ACT IV.. SCENE I-Before Prospero's Cell. Enter PROS- Fer. Against an oracle. I do believe it, For quiet days, fair issue, and long life, Fairly spoke; Pro. Ari. What would my potent master? here I am. Pro. Thou and thy meaner fellows your last service Did worthily perform; and I must use you Ari. Pro. Ay, with a twink. Presently? Ari. Before you can say, Come, and And breathe twice; and cry, so, so; go, Well.Now come, my Ariel; bring a corollary, Rather than want a spirit; appear, and pertly.No tongue; all eyes; be silent. [Soft music. A Masque. Enter IRIS. Iris. Ceres, most bounteous lady, thy rich leas Whose shadow the dismissed bachelor loves, grace, Here on this grass-plot, in this very place, Cer. Hail, many-colour'd messenger, that ne'er Cer. Tell me, heavenly bow, If Venus, or her son, as thou dost know, Do now attend the queen? since they did plot The means, that dusky Dis my daughter got, Her and her blind boy's scandal'd company I have forsworn. 1 The same expression occurs in Pericles. Mr. Hen-he derives from the French verb touiller, which Cotley says that it is a manifest allusion to the zones of the ancients, which were worn as guardians of chastity before marriage. 2 Aspersion is here used in its primitive sense of sprinkling, at present it is used in its figurative sense of throwing out hints of calumny and detraction. 3 Suggestion here means temptation or wicked prompting. 4Some vanity of mine art " is some illusion. Thus in a passage, quoted by Warton, in his Dissertation on the Gesta Romanorum, from Emare, a metrical Romance. "The emperor said on high 5 That is, bring more than are sufficient. "Corollary, the addition or vantage above measure, an overplus, or surplusage."-Blount. 6 Stover is fodder for cattle, as hay, straw, and the like: estovers is the old law term, it is from estouvier, old French. 7 The old editions read Pioned and Twilled brims. In Ovid's Banquet of Sense, by Geo. Chapman, 1595, we meet with "Cuplike twill-pants strew'd in Bacchus bowers." If twill be the name of any flower, the old reading may stand. Mr. Henley strongly contends for the old reading, and explains pioned to mean faced up with mire in the manner that ditchers trim the banks of ditches: twilled grave interprets, "filthily to mix, to mingle, confound, or shuffle together." He objects to peonied and lillied because these flowers never blow in April. But Mr Boaden has pointed out a passage in Lord Bacon's Essay on Gardens which supports the reading in the text. "In April follow the double white violet, the wall-flower, the stock-gilly-flower, the cowslip, flower-de-luces. and lillies of all natures; rose-mary flowers, the tulippe, the double piony, &c" Lyte, in his Herbal, says one kind of peonie is called by some, maiden or virgin peonie. And Pliny mentions the water-lilly as a preserver of chastity, B. xxvi. C. 10. Edward Fenton, in his "Secret Wonders of Nature," 1569, 4to. B. vi. asserts that "the water-lilly mortifieth altogether the appetite of sensuality and defends from unchaste thoughts and dreams of venery." The passage certainly gains by the reading of Mr. Steevens, which I have, for these reasons, retained. 8 That is, forsaken by his lass. 9 Mr. Douce remarks that this is an elegant expansion of the following lines in Phaer's Virgil Eneid, Lib. iv. "Dame rainbow down therefore with sa ton wings of drooping showres, Whose face a thousand sundry hues against the sun devoures, From heaven descending came." 10 Bosky acres are woody acres, fields intersected by luxuriant hedge-rows and copses. Some wanton charm upon this man and maid, Whose vows are, that no bed-rite shall be paid Till Hymen's torch be lighted: but in vain; Mars' hot minion is returned again; Her waspish-headed son has broke his arrows, Come hither from the furrow, and be merry; Enter certain Reapers, properly habited: they join with the Nymphs in a graceful dance; towards the end of which PROSPERO starts suddenly, and speaks; after which, to a strange, hollow, and con fused noise, they heavily vanish. Pro. [Aside.] I had forgot that foul conspiracy Swears he will shoot no more, but play with spar-Of the beast Caliban, and his confederates, Jun. Honour, riches, marriage-blessing, Fer. This is a most majestic vision, and Pro. Spirits, which by mine art Let me live here ever; So rare a wonder'da father, and a wife, Make this place Paradise. Pro. [JUNO and CERES whisper, and send IRIS on employment. Sweet now, silence: Juno and Ceres whisper seriously; There's something else to do: hush, and be mute, Or else our spell is marr'd. Iris. You nymphs, call'd Naiads, of the wand'ring brooks, With your sedg'd crowns, and ever harmless looks, Leave your crisp channels, and on this green land Answer your summons; Juno does command: You sun-burn'd sicklemen, of August weary, 1 Foison is abundance, particularly of harvest corn. 2 For charmingly harmonious. 