We, Hermia, like two artificial gods,
Hove with our neelds 2 created both one flower,.
Both on one fampler, fitting on one cushion,
Both warbiing of one fong, both in one key;
As if our hands, our fides, voices, and minds,
Had been incorporate. So we grew together,
Like to a double cherry, feeming parted;
But yet a union in partition,.

Two lovely berries molded on one ftem:
65, with two feeming bodies, but one heart;
Two of the firft, like coats in heraldry,
Due but to one, and crowned with one creft.
And will you rent our ancient love afunder,
To join with men in fcoring your poor friend?
It is not friendly, 'tis not madenly:
Our fex, as well as I, may chide you for it;
Though I alone do feel the injury.

Her. I am amazed at your paliionate words:
I fcorn you not; it feems that you fcorn me.

1

H.. Have you not fet Lyfander, as in fcorn,
To follow me, and praife my eyes and face?
And made your other love, Demetrius,
(Who even but now did fpurn me with his foot)
To call me goddeis, nymph, diviac, and rare,
Precious, celestial? Wherefore speaks he this
To her he hates? and wherefore doth Lyfander
Deny your love, fo rich within his foul,
And tender me, forfooth, affection;
But by your fetting on, by your confent?.
What though I be not to in grace as you,
So hung upon with love, fo fortunate;
But miferable moit, to love,unlov'd?
This you thould pity, rather than defpife.
Her. I understand not what you mean by this.
Hel. Ay, do, periever, counterfeit fad looks,
Make mouths upon me when I turn my back; ·
Wink at each other; hold the tweet jeft up:
This fport, well carry'd, shall be chronicled.
If you have any pity, grace, or manners,
You would not make me fuch an argument 3.
But, fare ye well; 'tis partly mine own fault;
Which death, or abfence, foon fhall remedy.

Lyf. Stay, gentle Helena; hear my excufe;
My love, my life, my foul, fair Helena!
Hel. O excellent!

Her. Sweet, do not fcorn her fo.

Dem. If the cannot entreat, I can compel.
Lyf. Thou canst compel no more than the entreat;
Thy threats have no more strength, than her weak
Helen, I love thee; by my life, I do; - [prayers.
I fwear by that which I will lofe for thee,
To prove him falfe, that fays I love thee not.
Dem. I fay, I love thee more than he can do.
Lyf. If thou fay fo, withdraw, and prove it too.
Dem. Quick, come,→→→→

Her. Lylander, whereto tends all this?
Lyf. Away, you Ethiop!

Dem. No, no, fir, he'll

Seem to break loofe; take on, as you would follow;
But yet come not: You are a tame man, go!
Ly. Hang off, thou cat, thou burr: vile thing,
let loofe;

Or I will shake thee from me, like a ferpent.
Her. Why are you grown fo rude? what change
Sweet love?
[is this,

Ly. Thy love? out, tawny Tartar, out!
Out, loathed medicine! hated potion, hence!
Her. Do you not jest?

Hal. Yes, 'footh; and fo do you.

Lyf. Demetrias, I will keep my word with thee. Dem. I would, I had your bond: for, I perceive, A weak bond holds you; I'll not truft your word. Lyf. What, fhould I hurt her, ftrike her, kill her Although I hate her, I'll not harm her fo. [dead? Her. WI at, can you do me greater harm, than hate?

Hate me! wherefore? O me! what news, my

Have you no modefty, no maiden fhame,
No touch of bafhfulness? What, will you tear
Impatient aniwers from my gentle tongue ?
Fie, fie! you counterfeit, you puppet, you!

I. Puppet! why fo? Ay, that way goes the game.
Now I perceive that he hath made compare
Between our itatures; the hath urg'd her height;
And with her perfonage, her tall perfonage,
Her height, forfooth, the hath prevail'd with him.→
And are you grown fo high in his esteem,
Because I am fo dwarfish and fo low?
How low am I, thou painted maypole? speak;
How low am I? I am not yet to low,

But that my nails can reach unto thine eyes.

Hel. I pray you, though you mock me, gentlemen,
Let her not hurt me: I was never curit;
I have no gift at all in fhrewithness;

I am a right maid for my cowardice;
Let her not ftrike me: You, perhaps, may think,
Because the's fomething lower than myfelf,
That I can match her.

Her. Lower! hark, again.

