2 Fairy.

Weaving spiders come not here; Hence, you long-leg'd spinners, hence: Beetles black, approach not near, Worm, nor fnail, do no offence, Philomel with melody, &c.

1 Fairy.

Hence, away; now all is well:

One, aloof, ftand Centinel.

[Exeunt Fairies. The Queen fleeps.

Enter Oberon.

Ob. What thou feeft, when thou doft wake,

Do it for thy true love take:

Love and languifh for his fake;
Be it ounce, or cat, or bear,
Pard, or boar with briftled hair,
In thy eye that shall appear,
When thou wak'ft, it is thy dear;
Wake, when fome vile thing is near.

SCENE

[Exit Oberon.

VI.

Enter Lyfander and Hermia.

Lyf. Fair love, you faint with wandring in the wood; And, to speak troth, I have forgot our way: We'll reft us, Hermia, if thou think it good, And tarry for the comfort of the day.

Her. Be't fo, Lyfander; find you out a bed,

For I upon this bank will reft my head.

Lyf. One turf fhall ferve as pillow for us both, One heart, one bed, two bofoms, and one troth. Her. Nay, good Lyfander; for my fake, my dear, Lye further off yet, do not lye fo near.

Lyf.

;

Lyf. O take the fenfe, fweet, of my conference;
Love takes the meaning, in love's innocence;
I mean, that my heart unto yours is knit
So that but one heart can you make of it:
Two bofoms, interchained with an oath ;
So then two bofoms, and a single troth:
Then, by your fide no bed-room me deny ;
For lying fo, Hermia, I do not lye.

Her. Lyfander riddles very prettily;
Now much befhrew my manners, and my pride,
If Hermia meant to fay, Lyfander ly'd.
But, gentle friend, for love and curtefie
Lye further off; in human modefty,
Such feparation, as, may well be faid,
Becomes a virtuous batchelor and a maid,
So far be diftant; and good night, sweet friend;
Thy love ne'er alter, till thy fweet life end!
Lys. Amen, amen, to that fair prayer, say I;
And then end life, when I end loyalty!
Here is my bed; fleep give thee all his reft!

Her. With half that with the wisher's eyes be preft!

90 take the fenfe, fweet, of my innocence;

Love takes the meaning in love's conference.] Here,

by fome mifchance or other, Innocence and Conference have been jumbled into one another's places, and thereby deprived a very fenfible reply of all kind of meaning. Reflore each to its right when she had interpreted

place and the fense will be this;

his words to an evil meaning, he replies,

O take the fenfe, fweet, of my conference;

i. . judge of my meaning by the drift of my whole fpeech,

and

Night and filence! who is here?
Weeds of Athens he doth wear;
This is he, my mafter faid,
Defpifed the Athenian maid,

And here the maiden fleeping found
On the dank and dirty ground.
Pretty foul! fhe durft not lye
Near to this lack-love kill-curtefie.
Churl, upon thy eyes I throw
All the pow'r this charm doth owe:
When thou wak'ft, let love forbid
Sleep his feat on thy eye-lid;
So awake, when I am gone:
For I must now to Oberon.

SCENE

VII.

Enter Demetrius and Helena running:

[Exit.

Hel. Stay, tho' thou kill me, fweet Demetrius ! Dem. I charge thee, hence, and do not haunt me

thus.

Hel O, wilt thou darkling leave me? do not fo. Dem. Stay, on thy peril, i alone will go.

[Exit Demetrius. Hel. O, I am out of breath in this fond chace The more my prayer, the leffer is my grace. Happy is Hermia, wherefoe'er fhe lies For the hath blessed, and attractive, eyes. How came her eyes fo bright? not with falt tears; If so, my eyes are oftner wash'd than hers:

;

and do not pervert the fenfe of an ambiguous word to a meaning quite foreign to the difcourfe. Befides, fays he,

Love takes the meaning in love's innocence.

i. e. The innocence of your love may teach you to discover the innocence of mine. Thefe are the fentiments, which were quite loft in this aukward tranfpofition.

No,

No, no, I am as ugly as a bear;

For beasts, that meet me, run away for fear.
Therefore no marvel, tho' Demetrius

Do (as a monster) fly my presence thus.
What wicked, and diffembling, glass of mine
Made me compare with Hermia's fphery eyne?
But who is here? Lyfander on the ground:
Dead or afleep? I fee no blood, no wound:
Lyfander, if you live, good Sir, awake.

Lyf. And run thro' fire I will, for thy fweet fake.
[Waking.

Transparent Helen, nature here fhews art,
That through thy bofom makes me fee thy heart.
Where is Demetrius? Oh, how fit a word
Is that vile name, to perifh on my fword!

Hel. Do not fay fo, Lyfander, fay not fo;
What tho' he love your Hermia? lord, what tho'?
Yet Hermia ftill loves you; then be content.

Lyf. Content with Hermia? no: I do repent
The tedious minutes I with her have spent ;
Not Hermia, but Helena I love:

Who will not change a raven for a dove?
The will of man is by his reafon fway'd;
And reafon fays, you are the worthier maid.
Things, growing, are not ripe until their feason;
So I, being young, 'till now ripe not to reason;
And, touching now the point of human skill,
Reafon becomes the marshal to my will,
And leads me to your eyes; where I o'erlook
Love's ftories, written in love's richest book.

Hel. Wherefore was I to this keen mock'ry born?
When at your hands did I deferve this fcorn?
Is't not enough, is't not enough, young man,
That I did never, no, nor never can,
Deserve a sweet look from Demetrius' eye,
But you must flout my infufficiency?

}

Good

Good troth, you do me wrong; good footh, you do; In fuch disdainful manner me to woo :

But fare you well. Perforce I must confess,

I thought you lord of more true gentleness:
Ch, that a lady, of one man refus'd,
Should of another therefore be abus'd!

[Exit.

Lyf. She fees not Hermia; Hermia, fleep thou there;

And never may'ft thou come Lyfander near;
For as a furfeit of the sweetest things

The deepest loathing to the ftomach brings;
Or as the herefies, that men do leave,
Are hated most of thofe they did deceive;
So thou, my furfeit and my herefie,
Of all be hated, but the most of me!
And all my pow'rs address your love and might
To honour Helen, and to be her Knight!

[Exit.
Her. Help me, Lyfander, help me! do thy best
To pluck this crawling ferpent from my breast:
Ay me, for pity, what a dream was here?
Lyfander, look, how I do quake with fear;
Me-thought, a ferpent eat my heart away;
And you fat fmiling at his cruel prey:
Lyfander! what remov'd? Lyfander, lord!
What, out of hearing gone? no found, no word?
Alack, where are you? fpeak, and if you hear,
Speak, of all loves; (I fwoon almoft, with fear.)
No? then I well perceive, you are not nigh;
Or death, or you, I'll find immediately.

[Exit

ACT