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, fleep found,

I'll apply, to your eye, gentle lover, remedy.

[Squeezing the juice on Lyfander's eye.

When thou wak'ft, thou tak❜ft

True delight, in the fight, of thy former lady's eye;
And the country proverb known,
That every man fhould take his own,

In your waking shall be shown.

Jack shall have fill, naught fhall go ill,

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

[Exit Puck.

}

[They fleep.

A C T IV.

SCENE, continued, the Wood.

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

C

QUEEN.

OME, fit thee down upon this flow'ry bed,
While I thy amiable cheeks do coy,

And stick musk-rofes in thy fleek, smooth'd head

And kifs thy fair large ears, my gentle joy.

Bot. Where's Peafebloffom?

Pease. Ready.

Bot. Scratch my head, Peafebloffom. 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 thistle; and, good monfieur, bring me the honey-bag. Do not fret your felf too much

in the action, monfieur; and, good monfieur, have a care, the honey-bag break not; I fhould be loth to have you over-flown with a honey-bag, fignior. Where's monfieur Muftardfeed?

Muft. Ready.

Bot. Give me thy neafe, monfieur Muftardfeed; pray you, leave your curtefie, good monfieur.

Muft. What's your will?

Bot. Nothing, good monfieur, but to help Cavaler Cobweb to scratch. I muft to the barber's, monfieur; for, methinks, I am marvellous hairy about the face. And I am fuch a tender afs, if my hair doth but tickle me, I muft fcratch.

Queen. What, wilt thou hear some musick, my sweet 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: (21) So doth the woodbine, the fweet honey-fuckle, (22) Gently

(21)- and be always away.] What! was She giving her Attendants an everlasting Difmiffion? No fuch Thing; they were to be ftill« upon Duty. I am convinc'd, the Poet meant ;

and be all ways away.

i. e. disperse your felves, and scout out feverally, in your Watch, that Danger approach us from no Quarter..

(22) So doth the Woodbine the fweet Honey-fuckle

Gently entwift; the female ivy fo

Enrings

Gently entwift the Maple, 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 the his hairy temples then had rounded
With coronet of fresh and fragrant flowers;
And that fame dew, which fometime on the buds
Was wont to fwell, like round and orient pearls;
Stood now within the pretty flouriet's eyes,
Like tears that did their own disgrace bewail.
When I had at my pleasure taunted her,
And the in mild terms begg'd my patience,
I then did ask of her her changeling child,
Which trait he gave me, and her Fairy fent
To bear him to my bower in Fairy-land.
And now I have the boy, I will undo
This hateful imperfection of her eyes:
And, gentle Puck, take this transformed scalp
From off the head of this 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 wont to fee:

Enrings the barky Fingers of the Elm.] What does the Woodbine entwift? Why, the Honeysuckle. But ever till now the Honeysuckle and the Woodbine were but two Names for the fame Plant. But We have now found a Support for the Woodbine, as well as for the Ivy. The Corruption might happen thus, the first Blunderer in writing might leave the p out of Maple, and make it Male; upon which the acute Editors turn'd it into Female, and tack'd it as an Epithet to Ivy, Mr. Warburton.

Dian's bud o'er Cupid's flower

Hath fuch force and blessed power. (23)

Now, my Titania, wake you, my fweet Queen,
Queen. My Oberon! what vifions have I seen!
Methought, I was enamour'd of an afs.
Ob. There lies your love.

Queen. How came these things to pass? Oh, how mine eyes do loath this visage now! Ob. Silence, a while; Robin, take off his head; Titania, mufick call, and strike more dead (24) Than common fleep of all these five the fenfe. Queen. Mufick, ho, mufick; fuch as charmeth fleep. Still Mufick.

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

Ob. Sound, mufick; come, my Queen, take hand
with me,

And rock the ground whereon these sleepers be.
Now thou and I are new in amity;

And will to morrow midnight folemnly

(23) Dian's Bud, or Cupid's flow'r.] Thus all the Editions had ftupidly exhibited this Paffage. The ingenious Dr. Thirlby gave me the Correction, which I have inferted in the Text, and which, doubtless, reftores us the Author. Oberon in Act the 2d, where he first proposes to enchant his Queen's Eyes and Senfe, tells us, he has an Antidote to take off the Charm.

And e'er I take this Charm from off her Sight,

As I can take it with another Herb, &c.

And again, towards the End of the 3d Act, where he is giving Puck directions for difenchanting Lyfander, he fays;

Then crub this Herb into Lyfander's Eye,
Whofe Liquor bath this virtuous Property,
To take from thence all Error with its Might,
And make his Eye-balls rowl with wonted Sight.
(24) Titania, Mufick call, and frike more dead

This, moft cer

Than common Sleep. Of all thefe fine the Senfe.] tainly, is both corrupt in the Text, and Pointing. Would Mufick, that was to strike them into a deeper Sleep than ordinary, contribute to fine (or, refine) their Senies? My Emendation, I am perfuaded, needs no Juftification. The five, that lay afleep on the Stage, were, Demetrius, Lyfander, Hermia, Helena, and Bottom.-I ought to acknowledge, that Dr. Thirlby likewife ftarted and communicated this very Correction.

Dance

Dance in Duke Thefeus' houfe triumphantly,
And bless it to all fair pofterity:

There shall these pairs of faithful lovers be
Wedded, with Thefeus, all in jollity.
Puck. Fairy King, attend and mark;
I do hear the morning lark.

Ob. Then, my Queen, in filence fade; (25)
Trip we after the night's fhade;
We the globe can compass soon,
Swifter than the wand'ring moon.

Queen. Come, my lord, and in our flight
Tell me how it came this night,
That I fleeping here was found,
With these mortals on the ground.

[Sleepers lye ftill. [Exeunt.

[Wind horns within.

Enter Thefeus, Egeus, Hippolita, and all his train.
The. Go one of you, find out the forester,
For now our obfervation is perform'd,
And fince we have the vaward of the day,
My love fhall hear the mufick of my hounds.
Uncouple in the western valley, go,
Difpatch, I fay, and find the forefter.

We will, fair Queen, up to the mountain's top,
And mark the mufical confufion

Of hounds and echo in conjunction."

Hip. I was with Hercules and Cadmus once,
When in a wood of Creet they bay'd the bear
With hounds of Sparta; never did I hear
Such gallant chiding. For befides the groves,
The skies, the fountains, ev'ry region near, (26)
Seem'd

(25) Then, my Queen, in filence fad,] Why, fad? Fairies, according to the receiv'd Notion, are pleas'd to follow Night. For that Reafon, and for bettering the Rhyme, I think it very probable that our Author wrote; in filence fade; i. e. vanish, retreat. In which Senfe our Author has eliewhere employ'd this Word. As in Hamlet, fpeaking of the Ghoft's difappearing.

It faded at the Crowing of the Cock.

(26) The Skies, the Fountains, ev'ry Region near,

Seem'd all one mutual Cry] It has been propos'd to Me, that the Author probably wrote Mountains, from whence an Echo rather

proceeds