Puck. I took him fleeping,-that is finish'd too,And the Athenian woman by his fide;

That, when he wak'd, of force she must be ey❜d.

Enter DEMETRIUS and HERMIA.

Obe. Stand clofe; this is the fame Athenian. Puck. This is the woman, but not this the man. Dem. O, why rebuke you him that loves you fo? Lay breath fo bitter on your bitter foe.

Her. Now I but chide, but I fhould use thee worse;
For thou, I fear, haft given me cause to curfe.
If thou haft flain Lyfander in his fleep,

Being o'er fhoes in blood, plunge in the deep,
And kill me too.

The fun was not fo true unto the day,

As he to me: Would he have ftol'n away
From fleeping Hermia? I'll believe as foon,
This whole earth may be bor'd; and that the moon
May through the center creep, and so displease
Her brother's noon-tide with the Antipodes .
It cannot be, but thou haft murder'd him;
So fhould a murderer look; fo dead', fo grim.
Dem. So fhould the murder'd look; and so should I,
Pierc'd through the heart with your stern cruelty:
Yet you, the murderer, look as bright, as clear,
As vonder Venus in ner glimmering fphere.

Her. What's this to my Lyfander? where is he?
Ah, good Demetrius, wilt thou give him me?

Dem. I had rather give his carcafe to my hounds.
Her. Out, dog! out, cur! thou driv'ft me past the

bounds

Being o'er fhoes in blood,] An allufion to the proverb, Over shoes, over boots. JOHNSON.

9-with the Antipodes.] i. e. on the other fide of the globe. EDWARDS. -fo dead,] So again in K Henry IV. P. II. Act. I. fc. iii : "Even jusb a man, fo faint, fo fpiritless,

"So dull, fa dead in look, fo wee-begone. STEEVENS.

So alfo in Iodge's Doraftus and Fawnia: "if thou marry in age, thy wife's fresh colours will breed in thee dead thoughts and fufpicion.

MALONE.
Of

Of maiden's patience. Haft thou flain him then?
Henceforth be never number'd among men!
O! once tell true, tell true, even for my fake;
Durft thou have look'd upon him, being awake,
And haft thou kill'd him fleeping? O brave touch 3!
Could not a worm, an adder, do fo much?

An adder did it; for with doubler tongue
Than thine, thou ferpent, never adder ftung.

Dem. You spend your paffion on a mifpris'd mood 4: I am not guilty of Lyfander's blood;

Nor is he dead, for aught that I can tell.

Her. I pray thee tell me then that he is well.
Dem. An if I could, what fhould I get therefore?
Her. A privilege, never to fee me more.-

And from thy hated prefence part I fo5:
See me no more, whether he be dead or no.

[Exit.

Dem. There is no following her in this fierce vein:
Here, therefore, for a while I will remain.
So forrow's heavinefs doth heavier grow,
For debt that bankrupt fleep doth forrow owe;
Which now in fome flight measure it will pay,
If for his tender here I make fome stay.

[lies down.

Obe. What haft thou done? thou haft miftaken quite, And laid the love-juice on fome true love's fight: Of thy mifprifion must perforce enfue

Some true love turn'd, and not a false turn'd true.'

2 Durft thou have look'd upon him, being awake,

And baft thou kill'd him fleeping?] She means, Haft thou kill'd him fleeping, whom, when awake, thou didst not dare to look upon? MALONE.

3

O brave touch!] Touch in Shakspeare's time was the fame with our explait, or rather ftroke. A brave touch, a noble ftroke, un grand coup. JOHNSON.

A touch anciently fignified a trick. In the old black letter ftory of Howleglas, it is always ufed in that fenfe. STEEVENS.

4 - mifpriz'd mood:] Miftaken; fo below mifprifion is mistake.

JOHNSON.

Mood is anger, or perhaps rather in this place, capricious fancy.

5

MALONE.

-part I fo:] So, which is not in the old copy, was inferted for the fake of both metre and rhime, by Mr. Pope. MALONE.

Puck.

Puck. Then fate o'er-rules; that, one man holding troth, A million fail, confounding oath on oath.

Obe. About the wood go swifter than the wind, And Helena of Athens look thou find :

All fancy-fick fhe is, and pale of cheer

With fighs of love, that coft the fresh blood dear:
By fome illufion fee thou bring her here;
I'll charm his eyes, against she do appear.
Puck. I I go, I go; look, how I go;

Swifter than arrow from the Tartar's bow.
Obe. Flower of this purple dye,
Hit with Cupid's archery,

Sink in apple of his eye!
When his love he doth espy,
Let her fhine as gloriously
As the Venus of the sky.-

When thou wak'ft, if she be by,

Beg of her for remedy.

Re-enter PUCK.

