[Exit Lys. as following the voice. Enter DEMETRIUS. Dem. Lysander! speak again. Thou runaway, thou coward, art thou fled? When thou wak'st, Thon tak'st True delight In the sight Of thy former lady's eye: And the country proverb known, Naught shall go ill; Speak. In some bush? Where dost thou hide The man shall have his mare again, and all shall thy head? Puck. Thou coward, art thou bragging to the thou not? Dem. Abide me, if thou dar'st: for well I wot, Thou runn'st before me, shifting every place; And dar'st not stand, nor look me in the face. Where art thou? Puck. Come hither; I am here. Dem. Nay, then thou mock'st me. Thou shalt buy this dear, If ever I thy face by day-light see: [Lies down and sleeps. Enter HELENA. be well. [Exit PUCK.-DEN. HEL. &c. sleep. ACT IV. SCENE I.-The same. Enter TITANIA and BOTTOM, FAIRIES, attending; OBERON behind unseen. Tita. Come, sit thee down upon this flowery bed, While thy amiable cheeks do coy, And stick musk-roses in thy sleek smooth head, And kiss thy fair large ears, my gentle joy. Bot. Where's Peas-blossom? Peas. Ready. Bot. Scratch my head, Peas-blossom.-Where's monsieur Cobweb? Cob. Ready. Bot Monsieur Cobweb; good monsieur, get your weapons in your hand, and kill me a redbipped humble-bee on the top of a thistle; and, good monsieur, bring me the honey-bag. Do not fret yourself too much in the action, monsieur ; and, good monsieur, have a care the honey-bag break not: I would be loath to have you overflown with a honey-bag, signior.—Where's monsieur Mustard-seed? Must. Ready. Bot. Give me your neif, monsieur Mustardseed. Pray you, leave your courtesy, good mousieur. Must. What's your will? Bot. Nothing, good monsieur, but to help cavalero Cobweb to scratch. I must to the barber's, monsieur; for, methinks, I am marvellous hairy about the face: and I am such a tender ass, if my hair do but tickle me, I must scratch. Tita. What, wilt thou hear some music, my sweet love? Bot. I have a reasonable good ear in music: let us have the tongs and the bones. Tita. Or, say, sweet love, what thou desir'st to eat. Bot. Truly a peck of provender ; I could munch your good dry oats. Methinks, I have a great desire to a bottle of hay: good bay, sweet hay, hath no fellow. Tita. I have a venturous fairy that shall seek The squirrel's hoard, and fetch thee new nuts. Bot. I had rather have a handful, or two, of dried peas. But, I pray you, let none of your people stir me; I have an exposition of sleep come upon me. Tita. Sleep thou and I will wind thee in my I did upbraid her, and fall out with her : Was wont to swell, like round and orient pearls, And think no more of this night's accidents, But first I will release the fairy queen. The. My hounds are bred out of the Spartan kind, So flew'd, so sanded; and their heads are hung With ears that sweep away the morning dew; Crook-knee'd, and dew-lap'd like Thessalian bulls; Slow in pursuit, but match'd in mouth like Each under each. A cry more tuneable Judge, when you hear.-But, soft; what nymphs Ege. My lord, this is my daughter here And this, Lysander: this Demetrius is; I wonder of their being here together. The. No doubt, they rose up early to observe [Touching her eyes with an herb. That Hermia should give answer of her choice? See, as thou wast wont to see: Dian's bud o'er Cupid's flower Hath such force and blessed power. Now, my Titania; wake you, my sweet queen. Tita. My Oberon! what visions have I seen! Methought, I was enamour'd of an ass. Obe. There lies your love. Tita. How came these things to pass? head. Titania, music call; and strike more dead Puck. Now, when thou wak'st, with thine own Obe. Sound, music. [Still Music.] Come, my queen, take hands with me, And rock the ground whereon those sleepers Now thou and I are new in amity; Puck. Fairy king, attend, and mark; Obe. Then, my queen, in silence sad, Ege. It is, my lord. The. Go, bid the huntsmen wake them with their horns. SANDER, HERMIA, and HELENA, wake and start up. The. Good-morrow, friends. Saint Valentine Begin these wood-birds but to couple now? [He and the rest kneel to THESEUS. The. I pray you all, stand up. I know you are two rival enemies; Lys. My lord, I shall reply amazedly, I came with Hermia hither: our intent be Thereby to have defeated you and me: Dem. My lord, fair Helen told me of their stealth, Tita. Come, my lord; and in our flight, Of my consent that she should be your wife. Tell me how it came this night, That I sleeping here was found, With these mortals, on the ground. [Exeunt. [Horns sound within. Enter THESEUS, HIPPOLYTA, EGEUS, and train. Of this their purpose hither to this wood; The. Fair lovers, you are fortunately met: For in the temple, by and by with us, And, for the morning now is something worn, Our purpos'd hunting shall he set aside.