109
NYMPHIDIA.
But leave we Hob to clamber out,Queen Mab, and all her fairy rout,And come again to have a bout With Oberon yet madding:And with Pigwiggen now distroughtWho much was troubled in his thought,That he so long the queen had sought, And through the fields was gadding:
And, as he runs, he still doth cry,King Oberon, I thee defy,And dare thee here in arms to try, For my dear ladys honour:For that she is a queen right good,In whose defence I'll shed my blood,And that thou in this jealous mood Hast laid this slander on her.
And quickly arms him for the field,A little cockle-shell his shield,Which he could very bravely wield, Yet could it not be pierced;His spear a bent both stiff and strong,And well near of two inches long:The pile was of a horse-flys tongue, Whose sharpness naught reversed.
