University of Virginia Library

ACT V.

Enter Duke, Egeus, and Train.
Du.
Go one of you, find out the Forrester,
I long to hear the Musick of my Hounds,
They shall uncouple in the Western Vally.

Eg.
I mark'd it lately, 'twas a gallant chiding,
Beside the Groves, the Hills, and distant Vales,
The Skies, the Fountains, every Region near,
Seem'd all one mutual cry. I never heard
So Musical a discord; such sweet Thunder.

Du.
My Hounds are bred out of the Spartan kind;
So flew'd, so sanded; and their Heads are hung,
With Ears that sweep away the morning dew!
Crook-kneed, and Dew-lapt, like Thessalian Bulls,
Slow in pursuit, but match'd in Mouth like Bells,
Each under each; a cry more tunable,
Was never hollow'd too, nor cheer'd with Horn!
Judg when you hear. But soft, what Nymphs are these?

Eg.
My Leigh, this is my Daughter here asleep!
And this Lysander; this Demetrius!
This Helena, how came they here together?

Du.
No doubt,
They rose to grace our Solemn Hunting here.
But speak, Egeus, is not this the Day,
Hermia should give her answer?

Eg.
It is my Leige.

Du.
Go bid the Huntsmen wake 'em with their Musick.
A Composition in imitation of Hunting, at the end of it a Shout, the Lovers wake.
Good morrow friends; Saint Vallentines is past,
How came these Wood-birds but to couple now?

Ly.
Pardon me, gracious Sir.

Du.
Stand up, Lysander.
I know you two are Rival Enemies,
How comes this noble Concord in the World?
That hatred is so far from Jealousie,
To sleep by hate?

Ly.
Sir I shall answer you amazedly,
I do not sleep, yet scarce am half awake,
I do not truly know how I came hither!
But as I think (for I would truly speak)
Yes, now I think I can remember it.
Hither I came with beauteous Hermia,
Our intent was to fly from hence, and so
Evade the danger of your Cruel Law.

Eg.
Enough (most Noble Duke) he owns enough:
I ask your Justice for this breach of Law.
They would have stol'n away; they would Demetrius.
They meant to have defeated you, and me;
You of your Wife, and me of my Consent.

De.
All this fair Helen told me, my good Lord;
And hither I in Fury follow'd 'em;
Hither, the too kind Helen follow'd me:
And here, by some strange pow'r (I know not how)
My Love to Hermia melted like the Snow:
And now she seems but as an idle Toy,
Which in my Infancy I doted on:
And all my Faith, the Vertue of my Heart,
Joy of my Life, and Pleasure of my Eye,
Is only Helena's. I was (my Lord)
Betroth'd to her, e're I saw Hermia:
But then, my sickly Palate loath'd its Food.
Now I'm in Health, come to my natural tast,
And now I wish, I love, I long for it;
And will be ever true to Helena.

Du.
Then we came hither in a happy time:
Egeus, I must over-rule your Will;
For in the Temple, when our Hunting's done,
These Lovers shall eternally be joyn'd.
Egeus, I will be a Father too,
And give fair Helen to Demetrius,
Then feast these Lovers Royally: away.

[Ex. all but the Lovers.
Ly.
How have I dream'd, and thought I was awake?
And now I am awake, think I dream still.

Hel.
I never was so happy when awake:
Nay, pray disturb me not; let me dream on.

De.
These things seem strange, and undistinguishable,
Like Mountains far, far off, turn'd into Clouds.

Her.
Methinks I see 'em with a parted Eye,
Where every thing seems double.

Hel.
I think so too:
And I have found Demetrius like a Jewel
Long sought for, hardly credited when found.

De.
Pray Heaven we dream not still.
Did you not think the Duke himself was here?

Her.
Yes, and my Father.

Hel.
And bid us follow him.

Ly.
Ay, to the Temple.

Hel.
And said, he'd give me to Demetrius.
And feast us Royally.

Ly.
Nay then we are awake; let's follow him.
And as we go, let us recount our Dreams.

[Exeunt.
[A noise of Hunting at a distance, Bottom wakes.
Bot.

When my Cue comes, call me, and I will answer.
My next is—most fair Pyramus—hey, ho! Peter Quince,
Snout the Tinker, Starveling? 'Ods my life, stoln hence, and
left me asleep. I have had a most rare Vision. I had a
Dream, past the Wit of Man to say what Dream it was; Man
is but an Ass, if he go about to expound this Dream: Methought
I was! no Man can tell what. Methought I was,
and methought I had—but that Man is an arrant Fool, who
will offer to say what methought I had. I will get Peter
Quince to write a Ballad of this Dream; it shall be called Bottom's

Dream, because it has no bottom; And I will sing it my
self, at the latter end of our Play, before the Duke.