- [Exeunt THE. HIP. EGE. and train. Dem. These things seem small, and undistinguishable, Like far-off mountains turned into clouds. Her. Methinks, I see these things with ed eye, When every thing seems double. Hel. So methinks: And I have found Demetrius like a jewel, Dem. It seems to me, That yet we sleep, we dream.-Do not The duke was here, and bid us follow him? Enter BOTTOM. Bot. Where are these lads? where are these hearts? Quin. Bottom! O most courageous day! O most happy hour! Bot. Masters, I am to discourse wonders: but ask me not what; for, if I tell you, I am no true Athenian. I will tell you every thing, right as it part-fell out. you Lys. And he did bid us follow to the temple. Dem. Why then, we are awake: let's follow him; And, by the way, let us recount our dreams. [Exeunt. Quin. Let us hear, sweet Bottom. Bot. Not a word of me. All that I will tell you, is, that the duke hath dined: Get your apparel together; good strings to your beards, new ribbons to your pumps; meet presently at the palace; every man look o'er his part; for, the short and the long is, our play is preferred. In any case, let Thisby have clean linen; and let not him, that plays the lion, pare his nails, for they shall hang out of the lion's claws. And, most dear actors, eat no onions, nor garlick, for we are to utter sweet breath; and I do not doubt, but to hear them say, it is a sweet comedy. No more words: away; go, away. [Exeunt. ACT V. I.-The same.-A Room in the Apart- Enter THESEUS, HIPPOLYTA, PHILOSTRATE, Hip. 'Tis strange, my Theseus, that these The. More strange than true. I never may believe As they go out, BOTTOM awakes. Bot. When my cue comes, call me, and I will answer :-my text is, Most fair Pyramus. -Hey, ho!-Peter Quince! Flute, the bellows-SCENE mender! Snout, the tinker! Starveling! God's my life stolen hence, and left me asleep! I have had a most rare vision. I have had a dream,-Past the wit of man to say what dream it was: Man is but an ass, if he go about to expound this dream. Methought I was there is no man can tell what. Methought I was, and methought I had,-But man is but a patched fool, if he will offer to say what methought I had. The eye of man hath not heard, the ear of man hath not seen; man's hand is not able to taste, his tongue to conceive, nor his heart to report, what my dream was. I will get Peter Quince to write a ballad of this dream It shall he called Bottom's Dream, because it hath no bottom; and I will sing it in the latter end of a play, before the duke; Peradventure to make it the more gracious, I shall sing it at her death. [Exit. SCENE II.-Athens.-A Room in QUINCE's House. Snug. Masters, the duke is coming from the temple, and there is two or three lords and ladies more married: if our sport had gone forward, we had all beeu made men. Flu. O sweet bully Bottom! Thus hath he lost sixpence a-day during his life; he could not have 'scaped sixpence a-day: an the duke had not given him sixpence a-day for playing Pyramus, I'll be hanged; he would have deserved it: sixpence a-day, in Pyramus, or nothing. These antique fables, nor these fairy toys. And, as imagination bodies forth The forms of things unknown, the poet's pen A local habitation and a name. Hip. But all the story of the night told over, HELENA. To ease the anguish of a torturing hour? Philost. Here, mighty Theseus. The. Say, what abridgment have you for this evening? What mask? what music? How shall we beguile ? The lazy time, if not with some delight? Philost. There is a brief, † how many sports are ripe ; first. Make choice of which your highness will see (Giving a paper. The. [Reads.] The battle with the Centaurs, to be sung, By an Athenian eunuch to the harp. The riot of the tipsy Bacchanals, Of learning, late deceas'd in beggary. A tedious brief scene of young Pyramus, Which is as brief as I have known a play; The. What are they, that do play it? Which never laboured in their minds till now; mories With this same play, against your nuptial. Philost. No, my noble lord, It is not for you: I have heard it over, And it is nothing, nothing in the world; me Unless you can find sport in their intents, The. I will hear that play; For never any thing can be amiss, Go, bring them in :-and take your places," And duty in his service perishing. Hip. He says, they can do nothing in this The. The kinder we, to give them thanks for Our sport shall be, to take what they mistake: Noble respect takes it in might, not merit. "To whisper; at the which let no man won. der. 'This man, with lantern, dog, and bush of "This grisly beast, which by name lion hight, t stain: "Anon comes Pyramus, sweet youth, and tall, "He bravely broach'd his boiling bloody breast; "And, Thisby tarrying in mulberry shade "His dagger drew, and died. For all the rest, "Let lion, moonshine, wall, and lovers twain, [Exeunt PROLOGUE, THISBE, LION, and Puck. If we shadows have offended, Think but this, (and all is mended,) Else the Puck a liar call. [Brit. |