The starry welkin cover thou anon With drooping fog, as black as Acheron; And lead these testy rivals so astray, I'll to my queen, and beg her Indian boy; And then I will her charmed eye release From monster's view, and all things shall be peace. At whose approach, ghosts, wandering here and there, For fear lest day should look their shames upon, I with the morning's love have oft made sport 25; I will lead them up and down: [Exit OBERON. Enter LYSANDER. Lys. Where art thou, proud Demetrius? speak thou now. PUCK. Follow me then to plainer ground. DEM. Lysander! speak again. [Exit Lys. as following the voice. Enter DEMETRIUS. Thou runaway, thou coward, art thou fled? Speak. In some bush? Where dost thou hide thy head? PUCK. Thou coward, art thou bragging to the stars, Telling the bushes that thou look'st for wars, And wilt not come? Come, recreant; come, thou child; DEM. Nay, then, thou mock'st me. Thou shalt buyb this dear, If ever I thy face by daylight see: Now, go thy way. Faintness constraineth me To measure out my length on this cold bed. By day's approach look to be visited. Now is only found in Fisher's quarto. [Exeunt. [Lies down. [Sleeps. [Lies down and sleeps. Buy. So the old copies. This may be meant for the aby used before; but buy it dear is still a familiar form of expression. Enter HELENA. HEL. O, weary night, O, long and tedious night, • The country proverb to which Puck alludes is also given in Fletcher's Chaucer: "Why, the man has his mare again, and all 's well." Enter TITANIA and BOTTOM, Fairies attending; OBERON behind unseen. TITA. Come, sit thee down upon this flowery bed, While I thy amiable cheeks do coya, And stick musk-roses in thy sleek smooth head, BOT. Where's Peas-blossom? Do coy. To coy is here to caress. VOL. I. HH PEAS. Ready. Bor. Scratch my head, Peas-blossom.-Where's monsieur Cobweb? COв. Ready. Bor. 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 honey-bag. Do not fret yourself too much in the action, monsieur; and, good monsieur, have a care the honey-bag break not; I would be loth to have you overflowna with a honey bag, signior.-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 Cobwebs 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 d 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 29. O, how I love thee! how I dote on thee! [They sleep. Overflown-flooded-drowned. The sense in which this word is here used may explain a passage in Milton, which has been thought corrupt: b "Then wander forth the sons Of Belial, flown with insolence and wine."-(Paradise Lost, book i.) Neif-fist. Thus in 'Henry IV., Part II.,' Act II., Scene 4:-"Sweet knight, I kiss thy neif. Cobweb. This is probably a misprint for Peas-blossom. Cobweb has been sent after the "redhipped humble-bee;" and Peas-blossom has already been appointed to the honoured office in which Mustard-seed is now called to assist him. The folio has here a stage-direction:-" Music, Tongs; Rural music." |