Like to Lyfander, fometime, frame thy tongue,
Then fir Demetrius up with bitter wrong;
And fometime rail thou, like Demetrius;

And from each other, look, thou lead them thus;
'Till o'er their brows death-counterfeiting fleep
With leaden legs and batty wings doth creep;
Then crufh 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.
When they next wake, all this derifion
Shall feem a dream, and fruitless vifion;
And back to Athens fhall the lovers wend
With league, whofe date 'till death fhall never end.
Whiles I in this affair do thee employ,

I'll to my Queen, and beg her Indian boy :
And then I will her charmed eye release

From monster's view, and all things fhall be peace.
Puck. My fairy Lord, this must be done with hafte,
For night's fwift dragons cut the clouds full faft,
And yonder fhines Aurora's harbinger;

At whofe approach, ghofts wandering here and there
Troop home to church-yards; damned fpirits all,
That in crofs-ways and floods have burial,
Already to their wormy beds are gone;
For fear left day fhould look their fhames upon,
They wilfully exile themfelves from light;
And muft for aye confort with black-brow'd night.
Ob. But we are fpirits of another fort;
I with the morning-light have oft made sport;
And, like a forefter, the groves may tread,
Ev'n till the eastern gate, all fiery red,
Opening on Neptune, with fair-bleffed beams
Turns into yellow gold his falt green freams.
But, notwithstanding, hafte; make no delay;
We may effect this bafinefs yet ere day. [Exit Oberon.
Puck. Up and down, up and down,

I will lead them up and down:

I am fear'd in field and town.

Vol. I.

Goblin, lead them up and down.

Here comes one.

Enter Lyfander.

Lyf. Where art thou, proud Demetrius? fpeak thou now.
Puck. Here, villain, drawn and ready. Where art thou?
Lv. I will be with thee straight.

Puck. Follow me then

To plainer ground.

[Lyf. goes out, as following Dem.

Enter Demetrius.

Dem. Lyfander, speak again;

"Thou run away, thou coward, art thou fled?
Speak in fome bufh: where doft thou hide thy head?
Puck. Thou coward, art thou bragging to the ftars,
Telling the bushes that thou look'ft for wars,

And wilt not come? come, recreant; come, thou child,
I'll whip thee with a rod; he is defil'd,

That draws a fword on thee.

Dem. Yea, art thou here?

Puck. Follow my voice, we'll try no manhood here.

Lyfander comes back.

[Exeunt.

Ly. He goes before me, and still dares me on;
When I come where he calls me, then he's gone.
The villain is much lighter-heel'd, than I:
I follow'd faft, but fafter he did fly;
That fall'n am I in dark uneven way,

And here will reft me. Come, thou gentle day:

[Lies down. For if but once thou fhew me thy gray light, I'll find Demetrius, and revenge this fpight.

Enter Puck and Demetrius.

Puck. Ho, ho, ho, coward, why com'ft thou not? Dem. Abide me, if thou dar'ft: for well I wot, Thou runn'ft before me, shifting every place; And dar'ft not ftand, nor look me in the face, Where art thou?

Puch.

Puck. Come thou hither, I am here.

Dem. Nay, then thou mock'st me; thou shalt buy this dear,

If ever I thy face by day-light fee.

Now, go thy way; faintnefs conftraineth me
To measure out my length on this cold bed.
By day's approach look to be vifited.

Enter Helena.

[Lies down.

Hel. O weary night, Olong 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 he comes, curft and fad:

Cupid is a knavish lad,

Thus to make poor females mad.

I

Enter Hermia.

Her. Never fo weary, never fo in woe,

[Sleeps.

Bedabbled with the dew, and torn with briars, 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.

Heav'ns fhield Lyfander, 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'ft, thou tak'ft

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

That every man should take his own,

In your waking fhall be shown.

Jack fhall have Jill, naught fhall go ill,

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

[Exit Puck. [They fleep.

A C T IV.

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.

Bots Where's Peafebloom?

Peafe. Ready.

Bot. Scratch my head, Peafebloffem. Where's monfitur Cobweb?

Ccb. Ready.

Bot. Monfieur Cobweb, good monficur, get your weapons in your hand, and kill me a red-hipt humblebee on the top of a thiftle; 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 y e you over-flown with a honey-bag, fignior. Where's monieur Muftardfeed.

Muft. Ready.

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

Muf. 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, myfweet love? Bot. I have a reasonable good ear in mufick; let us have the tongs and the bones.

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 ftir 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 entwilt 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 sweet 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 tɔ be ftill upon duty. am convinc'd, the Poet meant ;

and be all ways arʊay.

i. c. difperfe yourselves, and fcout out feverally, in your watch, that danger approach us from no quarter.

(23) So doth the sodbine the fweet boneysuckle

Gently entwift; the female ivy fo

Enrings the barky fingers of the elm.) What does the wood bine entwift? Why, the boneyfuckle. But ever till now the honey. fuckle 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 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.

G 3

Mr. Warburton.

And