Anon comes Pyramus, sweet youth and tall,

And finds his trusty Thisbe's mantle slain :
Whereat with blade, with bloody blameful blade,
He bravely broach'd his boiling bloody breast;
And Thisbe, 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 PROLOGUE, THISBE, PYRAMUS, WALL, MOON-
SHINE, and LION last, bowing many times.

The. I wonder, if the lion be to speak.

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

Re-enter WALL.

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 Thisbe,
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.

PYRAMUS enters.

The. Pyramus draws near the wall: silence.

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 Thisbe'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 sec I? No Thisbe do I see.

O wicked wall, through whom I see no bliss ;

Curs'd be thy stone for thus deceiving me!

The. The wall, methinks, being sensible, should curse again.

Bot. No, in truth, sir, he should not. Deceiving me is Thisbe's cue: she is to enter now, and I am to spy her through You shall see, it will fall pat as I told you:-yonder

the wall. she comes.

Enter THISBE.

This. O wall, full often hast thou heard my moans,

For parting my fair Pyramus and me!

Pyr. I see a voice: now will I to the chink,

To spy an I can hear my Thisbe's face.

Thisbe!

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 chink of this vile wall.
This. I kiss the wall and not your lips at all.
Pyr. Wilt thou at Ninny's tomb meet me straightway?
This. "Tide life, 'tide death, I come without delay.

[Exeunt THISBE and PYRAMUS, severally. Wall. Thus have I, Wall, my part discharged so; And, being done, thus Wall away doth go.

[Exit WALL.

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. [Enter LION and MOONSHINE.] Here come two noble beasts in, a man and a

lion.

[LION, before he speaks, removes his head and bows to the Court.

Lion. You, ladies, you, whose gentle hearts do fear
The smallest monstrous mouse 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 else no lion's dam :
For if I should as lion come in strife
Into this place, 'twere pity on my life.

[Puts on his head again.

Hel. A very gentle beast, and of a good conscience.
Dem. The very best at a beast, that c'er I saw.

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

Lys. True; and a goose for his discretion. [Enter the MOONSHINE.] It is well: leave it to his discretion, and let us hearken to the moon.

Moon. This lantern doth the horned moon present; Myself the man i' th' moon doth seem to bc.

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.

Hel. I am aweary of this moon; would he would change. Her. 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.

The. 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.

The. Why, all these should be in the lantern; for they are in the moon. But, silence; here comes Thisbe.

Enter THISBE.

This. This is old Ninny's tomb. Where is my love?
Lion. Oh-.

[The LION roars. THISBE runs off, leaving mantle.

Dem. Well roared, lion.

Hel. Well run, Thisbe.

Hip. Well shone, moon. Truly, the moon shines with a

good grace.

[LION tears THISBE'S mantle, and exit.

The. Well moused, lion.

Lys. And then came Pyramus.

Dem. And so the lion vanished.

Enter PYRAMUS.

Pyr. Sweet moon, I thank thee for thy sunny beams,
I thank thee, moon, for shining now so bright;
For, by thy gracious, golden, glittering streams,
I trust to taste of truest Thisbe'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;

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 deflower'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.
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, lose thy light!
Moon, take thy flight!
Now, die, die, die, die, die.

[Dics. Exit MOONSHINE. 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 starlight. [Re-enter THISBE.] 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. She hath spied him already with those sweet eyes.

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 lips,

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,