straight againe it flashed foorth and spred in eyther cheeke His fyred heauenly â—yne that through me quite did perce His thoughts vnto my hart my thought they semed to rehearce What ment his foltring tunge in telling of his tale The trembling of his ioynts and eke his cooller waxen pale And whilst I take with him hym self he hath exylde Out of him self as seemed me ne was I sure begylde Those arguments of loue craft wrate not in his face But natures hande when all deceyte â–ª was banishd out of place What other certain signes seke I of his good wil These doo suffise and stedfast I will loue and serue him still Till Attropos shall cut my fatall thread of lyfe So that he mynde to make of me his lawfull wedded wyfe For so perchaunce this new aliance may procure Vnto our houses suche a peace as euer shall endure Oh how we can perswade our self to what we like And how we can diswade our mynd if ought our mynd misâ—yke Weake arguments are stronge our fansies streyght to frame To pleasing things and eke to shonne if we mislike the same The mayde had scarsely yet ended the wery warre Kept in her heart by striuing thoughtes when euery shining starre Had payd his borowed light and Phebus spred in skies His golden rayes which seemd to say now time it is to rise And Romeus had by this forsaken his wery bed Where restles he a thousand thoughts had forged in his hed And while with lingring step by Iuliets house he past And vpward to her windowes high his gredy eyes did cast His loue that looked for him there gan he straight espie With pleasant cheere eche greeted is she followeth with her eye His parting steppes and he oft looketh backe againe But not so oft as he desyres warely he doth refraine What life were lyke to loue if dred of ieopardy Ysowred not the sweete if loue were free from ielosy But she more sure within vnseene of any wight When so he comes lookes after him till he be out of sight In often passing so his busy eyes he threw That euery pane and tooting hole the wily louer knew In happy houre he doth a garden plot espye From which except he warely walke men may his loue descrye For lo it fronted full vpon her leaning place Where she is woont to shew her heart by cheerefull frendly face And lest the arbors might theyr secret loue bewraye He doth keepe backe his forward foote from passing there by daye But when on earth the night her mantel blacke hath spred Well armd he walketh foorth alone ne dreadfull foes doth dred Whom maketh loue not bold naye whom makes he not blynde He reueth daungers dread oft times out of the loues minde By night he passeth here a weeke or two in vayne And for the missing of his marke his griefe hath him nye slaine And Iuliet that now both lacke her hearts releefe Her Romeus pleasant eyen I meene is almost dead for greefe Eche day she chaungeth howres for louers keepe an howre When they are sure to see theyr loue in passing by their howre Impacient of her woe she hapt to leane one night Within her window and anon the Moone did shine so bright That she espyde her loue her hart reuiued sprang And now for ioy she clappes her handes which erst for woe she wrang Eke Romeus when he sawe his long desired sight His moorning cloke of mone cast of hath clad him with delight Yet dare I say of both that she reioyced more His care was great hers twise as great was all the tyme before For whilst she knew not why he dyd himselfe absent Ay douting both his health and lyfe his death she dyd lament For loue is fearefull oft where is no cause of feare And what loue feares that loue laments as though it chaunced weare Of greater cause alway is greater woorke ybred While he nought douteth of her helth she dreads lest he be ded When onely absence is the cause of Romeus smart By happy hope of sight agayne he feedes his faynting hart What woonder then if he were wrapt in lesse annoye What maruell if by sodain sight she fed of greater ioye His smaller greefe or ioy no smaller loue doo proue He for she passed him in both did she him passe in loue But eche of them alike dyd burne in equall flame The welbelouing knight and eke the welbeloued dame How whilst with bitter teares her eyes as fountaynes ronne With whispering voyce ybroke with sobs thus is her tale begonne Oh Romeus of your lyfe too lauas sure yon are That in this place and at thys tyme to hasard it you dare What if your dedly foes my kynsmen saw you here Lyke Lyons wylde your tender partes asonder would they teare In ruth and in disdayne I weary of my lyfe With cruell hand my moorning hart would perce with bloudy knyfe For you myne owne once dead what ioy should I haue heare And eke my honor staynde which I then lyfe doe