"For, by thy gracious, golden, glittering streams, "I trust to taste of truest Thisby's sight. "What dreadful dole is here? "O dainty duck! O dear! "Approach, ye furies fell! "O fates! come, come; "Quail, crush, conclude, and quell!"t 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.‡ "The pap of Pyramus: "Tongue, lose thy light! "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. * Coarse yarn. † Destroy. + Countenance. Dem. Ay, and wall too. 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 hang'd 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, SCENE II. - Enter PUCK. Puck. Now the hungry lion roars, In remembrance of a shroud. Now it is the time of night, In the church-way paths to glide: By the triple Hecat's team, To sweep the dust behind the door. Enter OBERON and TITANIA, with their Train. Obe. Through this house give glimmering By the dead and drowsy fire : Every elf, and fairy sprite, Hop as light as bird from brier; And this ditty after me, Sing and dance it trippingly. [light, Tita. First, rehearse this song by rote; To each word a warbling note, 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; And the issue, there create, And each several chamber bless, And the owner of it blest. Trip away; Meet me all by all by break of day. [Exeunt OBERON, TITANIA, and Train. Puck. If we shadows have offended, Think but this, (and all is mended,) So, good night unto you all. * Pertentous. ↑ Way. SCENE I.-Navarre. -A Park, with a Pa- As, not to see a woman in that term; lace in it. Enter the KING, BIRON, LONGAVILLE, and DUMAIN. King. Let fame, that all hunt after in their Live register'd upon our brazen tombs, And make us heirs of all eternity. That his own hand may strike his honour down, The mind shall banquet, though the body pine: Dum. My loving lord, Dumain is mortified; 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. Which, I hope well, is not enrolled there : (When I was wont to think no harm all night, King. Your oath is pass'd to pass away Biron. Let me say no, my liege, an if you I only swore to study with your grace, [please; 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 recom- Biron. Come on then, I will swear to study And train our intellects to vain delight. As, painfully to pore upon a book, [while To seek the light of truth; while truth the Doth falsely blind the eyesight of his look: Light, seeking light, doth light of light beguile: So, ere you find where light in darkness lies, Your light grows dark by losing of your eyes. Study me how to please the eye indeed, By fixing it upon a fairer eye; Who dazzling so, that eye shall be his heed, And give him light that was it blinded by. Study is like the heaven's glorious sun, That will not be deep-search'd with saucy looks; Small have continual plodders ever won, Dum. Proceeded well, to stop all good-pro-I ceeding! Long. He weeds the corn, and still lets grow King. We must, of force, dispense with this decree; She must lie* here on mere necessity. For every man with his affeets is born; Not by might master'd, but by special grace: If I break faith, this word shall speak for me, am forsworn on mere necessity.So to the laws at large I write my name : [Subscribes. And he, that breaks them in the least degree, Stands in attainder of eternal shame : Suggestionst are to others, as to me; But, I believe, although I seem so loath, I am the last that will last keep his oath. But is there no quick recreation granted? King. Ay, that there is: our court, you know, is haunted With a refined traveller of Spain; A man in all the world's new fashion planted, That hath a mint of phrases in his brain: One, whom the music of his own vain tongue Doth ravish, like enchanting harmony; A man of complements, whom right and wrong Have chose as umpire of their mutiny: This child of fancy, that Armado hight, For interim to our studies, shall relate, In high-born words, the worth of many a knight From tawny Spain, lost in the world's de bate. How you delight, my lords, I know not, I; Biron. Armado is a most illustrious wight, A man of fire-new words, fashion's own knight. Long. Costard, the swain, and he, shall be our sport; And, so to study, three years is but short. Enter DULL, with a letter, and COSTARD. Dull. Which is the duke's own person? Biron. This, fellow; What would'st? Dull. I myself reprehend his own person, for I am his grace's tharborough :|| but I would see his own person in flesh and blood. Biron. This is he. Dull. Signior Arme-Arme-commends you.. There's villany abroad; this letter will tell you more. Cost. Sir, the contempts thereof are as touching me. King. A letter from the magnificent Armado. Biron. How low soever the matter, I hope in God for high words. Long. A high hope for a low having: God grant us patience! Reside. Temptations. Lively, sprightly. Biron. To hear? or forbear hearing? Long. To hear meekly, Sir, and to laugh moderately; or to forbear both. Biron. Well, Sir, be it as the style shall give us cause to climb to the merriness. Cost. The matter is to me, Sir, as concerning Jaquenetta. The manner of it is, I was taken with the manner.