Puck. Captain of our fairy band,
Helena is here at hand;

And the youth mistook by me,

Pleading for a lover's fee';

Shall we their fond pageant fee?

Lord, what fools thefe mortals be!

[Exit.

Obe. Stand afide: the noise they make,

Will caufe Demetrius to awake.

Puck. Then will two, at once, woo one;

That must needs be sport alone:

And those things do beft please me,

That befal prepofterously.

Enter LYSANDER, and HELENA.

Lys. Why fhould you think, that I fhould woo in fcorn? Scorn and derifion never come in tears:

• Hit with Cupid's archery,] This alludes to what was faid before: the bolt of Cupid fell:

It fell upon a little western flower,

Before milk-white, now purple with love's wound. STEEV.

Look

Look, when I vow, I weep; and vows fo born,
In their nativity all truth appears.
How can these things in me seem scorn to you,
Bearing the badge of faith to prove them true?
Hel. You do advance your cunning more and more.
When truth kills truth, O devilish-holy fray!
These vows are Hermia's; Will you give her o'er?
Weigh oath with oath, and you will nothing weigh:
Your vows, to her and me, put in two scales,
Will even weigh; and both as light as tales.

Lys. I had no judgement, when to her I fwore.
Hel. Nor none, in my mind, now you give her o'er.
Lys. Demetrius loves her, and he loves not you.
Dem. [awaking.] O Helen, goddess, nymph, perfect,
divine!

To what, my love, fhall I compare thine eyne?
Crystal is muddy. O, how ripe in show
Thy lips, thofe kiffing cherries, tempting grow!
That pure congealed white, high Taurus' Inow",
Fann'd with the eastern wind, turns to a crow,
When thou hold'ft up thy hand: O let me kifs
This princefs of pure white, this feal of blifs!
Hel. O fpight! O hell! I fee you all are bent
To fet against me, for your merriment.
If you were civil, and knew courtesy,
You would not do me thus much injury.
Can you not hate me, as I know you do,

But you must join, in fouls', to mock me too?

If

7-Taurus' Snow,] Taurus is the name of a range of mountains in Afia. JOHNSON.

8 This princefs of pure white,-] So in Wyat's poems:

"of beauty princess chief." STEEVENS.

In the Winter's Tale we meet with a fimilar expreffion :

66

--good footh, he is

"The Queen of curds and cream." MALONE.

- feal of bliss!) He has in Measure for Measure, the fame image "But my kies bring again,

"Seals of love, but feal'd in vain." JOHNSON.

1-join in fouls,] i. e. join heartily, unite in the fame mind. Shakfpeare in Henry V. ufes an expreffion not unlike this:

"Fer

If you were men, as men you are in fhow,
You would not ufe a gentle lady fo;

To vow, and fwear, and fuperpraise my parts,
When, I am fure, you hate me with your hearts.
You both are rivals, and love Hermia;
And now both rivals, to mock Helena:
A trim exploit, a manly enterprize2,
To conjure tears up in a poor maid's eyes,
With your derifion! None, of noble fort 3,
Would fo offend a virgin; and extort +
A poor foul's patience, all to make you sport.
Lys. You are unkind, Demetrius; be not fo;
For you love Hermia; this, you know, I know:
And here, with all good will, with all my heart,
In Hermia's love I yield you up my part;

"For we will bear, note, and believe in heart;"

i. e. heartily believe; and in Measure for Measure he talks of electing with fpecial foul. In Troilus and Creffida, Ulyffes, relating the character of Hector as given him by Æneas, fays:

with private foul

"Did in great Ilion thus tranflate him to me."

And, in All Fools, by Chapman, 1605, is the fame expreffion as that in the text:

"Happy, in foul, only by winning her."

Again in Pierce Pennileffe bis fupplication to the Devil, 1592:-" whofe fubverfion in foul they have vow'd." STEEVENS.

A fimilar phrafeology is found in Meafure for Measure:

"Is't not enough thou haft fuborn'd these women
"To accufe this worthy man, but in foul mouth
"To call him villain! MALONE.

I rather believe the line fhould be read thus:

But you must join, ill fouls, to mock me too. TYRWHITT.

2 Atrim exploit, a manly enterprize, &c.] This is written much in the manner and fpirit of Juno's reproach to Venus in the 4th book of the Æneid:

3

"Egregiam vero laudem et fpolia ampla refertis,

"Tuque puerque tuus; magnum et memorabile nomen,
"Una dolo divûm fi fœmina victa duorum eft." STEEVENS.
none, of noble fort,] Sort is here ufed for degree or quality. So,

in the old ballad of Jane Shore:

"Long time I lived in the court,

"With lords and ladies of great fort." MALONE..

4➡ extort a poor foul's patience,] Harrafs, torment. JoHNSON.

And