"Tis far off; And rather like a dream than an assurance, Mira. Sir, are not you my father? Pro. Thy mother was a piece of virtue, and She said thou wast my daughter; and thy father Was duke of Milan; and his only heir A princess; no worse issued. Mira. O, the heavens! What foul play had we, that we came from thence? By foul play, as thou say'st, Both, both, my girl: were we heav'd thence; O, my heart bleeds To think o' the teen that I have turn'd you to, Which is from my remembrance! Please you, further. Pro. My brother, and thy uncle, call'ɗ Antonio,I pray thee, mark me,-that a brother should Be so perfidious!-he, whom next thyself, Of all the world I lov'd, and to him put The manage of my state; as, at that time, Through all the signiories it was the first, And Prospero the prime duke; being so reputed In dignity, and, for the liberal arts, Without a parallel: those being all my study, The government I cast upon my brother, And to my state grew stranger, being transported, And rapt in secret studies. Thy false uncleDost thou attend me? Mira. Sir, most heedfully. Pro. Being once perfected how to grant suits, How to deny them; whom to advance, and whom To trash for over-topping; new created [them, The creatures that were mine; I say, or chang'd | Or else new form'd them; having both the key Of officer and office, set all hearts To what tune pleas'd his ear; that now he was Mira. O, good sir, I do. Pro. I thus neglecting worldly ends, all dedicate To closeness, and the bettering of my mind With that, which, but by being so retir'd, O'er-priz'd all popular rate, in my false brother Awak'd an evil nature: and my trust, Like a good parent, did beget of him A falsehood, in its contrary as great As my trust was; which had, indeed, no limit, Mira. Your tale, sir, would cure deafness. Pro. To have no screen between this part he play'd, And him he play'd it for, he needs will be Mira. I should sin To think but nobly of my grandmother: Good wombs have borne bad sons. [me, Pro. Now the condition. The king of Naples, being an enemy To me inveterate, hearkens my brother's suit; Which was, that he in lieu o' the premises, Of homage, and I know not how much tribute,Should presently extirpate me and mine Out of the dukedom; and confer fair Milan, With all the honours, on my brother: Whereon, A treacherous army levied, one midnight Fated to the purpose, did Antonio open The gates of Milan; and, i'the dead of darkness, The ministers for the purpose hurried thence Me, and thy crying self. Mira. Alack, for pity! I, not rememb'ring how I cried out then, Will cry it o'er again: it is a hint, That wrings mine eyes. Pro. Hear a little further, And then I'll bring thee to the present business, Which now's upon us; without the which, this story Were most impertinent. Mira. That hour destroy us? Pro. Wherefore did they not Well demanded, wench; My tale provokes that question. Dear, they durst not, Now I arise:Sit still, and hear the last of our sea-sorrow. Here in this island we arriv'd; and here Have I, thy school-master, made thee more profit Than other princes can, that have more time For vainer hours, and tutors not so careful. [you, sir, Mira. Heavens thank you for't! And now, I pray For still 'tis beating in my mind,) vour reason For raising this sea-storm? Pro. Know thus far forth. A most auspicious star; whose influence Enter ARIEL. Ari. All hail, great master! grave sir, hail! I come To answer thy best pleasure; be't to fly, To swim, to dive into the fire, to ride On the curl'd clouds: to thy strong bidding, task Pro. I boarded the king's ship; now on the beak, Pro. My brave spirit! Who was so firm, so constant, that this coil Would not infect his reason? Ari. Not a soul But felt a fever of the mad, and play'd Some tricks of desperation: all, but mariners, Piang'd in the foaming brine, and quit the vessel. Then all a-fire with me: the king's son, Ferdinand, With hair up-staring, (then like reeds, not hair,) Was the first man that leap'd; cried, "Hell is empty, And all the devils are here." Pro. But was not this nigh shore? Ari. Pro. But are they, Ariel, safe? Ari. Why, that's my spirit! Close by, my master. Of the king's ship, The mariners, say, how thou hast dispos'd, And all the rest o' the fleet? Ari. Safely in harbour Is the king's ship; in the deep nook, where once Thou call'dst me up at midnight to fetch dew From the still-vex'd Bermoothes, there she's hid: The mariners all under hatches stow'd; Whom, with