Give me your hand.

SCHOOLMASTER

Why?

JAILER’S DAUGHTER

I can tell your fortune.

⌈She examines his hand⌉

You are a fool. Tell ten—I have posed him. Buzz!

Friend, you must eat no white bread—if you do,

Your teeth will bleed extremely. Shall we dance, ho?

I know you—you’re a tinker. Sirrah tinker,

Stop no more holes but what you should.

SCHOOLMASTER

Dii boni—

A tinker, damsel?

JAILER’S DAUGHTER

Or a conjurer—

Raise me a devil now and let him play

Qui passa o’th’ bells and bones.

SCHOOLMASTER

Go, take her,

And fluently persuade her to a peace.

Et opus exegi, quod nec Iovis ira, nec ignis—

Strike up, and lead her in.

SECOND COUNTRYMAN

Come, lass, let’s trip it.

JAILER’S DAUGHTER I’ll lead.

THIRD COUNTRYMAN Do, do.

SCHOOLMASTER

Persuasively and cunningly—

Wind horns within

away, boys,

I hear the horns. Give me some meditation,

And mark your cue.

Exeunt all but Gerald the Schoolmaster Pallas inspire me.

Enter Theseus, Pirithous, Hippolyta, Emilia, Arcite, and train

THESEUS This way the stag took.

SCHOOLMASTER Stay and edify.

THESEUS What have we here?

PIRITHOUS

Some country sport, upon my life, sir.

THESEUS (to the Schoolmaster)

Well, sir, go forward—we will edify.

Ladies, sit down—we’ll stay it.

They sit: ⌈theseus⌉ in a chair, the others on stools

SCHOOLMASTER

Thou doughty Duke, all hail! All hail, sweet ladies.

THESEUS This is a cold beginning.

SCHOOLMASTER

If you but favour, our country pastime made is.

We are a few of those collected here,

That ruder tongues distinguish ‘villager’;

And to say verity, and not to fable,

We are a merry rout, or else a rabble,

Or company, or, by a figure, chorus,

That fore thy dignity will dance a morris.

And I, that am the rectifier of all,

By title pedagogus, that let fall

The birch upon the breeches of the small ones,

And humble with a ferula the tall ones,

Do here present this machine, or this frame;

And dainty Duke, whose doughty dismal fame

From Dis to Daedalus, from post to pillar,

Is blown abroad, help me, thy poor well-willer,

And with thy twinkling eyes, look right and straight

Upon this mighty ‘Moor’—of mickle weight—

‘Ice’ now comes in, which, being glued together,

Makes ‘morris’, and the cause that we came hither.

The body of our sport, of no small study,

I first appear, though rude, and raw, and muddy,

To speak, before thy noble grace, this tenor

At whose great feet I offer up my penner.

The next, the Lord of May and Lady bright;

The Chambermaid and Servingman, by night

That seek out silent hanging; then mine Host

And his fat Spouse, that welcomes, to their cost,

The galled traveller, and with a beck’ning

Informs the tapster to inflame the reck‘ning;

Then the beest-eating Clown; and next, the Fool;

The babion with long tail and eke long tool,

Cum multis aliis that make a dance—

Say ‘ay’, and all shall presently advance.

THESEUS

Ay, ay, by any means, dear dominie.

PIRITHOUS Produce.

SCHOOLMASTER (knocks for the dance)

Intrate filii, come forth and foot it.

⌈He flings up his cap.⌉ Music.

⌈The Schoolmaster ushers in

May Lord,

Servingman,

A Country Clown,

or Shepherd,

An Host,

A He-babion,

May Lady.

Chambermaid.

Country Wench.

Hostess.

She-babion.

A He-fool, The Jailer’s Daughter as

She-fool.

All these persons apparelled to the life, the men issuing out of one door and the wenches from the other. They dance a morris⌉

Ladies, if we have been merry,

And have pleased ye with a derry,

And a derry, and a down,

Say the schoolmaster’s no clown.

Duke, if we have pleased thee too,

And have done as good boys should do,

Give us but a tree or twain

For a maypole, and again,

Ere another year run out,

We’ll make thee laugh, and all this rout.

THESEUS

Take twenty, dominie. (To Hippolyta) How does my sweetheart?

HIPPOLYTA

Never so pleased, sir.

EMILIA

’Twas an excellent dance,

And for a preface, I never heard a better.

THESEUS

Schoolmaster, I thank you. One see ’em all rewarded.

PIRITHOUS

And here’s something to paint your pole withal.

He gives them money

THESEUS Now to our sports again.

SCHOOLMASTER

May the stag thou hunt’st stand long,

And thy dogs be swift and strong;

May they kill him without lets,

And the ladies eat his dowsets.

Exeunt Theseus and train. Wind horns within

Come, we are all made. Dii deaeque omnes,

Ye have danced rarely, wenches.

Exeunt

3.6 Enter Palamon from the bush

PALAMON

About this hour my cousin gave his faith

To visit me again, and with him bring

Two swords and two good armours; if he fail,