_ Hark!
_1 Sold._ Music in the air.
_3 Sold._ Under the earth.
_4 Sold._ It signs well, does it not?
_3 Sold._ No.
_1 Sold._ Peace, I say!
What should this mean?
_2 Sold._ 'Tis the god Hercules, whom Antony lov'd,
Now leaves him.
A very usual popular amusement was the Masque, which would consist of
a public procession with decorated cars containing the characters,
accompanied by hobby horses, tumblers, and open air music. This is
referred to in the next passage, where Theseus speaks of the masque
as an 'abridgement' for the evening, that is, an entertainment to
shorten the hours. The lamentable play of Pyramus and Thisbe follows,
which, it will be noticed, has some of the main features of a masque.
_Mid's Night's Dream_ V, i, 39.
_Theseus._ Say, what abridgment have you for this evening?
_What masque, what music?_...
* * * * *
[Reads from the paper]
"A tedious brief scene of young Pyramus,
And his love Thisbe; very tragical mirth."
Merry and tragical! Tedious and brief!
That is, hot ice, and wonderous strange snow.
How shall we find the _concord of this discord_?
In the _Merchant of Venice_, Shylock mentions the procession of a
masque through the streets, forbidding Jessica to look out of the
window at these 'Christian fools with varnished faces.
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