eyes; I will move ftorms; I will condole in fome meafure. To the reft;- yet, my chief humour is for a tyrant; I could play Ercles rarely, or a part to tear a cat in: To make all fplit-(3) "the raging rocks, "and shivering fhocks fhall break the locks of prison66 gates -and Phibbus carr fhall fhine from far, and "make and mar the foolish fates"This was lofty. Now name the reft of the players. This is Ercles' vein, a tyrant's vein; a lover is more condoling.

Quin. Francis Flute, the bellows-mender.
Flu. Here, Peter Quince.

Quin, You must take Thisby on you.

Flu. What is Thisby, a wand'ring Knight?
Quin. It is the Lady, that Pyramus must love.

Flu Nay, faith, let not me play a woman; I have a beard coming.

Quin. That's all one, you shall play it in a mask ;. and you may speak as fmall, as you will..

Bot. An I may hide my face, let me play Thisby too; I'll fpeak in a monftrous little voice, Thifne, Thifne; ah, Pyramus, my lover dear, thy Thisby dear, and Lady

dear.

Quin. No, no, you must play Pyramus; and Flute, you, Thiby.

Bot. Well, proceed.

Quin. Robin Starveling, the taylor.

Star. Here, Peter Quince..

Quin. Robin Star-veling, you must play Thiby's mo

ther. (4)

Tom Snowt, the tinker.

(3) The raging rocks.

And fivering fhocks, &c.] I prefume this to be either a quotation from fome fuftian old play, which I have not been able to trace; or if not a direct quotation, a ridicule on fome bombaft rants, very near resembling it.

(4) you must play Thifby's mother.] There feems a double forgetfulness of our Poet, in relation to the characters of this Interlude. The father and mother of Thibe, and the father of Pyramus, are here mentioned, who do not appear at all in the Interlude: but Wall and Moonfbine are both employ'd in it, of whom there is not the least notice taken here.

Snowt..

Snorut. Here, Peter Quince.

Quin. You, Pyramus's father; myself, Thiby's father; Snug, the joiner; you, the lion's part; I hope, there is a play fitted.

Snug. Have you the lion's part written? pray you, if it be, give it me, for I am flow of study.

Quin. You may do it extempore, for it is nothing but roaring.

Bot. Let me play the lion too; I will roar, that I will do any man's heart good to hear me. I will roar, that I will make the Duke fay, let him roar again, let him roar again.

Quin. If you fhould do it too terribly, you would fright the Duchefs and the Ladies, that they would fhriek, and that were enough to hang us all.

All. That would hang us every mother's fon.

Bot. I grant you, friends, if you fhould fright the Ladies out of their wits, they would have no more difcretion but to hang us; but I will aggravate my voice fo, that I will roar you as gently as any fucking dove; I will roar you an 'twere any nightingale.

Quin. You can play no part but Pyramus, for Pyramus is a fweet faced man; a proper man, as one fhall fee in a fummer's-day; a moft lovely gentleman-like man: therefore you must needs play Pyramus.

Bot. Well, I will undertake it. What beard were I beft to play it in?

Quin. Why, what you will.

Bot. I will discharge it in either your ftraw-colour beard, your orange-tawny-beard, your purple-in-grain beard, or your French crown-colour'd beard; your perfect yellow.

Quin. (5) Some of your French crowns have no hair at all, and then you will play bare-fac'd. But, mafters, here are your parts; and I am to intreat you, request you, and defire you, to con them by to-morrow-night; and meet me in the palace-wood, a mile without the

(5) Some of your French crozons have no bair at all.] See the third note on Measure for Measure, which explains this dark paffage.

town,

town, by moon-light, there we will rehearse; for if we meet in the city, we fhall be dog'd with company, and our devices known. In the mean time I will draw a bill of properties, fuch as our play wants. I pray you, fail me not.

Bot. We will meet, and there we may rehearse more obfcenely and courageoufly. Take pains, be perfect, adieu.

Quin. At the Duke's oak we meet.

Bot. Enough; hold, or cut bow-ftrings. [Exeunt.

SCENE, A Wood.

Enter a Fairy at one door, and Puck (or Robin-good

fellow) at another.

PUCK.

