No better term than this—Thou art a villain.

Rom. Tybalt, the reason that I have to love thee
Doth much excuse the appertaining rage
To such a greeting :-Villain am I none;
Therefore farewell; I see, thou know'st me not.

Tyb. Boy, this shall not excuse the injuries
That thou hast done me; therefore turn, and draw.

Rom. I do protest, I never injur'd thee;
But love thee better than thou canst devise,
Till thou shalt know the reason of my love :
And so, good Capulet, which name I tender
As dearly as nine own,-be satisfied.

Mer. O calm, dishonourable, vile submission ! A la stoccata} carries it away

[Draus. Tybalt, you rat-catcher, will you walk ?

Tyb. What would'st thou have with me?

Mer. Good king of cats, nothing, but one of your nine lives; that I mean to make bold withal, and, as you shall use me hereafter, dry-beat the rest of the eight. Will you pluck your sword out of his pilcher 4 by the ears? make haste, lest mine be about your ears ere it be out. Tyb. I am for you.

[Drawing.
Rom. Gentle Mercutio, put thy rapier up.
Mer. Come, sir, your passado. [They fight.

Rom. Draw, Benvolio;
Beat down their weapons :-Gentlemen, for shame
Forbear this outrage; -Tybalt-Mercutio-
The prince expressly hath forbid this bandying
In Verona streets :-hold, Tybalt;-good Mercutio.

[Exeunt TYBALT and his Partizans.
3 The Italian term for a thrust or stab with a rapier.

4 Case or scabhard.

Mer. I am hurt;
A plague o' both the houses !—I am sped:-
Is he gone, and hath nothing?
Ben.

What, art thou hurt? Mer. Ay, ay, a scratch, a scratch; marry, 'tis

enough.Where is my page?-go, villain, fetch a surgeon.

[Exit Page. Rom. Courage, man; the hurt cannot be much.

Mer. No, 'tis not so deep as a well, nor so wide as a church door; but 'tis enough, 'twill serve: ask for me to-morrow, and you shall find me a grave man. I am peppered, I warrant, for this world:-A plague o'both your

houses !— Zounds, a dog, a rat, a mouse, a cat, to scratch a man to death! a braggart, a rogue, a villain, that fights by the book of arithmetick!Why, the devil, came you between us ? I was hurt under

your arm,
Rom. I thought all for the best.

Mer. Help me into some house, Benvolio,
Or I shall faint.--A plague o'both your houses !
They have made worm's meat of me:
I have it, and soundly too :-Your houses!

[Exeunt MERCUTio and BenvolIO,
Rom. This gentleman, the prince's near ally,
My very friend, hath got his mortal hurt
In my behalf; my reputation stain'd
With Tybalt's slander, Tybalt, that an hour
Hath been my kinsman :-0 sweet Juliet,
Thy beauty hath made me effeminate,
And in my temper soften'd valour's steel.

Re-enter Benvolio. Ben. O Romeo, Romeo, brave Mercutio's dead; That gallant spirit hath aspir'd the clouds, Which too untimely here did scorn the earth. Rom. This day's black fate on more days doth de

pend;
This but begins the woe, others must end.

Re-enter TYBALT.
Ben. Here comes the furious Tybalt back again.

Rom. Alive! in triumph! and Mercutio slain!
Away to heaven, respectives lenity,
And fire-ey'd fury be my conduct now!
Now, Tybalt, take the villain back again,
That late thou gav'st me; for Mercutio's soul
Is but a little way above our heads,
Staying for thine to keep him company;
Either thou, or I, or both, must go with him.
Tyb. Thou, wretched boy, that didst consort? him

here, Shalt with him hence. Rom.

This shall determine that.

[They fight; TYBALT falls. Ben. Romeo, away,

be gone!
The citizens are up, and Tybalt slain :
Stand not amaz’d:—the prince will doom thee death,
If thou art taken :-hence !-be gone !--away!

Rom. O! I am fortune's fool!
Ben.

Why dost thou stay?

[Exit Romeo. s Cool, considerate gentleness.

6 Conduct for conductor. 7 Accompany.

Enter Citizens, &c.

1 Cit. Which way ran he, that kill'd Mercutio ? Tybalt, that murderer, which way ran he?

Ben. There lies that Tybalt.
i Cit.

Up, sir, go with me; I charge thee in the prince's name, obey.

Enter Prince, attended ; MONTAGUE, CAPULET,

their lives and Others. Prin. Where are the vile beginners of this fray?

Ben. O noble prince, I can discover all The unlucky manage of this fatal brawl : There lies the man slain by young Romeo, That slew thy kinsman, brave Mercutio. La. Cap. Tybalt, my cousin !-O my brother's

child! Unhappy sight! ah me, the blood is spill'd Of my

dear kinsman!-Prince, as thou art true, 8 For blood of ours, shed blood of Montague.O cousin, cousin!

Prin. Benvolio, who began this bloody fray?
Ben. Tybalt, here slain, whom Romeo's hand did

slay ;
Romeo that spoke him fair, bade him bethink
How nice the quarrel was, and urg'd withal
Your high displeasure:-All this—uttered
With gentle breath, calm look, knees humbly bow'd, -
Could not take truce with the unruly spleen
Of Tybalt deaf to peace, but that he tilts
With piercing steel at bold Mercutio's breast;

8 Just and upright.

9 Slight, unimportant.

Who, all as hot, turns deadly point to point,
And, with a martial scorn, with one hand beats
Cold death aside, and with the other sends
It back to Tybalt, whose dexterity
Retorts it: Romeo he cries aloud,
Hold, friends ! friends, part! and, swifter than his

tongue,
His agile arm beats down their fatal points,
And 'twixt them rushes; underneath whose arm
An envious thrust from Tybalt hit the life
Of stout Mercutio, and then Tybalt fled :
But by and by comes back to Romeo,
Who had but newly entertain'd revenge,
And to't they go like lightning; for, ere I
Could draw. to part them, was stout Tybalt slain;
And, as he fell, did Romeo turn and fly:
This is the truth, or let Benvolio die.

La. Cap. He is a kinsman to the Montague,
Affection makes him false, he speaks not true:
Some twenty of them fought in this black strife,
And all those twenty could but kill one life:
I beg for justice, which thou, prince, must give;
Romeo slew Tybalt, Romeo must not live.

Prin. Romeo slew him, he slew Mercutio;
Who now the price of his dear blood doth owe?

Mon. Not Romeo, prince, he was Mercutio's friend; His fault concludes but, what the law should end, The life of Tybalt. Prin.

And, for that offence, Immediately we do exile him hence : I have an interest in your hates' proceeding, My blood for your rude brawls doth lie a bleeding;