SCENE VI. Enter Lyfander and Hermia. Lyf. Fair love, you faint with wand'ring in the wood; Lyf. One turf fhall ferve as pillow for us both, Lyf. O, take the fenfe, fweet of my innocence; Her. Lyfander riddles very prettily; So far be diftant; and good night, fweet friend; Here is my bed; fleep give thee all his reft! Her. With half that with the wifher's eyes be preft! } [They fleep. Night Night and filence! who is here? And here the maiden sleeping sound SCENE VII. Enter Demetrius and Helena running. [Exit. Hel. Stay, tho' thou kill me, fweet Demetrius! [Exit Demetrius. How came her eyes fo bright? not with falt tears; For beafts, that meet me, run away for fear. Lys. And run thro' fire I will, for thy fweet fake. Transparent Helen, nature here fhews art, [Waking That Bot. No, make it two more; let it be written in eight and eight. Snowt. Will not the ladies be afraid of the lion? Bot. Mafters, you ought to confider with yourselves: to bring in, God fhield us, a lion among ladies, is a moft dreadful thing; for there is not a more fearful wildfowl than your lion living; and we ought to look to it. Snowi. Therefore another prologue must tell, he is not a lion. Bot. Nay you must name his rame, and half his face must be feen through the lion's neck; and he himself muft fpeak through, faying thus, or to the fame defect: Ladies, or, Fair Ladies, I would wish you, or I would request you, or I would intreat 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 fuch 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. Quin. Well, it fhall 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 moonlight. 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 fhine that night. Bot. Why then may you leave a casement of the great chamber-window, where we play, open; and the moon may thine in at the cafement. Quin. Ay, or else one must come in with a bufh of thorns and a lanthorn, and fay, he comes to disfigure, or to prefent, the perfon of moon-fhine. Then there is an other thing; we must have a wall in the great chamber, for Pyramus and Thisby (fays 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 prefent Wall; and let Ay me, for pity, what a dream was here? ACT III. SCENE I. The Wood. [Exit. Enter Quince, Snug, Bottom, Flate, Snow!, and Starveling. The Queen of Fairies lying afleep.. Bot. ARE we all met? Quin. Pat, pat; and here's a marvellous convenient place for our rehearfal. This green plot shall be our stage, this hawthorn-brake our tyring-houfe, and we will do it in action, as we will do it before the Duke. Bot. Peter Quince Quin. What fay'ft thou, bully Bottom? Bot. There are things in this comedy of Pyramus and Thisby, that will never pleafe. Firft, Pyramus must draw a fword to kill himself, which the ladies cannot a bide. How anfwer you that? Snowt. 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 feem to say, we will do no harm with our fwords, and that Pyramus is not kill'd indeed; and for more better affurance tell them, that I Pyramus am not Pyramus, but Bottom the weaver; this will put them out of fear. Quin. Well, we will have fuch a prologue, and it shall be written in eight and fix. Bot. Bot. No, make it two more; let it be written in eight and eight. Snowt. Will not the ladies be afraid of the lion? Bot. Mafters, you ought to confider with yourselves: to bring in, God fhield us, a lion among ladies, is a moft dreadful thing; for there is not a more fearful wildfowl than your lion living; and we ought to look to it. Snow. Therefore another prologue muft tell, he is not a lion. Bot. Nay you must name his name, and half his face must be feen through the lion's neck; and he himself muft fpeak through, faying thus, or to the fame defect: Ladies, or, Fair Ladies, I would wish you, or I would request you, or I would intreat you, not to fear, not to tremble; my life for yours; if think I come hither as a lion, it were pity of my life; no, I am no fuch 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. you Quin. Well, it fhall 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 fhine 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 fhine that night. Bot. Why then may you leave a cafement of the great chamber-window, where we play, open; and the moon may thine in at the cafement. Quin. Ay, or elfe one must come in with a bush of thorns and a lanthorn, and fay, he comes to disfigure, or to prefent, the perfon of moon-fhine. Then there is an other thing; we must have a wall in the great chamber, for Pyramus and Thisby (fays the story) did talk through the chink of a wall. Snug. You never can bring in a wall. What fay you, Bottom? Bot. Some man or other must prefent Wall; and let |