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Puck. Come thou hither, I am here.

Dem. Nay, then thou mock'ft me; thou fhal Lay this dear,

If ever I thy face by day-light fee.

Now, go thy way;

faintnefs constraineth me

To meafure out my length on this cold bed.
By day's approach look to be vifited.

Enter Helena.

[Lies down.

Hel. O weary night, O long and tedious night, Abate thy hours; fhine, comforts, from the Eaft;

That I may back to Athens by day-light,

From thefe, that my poor company deteft;

And fleep, that fometimes fhuts up forrow's eye,
Steal me a while from mine own company.
Puck. Yet but three? come one more,
Two of both kinds make up four.
Here fhe comes, curft and fad :

Cupid is a knavish lad,

Thus to make poor females mad.

Enter Hermia.

Her. Never fo weary, never fo in woe, Bedabbled with the dew, and torn with briars, I can no further crawl, no further go;

My legs can keep no pace with my defires: Here will I reft me, 'till the break of day.

[Sleeps.

}

Heavn's fhield Lysander, if they mean a fray! [Lies down. Puck. On the ground, fleep found,

I'll apply, to your eye, gentle lover, remedy.

[Squeezing the juice on Lyfander's eye.

When thou wak’st, thou tak’st

True delight, in the fight, of thy former Lady's eye; And the country proverb known,

That every man fhould take his own,

In your waking shall be shown.

Jack fhall have fill, naught fhall go ill,

The man shall have his mare again, and all be well.

[Exit Puck. [They fleet

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SCENE, continued, the Wood.

Enter Queen of Fairies, Bottom, Fairies attending, and the King behind them.

QUEEN,

OME, fit thee down upon this flow'ry bed,
While I thy amiable cheeks do coy,

And ftick mufk-rofes in thy fleek, fmooth'd head;
And kifs thy fair large ears, my gentle joy.

Bot. Where's Peafebloffom?

Pease. Ready.

Bot. Scratch my head, Peafebloom. Where's monfieur Cobweb?

Cob. Ready.

Bot. Monfieur Cobweb, good monfieur, get your weapons in your hand, and kill me a red-hipt humblebee on the top of a thistle; and, good monfieur, bring me the honey-bag. Do not fret yourself too much in the action, monfieur; and, good monfieur, have a care, the honey-bag break not; I fhould be loth to have you over-flown with a honey-bag, fignior. Where's monfieur Muftardfeed.

Muft. Ready.

Bot. Give me thy neafe, monfieur Mustardfeed; pray you, leave your curtefy, good monfieur.

Muft. What's your will?

Bot. Nothing, good monfieur, but to help Cavalero Cobweb to fcratch. I muft to the barber's, monfieur; for, methinks, I am marvellous hairy about the face. And I am fuch a tender ass, if my hair doth but tickle me, I muft fcratch.

Queen. What, wilt thou hear fome mufick, my sweet love? Bot. I have a reasonable good ear in mufick; let us have the tongs and the bones.

3

Rural

Rural Mufick: Tongs, &c.

Queen. Or fay, fweet love, what thou defir'ft to eat. Bor. Truly, a peck of provender; I could munch your good dry oats. Methinks, I have a great defire to a bottle of hay: good hay, fweet hay hath no fellow. Queen, I have a venturous Fairy that fhall feek the fquirrel's hoard, and fetch thee new nuts.

Bot. I had rather have a handful or two of dried peafe. But, I pray you, let none of your people stir me; I have an expofition of fleep come upon me.

Queen. Sleep thou, and I will wind thee in my arms; Fairies, be gone, and be all ways away: (22)

So doth the woodbine, the fweet honey-fuckle, (23)
Gently entwift the maple; ivy fo

Enrings the barky fingers of the elm.

Oh, how I love thee! how I doat on thee!

Enter Puck.

Ob. Welcome good Robin? Seeft thou this fweet fight? Her dotage now I do begin to pity; For meeting her of late behind the wood, Seeking fweet favours for this hateful fool, I did upbraid her, and fall out with her; For the his hairy temples then had rounded With coronet of fresh and fragrant flowers; (22)

and be always away.] What! was the giving her attendants an everlasting difmiffion? No fuch thing; they were to be still upon duty. I am convinc'd, the Poet meant;

- and be all ways away.

i. e. difperfe yourselves, and scout out severally, in your watch, that danger approach us from no quarter.

