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 overflown with a honeybag, 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 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 musick, my sweet love?

Bot. I have a reasonable good ear in musick: 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 7-arms.

Fairies, be gone, and be all ways away)

1mäif] ie. fist.

key.

the tongs-] The old rustick musick of the tongs and

-and be all ways away.] i. e. disperse yourselves, and scout

So doth the woodbine, the sweet honeysuckle,"
Gently entwist, the female ivy3 so
Enrings the barky fingers of the elm.

O, how I love thee! how I dote on thee!

[They sleep.

OBERON advances. Enter PUCK.

Obc. 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,
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 flourets' 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

out severally, in your watch, that danger approach us from no quarter.

2 So doth the woodbine, the sweet honeysuckle, &c.] What Shakspeare seems to mean, is this-So the wordbine, i. e. the sweet honeysuckle, doth gently entwist the barky fingers of the elm, and so does the female ivy enring the same fingers. This passage has given rise to various conjectures,

3

-the female ivy-] Though the ivy here represents the female, there is, notwithstanding, an evident reference in the words enrings and fingers, to the ring of the marriage rite. HENLEY.

-flourets' eyes,] The eye of the flower is the technical

term for its center.

This hateful imperfection of her eyes.

And, gentle Puck, take this transformed scalp
From off the head of this Athenian swain;
That he awaking when the other 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 wast wont to be;

[Touching her eyes with an herb.

See, as thou wast wont to see :

Dian's bud o'er Cupid's flowers

Hath such force and blessed power.
Now, my Titania; wake you, my sweet queen.
Tita. My Oberon! what visions have I seen!
Methought, I was enamour'd of an ass.

Obe. There lies your love.

Tita.

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, musick call; and strike more dead
Than common sleep, of all these five the sense.
Tita. Musick, ho! musick; such as charmeth
sleep.

Puck. Now, when thou wak'st, with thine own fool's eyes peep.

Obe. Sound, musick. [Still musick.] Come, my queen, take hands with me,

And rock the ground whereon these sleepers be.
Now thou and I are new in amity;

And will, to-morrow midnight, solemnly,
Dance in duke Theseus' house triumphantly,
And bless it to all fair posterity:

5 Dian's bud o'er Cupid's flower -] Dian's bud, is the bud of Agnus Castus, or Chaste Tree. Cupid's flower is the Viola Tricolor, or Love in Idleness.

There shall the pairs of faithful lovers be
Wedded, with Theseus, all in jollity.

Puck. Fairy king, attend, and mark
I do hear the morning lark.

Obe. Then, my queen, in silence sad,
Trip we after the night's shade:

We the globe can compass soon,
Swifter than the wand'ring moon.

Tita. Come, my lord; and in our flight,
Tell me how it came this night,

That I sleeping here was found,

With these mortals, on the ground. [Exeunt.

[Horns sound within.

Enter THESEUS, HIPPOLYTA, EGEUS, and train.

The. Go, one of you, find out the forester ;-
For now our observation is perform'd ;
And since we have the vaward of the day,"
My love shall hear the musick of my hounds.-
Uncouple in the western valley; go:-
Despatch, I say, and find the forester.-
We will, fair queen, up to the mountain's top,
And mark the musical confusion

Of hounds and echo in conjunction.

our observation is perform'd :] The honours due to the morning of May. I know not why Shakspeare calls this play A Midsummer-Night's Dream, when he so carefully informs us that it happened on the night preceding May day. JOHNSON.

The title of this play seems no more intended to denote the precise time of the action, than that of The Winter's Tale; which we find, was at the season of sheep-shearing. FARMER.

I imagine that the title of this play was suggested by the time it was first introduced on the stage, which was probably at Midsum "A Dream for the entertainment of a Midsummer-night." Twelfth-Night and The Winter's Tale had probably their titles from a similar circumstance. MALONE.

mer.

7

the vaward of the day,] Vaward is compounded of van and ward, the forepart.

8

Hip. I was with Hercules, and Cadmus, once, When in a wood of Crete they bay'd the bear With hounds of Sparta: never did I hear Such gallant chiding; for, besides the groves, The skies, the fountains, every region near Seem'd all one mutual cry: I never heard So musical a discord, such sweet thunder.

The. My hounds are bred out of the Spartan kind,

So flew'd, so sanded;1 and their heads are hung
With ears that sweep away the morning dew;
Crook-knee'd, and dew-lap'd like Thessalian bulls;
Slow in pursuit, but match'd in mouth like bells,
Each under cach. A cry more tuneable

Was never holla'd to, nor cheer'd with horn,
In Crete, in Sparta, nor in Thessaly:

Judge, when you hear.-But, soft; what nymphs are these?

Ege. My lord, this is my daughter here asleep; And this, Lysander; this Demetrius is ; This Helena, old Nedar's Helena :

I wonder of their being here together.

The. No doubt, they rose up early, to observe
The rite of May;2 and, hearing our intent,
Came here in grace of our solemnity.-
But, speak, Egeus; is not this the day

That Hermia should give answer of her choice?
Ege. It is, my lord.

8 such gallant chiding;] Chiding in this instance means only sound.

9 So flew'd,] Sir T. Hanmer justly remarks, that flews are the large chaps of a deep-mouth'd hound.

so sanded;] Of a sandy colour, which is one of the true denotements of a blood-hound.

The rite of May;] The rite of this month was once so universally observed, that even authors thought their works would obtain a more favourable reception, if published on May-Day.