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When I come where he calls me, then he's gone.
The villain is much lighter-heel'd, than I:
I follow'd fast, but fafter he did fly;
That fall'n am I in dark uneven way,

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 stand, nor look me in the face. Where art thou?

Puck. Come thou hither, I am here.

Dem. Nay, then thou mock'st me; thou shalt buý this dear,

If ever I thy face by day-light fee.

Now, go thy way; faintnefs conftraineth me

To measure out my length on this cold bed.
By day's approach look to be vifited.

SCENE

Enter Helena.

[Lyes down.

X.

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 these, that my poor company deteft;

And fleep, that fometimes fhuts up forrow's eye,
Steal me a while from mine own company.

Puck. Yet but three? come one more,
Two of both kinds make up four.
Here fhe comes, curft and fad :
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! [Lyes down.

Puck. On the ground

Sleep found,

I'll apply

To your eye,

Gentle lover, remedy.

[Squeezing the juice on Lylander'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 fhall be fhown.

Jack fhall have fill, naught fhall go ill,

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

[Exit Puck. [They fleep.

ACT

A C T IV.

SCENE I.

Continued, The WOO D.

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

QUEEN.

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

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And stick musk-rofes in thy fleek, fmooth'd head; And kifs thy fair large ears, my gentle joy.

Bot. Where's Peafebloffom?

Peafe. Ready.

Bot. Scratch my head, Peafeblaffom. 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.

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Bot. Give me thy neafe, monfieur Mustardfeed; pray you, leave your curtefie, good monfieur. Muft. What's your will?

Bot. Nothing, good monfieur, but to help Cavalere Cobweb to fcratch. 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 must scratch.

1 Neafe (Yorkshire) for fift.

Mr. Pope.

L 2

Queen.

Queen. What, wilt thou hear fome mufick, my fweet love?

Bot. I have a reasonable good ear in mufick; let us have the tongs and the bones..

Rural Mufick, Tongs, &c.

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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 feek 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 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:

2 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 honey-fuckle, Gently entwift; the FEMALE luy 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 honnie 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,
Gently entwif the MAPLE; Ivy fo
Enrings the barky fingers of the Elm.

The corruption might happen by the firft blunderer dropping the pin 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;
For, meeting her of late behind the wood,
Seeking sweet 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 difgrace bewail,
When I had at my pleasure taunted her,
And she in mild terms begg'd my patience,
I then did ask of her her changeling child,
Which strait she 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 fcalp
From off the head of this Athenian swain;
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:
Dian's bud (a) o'er Cupid's flower
Hath fuch force and blessed power.

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

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