SCENE VII.

Enter Demetrius and Helena running. Hel. Slay, tho' thou kill me, sweet Demetrius! Dem. I charge thee, hence, and do not haunt me thus. Hel. O, wilt thou darkling leave me? do not fo. Dem. Stay, on thy peril; I alone will go.

[Exit Demetrius. Hel. O, I am out of breath in this fond chace; The more my prayer, the lesser is my grace. Happy is Hermia, wheresoe'er she lies; For she hath blessed, and attractive, eyes. How came her eyes so bright? not with salt tears ; If so, my eyes are oftner wash'd than hers: No, no, I am as ugly as a bear; For beasts, that meet me, run away for fear. Therefore no marvel, tho' Demetrius Do (as a monster) fly my prefence thus. What wicked, and dissembling, glass of mine Made me compare with Hermia's sphery eyne ? But who is here : Lysander on the ground: Dead or asleep? I see no blood, no wound: Lysander, if you live, good Sir, awake. Lys. And run thro' fire I will, for thy sweet sake.

(Waking. Transparent Helen, nature here shews art, That through thy bofom makes me see thy heart. Where is Demetrius? Oh, how fit a word Is that vile name, to perish on my

sword! Hel. Do not say so, Lyfander, say not fo; What tho' he love your Hermia, lord, what tho??

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Yet Hermia still loves you; then be content.

Lys. Content with Hermia? no: I do repent
The tedious minutes I with her have spent;
Not Hermia, but Helen now I love::
Who will not change a raven for a dove ?
The will of man is by his reason fway'd;
And reason fays, you are the worthier maid.
Things, growing, are not ripe until their seafon;
So I, being young, 'till now ripe not to reason.
And touching now the point of human skill,
Reason becomes the marshal to my will,
And leads me to your eyes; where I o'erlook
Love's stories, written in love's richest book.

Hel. Wherefore was I to this keen mock’ry born?
When at your hands did I deserve this fcorn?
Is't not enough, is't not enough, young man,
That I did never, no, nor never can,
Deserve a sweet look from Demetrius' eye,
But you must flout my insufficiency?
Good troth, you do me wrong; good footh, you do,
In such disdainful manner me to woo :
But fare you well. Perforce 1 must confess,
I thought you lord of more true gentleness ;
Oh, that a lady of one man refus’d,
Should of another therefore be abus'd!

(Exit.
Lys. She sees not Hermia? Hermia, sleep thou there;
And never may'st thou come Lysander near;
For as a surfeit of the sweetest things
The deepest loathing to the stomach brings;
Or as the heresies, that men do leave,
Are hated most of those they did deceive :

[Exit.

So thou, my.surfeit and my heresie,
Of all be hated, but the most of me!
And all my pow.'rs address your love and might
To honour Helen, and to be her knight!

Her. Help me, Lysander, help me! .do thy best
To pluck this crawling serpent from my

breast :
Ay me, for pity!- what a dream was here?
Lysander, look, how I do quake with fear;
Me-thought, a ferpent eat my heart away;
And you sat smiling at his cruel prey.
Lysander! what remov?d? Lysander, lord !
What, out of hearing gone. no, sound, no word?
Alack, where are you? speak, and if you hear,
Speak, of all loves; I swoon almost, with fear.
No? -then I well perceive, you are not pigh:
Or death, or you, I'll find immediately.

;? [Exit.

ACT III. SCENE I.

The wood.

Enter Quince, Saug, Bottom, Flute, Saout, and Starveling.

The queen of fairies lying asleep.

Вот Том. ARE we all met?

Quin. Pat, pats and here's a marvellous conyenient place for our rehearsal, This greep,plot, shall be your stage, this hawthorn-brake, opp tyring house, and we will do it in action, as we will do it before the duke.

Bot. Peter Quince
Quin. What fay'lt thou, belly Bottom?

Bot. There are things in this comedy of Pyramus and Thisby, that will never please. First, Pyramus must draw a sword to kill himself, which the ladies cannot abide. How answer you that?

SNOUT. By’rlaken, a parlous fear.

STAR, I believe we must leave the killing out, when all is done.

Bot. Not a whit, I have a device to make all well; write me a prologue, and let the prologue seem to say, we will do no harm with our swords, and that Pyramus is not kill'd indeed; and for more better assurance tell them, that I Pyramus am not Pyramus, but Bottom the weaver; this will put them out of fear.

Quin. Well, we will have such a prologue, and it shall. be written in eight and six.

Bot. No, make it two more; let it be written in eight

and eight.

SNOUT. Will not the ladies be afraid of the lion?
STAR. I fear it, I promise you.

Bot. Masters, you ought to consider with yourselves; to bring in, God shield us, a lion among ladies, is a most dreadful thing; for there is not a more fearful wild-fowl than your lion living; and we ought to look to it.

SNOUT. Therefore another prologue must tell, he is not a lion.

Bot. Nay you must name his name, and half his face must be seen through the lion's neck; and he himself must speak through, saying thus, or to the same defect; ladies, or fair ladies, I would wish you, or I would request you, or I would entreat you, not to fear, not to tremble; my life for yours; if you think, I come hither as a lion, it were pity of my life; no, I am no such thing, I am a man as Vul.I.

I

other men are; and there, indeed, let him name his name, and tell them plainly he is Snug che joiner.

SNUG. Well, it shall be fo; but there is two hard things, that is, to bring the moon-light into a chamber; for, you know, Pyramus and Thisby meet by moon-light.

SNUG. Doth the moon shine that night we play our play?

Bot. A kalendar, a kalendar! look in the almanack; find out moon-fhine, find out moon-shine.

Quin. Yes, it doth shine that night.

Bot. Why then you may leave a casement of the great chamber window, where we play, open; and the moon may shine in at the casement.

Quin. Ay, or else one must come in with a bush of thorts and a lanthorn, and say, he comes to disfigure, or to prefent, the person of moon-shine. Then there is another thing; we must have a wall in the great chamber, for Pyramus and Thisby (says the story) did talk thro' the chink of a wall..

Snug. You never can bring in a wall. What say you, Bottom?

Bot. Some man or other must present wall; and let him have some plaister, or some lome, or some rough-cast a. bout him, to signify wall: Or let him hold his fingers thus ; and through the cranny hall Pyramus and Thifby whisper.

Quin. If that may be, then all is well. Come, sit down every mother's fon, and rehearse your parts. Pyramus, you begin; when you have spoken your speech, enter into that brake; and fo every one according to his cue.

S. CE NE II.

Enter Puck behind.
Pues. What hempen homé-spuns bave we fwaggering:

here,