Merry and tragical? tedious and brief?

That is hot ice, a wondrous ftrange fhew.
How fhall we find the concord of this difcord?

Philoft. A play there is, my Lord, fome 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 faw rehears'd, I must confefs, Made mine eyes water; but more merry tears The paffion of loud laughter never fhed.

The. What are they that do play it?

Philoft. Hard-handed men, that work in Athens here, Which never labour'd in their minds till now;

And now have toil'd their unbreath'd memories

With this fame play against your nuptials.

The. And we will hear it.

Philoft. No, my Noble Lord,

It is not for you.

I have heard it over,

And it is nothing, nothing in the world;
Unlefs you can find fport in their intents,
Extremely ftretch'd and conn'd with cruel pain;
To do you fervice.

The. I will hear that play:

"For never any thing can be amifs,

"When fimplenefs and duty tender it."

Go, bring them in, and take your places, ladies.

[Exit Phil. Hip. I love not to fee wretchedness o'ercharg'd, And duty in his fervice perifhing.

The. Why, gentle fweet, you shall fee no fuch thing. Hip. He fays, they can do nothing in this kind. The. The kinder we, to give them thanks for nothing. Our fport fhall be, to take what they mistake; And what poor (willing) duty cannot do, Noble relpect 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 fhiver and look pale, "Make periods in the midst of fentences,

"Throttle

"Throttle their practis'd accent in their fears,
"And, in conclufion, dumbly have broke off,
"Not paying me a welcome. Trust me, fweet,

"Out of this filence yet I pick'd a welcome:
"And in the modefty of fearful duty
“I read as much, as from the rattling tongue
"Of faucy and audacious eloquence."
Love therefore, and tongue-ti'd fimplicity,
In least speak moft, to my capacity,

Enter Philoftrate..

Philoft. So pleafe your Grace, the prologue is addrefs'd. The. Let him approach..

[Flor. Trum. SCENE II. Enter Quince, for the prologue. Pro. If we offend, it is with our good-will, That you fhould think, we come not to offend, But with good-will. To fhew our fimple skill, That is the true beginning of our end. Confider, then, we come but in defpight, We do not come, as minding to content you, All for your delight, -That you fhould here repent you,

Our true intent is.

We are no there.

The actors are at hand;- -and by their show, You shall know all that you are like to know. The. This fellow doth not ftand upon points. Lyf. He hath rid his prologue like a rough colt; knows not the ftop. A good moral, my Lord. It is not enough to speak, but to speak true.

he

Hip. Indeed he hath play'd on his prologue, like a child on his recorder; a found, but not in government. The. His fpeech was like a tangled chain; nothing impaired, but all difordered. Who is the next?

Enter Pyramus, and Thifoe, Wall, Mconfbine, and Lion, as in dumb fhew.

Pro. Gentles, perchance, you wonder at this fhow; But wonder on, till truth make all things plain. This man is Pyramus, if you would know;

This beauteous lady Thibe is, certain.

This man, with lime and rough-caft, doth prefent
Wall, the vile wall, which did thefe lovers funder:

K 2

And

And through wall's chink, poor fouls, they are content
To whifper, at the which let no man wonder.
This man, with lanthorn, dog, and bush of thorn,
Prefenteth moonshine: for, if you will know,
By moonfhine did thefe lovers think no scorn
To meet at Ninus' tomb, there, there to woo...
This grifly beaft, which by name Lion hight,
The trufty Thibe, coming firit by night,
Did fcare away, or rather did affright:
And as fhe fled, her mantle fhe let fall;
Which Lion vile with bloody mouth did ftain.
Anon comes Pyramus, fweet youth and tall,
And finds his trufty Thibe's mantle slain;
Whereat, with blade, with bloody blameful blade
He bravely broach'd his boiling bloody breaft;
And Thibe, tarrying in the mulberry fhade,

His dagger drew, and died. For all the rest,
Let Lion, Moonshine, Wall, and lovers twain,
At large difcourfe, while here they do remain.

}

[Exeunt all but Wall. The. I wonder if the Lion be to speak. Dem. No wonder, my Lord; one Lion may, when many affes do.