* Biron. In what manner? Cost. In manner and form following, Sir; all those three: I was seen with her in the manor house, sitting with her upon the form, and taken following her into the park; which, put together, is, in manner and form following. Now, Sir, for the manner, -itis the manner of a man to speak to a woman: for the form, -in some form. Biron. For the following, Sir? Cost. As it shall follow in my correction; And God defend the right! King. Will you hear this letter with attention? Biron. As we would hear an oracle. Cost. Such is the simplicity of man to hearken after the flesh. King. [Reads.] Great deputy, the welkin's vicegerent, and sole dominator of Navarre, my soul's earth's God, and body's fostering patron, Cost. Not a word of Costard yet. Cost. -of other men's secrets, I beseech you. King. So it is, besieged with sable-coloured melancholy, I did commend the black-oppressing humour to the most wholesome physic of thy health-giving air; and, as I am a gentleman, betook myself to walk. The time when? About the sixth hour; when beasts most graze, birds best peck, and men sit down to that nourishment which is called supper. So much for the time when: Now for the ground which; which, I mean, I walked upon: it is ycleped thy park. Then for the place where; where, I mean, I did encounter that obscene and most preposterous event, that draweth from my snow white pen the ebon-coloured ink, which here thou viewest, beholdest, surveyest, or seest: But to the place, where, -It standeth north-north-east and by east from the west corner of thy curious-knotted garden. There did I see that low-spirited swain, that base minnow of thy mirth, Cost. Me. King. -that unletter'd small-knowing soul, Cost. Me. King. -that shallow vassal, Cost. Still me. King. -which, as I remember, hight Costard, Cost. O me! King. -sorted and consorted, contrary to thy established proclaimed edict and continent canon, with-with-O with but with this I passion to say wherewith. Cost. With a wench. King. with a child of our grandmother Eve, a female; or, for thy more sweet understanding, a woman. Him I (as my ever-esteemed duty pricks me on) have sent to thee, to receive the meed of punishment, by thy sweet grace's officer, Antony Dull; a man of good repute, carriage, bearing, and estimation. Dull. Me, an't shall please you; I am Antony Dull. King. For Jaquenetta, (so is the weaker vessel called, which I apprehended with the aforesaid swain,) I keep her as a vessel of thy law's fury ; and shall, at the least of thy sweet notice, bring her to trial. Thine, in all compliments of devoted and heart-burning heat of duty, DON ADRIANO DE ARMADO. Biron. This is not so well as I looked for, but the best that ever I heard. King. Ay, the best for the worst. But, sirrah, what say you to this? Cost. Sir, I confess the wench. King. Did you hear the proclamation? Cost. I do confess much of the hearing it, but little of the marking of it. King. It was proclaimed a year's imprisonment, to be taken with a wench. Cost. I was taken with none, Sir, I was taken with a damosel. King. Well, it was proclaimed damosel. Cost. This was no damosel neither, Sir; she was a virgin. King. It is so varied too; for it was proclaimed, virgin. Cost. If it were, I deny her virginity; I was taken with a maid. King. This maid will not serve your turn, Sir. Cost. This maid will serve my turn, Sir. King. Sir, I will pronounce your sentence; You shall fast a week with bran and water. Cost. I had rather pray a month with mutton and porridge. King. And Don Armado shall be your keeper. -My lord Biron see him deliver'd e'er. And go we, lords, to put in practice that Which each to other hath so strongly sworn. [Exeunt KING, LONGAVILLE, and DUMAIN. Biron. I'll lay my head to any good man's hat, [scorn.These oaths and laws will prove an idle Sirrah, come on. Cost. I suffer for the truth, Sir: for true.it is, I was taken with Jaquenetta, and Jaquenetta is a true girl; and therefore, Welcome the sour cup of prosperity! Affliction may one day smile again, and till then, Sit thee down, sorrow! [Exeunt. SCENE II.-Another part of the same.-ARMADO'S House. Enter ARMADO and Mотн. Arm. Boy, what sign is it, when a man of great spirit grows melancholy? Moth. A great sign, Sir, that he will look sad. Arm. Why, sadness is one and the self-same thing, dear imp. Moth. No, no, Olord, Sir, no. Arm. How canst thou part sadness and melancholy, my tender juvenal?* Moth. By a familiar demonstration of the working, my tough senior. Arm. Why tough senior? why tough senior? Moth. Why tender juvenal? why tender ju venal? Arm. I spoke it, tender juvenal, as a congruent epitheton, appertaining to thy young days, which we may nominate tender. Moth. And I, tough senior, as an appertanent title to your old time, which we may name tough. Arm. Pretty, and apt. Vor. F. * In the fact. * Young mana |