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Fetch me the hat and rapier in my cell;—
I will disease me, and myself present,

As I was sometime Milan:-
Thou shalt e'er long be free.

Exit Ariel. -quickly, spirit;

[Ariel enters singing, and helps to attire him. Where the bee sucks, there suck 1;

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.-
To the king's ship, invisible as thou art:
There shalt thou find the mariners asleep
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 beat.

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

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A hearty welcome.

Alon. Whe'r thou be'st he, or no, Or some inchanted trifle to abuse me, As late I have been, I not know: thy pulse Beats, as of flesh and blood; and, since I saw thee, The affliction of my mind amends, with which, I fear, a madness held me: this must crave (An if this be at all) a most strange story. Thy dukedom I resign; and do intreat, [Prospero Thou pardon me my wrongs:-But how should Be living, and be here?

2

Pro. First, noble friend,

[To Gon.

Let me embrace thine age; whose honour cannot Be measur'd, or contin'd.

Gon. Whether this be,

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10 Thou must restore.

Alon. If thou be'st 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, 15 How sharp the point of this remembrance is! My dear son Ferdinand.

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Pro. I am woe for't', sir.

Alon. Irreparable is the loss; and Patience Says, it is past her cure.

Pro. I rather think,

You have not sought her help'; of whose soft grace, For the like loss, I have her sovereign aid,

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300 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, [ter? Where my son lies. When did you lose your daughPro. In this last tempest. I perceive, these lords 35 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, 40 That I am Prospero, and that very duke

Which was thrust forth of Milan; who most strangely Upon this shore, where you werewrecked, was landTo be the lord on't. No more yet of this ; [ed For 'tis a chronicle of day by day,

45 Not a relation for a breakfast, nor

Befitting this first meeting. Welcome, sir; The 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, 50I will requite you with as good a thing; At least, bring forth a wonder to content ye, As much as me my dukedom.

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

Fer. No, my dearest love,

I would not for the world.

[wrangle,

Mir. Yes, for a score of kingdoms, you should And I would call it fair play.

Alon. If this prove

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[Aside to Seb. and Ant.

A vision of the island, one dear son

To drink the air, is an expression of swiftness of the same kind as to devour the way, in Henry VI. That is, I am sorry for it. To be woe, is often used by old writers to signify, to be sorry. ing, My loss is as great as yours, and has as lately happened to me.

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Shall I twice lose.

Seb. A most high miracle!

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

Alon. Now all the blessings [Ferdinand kneels. 5
Of a glad father compass thee about!
Arise, and say how thou cam'st here.

Mira. O! wonder!

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Or should have spoke ere this. Look down, you
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 !

Tissue

Gon. Was Milan thrust from Milan, that his Should become kings 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.

Alon. Give me your hands:

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.

Which but three glasses since, we gave out split,---
Is tight and yare, and bravely rigg'd, as when
We first put out to sea.

Ari. Sir, all this service
Have I done since I went.
Pro. My tricksy 2 spirit!

[Aside.

Alon. These are notnaturalevents; theystrengthen From strange to stranger:-Say,how came you hiBoats. If I did think,sir, I were well awake, [ther? 10'd strive to tell you. We were dead asleep, And (how, we know not) all clapp'd under hatches, Where, but even now, withstrangeandseveralnoises Of roaring, shrieking, howling, gingling chains, And more diversity of sounds, all horrible, 15 We were awak'd; straightway, at liberty: Where we, in all her trim, freshly beheld Our royal, good, and gallant ship; our rster Cap'ring to eye her: On a trice, so please you, Even in a dream, were we divided from them, 20And were brought moping hither.

Ari. Was 't well done?

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Do not infest your mind with beating 4 on

30 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 whien, be cheerful, And think of each thing well. Come

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[Aside.

hither, spirit; Set Caliban and his companions free: [To Arist. Untie the spell. How fares my gracious sir? There are yet missing of your company 40 Some few odd lads that you remember not. ite-enter Ariel, driving in Caliban, Stephano,

and Trinculo, in their stolen apparel. Ste. Every man shift for all the rest, and let no man take care for himself; for all is but fortune:45 Coragio, bully-monster, Coragio!"

Trin. If these be true spies which I wear in my head, here's a goodly sight.

