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From eaves of reeds:1 your charm so strongly works || Didst thou, Alonso, use me and my daughter.

them,

That if you now beheld them, your affections

Would become tender.
Pro.

Dost thou think so, spirit?
Ari. Mine would, sir, were I human.
Pro.
And mine shall.
Hast thou, which art but air, a touch, a feeling
Of their afflictions; and shall not myself,
One of their kind, that relish all as sharply,
Passion as they, be kindlier mov'd than thou art?
Though with their high wrongs I am struck to the
quick,

Yet with my nobler reason, 'gainst my fury
Do I take part: the rarer action is

In virtue than in vengeance: they being penitent,
The sole drift of my purpose doth extend
Not a frown further: Go, release them, Ariel;
My charms I'll break, their senses I'll restore,
And they shall be themselves.
Ari.

I'll fetch them, sir.
[Exit.

Pro. Ye elves of hills, brooks, standing lakes,

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Is to make midnight-mushrooms; that rejoice
To hear the solemn curfew; by whose aid
(Weak masters though ye be,) I have be-dimm'd
The noon-tide sun, call'd forth the mutinous winds,
And 'twixt the green sea and the azur'd vault
Set roaring war: to the dread rattling thunder
Have I given fire, and rifted Jove's stout oak
With his own bolt: the strong-bas'd promontory
Have I made shake; and by the spurs pluck'd up
The pine and cedar: graves, at my command,
Have wak'd their sleepers; op'd, and let them

forth

that

Thy brother was a furtherer in the act;-
Thou'rt pinch'd for't now, Sebastian.-Flesh and
blood,

You brother mine, that entertain❜d ambition,
Expell'd remorse2 and nature; who, with Sebastian
(Whose inward pinches therefore are most strong,)
Would here have kill'd your king; I do forgive thee,
Unnatural though thou art!-Their understanding
Begins to swell: and the approaching tide
Will shortly fill the reasonable shores,
That now lie foul and muddy. Not one of them,
That yet looks on me, or would know me:-Ariel,
Fetch me the hat and rapier in my cell;

[Exit Ariel.
I will dis-case me, and myself present,
As I was sometime Milan :-quickly, spirit;
Thou shalt ere long be free.

Ariel re-enters, singing, and helps to attire
Prospero.

Ari. Where the bee sucks, there suck I;
In a cowslip's bell I lie:
There I couch when owls do cry.
On the bat's back I do fly,
After summer, merrily:

Merrily, merrily, shall I live now,

Under the blossom that hangs on the bough.

Pro. Why, that's my dainty Ariel; I shall miss
thee;

But yet thou shalt have freedom: so, so, so.—
There shalt thou find the mariners asleep
To the king's ship, invisible as thou art:
Under the hatches; the master, and the boatswain,
Being awake, enforce them to this place;
And presently, I pr'ythee.

Ari. I drink the air before me, and return
Or e'er your pulse twice beat.

[Exit Ariel. Gon. All torment, trouble, wonder, and amaze

ment

Inhabits here: Some heavenly power guide us
Out of this fearful country!

Pro.

Behold, sir king,
The wronged duke of Milan, Prospero;
For more assurance that a living prince
Does now speak to thee, I embrace thy body;
And to thee, and thy company, I bid
A hearty welcome.

Alon.

Whe'r thou beest he, or no, Or some enchanted trifle to abuse me,

By my so potent art: But this rough magic
I here abjure: and, when I have requir'd
Some heavenly music (which even now I do,)
To work mine end upon
their senses,
This airy charm is for, I'll break my staff,
Bury it certain fathoms in the earth,
And, deeper than did ever plummet sound,
I'll drown my book.
[Solemn music.
Re-enter Ariel after him, Alonso, with a frantic As late I have been, I not know: thy pulse
gesture, attended by Gonzalo; Sebastian and Beats, as of flesh and blood; and, since I saw thee,
Antonio in like manner, attended by Adrian and The affliction of my mind amends, with which,
Francisco: They all enter the circle which Pros-I fear, a madness held me: this must crave
pero had made, and there stand charmed; which
Prospero observing, speaks.

