"O fates! come, come;

"Cut thread and thrum1;

"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:

66

Ay, that left pap,

"Where heart doth hop:

"Thus die I, thus, thus, thus.

66

Now am I dead,

"Now am I fled;

"My soul is in the sky:

Tongue, loose 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.
"O sisters three,

"Come, come, to me,

"With hands as pale as milk;

1 Coarse yarn.

2 Gaiety.

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 Thisbe ends:

"Adieu, adieu, adieu."

The. Moonshine and lion are left to bury the dead.

Der. Ay, and wall too.

[Dies.

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 outsleep 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 jolity.

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.1
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 patlis 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 frolick; not a mouse
Shall disturb this hallow'd house:
I am sent, with broom, before,
To sweep the dust behind the door.

1 Overcome.

[Exeunt.

Enter Oberon and Tilania, 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 his 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;
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,1 such as are
Despised in nativity,

Shall upon their children be.-
With this field-dew consecrate,

Every fairy take his gate;

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 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.

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 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 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, 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 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 light of truth; while truth the while