sell

3metrius, come; of Armour father's will; MIDSUMMER-NIGHT'S DREAM. Ad l. My fortunes every way as fairly rank'd, If not with vantage, as Demetrius' And, which is more than all these boasts can be,

am beloved of beauteous Hermia:
Why should not I then prosecute my right?
Demetrius, I'll avouch it to his head,
love to Nedar's daughter,

Helena,
And won her soul ; and she, sweet lady, dotes,
Devoutly dotes, dotes in idolatry,
Upon this spotted and inconstant man.

The. I must confess, that I have heard so much,
And with Demetrius

have spoke thereof; My mind did lose it. But, And come, Egeus; you shall go with me For you, fair Hermia, look you arm yourself To fit your fancies Or else the

yields you up (Which by no means we may extenuate) To death, or to a vow of single Come, my Hippolyta ; what cheer, my love ? Demetrius, and Egeus, go along: I must employ you in some business Against our nuptial, and confer with you of something nearly that concerns yourselves. Ege. With duty and desire we follow you.

[Exeunt Thes. Hip. Ege. Dem. and train, Lys. How now, my love? Why is your cheek so pale! How chance the roses there do fade so fast?

Her. Belike, for want of rain, which I could well
Beteem them from the tempest of mine eses.

Lys. Ah me! for nught that ever I could read,
Could ever hear by tale or history,
The course of true love never did run smooth:

Her. O cross ! too high to be enthrall'd to low!
Lys. Or else misgraffed, in respect of years, –
Her. Ospite! too old to be engaged to young!
Lys. Or else it stood upon the choice of friends,
Her. O hell! to choose love by another's eye!

Lys. Or if there were a sympathy in choice,
War, death, or sickness did lay siege to it;
Making it momentary as a
Swift as a shadow, short as any dream;
Brief as the lightning in the colly'd night,
That, in a spleen, unfolds both heaven and earth,
And ere a man hath power to say,--Behold!

O, teach me how you look; and with what art
You sway the motion of Demetrius' heart.

Her. I frown upon him, yet he loves me still. [skill!
Hel. O that your frowns would teach my smiles such
Her. I give him curses, yet he gives me love,
Hel. O that my prayers could such affection more!
Her. The more I hate, the more he follows me.
Hel. The more I love, the more he hateth me.
Her. His folly, Helena, is no fault of mine.
Hel. None, but your beauty : would that fault were

mine!
Her. Take comfort; he no more shall see my face;
Lysander and myself will fly this place.-
Before the time I did Lysander see,
Seem'd Athens as a paradise to me:
O then, what graces in my love do dwell,
That he hath turn'd a heaven into a hell!

Lys. Helen, to you our minds we will unfold:
To-morrow night, when Phoebe doth bebold
Her silver visage in the wat'ry glass,
Decking with liquid pearl the bladed grass,
(A time that lovers' Alights doth still conceal,)
Through Athens' gates have we devised to steal.

Her. And in the wood, where often you and I
Upon faint primrose-beds were wont to lie,
Emptying our bosoms of their counsel sweet,
There my Lysander and myself shall meet:
And thence, from Athens, turn away our eyes,
To seek new friends and stranger companies.
Parewell, sweet playfellow; pray thou for us,
And good luck grant thee thy Demetrius! -
Keep word, Lysander: we must starve our sight
From lovers' food, till morrow deep midnight.

[Exit Hermia.
Lys. I will, my Hermia.- Helena, adieu :
As you on him, Demetrius dote on you ! [Erit Lys.

