Obe. Well, go thy way: thou shalt not from this grove, Till I torment thee for this injury. My gentle Puck,come hither: Thou remember'st And heard a mermaid, on a dolphin's back, Puck. I remember. Obe. That very time I saw (but thou could'st not), Flying between the cold moon and the earth, Cupid all arm'd a certain aim he took At a fair vestal, throned by the west; And loos'd his love-shaft smartly from his bow, As it should pierce a hundred thousand hearts: But I might see young Cupid's fiery shaft Quench'd in the chaste beams of the wat❜ry moon; And the imperial vot'ress passed on, In maiden meditation, fancy-free. Yet mark'd I where the bolt of Cupid fell: Before, milk-white; now purple with love's wound And maidens call it, love-in-idleness. [once : Fetch me that flower: the herb I show'd thee Puck. I'll put a girdle round about the earth But who comes here? I am invisible; Enter DEMETRIUS, HELENA following him. Hence, get thee gone, and follow me no more. Dem. Do I entice you? Do I speak you fair? Hel. And even for that do I love you the more. I am your spaniel; and, Demetrius, The more you beat me, I will fawn on you: Use me but as your spaniel, spurn me, strike me, Neglect me, lose me; only give me leave, Unworthy as I am, to follow you. What worser place can I beg in your love, (And yet a place of high respect with me), Than to be used as you do use your dog? Dem. Tempt not too much the hatred of my For I am sick, when I do look on thee. [spirit; Hel. And I am sick, when I look not on you. Dem. You do impeach your modesty too much To leave the city, and commit yourself Into the hands of one that loves you not; To trust the opportunity of night, And the ill counsel of a desert place, With the rich worth of your virginity. Hel. Your virtue is my privilege for that. It is not night, when I do see your face, Therefore I think I am not in the night: Nor doth this wood lack worlds of company; For you, in my respect, are all the world: Then how can it be said, I am alone, When all the world is here to look on me? Dem. I'll run from thee, and hide me in the brakes, And leave thee to the mercy of wild beasts. Hel. The wildest hath not such a heart as yon. Run when you will, the story shall be chang'd; Apollo flies, and Daphne holds the chase; The dove pursues the griffin; the mild hind Makes speed to catch the tiger: Bootless speed! When cowardice pursues, and valour flies. Dem. I will not stay thy questions; let me go: Or, if thou follow me, do not believe But I shall do thee mischief in the wood. Hel. Ay, in the temple, in the town, the field, You do me mischief. Fye, Demetrius ! Your wrongs do set a scandal on my sex: We cannot fight for love, as men may do; We should be woo'd, and were not made to woo. I'll follow thee, and make a heaven of hell, To die upon the hand I love so well. [Exeunt DEM. and HEL. Obe. Fare thee well, nymph: ere he do leave this grove, Thou shalt fly him, and he shall seek thy love. Re-enter PUCK. Hast thou the flower there? Welcome, wanPuck. Ay, there it is. [derer. Obe. And with the juice of this I'll streak her eyes, do so. SCENE III. Another part of the Wood. Tita. Come, now a roundel, and a fairy song; Then, for the third part of a minute, hence; Some, to kill cankers in the musk-rose buds; Some, war with rear-mice for their leathern wings, To make my small elves coats; and some, keep back The clamorous owl, that nightly hoots, and wonders At our quaint spirits; Sing me now asleep; SONG. I Fai. You spotted snakes, with double tongue, CHORUS. Sing in our sweet lullaby; Lulla, lulla, lullaby; lulla, lulla, lullaby: Never harm, nor spell nor charm, So, good night, with lullaby. II. 2 Fai. Weaving spiders, come not here; CHORUS. Hence, you long-legg'd spinners, hence: 1 Fai. Hence, away; now all is well: [Exeunt Fairies. TITANIA sleeps. Enter OBERON. Obe. What thou seest, when thou dost wake, [Squeezes the flower on TITANIA's eyelids. Do it for thy true love take; Love, and languish for his sake: [Exit. Enter LYSANDER and HERMIA. Lys. Fair love, you faint with wandering in the wood; And to speak troth, I have forgot our way; We'll rest us, Hermia, if you think it good, And tarry for the comfort of the day. Her. Be it so, Lysander: find you out a bed, For I upon this bank will rest my head. Lys. One turf shall serve as pillow for us both; One heart, one bed, two bosoms, and one troth. Her. Nay, good Lysander; for my sake, my dear, Lie further off yet, do not lie so near. Lys. O, take the sense, sweet, of my inno cence; Love takes the meaning, in love's conference. Her. Lysander riddles very prettily:- Enter PUCK. Puck. Through the forest have I gone, |