"Thanks, courteous wall: Jove shield thee well " for this! "But what fee I? No Thitby do I fee. "O wicked wall, through whom 1 fee no blifs; "Curft be thy ftones for thus deceiving me!" The. The wall, methinks, being fenfible, fhould curfe again. Pyr. No, in truth, fir, he should not. Deceiv ing me, is Thitby's cue; fhe is to enter now, and I am to fpy her through the wall. You fhall fee, it will fall pat as I told you: Yonder the comes. Thif. Enter Thify. "O wall, full often haft thou heard my "For parting my fair Pyramus and me: "Thy ftones with lime and hair knit up in thee." Thif. "My love! thou art my love, I think." "And like Limander am I trufty ftill." Thif." And I like Helen, till the fates me kill." "O, kifs me through the hole of this vile Thif. "I kifs the wall's hole, not your lips at all." Thif." Tide life, tide death, I come without delay." [fo; Wall. "Thus have I, wall, my part discharged "And, being done, thus wall away doth go." [Exeunt Wall, Pyramus, and Thibe. The. Now is the mural down between the two neighbours. Dem. No remedy, my lord, when walls are fo wilful to hear without warning. Hip. This is the fillieft ftuff that ever I heard. The. The beft in this kind are but fhadows: and the worst are no worfe, if imagination amend them. Hip. It must be your imagination then, and not theirs. The. If we imagine no worfe of them, than they of themselves, they may pafs for excellent men. Here come two noble beats in, a moon and a lion. Enter Lion and Moonshine. Lion. "You, ladies, you, whofe gentle hearts The. A very gentle beaft, and of a good confcience. Dem. The very beft at a beaft, my lord, that e'er I faw. Lyf. This lion is a very fox for his valour. The True; and a goofe for his difcretion. Dem. Not fo, my lord: for his valour cannot carry his difcretion; and the fox carries the goofe. The. His difcretion, I am fure, cannot carry his valour; for the goofe carries not the fox. It is well: leave it to his difcretion, and let us liften to the moon. Moon. This lanthorn doth the horned moon "prefent:" Dem. He fhould have worn the horns on his head. The. He is no crefcent, and his horns are invifible within the circumference. Moon." This lanthorn doth the horned moon "prefent; 64 Myfelf the man i' th' moon do feem to be." The. This is the greatest error of all the rest: the man fhould be put into the lanthorn; How is it elfe the man i' the moon? Dem. He dares not come there for the candle: for, you fee, it is already in fnuff 1. would change! The. It appears, by his fmall light of difcretion, Lyf. Proceed, moon. Moon. All that I have to fay, is, to tell you, that the lanthorn is the moon; I, the man in the moon; this thorn-bufh, my thorn-bush; and this dog, my dog. for they are in the moon. Dem. Why all thefe fhould be in the lanthorn; But, filence; here comes Thibe. Enter Tlifbe. Thif. "This is old Ninny's tomb: Where is my Lion. "Oh-" [The Lion roars. Thifle runs off. Hip. Well thone, moon. "The smallest monstrous mouse that creeps on" "May now, perchance, both quake and tremble " here, "When lion rough in wildeft rage doth roar. "Then know, that I, as Snug the joiner, am "A lion fell, nor elfe no lion's dam: "For if I thould as lion come in ftrife "Into this place, 'twere pity on my life." -Truly, the moon The. Well mous'd, lion. Snuff fignifics both the cinder of a candle, and hafty anger. "Thy *Thy mantle good, "What, ftain'd with blood? Approach, ye furies fell! "O fates! come, come; "Cut thread and thrum ; "Quail, cruth, conclude and quell 2 !" The. This paffion, and the death of a dear friend, would go near to make a man look fr. Hip. Befhrew my heart, but I pity the man. Pyr. "O, wherefore, nature, didft thou lions "frame? "Since lion vile hath here deflour'd my dear: "Which is no, no-which was the fairest dame, "That liv'd, that lov'd; that lik'd, that look'd, "with cheer. "Come tears, confound; "The pap of Pyramus : "Ay, that left pap, "Now am I filed; "My foul is in the sky: "Tongue, lofe thy light! "Moon, take thy flight! "Now die, die, die, die, die. Bot. No, I affure you; the wall is down that parted their fathers. Will it please you to fee the epilogue, or to hear a Bergomafk dance 3, between two of our company? The. No epilogue, I pray you; for your play needs no excufe. Never excufe; for when the players are all dead, there need none to be blamed. Marry, if he that writ it, had play'd Pyramus, and hang'd himfelf in Thibe's gaiter, it would have been a fine tragedy: and fo it is, truly; and very notably difcharg'd. But come, your Bergomafk: let your epilogue alone. [Here a Dance of Clowns. The iron tongue of midnight hath told twelve ;-Lovers, to bed; 'tis almoft fairy time. I fear, we shall out-fleep the coming morn, The. With the help of a furgeon he might yet This palpable-grofs play hath well beguil'd recover, and prove an ass. The heavy gait 4 of night.