STE. I pr'ythee now, lead the way, without any more talking.-Trinculo, the king and all our company elfe being drown'd, we will inherit here. Here; bear my bottle. Fellow Trinculo, we'll fill him by and by again. CAL. Farewell mafter; farewell, farewell. [Sings drunkenly. TRIN. A howling monfter; a drunken monster. At requiring, Nor fcrape trenchering, nor wash dish; Has a new master-Get a new man." Freedom, hey-day! hey-day, freedom! freedom, hey-day, freedom! STE. O brave monfter! lead the way. Exeunt. may be added, that Sir Robert Sibbald in his Ancient State of the Shire of Fife, mentions, amongft fowls which frequent a neighbouring ifland, feveral forts of fea-malls, and one in particular, the katie wake, a fowl of the Larus or mall kind, of the bigness of an ordinary pigeon, which fome hold, fays he, to be as favoury and as good meat as a partridge is. REED. 5 Nor Scrape trenchering,] In our author's time trenchers were in general ufe; and male domefticks were fometimes employed in cleanfing them. "I have helped (fays Lilly in his Hiftory of his Life and Times, ad an. 1620), to carry eighteen tubs of water in one morning;-all manner of drudgery I willingly performed; fcrape-trenchers," &c. MALONE. 'Ban, 'Ban, Ca-Caliban,] Perhaps our author remembered a fong of Sir P. Sidney's: "Da, da, da-Daridan." Aftrophel and Stella, fol. 1627. MALONE. 7 Get a new man.] When Caliban fings this laft part of his ditty, he must be fuppofed to turn his head fcornfully toward the cell of Profpero, whose service he had deferted. STEEVENS. ACT III. SCENE I. Before Profpero's Cell. Enter FERDINAND, bearing a log. FER. There be fome fports are painful; but their labour 8 Delight in them fets off: fome kinds of baseness There be fome fports are painful; but their labour Delight in them fets off:] Molliter aufterum ftudio fallente laborem. Hor. fat. 2. lib. ii. The old copy reads: " - and their labour," &c. STEEVENS. We have again the fame thought in Macbeth: "The labour we delight in phyficks pain." After" and," at the fame time must be understood. Mr. Pope, unneceffarily, reads " But their labour-," which has been followed by the fubfequent editors. In like manner in Coriolanus, Act IV. the fame change was made by him. "I am a Roman, and (i. e. and yet) my fervices are, as you are, against them." Mr. Pope reads " I am a Roman, but my fervices," &c. MALONE. I prefer Mr. Pope's emendation, which is juftified by the following paffage in the fame fpeech: This my mean task would be "As heavy to me as 'tis odious; but "The miftrefs that I ferve," &c. It is furely better to change a fingle word, than to countenance one corruption by another, or fuppofe that four words, neceffary to produce fenfe, were left to be understood, STEEVENS. 9 This my meant afk would be-] The metre of this line is defective in the old copy, by the words would be being transferred to the next line. Our author and his contemporaries generally use odious as a trifyllable. MALONE. Mr. Malone prints the paffage as follows: 66 This my mean task would be "As heavy to me, as odious; but—” The word odious, as he obferves, is fometimes used as a trifylla As heavy to me, as 'tis odious; but The mistress, which I ferve, quickens what's dead, And makes my labours pleasures: O, fhe is Ten times more gentle, than her father's crabbed; And he's compos'd of harfhnefs. I must remove Some thousands of thefe logs, and pile them up, Upon a fore injunction: My fweet miftrefs Weeps when the fees me work; and fays, fuch bafenefs Had ne'er like éxecutor. I forget: But these sweet thoughts do even refresh my labours; Moft bufy-lefs, when I do it.3 Enter MIRANDA; and PROSPERO at a distance. MIRA. Alas, now! pray you, Work not fo hard: I would, the lightning had Burnt up thofe logs, that you are enjoin'd to pile! Pray, fet it down, and rest you: when this burns, 'Twill weep for having weary'd you: My father Is hard at ftudy; pray now, reft yourself; He's fafe for thefe three hours. ble. Granted; but then it is always with the penult. bort. The metre, therefore, as regulated by him, would ftill be defective. By the advice of Dr. Farmer, I have fupply'd the neceffary monofyllable-'tis; which completes the measure, without the flightest change of fenfe. STEEVENS. 2-I forget:] Perhaps Ferdinand means to fay-I forget my task ; but that is not furprising, for I am thinking on Miranda, and these fweet thoughts, &c. He may however mean, that he forgets or thinks little of the bafenefs of his employment. Whichfoever be the fenfe, And, or For, fhould feem more proper in the next line, than But. MALONE. 3 Moft bufy-less, when I do it.] The two firft folios read: Moft bufy left, when I do it." 'Tis true this reading is corrupt; but the corruption is so very little removed from the truth of the text, that I cannot afford to think well of my own fagacity for having difcovered it. THEOBALD. FER. O most dear mistress, If you'll fit down, The fun will fet, before I fhall discharge MIRA. I'll bear your logs the while: Pray, give me that; I'll carry it to the pile. FER. No, precious creature: I had rather crack my finews, break my back, Than you should such dishonour undergo, While I fit lazy by. MIRA. It would become me As well as it does you: and I should do it PRO. Poor worm! thou art infected; This vifitation fhews it. MIRA. You look wearily. FER. No, noble miftrefs; 'tis fresh morning with me, When you are by at night. I do beseech you, (Chiefly, that I might fet it in my prayers,) What is your name? MIRA. Miranda :-O my father, I have broke your heft to fay fo! And yours againft.] The old copy reads "And yours it is againft." By the advice of Dr. Farmer I have omitted the words in Italicks, as they are needless to the fenfe of the paffage, and would have rendered the hemiftich too long to join with its fucceffor in making a regular verfe. STEEVENS. 5 -'tis fresh morning with me,. 6 When you are by at night.] Tu mihi curarum requies, tu nocte vel atrâ -beft-] For beheft; i. e. command. So before, A&t I, fc. ii: Refufing her grand hefts" STEEVENS. 66 FER. Admir'd Miranda! Indeed, the top of admiration; worth MIRA. "Of every creature's beft.] Alluding to the picture of Venus by Apelles. JOHNSON. Had Shakspeare availed himfelf of this elegant circumftance, he would fcarcely have faid, " of every creature's beft," because fuch a phrafe includes the component parts of the brute creation, Had he been thinking on the judicious felection made by the Grecian Artist, he would rather have expreffed his meaning by " every woman's," or 66 every beauty's beft." Perhaps he had only in his thoughts a fable related by Sir Philip Sidney in the third book of his Arcadia. The beafts obtained permiffion from Jupiter to make themselves a King; and accordingly created one of every creature's beft: "Full glad they were, and tooke the naked sprite, 66 STEEVENS, |