Must. Ready. Bot. Give me your nief, monsieur Mustard-seed. Pray you, leave your courtesy, good monsieur. Must. What's your will? Bot. Nothing, good monsieur, but to help cavalero Cobweb to scratch. I must to the barber's, monsieur; for, methinks, I am marvellous hairy about the face: and I am such a tender ass, if my hair do but tickle me, I must scratch. Tita. What, wilt thou hear some music, my sweet love? Bot. I have a reasonable good ear in music: let us have the tongs and the bones. Tita. Or, say, sweet love, what thou desirest to eat. Bot. Truly, a peck of provender; I could munch your good dry oats. Methinks, I have a great desire to a bottle of hay: good hay, sweet hay, hath no fellow. Tita. I have a venturous fairy, that shall seek the squirrel's hoard, and fetch thee new nuts. Bot. I had rather have a handful or two of dried peas. But, I pray you, let none of your people stir me; I have an exposition of sleep come upon me. Tita. Sleep thou, and I will wind thee in my arms. Fairies, be gone, and be all ways away. So doth the woodbine, the sweet honeysuckle, Gently entwist, -the female ivy so Enrings the barky fingers of the elm. O, how I love thee! how I dote on thee! (They sleep.) OBERON adrances. Enter PUCK. [sight? Obe. Welcome, good Robin. See'st thou this sweet Her dotage now I do begin to pity. For meeting her of late, behind the wood, Seeking sweet savours for this hateful fool, I did upbraid her, and fall out with her: For she his hairy temples then had rounded With coronet of fresh and fragrant flowers; And that same dew, which sometime on the buds Was wont to swell, like round and orient pearls, Stood now within the pretty flowrets' eyes, Like tears that did their own disgrace 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 straight she gave me, and her fairy sent 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 (Touching her eyes with an herb.) See, as thou wast wont to see: Dian's bud o'er Cupid's flower Hath such force and blessed power. Now, my Titania; wake you, my sweet queen. Obe. There lies your love. Tila. How came these things to pass? O, how mine eyes do loath his visage now! Obe. Silence, a while. Robin, take off this head. Titania, music call; and strike more dead Than common sleep, of all these five the sense. Tita. Music, ho! music; such as charmeth sleep. Puck. Now, when thou wakest, with thine own fool's eyes peep. Obe. Sound, music. (Still music.) Comé, my queen, take hands with me, And rock the ground whereon these sleepers be. And will, to-morrow midnight, solemnly, Dance in duke Theseus' house triumphantly, And bless it to all fair posterity: There shall the pairs of faithful lovers be Puck. Fairy king, attend and mark; [Exeunt. (Horns sound within.) Enter THESEUS, HIPPOLYTA, EGEUS, and train. The. Go, one of you, find out the forester; Of hounds and echo in conjunction. Hip. I was with Hercules and Cadmus once, The. My hounds are bred out of the Spartan kind, Was never holla'd to, nor cheer'd with horn, [these? Judge, when you hear.-But, soft; what nymphs are Ege. My lord, this is my daughter here asleep; And this Lysander; this Demetrius is; This Helena, old Nedar's Helena: wonder of their being here together. The. No doubt, they rose up early, to observe That Hermia should give answer of her choice? [horns. The. Go, bid the huntsmen wake them with their Horns and shout within. DEMETRIUS, LYSAN- (He and the rest kneel to Theseus.) The. I pray you all, stand up. How comes this gentle concord in the world, I came with Hermia hither: our intent Was, to be gone from Athens, where we might be Ege. Enough, enough, my lord; you have enough: I beg the law, the law, upon his head. They would have stolen away; they would, Demetrius, Thereby to have defeated you and me : You, of your wife; and me, of my consent, Of my consent that she should be your wife. Dem. My lord, fair Helen told me of their stealth, Of this their purpose hither, to this wood; But, my good lord, I wot not by what power, The. Fair lovers, you are fortunately met: For in the temple, by and by with us, And, for the morning now is something worn, Our purposed hunting shall be set aside. Away, with us, to Athens: Three and three, Come, Hippolyta. [Exeunt Theseus, Hippolyta, Egeus, and train. Dem. These things seem small and undistinguishable, Like far-off mountains turned into clouds. Her. Methinks, I see these things with parted eye, When every thing seems double. Hel. So methinks: And I have found Demetrius like a jewel, Dem. Her. Yea; and my father. Hel. And Hippolyta. Lys. And he did bid us follow to the temple. Dem. Why, then, we are awake: let's follow him ; And, by the way, let us recount our dreams. [Exeunt. As they go out, BOTTOM awakes. Bot. When my cue comes, call me, and I will answer: -my next is, Most fair Pyramus. Hey, ho!Peter Quince! Flute, the bellows-mender! Snout, the tinker! Starveling! God's my life! stolen hence, and left me asleep! I have had a most rare vision. I have had a dream,- past the wit of man to say what dream it was Man is but an ass, if he go about to expound this dream. Methought I was there is no man can tell what. Methought I was, and methought I had, but man is but a patched fool, if he will offer to say what methought I had. The eye of man hath not heard, the ear of man hath not seen; man's hand is not able to taste, his tongue to conceive, nor his heart to report, what my dream was. I will get Peter Quince to write a ballad of this dream: it shall be called Bottom's Dream, because it hath no bottom; and I will sing it in the latter end of a play, before the duke: Peradventure, to make it the more gracious, I shall sing it at her death. [Exit. SCENE II.-Athens. A Room in Quince's House. Enter QUINCE, FLUTE, SNOUT, and Quin. Have you sent to Bottom's house? Is he come home yet? Star. He cannot be heard of. Out of doubt, he is transported. |