holde more deare Fayre lady myne dame Iuliet my lyfe quod he Euen from my byrth committed was to fatall sisters three They may in spyte of foes draw foorth my liuely threed And they also who so sayth nay a sonder may it shreed But who to reaue my lyfe his rage and force would bende Perhaps should trye vnto his payne how I it could defende Ne yet I loue it so but alwayes for your sake A sacrifice to death I would my wounded corps betake If my mishappe were such that here before your sight I should restore agayne to death of lyfe my borowde light This one thing and no more my parting sprite would rewe That part he should before that you by certaine triall knew The loue I owe to you the thrall I languish in And how I dread to loose the gayne which I doe hope to win And how I wishe for lyfe not for my propre ease But that in it you might I loue you honor serue and please Tyll dedly pangs the sprite out of the corps shall send And therupon he sware an othe and so his tale had ende Now loue and pitty boyle in Iuliets ruthfull brest In windowe on her leaning arme her weary hed doth rest Her bosome bathd in teares to witnes inward payne With dreary chere to Romeus thus aunswerd she agayne Ah my deere Romeus keepe in these woordes quod she For lo the thought of such mischaunce already maketh me For pitty and for dred welnigh to yelde vp breath In euen ballance paysed are my life and eke my death For so my hart is knitte yea made one selfe with yours That sure there is no greefe so small by which your mynde endures But as you suffer payne so I doe beare in part Although it lessens not your greefe the halfe of all your smart But these thinges ouerpast if of your health and myne You haue respect or pitty ought my teary weping eyen In few vnfained woords your
procede And women loue an hardy hart as I in stories rede The Capilets disdayne the presence of theyr foe Yet they suppresse theyr â—â—yrred yre the cause I do not knowe Perhaps toffend theyr gestes the courteous knights are loth Perhaps they stay from sharpe reuenge dreadyng the Princes wroth Perhaps for that they shamd to exercise theyr rage Within their house gainst one alone and him of tender age They vse no taunting talke ne harme him by theyr deede They neyther say what makst thou here ne yet they say God speede So that he freely might the Ladies view at ease And they also behelding him their chaunge of fansies please Which nature had him taught to doe with such a grace That there was none but ioyed at his being there in place With vpright beame he wayd the bewty of eche dame And iudgd who best and who next her was wrought in natures frame At length he saw a mayd right fayre of perfect shape Which Theseus or Paris would haue chosen to their rape Whom erst he neuer sawe of all she pleasde him most Within himselfe he said to her thou iustly mayst thee boste Of perfit shapes renoune and Beauties sounding prayse Whose like ne hath ne shalbe seene ne liueth in our dayes And whilest he fixd on her his part all perced eye His former loue for which of â—ate he ready was to dye Is nowe as quite forgotte as it had neuer been The prouerbe saith vnminded oft are they that are vnseene And as out of a planke a nayle a nayle doth driue So nouell loue out of the minde the auncient loued doth riue This sodain kindled fyre in time is wox so great That onely death and both theyr blouds might quench the fiery heate When Romeus saw himselfe in this new tempest tost Where both was hope of pleasant port and daunger to be lost He doubtefull skasely knew what countenance to keepe In Lethies floud his wonted flames were quenchd and drenched deepe Yea he forgets himselfe ne is the wretch so bolde To aske her name that without force hath him in bondage folde Ne how tunloose his bondes doth the poore foole deuise But onely seeketh by her sight to feede his houngry eyes Through them he swalloweth downe loues sweete empoysonde baite How â—encly are the wareâ—es wrapt by those that lye in wayte 〈◊〉 is the poyson spred throughout his bones and vaines That in a while alas the while it hasteth deadly paines Whilst Iuliet for so this gentle damsell hight From syde to syde on euery one dyd cast about her sight At last her floâ—ing eyes were ancored fast on him Who for her sake dyd banishe health and fredome from eche limme He in her sight did seeme to passe the rest as farre As Phoebus shining beames do passe the brightnes of a starre In wayte laye warlike loue with golden bowe and shaft And to his eare with steady hand the bowstring vp he raft Till now she had escapde his sharpe inflaming darte Till now he listed not assaulte her yong and tender hart His whetted arrow