Not paying me a welcome. Trust me, sweet,
Out of this silence yet I picked 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.

Thes. Let him approach. [Flourish of trumpets.

Enter PROLOGUE.

PROLOGUE.

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. Thes. This fellow doth not stand upon points. Lys. He hath rid his prologue like a young 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.

Thes. His speech was like a tangled chain; nothing impaired, but all disordered. Who is next?

Enter PYRAMUS and THISBY, WALL, MOONSHINE, and LION, as in dumb show.

PROLOGUE.

Gentles, perchance you wonder at this show;

But wonder on, till truth make all things plain. This man is Pyramus, if you would know;

This beauteous lady Thisby is, certain; This man, with lime and roughcast, doth present Wall,- that vile wall which did these lovers sunder: And through wall's chink, poor souls, they are content To whisper; at the which let no man wonder.

This man, with lanthorn, dog, and bush of thorn,
Presenteth moonshine: for, if you will know,
By moonshine did these lovers think no scorn

To meet at Ninus' tomb, there, there to woo.
This grizly 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:
Whereat with blade, with bloody blameful blade,
He bravely broached his boiling bloody breast;
And, Thisby, tarrying in mulberry shade,
His dagger drew, and died. For all the rest,
Let lion, moonshine, wall, and lover's twain,
At large discourse, while here they do remain.
[Exeunt PROLOGUE, THISBE, LION, and
MOONSHINE.

Thes. I wonder if the lion be to speak. Dem. No wonder, my lord: one lion many asses do.

WALL.

may, when

In this same interlude, it doth befall,
That I, one Snout by name, present a wall:
And such a wall as I would have you think,
That had in it a crannied hole or chink,
Through which the lovers, Pyramns and Thisby,
Did whisper often very secretly.
This lime, this roughcast, and this stone, doth shew
That I am that same wall; the truth is so:
And this the cranny is, right and sinister,
Through which the fearful lovers are to whisper.

Thes. Would you desire lime and hair to speak better?

Dem. It is the wittiest partition that ever I heard discourse, my lord.

Thes. Pyramus draws near the wall: silence!

Enter PYRAMUS.

PYRAMUS.

O grim-looked night! O night with hue so black!
O night, which ever art, when day is not?

O night, O night, alack, alack, alack,

I fear my Thisby's promise is forgot! And thou, O wall, O sweet, O lovely wall, That stand'st between her father's ground and mine; Thou wall, O wall, O sweet and lovely wall, Shew me thy chink to blink through with mine eyne. [WALL holds up his fingers.

Thanks courteous wall: Jove shield thee well for this!
But what see I? No Thisby do I see.

O wicked wall, through whom I see no bliss;
Cursed be thy stones for thus deceiving me!

Thes. The wall, methinks, being sensible, should curse again.

Bot. No, in truth, sir, he should not. "Deceiving me," is Thisby's cue; she is to enter now, and I am to spy her through the wall. You shall see, it will fall pat as I told you: yonder she

comes.

Enter THISBE.

THISBE.

O wall, full often hast thou heard my moans,
For parting my fair Pyramus and me:
My cherry lips have often kissed thy stones:
Thy stones, with lime and hair, knit up in thee.

PYRAMUS.

I see a voice: now will I to the chink,
To spy an I can hear my Thisby's face.
Thisby!"

THISBE.

My love? thou art my love, I think.

PYRAMUS.

Think what thou wilt, I am thy lover's grace;

And like Limander am I trusty still.

THISBE.

And I, like Helen, till the fates me kill.

PYRAMUS.

Not Shafulus to Procrus, was so true.

THISBE.

As Shafulus to Procrus, I to you.

PYRAMUS.

O, kiss me through the hole of this vile wall.

THISBE.

WALL.

Thus have I, wall, my part discharged so;
And, being done, thus wall away doth go.

[Exeunt WALL, PYRAMUS, and THISBE. Thes. Now is the mural down between the two neighbors.

Dem. No remedy, my lord, when walls are so wilful to hear without warning.

Hip. This is the silliest stuff that ever I heard. Thes. The best in this kind are but shadows: and the worst are no worse, if imagination amend them.

Hip. It must be your imagination then, and not theirs.

Thes. If we imagine no worse of them than they of themselves, they may pass for excellent men Here come two noble beasts in, a man and a lion.

Enter LION and MOONSHINE.

LION.

