MIDSUMMER-NIGHT'S DREAM.

ACT I.

SCENE I. The Palace of Thefeus in Athens. Enter THESEUS, HIPPOLITA, PHILOSTRATE, with

Now

Attendants.

Thefeus.

OW fair Hippolita, our nuptial hour Draws on apace; four happy days bring in Another moon: but, oh, methinks, how flow This old moon wanes! fhe lingers my defires, Like to a step-dame, or a dowager,

Long withering out a young man's revenue.

Hip. Four days will quickly steep themselves in nights; Four nights will quickly dream away the time

And then the moon, like to a filver bow

New bent in heaven, shall behold the night
Of our folemnities.

The. Go, Philoftrate,

Stir up the Athenian youth to merriments;
Awake the pert and nimble spirit of mirth;
Turn melancholy forth to funerals,
The pale companion is not for our pomp.
Hippolita, I woo'd thee with my fword,
And won thy love, doing thee injuries;
But I will wed thee in another key,

With pomp, with triumph, and with revelling.

[Exit PHIL

Enter EGEUS, HERMIA, LYSANDER, and DEMETRIUS, Ege. Happy be Thefeus, our renowned duke!

The. Thanks, good Egeus: What's the news with thee? Ege. Full of vexation come I, with complaint Against my child, my daughter Hermia,

Stand

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Stand forth, Demetrius ;-My noble lord,
This man hath my confent to marry her :-
Stand forth, Lyfander ;-and, my gracious duke,
This man hath witch'd the bofom of my child :
Thou, thou, Lyfander, thou haft given her rhimes,
And interchang'd love-tokens with my child:
Thou haft by moon-light at her window fung,
With feigning voice, verfes of feigning love;
And ftol❜n the impreffion of her fantafy

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With bracelets of thy hair, rings, gawds, conceits,
Knacks, trifles, nofegays, fweet-meats; meffengers
Of ftrong prevailment in unharden'd youth:
With cunning haft thou filch'd my daughter's heart;
Turn'd her obedience, which is due to me,
To stubborn harfhnefs:-And, my gracious duke,
Be it fo fhe will not here before your grace
Consent to marry with Demetrius,
I beg the ancient privilege of Athens;
As the is mine, I may dispose of her :
Which shall be either to this gentleman,
Or to her death; according to our law,
Immediately provided in that case.

The. What fay you, Hermia? be advis'd, fair maid:
To you your father fhould be as a god;

One that compos'd your beauties; yea, and one
To whom you are but as a form in wax,

By him imprinted, and within his power
To leave the figure, or disfigure it.
Demetrius is a worthy gentleman.
Her. So is Lyfander.

The. In himself he is:

But, in this kind, wanting your father's voice,
The other muft be held the worthier.

Her. I would my father look'd but with my eyes.

The. Rather your eyes must with his judgment look.
Her. I do entreat your grace to pardon me.

I know not by what power. I am made bold;
Nor how it may concern my modefty,
In fuch a prefence here, to plead my thoughts:
But I beseech your grace, that I may know

The

The worst that may befall me in this cafe,
If I refuse to wed Demetrius.

The. Either to die the death, or to abjure
For ever the fociety of men.

Therefore, fair Hermia, queftion your defires,
Know of your youth, examine well your blood
Whether, if you yield not to your father's choice,
You can endure the livery of a nun;

For aye to be in fhady cloifter mew'd,
To live a barren fifter all your life,
Chanting faint hymns to the cold fruitlefs moon.
Thrice bleffed they, that mafter fo their blood,
To undergo fuch maiden pilgrimage;
But earthlier happy is the rofe diftill'd,
Than that, which, withering on the virgin-thorn,
Grows, lives, and dies, in fingle bleffedness.

Her. So will I grow, fo live, fo die, my lord,
Ere I will yield my virgin patent up

Unto his lordship, to whofe unwifh'd yoke

My foul confents not to give fovereignty.

The. Take time to pause: and, by the next new moon

(The fealing-day betwixt my love and me,

For everlasting bond of fellowship)

Upon that day either prepare to die,

For difobedience to your father's will;

Or else to wed Demetrius, as he would;

Or on Diana's altar to proteft,

For aye, aufterity and fingle life.

