ACT V.. SCENE I. Before the Cell of Prospero. Enter Prospero in his magic Robes, and Ariel. Pro. Now does my project gather to a head: Pro. How fares the king and his? Ari. I did say so, Say, my spirit, Confin'd together In the same fashion as you gave in charge; In the lime grove which weather-fends your cell; Him you terin'd, sir, The good old lord Gonzalo; them, That if you now beheld them, your affections Would become tender. Pro. Dost thou think so, spirit? And mine shall. Ari. Mine would, sir, were I human. Pro. • Defends from bad weather. + Thatch. Though with their high wrongs I am struck to the quick, Yet with my nobler reason, 'gainst my fury Do I take part: the rarer action is In virtue than in vengeance: they being penitent, Ari. I'll fetch them, sir. [Exit. Pro. Ye elves of hills, brooks, standing lakes, and groves; And ye, that on the sands with printless foot [Solemn music. Re-enter Ariel: after him, Alonso, with a frantic gesture, attended by Gonzalo; Sebastian and Antonio in like manner, attended by Adrian and Francisco: They all enter the circle which Prospero had made, and there stand charmed; which Prospero observing, speaks. A solemn air, and the best comforter To an unsettled fancy, cure thy brains, Now useless, boil'd within thy skull! There stand, For you are spell-stopp'd. Holy Gonzalo, honourable man, Mine eyes, even sociable to the show of thine, To him thou follow'st; I will pay thy graces Thou'rt pinch'd for't now, Sebastian.-Flesh and blood, You brother mine, that entertain'd ambition, Expell'd remorse* and nature; who, with Sebastian That now lie foul and muddy. Not one of them, [Exit Ariel. I will dis-case me, and myself present, * Pity, or tenderness of heart. Ariel re-enters, singing, and helps to attire Prospero. Ari. Where the bee sucks, there suck I; There I couch when owls do cry. After summer, merrily: Merrily, merrily, shall I live now', Under the blossom that hangs on the bough. Pro. Why, that's my dainty Ariel; I shall miss thee' But yet thou shalt have freedom: so, so, so. To the king's ship, invisible as thou art: There shalt thou find the mariners asleep Under the hatches; the master, and the boatswain, Being awake, enforce them to this place; And presently, I pr'ythee. Ari. I drink the air before me, and return Or e'er your pulse twice beat. [Exit Ariel. Gon. All torment, trouble, wonder, and amazement Inhabits here: Some heavenly power guide us Out of this fearful country! Pro. Behold, sir king, The wronged duke of Milan, Prospero; For more assurance that a living prince Does now speak to thee, I embrace thy body; A hearty welcome. Alon. Whe'r thou beest he, or no, Or some enchanted trifle to abuse me, As late I have been, I not know thy pulse Beats, as of flesh and blood; and, since I saw thee, The affliction of my mind amends, with which, I fear, a madness held me: this must crave (An if this be at all) a most strange story. Thy dukedom I resign; and do entreat * Whether. Thou pardon me my wrongs:-But how should Pros You do yet taste Some subtilties o' the isle, that will not let you Believe things certain :-Welcome, my friends all :— But you, my brace of lords, were I so minded, [Aside to Seb. and Ant. I here could pluck his highness' frown upon you, And justify you traitors; at this time I'll tell no tales. Seb. Pro. The devil speaks in him. [Aside. For you, most wicked sir, whom to call brother Alon. If thou beest Prospero, Give us particulars of thy preservation; How thou hast met us here, who three hours since Were wreck'd upon this shore; where I have lost, How sharp the point of this remembrance is! My dear son Ferdinand. Pro. I am woe for't, sir. Alon. Irreparable is the loss; and Patience Says, it is past her cure. I rather think Pro. Alon. You the like loss? grace, Pro. As great to me, as late; and, portablet |