17471678Quin. Haue you sent to Bottoms house? Is he come

17481679home, yet?

17491680Flut. Hee cannot be heard of. Out of doubt he is trans-

17501681ported.

17511682Thys. If hee come not, then the Play is mard. It goes

17521683not forward. Doth it?

17531684Quin. It is not possible. You haue not a man, in all A-

17541685thens, able to discharge Pyramus, but he.

17551686Thys. No, hee hath simply the best wit of any handy-

17561687craftman, in Athens.

17571688Quin. Yea, and the best person to, and hee is a very

17581689Paramour, for a sweete voice.

17591690This. You must say, Paragon. A Paramour is (God

17601691blesse vs) a thing of nought.

17621693Snug. Masters, the Duke is comming from the Tem-

17631694ple,and there is two or three Lords and Ladies more

17641695married. If our sport had gon forward, wee had all

17651696beene made men.

17661697Thys. O sweete bully Bottome. Thus hath hee lost six

17671698pence a day, during his life: hee coulde not haue scaped

1699sixe pence a day. And the Duke had not giuen him six

17681700pence a day, for playing Pyramus, Ile be hanged.

17691701He would haue deserued it. Six pence a day, in Pyramus,

17701702or nothing.

17721704Bot. Where are these lads? Where are these harts?

17731705Quin. Bottom, ? most couragious day! O most happy

17741706houre!

17751707Bott. Masters, I am to discourse wonders: but aske me

17761708not what. For if I tell you, I am not true Athenian. I will

17771709tell you euery thing right as it fell out.

17781710Quin. Let vs heare, sweete Bottom.

17791711Bot. Not a word of mee. All that I will tell you, is, that

17801712the Duke hath dined. Get your apparrell together, good

17811713strings to your beardes, new ribands to your pumpes,

17821714meete presently at the palace, euery man looke ore his part.

17831715For, the short and the long is, our play is preferd. In any

17841716case let Thisby haue cleane linnen: and let not him, that

17851717plaies the Lyon, pare his nailes: for they shall hang out

17861718for the Lyons clawes. And most deare Actors, eate no O-

17871719nions nor garlicke: for we are to vtter sweete breath: and

17881720I do not doubt but to hear them say, it is a sweete Comedy.

17891721No more wordes. Away, go away.