take care for himself; for all is but fortune:- Coragio, bully-monster, Coragio! 8

Trin. If these be true spies which I

here's a goodly sight.

wear in my

head,

Cal. O Setebos, these be brave spirits, indeed! How fine my master is! I am afraid

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

Ant. Very like; one of them

Is a plain fish 9, and, no doubt, marketable.

Pro. Mark but the badges of these men, my lords, Then say, if they be true: This mis-shapen

knave,

--

His mother was a witch; and one so strong

That could control the moon 2, make flows and ebbs,
And deal in her command, without her power: 3
These three have robb'd me: and this demi-devil
(For he's a bastard one,) had plotted with them
To take my life: two of these fellows you
Must know, and own; this thing of darkness I
Acknowledge mine.

8 Coragio!] An exclamation of encouragement.

9 Is a plain fish,] That is, plainly, evidently a fish; but it is not easy to determine the shape which our author designed to bestow on his monster. That he has hands, legs, &c. we gather from circumstances in the play. Perhaps Shakspeare himself had no settled ideas concerning the form of Caliban.

1 true:] That is, honest. A true man is, in the language of that time, opposed to a thief.

2 His mother was a witch; and one so strong

That could control the moon, &c.] This was the phraseology of the times. After the statute against witches, revenge or ignorance frequently induced people to charge those against whom they harboured resentment, or entertained prejudices, with the crime of witchcraft, which had just then been declared a capital offence.

And deal in her command, without her power:] I suppose Prospero means, that Sycorax, with less general power than the moon, could produce the same effects on the sea. STEEVENS,

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? 4

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.

5

Seb. Why, how now, Stephano?

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

Pro. You'd be king of the isle, sirrah?

Ste. I should have been a sore one then. 7

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, 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

4 And Trinculo is reeling ripe: Where should they

Find this grand LIQUOR that hath gilded them?] Warburton thinks that Shakspeare, to be sure, wrote-grand 'LIXIR, alluding to the grand elixir of the alchymists, which they pretend would restore youth and confer immortality. But Mr. Steevens says that, as the alchymist's elixir was supposed to be a liquor, the old reading may stand.

5

fly-blowing.] This pickle alludes to their plunge into the stinking pool and pickling preserves meat from fly-blowing.

6 but a cramp,] i. e. I am all over a cramp. Prospero had ordered Ariel to shorten up their sinews with aged cramps. Touch me not alludes to the soreness occasioned by them.

7 I should have been a sore one then.] The same quibble occurs afterwards in the Second Part of King Henry VI.: “ Mass, 'twill be sore law then, for he was thrust in the mouth with a spear, and 'tis not whole yet." Stephano also alludes to the sores about him. STEEVENS.

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.

Pro.

I'll deliver all;

I long

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.

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.8
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 ;
Which pierces so, that it assaults
Mercy itself, and frees all faults.

9

8 With the help of your good hands.] By your applause, by clapping hands. JOHNSON.

9 And my ending is despair,

Unless I be reliev'd by pray'r ;] This alludes to the old stories told of the despair of necromancers in their last moments, and of the efficacy of the prayers of their friends for them. WARBURTON.

As you from crimes would pardon'd be,
Let your indulgence set me free.1

1 It is observed of The Tempest, that its plan is regular; 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 operations of magick, the tumults of a storm, the adventures of a desert island, the native effusion of untaught affection, the punishment of guilt, and the final happiness of the pair for whom our passions and reason are equally interested. JOHNSON.