Mira.

No wonder, sir ;
But, certainly a maid.
Fer.

My language ! heavens ! -
I am the best of them that speak this speech,
Were I but where 'tis spoken.
Pro.

How ! the best? What wert thou, if the king of Naples heard thee?

Fer. A single thing, 39 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,
And his more braver daughter, could control 40 thee,
If now 'twere fit to do't. — [Aside.] At the first sight
They have chang'd eyes : – Delicate Ariel,
I'll set thee free for this ! — [To FERD.] A word,

good sir : I fear, you have done yourself some wrong: 41 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! he now asks, if she be a mortal ; not a celestial being, but a maiden. Of course her answer is to be taken in the same sense as his question.

39 i. e. a weak, feeble thing. The Poet elsewhere uses single in this sense; as in Macbeth : “ Shakes so my single state of man."

H.

Fer.

0! if a virgin, And your affection not gone forth, I'll make you The queen of Naples. Pro.

Soft, sir : one word more. — [Aside.] They are both in either's powers: but this

swift business I must uneasy make, lest too light winning Make the prize light. — [T. FERD.] 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 a house,
Good things will strive to dwell with't.
Pro. [To FERD.)

Follow me. —
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.
Fer.

No;
I will resist such entertainment, till
Mine enemy has more power.

[He draws, and is charmed from moving. Mira.

O dear father,
Make not too rash a trial of him, for
He's gentle, and not fearful.

What! I say :
My foot my tutor ! - Put thy sword up, traitor ;
Who mak'st a show, but dar’st not strike, thy con-

science

Pro.

Pro.

Is so possess'd with guilt: come from thy ward ; 42
For I can here disarm thee with this stick,
And make thy weapon drop.
Mira.

Beseech you, father !
Pro. Hence! hang not on my garments.
Mira.

Sir, have pity : I'll be his surety.

Silence ! one word more Shall make me chide thee, if not hate thee. What ! 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. [To FERD.) Come on; obey :
Thy nerves are in their infancy again,
And have no vigor in them.
Fer.

So they are :
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.
Pro. [Aside.] It works. — [To FERD. and MIRA.

Come on. — Thou hast done well, fine Ariel ! - Follow me. [TO ARIEL.] Hark, what thou else shalt do me. Mira.

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.
Pro. Come, follow : Speak not for him. [Exeunt.

ACT II.
SCENE I. Another part of the Island.
Enter ALONZO, 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 woe?
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,
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.
Seb. Look; he's winding up the watch of his

Gon. Sir,-
Seb. One:— Tell.
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. Fie, 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?

Scb. 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!
Ant. So, you've paid.
Adr. Uninhabitable, and almost inaccessible,
Seb. Yet —
Adr. Yet -
Ant. He could not miss it.

Adr. It must needs be of subtle, tender, and delicate temperance.4

Ant. Temperance was a delicate wench.

4 By temperance Adrian means temperature, and Antonio plays upon the word ; doubtless an allusion to the Puritan custom of bestowing the names of the cardinal virtues upon their children.