a charm join'd to their suffer'd labour, Supposing that they saw the king's ship wreck'd, Pro. Ariel, thy charge Exactly is perform'd; but there's more work: Ari. pains, Let me remember thee what thou hast promis'd, Which is not yet perform'd me. Pro. What is't thou can'st demand? Ari. How now ? moody? My liberty. Pro. Before the time be out? no more. Ari. I pray thee Remember, I have done thee worthy service; Pro. Dost thou forget From what a torment I did free thee? Pro. This blue-ey'd hag was hither brought with And here was left by the sailors. Thou, my slave, As thou report'st thyself, wast then her servant: And, for thou wert a spirit too delicate To act her earthly and abhorr'd commands, Refusing her grand hests, she did confine thee, By help of her more potent ministers, And in her most unmitigable rage, Into a cloven pine; within which rift Imprison'd, thou did'st painfully remain A dozen years; within which space she died, And left thee there; where thou did'st vent thy groans As fast as mill-wheels strike: then was this island, (Save for the son that she did litter here, A freckled whelp, hag-born,) not honour'd with A human shape. Ari. Yes; Caliban, her son. Pro. Dull thing, I say so; he, that Caliban, Whom now I keep in service. Thou best know'st What torment I did find thee in: thy groans Did make wolves howl, and penetrate the breasts Of ever-angry bears; it was a torment To lay upon the damn'd, which Sycorax Could not again undo; it was mine art, When I arriv'd, and heard thee, that made gape The pine, and let thee out. Ari. I thank thee, master. Pro. If thou more murmur'st, I will rend an oak, And peg thee in his knotty entrails, till Thou hast howl'd away twelve winters. Ari. Pardon, master: I will be correspondent to command, I will discharge thee. Do so; and after two days Ari. That's my noble master! What shall I do? say what? what shall I do? Pro. Go, make thyself like to a nymph of the sea; Be subject to no sight but mine; invisible To every eye-ball else. Go, take this shape, And hither come in't: hence, with diligence. Exit Ariel. Awake, dear heart, awake! thou hast slept well; Awake! Mira. The strangeness of your story put Heaviness in me. Pro. We'll visit Caliban, my Shake it off: come on; slave, who never Filth as thou art, with human care; and lodg'd thee Cal. O ho, O ho!-'would it had been done! Pro. Could not abide to be with; therefore wast thou Cal. You taught me language; and my profit on't Is, I know how to curse: the red plague rid you, For learning me your language! Pro. Hag-seed, hence! Fetch us in fuel; and be quick, thou wert best, To answer other business. Shrug'st thou, malice? If thou neglect'st, or dost unwillingly What I command, I'll rack thee with old cramps; Fill all thy bones with aches: make thee roar, That beasts shall tremble at thy din. Cal. No, 'pray thee! I must obey: his art is of such power, Pro. [Aside So, slave: hence! [Exit Caliban. Re-enter ARIEL, invisible, playing and singing: FERDINAND following him. Fine apparition! My quaint Ariel, Hark in thine ear. Bur. Bowgh, wowgh. Ari. My lord, it shall be done. [Exit. The watch-dogs bark: Bur. Bowgh, wowgh. Pro. Thou poisonous slave, got by the devil himself Upon thy wicked dam, come forth! Enter CALIBAN. Cal. As wicked dew as e'er my mother brush'd With raven's feather from unwholesome fen, Drop on you both! a south-east blow on ye, And blister you all o'er! [cramps, Pro. For this, be sure, to-night thou shalt have Side-stitches that shall pen thy breath up; urchins Shall, for that vast of night that they may work, All exercise on thee: thou shalt be pinch'd As thick as honey-combs, each pinch more stinging Than bees that made them. Water with berries in't; and teach me how Hark, hark! I hear (Dispersedly.) (Dispersedly.) The strain of strutting chanticleer, Cry, Cock-a-doodle-doo. Fer. Where should this music be? i' the air, or Full fathom five thy father lies; Of his bones are coral made; Those are pearls that were his eyes: Nothing of him that doth fade, But doth suffer a sea change Into something rich and strange. Sea-nymphs hourly ring his knell: Hark! now I hear them.-ding-dong, bell. [Burden, ding-dong Fer. The ditty does remember my drown'd father: This is no mortal business, nor no sound That the earth owes:-I hear it now above me. Pro. The fringed curtains of thine eye advance, And say, what thou seest yond'. Mira. What is't? a spirit? Lord, how it looks about! Believe me, sir. |