6

What, dead, my dove?

O Pyramus, arise,

Speak, speak.

Quite dumb ?

Dead, dead? A tomb

Must cover thy sweet eyes.

These lily brows,
This cherry nose,

These yellow cowslip cheeks,

'Are gone, are gone:
'Lovers, make moan!
His eyes were green as leeks.
O sisters three,
Come, come, to me,
With hands as pale as milk;
Lay them in gore,
'Since you have shore
With shears his thread of silk.

Tongue, not a word :-
Come, trusty sword;

Come, blade, my breast imbrue;
And farewell, friends ;-
Thus, Thisby ends:

Adieu, adieu, adieu.'

[Dies.

The. Moonshine and Lion are left to bury the

dead.

Dem. Ay, and Wall too.

Bot. No, I assure you; the wall is down that parted their fathers. Will it please you to see the epilogue, or to hear a Bergomask dance, between two of our company?

The. No epilogue, I pray you; for your play needs no excuse. Never excuse; for when the players are all dead, there need none to be blamed. Marry, if he that writ it had play'd Pyramus, and hanged himself in Thisbe's garter, it would have been a fine tragedy: and so it is, truly; and very notably discharged. But come, your Bergomask: let your epilogue alone. [Here a dance of Clowns. The iron tongue of midnight hath told twelve :Lovers, to bed; 'tis almost fairy time. 1 fear we shall out-sleep the coming morn, As much as we this night have overwatch'd. This palpable gross play hath well beguil'd The heavy gait of night. -Sweet friends, to bed.A fortnight hold we we this solemnity, nightly revels, and new jollity.

In

SCENE II.-Enter Puck.

Puck. Now the hungry lion roars, And the wolf behowls the moon; Whilst the heavy ploughman snores, All with weary task fordone.2 Now the wasted brands do glow,

[Exeunt.

Whilst the scritch-owl, seritching loud,

Puts the wretch, that lies in wo,
In remembrance of a shroud.

Now it is the time of night,
That the graves, all gaping wide,
Every one lets forth his sprite,
In the church-way paths to glide:

And we fairies, that do run
By the triple Hecate's team,

From the presence of the sun,
Following darkness like a dream,
Now are frolic; not a mouse
Shall disturb this hallow'd house t
I am sent, with broom before,
To sweep the dust behind the door.

Enter Oberon and Titania, with their Train.

Obe. Through this house give glimmering light, By the dead and drowsy fire:

Every elf, and fairy sprite,

Hop as light as bird from brier;

And this ditty, after me,

Sing and dance it trippingly.

Tita. First rehearse this song by rote:

To each word a warbling note,
Hand in hand, with fairy grace,
Will we sing, and bless this place.

SONG, AND DANCE.

Obe. Now, until the break of day,
Through this house each fairy stray.
To the best bride-bed will we,
Which by us shall blessed be;
And the issue, there create,
Ever shall be fortunate.
So shall all the couples three
Ever true in loving be:
And the blots of nature's hand
Shall not in their issue stand;
Never mole, hare-lip, nor scar,
Nor mark prodigious, such as are
Despised in nativity,

Shall upon their children be.-
With this field-dew consecrate,
Every fairy take his gait;*
And each several chamber bless,
Through this palace with sweet peace
E'er shall it in safety rest,
And the owner of it blest.

Trip away;
Make no stay;

Meet me all by break of day.

[Exeunt Oberon, Titania, and Train.

Puck. If we shadows have offended,

Think but this (and all is mended,)
That you have but slumber'd here,
While these visions did appear.
And this weak and idle theme,
No more yielding but a dream,
Gentles, do not reprehend;
If you pardon, we will mend.
And, as I am an honest Puck,
If we have unearned luck
Now to 'scape the serpent's tongue,
We will make amends, ere long:
Else the Puck a liar call.

So, good night unto you all.
Give me your hands, if we be friends,
And Robin shall restore amends.

[Exit.

Mereade, S

Katharine,

}

Sir Nathaniel, a curate.