Hel. Good Hermia, do not be fo bitter with me.
I evermore did love you, Hermia;
Did ever keep your counfels, never wrong'd you;
Save that, in love unto Demetrius,

I told him of your stealth unto this wood:
He follow'd you; for love, I follow'd him.
But he hath chid me hence; and threaten'd me
To ftrike me, fpurn me, nay, to kill me too:
And now, fo you will let me quiet go,
To Athens will I bear my folly back,

I Meaning, ingenious, artful. 2 That is, needles. 3 Meaning, fuch a fubject of light merriment. Shakspeare here alludes to the worm that preys on the leaves or buds of flowers, always beginning in the middle,

And

And follow you no further: Let me go:

You fee how fimple and how fond' I am. [you?
Her. Why, get you gone: Who is't that hinders
Hel. A foolish heart, that I leave here behind.
Her. What, with Lyfander?

Hel. With Demetrius.

Lyf. Be not afraid, fhe shall not harm thee, Helena.
Dem. No, fir; the shall not, though you take her
part.

Hel. O, when she's angry, the is keen and fhrewd;
She was a vixen, when she went to school;
And, though the be but little, fhe is fierce.

Her. Little again? nothing but low and little?
Why will you fuffer her to flout me thus ?
Let me come to her.

Lyf. Get you gone, you dwarf ;

To take from thence all error, with his might,
And make his eye-balls roll with wonted fight.
When they next wake, all this derifion
Shall feem a dream, and fruitlefs vifion;
And back to Athens fhall the lovers wend,
With league, whose date 'till death shall never end.
Whiles I in this affair do thee employ,
I'll to my queen, and beg her Indian boy;
And then I will her charmed eye release
From monster's view, and all things shall be peace.
Puck. My fairy lord, this must be done with
hafte ;

For night's swift dragons cut the clouds full fast,
And yonder fhines Aurora's harbinger; [there,
At whofe approach, ghosts, wandering here and
Troop home to church-yards: damned spirits all,

You minimus, of hind'ring knot-grafs made 3; That in cross-ways and floods have burial,
You bead, you acorn.

Dem. You are too officious,

In her behalf that fcorns your fervices.
Let her alone: speak not of Helena;
Take not her part: for if thou doft intend
Never fo little fhew of love to her,
Thou shalt aby 4 it.

Lyf. Now the holds me not;

Now follow, if thou dar'ft, to try whose right,
Or thine or mine, is moft in Helena.

Dem. Follow? nay, I'll go with thee, cheek by
jowl. [Exe. Lyfander and Demetrius.
Her. You, miftrefs, all this coyl is 'long of you:
Nay, go not back.

Hel. I will not trust you, I;

Nor longer stay in your curst company.

Your hands, than mine, are quicker for a fray;
My legs are longer though, to run away.

Her. I am amaz'd, and know not what to fay.
[Exeunt: Hermia purfuing Helena.
Ob. This is thy negligence: ftill thou mistak'ft,
Or elfe commit'ft thy knaveries willingly.

Puck. Believe me, king of fhadows, I mistook.
Did not you tell me, I should know the man
By the Athenian garments he had on?
And fo far blameless proves my enterprize,
That I have 'nointed an Athenian's eyes:
And fo far am I glad it did fo fort 5,
As this their jangling I eftcem a fport.

Already to their wormy beds are gone;
For fear left day should look their shames upon,
They wilfully themfelves exile from light,
And muft for aye confort with black-brow'd night.
Ob. But we are spirits of another fort:

I with the morning's love have oft made sport ;
And, like a forefter, the groves may tread,
Even till the eastern gate, all fiery-red,
Opening on Neptune with fair bleffed beams,
Turns into yellow gold his falt-green streams.
But, notwithstanding, haste; make no delay :
We may effect this business yet ere day. [Exit Ob.
Puck. Up and down, up and down;

I will lead them up and down:

I am fear'd in field and town;
Goblin, lead them up and down.

Here comes one.

Enter Lyfander.

Lyf. Where art thou, proud Demetrius? speak

thou now.

Puck. Here, villain, drawn and ready. Where

art thou?

Lyf. I will be with thee straight.
Puck. Follow me then

To plainer ground.

[Lyf. goes out, as following Dem. Enter Demetrius.

Dem. Lyfander! speak again.

