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And the country proverb known,
That every man fhould take his own,
In your waking fhall be shown;
Jack fhall have Jill;

Nought fhall go ill;

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

[Exit PUCK. DEM. HEL. &c. fleep.

ACT IV,

SCENE 1. A Wood.

Enter TITANIA, and BOTTOM, Fairies attending:

OBERON behind, unfeen.

Titania.

COME, fit thee down upon this flowery bed,
While I thy amiable cheeks do coy,
And stick mulk-rofes in thy fleek smooth head,
And kifs thy fair large ears, my gentle joy.
Bot. Where's Peafe-bloffom?

Peafe. Ready.

Bot. Scratch my head, Peafe-bloffom.-Where's monfieur Cobweb?

Cob. Ready.

Bot. Monfieur Cobweb; good monfieur, get your weapons in your hand, and kill me a red-hipp'd 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 would be loth to have you over-flown with a honey-bag, fignior.Where's monficur Mustard-feed?

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Muft. Ready.

Bot. Give me your neif, monfieur Mustard-feed. Pray you, leave your courtesy, good monfieur. Muft. What's

your will?

Bot. Nothing, good monfieur, but to help cavalero Cobweb to scratch. I muft to the barber's, monfieur; for, methinks, I am marvellous hairy about the face: and I am fuch a tender afs, if my hair do but tickle me, I must scratch.

Tita, What, wilt thou hear fome mufic, myfweet love? Bot. I have a reasonable good ear in music: let us have the tongs and the bones.

Tita. Or, fay, fweet love, what thou defir'st to eat. Bot. 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, sweet hay, hath no fellow. Tita. I have a venturous fairy that shall seek 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.

Tita. Sleep thou, and I will wind thee in my arms. Fairies, be gone, and be all ways away.

So doth the woodbine, the fweet honey-fuckle,
Gently entwift, the female ivy fo

Enrings the barky fingers of the elm.

O, how I love thee! how I dote on thee!

OBERON advances. Enter PUCK.

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Ob. Welcome, good Robin. Seeft thou this sweet 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: E 2

For

For fhe his hairy temples then had rounded
With coronet of fresh and fragrant flowers;
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 difgrace 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 ftraight 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;

[Touching her eyes with an herb,

See, as thou waft wont to fee:
Dian's bud o'er Cupid's flower
Hath fuch force and bleffed power.
Titania; wake you, my fweet queen.
Tita. My Oberon! what vifions have I feen!
Methought, I was enamour'd of an ass,

Now, my

Ob. There lies your love.

Tita. How came these things to pass?

O, how mine eyes do loath his vifage now!

Ob. Silence, a while.-Robin, take off this head.→→ Titania, mufic call; and ftrike more dead

Than common sleep, of all these five the sense.

Tita. Mufic, ho! mufic; fuch as charmeth fleep. Puck. Now, when thou wak'it, with thine own

fool's eyes peep.

Ob. Sound, mufic. [Still Mufic.] Come my queen, take hands 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 bless it to all fair profperity:
There fhall the pairs of faithful lovers be
Wedded, with Thefeus, all in jollity.

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

Ol. Then, my queen, in filence fad,
Trip we after the night's fhade:
We the globe can compafs foon,
Swifter than the wand'ring moon.

Tita. Come, my lord; and in our flight,
Tell me how it came this night,

That I fleeping here was found,

With thefe mortals, on the ground. [Exeunt.

[Horns found within.

Enter THESEUS, HIPPOLITA, EGEUS, and Train.

The. Go, one of you, find out the forester ;-
For now our obfervation is perform'd:
And fince we have the vaward of the day,
My love fhall hear the mufic of my hounds.--
Uncouple in the western vailey; go:-
Difpatch, I fay, and find the forefter.--
We will, fair queen, up to the mountain's top,
And mark the mufical confufion

Of hounds and echo in conjunction.

E 3

Hip.

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, befides the groves,
The fkies, the fountains, every region near
Seem'd all one mutual cry: I never heard
So mufical a difcord, fuch sweet thunder.

The. My hounds are bred out of the Spartan kind,
So flew'd, fo fanded; and their heads are hung
With ears that fweep away the morning dew;
Crook-knee'd, and dew-lap'd like Theffalian bulls ;
Slow in purfuit, but match'd in mouth like bells,
Each under each. A cry more tuneable

Was never holla'd to, nor cheer'd with horp,
In Crete, in Sparta, nor in Theffaly:

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Judge, when you hear. But, foft; what nymphs are thefe?

Ege. My lord, this is my daughter here asleep; And this, Lyfander; this Demetrius is; This Helena, old Nedar's Helena :

I wonder of their being here together.

The. No doubt, they rofe up early, to observe
The rite of May; and, hearing our intent,
Came here in grace of our folemnity.

But, fpeak, Egeus; is not this the day

That Hermia fhould give answer of her choice?
Ege. It is, my lord.

The. Go, bid the huntfien wake them with their horns.

Horns, and fhout within. DEMETRIUS, LYSANDER,
HERMIA, and HELENA, wake and flart up.
The. Good-morrow, friends. St Valentine is paft;
Begin thefe wood-birds but to couple now?

Lyf

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