-Sweet friends, to bed.- Hip. How chance the moonshine is gone, before A fortnight hold we this folemnity, Here the comes, and her paffion ends the play. Hip. Methinks, the fhould not use a long one, for fuch a Pyramus: I hope, the will be brief. Dem. A moth will turn the balance, which Pyramus, which Thibe, is the better. Lyf. She hath fpied him already, with thofe fweet eyes. Dem. And thus the moans, videlicet, Thif. "Afleep, my love? "What, dead, my dove? 1 Thrum is the end or extremity of a weaver's warp; it is popularly ufed for very coarfe yarn. 2 To quell is to murther, to deftroy. 3 That is, a dance after the manner of the pealants of Bergomafco, a country in Italy belonging to the Venetians., 4 i. e. Paffage, progress, 5 i. e. Over come. I am fent, with broom, before, Enter King and Queen of Fairies, with their Train. Every elf, and fairy fprite, Hop as light as bird from brier; Sing and dance it trippingly. SONG and DANCE. b. Now, until the break of day, And the blots of nature's hand Defpifed in nativity, Shall upon their children be. And the owner of it bleft. Trip away; Make no stay ; Meet me all by break of day. [Exeunt King, Queen, and Train. Puck. If we fhadows have offended, Think but this, (and all is mended) That you have but flumber'd here, While thefe vifions did appear. And this weak and idle theme, No more yielding but a dream, Gentles, do not reprehend; If you pardon, we will mend. And, as I'm an honest Puck, If we bave unearned luck Now to 'scape the ferpent's tongue, We will make amends, ere long: Elfe the Puck a liar call. So, good night unto you all. Give me your bands, if we be friends, And Robin fhall restore amends. [Exit. 1 i. e. portentous. 2 i. e. take his way, MERCHANT Senators of Venice, Officers, Failer, Servants, and other Attendants. ACT I. Sal. Your mind is toffing on the ocean: There, where your argofies with portly fail,Like figniors and rich burghers on the flood, Or as it were the pageants of the sea,— Do over-peer the petty traffickers, That curtly to them, do them reverence, As they fly by them with their woven wings. Sala. Believe me, fir, had I fuch ventures forth, The better part of my affections would Be with my hopes abroad. I should be still Plucking the grafs, to know where fits the wind; Prying in maps, for ports, and piers, and roads: And every object that might make me fear Misfortune to my ventures, out of doubt, Would make me fad. Sal. My wind, cooling my broth, And not bethink me ftraight of dangerous rocks? [it, Anth. Believe me, no: I thank my fortune for My ventures are not in one bottom trusted, Nor to one place; nor is my whole estate Upon the fortune of this prefent year : Therefore my merchandize makes me not fad. Sala. Why then you are in love? Anth. Fie, fie! Ships, fo named from Ragufa. 2 The name of the ship. 3 To vail, means to put off the hat, to Arike fail, to give fign of fubmiffion. 0 3 Sala Sala. Not in love neither? Then let's fay, you, That therefore only are reputed wife, are fad, Because you are not merry: and 'twere as easy That they'll not fhew their teeth in way of smile, Enter Balanio, Lorenzo, and Gratiano. Sala. I would have ftaid till I had made you merry, Anth. Your worth is very dear in my regard Sal. Good morrow, my good lords. Baff. Good figniors both, when shall we laugh? fay, when? 2 You grow exceeding ftrange; Muft it be fo? We two will leave you; but at dinner-time, Gra. You look not well, fignior Anthonio; Auth. I hold the world but as the world, Gratiano; Gra. Let me play the fool: For faying nothing; who, I am very fure, [ears, more, Gra. Well, keep me company but two years [tongue. Thou shalt not know the found of thine own Anth. Fare well; I'll grow a talker for this gear. [mendable Gra. Thanks, i'faith; for filence is only com In a neat's tongue dry'd, and a maid not vendible. [Exeunt Gra. and Lor. Anth. Is that any thing now? Anth. Well; tell me now, what lady is the fame, Baff. 'Tis not unknown to you, Anthonio, Anth. I pray you, good Baffanio, let me know it; [haft, Boff. In my fchool-days, when I had loft one I owe you much; and, like a wilful youth, I This alludes to the common comparison of human life to a stage-play. So that he defires his may be the fool's or buffoon's part, which was a conftant character in the old farces; from whence came the phrale, to play the fool. 2 Our author's meaning is, that fome people are thought wife whilst they keep filence; who, when they open their mouths, are fuch ftupid praters, that the hearers cannot help calling them fools, and fo incur the judgment denounced in the gofpel. 3 The humour of this confifts in its being an allufion to the practice of the puritan preachers of thofe times; who being generally very long and tedious, were often forced to put off that part of their fermon called the exhortation, till after dinner. That |