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

To pluck this crawling ferpent from my breaft!
Ay me, for pity!-what a dream was here?
Lyfander, look, how do I quake with fear;
Methought, a ferpent eat my heart away,
And you fat fmiling 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
Speak, of all loves; I fwoon almost with fear.
No?-then I will perceive you are not nigh:
Or death, or you, I'll find immediately.

ACT III.

SCENE 1. The Wood.

[Exit.

Enter QUINCE, SNUG, BOTTOM, FLUTE, SNOUT, and STARVELING.

The Queen of Fairies lying afleep.

ARE we all met?

Bottom.

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-house; and we will do it in action, as we will do it before the duke.

Bot. Peter Quince,

Quin. What lay'ft thou, bully Bottom?

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

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 seem to say, we will do no harm with our fwords; and that Pyramus

is

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 fhall 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. Mafters, you ought to confider with yourselves; to bring in, God fhield us! a lion among ladies, is a moft dreadful thing: for there is not a more fearful wildfowl, than your lion, living; and we ought to look to it.

Snout. Therefore, another prologue must 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 speak through, faying thus, or to the fame defect, -Ladies, or, fair ladies, I would with you, or, I would request you, or, I would entreat you, not to fear, not to tremble: my life for yours. If you think I come hither as a lion, 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-fhine, 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 thine in at the cafement,

Quin. Ay; or elfe one must come in with a bufh of thorns and a lantern, and fay, he comes to disfigure, or to prefent, the perfon of moon-fhine. Then, there is D 3

another

another thing we must have a wall in the great chamber; for Pyramus and Thisby, fays the ftory, did talk through the chink of a wall.

Snug. You never can bring in a wall;-What say you, Bottom?

Bet. Some man or other must present wall: and let him have some plafter, or some lome, or fome rough-. caft, about him, to fignify wall; or let him hold his fingers thus, and through that cranny shall Pyramus and Thilby 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 fpeech, enter into that brake; and fo every one according to his

Gue,

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.

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, hark, a vioçe! Stay thou but here a whit,
And by and by I will to thee appear.

Puck. A ftranger Pyramus than e'er played here!

This. Muft I fpeak now?

Exit PYRAMUS,

[Exit.

[Afide.

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

This. Moft radiant Pyramus, moft lily-white of hue,
Of colour like the red rofe on triumphant brier,
Moft brifky juvenal, and eke most lovely Jew,
As true as trueft horfe, 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 answer to Pyramus: you fpeak all your part at once, cues and all.-Pyramus enter; your cue is past; it is, never tire.

Re-enter PUCK, and BOTTOM, with an Afs's Head.

This. O,-As true as trueft horse, that yet would never

tire.

Pyr. If I were fair, Thifby, I were only thine :Quin. O monftrous! Oftrange!-we are haunted. Pray, mafters! fly, mafters! help! [Exeunt Clowns. Puck. I'll follow you, I'll lead you about a round, Through bog, through bush, through brake, through

brier;

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

A hog, a headless bear, sometime a fire;

And neigh, and bark, and grunt, and roar, and burn,
Like horse, hound, hog, bear, fire, at every turn. [Exit.
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?

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

Re-enter QUINCE.

Quin. Blefs thee, Bloffom! blefs thee! thou art tranflated.

[Exit.

Bot. I fee their knavery: this is to make an ass 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.

The oufel-cock, fo black of hue,

With orange-tawny bill,

The throfile with his note so true,
The wren with little quill:

D 4

[Sings.

Queen

Queen. What angel wakes me from my flowery bed?

Bottom fings.

The finch, the Sparrow, and the lark,
The plain-fong cuckoo gray,

Whofe note full many a man doth mark,
And dares not anfwer, nay;—

[Waking

for, indeed, who would fet his wit to fo foolish a bird; who would give a bird the lie, though he cry, cuckoo, never fo.

Queen. I pray thee, gentle mortal fing again : Mine ear is much enamour'd of thy note,

So is mine eye enthralled to thy fhape;

And thy fair virtue's force, perforce doth move me;
On the first view, to fay, to fwear, I love thee.

Bot. Methinks, mistress, you should have little reafon for that: And yet, to fay the truth, reafon and love keep little company together now-a-days: The more the pity, that some honeft neighbours will not make them friends. Nay, I can gleek, upon occafion.

Queen. Thou art as wife, as thou art beautiful.

Bot. Not fo, neither: but if I had wit enough to get out of this wood, I have enough to serve mine own

turn.

Queen. Out of this wood do not defire to go; Thou fhalt remain here, whether thou wilt or no. I am a fpirit of no common rate;

The fummer ftill doth tend upon my state,

And I do love thee: therefore, go with me;

I'll give thee fairies to attend on thee;

And they shall fetch thee jewels from the deep,

And fing, while thou on preffed flowers do'ft fleep:
And I will purge thy mortal groffness so,
That thou shalt like an airy spirit go.-

Pease-bloffom! Cobweb! Moth! and Mustard-feed!

1 Fair. Ready. 2 Fair. And I.

Enter four Fairies.

3 Fair.