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So thou, my furfeit, and my heresy,

Of all be hated; but the moft, of me!

And all my powers, addrefs your love and might,
To honour Helen, and to be her knight!

[Exit.

Her. [ftarting from fleep.] Help me, Lyfander, help me!
do thy best,

To pluck this crawling ferpent from my breast!
Ay me, for pity!-what a dream was here?
Lyfander, look, how I do quake with fear:
Methought, a ferpent eat my heart away,
And you fat smiling at his cruel prey :-
Lyfander! what, remov'd? Lyfander! lord!

What, out of hearing? gone? no found, no word?
Alack, where are you? fpeak, an if you hear;

a

Speak, of all loves; I fwoon almost with fear.
No?-then I well perceive you are not nigh:
Or death, or you, I'll find immediately.

[Exit.

ACT III.

SCENE I.

The Wood.

Enter Quince, Snug, Bottom, Flute, Snowt, and Starveling.

The Queen of Fairies lying asleep.

Bot. Are we all met?

Quin. Pat, pat; and here's a marvellous convenient place for our rehearsal: 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.

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2 of all loves ;]—I adjure you, as you love me; by all means.
b Pat, Pat ;]-most opportunely.

• brake]-thicket, or bush.

Bot.

Bot. Peter Quince,

Quin. What fay'ft thou, bully Bottom?

Bot, There are things in this comedy of Pyramus and Thisby, that will never please. Firft, Pyramus must draw a fword to kill himself; which the ladies cannot abide. How answer you that?

d

Snout. By'rlakin, 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 swords; and that Pyramus is not kill'd indeed: and, for the 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. No, make it two more, let it be written in eight and eight.

Snout. Will not the ladies be afeard of the lion?

Star. I fear it, I promise you.

Bot. Masters, you ought to confider with yourselves; to bring in, God fhield 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 muft tell, he is not a lion.

Bot. Nay, you must name his name, and half his face must be seen through the lion's neck; and he himself must fpeak through, faying thus, or to the fame defect,-Ladies, or fair ladies, I would wifh you, or, I would request you, or, I would entreat you, not to fear, not to tremble:

d

e

By'rlakin, a parlous fear.]—ladykin, or little lady, a perilous fear. eight and fix.]-lines, or the measure used in fonnets.

my

you

life for my think I come hither as a lion, If yours. 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 moon-light.

Snug. Doth the moon fhine 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 fhine that night.

Bot. Why, then you may leave a cafement of the great chamber window, where we play, open; and the moon may shine in at the casement.

Quin. Ay; or elfe one must come in with a bush of thorns and a ́lanthorn, and fay, he comes to disfigure, or to present, the person of moon-shine. Then, there is another 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 present wall: and let him have fome plafter, or fome 'lome, or fome rough-cast, about him, to fignify wall; or let him hold his fingers thus, and through that cranny fhall Pyramus and Thisby whisper.

Quin. If that may be, then all is well. Come, fit down, every mother's fon, and rehearse your parts. Pyramus, you begin: when you have spoken your speech, enter into that brake; and fo every one according to his cue.

flome,]-clay.

VOL. II.

D

Enter

Enter Puck behind.

Puck. What hempen home-fpuns have we fwaggering here,

So near the cradle of the fairy queen ?
What, a play toward? I'll be an auditor;
An actor too, perhaps if I fee cause.

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Quin. Speak, Pyramus :-Thisby, stand forth.
Pyr. Thisby, the flower of odious favours fweet.
Quin. Odours, odours.

Pyr. -odours favours fweet.

So doth thy breath, my dearest Thisby dear.— But, bark, a voice! Stay thou but here a whit,

h

And by and by I will to thee appear. [Exit Pyramus. Puck. A ftranger Pyramus than e'er play'd' here! [Afide.

Thif. Muft I speak now?

[Exit.

Quin. Ay, marry, must you: for you must understand, he goes but to see a noise that he heard, and is to come again.

Thif. Moft radiant Pyramus, moft lilly-white of bue,

Of colour like the red rofe on triumphant brier,

k

Moft brifky juvenal, and eke most lovely Jew,

As true as trueft borse, that yet would never tire,

I'll meet thee, Pyramus, at Ninny's tomb.

Quin. Ninus' tomb, man: Why you must not speak that yet; that you anfwer to Pyramus: you speak all your

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part at once, cues and all.-Pyramus enter; your cue is paft; it is, never tire.

& the flower of odious]—the odour of flowers.

h a whit,]-a little while.

i here!]-in this theatre, on this stage before.

kbrifky juvenal,]-fprightly youth.

Jew,]-an abbreviation of jewel, a term of endearment.

cues]-laft words of a speech, which serve as hints for the next speaker.

Re-enter

Re-enter Puck, and Bottom, with an afs's head.

Thif. O,-As true as trueft horfe, that yet would never tire. Pyr. If I were, fair Thisby, I were only thine :Quin. O monstrous! O ftrange! we are haunted. Pray, masters! fly, masters! help!

[Exeunt Clowns.

Puck. I'll follow you, I'll lead you about a round, Through bog, through mire, through bufh, through brake, through brier;

Sometime a horse I'll be, fometime a hound,

A hog, a headless bear, fometime a fire;

And neigh, and bark, and grunt, and roar and burn, [Exit. Like horse, hound, hog, bear, fire at every turn. Bot. Why do they run away? this is a knavery of them, to make me afeard.

Re-enter Snout.

Snout. O Bottom, thou art chang'd! what do I fee on thee?-An afs's bead?

Bot. What do you fee? you fee an afs' head of your own; Do you?

Re-enter Quince.

Quin. Blefs thee, Bottom! bless thee! thou art trans[Exit. lated. Bot. I fee their knavery: this is to make an afs of me; to fright me, if they could. But I will not ftir from this place, do what they can: I will walk up and down here, and I will fing, that they shall hear I am not afraid. [Sings. The "oufel-cock, fo black of bue,

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With orange-tawny bill,

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The throftle with his note so true,

The wren with little quill:

oufel-cock,]-black-bird.

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throftle]-thrush.

D 2

Queen.

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