Wall. In this fame interlude, it doth befal,

That I, one Snowt by name, prefent a wall:

And fuch a wall, as I would have you think,
That had in it a crannied hole or chink;
Through which the lovers, Pyr'mus and Thibe,
Did whifper often very fecretly.

This lome, this rough-caft, and this ftone doth fhew,
That I am that fame wall; the truth is fo.

And this the cranny is, right and finister,

Through which the fearful lovers are to whisper.

The. Would you defire lime and hair to speak better? Dem. It is the wittieft partition that ever I heard difcourfe, my Lord.

The. Pyramus draws near the wall: filence!

Enter Pyramus.

Pyr. O grim-look'd night! O night with hue fo Q night which ever art, when day is not!

[black!

O night, O night, alack, alack, alack,

I fear my Thibe's promife is forgot.
And thou, O wall, O fweet and lovely wall,

That ftands between her father's ground and mine;
Thou wall, O wall, O fweet and lovely wall,

Shew me thy chink, to blink through with mine eyne. Thanks, courteous wall; Jove fhield thee well for this' But what fee I? no Thisbe do I fee.

O wicked wall, through whom I fee no blifs;
Curs'd be thy tones for thus deceiving me!

The. The wall, methinks, being fenfible, fhould curfe again.

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

Deceiving me, is Thisbe's cue; she is to enter, and I am to spy her through the wall. You fhall fee it will fall pat as I told. comes..

you.. Yonder fhe

Enter Thibe.

Thif. O wall, full often haft thou heard my moaney,
For parting my fair Pyramus and me.

My cherry lips have often kifs'd thy ftones:
Thy ftones with lime and hair knit up in thee.
Pyr. I fee a voice; now will I to the chink,
To fpy an I can hear my Thisbe's face.
Thibe!

Thif. 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.'

Thif. And I like. Helen, till the fates me kill.
Pyr. Not Shafalus to Procrus was so true..
Thif. As Shafalus to Procrus, I to you.

Pyr. O kifs me through the hole of this vile wall.
Thif. I kifs the wall's hole, not your lips at all
Pyr. Wilt thou at Ninny's tomb meet me ftraightway?
Thif. Tide life, tide death, I come without delay.
Wall. Thus have I Wall my part difcharged so:
And being done, thus Wall away doth go.

[Exit: The. Now is the mural down between the two neighbours.

Dem. No remedy, my Lord, when walls are fo wilful to rear without warning.

Hip. This is the fillieft stuff that e'er I heard.

K 3

The

The. The best in this kind are but fhadows; and the werft are no worfe, if imagination amend them.

Hip. It must be your imagination then, and not theirs. The. If we imagine no worfe of them than they of themselves, they may pafs for excellent men. Here come two noble beaits in, a man and a lion.

Enter Lion and Moonfbine.

Lion. You, ladies, you, whofe gentle hearts do feat The smallest monftrous moufe that creeps on floor, May now, perchance, both quake and tremble here, When lion rough in wildest rage doth roar. Then know that I, one Snug the joiner, am No lion fell, nor elfe no lion's dam: For if I fhould as lion come in ftrife

Into this place, 'twere pity of my

life.

The. A very gentle beaft, and of a good confcience. Dem. The very best at a beaft, my Lord, that e'er I faw.

Ly. This lion is a very fox for his valour.

The. True; and a goofe for his difcretion. Dem. Not fo, my Lord; for his valour cannot carry his difcretion, and the fox carries the goofe.

The. His difcretion I am fure cannot carry his valour; for the goofe carries not the fox. It is well; leave it to his difcretion, and let us hearken to the moon.

Moon. This lanthorn doth the horned moon prefent. Dem. He fhould have worn the horns on his head. The. He is no crefcent, and his horns are invifible within the circumference.

Moon. This lanthorn doth the horned moon prefent: Myfelf the man i' th' moon doth seem to be.

The. This is the greateft error of all the reft. The man fhould be put into the lanthorn: how is it elfe the man i' th' moon.

Dem. He dares not come there for the candle; for you fee it is already in fnuff.

Hip. 1. am weary of this moon; 'would he would change!

The. It appears by his fmall light of difcretion that he is in the wane; but yet in courtefy, in all reafon, we muft ftay the time.

Lyf.