3" So rare a wonder'd father," is a father able to produce such wonders. Against my life; the minute of their plot Is almost come.-[To the Spirits.] Well done;avoid ;-no more. Fer. This is strange: your father's in some passion That works him strongly. Mira. Never till this day, Saw I him touch'd with anger so distemper'd. Bear with my weakness; my old brain is troubled. If you be pleas'd, retire into my cell, We wish your peace. We must prepare to meet with Caliban. Ari. Ay, my commander: when I presented I thought to have told thee of it; but I fear'd, Pro. Say again, where didst thou leave these varlets? Ari. I told you, sir, they were red-hot with drinking; So full of valour, that they smote the air For breathing in their faces; beat the ground ears, It is evident that one poet imitated the other, and it seems probable that Shakspeare was the imitator. The exact period at which the Tempest was produced is not known, but it is thought not earlier than 1611. It was first printed in the folio of 1623. Lord Sterline also wrote a tragedy entitled Julius Cæsar, in which there are par. allel passages to some in Shakspeare's play on the same subject, and Malone thinks the coincidence more than print-accidental. 4 Crisp channels; i. e. curled, from the curl raised by a breeze on the surface of the water. So in 1 K. Hen. IV. Act i. Sc. 3. "Hid his crisp head in the hollow bank." 5 In the tragedy of Darius, by Lord Sterline, ed in 1603, is the following passage: "Let greatness of her glassy sceptres vaunt 6 Faded, i. e. vanished, from the Latin rado. The ancient English pageants were shows, on the reception Not sceptres, no, but reeds, soon bruised soon of princes or other festive occasions; they were exhibit broken; And let this worldly pomp our wits enchant, Those stately courts, those sky-encountering walls, The preceding stanza also contains evidence of the same train of thought with Shakspeare. "And when the eclipse comes of our glory's light, Then what avails the adoring of a name? A meer illusion made to mock the sight, Whose best was but the shadow of a dream." Advanc'd their eye-lids, lifted up their noses, Which enter'd their frail shins: at last I left them Pro. This was well done, my bird: An. I go, I go. [Exit. may not Hear a foot fall: we now are near his cell. Ste. Monster, your fairy, which, you say, is a harmless fairy, has done little better than play'd the Jack' with us. Trin. Monster, I do smell all horse-piss; at which my nose is in great indignation. Ste. So is mine. Do you hear, monster? If I should take a displeasure against you; look you,Trin. Thou wert but a lost monster. Cal. Good my lord, give me thy favour still: All's hush'd as midnight yet. Trin. Ay, but to lose our bottles in the pool,Ste. There is not only disgrace and dishonour in that, monster, but an infinite loss. Trin. That's more to me than my wetting: yet this is your harmless fairy, monster. Ste. I will fetch off my bottle, though I be o'er ears for my labour. Cal. Pr'ythee, my king, be quiet: Seest thou here, Ste. Give me thy hand: for I do begin to have bloody thoughts. Trin. O king Stephano! O peer! O worthy Stephano! look, what a wardrobe here is for thee! Cal. Let it alone, thou fool: it is but trash. Trin. O, ho, monster; we know what belongs to a frippery:-O king Stephano! Ste. Put off that gown, Trinculo; by this hand, I'll have that gown. Trin. Thy grace shall have it. Cal. The dropsy drown this fool! what do you mean, To doat thus on such luggage? Let it alone, Ste. Be you quiet, monster.-Mistress line, is not this my jerkin? Now is the jerkin under the line: now, jerkin, you are like to lose your hair, and prove a bald jerkin. 1 Stale, in the art of fowling, signified a bait or lure to decoy birds. 2 Nurture is Education, in our old language. 3 To play the Jack, was to play the Knave. Trin. Do, do: We steal by line and level, and't like your grace. Ste. I thank thee for that jest; here's a garment for't: wit shall not go unrewarded, while I am king of this country: Steal by line and level, is an excellent pass of pate; there's another garment for't. Trin. Monster, come, put some lime' upon your fingers, and away with the rest. Cal. I will have none on't: we shall lose our time, Ste. Monster, lay-to your fingers; help to bear this away, where my hogshead of wine is, or I'll turn you out of my kingdom: go to, carry this. Trin. And this. Ste. Ay, and this. A noise of Hunters heard. Enter divers Spirits Ari. Silver! there it goes, Silver! [CAL. STE. and TRIN. are driven out. Go, charge my goblins that they grind their joints With dry convulsions; shorten up their sinews With aged cramps; and more pinch-spotted make them, 10 Than pard, 1° or cat o' mountain. Ari. ACT V. [Exeunt. SCENE I.