loosde so touchd her to the quicke That through the eye it strake the hart and there the hedde did sticke It booted not to striue for why she wanted strength The weaker aye vnto the strong of force must yeld at length The pomps now of the feast her heart gyns to despyse And onely ioyeth when her eyen meete with her louers eyes When theyr new smitten heartes had fed on louing gleames Whilst passing too and fro â–ª theyr eyes ymingled were theyr beames â–ª Eche of these louers gan by others lookes to knowe That frendship in their brest had roote and both would haue it grow When thus in both theyr harts had Cupide made his breache And eche of them had sought the meane to end the warre by speache Dame Fortune did assent theyr purpose to aduaunce With torche in hand a comly knight did fetch her foorth to daunce She quit her selfe so well and with so trim a grace That she the cheefe prayse wan that night from all Verona race The whilst our Romeus a place had warely wonne Nye to the seate where she must sit the daunce once beyng donne Fayre Iuliet tourned to her chayre with pleasant cheere And glad she was her Romeus approched was so neere At thone side of her chayre â–ª her louer Romeo And on the other side there sat one cald Mercutio A courtier that eche where was highly had in pryce For he was coorteous of his speche and pleasant of deuise Euen as a Lyon would emong the lambes be bolde Such was emong the bashfull maydes Mercutio to beholde With frendly gripe he ceasd fayre Iuliets snowith hand A gyft he had that nature gaue him in his swathing band That frosen mountayne yse was neuer halfe so cold As were his handes though nere so neer the fire he dyd them holde As soone as had the knight the vyrgins right hand raught Within his trembling hand her left hath louing Romeus caught For he wist well himselfe for her abode most payne And well he wist she loued him best vnles she list to fayne Then she with tender hand his tender palme hath prest What ioy trow you was graffed so in Romeus clouen brest The soodain sweete delight hath stopped quite his tong Ne can he claime of her his right ne craue redresse of wrong But she espyd straight waye by chaunging oâ— his hewe From pale to red from red to pale and so from pale anewe That vehment loue was cause why so his tong dyd stay And so much more she longde to heare what loue could teache him saye When she had longed long and he long held his peace And her desire of hearing him by sylence dyd encrease At last with trembling voyce and shamefast chere the mayde Vnto her Romeus tournde her selfe and thus to him she sayde O blessed be the time of thy arriuall here But ere she could speake forth the rest to her loue drewe so nere And so within her mouth her tong he glewed fast That no one woord could scape her more then what already past In great contented ease the yong man straight is rapt What chaunce ê™ he vnware to me O lady myne is hapt That geues you worthy cause my cumming here to blisse Fayre Iuliet was come agayne vnto her selfe by this Fyrst ruthfully she lookd then sayd with smylyng cheere Meruayle no whit my heartes delight my onely knight and fere Mercutious ysy hande had all to frosen myne And of thy goodnes thou agayne hast warmed it with thine Whereto with stayed brow gau Romeus to replye If so the gods haue graunted me suche fauour from the skye That by my being here some seruice I haue donne That pleaseth you I am as glad as I a realme had wonne O wel bestowed tyme. that hath the happy hyre Which I woulde wysh if I might haue my wished harts desire For I of God woulde craue as pryse of paynes forpast To serue
fryre vnto his tale replye That he straight cared for his life that erst had care to dye Art thou quoth he a man Thy shape saith so thou art Thy crying and thy weping eyes denote a womans hart For manly reason is quite from of thy mynd outchased And in her stead affections lewd and fansies highly placed So that I stoode in doute this howre at the least If thou a man or woman wert or els a brutish beast A wise man in the midst of troubles and distres Still standes not wayling present harme but seeks his harmes redres As when the winter flawes with dredfull noyse arise And heaue the fomy swelling waues vp to the starry skies So that the broosed barke in cruell seas betost Dispayreth of the happy hauen in daunger to be lost The pylate bold at helme cryes mates strike now your sayle And tornes her stemme into the waues that strongly her assayle Then driuen hard vpon the bare and wrackfull shore In greater daunger to be wract then he had been before He seeth his ship full right against the rocke to ronne But yet he dooth what lyeth in