JULIET.

Romeo. See how she leans her cheek upon her hand!

O, that I were a glove upon that hand,

That I might touch that cheek!

She speaks:

O, speak again, bright angel! for thou art
As glorious to this sight, being o'er my head,
As is a winged messenger of heaven
Unto the white upturned wond'ring eyes
Of mortals that fall back to gaze on him,

When he bestrides the lazy-pacing clouds,

And sails upon the bosom of the air.

Juliet. O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father, and refuse thy name:

Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,

And I'll no longer be a Capulet.

Romeo. Shall I hear more, or shall I speak at this? [Aside.

Juliet. 'Tis but thy name that is my enemy;—

Thou art thyself though, not a Montague.
What's Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot,
Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part

Belonging to a man. O, be some other name!
What's in a name? That which we call a rose,
By any other name would smell as sweet;
So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd,
Retain that dear perfection which he owes,
Without that title:-Romeo, doff thy name:
And for that name, which is no part of thee,
Take all myself.

Romeo.

I take thee at thy word: Call me but love, and I'll be new baptized;

Henceforth I never will be Romeo.

Juliet. What man art thou, thus bescreened in night,

So stumblest on my counsel?

ROMEO AND JULIET.-Act II. Scene II.

JULIETTE.

Roméo. Voilà que sa joue s'appuie sur sa main? Oh! que ne suis-je le gant dont cette main est couverte ! je toucherais cette joue.

Juliette. Hélas!

Roméo. Elle parle !-Oh! parle encore, ange radieux; car tu resplendis dans la nuit, au-dessus de ma tête, comme un messager céleste, les ailes éployées, apparaît aux regards étonnés des mortels, qui, la tête rejetée en arrière et les yeux levés, contemplent son vol majestueux, alors qu'il devance la marche paresseuse des nuages et vogue sur l'océan éthéré.

Juliette. O Roméo! Roméo ! pourquoi es-tu Roméo ? renie ton père et abjure ton nom; ou, si cela te répugne, jure de m'aimer toujours et je renie le sang des Capulets.

Roméo. Faut-il en entendre davantage, ou dois-je lui parler maintenant?

Juliette. Ton nom seul est mon ennemi;-Tu n'es pas un Montaigu, tu es toi-même. Qu'est-ce qu'un Montaigu? ce n'est ni une main, ni un pied, ni un bras, ni un visage, ni rien qui appartienne à un homme. Oh! adopte un autre nom! Qu'y a-t-il dans un nom? ce que nous appelons rose, sous tout autre nom, n'en exhalerait pas moins son doux parfum: de même Roméo, s'il ne se nommait pas Roméo, n'en garderait pas moins ses charmantes perfections.-Roméo, abdique ton nom, et en échange de ce nom qui ne fait point partie de toi, prends-moi tout entière.

Roméo. Je te prends au mot: appelle-moi ton bien-aimé; ce sera pour moi un nouveau baptême; désormais je ne veux plus être Roméo. Juliette. Qui es-tu, toi qui, à la faveur des ombres de la nuit, viens surprendre ainsi mes secrets?

ROMÉO ET JULIETTE.-Acte II. Scène II.

CRESSIDA-HELEN.

"Ah! poor our sex! this fault in us I find

The error of our eye directs our mind."

THE genuine lovers of ancient epic poetry will by no means praise Troilus and Cressida. It would be impossible for them, even with the utmost allowance of poetic licence, to relish the idea of THERSITES Soundly abusing AJAX in medieval English, or TROILUS giving silk sleeves as love-tokens. We must bear in mind, however, that Shakspeare wrote for his age, and not for our own, and had to temper his inventions to the taste of ignorant, and often vulgar audiences.

The story of the play is based on Homer's account of the siege of Troy. HELEN, the wife of MENELAUS, a Grecian king, had been taken away to Troy by PARIS, one of the sons of PRIAM; and the Greeks, to avenge the insult thus offered, invade the dominions of the Trojan king. Shakspeare introduces all the leading characters of Homer; amongst whom HECTOR and ACHILLES stand, as with him, the most prominent. TROILUS, a son of PRIAM, and brother of HECTOR, is introduced as deeply in love with CRESSIDA, the daughter of CALCHAS, a Trojan priest, who had, however, taken the part of the Greeks, and dwelt in their camp. CRESSIDA, from motives of pride, long withstood all the advances of her lover; for she feels that-

"Achievement is command; ungain'd, beseech:

Then, though my heart 's content, firm love doth bear,
Nothing of that shall from mine eyes appear."

TROILUS, however, induces her uncle, PANDARUS, to use his good offices; and, at last, the proud maiden declares her love, in the warmest terms, to her suitor.

In many scenes of the play, HELEN, whose beauty had been the cause of the war, is introduced. HECTOR, inclined for peace, desires her return to the Greeks; but TROILUS, chivalrous in his love for CRESSIDA, opposes it as ardently as possible.

His happiness in CRESSIDA, however, is destroyed. ANTENOR, a Trojan general, taken by the Greeks, is to be exchanged for CRESSIDA, and the parting moment arrives. Repeated are her vows of fidelity to him, and as numerous his warnings of the temptations into which she may fall. She shows the most passionate grief at parting, and he gives her a sleeve, whilst she leaves him a glove, to be witnesses of their constancy to each other. TROILUS consoles her with the hope of bribing the Grecian guard, and so of repeatedly visiting her. She is afterwards led away by DIOMED to the Grecian camp.

Some of the Trojan generals shortly afterwards visit the Greeks, and amongst them was TROILUS. He desires ULYSSES to lead him to the tent of CALCHAS, that he might once more dote on CRESSIDA. As they approach the tent, TROILUS sees DIOMED and CRESSIDA talking together, and soon perceives that his fair one has forsworn herself. The scene beautifully depicts the struggle going on in the heart of CRESSIDA, between her old affection for TROILUS, and her promises to DIOMED. She long hesitates; whilst TROILUS, unperceived by her, can scarce restrain himself. At last she yields the sleeve to DIOMED, and TROILUS returns, heart-broken and hopeless, to Troy

"O Cressida! O false Cressida! false, false, falso:
Let all untruths stand by thy stain'd name,

And they'll seem glorious."