O, Sisters Three,344
Come, come to me,
With hands as pale as milk;
Lay them in gore,
Since you have shore348
With shears his thread of silk.
Tongue, not a word:
Come, trusty sword:
Come, blade, my breast imbrue:352
And farewell, friends;
Thus Thisby ends:
Adieu, adieu, adieu.
The. Moonshine and Lion are left to bury the
dead.357
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?362
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 played
Pyramus, and hanged himself in Thisbe's gar-
ter, 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.373
I fear we shall out-sleep the coming morn,
344 Sisters Three: the three Fates
352 imbrue: stain with blood
361 Bergomask dance: a rustic dance originating in Italy
