for her fan's the fairer of the two. Nurfe. God ye good-morrow, gentlemen. Mer. "Tis no lefs, I tell you; for the bawdy hand of the dial is now upon the prick of noon. Nurfe. Out upon you! what a man are you? Rom. One, gentlewoman, that God hath made himself to mar. Nurfe. By my troth, it is well faid;-for himfelf to mar, quoth'a?-Gentlemen, can any of you tell me where I may find the young Romeo? Rom. I can tell you; but young Romeo will be older when you have found him, than he was when you fought him; I am the youngest of that name, for fault of a worfe. Nurfe. You fay well. Mer. Yea, is the worst well? very well took, i'faith: wifely, wifely. Nurfe. If you be he, fir, I defire fome confidence with you. Ben. She will indite him to fome fupper. Mer. A bawd, a bawd, a bawd! So ho! Rom. What haft thou found? Mer. No hare, fir; unless a hare, fir, in a lenten gye, that is something stale and hoar ere it be spent. An old bare hoar, And an old hare hoar, Romeo Romeo, will you come to your father's? we'll to dinner thither. Rom. I will follow you. Mer. Farewel, ancient lady; farewel, lady, lady, lady! [Exeunt MERCUTIO, and BENVOLIO. Nurfe. I pray you, fir, what faucy merchant was this, that was fo full of his ropery?* Rom. A gentleman, nurfe, that loves to hear himfelf talk; and will speak more in a minute, than he will stand to in a month. Nurfe. An 'a fpeak any thing against me, I'll take him down an 'a were a luftier than he is, and twenty fuch Jacks! and if I cannot, I'll find those that shall. Scurvy knave! I am none of his flirt-gills; I am none of his fkains-mates :-And thou must stand by too, and fuffer every knave to use me at his pleafure? Peter. I faw no man ufe you at his pleafure; if I had, my weapon fhould quickly have been out, I warrant you: I dare draw as foon as another man if I fee occafion in a good quarrel, and the law on my fide. Nurfe. Now, afore God, I am fo vext, that every part about me quivers. Scurvy knave !-Pray you, fir, a word: and as I told you, my young lady bade me inquire you out; what fhe bade me fay, I will kcep to myfelf: but first let me tell ye, if ye fhould lead her into a fool's paradife, as they fay, it were a very grofs kind of behaviour, as they fay; for the gentlewoman is young; and, therefore, if you fhould deal double with her, truly, it were an ill thing to be offered to any gentlewoman, and very weak dealing. Rom. Nurse, commend me to thy lady and mistress. I proteft unto thee Nurfe. Nurfe. Good heart! and, i'faith, I will tell her as much Lord, lord, fhe will be a joyful woman. Rom. What wilt thou tell her, nurfe? thou doft not mark me. Nurfe. I will tell her, fir,that you do protest; which, as I take it, is a gentleman-like offer. Rom. Bid her devife fome means to come to shrift This afternoon; And there fhe fhall at friar Lawrence' cell Be fhriv'd, and marry'd. Here is for thy pains. Nurfe. This afternoon, fir? well, fhe fhall be there. Nurfe. Now God in heaven bless thee !-Hark you, Rom. What fay'ft thou, my dear nurse? [fir. Nurfe. Is your man fecret? Did you ne'er hear fayTwo may keep counfel, putting one away? Rom. I warrant thee my man's as true as steel. Nurfe. Well, fir; my miftrefs is the sweetest lady -Lord, lord!--when 'twas a little prating thing,O, there's a nobleman in town, one Paris, that would fain lay knife aboard; but she, good foul, had as lieve fec a toad, a very toad, as fee him. I anger her fometimes, and tell her that Paris is the properer man; but, I'll warrant you, when I fay fo, she looks as pale as any clout in the varfal world. Doth not rosemary and Romeo begin both with a letter? Rom |