My old bones ake: here's a maze trod, indeed, Through forth-rights, and meanders! by your patience, I needs must rest me. Alon. Old lord, I cannot blame thee, Who am myself attach'd with weariness, To the dulling of my spirits: sit down, and rest. [Aside to SEBASTIAN. Do not, for one repulse, forego the purpose Seb. Will we take thoroughly. Ant. The next advantage Let it be to-night; For, now they are oppress'd with travel, they As when they are fresh. Seb. I say, to-night: no more. [Solemn and strange music; and PROSPERO above3, invisible. Enter several strange Shapes, bringing in a banquet: they dance about it with gentle actions of salutations; and, inviting the King, &c. to eat, they depart.] Alon. What harmony is this? my good friends, hark! Gon. Marvellous sweet music! Alon. Give us kind keepers, heavens! What were these? Seb. A living drollery. Now I will believe That there are unicorns; that in Arabia There is one tree, the phoenix' throne; one phoenix 3 and Prospero ABOVE,] "On the top" in the folios; meaning, perhaps, in some machine let down with ropes from the ceiling, or in the balcony at the back of the stage: this is the only deviation from the old stage-direction. Ant. I'll believe both; And what does else want credit, come to me, And I'll be sworn 'tis true: travellers ne'er did lie, Gon. If in Naples I should report this now, would they believe me? (For, certes, these are people of the island) Who, though they are of monstrous shape, yet, note, Their manners are more gentle, kind, than of Our human generation you shall find [Aside.] Honest lord, Thou hast said well; for some of you there present, Are worse than devils. Alon. I cannot too much muse, Such shapes, such gesture, and such sound, expressing (Although they want the use of tongue) a kind Of excellent dumb discourse. Pro. [Aside.] Praise in departing. No matter, since Fran. They vanish'd strangely. Seb. They have left their viands behind, for we have sto machs. Will't please you taste of what is here? Alon. Not I. Gon. Faith, sir, you need not fear. When we were boys, Who would believe that there were mountaineers Wallets of flesh? or that there were such men, I saw such ISLANDERS,] "Such islands" in the folio, 1623, but altered to "islanders" in later editions. Each PUTTER-OUT of five for one,] The putters-out were travellers, who Good warrant of. I will stand to, and feed, The best is past.-Brother, my lord the duke, Thunder and lightning. Enter ARIEL like a harpy, claps his wings upon the table, and, with a quaint device, the banquet vanishes. Ari. You are three men of sin, whom destiny [Seeing ALON., SEB., &c. draw their Swords. Of whom your swords are temper'd, may as well One dowle that's in my plume': my fellow-ministers put out money at what may be termed interest, viz. to receive at the rate of five for one, if they returned. This practice is often mentioned by old writers. • Hath caused to belch up, and on this island] The first, second, and third folios read, "Have caus'd to belch up you," and the fourth folio alters " up you" to "you up." It seems clear that you is too much for the sense, verse, and grammatical construction, and we have omitted it, because we think it crept into the old text by mere inadvertence. 7 One DOWLE that's in my PLUME:] "Dowle" seems to mean nearly the same as down, or the light parts of which feathers are composed. In all the old copies "plume" is misprinted plumbe or plumb. There is little doubt that Shakespeare had Virgil's description, Æneid III. in his memory, and he might derive his knowledge of it, if necessary, from Phaer's translation, first printed in 1558, and not in 1573 as stated by Ritson. From Milan did supplant good Prospero; Expos'd unto the sea, (which hath requit it) You, and your ways; whose wraths to guard you from He vanishes in thunder: then, to soft music, enter the Shapes again, and dance with mocks and mowes, and carry out the table. Pro. [Aside.] Bravely the figure of this harpy hast thou Perform'd, my Ariel; a grace it had, devouring. Of my instruction hast thou nothing 'bated, Their several kinds have done. My high charms work, In their distractions: they now are in my power; Young Ferdinand, (whom they suppose is drown'd) [Exit PROSPERO. Gon. I' the name of something holy, sir, why stand you In this strange stare? Alon. O, it is monstrous! monstrous! Methought, the billows spoke, and told me of it; The winds did sing it to me; and the thunder, That deep and dreadful organ-pipe, pronounc'd The name of Prosper: it did base my trespass. Seb. I'll fight their legions o'er. Ant. [Exit. But one fiend at a time, I'll be thy second. [Exeunt SEB. and ANT. Gon. All three of them are desperate: their great guilt, Like poison given to work a great time after, May now provoke them to. Adr. Follow, I pray you. [Exeunt. ACT IV. SCENE I. Before PROSPERO'S Cell. Enter PROSPERO, FERDINAND, and Miranda. Pro. If I have too austerely punish'd you, 8 — a THIRD of mine own life,] We adhere to the text of every old edition of this play, where Prospero tells Ferdinand that he has given him a third of his own life-a portion of his very existence-in bestowing Miranda upon him. This seems not only perfectly intelligible, but most natural, although modern editors (Capell excepted) substitute thread for "third," and attempt to justify the change by quotations from other authors. It is, surely, much more expressive for Prospero to say that he has given away a third of his own life, than merely a thread of his own life. Hawkins misquotes "Mucedorus," no doubt unintentionally, but apparently for the sake of vindicating the violence he proposed to do to the ancient text. |