Cal. O Setebos, these be brave spirits, indeed! How fine my master is! I am afraid 50 He will chastise me.

O look, sir, look, sir, here are more of us!
I prophesy'd, if a gallows were on land,
This fellow could not drown:-Now, blasphemy, 55
That swear'st grace o’erboard,not an oath on shore:
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,-

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1 For when perhaps should be read where. 2 That is, my clever, adroit spirit. 3 Conduct, for conductor. Beating may mean hammering, working in the mind, dwelling long upon. Coragio is an exclamation of encouragement. "That is, honest. A true man is, in the language of that time, opposed to a thief. The sense is, Mark what these men wear, and say if they are honest.

And

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
To take my live: 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 thi Steph no my drunken butler?
Sb. He's drunk now: Where had he wine? [they
Alon. And Tinculo sreeling ripe:Where should 10
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 tear me, will never out of my bones: I shall not fear fly-blowing.

Seb. Why how now, Stephano?
Ste.

[a cramp'.

ouch me not: I am not Stephano, but Pro.ou'd be king of the isle, sirrah? Ste. I should have been a sore one then.

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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)'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 nuptials

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

To hear the story of your life, which must

Alon. This is a strange thing as e'er i look'd on. 20 Take the ear strangely.

[Pointing to Cariban.

Pro. He is as disproportion'd in his manners,
As in his shape:-Go, sirrah, 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,

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Pro. I'll deliver all:

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That is, I am all over a cramp. Prospero had ordered Ariel to shorten up their sinews with aged cramps. Touch not alludes to the soreness occasioned by them. In the next line, the speaker confirms this meaning by a quibble on the word sore.

EPILOGUE,

SPOKEN BY PROSPERO.

NOW my charms are all o'erthrown,
And what strength I have's mine owr,
Which is most faint: now,
'tis true,
I must be here confin'd by you,
Or seni 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 r lease me from my bands,
With the help of your good hands.

Gentle breath of yours my sails
Must fill, or else my project fails,
50 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,
Which pierces so, that it assaults
55 Mercy itself, and frees ali faults.
As you from crimes would pardon'd be,
Let your indulgence set me free.

TWO

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SCENE, sometimes in Verona; sometimes in Milan; and on the frontiers of Mantua.

SCENE I.

ACT I

An open place in Verona.
Enter Valentine and Protheus.

ul. CEASE to persuade, my loving Protheus;
Home-keeping youth have ever homely
Wer't not, affection chains thy tender days [wits:
To the sweet glances of thy honour'd love,

I rather would intreat thy company,

To see the wonders of the world abroad,
Than, living dully sluggardiz'd at home,
Wear out thy youth with shapeless idleness.
But, since thou lov'st, love still, and thrive therein,
Even as I would, when I to love begin.

[ger,

Pro.Wilt thou begone? Sweet Valentine, adieu!
Think on thy Protheus, when thou, haply, seest
Some rare note-worthy object in thy travel:
Wish me partaker in thy happiness,
When thou dost meet good hap; and, in thy dan-
If ever danger do environ thee,
Commend thy grievance to my holy prayers,
For I will be thy bead's-man, Valentine.

Val. And on a love book pray for my success.

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Pro. Upon some book I love, I'll pray for thee.
Fal. 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 swom the Hellespont.

Pro. Over the boots? nay,give me not the boots'.
Val. No, I will not; for it boots thee not.
Pro. What?

Val. To be in love, where scorn is bought with

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With twenty watchful, weary, tedious nights:
If haply won, perhaps a hapless gain;

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
Pro.'Tislove you'llcavil at; I am not love.[prove.

'Theobald pronounces this to be a proverbial expression, though now disused, signifying, Don't make a laughing-stock of me; don't play upon me. Mr. Steevens, however, is of opinion, that it might take its origin from a sport the country-people in Warwickshire use at their harvest home, where one sits as judge to try misdemeanors committed in harvest, and the punishment for the men is, to be laid on a bench, and slapped on the breech with a pair of boots. This they call giving them the boots. He also adds, that the boots were an ancient engine of torture.

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,
Even so by love the young and tender wit
Is turn'd to folly; blasting in the bud,
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 Protheus, no; now let us take our
At Milan, let me hear from thee by letters [leave.
Of thy success in love, and what news else
Betideth here in absence of thy friend:
And I likewise will visit thee with mine.
Pro. All happiness bechance to thee in Milan!
Val. As much to you at home! and so farewell!

