Part 14

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? Flute the bellowes-mender? Snout the tinker? Starueling? Gods my life! Stolne hence, and left me asleepe: I haue had a most rare vision. I had a dreame, past the wit of man, to say, what dreame it was. Man is but an Asse, if he goe about to expound this dreame. Me-thought I was, there is no man can tell what. Me-thought I was, and me-thought I had. But man is but a patch'd foole, if he will offer to say, what me-thought I had. The eye of man hath not heard, the eare of man hath not seen, mans hand is not able to taste, his tongue to conceiue, nor his heart to report, what my dreame was. I will get Peter Quince to write a ballet of this dreame, it shall be called Bottomes Dreame, because it hath no bottome; and I will sing it in the latter end of a play, before the Duke. Peraduenture, to make it the more gracious, I shall sing it at her death. Enter.

Enter Quince, Flute, Thisbie, Snout, and Starueling.

Quin. Haue you sent to Bottomes house? Is he come home yet? Staru. He cannot be heard of. Out of doubt hee is transported

This. If he come not, then the play is mar'd. It goes not forward, doth it? Quin. It is not possible: you haue not a man in all Athens, able to discharge Piramus but he

This. No, hee hath simply the best wit of any handycraft man in Athens

Quin. Yea, and the best person too, and hee is a very Paramour, for a sweet voyce

This. You must say, Paragon. A Paramour is (God blesse vs) a thing of nought. Enter Snug the Ioyner.

Snug. Masters, the Duke is comming from the Temple, and there is two or three Lords & Ladies more married. If our sport had gone forward, we had all bin made men