Dem. I will not stay thy questions; let me go: Or, if thou follow me, do not believe But I shall do thee mischief in the wood. Hel. Ay, in the temple, in the town, the field, [Exeunt DEM. and HEL. Ob. Fare thee well, nymph: ere he do leave this grove, Thou shalt fly him, and he shall seek thy love.— Re-enter PUCK. Hast thou the flower there? Welcome, wanderer. Ob. I pray thee, give it me. I know a bank where on the wild thyme blows, And with the juice of this I'll streak her eyes, Take thou some of it, and seek through this grove: With a disdainful youth: anoint his eyes; [5] The oxlip is the greater conslip. STEEVENS. [Exeunt. [6]-the man--had on.] I desire no surer evidence to prove that the broad Scotch pronunciation once prevailed in England, than such a rhyme as the first of these words affords to the second. STEEVENS. SCENE III. Another part of the wood. Enter TITANIA, with her Train. 1 SONG. I. 1 Fai. You spotted snakes, with double tongue,' Chorus. Philomel, with melody, Sing in our sweet lullaby; Lulla, lulla, lullaby; lulla, lulla, lullaby : Never harm, nor spell nor charm, So, good night, with lullaby. II. 2 Fai. Weaving spiders, come not here; Hence, you long-legg'd spinners, hence: Worm, nor snail, do no offence. Chorus. Philomel, with melody, &c. [7] A roundel is a dance in a ring. GRAY. [8] Dr. Warburton reads:-for the third part of the midnight.-But the persons employed are fairies, to whom the third part of a minute might not be a very short time to do such work in. The critic might as well have objected to the epithet tall, which the fairy bestows on the cowslip. But Shakespeare, through the play, has preserved the proportion of other things in respect of these tiny beings, compared with whose size, a cowslip might be tall, and to whose powers of execution, a minute might be equivalent to an age. STEEVENS. [9] A rere-mouse is a bat, a mouse that raises itself from the ground by the aid of wings. STEEVENS. [1] By both these terms, I suppose, our author means-forked; as the tongues of snakes are sometimes represented in ancient tapestry and paintings, and, it may be added, are so in nature. STEEVENS. [2] The newt is the eft, the blind-worm is the Cacilia or slow-worm. They are both ingredients in the cauldron of Macbeth. See Macbeth Act IV. sc. i. STEEVENS. 1 Fai. Hence, away; now all is well: One, aloof, stand centinel. [Exeunt Fairies. TITANIA sleeps. Enter OBERON. Obe. What thou seest, when thou dost awake, [Squeezes the flower on TITANIA's eye-lids. Do it for thy true love take; Love, and languish for his sake: Enter LYSANDER and HERMIA. [Exit. Lys. Fair love, you faint with wandering in the wood; And to speak troth, I have forgot our way; We'll rest us, Hermia, if you think it good, And tarry for the comfort of the day. Her. Be it so, Lysander: find you out a bed, For I upon this bank will rest my head. h; Lys. One turf shall serve as pillow for us both Lys. O, take the sense, sweet, of my innocence; T mean, that my heart unto yours is knit ; So that but one heart can we make of it: Her. Lysander riddles very prettily:- JOHNSON. [2] The ounce is a small tiger, or tiger-cat. [3] The idea is exactly similar to that of St. Paul: "Love thinketh no evil." HENLEY. [4] This word, of which the etymology is not exactly known, implies a siniste wish, and means the same as if she had said "now ill befall my manners," &c. STEEVENS. See Minsheu's etymology of it, which seems to be an imprecation or wish of such evil to one, as the venomous biting of the shren-mouse. TOLLET. But, gentle friend, for love and courtesy, Here is my bed: Sleep give thee all his rest! Her. With half that wish the wisher's eyes be press'd! [They sleep Enter PUCK. Puck. Through the forest have I gone, On whose eyes I might approve And here the maiden, sleeping sound, Near this lack-love, kill-courtesy. All the power this charm doth owe : So wake, when I am gone; For I must now to Oberon. Enter DEMETRIUS and HELENA, running. Hel. Stay, though thou kill me, sweet Demetrius. [Exit. Dem. I charge thee, hence, and do not haunt me thus. Hel. O, I am out of breath in this fond chace! How came her eyes so bright? Not with salt tears: No, no, I am as ugly as a bear; For beasts, that meet me, run away for fear: {Exit. B 2 Therefore, no marvel, though Demetrius -- Lys. And run through fire I will, for thy sweet sake. Transparent Helena! Nature here shows art, Is that vile name, to perish on my sword! What though he love your Hermia? Lord, what though? Hel. Wherefore was I to this keen mockery born? Is't not enough, is't not enough, young man, That I did never, no, nor never can, Deserve a sweet look from Demetrius' eye, But you must flout my insufficiency? Good troth, you do me wrong, good sooth, you do, But fare you well: perforce I must confess, Should, of another, therefore be abus'd! [Exit. Lys. She sees not Hermia :-Hermia, sleep thou there; [5] That is, My will now follows reason. JOHNSON. [6] Gentleness is equivalen' what, in modern language, we should call the spirit of a gentleman. PERC |