OW now, fpirit, whither wander you?
Fai. Over hill, over dale,

How

Through bush, through briar,
Over park, over pale,

Through flood, through fire,
I do wander every where,
Swifter than the moon's fphere;
And I ferve the Fairy Queen,
To dew her orbs upon the green;
The cowflips tall her penfioners be,
In their gold coats fpots you fee,
Those be rubies, fairy-favours:
In those freckles live their favours :
I must go feek fome dew-drops here,
And hang a pearl in every cowflip's ear.
Farewel, thou lob of fpirits, I'll be gone,

Our Queen and all her elves come here anon.

Puck. The King doth keep his revels here to night,
Take heed, the Queen come not within his fight.
For Oberon is paffing fell and wrath,

Because that she, as her attendant, hath

A lovely

A lovely boy, ftol'n from an Indian king:
She never had fo fweet a changeling;
And jealous Oberon would have the child
Knight of his train, to trace the forests wild;
But the per-force with-holds the loved boy,
Crowns him with flowers; and makes him all her joy.
And now they never meet in grove, or green,
By fountain clear, or fpangled ftar-light sheen,
But they do fquare, that all their elves for fear
Creep into acorn cups, and hide them there.
Fai. Or I mistake your shape and making quite,
Or else you are that fhrewd, and knavish fprite,
Call'd Robin-goodfellow. Are you not he,
That fright the maidens of the villageree,
Skim milk, and fometimes labour in the quern,
And bootlefs make the breathlefs hufwife chern;
And fometime make the drink to bear no barm,
Mif-lead night wand'rers, laughing at their harm?
Thofe that Hobgoblin call you, and fweet Puck,
You do their work, and they fhall have good luck.
Are not
he?

you

Puck. Thou fpeak'st aright;

I am that merry wand'rer of the night:
I jeft to Oberon, and make him fmile,
When I a fat and bean-fed horfe beguile.
Neighing in likeness of a filly-foal;
And fometimes lurk I in a goffips's bowl,
very likeness of a roafted crab,

In

And when the drinks, against her lips I bob,
And on her wither'd dewlap pour the ale,
The wifeft aunt, telling the faddeft tale,
Sometime for three-foot ftool mistaketh me;
Then flip I from her bum, down topples she,
And taylor cries, and falls into a cough;

And then the whole quire hold their hips, and loffe,
And waxen in their mirth, and neeze, and fwear,
A merrier hour was never wafted there.

But make room, fairy, here comes Oberon.

Fai, And here my mistress: would, that he were gone!

Enter

Enter Oberon King of Fairies at one door with his train, and the Queen at another with hers.

Ob. Ill met by moon-light, proud Titania.
Queen. What jealous Oberon ? fairies, skip hence,
I have forfworn his bed and company.

Ob. Tarry, rash wanton; am not I thy Lord?
Queen. Then I must be thy Lady; but I know,
When thou ha'ft ftol'n away from fairy land,
And in the shape of Corin fat all day,
Playing on pipes of corn, and verfing love
To am'rous Phillida. Why art thou here,
Come from the fartheft fteep of India !
But that, forfooth, the bouncing Amazon,
Your buskin'd miftrefs and your warrior love,
To Thefeus must be wedded; and you come
To give their bed joy and profperity.

Ob. How can't thou thus for fhame, Titania,
Glance at my credit with Hippolita ;

Knowing, I know thy love to Thefeus?

Didft thou not lead him through the glimmering night From Perigune, whom he ravifhed; (6)

And make him with fair Egle break his faith,

With Ariadne, and Antiopa?

Queen. These are the forgeries of jealoufy:
And never fince the middle fummer's spring
Met we on hill, in dale, foreft, or mead,
By paved fountain, or by rufhy brook,

(6) From Perigenia, whom be ravish'd:] Thus all the Editors either not knowing, or not attending to, the hiftory of this Lady have falfely call'd her: but our Author, who diligently perus'd Plutarch, and glean'd from him, where his subject would admit, knew, from the life of Thefeus, that her name was Perigyne; (or Perigune) by whom Thefeus had his fon Melanippus. She was the daughter of Sinnis a cruel robber, and tormentor of paffengers in the Ifthmus. Plutarch and Athenæus are both exprefs in the circumftance of Thefeus ravishing her and the former of them adds (as Diod. Siculus, Apollodorus and Paufanias, likewise tell us ;) that he killed her father into the bargain. I corrected this mistake of the name in my SHAKESPEARE reford; and Mr. Pope has vouchfafed to correct from me in his laft edition.

Or