Mira.

But, certainly a maid.

Fer.

No wonder, sir;

My language! heavens !

I am the best of them that speak this speech,
Were I but where 'tis spoken.

How! the best?

Pro.
What wert thou, if the king of Naples heard thee?
Fer. A single thing, as I am now, that wonders
To hear thee speak of Naples: He does hear me;
And that he does, I weep: myself am Naples;
Who with mine eyes, ne'er since at ebb, beheld
The king my father wreck'd.

Mira.

Alack, for mercy!

Fer. Yes, faith, and all his lords; the duke of Milan, And his brave son, being twain."

Pro.

The duke of Milan,

[Aside.

And his more braver daughter, could control thee,
If now 'twere fit to do't:- At the first sight
They have chang'd eyes:- Delicate Ariel,
I'll set thee free for this! A word, good sir;

I fear you have done yourself some wrong:7 a word.
Mira. Why speaks my father so ungently? This
Is the third man that e'er I saw; the first

That e'er I sigh'd for: pity move my father
To be inclin'd my way!

Fer.

O, if a virgin,

And your affection not gone forth, I'll make you

The

queen of Naples.

Pro.

Soft, sir; one word more. They are both in either's powers; but this swift business

5 And his brave son, being twain.] This is a slight forgetfulness. Nobody was lost in the wreck, yet we find no such character as the son of the duke of Milan. THEOBALD.

6

7

· control thee,] Confute, or unanswerably contradict thee." ·I fear you have done yourself some wrong :] i. e. I fear that, in asserting yourself to be king of Naples, you have uttered a falsehood, which is below your character, and, conséquently, injurious to your honour. STEEVENS.

I must uneasy make, lest too light winning

[Aside.

Make the prize light. — One word more; I charge thee,

That thou attend me: thou dost here usurp

The name thou ow'st not; and hast put thyself

Upon this island, as a spy, to win it

From me, the lord on't.

Fer.

No, as I am a man.

Mira. There's nothing ill can dwell in such a temple : If the ill spirit have so fair an house,

Good things will strive to dwell with't.

Pro.

Follow me.

[To FERD.

Speak not you for him; he's a traitor. - Come,
I'll manacle thy neck and feet together:

Sea-water shalt thou drink, thy food shall be

The fresh-brook muscles, wither'd roots, and husks
Wherein the acorn cradled; Follow.

My foot my tutor! Put thy sword up, traitor;
Who mak'st a shew, but dar'st not strike, thy conscience
Is so possess'd with guilt: come from thy ward;9

8 He's gentle, and not fearful.] Fearful signifies both terrible and timorous. In this place it may mean timorous; or it may signify formidable, as in K. Hen. IV:

"A mighty and a fearful head they are."

and then the meaning of the passage is obvious. One of the original meanings, if not the sole meaning, of the word gentle is, noble, highminded: and to this day a Scotch woman in the situation of the young lady in The Tempest, would express herself nearly in the same terms.-Don't provoke him; for being gentle, that is, highspirited, he won't tamely bear an insult.

9 - come from thy ward;] Desist from any hope of awing me by that posture of defence. JOHNSON.

For I can here disarm thee with this stick,

And make thy weapon drop.

Mira.

Pro. Hence; hang not on my garments.

Beseech you, father!

Mira.

I'll be his surety.

Pro.

Sir, have pity;

Silence! one word more

What!

Shall make me chide thee, if not hate thee.

An advocate for an impostor? hush!

Thou think'st there are no more such shapes as he,
Having seen but him and Caliban: Foolish wench!
To the most of men this is a Caliban,

And they to him are angels.

Mira.

My affections

Are then most humble; I have no ambition

To see a goodlier man.

Pro.

Thy nerves are in their infancy again,

Come on; obey:

[To FERD.

So they are:

And have no vigour in them.

2

Fer.
My spirits, as in a dream, are all bound up.'
My father's loss, the weakness which I feel,
The wreck of all my friends, or this man's threats,
To whom I am subdued, are but light to me,
Might I but through my prison once a day
Behold this maid: all corners else o'the earth
Let liberty make use of; space enough
Have I, in such a prison.

My spirits, as in a dream, are all bound up.] Alluding to a common sensation in dreams; when we struggle, but cannot run, strike, &c. WARBURTON.

2

66

are but light to me,] This passage, as it stands at present, with all allowance for poetical licence, cannot be reconciled to grammar. I suspect that our author wrote — were but light to me," in the sense of would be. In the preceding line the old copy reads · nor this man's" threats. The emendation was made by Mr. Steevens. MALONE.

Thou hast done well, fine Ariel - Follow me. —

Hark, what thou else shalt do me.

Mira.

[To FERD. and MIR.

[TO ARIEL.

Be of comfort;

My father's of a better nature, sir,
Than he appears by speech; this is unwonted,
Which now came from him. ·

Pro.

Thou shalt be as free

As mountain winds: but then exactly do
All points of my command.

Ari.

To the syllable.

[Exeunt.

Pro. Come, follow: speak not for him.

ACT II.

SCENE I. Another part of the Island.

Enter ALONSO, SEBASTIAN, ANTONIO, Gonzalo, ADRIAN, FRANCISCO, and others.

Gon. 'Beseech you, sir, be merry: you have cause (So have we all) of joy; for our escape

Is much beyond our loss: Our hint of woe3
Is common; every day, some sailor's wife,

The masters of some merchant, and the merchant,
Have just our theme of woe: but for the miracle,

5

Our hint of woe-] Hint is that which recalls to the memory; or here it may mean circumstance.

4 The masters of some merchant, &c.] Thus the old copy. If the passage be not corrupt, (as I suspect it is,) we must suppose that by masters our author means the owners of a merchant ship, or the officers to whom the navigation of it had been trusted. I suppose, however, that our author wrote

"The mistress of some merchant," &c.

Mistress was anciently spelt maistresse or maistres. Hence, perhaps, arose the present typographical error. STEEVENS.

Have just our theme of woe: but for the miracle,] The words of woe, appear to me as an idle interpolation. STEEVENS.

I mean our preservation, few in millions

Can speak like us: then wisely, good sir, weigh
Our sorrow with our comfort.

Alon.

Pr'ythee, peace.

Seb. He receives comfort like cold porridge,
Ant. The visitor will not give him o'er so,

6

Seb. Look, he's winding up the watch of his wit; By and by it will strike.

Gon. When every grief is entertain'd, that's offer'd, Comes to the entertainer

Seb. A dollar.

Gon. Dolour comes to him, indeed; you have spoken truer than you purposed.

Seb. You have taken it wiselier than I meant you should.

Gon. Therefore, my lord,

Ant. Fye, what a spendthrift is he of his tongue!
Alon. I pr'ythee spare.

Gon. Well, I have done: But yet

Seb. He will be talking.

Ant. Which of them, he, or Adrian, for a good wager,

first begins to crow?

Seb. The old cock.

Ant. The cockrel.

Seb. Done: the wager?

Ant. A laughter.

Seb. A match.

Adr. Though this island seem to be desert,→
Seb. Ha, ha, ha !

6 The visitor -] Why Dr. Warburton should change visitor to 'viser, for adviser, I cannot discover. Gonzalo gives not only ad vice but comfort, and is therefore properly called The visitor, like others who visit the sick or distressed to give them consolation. In some of the protestant churches there is a kind of officers termed consolators for the sick. JOHNSON.