[fight: Thou runaway, thou coward, art thou fled?

Ob. Thou seest,' these lovers feek a place to Speak. In fome buth? where dost thou hide thy

1 That is, foolish. z i. e. you diminutive of the creation, you reptile. 3 Knot-grafs was anciently fuppofed to prevent the growth of any animal or child. 4 To aby is to pay dear for, to tufler. 51. c. fo happen, i. e. falutiferous.

The

The villain is much lighter heel'd than I :
I follow'd faft, but fafter he did fly;
That fallen am I in dark uneven way,
And here will rest me. Come, thou gentle day!
[Lies down.
For if but once thou fhew me thy grey light,
I'll find Demetrius, and revenge this fpight.

Re-enter Puck and Demetrius.

Puck. Ho, ho, ho! coward, why comeft thou not?
Dem. Abide me, if thou dar'ft: for well I wot,
Thou runn'ft before me, fhifting every place;
And dar'st not ftand, nor look me in the face.
Where art thou?

Pack. Come hither; I am here.
Dem. Nay, then thou mock'st me.
buy this dear,

Thou shalt

ACT

SCENE I

A Wood.

Cob. Ready.

IV.

honey-bag, fignior.-Where's monfieur Mustardfeed?

Muft. Ready.

Bot. Give me your neif 2,monfieur Mustard-feed. Pray you, leave your courtesy, good monfieur. Muft. What's your will?

Bos. Nothing, good monfieur, but to help cavalero Cobweb to fcratch. I muft to the barber's, monfieur; for, methinks, I am marvellous hairy about the face: and I am fuch a tender afs, if my hair do but tickle me, I muft fcratch.

Queen. What, wilt thou hear fome musick, my fweet love?

Bot. I have a reafonable good ear in mufick let us have the tongs and the bones 4.

to eat.
Queen. Or, fay, fweet love, what thou defir'ft

Bot. Monfieur Cobweb; good monfieur, get your weapons in your hand, and kill me a red-hip'd Bot. Truly, a peck of provender; I could munch humble-bee on the top of a thiftle; and, good mon- your good dry oats. Methinks I have a great de.. fieur, bring me the honey-bag. Do not fret your-fire to a bottle of hay: good hay, sweet hay, hath felf too much in the action, monfieur; and, good no fellow.

monfieur, have a care the honey-bag break not; Queen. I have a venturous fairy that shall feek would be loth to have you over-flown with a The fquirrel's hoard, and fetch thee new nuts.

To coy is to footh, to ftroke. 2 i. e. fift. and key.

3 Meaning, the old rural mufick of the tongs

Bet.

Bot. I had rather have a handful, or two, of (And will, to-morrow midnight, folemnly, dried peafe.. But, I pray you, let none of your Dance in duke Thefeus' houfe triumphantly, people ftir me; I have an expofition of fleep come And blefs it to all fair pofterity: upon me. [arms. There fhall thefe pairs of faithful lovers be Queen. Sleep thou, and I will wind thee in my Wedded, with Thefeus, all in jollity.

Fairies, be gone, and be all ways away 1.

So doth the woodbine, the sweet honey-fuckle,
Gently entwift, the female ivy fo

Enrings the barky fingers of the elm.

O, how I love thee! how I dote on thee!
Oberon advances. Enter Puck.

Ob. Welcome, good Robin.

fweet fight?

Secft thou this

Her dotage now I do begin to pity.
For meeting her of late, behind the wood,
Seeking fweet favours for this hateful fool,
I did upbraid her, and fall out with her:
For the his hairy temples then had rounded
With coronet of fresh and fragrant flowers;
And that fame dew, which fometime on the buds
Was wont to fwell, like round and orient pearls,
Stood now within the pretty flouret's eyes,
Like tears, that did their own difgrace bewail.
When I had, at my pleasure, taunted her,
And the, in mild terms, begg'd my patience,
I then did afk of her her changeling child;
Which ftrait she gave me, and her fairy fent
To bear him to my bower in fairy land.
And, now I have the boy, I will undo
This hateful imperfection of her eyes.
And, gentle Puck, take this transformed fcalp
From off the head of the Athenian fwain ;
That he awaking when the others do,
May all to Athens back again repair;
And think no more of this night's accidents,
But as the fierce vexation of a dream.
But first I will releafe the fairy queen;
Be, as thon waft wont to be;
[Touching her

Puck. Fairy king, attend, and mark;
I do hear the morning lark.

