Have you no modefty, no maiden fhame,
No touch of bafhfulness? what, will you tear
Impatient answers from my gentle tongue?
Fie, fie, you counterfeit; you puppet, you.
Her. Puppet! why, fo: ay, that way goes the game
Now, I perceive, that the hath made compare
Between our ftatures; fhe 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 éfteem,
Because I am fo dwarfifh and fo low?
How low am I, thou painted maypole? speak,
How low am I? I am not yet fo 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 curft;

I have no gift at all in fhrewishness;

I am a right maid, for my cowardice:

Let her not ftrike me. You, perhaps, may think,
Because fhe's fomething lower than my felf,
That I can match her.

Her. Lower! hark, again.

Hel. Good Hermia, do not be so 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 ftealth 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,
And follow you no further. Let me go.
You fee, how fimple and how fond I am.

Her. Why, get you gone; who is't, that hinders you?
Hel. A foolish heart, that I leave here behind.
Her. What, with Lyfander?

Hel. With Demetrius.

Lyf. Be not afraid, the fhall not harm thee, Helena. Pem. No, Sir, fhe shall not, though you take her part.

I 4

Hel

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

You Minimus, of hind'ring knot-grafs made, (20)
You bead, you acorn.

Dem. You are too officious,

In her behalf that fcorns your fervices.

Let her alone, fpeak not of Helena,

Take not her part; for if thou doft intend

Never fo little fhew of love to her,

Thou shalt aby it.

Lyf. Now he holds me not;

Now follow, if thou dar'ft; to try whofe right,
Or thine, or mine, is most in Helena.

Dem. Follow? nay, I'll go with thee cheek by jowl.

[Exeunt Lylander 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 curft company.

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

[Exeunt: Herm. pursuing Helena.

Enter Oberon and Puck.

"

Ob. This is thy negligence: ftill thou mistak'ft, Or elfe committ'it thy knaveries willingly.

(20) You Minimus, -] This is no Term of Art, that I can find ; and I can scarce be willing to think, that Shakespeare, would ufe the Masculine of an Adjective to a Woman. He was not fo deficient in Grammar. I have not ventur'd to disturb the Text; but the Author, perhaps, might have wrote;

You, Minim, you,

i. e. You Diminutive of the Creation, you Reptile.

In this Senfe, to ufe a more recent Authority, Milton ufes the Word in the 7th Book of Paradife Loft.

Thefe as a Line their long Dimenfion drew,
Streaking the Ground with finuous Trace; not all
Minims of Nature:

Puck.

Puck. Believe me, King of fhadows, I miftook.
Did not you tell me, I fhould 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,
As this their jangling I efteem a fport.

Ob. Thou feeft, thefe lovers feek a place to fight; Hie therefore, Robin, overcaft the night;

The starry welkin cover thou anon
With drooping fog, as black as Acheron;
And lead thefe tefty rivals fo aftray,
As one come not within another's way.
Like to Lyfander, fometime, frame thy tongue,
Then ftir Demetrius up with bitter wrong;
And fometime rail thou, like Demetrius;

And from each other, look, thou lead them thus;
"Till o'er their brows death-counterfeiting fleep
With leaden legs and batty wings doth creep;
Then crush this herb into Lyfander's eye,
Whose liquor hath this virtuous property,
To take from thence all error with its might;
And make his eye-balls rowl with wonted fight.'
When they next wake, all this derifion
Shall feem a dream, and fruitless vifion;
And back to Athens fhall the lovers wend
With league, whose date 'till death fhall 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 fhall be peace.
Puck. My fairy lord, this must be done with hafte,
For night's fwift dragons cut the clouds full faft,
And yonder fhines Aurora's harbinger;

At whose approach, ghofts wandring here and there
Troop home to church-yards; damned fpirits all,
That in cross-ways and floods have burial,
Already to their wormy beds are gone;
For fear left day fhould look their thames upon,

They

They willfully exile themselves from light;
And muft for aye confort with black-brow'd night.
Ob, But we are fpirits of another fort;
I with the morning-light have oft made sport;
And, like a forefter, the groves may tread,
Ev'n 'till the eastern gate, all fiery red,
Opening on Neptune with fair bleffed beams,
Turns into yellow gold his falt green streams.
But, notwithstanding, hafte; make no delay;
We may effect this business yet ere day. [Exit Oberon.
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? fpeak thou

now.

Puck. Here, villain, drawn and ready. Where art thou?

Lys. I will be with thee ftraight.

Puck. Follow me then

To plainer ground. [Lyf. goes out, as following Dem.

Enter Demetrius.

Dem. Lyfander, fpeak again;

Thou run-away, thou coward, art thou fled?
Speak in fome bufh: where doft thou hide thy head?
Puck. Thou coward, art thou bragging to the ftars,
Telling the,bufhes 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,

Lyfander comes back.

[Exeunt.

Lyf. He goes before me, and still dares me on; When I come where he calls me, then he's gone.

The

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:

[Lyes down,

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

Enter Puck and Demetrius.

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 places And dar'ft not ftand, 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; faintness constraineth me
To measure out my length on this cold bed.
By day's approach look to be visited.

Enter Helena.

[Lye's 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 these, 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 four.
Here he comes, curft and fad:

Cupid is a knavish lad,

Thus to make poor females mad.

Enter Hermia.

Her. Never fo weary, never fo in woe,

[Sleeps

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