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Athenian. I will tell you every thing, right as it and the long is, our play is preferr'd. In any cafe,

fell out. Quin. Let us hear, fweet Bottom.

let Thitby have clean linen; and let not him, that plays the lion, pare his nails, for they shall hang Bot. Not a word of me. All that I will tell out for the lion's claws. And, most dear actors, you, is, that the duke hath dined: Get your ap-eat no onions nor garlick, for we are to utter parel together; good ftrings to your beards, new | fweet breath; and I do not doubt but to hear them ribbons to your pumps; meet prefently at the pa- fay, it is a fweet comedy. No more words; away; lace; every man look o'er his part; for, the fhort go, away. [Excunt.

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More than cool reafon ever comprehends.
The lunatick, the lover, and the poet,
Are of imagination all compact 1 :

One fees more devils than vaft hell can hold ;
That is, the madman: the lover, all as frantick,
Sees Helen's beauty in a brow of Egypt:
The poet's eye, in a fine frenzy rolling, [heaven;
Doth glance from heaven to earth, from earth to
And, as imagination bodies forth

The forms of things unknown, the poet's pen
Turns them to fhapes, and gives to airy nothing
A local habitation, and a name.
Such tricks hath strong imagination;
That, if it would but apprehend some joy,
It comprehends fome bringer of that joy;
Or, in the night, imagining fome fear,
How eafy is a bufh fuppos'd a bear?

Hip. But all the story of the night told over,
And all their minds transfigur'd fo together,
More witneffeth than fancy's images,
And grows to fomething of great conftancy 2:
But, howfoever, ftrange, and admirable.
Enter Lyfander, Demetrius, Hermia, and Helena.
The. Here come the lovers, full of joy
mirth.-

Joy, gentle friends! joy, and fresh days of love,
Accompany your hearts!

Lyf. More than to us

and

Wait on your royal walks, your board, your bed! The. Come now; what masks, what dances shall we have,

To wear away this long age of three hours,
Between our after-supper, and bed-time?
Where is our ufual manager of mirth?

What revels are in hand? Is there no play,

To eafe the anguish of a torturing hour? Call Philoftrate:

Philoft. Here, mighty Thefeus.

[evening!

The. Say, what abridgment 3 have you for this What mask ? what mufick? How shall we beguile The lazy time, if not with fome delight!

Philoft. There is a brief 4, how marry sports are

ripe;

Make choice of which your highness will fee first. [Giving a paper.

The.reads.] "The battle of the Centaurs, to be

fung

"By an Athenian eunuch to the harp.” We'll none of that: that I have told my love, In glory of my kinfman Hercules.

"The riot of the tipfy Bacchanals, "Tearing the Thracian finger in their rage." That is an old device; and it was play'd When I from Thebes came last a conqueror. "The thrice three Mufes mourning for the death"Of learning, late deceas'd in beggary." That is fome fatire, keen, and critical », Not forting with a nuptial ceremony.

"A tedious brief scene of young Pyramus "And his love Thibe; very tragical mirth." Merry and tragical? Tedious and brief? That is, hot ice, and wonderous strange fnow. How fhall we find the concord of this difcord? Philaft. A play there is, my lord, fome ten words long;

Which is as brief as I have known a play;
But by ten words, my lord, it is too long;
Which makes it tedious: for in all the play
There is not one word apt, one player fitted.
And tragical, my noble lord, it is;
For Pyramus therein doth kill himself.
Which, when I faw rehears'd, I must confefs,
Made mine eyes water; but more merry tears
The paffion of loud laughter never thed.

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i. c. made up. i. e. confitency. 3 By abridgment Shakspeare here means a dramatick pers formance. 4 i, e. a fhort account. s Meaning, criticizing, cenfuring. That is, unexercifed me

mories.

Philoft

Philoft. No, my noble lord,

It is not for you: I have heard it over,
And it is nothing, nothing in the world;
Unless you can find fport in their intents,
Extremely itretch'd, and conn'd with cruel pain,
To do you fervice. ม

The. I will hear that play :
For never any thing can be amifs,
When fimplenefs and duty tender it.

