metrius, Thereby to have defeated you and me: You, of your wife, and me, of my consent; Of my consent that she should be your wife. Dem. My lord, fair Helen told me of their stealth,

Of this their purpose hither, to this wood;
And I in fury hither follow'd them;
Fair Helena in fancy following me.

But, my good lord, I wot not by what power
(But by some power it is), my love to Hermia,
Melted as doth the snow, seems to me now
As the remembrance of an idle gawd,
Which in my childhood I did dote upon:
And all the faith, the virtue of my heart,
The object, and the pleasure of mine eye,
Is only Helena. To her, my lord,
Was I betroth'd ere I saw Hermia:
But, like in sickness, did I loathe this food:
But, as in health, come to my natural taste,
Now do I wish it, love it, long for it,
And will for ever be more true to it.

The. Fair lovers, you are fortunately met:
Of this discourse we more will hear anon.-
Egeus, will overbear your will:
For in the temple, by and by with us,
These couples shall eternally be knit.
And, for the morning now is something worn,
Our purpos'd hunting shall be set aside.-
Away, with us, to Athens: Three and three,
We'll hold a feast in great solemnity.-
Come, Hippolyta.

[Exeunt THE. HIP. EGE. and train. Dem. These things seem small and undistinguishable.

Like far-off mountains turned into clouds.
Her. Methinks, I see these things with parted
When every thing seems double. [eye,
So methinks:

Hel.

And I have found Demetrius like a jewel, Mine own, and not mine own.

Dem.

Are you sure

That we are awake? It seems to me,
That yet we sleep, we dream.-Do not you think,
The duke was here, and bid us follow him?
Her. Yea; and my father.

Hel.

Quin. Have you sent to Bottom's house? is he come home yet? [he is transported. Star. He cannot be heard of. Out of doubt, Flu. If he come not, then the play is marred; 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 handicraft 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.

Snug. Masters, the duke is coming from the temple, and there is two or three lords and ladies more married: if our sport had gone forward, we had all been made men.

Flu. O sweet bully Bottom! Thus hath he lost six-pence a-day during his life; he could not have 'scaped sixpence a-day: an the duke had not given him sixpence a-day for playing Pyramus, I'll be hang'd; he would have deserved it: sixpence a-day, in Pyramus, or nothing. Enter BOTTOM.

Bot. Where are these lads? where are these hearts? [most happy hour! Quin. Bottom!-0 most courageous day! O Bot. Masters, I am to discourse wonders: but ask me not what; for, if I tell you, I am no true Athenian. will tell you every thing, right as it fell out.

Quin. Let us hear, sweet Bottom.

Bot. Not a word of me. All that I will tell you, is, that the duke hath dined: Get your apparel together; good strings to your beards, new ribbons to your pumps; meet presently at the palace; every man look o'er his part; for, the short and the long is, our play is preferred. In any case, let Thisby have clean linen; and let not him, that plays the lion, pare his nails, for they shall hang out for the lion's claws. And, most dear actors, eat no onions, nor garlick, for we are to utter sweet breath; and I do not doubt, but to hear them say, it is a sweet comedy. No more words; away; go, away. [Exeunt.

Hip. 'Tis strange, my Theseus, that these lovers speak of.

[believe

Such tricks hath strong imagination;
That, if it would but apprehend some joy,
It comprehends some bringer of that joy;
Or, in the night, imagining some fear,
How easy is a bush supposed a bear?

Hip. But all the story of the night told over,
And all their minds transfigur'd so together,
More witnesseth than fancy's images,
And grows to something of great constancy;
But, howsoever, strange and admirable.

Enter LYSANDER, DEMETRIUS, HERMIA, and HELENA.

The. Here come the lovers, full of joy and

mirth.

Joy, gentle friends! joy, and fresh days of love
Accompany your hearts!
Lys.
More thau to us

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 usual manager of mirth?
What revels are in hand? Is there no play,
To ease the anguish of a torturing hour?
Call Philostrate.

Philost.

Here, mighty Thesens.

The. Say, what abridgment have you for this evening?

What mask? what musick? How shall we beguile The lazy time, if not with some delight?

