Puck. Thou coward, art thou bragging to the stars,
Telling the bushes that thou look't for wars,
And wilt not come ? come, recreant ; come, thou child,
I'll whip thee with a rod; he is defild,
That draws a sword on thee.

Dem. Yea, art thou there?
Puck. Follow my voice. we'll try no manhood here.'

[Exeunt.
Lysander comes back.
Lyf. He goes before me, and ftill dares me on ;
When I come where he calls me, then he's gone.
The villain is much lighter-heeld, than I :
I follow'd fast, but faler he did fly ;
That fall'n am I in dark uneven way,
And here will rest me. Come, thou gentle day :

[Lies down. For if but once thou snew me thy gray light, P'll find Demetrius, and revenge this spight.

Enter Puck and Demetrius.
Puck. Ho, ho, ho, coward, why com'ft thou not?

Dem. Abide me, if thou dar'ft: for well I wot,
Thou runn'st before me, fhifting every place;
And dar'it not stand, nor look me in the face.
Where art thou ?

Puck. Come thou hither, I am here.
Dem. Nay, then thou mock'it me; thou shalt buy

this dear,
If ever I thy face by day-light see.
Now, go thy way; faintness constraineth me
To meafure out my length on this cold bed.
By day's approach look to be visited. [Lies down.

Enter Helena.
Hel. O weary night, Olong and tedious night,

Abate thy hours ; fhine, comforts, from the East : That I may back to Athens by day-light,

From these, that my poor company deteft ; And Neep, that sometimes shuts up forrow's eye, Steal me a while from mine own company. [Sleeps.

Puck.

:

Puck. Yet but three ? come one more,
Two of both kinds make up four.
Here she comes, curft and sad :
Cupid is a knavith lad,
Thus to make poor females mad.

Enter Hermia.
Her. Never so weary, never fo in woe,

Bedabbled with the dew, and torn with briars,
I can no further crawl, no further go;

My legs can keep 'no' pace with my desires :
Here will I rest me, 'till the break of day.
Heav'ns shield Lyfander, if they mean a fray! [Lies down.

Puck. On the ground sleep sound,
I'll apply to your eye, gentle lover, remedy,

(Squeezing the juice on Lyfander's eye. When thou wak't, thou tak'st

True delight in the fight 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 (hall have Jill, naught shall go ill,
The man shall have his mare again, and all be well.

(Exit Puck. [They sleep.

}

SCENE continued, the Wood.
Enter Queen of Fairies, Bottom, Fairies attending,

and the King behind them.

QUEEN.
C -

While I thy amiable cheeks do coy,
And stick musk-roses in thy fleek, fmooth'd head;
And kiss thy fair large ears, my gentle joy.

Bot.

in your

Bot. Where's Peafeblossom?
Peale. Ready.

Bot. Scratch my head, Peafeblofjom. Where's monsieur Cobweb??

Cob. Ready.

Bot. Monsieur Cobweb, good monsieur, get your weapons hand, and kill me a red-hipt humblebee 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 should be loth to have you over-flown with a honey-bag, fignior. Where's monsieur Muftardfeed?

Muft. Ready.

Bot. Give me thy neafe, monsieur, Muffardfeed; pray you, leave your curtesy, good monsieur,

Muft. What's your will?

Bot. Nothing, good monsieur, but to help Cavalero Cobweb to scratch. I muft to the barber's, monsieur ; for, methinks, I am marvellous hairy about the face. And I am such a tender ass, if my hair doth but iickle me, I must scratch.

Queen. What, wilt thou hear some musick, my sweet love ?

Bot, I have a reasonable good ear in mufick ; let us have the tongs and the bones.

Rural Mufick, Tongs, &c.

Queen. Or say, sweet love, what thou desir'it 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.

Queen. 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 pease. But, I pray you, let none of your people stir me; I have an exposition of sleep come upon me. Queen. Sleep thou, and I will wind thee in my arms;

Fairies,

Fairies, be gone, and be all ways away: (15)
So doth the woodbine, the sweet honey-fuckle, (16)
Gently entwift the Maple; Ivy so
Enrings the barky fingers of the Elm.
O, how I love thee! how I doat on thee!

Enter Puck.
Ob. Welcome, good Robin ; Seeft thou this sweet fight?
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 coroner of fresh and fragrant Aowers ;
And that fame dew, which sometimes on the buds
Was wont to twell, like round and orient pearls,
Stood now within the pretty flouriet's 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 alk of her her changeling child,
Which Irait she gave me, and her Fairy sent

(15)

- and be always away. ] What ! was She giving her Attendants an everlasting Dismiffon? No such thing ; they were to be still upon Duty. I am convinced, the Poet meant;

and be all ways away. į. e. disperse yourselves, and scout out severally, in your Watch that danger approach us from no Quarter.

16) So dorb tbe Woodbine the sweet Honey -suckle

Gently entwift; the female ivy so

Enrings the barky Fingers of the Elm.] Wha: does the Woodbine entwist? Why the Honey-fuckle. But ever till now the Honeysuckle and the Woodbine were but two Names for the same Plant. But we have now found a Support for the Woodbine, as well as for the Ivy. The Corruption might happen thus ; the first Blun'erer in writing might leave the p out of Maple, and make it Male; upon which the acute Editors turned it into Female, and tack'd it as an Epithet to Ivy.

Mr, Warburton.

То

To bear him to my bower in Fairy-land.
And now I have the boy, I will undo
This hateful imperfection of her eye:
And, gentle Puck, take this transformed scalp
From off the head of this Athenian swain;
That he, awaking, when the others do,
May all to Atbens back again repair ;
And think no more of this nights accidents,
But as the fierce vexation of a dream.
But first, I will release the Fairy Queen;

Be, as thou wat wont to be ;
See, as thou was wont to fee :
Dian's bud.o'er Cupid's flow'r
Hath such force and blessed power. (17)

Now, my Titania, wake you, my sweet Queen. 500;?:

Queen. My Oberon! what visions have I seen!
Methought, I was enamour'd of an af.

Ob. There lies your love.
Queen. How came these things to pass ?
Oh, how mine eyes do loath this visage now!

Ob. Silence, a while; Robin, take off his head;
Titania, mufick call; and strike more dead (18)
Than common sleep of all these five the sense.

Queen. Mufick, ho! mufick : such as charmeth sleep.

(17) Dian's Bud, or Cupid's flow'r.] Thus all the Editions had stupidly exhibited this Paliage. The ingenous Dr. Thirlby gave me the Correction, which I have inserted in the Text, and which, doubtless, restores us the Author. Oberon in Act the 2d, where he first proposes to enchant his Queen's Eyes and Sense, tells us, he has an Antidote to take off the Charm.

(18) Titania, Mufick call, and firike more dead

Than common Sleep. Of all these fine the Sense) This moft certainly, is both corrupt in the Text, and Pointing. Would Musick, that was to strike them into a deeper Sleep than ordinary, contribute to fine (or refine,) their Senses? My Emendation, I am persuaded, needs no Justification. The fire, that lay aseep on the Stage, were, Demetrius, Lysander, Hermia, Helena, and Bottom. I ought to acknowledge, that Dr. Thirlly likewise started and communicated Correction,

this ver