A CT IV. the King behind them. Queen, While I thy amiable cheeks do coy, Bot. Where's Peafeblofom ? Bot. Scratch my head, Peafeblossom. Where's monsieur Cobweb? Cob. Ready. Bot. Monsieur Cobweb, good monfieur, get your weapons in your hand, and kill me a red-hipt humblebee on the top of a thiftle; and, good monsieur, bring me the honey-bag. Do not fret yourself too much in the-action, monsieur; and, good monsieur, have a care, the honey-bag break not; I should be loth to have you over-flown with a honey-bag, fignior. Where's monfieur Mustard seed. Muft. Ready Bot. Give me thy neafe, monsieur Mustardfeed; pray you, leave your curtesy, good monsieur. Muft. What's your will? Bot. Nothing, good monsieur, but to help Cavalero Cobweb to scratch. I must to the barber's, monsieur ; for, methinks, I am marvellous hairy about the face. And I am such a tender ass, if my hair doth but tickle me, I must scratch. Queen. What, wilt thou hear some musick, my sweet love? Bot. I have a reasonable good ear in musick; let us have the tongs and the bones. 3 Rural Rural Mufick: Tongs, &c. Bot. Truly, a peck of provender ; I could munch your good dry oats. Methinks, I have a great desire to a bottle of hay: good hay, sweet hay hath no fellow. Queen, I have a venturous Fairy that shall seek the {quirrel's hoard, and fetch thee new nuts. Bot. I had rather have a handful or two of dried pease. But, I pray you, let none of your people ftir me; I have an exposition of sleep come upon me. Queen. Sleep thou, and I will wind thee in my arms; Enter Puck. (22) and be always away.] What! was she giving her attendants an everlasting dismiffion? No such thing; they were to be ftill upon duty. I am convinc'd, the Poet meant; - and be all ways away. i. e. disperse yourselves, and scout out severally, in your watch, that danger approach us from no quarter. (23) So doth the woodbine the sweet boneysuckle Gently entwist; the female ivy so Enrings the barky fingers of tbe elm.] What does the woodbine entwift? Why, the honeysuckle. But ever till now the honeysuckle and the woodbine were but two names for the same plant. But we have now found a support for the woodbine, as well as for the ivy. The corruption might happen thus; the first blunderer in writing might leave the p out of maple, and make it male; upon which the acute Editors turn'd it into female, and tack'd it as an cpithet to ivy. Mr. Warburton. And G 3 And that same dew, which sometime on the buds Be, as thou wast wont to be ; Now, my Titania, wake you, my sweet Queen. Queen. My Oberon! what visions have I seen! Methought, I was enamoured of an ass. Ob. There lies your love. (24) Dian's bud, or Cupid's flow'r] Thus all the editions had stupidly exhibited this passage. The ingenious Dr. Tbirlby gave me the correction, which I have inserted in the text, and which, doubtless, restores us the Author. Oberon in Act the 2d, where he first proposes to enchant his Queen's eyes and sense, tells us, he has an antidote to take off the charm. And e'er I take this charm from off her sight, As I can take it with another berb, &c. Then crush this berb into Lysander's eye, Queen. Queen. How came these things to pass ? Ob. Silence, a while; Robin, take off his head; Still Mufick. Puck. When thou awak'st,with thine own fool's eyes peep. Ob. Sound,musick; come,my Queen, take hand with me, And rock the ground whereon these sleepers be. Now thou and I are new in amity; And will to-morrow midnight solemnly Dance in Duke Theseus' house triumphantly And bless it to all fair pofterity: There shall these paits of faithful lovers be Wedded, with Theseus, all in jollity. Puck. Fairy King, attend and mark ; Ob. Then, my Queen, in filence fade; (25) Queen. Come, my Lord, and in our Right (25) Titania, mufick call, and frike more dead Than common sleep. Of all these fine the fenfe.] This, mott certainly, is both corrupt in the text, and pointing. Would mufick, that was to strike them into a deeper sleep than ordinary, contribute to fine (or, refine) their senses? My emendation, I am perfuaded, needs no justification. The five, that lay asleep on the stage, were, Demetrius, Lyfander, Hermia, Helena, and Bottom. —Ionght to acknowledge, that Dr. Thirlby likewise started and communicated this very correction. (26) Tben, my Queen, in filenee sad,] Why, sad? Fairies, according to the receiv'd notion, are pleas’d to follow night. For that reason, and for bettering the rhyme, I think it very probable that our Author wrote; in filence fade; i. e, vanish, retreat. In which sense our Author has elsewhere employ'd this word. As in Hamlet {peaking of the ghost's disappearing. It faded at the crowing of the cock. That G4 That I sleeping here was found, [Sleepers lie fill. With these mortals on the ground. [Exeunt. [Wind borns within. . Enter Theseus, Egeus, Hippolita, and all his Trair. Tbe. Go one of you, find out the forester, Hip. I was with Hercules and Cadmus once, Seem'd all one mutual cry.] It has been propos’d to me, that the Author probably wrote mountains, from whence an echo rather proceeds than from fountains : but as we have the authority of the ancients for lakes, rivers, and fountains returning a sound, I have been diffident to disturb the text. To give a few instances that occur at present. Ovid. Metam. l. 3. ver. 500. Ultima vox folitam fuit bæc Spectantis in undam, Verba lacus. Tam vero exoritur clamor, ripæque lacusque Responsant circà, & cælum tonat omne i umultu. Aufon, in Mosellâ. verf. 167. adftrepit ollis Refonantia utrimque Cui procul Alcides iterat responsa; sed illi Seem |