Go, bring them in ;-and take your places, ladies.

Enter Pyramus and Thisbe, Wall, Moon bine, and
Lion, as in dumb_show.

Prol. "Gentles, perchance, you wonder at this

"fhow ;

"But wonder on, till truth make all things plain. This mau is Pyramus, if you would know ; "This beauteous lady Thisby is, certain, "This man, with lime and rough caft, doth prefent "Wall, that vile wall which did thefe lovers "funder:

[Exit Philoft." And through wall's chink, poor fouls, they are

Hip. I love not to fee wretchednefs o'ercharg'd, And duty in his fervice perifhing.

The. Why, gentle fweet, you shall fee no fuch" thing.

66 content

"To whisper; at the which let no man wonder. This man, with lanthorn, dog, and bush of thorn, "Prefenteth moon-fhine: for, if you will know, By moon-fhine did thefe lovers think no fcorn "To meet at Ninus' tomb, there, there to woo. "This grifly beast, which by name lion hight,

Hip. He fays, they can do nothing in this kind."
The. The kinder we, to give them thanks for
nothing.

Our fport fhall be, to take what they mistake:
And what poor duty cannot do,

Noble refpect takes it in might 2, not merit.
Where I have come, great clerks have purpofed
To greet me with premeditated welcomes;
Where I have feen them shiver, and look pale,
Make periods in the midst of fentences,
Throttle their practis'd accent in their fears,
And, in conclufion, dumbly have broke off,
Not paying me a welcome: Truft me, fweet,
Out of this filence, yet, I pick'd a welcome;
And in the modefty of fearful duty

I read as much, as from the rattling tongue

Of fawcy and audacious eloquence.

Love, therefore, and tongue-ty'd fimplicity,
In leaft, fpeak moft, to my capacity.

Enter Philoftrate.

The trufty Thisby, coming first by night, "Did fcare away, or rather did affright;

And, as the fled, her mantle fhe did fall; "Which lion vile with bloody mouth did ftain: "Anon comes Pyramus, fweet youth, and tail, "And finds his trufty Thiby's mantle flain: "Whereat, with blade, with bloody blameful blade, "He bravely broach'd his boiling bloody breast; "And Thifby, tarrying in mulberry shade,

"His dagger drew, and died. For all the reft, "Let lion, moon-fhine, wall, and lovers twain, "At large difcourfe, while here they do remain." [Exeunt all but Wall. The. I wonder, if the lion be to speak. Dem. No wonder, my lord: one lion may, when many affes do.

Wall." In this fame interlude, it doth befall, "That I, one Snout by name, prefent a wall:

Philoft. So pleafe your grace, the prologue is " And fuch a wall, as I would have you think,

addreft 3.

The. Let him approach.

Enter the Prologue.

"That had in it a cranny'd hole, or chink,

[thew

[Flour. Trum." Through which the lovers, Pyramus and Thisby,
"Did whisper often very fecretly.
"This lome, this rough-caft, and this ftone, doth
"That I am that fame wall; the truth is fo:
" And this the cranny is, right and finifter,
Through which the fearful lovers are towhifper."
The: Would you defire lime and hair to speak
better?

Prol. "If we offend, it is with our good will. "That you should think, we come not to offend, But with good-will. To fhew our fimple skill," "That is the true beginning of our end. "Confider then, we come but in despite. "We do not come, as minding to content you, "Our true intent is. All for your delight, That you should here re

"We are not here.

"pent you,

"The actors are at hand; and by their show,
"You fhall know all, that you are like to know."
The. This fellow doth not stand upon points.
Lyf. He hath rid his prologue like a rough colt;
he knows not the ftop. A good moral, my lord:
It is not enough to fpeak, but to speak true.

Hip. Indeed he hath play'd on this prologue, like a child on a recorder 4: a found, but not in government 5.

The. His fpeech was like a tangled chain; nothing impair'd, but all difordered. Who is next?

Dem. It is the wittiest partition that ever I heard difcourfe, my lord.

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The. Pyramus draws near the wall filence!
Enter Pyramus.

