Hel. O weary night, O long and tedious night, Two of both kinds makes up four. Cupid is a knavish lad, Thus to make poor females mad. your weapons in your hand, and kill me a redhipped humble-bee on the top of a thistle; and, Enter TITANIA and BOTTOM, Fairies attending; good monsieur, bring me the honey-bag. Do not OBERON behind unseen. fret yourself too much in the action, monsieur; and, good monsieur, have a care the honey-bag break not; I would be loth to have you overflown with a honey-bag, signior.-Where's Monsieur Mustardseed? Must. Ready. Bot. Give me your neif, Monsieur Mustardseed. Pray you, leave your courtesy, good monsieur. Must. What's your will? Bot. Nothing, good monsieur, but to help Like tears, that did their own disgrace bewail. [Touching her eyes with an herb. fool's eyes peep. Obe. Sound, music. [Still music.] Come, my queen, take hands with me, And rock the ground whereon these sleepers be. There shall the pairs of faithful lovers be I do hear the morning lark. Trip we after the night's shade: Enter THESEUS, HIPPOLYTA, EGEUS, and Train. - For now our observation is performed; Hip. I was with Hercules, and Cadmus, once, Thes. My hounds are bred out of the Spartan kind, So flewed, so sanded; and their heads are hung With ears that sweep away the morning dew; Crook-kneed, and dew-lapped like Thessalian bulls; Slow in pursuit, but matched in mouth like bells, Ege. My lord, this is my daughter here asleep; Thes. No doubt, they rose up early, to observe The rite of May; and, hearing our intent, Came here in grace of our solemnity.But, speak, Egeus; is not this the day That Hermia should give answer of her choice? Ege. It is, my lord. Thes. Go, bid the huntsmen wake them with their horns. Horns and shout within. DEMETRIUS, LYSANDER, Begin these wood-birds but to couple now? Thes. I [He and the rest kneel to THESEUS. pray you all, stand up. I know, you are two rival enemies; How comes this gentle concord in the world, That hatred is so far from jealousy, To sleep by hate, and fear no enmity? Lys. My lord, I shall reply amazedly, Half 'sleep, half waking: but as yet, I swear, I cannot truly say how I came here: But, as I think (for truly would I speak,And now I do bethink me, so it is), I came with Hermia hither: our intent Was, to be gone from Athens, where we might be Without the peril of the Athenian law. Ege. Enough, enough, my lord; you have enough: I beg the law, the law upon his head.- Thereby to have defeated you and me: Of this their purpose hither, to this wood; Fair Helena in fancy following me. But, my good lord, I wot not by what power Thes. Fair lovers, you are fortunately met: [Exeunt THESEUS, HIPPOLYTA, EGEUS, and Train. Dem. These things seem small and undistin As they go out, BOTTOM awakes. Bot. When my cue comes, call me, and I will answer :--my next is, "Most fair Pyramus."— Hey, ho!-Peter Quince! Flute, the bellowsmender! Snout, the tinker! Starveling! God's my life! stolen hence, and left me asleep! I have had a most rare vision. I have had a dream,―past the wit of man to say what dream it was:-man is but an ass, if he go about to expound this dream. Methought I was,-there is no man can tell what. Methought I was, and methought I had,-but man is but a patched fool, if he will offer to say what methought I had. The eye of man hath not heard, the ear of man hath not seen; man's hand is not able to taste, his tongue to conceive, nor his heart to report, what my dream was. I will get Peter Quince to write a ballad of this dream: it shall be called "Bottom's Dream," because it hath no bottom; and I will sing it in the latter end of a play, before the duke: peradventure, to make it the more gracious, I shall sing it at her death. [Exit. SCENE II.-Athens. A Room in QUINCE's House. Enter QUINCE, FLUTE, SNOUT, and STARVELING. Quin. Have you sent to Bottom's house?—is he come home yet? Star. He cannot be heard of. Out of doubt, he is transported. Flu. If he come not, then the play is marred; it goes not forward, doth it? Quin. It is not possible: you have not a man in all Athens, able to discharge Pyramus, but he. Flu. No; he hath simply the best wit of any handicraft man in Athens. Quin. Yea, and the best person too: and he is a very paramour for a sweet voice. Flu. You must say, paragon: a paramour is, God bless us! a thing of nought. Enter SNUG. Snug. Masters, the duke is coming from the temple, and there is two or three lords and ladies more married: if our sport had gone forward, we had all been made men. Flu. O sweet Bully Bottom! Thus hath he lost sixpence a-day during his life; he could not have 'scaped sixpence a-day: an the duke had not given him sixpence a-day for playing Pyramus, I'll be hanged; he would have deserved it sixpence a-day, in Pyramus, or nothing. Enter BOTTOM. Bot. Where are these lads? where are these hearts? Quin. Bottom!-O most courageous day! O most happy hour! Bot. Masters, I am to discourse wonders: but ask me not what; for if I tell you, I am no true Athenian. I will tell you everything, right as it fell out. Quin. Let us hear, sweet Bottom. Bot. Not a word of me. All that I will tell you, is, that the duke hath dined: get your apparel together; good strings to your beards, new ribands to your pumps; meet presently at the palace; every man look o'er his part; for, the short and the long is, our play is preferred. In any case, let Thisby have clean linen; and let not him that plays the lion, pare his nails, for they shall hang out for the lion's claws. And, most dear actors, eat no onions, nor garlick, for we are to utter sweet breath; and I do not doubt but to hear them say, it is a sweet comedy. No words; away; go away. [Exeunt. SCENE 1.-The same. An Apartment in the Palace of THESEUS. Enter THESEUS, HIPPOLYTA, PHILOSTRATE, Lords, and Attendants. Hip. "Tis strange, my Theseus, that these lovers speak of. Thes. More strange than true. I never may These antique fables, nor these fairy toys. One sees more devils than vast hell can hold; And, as imagination bodies forth The forms of things unknown, the poet's pen Hip. But all the story of the night told over, Enter LYSANDER, DEMETRIUS, HERMIA, and HELENA. Thes. Here come the lovers, full of joy and mirth. Joy, gentle friends! joy, and fresh days of love, Accompany your hearts! Lys. More than to us Wait on your royal walks, your board, your bed! |