hun the perilous rocke to shonne Sometimes the beaten boate by cunning gouernment The ancors lost the cables broke and all the tackle spent The roder smitten of and ouer boord the mast Doth win the long desyred porte the stormy daunger past But if the master dread and ouerprest with woe Begin to wring his handes and lets the gyding rodder goe The ship rents on the rocke or sinketh in the deepe And eke the coward drenched is So if thou still be weepe And seke not how to helpe the chaunges that do chaunce Thy cause of sorow shall increase thou cause of thy mischaunce Other account thee wise prooue not thy selfe a foole Now put in practise lessons learnd of old in wisdomes schoole The wise man saith beware thou double not thy payne For one perhaps thou mayst abyde but hardly suffer twayne As well we ought to seeke thinges hurtfull to decrease As to endeuor helping thinges by study to increase The prayse of trew fredom in wisdomes bondage lyes He winneth blame whose deedes be fonde although his woords be wise Sickenes the bodies gayle greefe gayle is of the mynd If thou canst scape from heauy greefe true fredome shalt thou finde Fortune can fill nothing so full of hearty greefe But in the same a constant mynd Finds solace and releefe Vertue is alwayes thrall to troubles and annoye But wisdome in aduersitie findes cause of quiet ioye And they most wretched are that know no wretchednes And afther great extremity mishaps ay waxen lesse Like as there is no weale but wastes away somtime So euery kind of wayled woe will weare away in time If thou wilt master quite the troubles that the spill Endeuor first by reasons help to master witles will A sondry medson hath eche sondry faynt disease But pacience a common salue to euery wound geues ease The world is alway full of chaunces and of chaunge Wherfore the chaunge of chaunce must not seeme to a wise man straunge For tickel Fortune doth in chaunging but her kind But all her chaunges cannot chaunge a steady constant minde Though wauering Fortune toorne from thee her smyling face And sorow seeke to set him selfe in banishd pleasures place Yet may thy marred state be mended in a while And she eftsones that frowneth now with pleasant cheere shall smyle For as her happy state no long whyle standeth sure Euen so the heauy plight she brings not alwayes doth endure What nede so many woordes to thee that art so wyse Thou better canst aduise thy selfe then I can thee aduyse Wisdome I see is vayne if thus in time of neede A wise mans wit vnpractised doth stand him in no steede I know thou hast some cause of sorow and of care But well I wot thou hast no cause thus frantikly to fare Affections foggy mist thy febled sight doth blynde But if that reasons beames agayne might shine into thy mynde If thou wouldst view thy state with an indifferent eye I thinke thou wouldst condemne thy plaint thy sighing and thy crye With valiant hand thou madest thy foe yeld vp his breth Thou hast escapd his swerd and eke the lawes that threatten death By thy escape thy frendes are fraughted full of ioy And by his death thy deadly foes are laden with annoy Wilt thou with trusty frendes of pleasure take some part Or els to please thy hatefull foes be partner of theyr smart Why cryest thou out on loue why doest thou blame thy fate Why dost thou so crye after death thy life why dost thou hate Dost thou repent the choyce that thou so late didst choose Loue is thy Lord thou oughtest obay and not thy prince accuse For thou hast found thou knowst great fauour in his sight He graunted thee at thy request thy onely hartes delight So that the Gods enuyde the blisse thou liuedst in To geue to such vnthankefull men is folly and a sin He thinkes I heare thee say the cruell banishment Is onely cause of thy vnrest onely thou dost lament That from thy natife land and frendes thou must depart Enforsd to flye from her that hath the keping of thy hart And so opprest with waight of smart that thou dost feele Thou dost complaine of Cupides brand and Fortunes turning wheele Vnto a valiant hart there is no banishment All countreys are his natiue soyle beneath the firmament As to the fishe the sea as to the fowle the ayre So is like pleasant to the wise eche place of his repayre Though froward Fortune chase thee hence into exyle With doubled honor shall she call thee home within a whyle Admyt thou shouldst abyde abrode a yere or twayne Should so short absence cause so long and eke so greeuous payne Though thou ne mayst thy frendes here in Verona see They are not banishd Mantua where safely thou mast be Thether they may resort though thou resort not hether And there in suretie may you talke of your affayres