We, Hermia, like two artificial gods, Her. I am amazed at your passionate words: Or I will shake thee from me, like a serpent. [is this, Lys. Thy love? out, tawny Tartar, out! 15 Hate me! wherefore? O me! what news, my Hel. Have you not set Lysander, as in scorn, 20 Why, then you left me, - the gods forbid! To follow me, and praise my eyes and face? Her. I understand not what you mean by this. In earnest, shall I say? Lys. Ay, by my life; And never did desire to see thee more. Her. Ome! youjuggler! oh, youcanker-blossom! 30 Hel. Fine, i'faith! Have you no modesty, no maiden shame, Hel. Ay, do, persever, counterfeit sad looks, 35 Her. Puppet! why so? Ay, that way goes the game. Make mouths upon me when I turn my back; Her. Sweet, do not scorn her so. Dem. If she cannot retreat, I can compel. Lys. Thou canst compel no more than she entreat; Thy threats have no more strength, than her weak Now I perceive that she hath made compare 40 And are you grown so high in his esteem, How low am I, thou painted maypole? speak; But that my nails can reach unto thine eyes. I have no gift at all in shrewislimess; I am a right maid for my cowardice; Let her not strike me: You, perhaps, may think, Helen, I love thee; by my life, I do; [prayers. 50 Because she's something lower than myself, I swear by that which I will lose for thee, To prove him false, that says I love thee not. Dem. I say, I love thee more than he can do. Lys. If thou say so, withdraw, and prove it too. Dem. Quick, come, Her. Lysander, whereto tends all this? Lys. Away, you Ethiop! Dem. No, no, sir, he'll Seem to break loose; take on, as you would follow; Lys. Hang off, thou cat, thou burr, vile thing, let loose; That I can match her. Her. Lower! hark, again. Hel. Good Hermia, do not be so bitter with me. I evermore did love you, Hermia; 55 Did ever keep your counsels, never wrong'd you; I told him of your stealth unto this wood: 60 To strike me, spurn me, nay, to kill me too: * That is, needles. * Meaning, such a subject of light merri- And And follow you no further: Let me go: You see how simple and how fond1 I am. [you Her. Why get you gone: Who is't that hinders Hel. With Demetrius. [lena. Lys. Be not afraid, she shall not harm thee, He- her part. To take from thence all error, with his might, 5 And back to Athens shall the lovers wend, Hel. O, when she's angry, sheis keen and shrewd; 10 From monster's view, and all things shall be peace. Puck. My fairy lord, this must be done with haste; Her. Little again? nothing but low and little? - For night's swift dragons cut the clouds full fast, Why will you suffer her to flout me thus? Lys. Get you gone, you dwarf; Dem. You are too officious, In her behalf that scorns your services. Lys. Now she holds me not; 1 And yonder shines Aurora's harbinger; Dem. Follow? nay, I'll go with thee, cheek by Hel. I will not trust you, I; Her. I am amaz'd, and know not what to say. Ob. This is thy negligence: still thou mistak'st, Or else committ'st thy knaveries willingly. 35 Puck. Up and down, up and down; Puck. Believe me, king of shadows, I mistook. 40 Lys. I will be with thee straight. Did not you tell me, I should know the man By the Athenian garments he had on? And so far blameless proves my enterprize, And so far-am I glad it did so sort', As this their jangling I esteem a sport. [fight: Ob. Thou seest, these lovers seek a place to Puck. Follow me then To plainer ground. [Lys. goes out, as following Dem. Enter Demetrius. 45 Dem. Lysander! speak again. Thou run-away, thou coward, art thou fled? 50 Telling the bushes that thou look'st for wars, child; I'll whip thee with a rod: He is defil'd, 55 Dem. Yea; art thou there? Puck. Follow my voice; we'll try no manhood 160 When I come where he calls, then he is gone, That is, foolish. i. e. you diminutive of the creation, you reptile. Knot-grass was anciently supposed to prevent the growth of any animal or child. to happen. i. e. salutiferous. 6 To aby is to pay dear for, to suffer. bi. e. The Bot. Give me your neif, monsieur Mustard-seed. Queen. COME, sit thee down upon this flowery 45 Bot. Nothing, good monsieur, but to help ca bed, While I thy amiable cheeks do coy', And stick musk-roses in thy sleek smooth head, And kiss thy fair large ears, my gentle joy. Pease. Ready. Bot. Scratch my head, Pease-blossom.-Where's monsieur Cobweb? Cob. Ready. valero Cobweb to scratch. I must to the barber's, monsieur; for, methinks, I aın marvellous hairy about the face: and I am such a tender ass, if my hair do but tickle me, I must scratch. 50 Queen. What, wilt thou hear some musick, my sweet love? Bot. I have a reasonable good ear in musick: let us have the tongs and the bones'. Queen. Or, say, sweet love, what thou desir'st Bot. Monsieur Cobweb; good monsieur, get 55 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. your weapons in your hand, and kill me a redhip'd 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 60 Queen. I have a venturous fairy that shall seek not; would be loth to have you overflown with al The squirrel's hoard, and fetch thee new nuts. Bot. Bot. I had rather have a handful, or two, of dried pease. But, I pray you, let none of your people stir me; I have an exposition of sleep come upon me. [arms. And will, to-morrow midnight, solemnly, Puck. Fairy king, attend and mark; Queen. Sleep thou, and I will wind thee in my 5 Wedded, with Theseus, all in jollity. Enrings the barky fingers of the elm. O, how I love thee! how I dote on thee! Oberon advances. Enter Puck. Ob. Welcome, good Robin. Seest thou this sweet sight? Her dotage now I do begin to pity. For she his hairy temples then had rounded 10 15 25 And that same dew, which sometime on the buds 20 [Touching her eyes with an herb. See, as thou was wont to see: Hath such force and blessed power. sleep. 