Pro. But dost thou hear? gav'st thou my letter to Julia?

Speed. Ay, sir: I a lost mutton '; gave your letter to her, a lac'd mutton; and she, a lac'd mutton2, 5 gave me, a lost mutton, nothing for my labour.

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[Exit. 25

Pro. He after honour hunts, I after love: He leaves his friends, to dignify them more; I leave myself, my friends, and all for love. Thou, Julia, thou hast metamorphos'd me; Made me neglect my studies, lose my time, War with good counsel, set the world at nought; Made wit with musing weak, heart sick with thought.

Enter Speed.

30

[master?
Speed. Sir Protheus, save you: saw you my 35
Pro. But now he parted hence to embark for Milan.
Speed. Twenty to one then, he is shipp'd already;
And I have play'd the sheep in losing him.

Pro. Indeed, a sheep doth very often stray,
And if the shepherd be a while away.
Speed. You conclude, that my master is a shep-
herd then, and I a sheep?

Pro. I do.

Speed. Why then my horns are his horns, whether I wake or sleep.

Pro. A silly answer, and fitting well a sheep.
Speed. This proves me still a sheep.
Pro. True; and thy master a shepherd.
Speed. Nay, that I can deny by a circumstance.
Pro. It shall go hard, but I'll prove it by another.
Speed. The shepherd seeks the sheep, and not the
sheep the shepherd; but I seek my master, and
my master seeks not me: therefore I am no sheep.

Pro. Here's too small a pasture for such a store of muttons.

Speed. If the ground be over-charg'd, you were best stick her.

Pro. Nay, in that you are astray; 'twere best pound you.

Speed. Nay, sir, less than a pound shall serve me for carrying your letter.

Pro. You mistake; I mean the pound, a pinfold. Speed. From a pound to a pin? Fold it over and

over,

'Tis threefold too little for carrying a letter to your lover.

Pro. But what said she? did she nod?[Speed nods.
Speed. I.

Pro. Nod, I? why that's noddy".

Speed. You mistook, sir; I said she did nod: and you ask me, if she did nod; and I said I. Pro. And that set together, is-noddy. Speed. Now you have taken the pains to set it together, take it for your pains.

[ter. Pro. No, no, you shall have it for bearing the let Speed. Well, I perceive I must be fain to bear with you.

Pro. Why, sir, how do you bear with me? Speed. Marry, sir, the letter very orderly; having nothing but the word noddy for my pains. Pro. Beshrew me, but you have a quick wit. Speed. And yet it cannot overtake your slow purse. Pro. Come, come, open the matter in brief: What said she?

Speed. Open your purse; that the money, and the matter, may be both at once deliver'd. Pro. Well, sir, here is for your pains: What 40 said she?

Sed. Truly, sir, I think you'll hardly win her. Pro. Why? couldst thou perceive so much from her?

Speed. Sir, I could perceive nothing at all from 45 her: no, not so much as a ducket for delivering your letter: And being so hard to me that brought your mind, I fear, she'll prove as hard to you in telling her mind. Give her no token but stones; for she's as hard as steel.

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Pro. What, said she nothing?

Speed. No, not so much as-take this for thy pains. To testify your bounty, I thank you, you have testern'd' me; in requital whereof, henceforth carry your letters yourself: and so, sir, I'll commend you to my master. [wreck;

Pro. Go, go, be gone, to save your ship from Which cannot perish, having thee aboard, Being destin'd to a drier death on shore:

Pro. The sheep for fodder follows the shepherd, the shepherd for the food follows not the sheep: 55 thou for wages followest thy master, thy master for wages follows not thee; therefore thou art a sheep. Speed. Such another proof will make me cry baa. Speed calls himself a lost mutton, because he had lost his master, and because Protheus had been proving him a sheep. 2 Cotgrave, in his English-French Dictionary, explains lac'd mutton by a girl of pleasure. A lac'd mutton was so established a name for a courtezan, that a street in Clerkenwell, which was much frequented by women of the town, was formerly called Mutton-lane. 3 Noddy was a game at cards. That is, you have gratified me with a tester, testern, or testen, that is, with a sixpence.

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I must

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