You, ladies, you, whose gentle hearts do fear
The smallest monstrous mouse that creeps on floor,
May now, perchance, both quake and tremble here,
When lion rough in wildest rage doth roar.
Then know that I, one Snug the joiner, am
A lion fell, nor else no lion's dam:

For if I should as lion come in strife

Into this place, 't were pity on my life.

Thes. A very gentle beast, and of a good conscience.

Dem. The very best at a beast, my lord, that e'er I saw.

MOONSHINE.

This lanthorn doth the horned moon present;
Myself the man i' th' moon do seem to be.

Thes. This is the greatest error of all the rest: the man should be put into the lanthorn, how is it else the man i' the moon?

Dem. He dares not come there for the candle: for you see it is already in snuff.

Hip. I am weary of this moon: would he would change!

Thes. It appears, by his small light of discretion, that he is in the wane: but yet, in courtesy, in all reason, we must stay the time.

Dem. And thus she moans, videlicit.

THISBE.

Asleep, my love?

What, dead, my dove?

O Pyramus, arise,

Speak, speak. Quite dumb?

Dead, dead? A tomb

Must cover thy sweet eyes.
These lily lips,

This cherry nose,

These yellow cowslip cheeks,
Are gone, are gone :
Lovers, make moan!
His eyes are green as leeks.
O sisters three,

Come, come to me,
With hands as pale as milk:
Lay them in gore,
Since you have shore
With shears his thread of silk.
Tongue, not a word:

Come, trusty sword;

Bot. No, I assure you; the wall is down that parted their fathers. Will it please you to see the epilogue, or to hear a Bergomask dance between two of our company.

Thes. No epilogue, I pray you: for your play needs no excuse. Never excuse; for when the players are all dead, there need none to be blamed. Marry, if he that writ it had played Pyramus, and hanged himself in Thisbe's garter, it would have been a fine tragedy: and so it is, truly; and very notably discharged. But come, your Bergomask : let your epilogue alone. [Here a dance of Clowns. The iron tongue of midnight hath told twelve: Lovers to bed; 't is almost fairy time. I fear we shall outsleep the coming morn, As much as we this night have overwatched. This palpable-gross play hath well beguiled, The heavy gait of night.- Sweet friends, to bed.

SCENE II.

Enter PUCK.

Puck. Now the hungry lion roars,

[Exeunt.

And the wolf behowls the moon; Whilst the heavy plowman snores, All with weary task fordone. Now the wasted brands do glow,

Whilst the scritch-owl, scritching loud,
Puts the wretch, that lies in woe,
In remembrance of a shroud.
Now it is the time of night

That the graves all gaping wide,
Every one lets forth his sprite,
In the churchway paths to glide:
And we fairies, that do run

By the triple Hecate's team,
From the presence of the sun,

Following darkness like a dream,
Now are frolic: not a mouse
Shall disturb this hallowed house:
I am sent with broom before,

Το sweep the dust behind the door.

Enter OBERON and TITANIA, with their Train.

Obe. Through this house give glimmering light.
By the dead and drowsy fire:
Every elf and fairy sprite

Hop as light as bird from brier;
And this ditty, after me,

Sing, and dance it trippingly.
Tita. First rehearse this song by rote:

To each word a warbling note,
Hand in hand, with fairy grace,
Will we sing, and bless this place.

SONG, AND DANCE.
Obe. Now, until the break of day,

Through this house each fairy stray;
To the best bridebed will we,
Which by us shall blessed be;
And the issue there create
Ever shall be fortunate;

So shall the couples three
Ever true in loving be:

And the blots of nature's hand
Shall not in their issue stand;
Never mole, hair-lip, nor scar,
Nor mark prodigious, such as are
Despised in nativity,

Shall upon their children be.-
With this field-dew consecrate,
Every fairy take his gait;

And each several chamber bless,
Through this palace with sweet peace:
E'er shall it in safety rest,

And the owner of it blest.

Trip away;

Make no stay:

Meet me all by break of day.

[Exeunt OBERON, TITANIA, and Train.

Puck. If we shadows have offended,

Think but this (and all is mended),
That you have but slumbered here,
While these visions did appear.
And this weak and idle theme,
No more yielding but a dream,
Gentles, do not reprehend:
If you pardon, we will mend.
And, as I'm an honest Puck,
If we have unearned luck
Now to 'scape the serpent's tongue,
We will make amends ere long;
Else the Puck a liar call.

So, goodnight unto you all.

Give me your hands if we be friends, And Robin shall restore amends.

Exit.