Ob. Then my queen, in filence fad 2,
Trip we after the night's fhade:
We the globe can compafs foon,
Swifter than the wand'ring moon.

Quen. Come, my lord; and in our flight,
Tell me how it came this night,

That I fleeping here was found,
With thefe mortals, on the ground. Exeunt.
[ind be

within.

Enter Thefeus, Egeut, Hippelita, and train.
Th. Go, one of you, find out the forefter ;-
For now our obfervation is perform'd 3 :
And fince we have the vaward + of the day,
My love fhall hear the mufick of my hounds.-
Uncouple in the western valley; go:-
Difpatch, I fay, and find the foretter.---
We will, fair queen, up to the mountain's top,
And mark the mufical confufion

Of hounds and ccho in conjunction.

Hip. I was with Hercules, and Codmus, once,
When in a wood of Crete they bay'd the bear
With hounds of Sparta: never did I hear
Such gallant chiding 5; for, befides the groves,
The kies, the fountains, every region near
Seem'd all one mutual cry; 1 never heard
So mufical a difcord, fuch fweet thunder. (kind,
The. My hounds are bred out of the Spartan
So few'd, fo fanded, and their heads are hung
With ears that fweep away the morning dew:
Crook-knee'd, and dew-lap'd like Theftalian bulls ;
Stow in purfuit, but match'd in mouth like bells,
with an herb Each under each. Acry more turcible

eyes
See, as thou waft wont to fee:
Dian's bud o'er Cupid's flower

Hath fuch force and bleed power.
Now, my Titania; wake you, my fweet queen.
Queen. My Oberon! what vifions have I feen!
Methought I was enamour'd of an aís.

Cb. There lies your love.

Queen. How came thefe things to pass? Oh, how mine eye doth loath his vifage now! ub. Silence, a while.- -Robin, take off this

Was never halloo'd te, net cheer'd with horn,
In Crete, in Sparta, nor in Theffaly : [are thefe ?
Judge, when you hear.-But, foft; what nymphis
Ege. My lord, this is my daughter here aileep ;
And this, Lyfander; this Demetrius is;
This Helena, oid Nedar's Helena:
I wonder at their being here together.

The. No doubt, they rofe up early, to obferve
The rite of May; and, hearing our intent,
Came here in grace of our folemnity.--
But, fpeak, Egeus; is not this the day
That Hermia fhould give answer of her choice?
Ege. It is, my lord.

The. Go, bid the huntfmen wake them with
their horns.

Horns, and bout within; Demetrius, Lyfander, Hermia, and Helena, wake and start up.

The. Good-morrow, friends. Saint Valentine is Begin thefe wood-birds but to couple now? [paft;

1 That is, difperfe yourselves. 2 i. e. grave, or fober. 3 Meaning, the honours due to the morning of May. 4 Vaward is an obfolete word fignifying the fore part. 5 Chiding means found.

fo mouthed. Flews are the large chaps of a deep-mouthed hound.

。 i. c.

Lyf.

Ly. Pardon, my lord. [They all kneel to Thefeus. Dem. Why then, we are awake: let's follow The. I pray you all, stand up. 'And, by the way, let us recount our dreams. [him;

Was, to be gone from Athens, where we might be thought I was there is no man can tell what. Without the peril of the Athenian law.

Ege. Enough, enough, my lord; you have enough; man is but a patch'd fool 3, if he will offer to fay I beg the law, the law, upon his head.- [trius,what methought I had. The eye of man hath not They would have ftol'n away, they would, Deme-heard, the ear of man hath not feen; man's hand Thereby to have defeated you and me: You, of your wife; and me, of my confent; Of my confent that the should be your wife.

Come, Hippolita. [Exe.Thefias, Hippolita, and tain more married: if our sport had gone forward, we
Dem. These things feem (mall, and undiftinguith-had all been made men 4.
Like far-off mountains turned into clouds. [able,]
Hør. Methinks I fee thefe things with parted eye, fix-pence a-day during his life; he could not have

* Fancyhere means love or affection. 2 See the note in p. 175. 3 i. c. a fool in a parti-coloured coat. Meaning, we had all made our fortunes.