Pyr.

"O grim-look'd night! O night with Lue "fo black!

"O night, which ever art, when day is not !
O night, O night, alack, alack, alack,
"I fear my Thifby's promife is forgot!-
"And thou, O wall, Ofweet, O lovely wall,
"That stand'st between her father's ground and
"mine;

"Thou wall, O wall, Ofweet and lovely wall,
"Shew me thy chink to blink through with mine
❝eyne.

1 Intents here means the object of their attention. 2 In might, is probably an elliptical expreffion. for what might have been. 3 i. e. ready. A kind of flute. 5 Meaning, not regularly.

"Thanks,

"Thanks, courteous wall: Jove fhield thee well] "for this!

"But what fee 1? No Thitby do I fee. "O wicked wall, through whom I fee no blifs; "Curst be thy ftoues for thus deceiving me!" The. The wall, methinks, being fenfible, fhould curfe again.

Pyr. No, in truth, fir, he fhould not. Deveiv ing me, is Thisby's cue; the 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 she comes.

Enter Thifhy.

Thif. "O wall, full often haft thou heard my

"moans,

"For parting my fair Pyramus and me: "My cherry lips have often kits'd thy ftones; "Thy ftones with lime and hair knit up in thee."! Pyr. "I fee a voice: now will I to the chink, "To fpy an I can hear my Thitby's face.. "Thisby !

Thi. "My love! thou art my love, I think."
Pyr. "Think what thou wilt, I am thy lover's
66 grace;

And like Limander am I trufly flill.”
Thif. "And I like Helen, till the fates me kill."
Pyr. "Not Shafalus to Procrus was fo true."
Thif. "As Shafalus to Procrus, I to you."
Pyr. "O, kits me through the hole of this, vile

"wall."

Thif. "I kifs the wall's hole, not your lips at all."

Pyr.

The. A very gentle beast, 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 goose. 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 thould 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;

"Myfeif the man i' th' moon do feem to be."

The. This is the greatest error of all the reft: the man should 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'.

Hip. I am a-weary of this moon. Would, he would change!

The. It appears, by his fmall light of difcretion, that he is in the wane: but yet, in courtefy, in all reaton, we must ftay the time.

Laf. Proceed, moon.

Moon. All that I have to fay, is, to tell you, that "Wilt thou at Nimy's tomb meet me the lanthorn is the moon; I, the man in the moon; "ftraightway?” this thorn-buth, my thorn-bufh; and this dog, my [10;] Dem. Why all thefe fhould be in the lanthorn; Wall. "Thus have I, wall, my part difcharged, for they are in the moon. But, filence; here "And, being done, thus will away doth go."

Thif. "Tide life, tide death, I come without dog.

"delay."

[Exeunt Wall, Pyramus, and Tlife. 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 thadows: and the worst are no worse, 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 beafts in, a moon and a lion. Enter Lion and Moonfline. Lion. "You, ladies, you, whofe gentle hearts "do fear floor, "The fmalleft monstrous moufe that creeps on "May now, perchance, both quake and tremble

"here,

"When lion rough in wildest 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."

comes Thibe.

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Snuff fignifics both the cinder of a canile, and hafty anger.

"Thy

"Thy mantle good,

"What, ftain'd with blood? "Approach, ye furies fell!

"O fates! come, come;

"Cut thread and thrum 1;

"Quail, crush, conclude and quell 2 !" The. This paffion, and the death of a dear friend, would go near to make a man look fad.

Hip. Behrew 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 faireft dame, "That liv'd, that lov'd, that lik'd, that look'd, "with cheer.

"Come tears, confound;
"Out fword, and wound

"The pap of Pyramus :

"Ay, that left pap,
"Where heart doth hop :--
"Thus die I, thus, thus, thus.

"Now am I dead,

"Now am I fled;

"My foul is in the sky:

"Tongue, lofe thy light! "Moon, take thy flight! "Now die, die, die, die, die.

[Dies. Exit Moonshine. Dem. No die, but an ace for him; for he is but

one.

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Dem. Ay, and wall too.

