And the issue, there create, Ever shall be fortunate.it dans the da So shall all the couples three And the blots of nature's hand Shall not in their issue stand; Never mole, hare-lip, nor scar,0 Nor mark prodigious5, such as are Despised in nativity, Shall upon their children be. And each several chamber bless, Through this palace with sweet peace: And the owner of it blest. Trip away; Meet me all by break of day. [Exeunt OBERON, TITANIA, and Train. Puck. If we shadows have offended, If you pardon, we will mend. and wine. It is recorded in France, that, on frequent occasions, the priest was improperly detained till midnight, whilst the wedding guests rioted in the luxuries of the table, and made use of language that was extremely offensive to the clergy, injurious to the salvation of the parties. It was therefore ordained, in the year 1577, that the ceremony of blessing the nuptial bed should for the future be performed in the day-time, or at least before supper, and in the presence of the bride and bridegroom, and of their nearest relations only. And, as I'm an honest Puck, Now to 'scape the serpent's tongue 9, So, good night unto you all. Give me your hands 10, if we be friends, [Exit. 8 i. e. if we have better fortune than we have deserved. 9 i. e. hisses. 10 Clap your hands, give us your applause. WILD and fantastical as this play is, all the parts in their varl ous modes are well written, and give the kind of pleasure which the author designed. Fairies in his time were much in fashion; common tradition had made them familiar, and Spenser's poem had made them great. JOHNSON. JOHNSON'S concluding observations on this play are not conceived with his usual judgment. There is no analogy or resemblance between the Fairies of Spenser and those of Shakspeare. The Fairies of Spenser, as appears from his description of them in the second book of the Faerie Queene, canto x. were a race of mortals created by Prometheus. of the human size, shape, and affections, and subject to death. But those of Shakspeare and of common tradition, as Johnson calls them, were a diminutive race of sportful beings, endowed with immortality and supernatural powers, totally different from those of Spenser. M. MASON. |