together Yea but this whyle alas thy Iuliet must thou misse The onely piller of thy helth and ancor of thy blisse Thy hart thou leauest with her when thou dost hence depart And in thy brest inclosed bearst her tender frendly hart But if thou rew so much to leaue the rest behinde With thought of passed ioyes content thy vncontented mynde So shall the mone decrease wherwith thy mynd doth melt Compared to the heauenly ioyes which thou hast often felt He is too nyse a weakeling that shrinketh at a showre And he vnworthy of the sweete that tasteth not the sowre Call now againe to mynde thy first consuming flame How didst thou vainely burne in loue of an vnlouing dame Hadst thou not welnigh wept quite out thy swelling eyne Did not thy parts fordoon with payne languishe away and pyne Those greefes and others like were happly ouerpast And thou in haight of Fortunes wheele well placed at the
last From whence thou art now falne that raysed vp agayne With greater ioy a greater while in pleasure mayst thou raygne Compare the present while with times ypast before And thinke that Fortune hath for thee great pleasure yet in store The whilst this little wrong receiue thou paciently And what of force must nedes be done that doe thou willingly Foly it is to feare that thou canst not auoyde And madnes to desire it much that can not be enioyde To geue to Fortune place not ay deserueth blame But skill it is according to the times thy selfe to frame Whilst to this skilfull lore he lent his listning eares His sighes are stopt and stopped are the conduits of his teares As blackest cloudes are chaced by winters nimble winde So haue his reasons chaced care out of his carefull mynde As of a morning fowle ensues an euening fayre So banisht hope returneth home to banish his despayre Now is affections veale remoued from his eyes He seeth the path that he must walke and reson makes him wise For very shame the blood doth flashe in both his cheekes He thankes the father for his lore and farther ayde he seekes He sayth that skilles youth for counsell is vnfitte And anger oft with hastines are ioind to want of witte But sound aduise aboundes in heddes with horishe heares For wisdom is by practise wonne and perfect made by yeares But aye from this time forth his ready bending will Shalbe in awe and gouerned by fryer Lawrence skill The gouernor is nowe right carefull of his charge To whom he doth wisely discoorse of his affaires at large He telles him how he shall depart the towne vnknowne Both mindfull of his frendes safetie and carefull of his owne How he shall gyde him selfe how he shall seeke to winne The frendship of the better sort how warely to crepe in The fauour of the Mantuan prince and how he may Appease the wrath of Escalus and wipe the fault away The choller of his foes by gentle meanes tasswage Or els by force and practises to bridle quite theyr rage And last he chargeth him at his appointed howre To goe with manly mery cheere vnto his ladies bowre And there with hole some woordes to salue her sorowes smart And to reuiue if nede require her faint and dying hart The old mans woords haue fild with ioy our Romeus brest And eke the olde wiues talke hath set our Iuliets hart at rest Whereto may I compare O louers this your day Like dayes the painefull mariners are woonted to assay For beat with tempest great when they at length espye Some little beame of Phoebus light that perceth through the skie To cleare the shadowde earth by clearenes of his face They hope that dreadles they shall ronne the remnant of their race Yea they assure them selfe and quite behynd theyr backe They cast all doute and thanke the Gods for scraping of the wracke But straight the boysterous windes with greater fury blowe And ouer boord the broken mast the stormy blastes doe throwe The heauens large are clad with cloudes as darke as hell And twise as hye the striuing waues begin to roare and swell With greater daungers dred the men are vexed more In greater perill of their lyfe then they had been before The golden sonne was gonne to lodge him in the west The full moone eke in yonder South had sent most men to rest When restles Romeus and restles Iuliet In woonted sort by woonted meane in Iuliets chaumber met And from the windowes top downe had he leaped scarce When she with armes outstretched wide so hard did him embrace That welnigh had the sprite not forced by dedly force Flowne vnto death before the time abandoning the corce Thus muet stoode they both the eight part of an howre And both would speake but neither had of speaking any powre But on his brest her hed doth ioylesse Iuliet lay And on her slender necke his chyn doth ruthfull