A solemn air, and the best comforter
To an unsettled fancy, cure thy brains,

Now useless, boil'd within thy skull! There stand,
For you are spell-stopp'd.-

Holy Gonzalo, honourable man,

Mine eyes, even sociable to the show of thine,
Fall fellowly drops.-The charm dissolves apace;
And as the morning steals upon the night,
Melting the darkness, so their rising senses
Begin to chase the ignorant fumes that mantle
Their clearer reason.-O my good Gonzalo,
My true preserver, and a loyal sir

To him thou follow'st; I will pay thy graces
Home, both in word and deed.-Most cruelly

(1) Thatch. (2) Pity, or tenderness of heart.

(An if this be at all) a most strange story.
Thy dukedom I resign; and do entreat
Thou pardon me my wrongs:-But how should
Prospero

Be living, and be here?

Pro.

First, noble friend,
Let me embrace thine age; whose honour cannot
Be measur'd, or confin'd.

Gon.

Or be not, I'll not swear.

Whether this be,

Pro.
You do yet taste
Some subtilties o' the isle, that will not let you
Believe things certain :-Welcome, my friends

all:

But you, my brace of lords, were I so minded,
[Aside to Seb. and Ant.
I here could pluck his highness' frown upon you,
(3) Whether.

And justify you traitors; at this time I'll tell no tales.

Seb.

The devil speaks in him. [Aside. Pro. No;For you, most wicked sir, whom to call brother Would even infect my mouth, I do forgive Thy rankest fault; all of them; and require My dukedom of thee, which, perforce, I know, Thou must restore.

Alon. If thou beest Prospero, Give us particulars of thy preservation; How thou hast met us here, who three hours since Were wreck'd upon this shore; where I have lost, How sharp the point of this remembrance is! My dear son Ferdinand.

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A daughter?

O heavens! that they were living both in Naples,
The king and queen there! that they were, I wish
Myself were mudded in that oozy bed
Where my son lies. When did you lose your
daughter?

Pro. In this last tempest. I perceive, these lords
At this encounter do so much admire,
That they devour their reason; and scarce think
Their eyes do offices of truth, their words
Are natural breath; but, howsoe'er you have
Been justled from your senses, know for certain,
That I am Prospero, and that very duke
Which was thrust forth of Milan; who most strangely
Upon this shore, where you were wreck'd, was
landed,

To be the lord on't. No more yet of this;
For 'tis a chronicle of day by day,

Not a relation for a breakfast, nor
Befitting this first meeting. Welcome, sir;
This cell's my court: here have I few attendants,
And subjects none abroad: pray you, look in.
My dukedom since you have given me again,
I will requite you with as good a thing;
At least, bring forth a wonder, to content ye,
As much as me my dukedom.

The entrance of the cell opens, and discovers
dinand and Miranda playing at chess.
Mira. Sweet lord, you play me false.
Fer.

I would not for the world.

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'Tis new to thee.

Pro.
Alon. What is this maid, with whom thou wast
at play?

Your eld'st acquaintance cannot be three hours:
Is she the goddess that hath sever'd us,
And brought us thus together?

Fer.
Sir, she's mortal;
But, by immortal Providence, she's mine;
I chose her, when I could not ask my father
For his advice; nor thought I had one: she
Is daughter to this famous duke of Milan,
Of whom so often I have heard renown,
But never saw before; of whom I have
Receiv'd a second life, and second father
This lady makes him to me.

Alon.
I am hers:
But O, how oddly will it sound, that I
Must ask my child forgiveness!

Pro.

There, sir, stop:

Let us not burden our remembrances With a heaviness that's gone.