Enter Quince, Flute, Snout, Starveling.
Qu.

I have sought far and near, and cannot find him.

St.

So have I. Out of doubt he is Translated.

Qu.

If we find him not, our Play is marr'd; it cannot be
done without him: He has simply the best Wit of any Handicraft
Man in the whole Town.

Qu.

Yes, and the best Person too: then he is a very Raven
for a sweet Voice.

Enter Snug.
Sn.

O Masters! the Duke's going to the Temple! the Lords
and the Ladies are to be Married this Morning. If our Play
had gone forward, we had been all made Men.

Snout.

Ah sweet Bully Bottom; thou hast lost God knows
what. An the Duke had not given him God knows what for
Playing Pyramus, I'll be hang'd.

Bot.

O are you here? my Lads, my hearts of Iron?

Qu.

He's here! he's here! Bottom's here! O most couragious
day! O happy day!

Bot.

Masters, I am to discourse wonders to you, but ask me
not what; for if I tell you, I am no true man. For I will tell
every thing as it fell out.

Qu.

Let us hear it then, sweet Bottom.

Bot.

Not a word, all I will tell you is, Get your Apparel together,
good strings to your Beards, new Ribbons, Powder, and
Wash, and meet presently at the Palace. Our Play shall be preferr'd.
Let Thisbe have clean Linnen, and let not him that
Plays the Lion, pare his Nails; they shall hang out for the Lion's
Claws. And let no man eat Onions, or Garlick, for we
must utter most sweet breath. No more words; but away.

[Exeunt.
Enter Duke, Egeus, Lovers, and Attendants.
Eg.
Are not these Stories strange, my Gracious Lord?

Du.
More strange than true. I never could believe,
These Antick Fables, nor these Fairy toys.
Lovers, and Lunaticks have pregnant brains.
They in a moment by strong fancy see
More than cool reason e're could comprehend.
The Poet, with the mad-man may be joyn'd.
He's of imagination all made up,
And see's more Devils, than all Hell can hold.
Can make a Venus of an Ethiop.
And as imagination rolls about,
He gives the airy Fantasms of his Brain,
A Local habitation, and a name.
And so these Lovers, wandring in the night,
Through unfrequented ways, brim full of fear,
How easie is a Bush suppos'd a Bear!
[While a short Simphony Plays, Enter Oberon, Titania, Robin-Good-fellow, and all the Fayries.
I hear strange Musick warbling in the Air.

Ob.
'Tis Fairy Musick, sent by me;
To cure your Incredulity.
All was true the Lovers told,
You shall stranger things behold.
Mark the wonders shall appear,
While I feast your eye and ear.

Du.
Where am I? does my sence inform me right?
Or is my hearing better than my sight?

Tit.
When to Parlors we retire,
And Dance before a dying fire.

Ob.
Or when by night near Woods, or Streams,
We wanton by the Moons pale beams.
Then gross shades, and twinkling light,
Expose our Shapes to mortal sight.
But in the bright and open day,
When in Sol's Glorious beams we play,
Our bodies are, in that fierce light,
Too thin and pure for humane sight.

Tit.
Sir, then cast your eyes above:
See the Wife of mighty Jove.

Juno appears in a Machine drawn by Peacocks.
Ob.
Juno, who does still preside,
Over the Sacred Nuptial Bed:
Comes to bless their days and nights,
With all true joys, and chaste delights.

While a Symphony Plays, the Machine moves forward, and the Peacocks spread their Tails, and fill the middle of the Theater.
JUNO
Sings.
Thrice happy Lovers, may you be
For ever, ever free,
From that tormenting Devil, Jealousie.
From all that anxious Care and Strife.
That attends a married Life:
Be to one another true,
Kind to her as she to you.
And since the Errors of this Night are past,
May he be ever Constant, she be ever Chast.

The Machine ascends.
Ob.
Now my gentle Puck, away,
Haste, and over-cast the Day.
Let thick Darkness all around,
Cover that Spot of Fairy Ground;
That so the gloomy Shades of Night
May usher in a glorious Light.