Bot. No, I allure you; the wall is down that parted their fathers. Will it pleafe you to fee the epilogue, or to hear a Bergomaik 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 Bergomaík: let your epilogue alone.

[Here a Dance of Clowns. The iron tongue of midnight hath told twelve ;Lovers, to bed; 'tis almoft fairy time.

Lvf. Less than an ace, man; for he is dead; he I fear, we fhall out-fleep the coming moin, is nothing.

The. With the help of a furgeon he might yet recover, and prove an afs.

Hip. How chance the moonshine is gone, before
Thibe comes back and finds her lover?

The. She will find him by ftar-light.-
Enter Thibe.

Here the comes, and her pailion ends the play.
Hip. Methink, the fhould not ufe a long one,
for fuch a Pyramus: I hope, the will be brief.
Dem. A moth will turn the balance, which Py-
ramus, which Thibe, is the better.

Lyf. She hath ipled him already, with those sweet eyes.

Dem. And thus fhe moans, videlicet,-
Thif. "Atleep, my love?
"What, dead, my dove?
"O Pyramus, arife,

"Speak, speak. Quite dumb?
"Dead, dead? A tomb
"Muft cover thy fweet eyes.
"Thefe lilly brows,
"This cherry nose,
"Thefe yellow cowflip cheeks,

"Are gone, are gone: "Lovers, make moan! "His eyes were green as leeks.

As much as we this night have overwatch'd
This palpable-grofs play hath well beguil'd
The heavy gait of night.-Sweet friends, to bed.→→
A fortnight hold we this folemnity,
In nightly revels, and new jullity.

SCENE
Enter Puck.

11.

Puck. Now the hungry lion roars,

And the wolf beholds the moon;
Whilft the heavy ploughman inores,

[Exeunt.

All with weary taik fordone ».
Now the wafted brands do glow,
Whilft the fcritch-owl, fcritching loud,
Puts the wretch, that lies in woe,

In re..embrance of a shroud,
Now it is the time of night,

That the graves, all gaping wide,
Every one lets forth his ipright,
In the church-way paths to glide:
And we fairies, that do run

By the triple Hecate's team,
From the prefence of the fun,

Following darkness like a dream,
Now are frolick; not a mouse
Shall difturb this hallow'd houfe:

Thrum is the end or extremity of a weaver's warp; it is popularly used for very coarse yarn. 2 To quell is to murther, to deftroy. 3 That is, a dance after the manner of the pealants of Bergomafca, a country in Italy belonging to the Venetians. 4 i. e. Pallage, progress, 5 i. e. Over

come.

02

I am

I am fent, with broom, before,
To fweep the duft behind the door.

Enter King and Queen of Fairies, with their Train.
Ob. Through this houfe give glimmering light,
By the dead and drowsy fire:

Every elf, and fairy sprite,

Hop as light as bird from brier;
And this ditty, after me,

Sing and dance it trippingly.
Tit. First, rehearfe this fong by rote:
To each word a warbling note,
Hand in hand, with fairy grace,
Will we fing, and bless this place.

SONG and DANCE.

Ob. Now, until the break of day,
Through this houfe each fairy stray.
To the best bride-bed will we,
Which by us fhall bleffed be;
And the iffue, there create,
Ever fhall be fortunate.
So fhall all the couples three
Ever true in loving be:

And the blots of nature's hand
Shall not in their iffue ftand;
Never mole, hare-lip, nor fcar,
Nor mark prodigious, fuch as are

Despised in nativity,

Shall upon their children be.-
With this field-dew confecrate,
Every fairy take his gate 2;
And each feveral chamber blefs,
Through this palace, with fweet peace:
Ever fhall it fafely reft,

And the owner of it bleft.

Trip away;

Make no ftay;

Meet me all by break of day.

[Exeunt King, Queen, and Train. Puck. If we hadows 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 reprebend; If you pardon, we will mend. And, as I'm an honeft Puck, If we have unearned luck Now to fcape 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 reflore amends.

i. e. portentous. 2. e. take his way.

[Exit.

MERCHANT

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