Romeus stay Their scalding sighes ascende and by their cheekes dowue fall Their trickling teares as christall cleare but bitterer farre then gall Then he to end the greefe which both they liued in Did kysse his loue and wisely thus hys tale he dyd begin My Iuliet my loue my onely hope and care To you I purpose not as now with length of woords declare The diuersenes and eke the accidents so straunge Of frayle vnconstant Fortune that delyteth still in chaunge Who in a moment heaues her frendes vp to the height Of her swift turning slippery wheele then fleetes her frendship straight O wondrous chaunge euen with the twinkling of an eye Whom erst her selfe had rashly set in pleasant place so hye The same in great despyte downe hedlong doth she throwe And while she treades and spurneth at the lofty state laid lowe More sorow doth she shape within an howers space Then pleasure in an hundred yeres so geyson is her grace The proofe wherof in me alas too plaine apperes Whom tenderly my carefull frendes haue fostered with my feers In prosperous high degree mayntayned so by fate That as your selfe did see my foes enuyde my noble state One thing there was I did aboue the rest desire To which as to the soueraigne good by hope I would aspyre Thol by our mariage meane we might within a while To woorke our perfect happines our parentes reconsile That safely so we might not stopt by sturdy strife Vnto the boundes that God hath set gyde forth our pleasant lyfe But now alacke too soone my blisse is ouerblowne And vpside downe my purpose and my enterprise are throwne And driuen from my frendes of straungers must I craue O graunt it God from daungers dread that I may suertie haue For loe henceforth I must wander in landes vnknowne So hard I finde the princes doome exyled from mine owne Which thing I haue thought good to set before your eyes And to exhort you now to proue your selfe a woman wise That paciently you beare my absent long abod For what aboue by fatall doomes decreed is that God And more then this to say it seemed he was bent But Iuliet in dedly greefe with brackish teares besprent Brake of his tale begonne and whilst his speche he stayde These selfe same wordes or like to these with dreery chere she sayde Why Romeus can it be thou hast so hard a hart So farre remoued from ruth so farre from thinking on my smart To leaue me thus alone thou cause of my distresse Beseged with so great a campe of mortall wretchednesse That euery hower now and moment in a day A thousand times death bragges as he would reaue my life away Yet such is my mishap O cruell destenye That still I liue and wish for death but yet can neuer dye So that iust cause I haue to thinke as seemeth me That froward Fortune did of late with cruell death agree To lengthen lothed life to pleasure in my payne And tryumph in my harme as in the greatest hoped
certaine bane should sinke Then I not drinking it into his handes should fall That hath no part of me as yet ne ought to haue at all Much more I ought with bold and with a willing hert To greatest daunger yelde my selfe and to the dedly smart To comme to him on whome my life doth wholy stay That is my onely hartes delight and so he shalbe aye Then goe quoth he my childe I pray that God on hye Direct thy foote and by thy hand vpon the way thee gye God graunt he so confirme in thee thy present will That no inconstant toy thee let thy promesse to fulfill A thousand thankes and more our Iuliet gaue the fryer And homeward to her fathers house ioyfull she doth retyre And as with stately gate she passed through the streete She saw her mother in the doore that with her there would meete In mynd to aske if she her purpose yet did holde In mynd also a part twixt them her duety to haue tolde Wherfore with pleasant face and with vnwonted chere As soone as she was vnto her approched sumwhat nere Before the mother spake thus did she fyrst begin Madame at sainct Frauncis churche haue I this morning byn Where I did make abode alonger while percase Then dewty would yet haue I not been absent from this place So long a while whithout a great and iust cause why This frute haue I receaued there my hart erst lyke to dye Is now reuiued agayne and my afflicted brest Released from affliction restored is to rest For lo my tronbled gost alas too sore diseasde By gostly counsell and aduise hath fryer Lawrence easde To whome I did at large discourse my former lyfe And in confession did I tell of all our passed strife Of Counte Paris sute and how my lord my syre By my vngrate and stubborne stryft I styrred vnto yre But lo the holy fryer hath by his gostly lore Made me another woman now then I had been before