Therefore, be out of hope, of question, doubt, Her. O me! you juggler! you canker-blos- You thief of love: what, have you come by night And stol'n my love's heart from him? Hel. Fine, i'faith! Have you no modesty, no maiden shame, Her. Puppet! why so? Ay, that way goes the Now I perceive that she hath made compare And are you grown so high in his esteem, Let her not hurt me: I was never curst; t think, Because she's something lower than myself, Her. Lower! bark, again. may Her. You, mistress, all this coil is 'long of you: Nay, go not back. Hel. I will not trust you, I; [Exit. Her. I am amaz'd, and know not what to say. [Exit, pursuing HELENA. Obe. This is thy negligence: still thou mistak'st, Or else commit'st thy knaveries wilfully. Did not you tell me, I should know the man Hie therefore, Robin, overcast the night; As one come not within another's way. Hel. Good Hermia, do not be so bitter with Whose liquor hath this virtuous property, † me. To take from thence all error, with his might, Whiles I in this affair do thee employ, Puck. My fairy lord, this must be done with For nights's swift dragons cut the clouds full fast, And yonder shines Aurora's harbinger; At whose approach, ghosts, wandering here and Troop home to church-yards: damned spirits all, They wilfully themselves exi'e from light, Obe. But we are spirits of another sort: I with the Morning's Love § have oft made And, like a forester, the groves may tread, [Exit OBERON. I am fear'd in field and town; Goblin, lead them up and down. Here comes one. Puck. Here, villain; drawn and ready. Where art thou? Lys. I will be with thee straight. Puck. Follow me then To plainer ground. [Exit Lys. as following the voice. Enter DEMETRIUS. Dem. Lysander! speak again. Thou runaway, thou coward, art thon fled? When thon wak'st, Thou 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.-DEM. HEL. &c. sleep. ACT IV. SCENE 1.-The same. Enter TITANIA and BOTTOM, FAIRIES, attending; OBERON behind unseen. Tita. Come, sit thee down upon this flowery bed, While I thy amiable cheeks do coy, • And stick musk-roses in thy sleek smooth head, And kiss thy fair iarge 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 redhipped 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 Mustard. seed. Pray you, leave your courtesy, good monsieur. 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 hay, 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, 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. [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? 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 bands with me, And rock the ground whereon those sleepers be. 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. 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 Without the peril of the Athenian law. Ege. Enough, enough, my lord; you have I beg the law, the law upon his head.- Demetrius, Thereby to have defeated you and me: Tita. Come, my lord; and in our flight, Of my consent that she should be your wife. Dem. My lord, fair Helen told me of their [Exeunt. [Horns sound within. | Enter THESEUS, HIPPOLYTA, EGEUS, and train. stealth, Of this their purpose hither to this wood; And I in fury hither follow'd them; Fair Helena in fancy + following me. But, my good lord, I wot not by what power, The. Fair lovers, you are fortunately met: For in the temple, by and by with us, And, for the morning now is something worn, As they go out, BOTTOM awakes. Bot. When my cue comes, call me, and I will answer :-my text is, Most fair Pyramus. Enter BOTTOM. Bot. Where are these lads? where are these hearts ? Quin. Bottom! O most courageous day! O most bappy 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 fell out. 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 bis 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. ment of THESEUS. Enter THESEUS, HIPPOLYTA, PHILOSTRATE, Hip. 'Tis strange, my Theseus, that these The. More strange than true. I never may believe -Hey, ho!-Peter Quince! Flute, the bellows- SCENE 1.-The same.-A Room in the Apart. 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 me-These thought I had. The eye of man hath not heard, the ear of man hath not seen; man's haud is not able to taste, his tongue to conceive, nor his heart to report, what my dream was. will get Peter Quince to write a ballad of this dream It shall be 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. antique fables, nor these fairy toys. SCENE II.-Athens.-A Room in QUINCE's The forms of things unknown, the poet's pen 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 gene forward, we had all been 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. Turus them to shapes, and gives to airy EO- A local habitation and a name. Hip. But all the story of the night told over, Enter LYSANDER, DEMETRIUS, HERMIA, and HELENA. To ease the anguish of a torturing hour? Philost. Here, mighty Theseus. I read as much, as from the rattling tongue The. Say, what abridgment have you for this In least, speak most, to my capacity. evening? What mask? what music? How shall we be 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; The. I will hear that play; But with good will. To show our simple That is the true beginning of our end. Go, bring them in-and take your places," Hip. I love not to see wretchedness o'er- And duty in his service perishing. Hip. He says, they can do nothing in this "Presenteth moonshine: for, if you will know, By moonshine did these lovers think no scoru "To meet at Ninus' tomb, there, there to Woo. "This grisly beast, which by name lion hight,‡ 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. Anon comes Pyramus, sweet youth, and tall, "And finds his trusty Thisby's mantle slain: "Whereat with blade, with bloody blameful blade, "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 |