Celia carries off her dying miſtreſs; immediately the ſcene changes, and repreſents a ſtreet in Ferrara; two cavaliers, named Rutilio and Fernando, are ſerenading Sylvia. Sylvia is a lady of this city; ſhe makes her appearance but once in the whole piece, and then is only ſeen at her window.
The characters of this ſcene are merely epiſodical, and have no connexion with either the Montagues or Capulets: the author introduces them only to give Romeo an opportunity to revenge himſelf for the ſuppoſed infidelity of Juliet. Nothing can be more poor than this paſſage.
Aurora begins to break through the ſhades of night; Romeo arrives; the two cavaliers retire for no reaſon whatever, except, becauſe the poet pleaſes they ſhould; Romeo makes love to Sylvia, but with ſuch an air and tone, as prove his heart full of another object, and that Juliet is ever miſtreſs of it. In vain would he pretend to change; his vexation deceives him; his firſt paſſion is only the more violent for it.
Anſelmo, who is juſt arrived at Ferrara, ſeeks Romeo, and meets him in the ſtreet; Sylvia ſhuts her window and retires: Romeo learns from Anſelmo the adventure of the phial, which makes him tremble with horror; his eyes are opened, he ſees how wrong he was to ſuſpect the fidelity of his miſtreſs; his grief forces him to break out into
