A Midsommer nights Dreame.With these mortals on the ground.Exeunt.Winde Hornes.Enter Theseus, Egeus,
Hippolita and all his traine.
Thes.Goe one of you, finde out the Forrester,
[1560]
For now our obseruation is perform'd;And since we haue the vaward of the day,My Loue shall heare the musicke of my hounds.Vncouple in the Westerne valley, let them goe;Dispatch I say, and finde the Forrester.
[1565]
We will faire Queene, vp to the Mountaines top.And marke the musicall confusionOf hounds and eccho in coniunction.Hip.I was with
Hercules and
Cadmus once,
When in a wood of
Creete they bayed the Beare
[1570]
With hounds of
Sparta; neuer did I heare
Such gallant chiding. For besides the groues,The skies, the fountaines, euery region neere,Seeme all one mutuall cry. I neuer heardSo musicall a discord, such sweet thunder.Thes.
[1575]
My hounds are bred out of the
Spartan kinde,
So flew'd, so sanded, and their heads are hungWith eares that sweepe away the morning dew,Crooke kneed, and dew‑lapt, like
Thessalian Buls,
Slow in pursuit, but match'd in mouth like bels,
[1580]
Each vnder each. A cry more tuneableWas neuer hallowed to, nor cheer'd with horne,In
Creete, in
Sparta, nor in
Thessaly;
Iudge when you heare. B
ut soft, what nimphs are these?
Egeus.My Lord, this is my daughter heere asleepe,
[1585]
And this
Lysander, this
Demetrius is,
This
Helena, olde
Nedars Helena,
I wonder of this being heere together.The.No doubt they rose vp early, to obserueThe right of May; and hearing our intent,
[1590]
Came heere in grace of our solemnity.But speake
Egeus, is not this the day
That
Hermia should giue answer of her choice?
Egeus.It is, my Lord.Thes.Goe bid the hunts‑men wake them with their
hornes.
Hornes and they wake.Shout within, they all start vp.Thes.
[1595]
Good morrow friends: Saint
Valentine is past,
Begin these wood birds but to couple now?Lys.Pardon my Lord.Thes.I pray you all stand vp.I know you two are Riuall enemies.
[1600]
How comes this gentle concord in the world,That hatred
is isis so farre from iealousie,
To sleepe by hate, and feare no enmity.Lys.My Lord, I shall reply amazedly,Halfe sleepe, halfe waking. But as yet, I sweare,
[1605]
I cannot truly say how I came heere.But as I thinke (for truly would I speake)And now I doe bethinke me, so it is;I came with
Hermia hither. Our intent
Was to be gone from
Athens, where we might be
[1610]
Without the perill of the
Athenian Law.
Ege.Enough, enough, my Lord: you haue enough;I beg the Law, the Law, vpon his head:They would have stolne away, they would
Demetrius,
Thereby to haue defeated you and me:
[1615]
You of your wife, and me of my consent;Of my consent, that she should be your wife.Dem.My Lord, faire
Helen told me of their stealth,
Of this their purpose hither, to this wood,
Faire
Helena, in fancy followed me.
But my good Lord, I wot not by what power,(But by some power it is) my loueTo
Hermia (melted as the snow)
Seems to me now as the remembrance of an idle gaude,
[1625]
Which in my childehood I did doat vpon:And all the faith, the vertue of my heart,The obiect and the pleasure of mine eye,Is onely
Helena. To her, my Lord,
Was I betroth'd, ere I see
Hermia,
[1630]
But like a sickenesse did I loath this food,But as in health, come to my naturall taste,Now doe I wish it, loue it, long for it,And will for euermore be true to it.Thes.Faire Louers, you are fortunately met;
[1635]
Of this discourse we shall heare more anon.Egeus, I will ouer‑beare your will;
For in the Temple, by and by with vs,These couples shall eternally be knit.And for the morning now is something worne,
[1640]
Our purpos'd hunting shall be set aside.Away, with vs to
Athens; three and three,
Wee'll hold a feast in great solemnitie.Come
Hippolitæ.
Exit Duke and Lords.Dem.These things seeme small & vndistinguishable,
[1645]
Like farre off mountaines turned into Clouds.Her.Me‑thinks I see these things with parted eye,When euery things seemes double.Hel.So me‑thinkes:And I haue found
Demetrius, like a iewell,
[1650]
Mine owne, and not mine owne.Dem.It seemes to mee,That yet we sleepe, we dreame. Do not you thinke,The Duke was heere, and bid vs follow him?Her.Yea, and my Father.Hel.
[1655]
And
Hippolitæ.
Lys.And he bid vs follow to the Temple.Dem.Why then we are awake; lets follow him, and
by the way let vs recount our dreames.
Bottome wakes.Exit Louers.Clo.
When my cue comes, call me, and I will answer.
My next is, most faire
Piramus. Hey ho.
Peter Quince?
[1660]
Flute the bellowes‑mender?
Snout the tinker?
Starue
ling
? Gods my life! Stolne hence, and left me asleepe: I
haue had a most rare vision. I had a dreame, past the wit
of man, to say, what dreame it was. Man is but an Asse,
if he goe about to expound this dreame. Me‑thought I
[1665]
was, there is no man can tell what. Me‑thought I was,
and me‑thought I had. But man is but a patch'd foole,
if he will offer to say, what me‑thought I had. The eye of
man hath not heard, the eare of man hath not seen, mans
hand is not able to taste, his tongue to conceiue, nor his
[1670]
heart to report, what my dreame was. I will get
Peter
Quince
to write a ballet of this dreame, it shall be called
Bottomes Dreame, because it hath no bottome; and I will
sing it in the latter end of a play, before the Duke. Per
aduenture, to make it the more gracious, I shall sing it
[1675]
at her death.
