3 Fair. Hail !

180 Bot. I cry your worship’s mercy heartily. I beseech, your worship's name.

Cob. Cobweb.

Bot. I shall desire you of more acquaintance, good master Cobweb : If I cut my finger, I shall make bold with you. Your name, honest gentleman?

Pease. Pease-blossom.

Bot. I pray you, commend me to mistress Squash, your mother, and to master Peascod, your father. Good master Pease-blossom, I shall desire you of more acquaintance too. Your name, I beseech you, sir. Mus. Mustard-seed.

192 Bot. Good master Mustard-seed, I know your patience well: that same cowardly, giant-like, ox beef hath dévoured 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,

199
The moon, methinks, looks with a watry eye;
And when she weeps, weeps every little flower,

Lamenting some enforced chastity.
Tie up my love's tongue, bring him silently.

[Exeunt.

SCENE II.

Enter OBERON.

06. I wonder, if Titania be awak'd; Then, what it was that next came in her eye, Which she must doat on in extremity.

Enter Puck.

210

Here comes my messenger.—How now, mad spirit ? What night-rule now about this haunted grove?

Puck. My mistress with a monster is in love.
Near to her close and consecrated bower,
While she was in her dull and sleeping hour,
A crew of patches, rude mechanicals,
That work for bread upon Athenian stalls,
Were met together to rehearse a play,
Intended for great Theseus' nuptial day.
The shallowest thick-skin of that barren sort,
Who Pyramus presented, in their sport
Forsook his scene, and enter'd in a brake :
When I did him at this advantage take,
An ass's nowl I fixed on his head;
Anon, his Thisby must be answered,
And forth my minnock comes : When they him

spy,
As wild geese, that the creeping fowler eye,
Or russet-pated choughs, many in sort,
Rising and cawing at the gun's report
Sever themselves, and madly sweep the sky;

220

So,

So, at his sight, away his fellows fly :
And, at our stamp, here o'er and o'er one falls;
He murder cries, and help from Athens calls.
Their sense, thus weak, lost with their fears, thus
strong,

230
Made senseless things begin to do them wrong:
For briers and thorns at their apparel snatch ;
Some, sleeves; some, hats : from yielders all things

catch.
I led them on in this distracted fear,
And left sweet Pyramus translated there :
When in that moment (so it came to pass)
Titania wak'd, and straightway lov'd an ass.

06. This falls out better than I could devise. But hast thou yet latch'd the Athenian's eyes With the love-juice, as I did bid thee do? 240

Puck. I took him sleeping, --that is finish'd too,And the Athenian woman by his side; That, when he wak’d, of force she must be ey’d.

Enter DEMETRIUS, and HERMIA. Ob. Stand close; this is the same Athenian. Puck. This is the woman, but not this the man,

Dem. O, why rebuke you him that loves you so Lay breath so bitter on your bitter foe. : Her. Now I but chide, but I should use thee worse; For thou, I fear, hast given me cause to curse. If thou hast slain Lysander in his sleep,

250 Being o'er shoes in blood, plunge in the deep, And kill me too. Eiij

The

The sun was not so true unto the day,
As he to me: Would he have stol'n away
Froin 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;
So should a murderer look, so dead, so grim. 260

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,
As yonder Venus in her glimmering sphere.

Her. What's this to my Lysander? where is he? Ah, good Demetrius, wilt thou give him me?

Dem. I had rather give his carcase to my hounds. Her. Out, dog! out, cur! thou driv'st me past the

bounds Of maiden's patience. Hast thou slain him then? Henceforth be never number'd among men ! 270 O! once tell true, tell true, even for my sake; Durst thou have look'd upon him, being awake, And hast thou kill'd him sleeping ? O brave touch! Could not a worm, an adder, do so much? An adder did it; for with doubler tongue Than thine, thou serpent, never adder stung.

Dem. You spend your passion on a mispris'd mood: I am not guilty of Lysander's blood; Nor is he dead, for ought that I can tell.

Her. I pray thee, tell me then that he is well. 280 Dem. An if I could, what should I get therefore ?

Her.

Her. A privilege, never to see me more.-
And from thy hated presence part I so:
See me no more, whether he be dead, or no. [Exit.

Dem. There is no following her in this fierce vein ;
Here, therefore, for a while I will remain.
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. [Lies down.
06. What fast thou donę? thou hast mistaken
quite,

291
And laid the love-juice on some true-love's sight :
Of thy misprision must perforce ensue
Some true love turn'd, and not a false turn'd true.
Puck. Then fate o’er-rules; thąt, pne man hold-

ing troth,
A million fail, confounding oath on oath,

06. About the wood go swifter than the wind,
And Helena of Athens look thou find :
All fancy-sick she is, and pale of cheer
With sighs of love, that cost the fresh blood dear :
By some illusion see thou bring her here ; 301
I'll charm his eyes, against she do appear.
Puck. I

go,

1

go; look, how I go ;
Swifter than arrow from the Tartar's bow. [Exit.

Ob. Flower of this purple dye,
Hit with Cupid's archery,
Sink in apple of his eye !
When his love he doth espy,
Let her shine as gloriously

AS