"For, by thy gracious, golden, glittering

streams,

"I trust to taste of truest Thisby's sight.
"But stay;-0 spite!

"But mark;-Poor knight,
What dreadful dole is here?
"Eyes, do you see?
"How can it be?

"O dainty duck! O dear!
"Thy mantle good,

"What, stain'd with blood? "Approach, ye furies fell!

O fates! come, come; "Cut thread and thrum;" "Quail, crush, conclude, and quell!" The. This passion, and the death of a dear friend, would go near to make a man look sad. Hip. Beshrew my heart, but I pity the man. Pyr. "O, wherefore, nature, didst thou lions

frame?

"Since lion vile hath here deflour'd my dear: "Which is no, no-which was the fairest dame,

"That liv'd, that lov'd, that lik'd, that look'd with cheer.

"Come, tears, confound; "Out, sword, and wound "The pap of Pyramus:

Ay, that left ap, "Where heart doth hop: "Thus die I, thus, thus, thus. "Now am I dead, "Now am I fled; "My soul is in the sky:

Tongue, lose thy light! "Moon, take thy flight! "Now die, die, die, die, die.

[Dies.-Exit MOONSHINE. Dem. No die, but an ace, for him; for he is but one.

Lys. Less than an ace, man; for he is dead; he is nothing.

The. With the help of a surgeon, he might yet recover, and prove an ass.

Hip. How chance moonshine is gone, before Thisbe comes back and finds her lover?

The. She will find him by star-light.-Here she comes; and her passion ends the play.

Enter THISBE.

Hip. Methinks, she should not use a 'long one, for such a Pyramus: I hope, she will be brief.

Dem. A mote will turn the balance, which Pyramus, which Thisbe, is the better.

Lys. She hath spied him already with those sweet eyes.

Dem. And thus she moans, videlicet.-
This." Asleep, my love?
"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.
"Osisters three,

"Come, come, to me,
"With hands as pale as milk
66 Lay them in gore,

Coarse yarn.

+ Destroy. + Countenance.

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. I 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 this solemnity,
In nightly revels, and new jollity.

SCENE II.-Enter PUCK. Puck. Now the hungry lion roars,

[Exeunt

And the wolf behowls the moon;
Whilst the heavy ploughman snores,

All with weary task fordone.t
Now the wasted brands do glow,
Whilst the scritch-owl, scritching loud,
Puts the wretch, that lies in woe,
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 Hecat'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:
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
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.

[light,

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.

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'm 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.

But there are other strict observances:

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 edict shall strongly stand in force:
Navarre shall be the wonder of the world;
Our court shall be a little Academe,
Still and contemplative in living art.
You three, Birón, Dumain, and Longaville,
Have sworn for three years' term to live with

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 be seen to wink of all the day;
(When I was wont 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 I only swore, to study with yourgrace, [please; And stay here in your court for three years'

pense.

Biron. Come on then, I will swear to study To know the thing I am forbid to know: [so 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:

Biron. To hear? or forbear hearing? Long. To hear meekly, Sir, and to laugh moderately; or to forbear both.

Biron. Well, Sir, be it as the style shall give us cause to climb to the merriness.

Cost. The matter is to me, Sir, as concerning Jaquenetta. The manner of it is, I was taken with the manner.*

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 ricegerent, and sole dominator of Navarre, my soul's earth's God, and body's fostering patron,Cost. Not a word of Costard yet.

King. So it is,

Cost. It may be so: but if he say it is so, he is, in telling true, but so, so.

King, Peace.

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 swain,) I keep her as a vessel of thy law's fury; and shall, at the least of thy sweet notice, bring her 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 taken with a maid.

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

King. No words.

Cost. of other men's secrets, I beseech you. King. So it is, besieged with sable-coloured melancholy, I did commend the bluck-oppressing humour to the most wholesome physic of thy health-giving 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; where, I mean, I did encounter that obscene and most preposterous event, that draweth from my snow white pen the ebon-coloured ink, which here thou viewest, beholdest, surveyest, or seest: But to the place, where,-It standeth north-north-east and by cast from the west corner of thy curious-knotted garden: There did I see that low-spirited swain, that base minnow of thy mirth,

Cost. Me.

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

King. that shallow vassal,

Cost. Still me.

King.which, as I remember, hight Costard, Cost. O me!

King.sorted and consorted, contrary to thy established proclaimed edict and continent canon, with-with-O with-but with this I passion say wherewith.

to

Cost. With a wench. King. -with a child of our grandmother Ere, 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 mun of good repute, carriage, bearing, and estimation.

* In the fact.

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

SCENE 11.-Another part of the same.-ARMADO'S House.

Enter ARMADO and MOTH.

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

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

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

Arm. How canst thou part sadness and melancholy, my tender juvenal ?*

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

Arm. Why tough senior? why tough senior? Moth. Why tender juvenal? why tender ju venal?

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.

U

* Young man.