Pro. Behold, Sir King,

The wronged Duke of Milan, Profpero:
For more affurance that a living Prince
Does now speak to thee, I embrace thy body;
And to thee and thy company I bid

A hearty welcome.

Alon. Be'ft thou he or no,

Or fome inchanted trifle to abuse me,

As late I have been, I not know; thy pulse
Beats, as of flesh and blood; and fince I faw thee,
Th' affliction of my mind amends, with which,
I fear, a madness held me; this must crave
(And if this be at all) a most strange story:
Thy Dukedom I refign, and do intreat,

Thou pardon me my wrongs; but how fhould Profpero
Be living, and be here?

Pro. First, noble friend,

Let me embrace thine age, whofe honour cannot
Be measur'd or confin'd.

Gon. Whether this be,
Or be not, I'll not fwear.
Pro. You do yet taste

Some fubtilties o' th' ifle, that will not let you
Believe things certain: welcome, my friends all.
But you, my brace of lords, were I fo minded,
I here could pluck his Highness' frown upon you,
And justify you traitors; at this time

I'll tell no tales.

Seb. The devil speaks in him.

Pro. No:

For you, most wicked Sir, whom to call brother
Would even infect my mouth, I do forgive
Thy rankest faults; all of them; and require
My Dukedom of thee, which perforce, I know,

Thou must restore.

Alon. If thou be'ft Profpero,

Give us particulars of thy prefervation,

How

How thou haft met us here, who three hours fince
Were wreckt upon this fhore; where I have loft
(How sharp the point of this remembrance is!)
My dear fon Ferdinand.

Pro. I'm woe for't, Sir.

Alon. Irreparable is the lofs, and Patience

Says, it is paft her cure.

Pro. I rather think,

You have not fought her help; of whofe foft grace, For the like lofs, I have her fov'reign aid,

And reft myself content.

Alon. You the like lofs?

Pro. As great to me, as late; and, fupportable To make the dear lofs, have I means much weaker Than you may call to comfort you; for I Have loft my daughter.

Alon. A daughter?

O heav'ns! that they were living both in Naples, The King and Queen there! that they were, I wish, Myfelf were mudded in that oozy bed,

Where my fon lies. When did you lofe your daughter?-
Pro. In this laft tempeft. I perceive, these lords
At this encounter do fo much admire,

That they devour their reafon; and scarce think,
Their eyes do offices of truth, their words
Are natural breath: but howfoe'er you have
Been juftled from your fenfes, know for certain,
That I am Profp'ro, and that very Duke

Which was thrust forth of Milan; who most strangely
Upon this fhore, where you were wreckt, was landed
To be the lord on't. No more yet of this;
For 'tis a chronicle of day by day,

Not a relation for a breakfast, nor

Befitting this firft meeting. Welcome, Sir;
This cell's my court; here have I few attendants,
And subjects none abroad; pray you, look in;
My Dukedom fince you've given me again,
G

VOL. I.

I will

I will requite you with as good a thing;
At least, bring forth a wonder to content ye,
As much as me my Dukedom.

Opens to the Entrance of the Cell.

Here Profpero difcovers Ferdinand and Miranda playing

Mira.

S

at Chefs.

WEET lord, you play me false.
Fer. No, my dear love,

I would not for the world.

Mira. Yes, for a fcore of kingdoms you

Shall I twice lofe.

Seb. A moft high miracle!

fhould

Fer. Though the feas threaten, they are merciful: I've curs'd them without cause.

Alon. Now all the bleffings

Of a glad Father compass thee about!

Arife, and fay how thou cam'ft here.

Mira. O! wonder!

[Ferd. kneels.

How many goodly creatures are there here?

How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world,
That has fuch people in't!

Pro. 'Tis new to thee.

Alon. What is this maid, with whom thou waft at
play?

Your eld❜ft acquaintance cannot be three hours:
Is the the goddess that hath fever'd us,

1 Yes, for a Score of Kingdoms] i. . If the fubject or bet were Kingdoms: Score here not fignifying the number twenty, but

account.

And

And brought us thus together?

Fer. Sir, fhe's mortal;

But, by immortal providence, fhe's mine.
I chose her, when I could not ask my father
For his advice: nor thought, I had one: fhe
Is daughter to this famous Duke of Milan,
Of whom fo often I have heard renown,
But never faw before; of whom I have
Receiv'd a fecond life, and fecond father
This lady makes him to me.

Alon: I am hers;

But, oh, how oddly will it found, that I-
Muft ask my child forgiveness!

Pro. There, Sir, ftop';

Let us not burthen our remembrance with

An heaviness that's gone.

Gon. I've inly wept,

Or should have spoke ere this. Look down, you Gods,
And on this couple drop a bleffed crown:

For it is you, that have chalk'd forth the way,
Which brought us hither!

Alon. I fay, Amen, Gonzalo!

Gon. Was Milan thruft from Milan, that his iffue

Should become Kings of Naples! O rejoice
Beyond a common joy, and set it down
In gold on lafting pillars! in one voyage
Did Claribel her husband find at Tunis
And Ferdinand, her brother, found a wife,

Where he himself was loft; Profpero his Dukedom,
In a poor ifle; and all of us, ourselves,
When no man was his own.

Alon. Give me your hands:

Let grief and forrow ftill embrace his heart,

That doth not wish you joy!

Gon. Be't fo, Amen!

Enter Ariel, with the Mafter and Boatswain amazedly following.

O look, Sir, look, Sir, here are more of us!
I prophefy'd, if a gallows were on land,
This fellow could not drown. Now, blafphemy,
That fwear'ft grace o'erboard, not an oath on fhore?
Haft thou no mouth by land? what is the news?

Boats. The best news is, that we have fafely found
Our King and company; the next, our fhip,
Which but three glaffes fince we gave out split,
Is tight and yare, and bravely rigg'd, as when
We first put out to sea.

Ari. Sir, all this fervice Have I done fince I went. Pro. My trickfey spirit!

Alan. Thefe are not natural events; they ftrengthen, From ftrange to ftranger. Say, how came you hither? Boatf. If I did think, Sir, I were well awake, I'd strive to tell you. We were dead a-fleep, And, how we know not, all clapt under hatches, Where but ev'n now with ftrange and fev'ral noises Of roaring, fhrieking, howling, jingling chains, And more diverfity of founds, all horrible, We were awak'd; straightway at liberty: * Where we, in all her trim, freshly beheld Our royal, good and gallant fhip; our master Cap'ring to eye her; on a trice, fo please you, Ev'n in a dream, were we divided from them, And were brought moping hither.

Ari. Was't well done?

2 Where are in all our Trim, freshly bebeld

Our roval, good and gallant Ship;] The Trim is to be underflood of the Ship, and not of the Crew, fo that we should

read her trim.

Dr. Thirlby.

Pro.