When I come where he calls me, then he's gone. 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 place; And dar'st 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; faintnefs constraineth me To measure out my length on this cold bed. [Lyes 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 shuts Steal me a while from mine own company. Puck. Yet but three? come one more, Two of both kinds make up four. Cupid is a knavish lad, Thus to make poor females mad. [Sleeps VOL. I. L Enter Enter Hermia. Her. Never fo weary, never fo in woe, 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 will I reft me, 'till the break of day. Heav'ns fhield Lyfander, if they mean a fray! To your eye, Gentle lover, remedy. [Lyes down. [Squeezing the juice on Lyfander's eye. When thou wak'st, 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 fhall have fill, naught fhall go ill, The man shall have his mare again, and all be well. [Exit Puck. [They fleep. ACT ACT IV. SCENE İ. Continued, The WOOD. Enter Queen of Fairies, Bottom, Fairies attending, and the King behind them. QUEEN. OME, fit thee down upon this flow'ry bed, And stick musk-rofes in thy fleek, fmooth'd head Peafe. 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 thiftle; 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 Mustardfeed? Muft. Ready. 1 Bot. Give me thy neafe, monfieur Mustardjeed; pray you, leave your curtefie, good monfieur. Muft. What's your will? Bot. Nothing, good monfieur, but to help Cavalero Cobweb to fcratch. I must 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 must scratch. 1 Neafe (Yorkshire) for fift. Mr. Pope. L 2 Queen. Queen. What, wilt thou hear fome musick, my fweet love? Bot. I have a reafonable 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 thence new nuts. Bot. I had rather have a handful or two of dried peafe. But, I pray you, let none of your people stir 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, Gently entwift the Maple; Ivy fo Enrings the barky fingers of the Elm. O, how I love thee! how I doat on thee! 2 So doth the woodbine the fweet boney-fuckle, Gently entwift; the FEMALE Ivy fo Enrings the barky fingers of the Elm.] What does the woodbine entwift? The honey-fuckle. But the woodbine and honeyfuckle were, till now, but two names for one and the fame plant. Florio, in his Italian Dictionary, interprets Madre Selva by woodbinde or bonnie fuckle. We must therefore find a fupport for the woodbine as well as for the Ivy. Which is done by reading the lines thus, So doth the woodbine, the fweet honey-fuckle, Enrings the barky fingers of the Elm. The corruption might happen by the first blunderer dropping the in writing the word maple, which word thence became male. A following tranfcriber, for the fake of a little fenfe and measure, thought fit to change this male into female; and then tacked it as an epithet to Ivy. Enter Enter Puck. Ob. Welcome, good Robin; Seeft thou this sweet fight? Her dotage now I do begin to pity; See, as thou waft wont to fee: Now, my Titania, wake you, my sweet Queen. [(a) o'er, Dr. Thirlby, Vulg. or.] |