Her. Be it so, Lysander: find you out a bed, For I upon this bank will rest my head. Lys. One turf shall serve as pillow for us both; One heart, one bed, two bosoms, and one troth. Her. Nay, good Lysander; for my sake,my dear, Lye further off, yet, do not lye so near. Ly. O, take the sense, sweet, of my innocence; Love takes the meaning in love's conference. Ι mean, that my heart unto yours is knit; So that but one heart we can make of it: Her. Lysander riddles very prettily:- Lys. Amen, amen, to that fair pray'r, say I; Enter Puck. Puck. Through the forest have I gone, 10 Lys. And run through fire I will, for thy sweet 15 Is that vile name, to perish on my sword! 20 Hel. Do not say so, Lysander; say not so: What though he love your Hermia? Lord, what though? Yet Hermia still loves you: then be content. Who will not change a raven for a dove? When, at your hands, did I deserve this scorn? 35 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 Athenian found I none, [Exit. Hel. O, wilt thou darkling leave me? do not so. For she hath blessed and attractive eyes. [tears: 45 55 But fare you well: perforce I must confess, And never may'st thou come Lysander near! Of all be hated, but the most of me! To pluck this crawling serpent from my breast! 2 › Beshrew means the same as if she had said, "Now ill befal my manners, &c." i. e. My acceptableness. i. e. What then? Meaning, that he had more of the spirit of a gentleman. Methought Methought, a serpent eat my heart away, Alack, where are you? speak, an if you hear; [Exit. 30 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 the more better assurance tell them, that 35 1 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 40 in eight and eight, Snout, Will not the ladies be afeard of the lion? 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. 45 50 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, 155 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 other men are:-and there, indeed, let him name his name; and tell them plainly, he is Snug the joiner, hard things; that is, to bring the moon-light into a chamber: for you know, Pyramus and Thisby meet by noon-light. Snug. Doth the moon shine that night we play our play? Bot. A calendar, a calendar! look in the almanack; find out moon-shine, 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 thorns and a lanthorn, and say, he comes to disfigure, or to present, the person of moonshine. Then, there is another thing: we must have a wall in the great chamber; for Pyramus and Thisby, says the story, did talk through 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 plaster, or some lome, or some rough-cast, about him, to signify wall; or let him hold his fingers thus, and through that cranny shall Pyramus and Thisby whisper. Quin. If that may be, then all is well. Come, sit down, every mother's son, and rehearse your parts. Pyramus, you begin: when you have spoken your speech, enter into that brake'; and so every one according to his cue. Enter Puck behind. Puck. What hempen home-spuns have wę swaggering here, So near the cradle of the fairy queen? Pyr. " -odours savours sweet, "So doth thy breath, my dearest Thisby dear.— "But, hark, a voice! stay thou but here a whit', And by and by I will to thee appear." [Exit Pyramus, Puck. A stranger Pyramus than e'er play'd here! [Aside. Exit. This. Must I speak now? Quin. Ay, marry, must you: for you must un60derstand, he goes but to see a noise that he heard, land is to come again, 2 'This adjuration is frequently used by our author. i. e. by our Ladykin, or little lady. lous means dangerous, Brake anciently signified a thicket or bush. i. e. a little while. 3 Par This! This. "Most radiant Pyramus, most lily-white) "of hue, "Of colour like the red-rose on triumphant brier, "Most briskly juvenal', and eke most lovely Jew, "As true as truest horse, that yet would never "tire, "I'll meet thee, Pyramus, at Ninny's tomb." 2 5 Quin. Ninus' toinb, man: Why you must not] speak that yet; that you answer to Pyramus: you speak all your part at once, cues and all.-Pyra-10 mus enter; your cue is past; it is, never tire. Re-enter Puck and Bottom with an ass's head. This. “O—As true as truest horse, that yet "would never tire." Pyr. “If I were fair, Thisby, I were only thine:"15 Quin. Omonstrous! O strange! we are haunted! Pray, masters! fly, masters! help! [Exeunt Clowns. Pack. I'll follow you, I'll lead you about a round, Through bog, through bush, through brake, through brier: So is mine eye enthralled to thy shape; Bot. Methinks, mistress, you should have little reason for that: And yet, to say the truth, reason and love keep little coinpany together now-a-days: The more the pity, that some honest neighbours will not make them friends. Nay, I can gleek, upon occasion. Queen. Thou art as wise, as thou art beautiful. Bot. Not so, neither: but if I had wit enough to get out of this wood, I have enough to serve mine own turn. Queen. Out of this wood do not desire to go; Thou shalt remain here, whether thou wilt or no. am a spirit, of no common rate; I The summer still doth tend upon my state, 20 And they shall fetch thee jewels from the deep, Sometime a horse I'll be, sometime a hound, Re-enter Snout. 