Rom. And stay, good nurse; behind the abbey wall:
Within this hour my man shall be with thee,
And bring thee cords made like a tackled stair;
Which to the high top-gallant of my joy 204
Must be my convoy in the secret night.
Farewell! Be trusty, and I'll quit thy pains.
Farewell! Commend me to thy mistress.
Nurse. Now God in heaven bless thee! Hark you, sir. 208
Rom. What sayst thou, my dear nurse?
Nurse. Is your man secret? Did you ne'er hear say,
Two may keep counsel, putting one away?
Rom. I warrant thee my man's as true as steel. 212
Nurse. Well, sir; my mistress 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 soul, had as lief see a toad, a very
toad, as see him. I anger her sometimes and
tell her that Paris is the properer man; but, I'll
warrant you, when I say so, she looks as pale as
any clout in the versal world. Doth not rose-
mary and Romeo begin both with a letter?
Rom. Ay, nurse: what of that? both with
an R. 224
Nurse. Ah! mocker; that's the dog's name.
R is for the—No; I know it begins with some
other letter: and she had the prettiest senten-
tious of it, of you and rosemary, that it would
do you good to hear it. 229
203 tackled stair: rope-ladder
204 top-gallant: summit
205 convoy: means of going
206 quit: requite
210 secret: trustworthy
219 properer: handsomer
221 clout: rag
versal: universal
222 a: the same
225 dog's name; cf. n.
227 sententious: for sentences