Exit.
[Act 4, Scene 2]
Enter Quince, Flute,
Thisbie, Snout, and Starueling.
Quin.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<div type="scene" n="2">
<head type="supplied">[Act 4, Scene 2]</head>
<stage rend="italic center" type="entrance">Enter Quince, Flute, Thisbie, Snout, and Starueling.</stage>
<sp who="#F-mnd-qui">
<speaker rend="italic">Quin.</speaker>
<p n="1676">Haue you sent to<hi rend="italic">Bottomes</hi>house? Is he come
<lb n="1677"/>home yet?</p>
</sp>
<sp who="#F-mnd-sta">
<speaker rend="italic">Staru.</speaker>
<p n="1678">He cannot be heard of. Out of doubt hee is
<lb n="1679"/>transported.</p>
</sp>
<pb facs="FFimg:axc0179-0.jpg" n="159"/>
<cb n="1"/>
<sp who="#F-mnd-flu">
<speaker rend="italic">This.</speaker>
<p n="1680">If he come not, then the play is mar'd. It goes
<lb n="1681"/>not forward, doth it?</p>
</sp>
<sp who="#F-mnd-qui">
<speaker rend="italic">Quin.</speaker>
<p n="1682">It is not possible: you haue not a man in all
<lb n="1683"/>
<hi rend="italic">Athens</hi>, able to discharge<hi rend="italic">Piramus</hi>but he.</p>
</sp>
<sp who="#F-mnd-flu">
<speaker rend="italic">This.</speaker>
<p n="1684">No, hee hath simply the best wit of any handy
<lb n="1685"/>craft man in<hi rend="italic">Athens</hi>.</p>
</sp>
<sp who="#F-mnd-qui">
<speaker rend="italic">Quin.</speaker>
<p n="1686">Yea, and the best person too, and hee is a very
<lb n="1687"/>Paramour, for a sweet voyce.</p>
</sp>
<sp who="#F-mnd-flu">
<speaker rend="italic">This.</speaker>
<p n="1688">You must say, Paragon. A Paramour is (God
<lb n="1689"/>blesse vs) a thing of nought.</p>
</sp>
<stage rend="italic center" type="entrance">Enter Snug the Ioyner.</stage>
<sp who="#F-mnd-snu">
<speaker rend="italic">Snug.</speaker>
<p n="1690">Masters, the Duke is comming from the Tem
<lb n="1691"/>ple, and there is two or three Lords & Ladies more mar
<lb n="1692"/>ried. If our sport had gone forward, we had all bin made
<lb n="1693"/>men.</p>
</sp>
<sp who="#F-mnd-flu">
<speaker rend="italic">This.</speaker>
<p n="1694">O sweet bully<hi rend="italic">Bottome</hi>: thus hath he lost sixe
<lb n="1695"/>pence a day, during his life; he could not haue scaped six
<lb n="1696"/>pence a day. And the Duke had not giuen him sixpence
<lb n="1697"/>a day for playing<hi rend="italic">Piramus</hi>, Ile be hang'd. He would haue
<lb n="1698"/>deserued it. Sixpence a day in<hi rend="italic">Piramus</hi>, or nothing.</p>
</sp>
<stage rend="italic center" type="entrance">Enter Bottome.</stage>
<sp who="#F-mnd-bot">
<speaker rend="italic">Bot.</speaker>
<p n="1699">Where are these Lads? Where are these hearts?</p>
</sp>
<sp who="#F-mnd-qui">
<speaker rend="italic">Quin.</speaker>
<p n="1700">Bottome, ô most couragious day! O most hap
<lb n="1701"/>pie houre!</p>
</sp>
<sp who="#F-mnd-bot">
<speaker rend="italic">Bot.</speaker>
<p n="1702">Masters, I am to discourse wonders; but ask me
<lb n="1703"/>not what. For if I tell you, I am no true<hi rend="italic">Athenian</hi>. I
<lb n="1704"/>will tell you euery thing as it fell out.</p>
</sp>
<sp who="#F-mnd-qui">
<speaker rend="italic">Qu.</speaker>
<p n="1705">Let vs heare, sweet<hi rend="italic">Bottome</hi>.</p>
</sp>
<sp who="#F-mnd-bot">
<speaker rend="italic">Bot.</speaker>
<p n="1706">Not a word of me: all that I will tell you, is, that
<lb n="1707"/>the Duke hath dined. Get your apparell together, good
<lb n="1708"/>strings to your beards, new ribbands to your pumps,
<lb n="1709"/>meete presently at the Palace, euery man looke ore his
<lb n="1710"/>part: for the short and the long is, our play is preferred:
<lb n="1711"/>In any case let<hi rend="italic">Thisby</hi>haue cleane linnen: and let not him
<lb n="1712"/>that playes the Lion, paire his nailes, for they shall hang
<lb n="1713"/>out for the Lions clawes. And most deare Actors, eate
<lb n="1714"/>no Onions, nor Garlicke; for wee are to vtter sweete
<lb n="1715"/>breath, and I doe not doubt but to heare them say, it is a
<lb n="1716"/>sweet Comedy. No more words: away, go away.</p>
</sp>
<stage rend="italic rightJustified" type="exit">Exeunt.</stage>
</div>