Dem. Relent, fweet Hermia ;-And, Lyfander, yield Thy crazed title to my certain right.

Lyf. You have her father's love, Demetrius;

Let me have Hermia's: do you marry him.

Ege. Scornful Lyfander! true, he hath my love;

And what is mine, my love shall render him:
And the is mine; and all my right of her

I do eftate unto Demetrius.

Lyf. I am, my lord, as well deriv'd as he,
As well poffefs'd; my love is more than his ;
My fortunes every way as fairly rank'd,
If not with vantage, as Demetrius';

And, which is more than all these boasts can be,

I am belov'd of beauteous Hermia:
Why fhould not I then profecute my right?
Demetrius, I'll avouch it to his head,
Made love to Nedar's daughter, Helena,
And won her foul; and fhe, fweet lady, dotes,
Devoutly dotes, dotes in idolatry,

Upon this spotted and inconftant

man.

The. I muft confefs, that I have heard fo much,
And with Demetrius thought to have spoke thereof;
But, being over-full of felf-affairs,

My mind did lofe it.-But, Demetrius, come;
And come, Egeus; you fhall go with me,
I have fome private schooling for you both.-
For you, fair Hermia, look you arm yourself
To fit your fancies to your father's will;
Or elfe the law of Athens yields you up
(Which by no means we may extenuate)
To death, or to a vow of fingle life.-
Come, my Hippolita: What cheer, my love?-
Demetrius, and Egeus, go along:

I must employ you in fome business
Against our nuptial; and confer with you
Of fomething, nearly that concerns yourselves.
Ege. With duty and defire we follow you.

[Exeunt THES. HIP. EGEUS, DEM. and Train Lyf. How now, my love? Why is your cheek so pale ? How chance the roses there do fade so fast?

Her. Belike for want of rain; which I could well Beteem them from the tempeft of mine eyes.

Lyf. Ah, me! for aught that I could ever read,
Could ever hear by tale or hiftory,

The courfe of true love never did run smooth
But either it was different in blood.

Her. O crofs! too high to be enthrall'd to low !
Lyf. Or elfe mifgraffed, in refpect of years.
Her. O fpight, too old to be engag'd to young!
Lyf. Or elfe it ftood upon the choice of friends.
Her. O hell! to chufe love by another's eye!
Lys. Or, if there were a fympathy in choice,
War, death, or fickness did lay ficge to it;
Making it momentary as a found,

Swift

Swift as a fhadow, fhort as any dream;
Brief as the lightning in the colly'd night,
That, in a spleen, unfolds both heaven and earth,
And ere a man hath power to fay-Behold!
The jaws of darkness do devour it up:
So quick bright things come to confufion.

Her. If then true lovers have been ever cross'd,
It stands as an edict in destiny:

Then let us teach our trial patience,

Because it is a customary cross;

As due to love, as thoughts, and dreams, and fighs,
Wishes, and tears, poor fancy's followers.

Lyf. A good perfuafion; therefore, hear me, Hermia, I have a widow aunt, a dowager

Of great revenue, and the hath no child:

From Athens is her house remov'd feven leagues;
And the refpects me as her only fon.

There, gentle Hermia, may I marry thee;
And to that place the fharp Athenian law
Cannot purfué us: If thou lov'ft me then,
Steal forth thy father's houfe to-morrow night;
And, in the wood, a league without the town,
Where I did meet thee once with Helena,
To do obfervance to a morn of May,
There will I ftay for thee.

Her. My good Lyfander!

I fwear to thee, by Cupid's strongest bow;
By his best arrow with the golden head;

By the fimplicity of Venus' doves;

By that which knitteth fouls, and profpers loves;
And by that fire which burn'd the Carthage queen,
When the falfe Trojan under fail was feen;
By all the vows that ever men have broke,
In number more than ever women spoke ;
In that fame place thou haft appointed me,
To-morrow truly will I meet with thee.

Lyf. Keep promise, love: Look, here comes Helena.

Enter HELENA.

Her. God fpeed, fair Helena! Whither away
Hel. Call you me fair? that fair again unfay.

Demetrius loves you fair: O happy fair!

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