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By an Athenian songster to the harp,
We'll none of that: that have I told my love,
In glory of my kinsman Hercules.

The riot of the tipsy Bacchanals,

Tearing the Thracian singer in their rage.
That is an old device; and it was play'd
When I from Thebes came last a conqueror.
The thrice three muses mourning for the death
Of learning, late deceas'd in beggary.
That is some satire, keen, and critical,
Not sorting with a nuptial ceremony.

A tedious brief scene of young Pyramus,
And his love Thisbe; very tragical mirth.
Merry and tragical? Tedious and brief?
That is, hot ice, and wonderous strange snow.
How shall we find the concord of this discord?
Philost. A play there is, my lord, some ten words
long;

Which is as brief as I have known a play;
But by ten words, my lord, it is too long;
Which makes it tedious: for in all the play
There is not one word apt, one player fitted.
And tragical, my noble lord, it is;
For Pyramus therein doth kill himself.
Which, when I saw rehears'd, I must confess,
Made mine eyes water; but more merry tears
The passion of loud laughter never shed.

The. What are they, that do play it?

Philost. Hard-handed men, that work in Athens

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For never any thing can be amiss,
When simpleness and duty tender it.

Go, bring them in;—and take your places, ladies.
[Exit PHILOSTRATE.
Hip. I love not to see wretchedness o'ercharg'd,
And duty in his service perishing.

The. Why, gentle sweet, you shall see no such thing.
Hip. He says, they can do nothing in this kind.
The. The kinder we, to give them thanks for nothing.
Our sport shall be, to take what they mistake:
And what poor duty can do,

Noble respect takes it in might, not merit.
Where I have come, great clerks have purposed
To greet me with premeditated welcomes;
Where I have seen them shiver and look pale,
Make periods in the midst of sentences,
Throttle their practis'd accent in their fears,
And, in conclusion, dumbly have broke off,
Not paying me a welcome: Trust me, sweet,
Out of this silence, yet, I pick'd a welcome;
And in the modesty of fearful duty

I read as much, as from the rattling tongue
Of sawcy and audacious eloquence.
Love, therefore, and tongue-tied simplicity,
In least, speak most, to my capacity.

Enter PHILOStrate.

Philost. So please your grace, the prologue is addrest.7

The. Let him approach. [Flourish of trumpets.

Enter Prologue.

Prol. If we offend, it is with our good-will.
That you should think, we come not to offend,
But with good-will. To show our simple skill,
That is the true beginning of our end.
Consider then, we come but in despite.
We do not come as minding to content you.
Our true intent is.
All for your delight,

We are not here. That you should here repent you.
The actors are at hand; and, by their show,
You shall know all, that you are like to know.

The. This fellow doth not stand upon points. Lys. He hath rid his prologue, like a rough colt; he knows not the stop. A good moral, my lord: It is not enough to speak, but to speak true.

Hip. Indeed he hath played on this prologue, like a child on a recorder 8; a sound, but not in government.

The. His speech was like a tangled chain; nothing impaired, but all disordered. Who is next?

Enter PYRAMUS and THISBE, Wall, Moonshine, and Lion, as in dumb show.

Prol. "Gentles, perchance, you wonder at this show;

"But wonder on, till truth make all things plain. "This man is Pyramus, if you would know;

"This beauteous lady Thisby is, certain. "This man, with lime and rough-cast, doth present "Wall, that vile wall which did these lovers

sunder:

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"This man, with lantern, dog, and bush of thorn, "Presenteth moon-shine: for, if you will know, "By moon-shine did these lovers think no scorn

"To meet at Ninus' tomb, there, there to woo. "This grisly beast, which by name lion hight 9, "The trusty Thisby, coming first by night, "Did scare away, or rather did affright: "And, as she fled, her mantle she did fall; "Which lion vile with bloody mouth did stain: Anon comes Pyramus, sweet youth, and tall, "And finds his trusty Thisby's mantle slain : "Whereat with blade, with bloody blameful blade, "He bravely broach'd his boiling bloody breast; "And, Thisby tarrying in mulberry shade, "His dagger drew, and died. For all the rest, "Let lion, moonshine, wall, and lovers twain, "At large discourse, while here they do remain.” [Exeunt Prol. PYR. THISBE, Lion, and Moonshine. The. I wonder if the lion be to speak.