30 35 Bot. I see their knavery: this is to make an ass The ousel-cock, so black of hue, The throsil with his note so true, [Sings. The finch, the sparrow, and the lark, The plain-song cuckow gray, Whose note full many a man doth mark, And dares not answer, nay: 1451 Enter four fairies. 1 Fair. Ready. 2 Fair. And Í. 3 Fair. And 1. 4 Fair. And I: where shall we go? 2 Fair. Hail! 3 Fair. Hail! Bot. I cry your worship's mercy heartily, Bot. I shall desire you of more acquaintance, 50 good master Cobweb: If I cut my finger, I shall make bold with you.-Your name, honest gentleman ? for, indeed, who would set his wit to so foolish a55 Squash your mother, and to master Peascod, your bird? Who would give the bird the lye, though he cry cuckow, never so. Queen. I pray thee, gentle mortal, sing again: Mine ear is much enamour'd of thy note, father. Good master Pease-blossom, I shall desire you of more acquaintance too.-Your name, I beseech you, sir? Mus. Mustard-seed. i. e. young man. 2 A cue, in the language of the stage, is the last words of the preceding speech, and serves as a hint to him who is to speak next. i. e. afraid. "The ous cock is generally understood to be the cock blackbird. The throstle is the thrush. i. e. deceive, or beguile. A squash is an unripe peascod. Bot. Good master Mustard-seed, I know your patience well: that same cowardly, giant-like, ox-beef hath devoured many a gentleman of your house: I promise you your kindred hath made my eyes water ere now. I desire you, more acquaintance, good master Mustard-seed. Queen. Come, wait upon him; lead him to my bower. The moon, methinks, looks with a watery eye; And when she weeps, weeps every little flower, Lamenting some enforced chastity. Tie up my love's tongue, bring him silently. SCENE II. Enter Oberon. [Exeunt. Ob. I wonder if Titania be awaked; Then, what it was that next came in her eye, Which she must doat on in extremity. Enter Puck. Here comes my messenger,-How now,mad spirit: Puck. My mistress with a monster is in love. An ass's now!' I fixed on his head; Anon, his Thisby must be answered. 5 And the Athénian woman by his side; Ob. Stand close; this is the same Athenian. The sun was not so true unto the day, As he to me: Would he have stol'n away 15 From sleeping Hermia? I'll believe as soon, This whole earth may be bor'd; and that the moon May through the centre creep, and so displease Her brother's noon-tide with the Antipodes. It cannot be, but thou hast murder'd him; 20 So should a murderer look, so dead, so grim. Dem. So should the murder'd look and so should I, Pierc'd through the heart with your stern cruelty: Yet you, the murderer, look as bright, as clear, 25 As yonder Venus in her glimmering sphere. 30 [spy, 35 And forth my minnock comes: When they him 40 45 Her. What's this to my Lysander? where is he? Of maider's patience. Hast thou slain him then? I am not guilty of Lysander's blood; Her. I pray thee, tell me then that he is well. Dem. There is no following her in this fierce Here, therefore, for a while I will remain. [vein: 50 So sorrow's heaviness doth heavier grow, For debt that bankrupt sleep doth sorrow owe; Which now in some slight measure it will pay, If for his tender here I make some stay. Ob. This falls out better than I could devise. Puck. I took him sleeping-that is finish'd too, 1 [Lies down. Ob. What hast thou done? thou hast mistaken By patience is meant, standing still in a mustard-pot to be eaten with the beef, on which it was a constant attendant. Meaning, what frolick of the night? i. e. low, paltry fellows. * i. e. a head. Minnekin, now minx, is a nice trifling girl. Minnock is apparently a word of contempt; it is more probable that Shakspeare wrote mimmick or player. i. e. company. 'i. e. closed. shut the door. • Touch, in To latch the door, in Staffordshire, and the adjoining counties, is, to our author's time, was the same with our exploit, or rather stroke. i.e. mistaken. Of Of thy misprision' must perforce ensue A million fail, confounding oath on oath. Ob. About the wood go swifter than the wind, Sink in apple of his eye! espy, Let her shine as gloriously Re-enter Puck. Puck. Captain of our fairy band, [Exit. Hel. Ospight! O hell! I see you all are bent 4 Lys. You are unkind, Demetrius; be not so; 25 Pleading for a lover's fee; Shall we their fond pageant see? Lord, what fools these mortals be! When truth kills truth, O devilish-holy fray! Your vows, to her and me, put in two scales, Lys. I had no judgment, when to her I swore. To what, my love, shall I compare thine eyne? That is, mistake. 2 i. e. all love-sick. or qua ity. i. e. Harass, or torment.. ter a circle; here he means the stars. 135 Hel. Never did mockers waste more idle breath, Lys. Helen, it is not so. 6 Dem. Disparage not the faith thou dost not know, Her. Dark night, that from the eye his function It pays the hearing double recompense: Thou art not by mine eye, Lysander, found. 40 Mine ear, I thank it, brought me to thy sound. But why unkindly didst thou leave me so? Lys. Why should he stay, whom love doth press to go? 45 Her. What love could press Lysander from my side? [bide? Her. You speak not as you think; it cannot be, Is all the counsel that we two have shar'd, Alf school-day friendship, childhood innocence? |