Shakespeare's First Folio Part 143

Dians bud, or Cupids flower, Hath such force and blessed power.

Now my t.i.tania wake you my sweet Queene

t.i.ta. My Oberon, what visions haue I seene!

Me-thought I was enamoured of an a.s.se

Ob. There lies your loue

t.i.ta. How came these things to pa.s.se?

Oh, how mine eyes doth loath this visage now!

Ob. Silence a while. Robin take off his head: t.i.tania, musick call, and strike more dead Then common sleepe; of all these, fine the sense

t.i.ta. Musicke, ho musicke, such as charmeth sleepe.

Musick still.

Rob. When thou wak'st, with thine owne fooles eies peepe

Ob. Sound musick; come my Queen, take hands with me And rocke the ground whereon these sleepers be.

Now thou and I new in amity, And will to morrow midnight, solemnly Dance in Duke Theseus house triumphantly, And blesse it to all faire posterity.

There shall the paires of faithfull Louers be Wedded, with Theseus, all in iollity

Rob. Faire King attend, and marke, I doe heare the morning Larke, Ob. Then my Queene in silence sad, Trip we after the nights shade; We the Globe can compa.s.se soone, Swifter then the wandering Moone

t.i.ta. Come my Lord, and in our flight, Tell me how it came this night, That I sleeping heere was found,

Sleepers Lye still.

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, 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.

We will faire Queene, vp to the Mountains top, And marke the musicall confusion Of hounds and eccho in coniunction

Hip. I was with Hercules and Cadmus once.

When in a wood of Creete they bayed the Beare 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 heard So musicall a discord, such sweet thunder

Thes. My hounds are bred out of the Spartan kinde, So flew'd, so sanded, and their heads are hung With 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, Each vnder each. A cry more tuneable Was neuer hallowed to, nor cheer'd with horne, In Creete, in Sparta, nor in Thessaly; Iudge when you heare. But soft, what nimphs are these?

Egeus. My Lord, this is my daughter heere asleepe, 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 obserue The right of May; and hearing our intent, 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. 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.

How comes this gentle concord in the world, That hatred is 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, 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 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: 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, And I in furie hither followed them; Faire Helena, in fancy followed me.

But my good Lord, I wot not by what not by what power, (But by some power it is) my loue To Hermia (melted as the snow) Seems to me now as the remembrance of an idle gaude, 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, 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; 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, 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 Hippolita.

Exit Duke and Lords.

Dem. These things seeme small & vndistinguishable, Like farre off mountaines turned into Clouds

Her. Me-thinks I see these things with parted eye, When euery thing seemes double

Hel. So me-thinkes: And I haue found Demetrius, like a iewell, 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. And Hippolita

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?