TITA. Out of this wood do not desire to go; Thou shalt remain here, whether thou wilt or no. I am a spirit, of no common rate; The summer still doth tend upon my state, I'll give thee fairies to attend on thee; And they shall fetch thee jewels from the deep, And I will purge thy mortal grossness so, That thou shalt like an airy spirit go. Peas-blossom! Cobweb! Moth! and Mustard-seeda! Enter PEAS-BLOSSOM, COBWEB, MOTH, MUSTARD-SEED, and four Fairies. TITA. Be kind and courteous to this gentleman; 1 FAI. Hail, mortal! 2 FAI. Hail! 3 FAI. Hail! 4 FAI. Hail! 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? • This line looks like a stage-direction in the quartos, and we find no trace of it in the folio, except as a portion of the stage-direction, thus:-" Enter Peas-blossom, Cobweb, Moth, and Mustard-seed, and four Fairies." If the Fairies are separate persons from Peas-blossom and his fellows, we ought to restore the stage-direction, as we have done. But we believe that the Fairies are not separate persons, although it is scarcely necessary to disturb the customary arrangement. Steevens omitted the "And I" of the fourth Fairy, and gave her the "Where shall we go?" Dewberries. This delicate wild-fruit is perfectly well known to all who have lived in the country; but one of the commentators tells us dewberries are gooseberries, and another raspberries. e PEAS. Peas-blossom. Bor. I pray you, commend me to mistress Squash, your mother, and to master Good master Peas-blossom, I shall desire you of Your name, I beseech you, sir? Peas-cod, your father. more acquaintance too. Mus. Mustard-seed. BOT. Good master Mustard-seed, I know your patience a well: that same cowardly, giant-like ox-beef hath devoured 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. TITA. Come, wait upon him; lead him to my bower. The moon, methinks, looks with a watery eye; And when she weeps, weeps every little flower, Tie up my love's tongue, bring him silently. [Exeunt. . The patience of the family of Mustard in being devoured by the ox-beef is one of those brief touches of wit, so common in Shakspere, which take him far out of the range of ordinary writers. But his critics love commonplace; and therefore Hanmer would read parentage,—Farmer, passions,—and Mason, passing. Reed then solemnly pronounces "no change is necessary;" and so half a page of the variorum Shakspere is filled. Night-rule-night-revel. The old spelling of reuel became rule; and by this corruption we obtained, says Douce, "the lord of mis-rule." An ass's nowla I fixed on his head; Anon, his Thisbe must be answered, And forth my mimic comes: When they him spy, And, at our stamp, here o'er and o'er one falls; Their sense thus weak, lost with their fears thus strong, Some, sleeves; some, hats; from yielders all things catch. And left sweet Pyramus translated there: PUCK. I took him sleeping.-that is finish'd too,- That when he wak'd of force she must be ey'd. Enter DEMETRIUS and HERMIA. OBE. Stand close; this is the same Athenian. HER. Now I but chide, but I should use thee worse; If thou hast slain Lysander in his sleep, Being o'er shoes in blood, plunge in the deep, The sun was not so true unto the day, As he to me: Would he have stolen away "Nowl-noll-head. Mimic-actor. Mimmick is the reading of the folio; minnock, and min nick, are found in the quartos. • Latch'd-licked o'er, according to Hanmer. A correspondent suggests, and we agree with him, that the common meaning of fastened (i. e., by a charm) is more applicable. Oberon says, (p. 460, Act III., Scene 2,) "And then I will her charmed eye release." From sleeping Hermia? I'll believe as soon, Oh, once tell true, tell true, even for my sake; Than thine, thou serpent, never adder stung. Nor is he dead, for aught that I can tell. DEM. An if I could, what should I get therefore ? And from thy hated presence part I sob: OBE. What hast thou done? thou hast mistaken quite, Some true-love turn'd, and not a false turn'd true. a The repetition of tell true is only found in Fisher's quarto. "And from thy hated presence part I: See me no more [Exit. [Lies down. |