Puck. Thou coward, art thou bragging to the ftars, Telling the bushes that thou look'ft for wars,

And wilt not come? come, recreant; come, thou child, I'll whip thee with a rod; he is defil'd,

That draws a fword on thee.

Dem. Yea, art thou there?

Puck. Follow my voice. we'll try no manhood here.'

Lyf. He

Lyfander comes back.

goes before me,

[Exeunt.

and ftill dares me on; When I come where he calls me, then he's gone. The villain is much lighter-heel'd, than I:

I follow'd faft, but fafter he did fly;
That fall'n am I in dark uneven way,

And here will reft me. Come, thou gentle day:

For if but once thou fhew me thy gray light,
Pll find Demetrius, and revenge this fpight.

Enter Puck and Demetrius.

[Lies down.

Puck. Ho, ho, ho, coward, why com'ft thou not?
Dem. Abide me, if thou dar'ft: for well I wot,

Thou runn'ft before me, fhifting every place;
And dar'ft not stand, nor look me in the face.

Where art thou?

Puck. Come thou hither, I am here.

Dem. Nay, then thou mock'ft me; thou shalt buy this dear,

If ever I thy face by day-light fee.

Now, go thy way; faintnefs constraineth me
To meafure out my length on this cold bed.
By day's approach look to be vifited.

Enter Helena.

[Lies down.

Hel. O weary night, O long and tedious night, Abate thy hours; fhine, comforts, from the Eaft:

That I may back to Athens by day-light,

From thefe, that my poor company deteft;

And fleep, that fometimes fhuts.

up

forrow's eye,

Steal me a while from mine own company.

Puck. Yet but three? come one more,

Two of both kinds make.

up

Here fhe comes, curft and fad:
Cupid is a knavish lad,

four.

Thus to make poor females mad.

Enter Hermia.

Her. Never fo weary, never fo in woe,
Bedabbled with the dew, and torn with briars,
I can no further crawl, no further go;

My legs can keep no pace with my defires:

Here will I reft me, 'till the break of day."

Heav'ns fhield Lyfander, if they mean a fray! [Lies down. Puck. On the ground fleep found,

I'll apply to your eye, gentle lover, remedy."

[Squeezing the juice on Lyfander's eye.

When thou wak'ft, thou tak'st

True delight in the fight of thy former lady's eye;
And the country proverb known,

That every man fhould take his own,
In your waking fhall be fhown.

Jack hall have Jill, naught fhall go ill,

The man shall have his mare again, and all be well.

}

[Exit Puck. [They fleep.

SCENE continued, the Wood.

Enter Queen of Fairies, Bottom, Fairies attending, and the King behind them.

C

QUEEN.

OME, fit thee down upon this flow'ry bed,
While I thy amiable cheeks do coy,

And tick mufk-rofes in thy fleek, smooth'd head;
And kifs thy fair large ears, my gentle joy.

Bot.

Bot. Where's Peafebloffom?

Pease. Ready.

Bot. Scratch my head, Peafebloom. Where's monfieur Cobweb?

Cob. Ready.

Bot. Monfieur Cobweb, good monfieur, get your weapons in your hand, and kill me a red-hipt humblebee on the top of a thiftle; and, good monfieur, bring me the honey-bag. Do not fret yourfelf too much in the action, monfieur; and, good monfieur, have a care, the honey-bag break not; I fhould be loth to have you over-flown with a honey-bag, fignior. Where's monfieur Muftardfeed?

Muft. Ready.

Bot. Give me thy neafe, monfieur, Mustardfeed; pray you, leave your curtefy, good monfieur.

Muft. What's your will?

Bot. 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 doth but tickle me, I muft fcratch.

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

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

Rural Mufick, Tongs, &c.

Queen. Or fay, fweet love, what thou defir'ft to eat. Bot. Truly, a peck of provender; I could munch your good dry oats. Methinks, I have a great defire. to a bottle of hay good hay, fweet hay hath no fellow.

Queen. I have a venturous Fairy that fhall feek the fquirrel's hoard, and fetch thee new nuts.

Bot. I had rather have a handful or two of dried peafe. But, I pray you, let none of your people ftir me; I have an expofition of fleep come upon me.

Queen. Sleep thou, and I will wind thee in my arms;

Fairies,

Fairies, be gone, and be all ways away: (15)
So doth the woodbine, the fweet honey-fuckle, (16)
Gently entwift the Maple; Ivy fo

Enrings the barky fingers of the Elm.

O, how I love thee! how I doat on thee!

Enter Puck.

Ob. Welcome, good Robin; Seeft thou this sweet fight? Her dotage now I do begin to pity';

For, meeting her of late behind the wood,
Seeking sweet 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 fometimes on the buds
Was wont to fwell, like round and orient pearls,
Stood now within the pretty flouriet'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 ask of her her changeling child,
Which ftrait fhe gave me, and her Fairy fent

(15) -and be always away.] What! was She giving her Attendants an everlasting Difmiffion? No fuch Thing; they were to be still upon Duty. I am convinced, the Poet meant ;

and be all ways away.

i. e. difperfe yourfelves, and fcout out feverally, in your Watch that danger approach us from no Quarter.

16) So doth the Woodbine the fweet Honey-fuckle Gently entavif; the female ivy fo

Enrings the barky Fingers of the Elm.] What does the Woodbine entwift? Why the Honey-fuckle. But ever till now the Honeyfuckle and the Woodbine were but two Names for the fame 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 turned it into Female, and tack'd it as an Epithet to Ivy. Mr, Warburton.

Το

To bear him to my bower in Fairy-land.
And now I have the boy, I will undo
This hateful imperfection of her eye:

And, gentle Puck, take this transformed scalp
From off the head of this Athenian swain;
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 release the Fairy Queen;

Be, as thou waft wont to be;
See, as thou waft went to fee:
Dian's bud o'er Cupid's flow'r

Hath fuch force and bieffed power. (17)

Now, my Titania, wake you, my fweet Queen. boo Queen. My Oberon! what vifions have I seen! Methought, I was enamour'd of an afs.

Ob. There lies your love.

Queen. How came these things to pass ?
Oh, how mine eyes do loath this vifage now!
Ob. Silence, a while; Robin, take off his head ;
Titania, mufick call; and ftrike more dead (18)
Than common fleep of all these five the fenfe.

Queen. Mufick, ho! mufick: fuch as charmeth fleep.

(17) Dian's Bud, or Cupid's flow'r.] Thus all the Editions had ftupidly exhibited this Paffage. The ingenous Dr. Thirlby gave me the Correction, which I have inferted in the Text, and which, doubtless, reftores us the Author. Oberon in A&t the 2d, where he firft propofes to enchant his Queen's Eyes and Senfe, tells us, he has an Antidote to take off the Charm.

(18) Titania, Mufick call, and firike more dead

Than common Sleep. Of all these fine the Senfe] This mot 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 Senfes? My Emendation, I am perfuaded, needs no Juftification. The fine, that lay afleep on the Stage, were, Demetrius, Lyfander, Hermia, Helena, and Bottom. I ought to acknowledge, that Dr. Thirlby likewife ftarted and communicated this very Correion.