I have inly wept,

Gon. Or should have spoke ere this. Look down, you gods, And on this couple drop a blessed crown; For it is you, that have chalk'd forth the way Which brought us hither!

Alon. I say, Amen, Gonzalo! Gon. Was Milan thrust from Milan, that his issue Should become king of Naples? O, rejoice Beyond a common joy; and set it down With gold on lasting pillars: In one voyage Did Claribel her husband find at Tunis; And Ferdinand, her brother, found a wife, Where he himself was lost; Prospero his dukedom, In a poor isle; and all of us, ourselves, When no man was his own.3

Alon.

Give me your hands: [To Fer. and Mira. Let grief and sorrow still embrace his heart, That doth not wish you joy!

Gon.

Be't so! Amen!

Re-enter Ariel, with the Master and Boatswain amazedly following.

O look, sir, look, sir; here are more of us!

I prophesied, if a gallows were on land,

This fellow could not drown :-Now, blasphemy, That swear'st grace o'erboard, not an oath on shore? Fer-Hast thou no mouth by land? What is the news? Boats. The best news is, that we have safely found Our king and company: the next our ship,Which, but three glasses since, we gave out split,Is tight and yare,4 and bravely rigg'd, as when We first put out to sea.

No, my dearest love,

Mira. Yes, for a score of kingdoms you should wrangle,

And I would call it fair play.

Alon.

If this prove

A vision of the island, one dear son
Shall I twice lose.

Seb. A most high miracle!

Fer. Though the seas threaten, they are merciful; I have curs'd them without cause.

[Ferd. kneels to Alcn. Now all the blessings

Alon. Of a glad father compass thee about! (2) Bearable.

(1) Sorry.

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Pro.

Sir, my liege,

Do not infest your mind with beating on The strangeness of this business; at pick'd leisure, Which shall be shortly, single I'll resolve you (Which to you shall seem probable,) of every These happen'd accidents; till when, be cheerful, And think of each thing well.—Come hither, spirit; [Aside.

Set Caliban and his companions free :
Untie the spell [Exit Ariel.] How fares my gra-
cious sir?

There are yet missing of your company
Some few odd lads, that you remember not.

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What things are these, my lord Antonio?
Will money buy them?

Ant.
Very like; one of them
Is a plain fish, and, no doubt, marketable.
Pro. Mark but the badges of these men, my
lords,

Then say, if they be true:2-This mis-shapen knave, His mother was a witch; and one so strong That could control the moon, make flows and ebbs, And deal in her command, without her power: These three have robb'd me; and this demi-devil (For he's a bastard one,) had plotted with them (2) Honest.

(1) Conductor.

To take my life: two of these fellows you
Must know, and own; this thing of darkness I
Acknowledge mine.
Cal.
I shall be pinch'd to death.
Alon. Is not this Stephano, my drunken butler?
Seb. He is drunk now: Where had he wine?
Alon. And Trinculo is reeling ripe: where should
they

Find this grand liquor, that hath gilded them?---
How cam'st thou in this pickle?

Trin. I have been in such a pickle, since I saw you last, that, I fear me, will never out of my bones: I shall not fear fly-blowing.

Seb. Why, how now, Stephano?

Ste. O, touch me not; I am not Stephano, but a cramp.

Pro. You'd be king of the isle, sirrah? Ste. I should have been a sore one then. Alon. This is as strange a thing as e'er I look'd on. [Pointing to Caliban. Pro. He is as disproportion'd in his manners, As in his shape :—Go, sírrah, to my cell; Take with you your companions; as you look To have my pardon, trim it handsomely.

Cal. Ay, that I will; and I'll be wise hereafter,
And seek for grace: What a thrice-double ass
Was I, to take this drunkard for a god,
And worship this dull fool!

Pro.
Go to; away!
Alon. Hence, and bestow your luggage where
you found it.
Seb. Or stole it, rather.

