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DRAMATIS PERSONÆ.

ALONSO, King of Naples.

SEBASTIAN, his brother.

PROSPERO, the right Duke of Milan.

ANTONIO, his brother, the usurping Duke of Milan. FERDINAND, Son to the King of Naples.

GONZALO, an honest old Counsellor.

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ACT I.

SCENE I.-On a Ship at Sea.

A tempestuous noise of thunder and lightning heard.

Enter a SHIP-MASTER and a BOATSWAIN.

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Mast. Good, speak to the mariners: fall to 't yarely, or we run ourselves aground: bestir, bestir.

Enter MARINERS.

[Exit.

Boats. Heigh, my hearts; cheerly, cheerly, my hearts; yare, yare: take in the topsail; '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. Where's the master? Play the men.

Boats. I pray now, keep below.

Ant. Where is the master, boson?

Boats. Do you not hear him?

You mar our labour!

15 keep your cabins: you do assist the storm. Gon. Nay, good, be patient.

Boats. When the sea is.

Hence! What cares these

roarers for the name of king? To cabin: silence! trouble us not.

3 Good: F, the comma was first put by Rowe. 9 thee, wind Steevens cj. 10 have a care Dryden. 18 boson F, in accordance with the sailors' pronunciation; boatswain the Edd.

care Rowe.

VOL. I.

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cares F,

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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 25 silence, and work the peace of the present, 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.

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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 35 doth little advantage! If he be not born to be hanged, our case is miserable. [Exeunt.

Re-enter BOATSWAIN.

Boats. Down with the topmast; yare; lower, lower; bring her to try with main course. [A cry within.] A plague upon this howling! they are louder than the 40 weather or our office.

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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, incharitable dog!

Boats. Work you then.

Ant. Hang, cur, hang! you whoreson, insolent noisemaker, we are less afraid to be drowned than thou art. Gon. I'll warrant him for drowning, though the ship 50 were no stronger than a nut-shell and as leaky as an unstanched wench.

Boats. Lay her a-hold, a-hold; set her two courses off to sea again, lay her off.

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20 Good, F. 21 aboord F. 44 incharitable F, unch. many Edd.

for F, from Theobald cj. 53 set her two courses; off to sea again Holt, whose punctuation is adopted by Wright.

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Enter MARINERS wet.

Mar. All lost! to prayers, to prayers! all lost! [Exeunt.
Boats. What, must our mouths be cold?

Gon. The king and prince at prayers! let's assist them, For our case is as theirs.

Seb. I'm out of patience.

Ant. We are merely cheated of our lives by drunkards so This wide-chapp'd rascal—would thou mightst lie drowning, The washing of ten tides!

Though every drop of water swear against it
And gape at wid'st to glut him.

Gon. He'll be hang'd yet,

[A confused noise within:

'Mercy on us.'-'We split, we split!'-'Farewell, my wife 65 and children!'-'Farewell, brother!'-'We split, we split, we split.'

Ant. Let's all sink with the king.
Seb. Let's take leave of him.

[Exit. [Exit.

Gon. Now would I give a thousand furlongs of sea 70 for an acre of barren ground, long heath, brown furze, any thing. The wills above be done! but I would fain die a dry death.

[Exit.

SCENE II.-The Island. Before the cell of PROSPERO.

Enter PROSPERO and MIRANDA.

Mir. If by your art, my dearest father, you have
Put the wild waters in this roar, allay them:
The sky, it seems, would pour down stinking pitch,
But that the sea, mounting to the welkin's cheek,

5 Dashes the fire out. O, I have suffer'd

With those that I saw suffer! a brave vessel,

58 l'am F, whence it appears that I'm (and not I am) was intended. 60 wide-chopt F. 67 with King F, corrected by Rowe. 70 ling Hanmer cj. broom Hanmer cj. 71 firrs F, em. by Rowe.

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Who had no doubt some noble creature in her, Dash'd all to pieces. O, the cry did knock Against my very heart! Poor souls! they perish'd. 10 Had I been any god of power, I would

Have sunk the sea within the earth, or ere

It should the good ship so have swallow'd, and
The fraughting souls within her.

Pro. Be collected;

No more amazement: tell your piteous heart, 15 There's no harm done.

Mir. O, woe the day!

Pro. No harm.

I have done nothing but in care of thee, (Of thee, my dear one! thee, my daughter!) who Art ignorant of what thou art, nought knowing Of whence I am, nor that I am more better 20 Than Prospero, master of a full poor cell, And thy no greater father.

Mir. More to know

Did never meddle with my thoughts.

Pro. 'Tis time

Lend thy hand,

I should inform thee farther.
And pluck my magic garment from me.-So;

[Lays down his mantle.

25 Lie there my art.-Wipe thou thine eyes; have comfort. The direful spectacle of the wreck, which touch'd

The very virtue of compassion in thee,
I have with such provision in mine art
So safely order'd, that there is no soul-
30 No, not so much perdition as an hair,
Betid to any creature in the vessel,

Which thou heard'st cry, which thou saw'st sink. Sit down;
For thou must now know farther.

Mir. You have often

Begun to tell me what I am, but stopp'd,

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creatures Theobald cj. freighting Steevens cj. Hunter cj. 29 soule F, loss Capell cj.

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