Holofernes, & schoolmaster.

Dull, a constable.

Cestard, a clown.

Moth, page to Armado.

ACT I.

SCENE I.-Navarre. A park, with a palace in it. Enter the King, Biron, Longaville, and Dumain.

King.

LET fame, that all hunt after in their lives,

Live register'd upon our brazen tombs,
And then grace us in the disgrace of death;
When, spite of cormorant devouring time,
The endeavour of this present breath may buy
That honour, which shall bate his scythe's keen

edge,

And make us heirs of all eternity.
Therefore, brave conquerors!-for so you are,
That war against your own affections,

And the huge army of the world's desires,-
Our late edíct shall strongly stand in force:
Navarre shall be the wonder of the world;
Our court shall be a little académe,
Still and contemplative in living art.

You three, Birón, Dumain, and Longaville,
Have sworn for three years' term to live with me,
My fellow-scholars, and to keep those statutes,
That are recorded in this schedule here:

Your oaths are past, and now subscribe your names;
That his own hand may strike his honour down,
That violates the smallest branch herein :
If you are arm'd to do, as sworn to do,
Subscribe to your deep oath, and keep it too.
Long. I am resolv'd: 'tis but a three years' fast;
The mind shall banquet, though the body pine:
Fat paunches have lean pates; and dainty bits
Make rich the ribs, but bank'rout quite the wits.
Dum. My loving lord, Dumain is mortified;
The grosser manner of these world's delights
He throws upon the gross world's baser slaves:
To love, to wealth, to pomp, I pine and die;
With all these living in philosophy.

Biron. I can but say their protestation over,
So much, dear liege, I have already sworn,
That is, To live and study here three years,
But there are other strict observances:
As, not to see a woman in that term;
Which, I hope well, is not enrolled there:

And, one day in a week to touch no food;
And but one meal on every day beside;
The which, I hope, is not enrolled there:

And then to sleep but three hours in the night,

And not to be seen to wink of all the day;
(When I was wout to think no harm all night,
And make a dark night too of half the day;)
Which, I hope well, is not enrolled there:
O, these are barren tasks, too hard to keep;
Not to see ladies, study, fast, not sleep.

King. Your oath is pass'd to pass away from these
Biron. Let me say no, my liege, an if you please;
I only swore, to study with your grace,
And stay here in your court for three years' space.
Long. You swore to that, Biron, and to the rest.
Biron. By yea and nay, sir, then I swore in
jest.-

What is the end of study? let me know. King. Why, that to know, which else we should not know.

Biron. Things hid and barr'd, you mean, from

common sense;

King. Ay, that is study's god-like recompense. Biron. Come on, then, I will swear to study so. To know the thing I am forbid to know: As thus-To study where I well may dine, When I to feast expressly am forbid; Or, study where to meet some mistress fine, When mistresses from common sense are hid: Or, having sworn too hard-a-keeping oath, Study to break it, and not break my troth. If study's gain be thus, and this be so, Study knows that, which yet it doth not know: Swear me to this, and I will ne'er say, no. King. These be the stops that hinder study quite, And train our intellects to vain delight.

Biron. Why, all delights are vain; but that

most vain, Which, with pain purchas'd, doth inherit pain: As, painfully to pore upon a book,

To seek the like of truth; while truth the while Doth falsely blind the eyesight of his look: Light, seeking light, doth light of light beguile: So, cre you find where light in darkness lies, Your light grows dark by losing of your eyes.

(1) Dishonestly treacherously.

Biron. In what manner?

Cost. In manner and form following, sir; all those three: I was seen with her in the manor house, sitting with her upon the form, and taken following her into the park; which, put together, is, in manner and form following. Now, sir, for the manner, it is the manner of a man to speak to a woman: for the form, in some form.

Biron. For the following, sir?

Cost. As it shall follow in my correction; and God defend the right!

King. Will you hear this letter with attention? Biron. As we would hear an oracle.

Cost. Such is the simplicity of man to hearken after the flesh.