While the Scene is darken'd, a single Entry is danced; Then a Symphony is play'd; after that the Scene is suddainly Illuminated, and discovers a transparent Prospect of a Chinese Garden, the Architecture, the Trees, the Plants, the Fruit, the Birds, the Beasts, quite different from what we have in this part of the World. It is terminated by an Arch, through which is seen other Arches with close Arbors, and a row of Trees to the end of the View. Over it is a hanging Garden, which rises by several ascents to the top of the House; it is bounded on either side with

---

49

pleasant Bowers, variours Trees, and numbers of strange Birds flying in the Air, on the Top of a Platform is a Fountain, throwing up Water, which falls into a large Basin.
A Chinese
Enters and Sings.
Thus the gloomy World
At first began to shine,
And from the Power Divine
A Glory round it hurl'd;
Which made it bright,
And gave it Birth in light.
Then were all Minds as pure,
As those Etherial Streams;
In Innocence secure,
Not Subject to Extreams.
There was no Room for empty Fame,
No cause for Pride, Ambition wanted aim.

A Chinese Woman
Sings.

Chorus.

[Chinese woman.]

Chorus.

[Chinese woman.]

Chorus.

[Chinese woman.]

Chorus.

A Chinese Man
Sings.

Six Monkeys come from between the Trees, and Dance.
Enter Hymen.
Hy.
See, see, I obey.
My Torch has long been out, I hate
On loose dissembled Vows to wait.
Where hardly Love out-lives the Wedding-Night,
False Flames, Love's Meteors, yield my Torch no Light.

Six Pedestals of China-work rise from under the Stage; they support six large Vases of Porcelain, in which are six China-Orange-trees.
Both Wo.
Turn then thy Eyes upon those Glories there,
And Catching Flames will on thy Torch appear.

Hy.
My Torch, indeed, will from such Brightness shine:
Love ne'er had yet such Altars, so divine.

The Pedestals move toward the Front of the Stage, and the Grand Dance begins of Twenty four Persons; then Hymen and the Two Women sing together.
They shall be as happy as they're fair;
Love shall fill all the Places of Care:
And every time the Sun shall display
His Rising Light,
It shall be to them a new Wedding-Day;
And when he sets, a new Nuptial-Night.

A Chinese Man and Woman dance.
The Grand Cho.
They shall be, &c.

All the Dancers join in it.
Ob.
At Dead of Night we'll to the Bride-bed come,
And sprinkle hallow'd Dew-drops round the Room.

Tit.
We'll drive the Fume about, about,
To keep all Noxious Spirits out:
That the Issue they create,
May be ever fortunate.

Ob.
Stay; let us not, like very foolish Elves,
Take care of others, and neglect our selves.
If these should be offended, we are lost;
And all our Hopes, and future Fortunes cross'd.

Tit.
It is below the Fairy-Queen to fear.
Look there: Can there be any Danger near,
When Conquering Beauty sills that Heavenly Sphear

Ob.
But here are Wits, and Criticks and 'tis said,
Their Adders Tongues can sting, or hit us dead.

Tit.
Away: Let not the Name of Wits alarm us;
They are so very few, they cannot harm us.

Ob.
Consider; Sharpers, Beau's, the very Cits,
All either are, or else they would be Wits.

Tit.
Well, let 'em all be Wits; and if they shou'd
Blast us, or nip us in the very Bud,
The Loss will be their own another Day.
Are we not in a very hopeful Way
To make 'em all amends—if they will stay.

Ob.
They are impatient, and their Stomachs keen;
They will not be post pon'd, 'tis you're Fifteen.

Tit.
Well, If their Appetites so fiercely crave,
We'll give 'em all the Ready that we have.
First, Losing Gamesters, Poets, Railing Wits;
Some Basset-Ladies, and all Broken Cits;
(Who live by what from others they purloyn)
We'll lend 'em mighty Sums—in Fairy-Coin.

Ob.
Ladies in Dreams shall have their Fortunes told;
The Young shall dream of Husbands, and the Old
Their Youthful Pleasures shall each Night repeat.

Tit.
Green-Sickness Girls, who nautiate wholesom Meat,
How they their Parents, and themselves may cheat.

Ob.
Widows, who were by former Husbands vex'd,
Shall dream how they may over-reach the next.

Tit.
Each separate Lady, to supply her Want,
Shall every Night dream of a new Gallant.

Ob.
Those Beau's, who were, at Nurse, chang'd by my Elves.

Tit.
Shall dream of nothing, but their pretty selves.

Ob.
We'll try a Thousand charming Ways to win ye.

Tit.
If all this will not do, the Devil's in ye.