Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616 -- Adaptations; Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616 -- Stories, plots, etc. -- Juvenile literature
With this poison he set out for Verona, to have a sight of his
dear lady in her tomb, meaning, when he had satisfied his sight,
to swallow the poison and be buried by her side. He reached
Verona at midnight, and found the churchyard in the midst of
which was situated the ancient tomb of the Capulets. He had
provided a light, and a spade, and wrenching-iron, and was
proceeding to break open the monument when he was interrupted by
a voice, which by the name of VILE MONTAGUE bade him desist from
his unlawful business. It was the young Count Paris, who had come
to the tomb of Juliet at that unseasonable time of night to strew
flowers and to weep over the grave of her that should have been
his bride. He knew not what an interest Romeo had in the dead,
but, knowing him to be a Montague and (as he supposed) a sworn
foe to all the Capulets, he judged that he was come by night to
do some villainous shame to the dead bodies; therefore in an
angry tone he bade him desist; and as a criminal, condemned by
the laws of Verona to die if he were found within the walls of
the city, he would have apprehended him. Romeo urged Paris to
leave him, and warned him by the fate of Tybalt, who lay buried
there, not to provoke his anger or draw down another sin upon his
head by forcing him to kill him. But the count in scorn refused
his warning, and laid hands on him as a felon, which, Romeo
resisting, they fought, and Paris fell. When Romeo, by the help
of a light, came to see who it was that he had slain, that it was
Paris, who (he learned in his way from Mantua) should have
married Juliet, he took the dead youth by the hand, as one whom
misfortune had made a companion, and said that he would bury him
in a triumphal grave, meaning in Juliet’s grave, which he now
opened. And there lay his lady, as one whom death had no power
upon to change a feature or complexion, in her matchless beauty;
or as if death were amorous, and the lean, abhorred monster kept
her there for his delight; for she lay yet fresh and blooming, as
she had fallen to sleep when she swallowed that benumbing potion;
and near her lay Tybalt in his bloody shroud, whom Romeo seeing,
begged pardon of his lifeless corse, and for Juliet’s sake called
him COUSIN, and said that he was about to do him a favor by
putting his enemy to death. Here Romeo took his last leave of his
lady’s lips, kissing them; and here he shook the burden of his
cross stars from his weary body, swallowing that poison which the
apothecary had sold him, whose operation was fatal and real, not
like that dissembling potion which Juliet had swallowed, the
effect of which was now nearly expiring, and she about to awake
to complain that Romeo had not kept his time, or that he had come
too soon.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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