Dem. No wonder, my lord: one lion may, when many asses do.

Wall." In this same interlude, it doth befall, "That I, one Snout by name, present a wall: "And such a wall, as I would have you think, "That had in it a cranny'd hole, or chink, "Through which the lovers, Pyramus and Thisby, "Did whisper often very secretly.

"This loam, this rough-cast, and this stone, doth

show

"That I am that same wall; the truth is so: "And this the cranny is, right and sinister, "Through which the fearful lovers are to whisper." The. Would you desire lime and hair to speak better?

Dem. It is the wittiest partition that ever I heard discourse, my lord.

The. Pyramus draws near the wall: silence!
Enter PYRAMUS.

Pyr. "O grim-look'd night! O night with hue so black!

"O night, which ever art, when day is not! "O night, O night, alack, alack, alack,

"I fear my Thisby's promise is forgot!. "And thou, O wall, O sweet, O lovely wall, "That stand'st between her father's ground and

mine!

"Thou wall, O wall, O sweet and lovely wall, "Show me thy chink, to blink through with mine eyne. [Wall holds up his fingers. "Thanks, courteous wall: Jove shield thee well for this!

"But what see I? No Thisby do I see. "O wicked wall, through whom I see no bliss; "Curst be thy stones for thus deceiving me!" The. The wall, methinks, being sensible, should curse again.

Pyr. No, in truth, sir, he should not.

Deceiving me, is Thisby's cue: she is to enter now, and I am to spy her through the wall. You shall see, it will fall pat as I told you:

- Yonder she comes. Enter THISBE.

This. "Owall, full often hast thou heard my moans, "For parting my fair Pyramus and me: My cherry lips have often kiss'd thy stones; 66 Thy stones with lime and hair knit up in thee." Pyr. "I see a voice: now will I to the chink, "To spy an I can hear my Thisby's face. "Thisby!"

9 Called.

This.

"My love, thou art my love, I think." Pyr. "Think what thou wilt, I am thy lover's grace; "And like Limander am I trusty still.”

This. "And I like Helen, till the fates me kill."
Pyr. "Not Shafalus to Procrus was so true."
This. "As Shafalus to Procrus, I to you."
Pyr." O, kiss me through the hole of this vile wall."
This. "I kiss the wall's hole, not your lips at all."
Pyr. "Wilt thou at Ninny's tomb meet me
straightway?"

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This. "Tide life, tide death, I come without delay.' Wall. "Thus have I, wall, my part discharged so;" "And, being done, thus wall away doth go." Exeunt Wall, PYRAMUS, and THISBE. The. Now is the mural down between the two neighbours.

Dem. No remedy, my lord, when walls are so wilful to hear without warning.

Hip. This is the silliest stuff that ever I heard. The. The best in this kind are but shadows: and the worst are no worse, if imagination amend them. Hip. It must be your imagination then, and not theirs.

The. If we imagine no worse of them, than they of themselves, they may pass for excellent men. Here come two noble beasts in, a moon and a lion.

Enter Lion and Moonshine.

Lion. "You, ladies, you, whose gentle hearts do fear "The smallest monstrous mouse that creeps on

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present:

Dem. He should have worn the horns on his head. The. He is no crescent, and his horns are invisible within the circumference.

Moon. "This lantern doth the horned moon present; "Myself the man i'the moon do seem to be."

The. This is the greatest error of all the rest: the man should be put into the lantern: How is it else the man i'the moon?

Dem. He dares not come there for the candle: for, you see, it is already in snuff.

