PERSONS REPRESENTED.' ALONSO, King of Naples. SEBASTIAN, his Brother. PROSPERO, the rightful Duke of Milan. ANTONIO, his Brother, the usurping Duke of Milan. FERDINAND, Son to the King of Naples. GONZALO, the honest old Counsellor of Naples CALIBAN, a savage and deformed Slave. TRINCULO, a Jester. STEPHANO, a drunken Butler. Master of a Ship, Boatswain, and Mariners. SCENE, the Sea, with a Ship; afterwards an uninhabited Island. From the Folio Edition of 1623. SCENE I. On a Ship at Sea. A Storm, with B Enter a Shipmaster and a Boatswain. Master. OATSWAIN, Boats. Here, master: what cheer? Mast. Good: Speak to the mariners: fall to't yarely1, or we run ourselves aground: bestir, bestir. Enter Mariners. [Exit. Boats. Heigh, my hearts! cheerly, cheerly, my hearts! yare, yare: Take in the top-sail; Tend to the master's whistle.- Blow till thou burst thy wind, if room enough! Enter ALONSO, SEBASTIAN, ANTONIO, FERDINAND, GONZALO, and others. Alon. Good Boatswain, have care. master? Play the meno. That is, readily, nimbly. 2 That is, act with spirit, behave like men. Where's the Tous Baret in his Boats. I pray now, keep below. Ant. Where is the master, boatswain? Boats. Do you not hear him? You mar our labour! keep your cabins: you do assist the storm. Gon. Nay, good, be patient. Boats. When the sea is. Hence! What care these roarers for the name of king? To cabin: silence : trouble us not. Gon. Good; yet remember whom thou hast aboard. Boats. None that I more love than myself. You are a counsellor; if you can command these elements to silence, and work the peace of the present3, we will not hand a rope more; use your authority. If you cannot, give thanks you have lived so long, and make yourself ready in your cabin for the mischance of the hour, if it so hap.-Cheerly, good hearts!-Out of our way, I say. [Exit. Gon. I have great comfort from this fellow: methinks, he hath no drowning mark upon him; his complexion is perfect gallows. Stand fast good Fate to his hanging! make the rope of his destiny our cable, for our own doth little advantage! If he be not born to be hanged, our case is miserable. Re-enter Boatswain. [Exeunt. Boats. Down with the top-mast; yare, lower, Bring her to Try with main course1. [A cry lower. Alvearie: "To play the man, or to show himself a valiant man in any matter. Se virum præbere." P. 399. 66 Viceroys and peers of Turkey play the men." 3 The present instant. 66 4 In Smith's Sea Grammar, 1627, 4to. under the article How to handle a Ship in a storme :--" Let us lie as Trie with our main course; that is, to hale the tacke aboord, the sheat close aft, the boling set up, and the helm tied close aboord." within. A plague upon this howling! they are louder than the weather, or our office. Re-enter SEBASTIAN, ANTONIO, and GONZALO. Yet again! what do you here? Shall we give o'er, and drown? Have you a mind to sink? Seb. A pox o' your throat! you bawling, blasphemous, uncharitable dog! Boats. Work you, then. Ant. Hang, cur, hang! you whoreson, insolent noise-maker, we are less afraid to be drowned than thou art. Gon. I'll warrant him for drowning; though the ship were no stronger than a nut-shell, and as leaky as an unstanched wench. Boats. Lay her a-hold, a-hold! courses5; off to sea again; lay her off. Enter Mariners, wet. set her two Mar. All lost! to prayers, to prayers! all lost! Boats. What, must our mouths be cold? [Exeunt. Gon. The king and prince at prayers! let us as sist them, For our case is as theirs. Seb. I am out of patience. Ant. We are merely cheated of our lives by drunkards. This wide-chapp'd rascal ;-Would, thou might'st lie drowning, The washing of ten tides! Gon. He'll be hanged yet, 5 The courses are the main sail and fore sail. To lay a ship a-hold, is to bring her to lie as near the wind as she can, in order to keep clear of the land and get her out to sea. 6 Merely, absolutely, entirely; Merè, Lat. |