By strength of argumentes he charged so my mynde That though I sought no sure defence my serching thought could finde So forced I was at length to yelde vp witles will And promist to be orderd by the friers praysed skill Wherfore albeit I had rashely long before The bed and rytes of mariage for many yeres forswore Yet mother now behold your daughter at your will Ready if you commaunde her ought your pleasure to fulfill Wherfore in humble wise dere madam I you pray To goe vnto my lord and syre withouten long delay Of him fyrst pardon craue of faultes already past And shew him if it pleaseth you his child is now at last Obedient to his iust and to his skilfull hest And that I will god lending life on wensday next be prest â–ª To wayte on him and you vnto thappoynted place Where I will in your hearing and before my fathers face Vnto the Counte geue my fayth and whole assent To take him for my lord and spouse thus fully am I bent And that out of your mynde I may remoue all doute Vnto my closet fare I now to searche and to choose out The brauest garmentes and the richest iewels there Which better him to please I mynd on wensday next to weare For if I did excell the famous Gretian rape Yet might attyre helpe to amende my bewty and my shape The simple mother was rapt in to great delight Not halfe a word could she bring forth but in this ioyfull plight With nimble foote she ran and with vnwonted pace Vnto her pensiue husband and to him with pleasant face She tolde what she had heard and prayseth much the fryer And ioyfull teares ranne downe the cheekes of this gray berded fyer With handes and eyes heaued vp he thankes God in his hart And then he sayth this is not wife the friers first desart Oft hath he shewde to vs great frendship heretofore By helping vs at nedefull times with wisdomes pretious lore In all our common weale scarce one is to be founde But is for somme good torne vnto this holy father bounde Oh that the thyrd part of my goods I doe not fayne But twenty of his passed yeres might purchase him agayne So much in recompence of frendship would I geue So much in faith his extreme age my frendly hart doth greue These said the glad old man from home goeth straight abrode And to the stately palace hyeth where Paris made abode Whom he desyres to be on wensday next his geast At Freetowne where he myndes to make for him a costly feast But loe the Earle saith such feasting were but lost And counsels him till mariage time to spare so great a cost For then he knoweth well the charges wilbe great The whilst his hart desyreth still her sight and not his meate He craues of Capilet that he may straight go see Fayre Iuliet wher to he doth right willingly agree The mother warnde before her daughter doth prepare She warneth and she chargeth her that in no wyse she spare Her curteous speche her pleasant lookes and commely grace But liberally to geue them forth when Paris commes in place Which she as cunningly could set forth to the shewe As cunning craftesmen to the sale do set theie wares on rew That ere the County did out of her sight depart So secretly vnwares to him she stale away his hart That of his lyfe and death the wyly wench hath powre And now his longing hart thinkes long for theyr appoynted howre And with importune sute the parentes doth he pray The wedlocke knot to knit soone vp and hast the mariage day The woer hath past forth the first day in this sort And many other more then this in pleasure and disport At length the wished time of long hoped delight As Paris thought drew nere but nere approched heauy plight Against the bridall day the parentes did prepare Such rich attyre such furniture such store of dainty fare That they which did behold the same the night before Did thinke and say a man could scarcely wishe for any more Nothing did seeme to deere the deerest thinges were bought And as the written story saith in dede there wanted nought That longd to his degree and honor of his stocke But Iuliet the whilst her thoughts within her brest did locke Euen from the trusty nurce whose secretries was tryde The secret counsell of her hart the nurce childe seekes to hide For sith to mocke her dame she dyd not sticke to lye She thought no sinne with shew of truth to bleare her nurces eye In chamber-secretly the tale she gan renew That at the doore she tolde her dame as though it had been trew The flattring nurce did prayse the fryer for his skill And said that she had done right well by wit to order will She setteth foorth at large the fathers furious rage And eke she prayseth much to her the second mariage And County Paris now she praiseth ten times more By wrong then she her selfe by right