Ste. Monster, I will kill this man: his daughter and I will be king and queen; (save our graces!) and Trinculo and thyself shall be vice-roys:-Dost thou like the plot, Trinculo? Tri. Excellent. Ste. Give me thy hand; I am sorry I beat thee: but, while thou liv'st, keep a good tongue in thy head. Cal. Within this half-hour will he be asleep; Wilt thou destroy him then? Ste. Ay, on mine honour. Ari. This will I tell my master. Cal. Thou mak'st me merry: I am full of pleasure; Let us be jocund: Will you troll the catch You taught me but while-ere? 12 Ste. At thy request, monster, I will do reason, any reason: Come on, Trinculo, let us sing. [Sings. Flout'em, and skout'em; and skout'em, and flout' em; Cal. That's not the tune. [The tune is played on a tabor and pipe, by ARIEL invisible. Ste. What is this same? Tri. This is the tune of our catch, played by the picture of No-body. Ste. If thou beest a man, shew thyself in thy likeness: if thou beest a devil, take 't as thou list. Tri. O, forgive me my sins ! Ste. He that dies pays all debts: I defy thee:-Mercy upon us! Cal. Art thou afeard ?13 Ste. No, monster, not I. Cal. Be not afeard; the isle is full of noises, Sounds, and sweet airs, that give delight, and hurt not. Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments Will hum about mine ears; and sometime voices, That, if I then had wak'd after long sleep, 12. -Will you troll the catch] Will you put about the song in a like jovial manner ?-NARES. 13 Art thou afeard?] To afear is an obsolete verb. Will make me sleep again: and then, in dreaming, I cry'd to dream again. Ste. This will prove a brave kingdom to me, where I shall have my music for nothing. Cal. When Prospero is destroy'd. Ste. That shall be by and by: I remember the story. Tri. The sound is going away; let's follow it, and after, do our work. Ste. Lead, monster; we'll follow.—I would, I could see this taborer: he lays it on. Wilt come? Tri. I follow, Stephano. [Exeunt. Enter ALONSO, SEBASTIAN, ANTONIO, GONZALO, ADRIAN, FRANCISCO, and others. Gon. By'r lakin,14 I can go no further, Sir; My old bones ache: here by your patience, I needs must rest me. Alo. Old lord, I cannot blame thee, Who am myself attach'd with weariness, [Aside to SEBASTIAN. Do not, for one repulse, forego the purpose. Seb. Will we take thoroughly. The next advantage [Solemn Music. Alo. What harmony is this? my good friends, hark! 14 By'r lakin,] The dimunitive of our lady; id. est., ladykin. 15 Our frustrate search] Frustrate-frustrated. THE SCENE IS GRADUALLY TRANSFORMED FROM BARRENNESS TO LUXURIANT VEGETATION. AFTER WHICH ENTER MANY STRANGE SHAPES, (^) BEARING FRUIT AND FLOWERS, WITH WHICH THEY FORM A BANQUET, AND DISAPPEAR. Alo. Give us kind keepers, heavens ! What were these! Fra. They vanish'd strangely. Seb. No matter, since They have left their viands behind; for we have stomachs.Wil't please you taste of what is here? Gon. If in Naples I should report this now, would they believe me? Alo. I will stand to and feed, Although my last: no matter, since I feel The best is past :-Brother, my lord the duke, THUNDER AND LIGHTNING. ARIEL rises like a Harpy. (B) Ari. You are three men of sin, whom destiny Hath caused the never-surfeited sea To belch up; and on this island Where man doth not inhabit: you 'mongst men Being most unfit to live. [Seeing ALONSO, SEBASTION, &c., draw their swords. (Thunder.) You fools! I and my fellows Are ministers of fate; but, remember, (For that's my business to you,) that you three From Milan did supplant good Prospero; Ling'ring perdition shall step by step attend You, and your ways; whose wraths to guard you from And a clear life ensuing.' 16 [He vanishes in thunder. Alo. 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 bass my trespass.' Therefore my son i'the ooze is bedded; and I'll seek him deeper than e'er plummet sounded, And with him there lie mudded. Seb. I'll fight their legions o'er. Ant. 17 [Exit. But one fiend at a time, Gon. I do beseech you That are of suppler joints, follow them swiftly, May now provoke them to. Adr. Follow, I pray you. [Exeunt. MUSIC. THE SHAPES, &c., RE-APPEAR.19 DANCE. 16 And a clear life ensuing.] i. e., a miserable state, which nothing but contrition and amendment of life can avert. 17 trespass. it did bass my trespass.] It gave the bass notes to my 18 this ecstacy] Alienation of mind-madness-in this sense the word is now obsolete. 19 Satyrs are described as always joining in the dances and revels of nymphs. END OF ACT THIRD. D HISTORICAL NOTES TO ACT THIRD. (A) Ariel_rises like a Harpy.] Pantomimes were exhibited in France and Italy, and were known and instituted in this country. Flying, rising, and descending services were to be found at entertainments given by the Duke of Burgundy, &c., in 1453, and by the Grand Duke of Tuscany, in 1600, &c. (B) Enter many strange shapes, dressed as Naiads, Dryads, and Satyrs.] The nymphs of fresh water, whether of rivers, lakes, brooks, or springs, were designated by the general name-Naiades. The early Greeks saw, in all the phenomena of nature, some manifestations of the Deity. Springs, rivers, grottoes, trees, and mountains, all seemed to them fraught with life, and all were only the visible embodiment of so many divine agents. The salutary and beneficent powers of nature were thus personified, and regarded as so many divinities. |