Hel. How happy some, o'er other some can be !
Through Athens I am thought as fair as she.
But what of that! Demetrius thinks not so ;
He will not know what all but he do know.
And as he errs, doting on Hermia's eyes,
So I, admiring of his qualities.
Things base and vile, holding no quantity,
Love can transpose to form and dignity.
Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind;
And therefore is wing'd Cupid painted blind;
Nor hath Love's mind of any judgment taste ;
Wings, and no eyes, figure unheedy haste :

Then to tell him of fair Hermia's flight:

And therefore is love said to be a child,
Because in choice he is so oft beguiled.
As waggish boys in game themselves

forswear,
So the boy Love is perjured every where :
Por er9 Demetrius look'd on Hermia's eyne,
He hail'd down onths, that he was only mine;
And when this hail some heat from Hermis felt,
So he dissolved, and showers of oaths did melt.

to the wood will he, to-morrow night,
Pursue her: and for this intelligence,
If I have thanks, it is a dear expense :
But herein mean I to enrich my pain,
To bave his sight thither, and back again. [Bxit.

I will

SCENE 11.- The same. A Room in a Cottage.
Enter SNUG, BOTTOM, FLUTE, SNOUT,

QUINCE, and STARVELING.
Quin. Is all our company here?

Bot. You were best to call them generally, man by
man, according to the scrip.

Quin. Here is the scroll of every man's name, which is thought it, through all Athens, to play in our interlude before the duke and duchess, on his wedding-day at night.

Bol. First, good Peter Quince, say what the play treats on; then read the names of the actors; anit so grow to a point.

Quin. Marry, our plny is – The most lamentable comedy, and most cruel death of Pyramus and Thishs.

Bot. A very good piece of work, I assure you, and a merry.--Now, good Peter Quince, call forth your actors by the scroll. Masters, spread yourselves.

Quin. Answer as call you: Nick Bottom, the veaver. Bot. Ready: Name what part I am for, and proceeil. quin. You, Nick Bottom, are set down for Pyramus. Bot. What is Pyramus ? a lover, or a tyrant ! Quin. A lover, that kills himself most gallantly for love.

Bol. That will ask some tears in the true performing of it: If I do it, let the nudience look to their eyes will more storms, I will condole in some measure. To the rest Yet my chief humour is for a tyrant : I could play Ercles rarely, or a part to tear a cat in, to make all Split. Met

"The raging rocks,
" With shivering shocks,
"Shall break the locks

“ of prison-gates :
" And Phibbus' car
“Shall shine from far,
"And make and mar

" The foolish fates."
This was lofty ! - Now name the rest of the players. -
This is Ercles' vein, a tyrant's vein; a lover is more
condoling:

Quin. Francis Flute, the bellows-mender.
Flu. Here, Peter Quince.
Quin. You must take Thisby on you.
Flu. What is Thisby? a wandering knight!
Quin. It is the lady that Pyramus must love.

Flu. Nay, faith, let me not play a woman ; I have 3 beard coming.

Quin. That's all one ; you shall play it in a mask, and you may speak as small as you will.

Bot. An I may hide my face, let me play Thisby too! I'll speak in a monstrous little voice,- Thisne, Thisne, -Ah, Pyramus, my lover dear; thy Thisby dear : and lady dear!

Quin. No, no; you must play Pyramus, and, Flute, you Thisby.

Bot. Well, proceed.
Quin. Robin Starveling, the tailor.
štar. Here, Peter Quince.

Quin. Robin Starveling, you must play Thisby's mother.- Tom Snout, the tinker.

Snout. Here, Peter Quince.

Quin. You, Pyramus's father; myself, Thisby's fa. ther; - Snug, the joiner, you the lion's part :-and, I hope, here is a play fitted.

Snug. Have you the lion's part written ? pray you, if it be, give it me, for I am slow of study.

Quin. You may do it extempore, for it is nothing but roaring.

Bot. Let me play the lion too: I will roar, that! will do any man's heart good to hear me; I will roar, that I will make the duke say, Let him roar again, Let him roar again.

Quin. An you should do it too terribly, you would fright the duchess and the ladies, that they would shriek, and that were enough to hang us all.

All. That would hang us every mother's son.
Bot. I grant you, friends, ir that you should fright