[Exeunt Cal. Ste. and Trin.
Pro. Sir, I invite your highness, and
your train,
To my poor cell: where you shall take your rest
For this one night; which (part of it) I'll waste
With such discourse, as, I not doubt, shall make it
Go quick away: the story of my life,
And the particular accidents, gone by,
Since I came to this isle: And in the morn,
I'll bring you to your ship, and so to Naples,
Where I have hope to see the nuptial

Of these our dear-beloved solemniz'd;
And thence retire me to my Milan, where
Every third thought shall be my grave.
Alon.

To hear the story of your life, which must
Take the ear strangely.

long

Pro. I'll deliver all; And promise you calm seas, auspicious gales. And sail so expeditious, that shall catch Your royal fleet far off.-My Ariel;—chick,— That is thy charge; then to the elements Be free, and fare thou well!-[aside.] Please you draw near. [Exeunt.

26

EPILOGUE.

Spoken by Prospero.

NOW my charms are all o'erthrown,
And what strength I have's mine own;
Which is most faint: now, 'tis true,
I must be here confin'd by you,
Or sent to Naples: Let me not,
Since I have my dukedom got,
And pardon'd the deceiver, dwell
In this bare island, by your spell;
But release me from my bands,
With the help of your good hands.1
Gentle breath of yours my sails
Must fill, or else my project fails,
Which was to please: now I want
Spirits to enforce, art to enchant;
And my ending is despair,
Unless I be reliev'd by prayer;

TEMPEST.

Which pierces so, that it assaults
Mercy itself, and frees all faults.

As you from crimes would pardon'd be,
Let your indulgence set me free.

It is observed of The Tempest, that its plan is re gular; this the author of The Revisal thinks, what I think too, an accidental effect of the story, not intended or regarded by our author. But, whatever might be Shakspeare's intention in forming or adopting the plot, he has made it instrumental to the production of many characters, diversified with boundless invention, and preserved with profound skill in nature, extensive knowledge of opinions, and accurate observation of life. In a single drama are here exhibited princes, courtiers, and sailors, all speaking in their real characters. There is the agency of airy spirits, and of an earthly goblin; the tions of magic, the tumults of a storm, the advenoperatures of a desert island, the native effusion of untaught affection, the punishment of guilt, and the (1) Applause: noise was supposed to dissolve a and reason are equally interested. final happiness of the pair for whom our passions

spell.

JOHNSON.

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Valentine.

Enter

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ger,

If ever danger do environ thee,

Commend thy grievance to my holy prayers,
For I will be thy beads-man, Valentine.

Val. And on a love-book pray for my success. Pro. Upon some book I love, I'll pray for thee. Val. That's on some shallow story of deep love, How young Leander cross'd the Hellespont.

Pro. That's a deep story of a deeper love. For he was more than over shoes in love.

Val. 'Tis true; for you are over boots in love, And yet you never swam the Hellespont. Pro. Over the boots? nay, give me not the

boots.1

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If lost, why then a grievous labour won;
However, but a folly bought with wit,
Or else a wit by folly vanquished.

Pro. So, by your circumstance, you call me fool.
Val. So, by your circumstance, I fear, you'll

prove.

Pro. "Tis love you cavil at; I am not Love. Val. Love is your master, for he masters you: And he that is so yoked by a fool,

Methinks should not be chronicled for wise.

Pro. Yet writers say, As in the sweetest bud The eating canker dwells, so eating love Inhabits in the finest wits of all.

Val. And writers say, As the most forward bud Is eaten by the canker ere it blow, Is turn'd to folly; blasting in the bud, Even so by love the young and tender wit Losing his verdure even in the prime, And all the fair effects of future hopes. But wherefore waste I time to counsel thee, That art a votary to fond desire? Once more adieu: my father at the road Expects my coming, there to see me shipp'd.

Pro. And thither will I bring thee, Valentine. Val. Sweet Proteus, no; now let us take our

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