Philost. There is a brief, how many sports are! ripe;

Make choice of which your highness will see
first.
Giving a paper.
The. [Reads.] The battle with the Centaurs, to be
By an Athenian eunuch to the harp. [sung
We'll none of that: that have I told my love,
In glory of my kinsman Hercules.

The riot of the tipsy Bacchanals,
Tearing the Thracian singer in their rage.
That is an old device; and it was play'd
When I from Thebes came last a conqueror.
The thrice three Muses mourning for the death
Of learning, late deceas'd in beggary.
That is some satire, keen, and critical,
Not sorting with a nuptial ceremony.

A tedious brief scene of young Pyramus,
And his love Thisbe: very tragical mirth.
Merry and tragical! Tedious and brief!
That is, hot ice, and wonderous strange snow.
How shall we find the concord of this discord?
Philost. A play there is, my lord, some 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 saw rehears'd, I must confess,
Made mine eyes water; but more merry tears
The passion of loud laughter never shed.

The. What are they that do play it?
Philost. Hard-handed men, that work
Athens here,

in

Which never labour'd in their minds till now;
And now have toil'd their unbreath'd memories
With this same play against your nuptial.
The. And we will hear it.
Philost.
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 sport in their intents,
Extremely stretch'd,and conn'd with cruel pain,

For never any thing can be amiss,
When simpleness and duty tender it.
Go, bring them in:-and take your places, ladies.
[Exit PHILOSTRATE.
Hip. I love not to see wretchedness o'ercharg'd,
And duty in his service perishing [thing.

The. Why, gentle sweet, you shall see no such
Hip. He says they can do nothing in this kind.
The. The kinder we to give them thanks for
nothing.

Our sport shall be, to take what they mistake:
And what poor duty cannot do,

Noble respect takes it in might, not merit.
Where I have come, great clerks have purposed
To greet me with premeditated welcomes;
Where I have seen them shiver and look pale,
Make periods in the midst of sentences,
Throttle their practis'd accent in their fears,
And, in conclusion, dumbly have broke off,
Not paying me a welcome: Trust me, sweet,
Out of this silence, yet, I pick'd a welcome;
And in the modesty of fearful duty

I read as much, as from the rattling tongue
Of saucy and audacious eloquence.
Love, therefore, and tongue-tied simplicity,
In least speak most, to my capacity.
Enter PHILOSTRATE.

Philost. So please your grace, the prologue is addrest.

The. Let him approach. [Flourish of trumpets. Enter Prologue.

Prol. If we offend, it is with our good will. That you should think we come not to offend, But with good-will. To shew our simple skill, That is the true beginning of our end. Consider then, we come but in despite.

We do not come as minding to content you, Our true intent is. All for your delight,

We are not here. That you should here repent you. The actors are at hand; and, by their show, You shall know all, that you are like to know.

The. This fellow doth not stand upon points. Lys. He hath rid his prologue, like a rough colt, he knows not the stop. A good moral, my lord: It is not enough to speak, but to speak true.

Hip. Indeed he hath played on this prologue like a child on a recorder; a sound, but not in government.

The. His speech was like a tangled chain; nothing impaired, but all disordered. Who is next? Enter PYRAMUS and THISBE, Wall, Moonshine, and Lion, as in dumb show.

Prol. "Gentles, perchance, you wonder at this show; [plain, "But wonder on, till truth make all things "This man is Pyramus, if you would know; "This beauteous lady Thisby is, certain, "This man,with lime and rough-cast,doth present "Wall, that vile wall which did these lovers

sunder; [content "And through wall's chink, poor souls, they are "To whisper; at the which let no man wonder. "This man, with lantern, dog, and bush of thorn, "Presenteth moonshine; for, if you will know, "By moon-shine did these lovers think no scorn "To meet at Ninus' tomb, there, there to woo. "This grissly beast, which by name lion hight, "The trusty Thisby, coming first by night, "Did scare away, or rather did affright: "And, as she fled, her mantle she did fall;

"Which lion vile with bloody mouth did stain: "Anon comes Pyramus, sweet youth, and tall, "And finds his trusty Thisby's mantle slain: