To measure out my length on this cold bed.- [Lies down and sleeps. Enter HELENA. Hel. O weary night, O long and tedious night, Abate thy hours. Shine, comforts, from the east; That I may back to Athens by day-light, From these that my poor company detest. And, sleep, that sometimes shuts up sorrow's eye, Puck. Yet but three? Come one more; Two of both kinds makes up four. Cupid is a knavish lad, Thus to make poor females mad. Enter HERMIA. [Sleeps. Her. Never so weary, never so in woe, I can no farther crawl, no farther go; My legs can keep no pace with my desires. Here will I rest me, till the break of day. Heaven shield Lysander if they mean a fray! [Lies down, I'll apply To your eye, Gentle lover, remedy. [Squeezing the juice on LYSANDER's eye. When thou wak'st Thou tak'st True delight In the sight Of thy former lady's eye; And the country proverb known, That every man should take his own, In your waking shall be shown. Jack shall have Jill; Nought shall go ill; The man shall have his mare again, and all shall be well. [Exit PUCK.-DEM., HEL., &c. sleep or ACT IV. SCENE I. The same. Enter TITANIA and BOTTOм, Fairies attending; OBERON behind, unseen. Tita. Come, sit thee down upon this flowery bed, And stick musk-roses in thy sleek smooth head, Bot. Where's Peas-blossom? Peas. Ready. Bot. Scratch my head, Peas-blossom.-Where's monsieur Cobweb? Cob. Ready. Bot. Monsieur Cobweb, good monsieur, get your weapons in your hand, and kill me a red-hipped humble-bee on the top of a thistle; and, good monsieur, bring me the honeybag. Do not fret yourself too much in the action, monsieur; and, good monsieur, have a care the honey-bag break not; I would be loath to have you overflown with the honeybag, seignior. Where's monsieur Mustard-seed? Must. Ready. Bot. Give me your neif, 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 desir'st 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 advances. Enter PUCK. Obe. Welcome, good Robin. See'st thou this sweet sight? Her dotage now I do begin to pity.. For meeting her of late, behind the wood, And, gentle Puck, take this transformed scalp And think no more of this night's accidents. [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. Tita. How came these things to pass? Obe. Silence, awhile.-Robin, take off this head. Titania, music call; and strike more dead Puck. Now, when thou wak'st, with thine own fool's eyes peep. Obe. Sound, music. [Still music.] Come, my queen, take hands with me, And rock the ground whereon these sleepers be. And will, to-morrow midnight, solemnly, There shall the pairs of faithful lovers be Puck. Fairy king, attend and mark; Obe. Then, my queen, in silence sad, Tita. Come, my lord; and in our flight, [Exeunt. [Horns sound within. Enter THESEUS, HIPPOLYTA, EGEUS, and Train. 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 hollaed too, nor cheered with horn, In Crete, in Sparta, nor in Thessaly. Judge, when you hear.-But soft; what nymphs are these? This Helena, old Nedar's Helena. I wonder of their being here together. The. No doubt, they rose up early, to observe That Hermia should give answer of her choice? The. Go, bid the huntsmen wake them with their horns. Horns and shout within. DEMETRIUS, LYSANDER, HERMIA, and HELENA, wake and start up. The. Good-morrow, friends. Saint Valentine is past; Begin these wood-birds but to couple now? Lys. Pardon, my lord. The. [He and the rest kneel to THESEUS. I pray vou all stand up. I know you are two rival enemies; How comes this gentle concord in the world, To sleep by hate, and fear no enmity? Half 'sleep, half waking. But as yet, I swear, But, as I think, (for truly would I speak,- 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; And I in fury hither followed them But, my good lord, I wot not by what power But by some power it is) my love to Hermia, |