If ever I thy face by day-light fee.

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

SCENE

[Lyes down.

IX.

Enter Helena.

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

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 awhile 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.

[Sleeps.

Her. Never fo weary, never fo in woe,
Bedabbled with the dew, and torn with briers,

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! [Lyes down.
Puck. On the ground
Sleep found,

I'll apply

To your eye,

Gentle lover, remedy.

[Squeezing the juice on Lyfander's eye.

When thou wak'it,

Thou tak't

True delight

In the fight

Of thy former lady's eye;

And

And the country proverb known,
That every man fhould take his own,
In your waking fhall be shown.
Jack fhall have Jill,

Naught fhall go ill,

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

}

*ACT IV.

[Exit Puck. [They fleep.

SCENE I.

Continued, The Wood.

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

C

QUEEN.

3

OME, fit thee down upon this flow'ry bed,
While I thy amiable cheeks do coy,
And stick mufk rofes in thy fleek, fimooth'd head;
And kifs thy fair large ears, my gentle joy..

Bot. Where's Peafebloom?

Pease. Ready.

Bot. Scratch my head Peafelloffom. 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 thile; 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

* I fee no good reafon why the fourth act should begin here when there feems no interruption of the action. In the old quartos of 1600 there is no divifion of acts, which feems to

have been afterwards arbitrarily made in the first folio, and may therefore be altered at pleasure.

L 3

3-do coy.] To coy is to footh. SKINNER. have

have you overflown with a honey-bag, fignior. Where's monfieur Muftardfeed?

Muft. Ready.

Bot. Give me thy neife, monfieur Muftardfeed; 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 such a tender ass, if my hair doth but tickle me, I muft fcratch.

Queen, What, wilt thou hear fome musick, my fweet

[love? Bot. I have a reasonable 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 shall seek The fquirrel's hoard, and fetch thee new nuts.

Bot. I had rather have a handful or two of dried pease. 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, be gone, and be all ways away : So doth the woodbine, the fweet honey-fuckle,

4

Gently

out feverally, in your Watch that
danger approach us from no
Quarter.
THEOBALD
Mr. Upton reads,

And be away-away.
5. So doth the woodbine the free!
honey fuckle,
Gently entwift; the FEMALE Ivy
fo

Enrings

Gently entwift; the female 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 fweet* favours for this hateful fool,
I did upbraid her, and fall out with her:
For fhe his hairy temples then had rounded
With coronet of fresh and flagrant flowers;
And that fame dew, which fometimes 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 fhe in mild terms begg'd my patience,
I then did afk of her her changeling child,
Which ftraight he gave me, and her Fairy fent

Enrings the barky fingers of the

Elm.] What does the wood bine entwift? The honey fuckle But the woodbine and boney fuckle were, till now, but two names for one and the fame p'ant. Flo rio, in his Italian Dictionary, interprets Madre Selva by woodbinde or honnie fuckle We mult therefore find a support for the zwoodbine as well as for the Ivy Which is done by reading the lines thus,

So doth the woodbine, the fweet
boney juckle,
Gently entswift the MAPLE; Ivy
Jo

Enrings the barky fingers of the
Elm.
The corruption might happen by

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 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 release the Fairy Queen;
Be, as thou waft wont to be;

See, as thou waft went to fee:
Dian's bud d'er Cupid's flow'r

Hath fuch force and bl fed power.

6

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

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

Than common fleep of all these five the fenfe. 7 Queen. Mulick, ho! mufick: fuch as charmeth fleep.

Still Mufick.

Puck. When thou awak'it, with thine own fool's eyes

peep

6 Dian's Bud, or Cupid's flow'r Thus all the Editions. The ingerous Dr. Thirlby gave me the Correction, which i have inferted in theText. THEOBALD.

7 Titania, Mufick call, and
frike more dead
Than common Sleep. Of all
thefe fine the Senfe.] This

most certainly, is both corrupt in the Text, and Puinting. My Emendation needs no Juftification. The five, that lay afleep on the Stage, were, Demetrius, Lyfander, Hermia, Helena and Bottom Dr. Thirlby likewife communicated this very Correction. THEOBALD.

Ob.