King. [Reads.] Great deputy, the welkin's vicegerent, and sole dominator of Navarre, my soul's earth's God, and body's fostering patron,

Cost. Not a word of Custard yet.

King. So it is,

to trial. Thine, in all compliments of devoted and heart-burning heat of duty, DON ADRIANO DE ARMADO.

Biron. This is not so well as I looked for, but the best that ever I heard. King. Ay, the best for the worst. But, sirrah,

what say you to this?

Cost. Sir, I confess the wench.

King. Did you hear the proclamation?
Cost. I do confess much of the hearing it, but

little of the marking of it.

King. It was proclaimed a year's imprisonment, to be taken with a wench.

Cost. I was taken with none, sir, I was taken with a damosel.

King. Well, it was proclaimed damosel. Cost. This was no damosel neither, sir; she was a virgin.

King. It is so varied too; for it was proclaimed, virgin.

Cost. If it were, I deny her virginity; I was

in telling true, but so, so.

King. Peace.

Cost. be to me, and every man that dares

not fight!

King. No words.

Cost. of other men's secrets, I beseech yeu.

King. So it is, besieged with sable-coloured melancholy, I did commend the black-oppressing humour to the most wholesome physic of thy healthgiving air; and, as I am a gentleman, betook myself to walk. The time when? About the sixth hour; when beasts most graze, birds best peck, and men sit down to that nourishment which is called supper. So much for the time when. Now for the ground which; which, I mean, I walked upon : it is ycleped thy park. Then for the place where;

King. This maid will not serve your turn, sir. Cost. This maid will serve my turn, sir.

King. Sir, I will pronounce your sentence; You shall fast a week with bran and water.

Cost. I had rather pray a month with mutton

and porridge.
King. And Don Armado shall be your keeper.-
My lord Biron see him deliver'd o'er.-
And go we, lords, to put in practice that

Which each to other hath so strongly sworn. [Exeunt King, Longaville, and Dumain. Biron. I'll lay my head to any good man's hat, These oaths and laws will prove an idle scorn.

-Sirrah, come on.

Cost. I suffer for the truth, sir: for true it is, I

the place, where, It standeth north-north-east and by east from the west corner of thy curious-knotted garden: there did I see that low-spirited swain, that base minnow of thy mirth,

SCENE II.-Another part of the same. Arma

do's house. Enter Armado and Moth.

Cost. Me.

Arm. Boy, what sign is it, when a man of great spirit grows melancholy?

King. that unletter'd small-knowing soul, Cost. Me.

Moth. A great sign, sir, that he will look sad. Arm. Why, sadness is one and the self-same

King. that shallow vassal,

thing, dear imp.

Moth. No, no; O lord, sir, no.

Cost. Still me.

King. with a child of our grandmother Eve, a female; or, for thy more sweet understanding, a woman. Him I (as my ever-esteemed duty pricks me on) have sent to thee, to receive the meed of punishment, by thy sweet grace's officer, Antony Dull; a man of good repute, carriage, bearing, and estimation.

Dull. Me, an't shall please you; I am Antony Dull.

King. For Jaquenetta (so is the weaker vessel called, which I apprehended with the aforesaid (1) In the fact.

(2) A young man,

choly, my tender juvenal?2

Moth. By a familiar demonstration of the working, my tough senior.

Arm. Why tough senior? why tough senior? Moth. Why tender juvenal? why tender juvenal? Arm. I spoke it, tender juvenal, as a congruent epitheton, appertaining to thy young days, which we may nominate tender.

Moth. And I, tough senior, as an appertinent title to your old time, which we may name tough. Arm. Pretty, and apt.

Moth. How mean you, sir? I pretty, and my saying apt? or I apt, and my saving pretty? Arm. Thou pretty, because little.

Moth. Little pretty, because little: Wherefore apt?
Arm. And therefore apt, because quick.
Moth. Speak you this in my praise, master?
Arm. In thy condign praise.

Moth. I will praise an eel with the same praise,
Arm, What? that an cel is ingenious?