-Before the Cell of Prospero. Enter You said our work should cease. Pro. I did say so, When first I rais'd the tempest. Say, my spirit, In the lime grove which weather-fends your cell: works them, Would become tender. Pro. Dost thou think so, spirit? fera, which ancient credulity believed to produce the "That Scottish barnacle, if I might choose, That of a worm doth wax a winged goose." Gerrard, in his Herbal, 1597, p. 1391, gives a full de scription of it; and the worthy Dr. Bullein treats those as ignorant and incredulous, who do not believe in the transformation.-Bulwarke of Defence, 1562. Cali Iagoban's Barnacle is the clakis, or tree-goose. 9 See Tyrwhitt's Chaucer, Note on v. 6441 10 Pard, i. e. Leopard. 4 This is a humorous allusion to the old ballad "King Stephen was a worthy peer," of which sings a verse in Othello. 5 A shop for the sale of old clothes.-Fripperie, Fr. 6 The old copy reads--"Let's alone." 7 Bird-lime. 8 The barnacle is a kind of shell-fish, lepas anati 11 Defends it from the weather. Though with their high wrongs I am struck to the | Will shortly fill the reasonable shores, quick, Yet, with my nobler reason, 'gainst my fury, In virtue than in vengeance: they being penitent, Ari. And ye, Is to make midnight-mushrooms; that rejoice A solemn air, and the best comforter 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 shew of thine, To him thou follow'st; I will pay thy graces You brother mine, that entertain'd ambition, tian (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 1 This speech is in some measure borrowed from Medea's, in Ovid; the expressions are, many of them in the old translation by Golding. But the exquisite fairy imagery is Shakspeare's own. 2 That is ye are powerful auxiliaries, but weak if left to yourselves. Your employments are of the trivial nature before mentioned. 3 So in Mids. Night's Dream "Lovers and madmen have such seething brains.” 4 Remorse is pity, tenderness of heart; nature is natural affection. 5 This was the received opinion so in Fairfax's 1a340, B iv St. 18. That now fie 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, ARIEL re-enters, singing, and helps to attire Ari. Where the bee sucks, there suck I; There I couch when owls do cry. 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- I 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 Or some enchanted trifle to abuse me, 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. Pro. Whether this be, You do yet taste Some subtilties o' the isle, that will not let you Believe things certain :-Welcome, my friends allBut you, my brace of lords, were I so minded, [Aside to SEB. and ANT. I here could pluck his highness' frown upon you, And justify you traitors: at this time I'll tell no tales. Seb. Pro. The devil speaks in him. [Asids. For you, most wicked sir, whom to call brother Alon. You have not sought her help; of whose soft grace, Received a second life, and second father And rest myself content. Alon. You the like loss? Pro. As great to me, as late; and portable2 To make the dear loss, have I means much weaker Than you may call to comfort you; for I Have lost my daughter. Alon. A daughter? O heavens! that they were living both in Naples, Pro. In this last tempest. I perceive, these lords To be the lord on't. No more yet of this; This cell's my court: here have I few attendants, Pro. There, sir, stop: Let us not burden our remembrances With heaviness that's gone. Gon. gods, I have inly wept, Or should have spoke ere this. Look down, you Should become kings of Naples? O, rejoice Give me your hands: [To FER. and MIRA. Let grief and sorrow still embrace his heart, Be't so! Amen! Alon. Mira. "Tis new to thee. Your eld'st acquaintance cannot be three hours: 3 Mr. Pye says, I conceive Shakspeare, who was no nice weigher of words, meant wrangling to be equivalent with playing false, or with unfair advantage. So in Henry V. the king, in allusion to the tennis balls, directs the ambassadors to tell the dauphin "He hath made a match with such a wrangler, Mr. Pye's explanation is correct; but his deduction that Shakspeare was "no nice weigher of vords" is totally false. Shakspeare's words are always the most 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, Ari. Sir, all this service Have I done since I went. Pro. Alon. These are strengthen, [Aside. My tricksy spirit! not natural events; they From strange to stranger:-Say, how came you hither? Boats. If I did think, sir, I were well awake, I'd strive to tell you. We were dead of sleep, And (how, we know not,) all clapp'd under hatches, Where, but even now, with strange and several noises Of roaring, shrieking, howling, gingling chains, expressive and most appropriate. To wrangle, in the language of his time, was to haft or overthwurt; to run back and yet not cease to contend. 4 When no man was in his senses or had self-pos session. 5 See Note 2. Sc. 1. 6 Neat, adroit. Florio interprets "Pargoletta; quaint, pretty, nimble, trixie, tender, small." When we re member the tiny dimensions of Ariel, who could lie in the bell of a cowslip, the epithet, like all those of the great poet, will be found peculiarly appropriate |