Hip. I am aweary of this moon: Would, he would change!

The. It appears, by his small light of discretion, that he is in the wane: but yet, in courtesy, in all reason, we must stay the time.

Lys. Proceed, moon.

Moon. All that I have to say, is, to tell you, that the lantern is the moon; I, the man in the moon; this thorn-bush, my thorn-bush; and this dog, my dog.

1 In anger; a quibble.

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"I thank thee, moon, for shining now so bright; "For, by thy gracious, golden, glittering streams, "I trust to taste of truest Thisby's sight. "But stay; O spite!

"But mark; Poor knight,

"What dreadful dole is here?

"Eyes, do you see?
"How can it be?

"O dainty duck! O dear!
"Thy mantle good,

"What, stain'd with blood?

"Approach, ye furies fell!

"O fates! come, come; "Cut thread and thrum; 2 "Quail, crush, conclude, and quell!" 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.3

"Come, tears, confound; "Out, sword, and wound "The pap of Pyramus:

"Ay, that left pap, "Where heart doth hop: "Thus die I, thus, thus, thus.

"Now am I dead,
"Now am I fled;

"My soul is in the sky:

"Tongue, loose thy light! "Moon, take thy flight!

"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.

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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. "These lily brows, "This cherry nose, "These yellow cowslip cheeks, "Are gone, are gone: "Lovers, make moan! "His eyes were green as leeks. "O sisters three, "Come, come, to me, "With hands as pale as milk; "Lay them in gore,

"Since you have shore "With shears his thread of silk. "Tongue, not a word: "Come, trusty sword; "Come, blade, my breast imbrue: "And farewell, friends;

"Thus Thisbe ends:

"Adieu, adieu, adieu."

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The. Moonshine and lion are left to bury the dead. 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 hanged 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,
In nightly revels, and new jollity.

SCENE II. Enter PUCK.

[Exeunt.

Puck. Now the hungry lion roars,
And the wolf behowls the moon ;
Whilst the heavy ploughman snores,
All with weary task fordone.4
Now the wasted brands do glow,
Whilst the scritch-owl, scritching loud,
Puts the wretch, that lies in woe,
In remembrance of a shroud.
Now it is the time of night,

That the graves, all gaping wide,
Every one lets forth his sprite,
In the church-way paths to glide :

• Overcome.

And we fairies, that do run

By the triple Hecat's team, From the presence of the sun,

Following darkness like a dream, Now are frolick; not a mouse Shall disturb this hallow'd house: I am sent, with broom, before,

To sweep the dust behind the door.

Enter OBERON and TITANIA, with their Train.

Obe. Through this house give glimmering light, By the dead and drowsy fire:

Every elf, and fairy sprite,

Hop as light as bird from brier;

And his ditty, after me,

Sing, and dance it trippingly.

Tita. First, rehearse this song by rote:

To each word a warbling note,
Hand in hand, with fairy grace,
Will we sing, and bless this place.

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;
So shall all the couples three
Ever true in loving be;

And the blots of nature's hand

Shall not in their issue stand;

Never mole, hare-lip, nor scar, Nor mark prodigious3, such as are Despised in nativity,

Shall upon their children be.
With this field-dew consecrate,
Every fairy take his gait 6;
And each several chamber bless,
Through this palace with sweet peace:
E'er shall it in safety rest,

And the owner of it blest.
Trip away;

Make no stay;

Meet me all by break of day.

[Exeunt OBERON, TITANIA, and Train. Puck. If we shadows have offended,

Think but this, (and all is mended,)
That you have but slumber'd here,
While these visions did appear,
And this weak and idle theme,
No more yielding but a dream,
Gentles, do not reprehend;
If you pardon, we will mend.
And, as I am honest Puck,
If we have unearned luck
Now to 'scape the serpent's tongue,
We will make amends, ere long:

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LOVE'S LABOUR'S LOST.

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