Obe. Silence, a while. - Robin, take off this head.Titania, musick call; and strike more dead Than common sleep, of all these five the sense.

Tita. Musick, ho! musick; such as charmeth sleep. Puck. Now, when thou wak'st, with thine own fool's

eyes peep.

Obe. Sound, musick. [Still musick.] Come, my queen, take hands with me,

And rock the ground whereon these sleepers be.
Now thou and I are new in amity;

And will, to-morrow midnight, solemnly,
Dance in duke Theseus' house triumphantly,
And bless it to all fair posterity+:

There shall the pairs of faithful lovers be
Wedded, with Theseus, all in jollity.

Puck. Fairy king, attend, and mark;
I do hear the morning lark.

Obe. Then, my queen, in silence sad,
Trip we after the night's shade:

We the globe can compass soon,
Swifter than the wand'ring moon.

Tita. Come, my lord; and in our flight,

Tell me how it came this night,

That I sleeping here was found,

With these mortals, on the ground.

[Exeunt.

[Horns sound within.

Enter THESEUS, HIPPOLYTA, EGEUS, and train.

The. Go, one of you, find out the forester; For now our observation is perform'd";

+ "prosperity:"]- MALONE.

6 our observation is perform'd:] The honours due to the morning of May. I know not why Shakspeare calls this play A Midsummer Night's Dream, when he so carefully informs us that it happened on the night preceding May day. JOHNSON.

The title of this play seems no more intended to denote the precise time of the action, than that of The Winter's Tale; which we find, was at the season of sheep-shearing. FARMER.

OBE. SOUND. MUSIC COME. MY QUEEN. TAKE HANDS WITH ME
AND ROCK THE GROUND WHEREON THESE SLEEPERS EE.
Act IV. Se.1.

And since we have the vaward of the day',
My love shall hear the musick of my hounds. -
Uncouple in the western valley; go:-

Despatch, I say, and find the forester. -
We will, fair queen, up to the mountain's top,
And mark the musical confusion

Of hounds and echo in conjunction.

Hip. I was with Hercules, and Cadmus, once,
When in a wood of Crete they bay'd the bear
With hounds of Sparta: never did I hear
Such gallant chiding; for, besides the groves,
The skies, the fountains, every region near
Seem'd all one mutual cry: I never heard
So musical a discord, such sweet thunder.

The. 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-knee'd, and dew-lap'd like Thessalian bulls;
Slow in pursuit, but match'd in mouth like bells,
Each under each. A cry more tuneable

Was never holla'd too, nor cheer'd with horn,
In Crete, in Sparta, nor in Thessaly:

Judge, when you hear. But, soft; what nymphs are

these?

Ege. My lord, this is my daughter here asleep;

I imagine that the title of this play was suggested by the time it was first introduced on the stage, which was probably at Midsum "A Dream for the entertainment of a Midsummer-night." Twelfth-Night and The Winter's Tale had probably their titles from a similar circumstance. MALONE.

mer.

7 the vaward of the day,] Vaward is compounded of van and ward, the forepart.

8

sound.

such gallant chiding;] Chiding in this instance means only

9 So flew'd,] Sir T. Hanmer justly remarks, that flews are the large chaps of a deep-mouth'd hound.

1 — so sanded ; —] Of a sandy colour, which is one of the true denotements of a blood-hound.

And this, Lysander; this Demetrius is;
This Helena, old Nedar's Helena:

I wonder of their being here together.

The. No doubt, they rose up early, to observe
The rite of May2; and, hearing our intent,
Came here in grace of our solemnity.

But, speak, Egeus; is not this the day

That Hermia should give answer of her choice?
Ege. It is, my lord.

The. Go, bid the huntsmen wake them with their

horns.

Horns, and shout within. DEMETRIUS, LYSANDER, HERMIA, and HELENA, wake and start up.

The. Good-morrow, friends. Saint Valentine is past3; Begin these wood-birds but to couple now?

Lys. Pardon, my lord.

The.

[He and the rest kneel to THESEUS. I pray you all, stand up.

I know, you are two rival enemies;

How comes this gentle concord in the world,
That hatred is so far from jealousy,

To sleep by hate, and fear no enmity?

Lys. My lord, I shall reply amazedly,

Half 'sleep, half waking: But as yet, I swear,
I cannot truly say how I came here:
But, as I think, (for truly would I speak,
And now I do bethink me, so it is ;)

I came with Hermia hither: our intent
Was, to be gone from Athens, where we might be
Without the peril of the Athenian law.

Ege. Enough, enough, my lord; you have enough: I beg the law, the law upon his head. —

The rite of May ;] The rite of this month was once so universally observed, that even authors thought their works would obtain a more favourable reception, if published on May-Day.

3 Saint Valentine is past;] Alluding to the old saying, that birds begin to couple on St. Valentine's day.