30 35 40 45 50 Titania, musick call; and strike more dead Ob. Then, my queen, in silence sad2, Queen. Come, my lord; and in our flight, Enter Theseus, Egeus, Hippolita, and train. The. Go, one of you, find out the forester ; For now our observation is perform'd3: Dispatch, I say, and find the forester.- Of hounds and echo in conjunction. Hip. I was with Hercules, and Cadmus, once, When in a wood of Crete they bay'd the bear With hounds of Sparta: never did I hear Such gallant chiding'; for, besides the groves, The skies, the fountains, every region near Seem'd all one mutual cry; I never heard So musical a discord, such sweet thunder. [kind, The. My hounds are bred out of the Spartan So flewd, 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 bells, Each under each. A cry more tuneable Was never halloo'd to, nor cheer'd with horn, In Crete, in Sparta, nor in Thessaly: [are these? Judge, when you hear. But, soft; what nymphs Ege. My lord, this is my daughter here asleep; And this, Lysander; this Demetrius is; This Helena, old Nedar's Helena: I wonder at their being here together. [servé The. No doubt, they rose up early, to obThe rite of May; and hearing our intent, Came here in grace of our solemnity.But, speak, Egeus; is not this the day That Hermia should give answer of her choice? Ege. It is, my lord. The. Go, bid the huntsmen wake them with their horns. Horns, and shout within; Demetrius, Lysander, 3 1 That is, disperse yourselves. 2-i. e. grave or sober. Meaning, the honours due to the morn Vaward is an obsolete word signifying the fore-part. ing of May. i.e. so mouthed. Flews are the large chaps of a deep-mouthed hound. Chiding means sound. Lys. Dem. Why then, we are awake: let's follow And, by the way, let us recount our dreams.[him; Lys. Pardon, my lord. [They all kneel to The The. I pray you all, stand up. [seus. I know, you two are rival enemies; 5 To sleep by hate, and fear no enmity? Lys. My lord, I shall reply amazedly, I came with Hermia hither: our intent [be Was, to be gone from Athens, where we might Fair Helena in 1 fancy following me. 10 [Exeunt. As they go out, Bottom awakes. Bot. When my cue comes, call me, and I will answer:-my next is, Most fair Pyramus. Hey, ho!-Peter Quince! Flute the bellowsmender! Snout the tinker! Starveling! God's my life! stol'n 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 if he go about to expound this dream. Me thought I was there is no man can tell what. you have 15 Methought I was, and methought I had, -But man is but a patch'd fool', if he will offer to say what methought I had. The eye of man hath not heard, the ear of man hath not seen; man's hand is not able to taste, his tongue to conceive, nor his heart to report, what my dream was. I will get Peter Quince to write a ballad of this dream: it shall be call'd 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 25 the more gracious, I shall sing it at her death. [Ex. SCENE II. But, my good lord, I wot not by what power, The. Fair lovers, you are fortunately met : For in this temple, by-and-by with us, Hel. So methinks: And I have found Demetrius like a jewel, Dem. Are you sure That we are awake?--It seems to me, [eye, 20 30 35 40 45 Athens. Quince's House. Enter Quince, Flute, Snout, and Starveling. Quin. Have you sent to Bottom's house? is he come home yet? Star. He cannot be heard of. Out of doubt he is transported. Flu. If he come not, then the play is marr'd; it goes not forward, doth it? Quin. It is not possible: you have not a man in all Athens, able to discharge Pyramus, but he. Flu. No; he hath simply the best wit of any handy-craft man in Athens. Quin. Yea, and the best person too: and he is a very paramour for a sweet voice. Flu. You must say, paragon: a paramour is, God bless us! a thing of nought. Enter Snug. temple, and there is two or three lords and ladies Snug. Masters, the duke is coming from the more married: if our sport had gone forward, we had all been made men'. Flu. O sweet bully Bottom! Thus hath he lost 50 six-pence a-day during his life; he could not have 'scaped six-pence a-day: an the duke had not given him sixpence a-day for playing Pyramus, I'll be hang'd; he would have deserv'd it: sixpence a-day, in Pyramus, or nothing. That yet we sleep, we dream. --Do not you think, hearts? The duke was here, and bid us follow him? Her. Yea; and my father. Hel And Hippolita. Lys. And he did bid us follow to the temple. 1 Quin. Bottom!- most courageous day! O most happy hour! 60 Bot. Masters, I am to discourse wonders: but ask me not what; for, if I tell you, I am no true Fancy here means love or affection. 2 See the note in p. 175. i. e. a fool in a party-coloured coat. 4 This should have been after death, i. e. after having died as Pyramus he would come again and sing the song. Meaning, we had all made our fortunes. Athenian. |