As it should pierce a hundred thousand hearts: In maiden meditation, fancy free. Yet mark'd I where the bolt of Cupid fell; It fell upon a little western flower, Before milk-white; now purple with love's wound, And maidens call it Love-in-idleness.* Fetch me that flower: the herb I showed thee once : The juice of it on sleeping eyelids laid, Will make or man or woman madly dote Upon the next live creature that it sees. Fetch me this herb: and be thou here again, Ere the leviathan can swim a league. Puck. I'll put a girdle round about the earth, In forty minutes. Tit. Come, now a roundel, and a fairy song; Then, for the third part of a minute, hence; Some, to kill cankers in the musk-rose buds ; [Exit OBERON Some, war with rear mice for their leathern wings, Then to your offices, and let me rest. * Love-in-idleness.-The heart's-ease SONG 1st Fai. You spotted snakes with double tongue, Newts and blind worms, do no wrong; Chorus. Philomel with melody Sing in our sweet lullaby, Lulla, lulla, lullaby: lulla, lulla, lullaby; So, good night-with lullaby. 2d Fai. Weaving spiders, come not here; Hence you long-legged spinners, hence: Chorus. Philomel with melody, &c. [Exeunt FAIRIES. TITANIA sleeps. Enter OBERON. Ober.-What thou seest when thou dost awake [Squeezes the flower on Titania's eyelids. Do it for thy true love take; Love and languish for his sake: Be it ounce, or cat, or bear, In thy eye that shall appear When thou wak'st, it is thy dear; Wake, when some vile thing is near. [Exit. Enter BOTTOM, singing; PUсí having clapt on him an ass's head SONG. Bot. The ousel-cock, so black of hue, With orange-tawny bill, The throstle with his note so true, The wren with little quill Tit. What angel wakes me from my flowery bed? I pray thee, gentle mortal, sing again; Mine ear is much enamor'd of thy note; [Wakes. So is mine eye enthralled to thy shape; And thy fair virtue's force perforce doth move me, On the first view, to say, to swear, I love thee. Bot. Methinks, mistress, you should have little reason for that, and yet to say the truth, reason and love keep little company together now-a-days. The more the pity that some honest neighbors will not make them friends. Nay, I can gleek* upon occasion. Tit. Thou art as wise as thou art beautiful. Bot. Not so neither; but if I had wit enough to get out of this wood, I have enough to serve mine own turn. Tit. Out of this wood do not desire to go: Thou shalt remain here, whether thou wilt or no. I am a spirit of no common rate; The summer still doth tend upon my state, And I do love thee; therefore go with me; I'll give thee fairies to attend on thee; And they shall fetch thee jewels from the deep, And sing, while thou on pressed flowers dost sleep : That thou shalt like an airy spirit go, Peas-blossom! Cobweb! Moth and Mustard-seed! Tit. Be kind and courteous to this gentleman; Hop in his walks, and gambol in his eyes; And pluck the wings from painted butterflies, 1st Fai. Hail, mortal! 2nd Fai. Hail! 3rd Fai. Hail! 4th Fai. Hail! Bot. I cry your worship's mercy, heartily. I beseech your worship's name. *Gleek.-Banter. Cob. Cobweb. Bot. I shall desire you of more acquaintance, good Master Cobweb. If I cut my finger, I shall make bold with you. Your name, honest gentle man ? Peas. Peas-blossom. Bot. I pray you commend me to Mistress Squash, your mother, and to Master Peascod, your father. Good Master Peas-Blossom, I shall desire you of more acquaintance too. Your name, I beseech you, sir? Mus. Mustard-seed. Bot. Good Master Mustard-seed, I know your patience well. That same cowardly, giant-like ox-beef hath devoured many gentlemen of your house. I promise you your kindred hath made my eyes water ere now. desire you more acquaintance, good Master Mustard-seed. OBERON enters unseen. Tit. Come, sit thee down upon this flowery bed, And stick musk-roses in thy sleek smooth head, Bot. Where's Peas-blossom? Peas. Ready. I Bot. Scratch my head, Peas-blossom. Where's Monsieur Cobweb? Bot. Monsieur Cobweb, good monsieur, get up your weapons in your hands, 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 with the action, monsieur; and, good monsieur, have a care the honey-bag break not; I would be loth to have you overflown with a honey-bag, 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 Cavaliero 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. Tit. What, wilt thou hear some music, my sweet love? Bot. I have a reasonable ear in music: let us have the tongs and the bones Tit. Or say, sweet love, what thou desirest 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. Tit 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. * Tit. Sleep thou, and I will wind thee in my arms. So doth the woodbine the sweet honeysuckle Enrings the barky fingers of the elm. O, how I love thee! How I dote on thee! [They sleep. See'st thou this sweet sight? OBERON advances. Enter Puck. Ober. Welcome, good Robin. And, gentle Puck, take this transformed scalp And think no more of this night's accidents, Be as thou wert wont to be; (Touching her eyes with a herb.) See, as thou were wont to see; Dian's bud o'er Cupid's flower But as the fierce vexation of a dream.-This fine stray verse come looking in among the rest like a stern face through flowers. |