(23) So doth the woodbine the fweet boney fuckle

Gently entwift; the female ivy fo

Enrings the barky fingers of the elm.] What does the woodbine entwift? Why, the honeyfuckle. But ever till now the honeyfuckle and the woodbine were but two names for the fame plant. But we have now found a fupport for the woodbine, as well as for the ivy. The corruption might happen thus; the first blunderer in writing might leave the p out of maple, and make it male; upon which the acute Editors turn'd it into female, and tack'd it as an epithet to ivy. Mr. Warburton.

G 3

And

And that fame dew, which fometime on the buds
Was wont to fwell, like round and orient pearls ;
Stood now within the pretty flouret's eyes,
Like tears that did their own disgrace bewail.
When I had at my pleasure taunted her,
And fhe in mild terms begg'd my patience,
I then did afk of her her changeling child,
Which ftrait she gave me, and her Fairy fent
To bear him to my bower in Fairy-land.
And now I have the boy, I will undo
This hateful imperfection of her eyes;
And, gentle Puck, take this transformed fcalp
From off the head of this Athenian swain ;
That, he, awaking, when the others do,
May all to Athens back again repair;
And think no more of this night's accidents,
But as the fierce vexation of a dream.
But, first, I will release the Fairy Queen;

Be, as thou waft wont to be;

See, as thou waft wont to fee:
Dian's bud o'er Cupid's flower

Hath fuch force and bleffed power. (24)

Now, my Titania, wake you, my fweet Queen.
Queen. My Oberon! what vifions have I seen!
Methought, I was enamoured of an afs.
Ob. 'There lies your love.

(24) Dian's bud, or Cupid's flow'r] Thus all the editions had ftupidly exhibited this paffage. The ingenious Dr. Thirlby gave me the correction, which I have inferted in the text, and which, doubtlefs, reftores us the Author. Oberen in A&t the 2d, where he first propofes to enchant his Queen's eyes and fenfe, tells us, he has an antidote to take off the charm.

And e'er I take this charm from off her fight,

As I can take it with another berb, &c.

And again towards the end of the third Act, where he is giving Puck directions for difenchanting Lyfander, he fays;

Then crush this herb into Lyfander's eye,
Whofe liquor hath this virtuous property,
To take from thence all error with its might,
And make his eye-balls roll with wonted fight.

Queen.

Queen. How came these things to pass? Oh, how mine eyes do loath this vifage now! Ob. Silence, a while; Robin, take off his head; Titania, mufick call; and strike more dead (25) Than common sleep of all these five the sense. Queen. Mufick, ho, mufick; fuch as charmeth fleep. Still Mufick.

Puck. When thou awak'ft, with thine own fool's eyes peep
Ob. Sound,mufick; come,my Queen, take hand with me,
And rock the ground whereon these fleepers be.
Now thou and I are new in amity;

And will to-morrow midnight folemnly
Dance in Duke Thefeus' houfe triumphantly
And blefs it to all fair pofterity:

There fhall these pairs of faithful lovers be
Wedded, with Thefeus, all in jollity.

Puck. Fairy King, attend and mark;
I do hear the morning lark.

Ob. Then, my Queen, in filence fade; (26) Trip we after the night's fhade;

We the globe can compafs foon,

Swifter than the wand'ring moon.

Queen. Come, my Lord, and in our flight Tell me how it came this night,

(25) Titania, mufick call, and flrike more dead

Than common fleep. Of all thefe fine the fenfe.] This, moft certainly, is both corrupt in the text, and pointing. Would mufick, that was to ftrike them into a deeper fleep than ordinary, contribute to fine (or, refine) their fenfes? My emendation, I am perfuaded, needs no juftification. The five, that lay afleep on the ftage, were, Demetrius, Lyfander, Hermia, Helena, and Bottom.-I ought to acknowledge, that Dr. Thirlby likewife ftarted and communicated this very

correction.

(26) Then, my Queen, in filence fad,] Why, Jad? Fairies, according to the receiv'd notion, are pleas'd to follow night. For that reason, and for bettering the rhyme, I think it very probable that our Author wrote; in filence fade; i. e. vanifh, retreat. In which fenfe our Author has elsewhere employ'd this word. As in Hamlet fpeaking of the ghoft's difappearing.

It faded at the crowing of the cock.

That

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