Abbildungen der Seite
PDF
EPUB

10

Whom I left cooling of the air with sighs,
In an odd angle of the isle, and sitting,
His arms in this sad knot.

Pro.
Of the king's ship,
The mariners, say, how thou hast dispos'd,
And all the rest of the fleet?

Ari.

Safely in harbour
Is the king's ship; in the deep nook, where once
Thou call'dst me up at midnight to fetch dew
From the still-vex'd Bermoothes,' there she's hid:
The mariners all under hatches stowed;
Whom, with a charm join'd to their suffer'd la-
bour,

I have left asleep and for the rest o' the fleet,
Which I dispers'd, they all have met again;
And are upon the Mediterranean flote,
Bound sadly home for Naples;

Supposing that they saw the king's ship wreck'd,
And his great person perish.

Pro.

Ariel, thy charge
Exactly is perform'd; but there's more work:
What is the time o' the day?

Ari.
Past the mid season.
Pro. At least two glasses: the time 'twixt six
and now,

Must by us both be spent most preciously.

Ari. Is there more toil? Since thou dost give me pains,

Let me remember thee what thou hast promis'd, Which is not yet perform'd me.

Pro.

[merged small][merged small][ocr errors]

How now? moody?

My liberty.

thee

Pro. Before the time be out? no more. Ari. I pray Remember, I have done thee worthy service; Told thee no lies, made no mistakings, serv'd Without or grudge or grumblings: thou didst pro

mise

[blocks in formation]

I do not, sir.

Ari.
Pro. Thou liest, malignant thing! Hast thou
forgot

The foul witch Sycorax, who, with age, and envy,
Was grown into a hoop? hast thou forgot her?
Ari. No, sir.
Pro.

Thou hast: where was she born?
speak; tell me.
Ari. Sir, in Argier.3
Pro.

O, was she so? I must, Once in a month, recount what thou hast been, Which thou forget'st. This damn'd witch, Sycorax, For mischiefs manifold, and sorceries terrible To enter human hearing, from Argier,

Thou know'st, was banished; for one thing she did,

They would not take her life. Is not this true? Ari. Ay, sir.

Pro. This blue-ey'd hag was hither brought

with child,

And here was left by the sailors. Thou, my slave, As thou report'st thyself, wast then her servant: And, for thou wast a spirit too delicate

(1) Bermudas.

To act her earthly and abhorr'd commands,
Refusing her grand hests, she did confine thee,
By help of her more potent ministers,
And in her most unmitigable rage,
Into a cloven pine; within which rift
Imprison'd, thou didst painfully remain
A dozen years; within which space she died,
And left thee there; where thou didst vent thy

groans,

As fast as mill-wheels strike: then was this island
(Save for the son that she did litter here,
A freckled whelp, hag-born,) not honoured with
A human shape.

Ari.

Yes; Caliban, her son.
Pro. Dull thing, I say so; he, that Caliban,
Whom now I keep in service. Thou best know'st
What torment I did find thee in: thy groans
Did make wolves howl, and penetrate the breasts
Of ever angry bears: it was a torment
To lay upon the damn'd, which Sycorax
Could not again undo; it was mine art,
When I arriv'd, and heard thee, that made gape
The pine, and let thee out.

Ari.
I thank thee, master.
Pro. If thou more murmur'st, I will rend an oak,
And peg thee in his knotty entrails, till
Thou hast howl'd away twelve winters.
Ari.

I

(2) Wave. (3) Algiers.[

Pardon, master:

will be correspondent to command, And do my spiriting gently.

Pro.

I will discharge thee.

Do so; and after two days

Ari. That's my noble master! What shall I do? say what: what shall I do? Pro. Go make thyself like a nymph o' the sea; Be subject to no sight but mine; invisible To every eye-ball else. Go, take this shape, And hither come in't: hence, with diligence.

[Exit Ariel.

Awake, dear heart, awake! thou hast slept well; Awake!

Mira. The strangeness of your story put Heaviness in me.

Pro.

We'll visit Caliban, my Yields us kind answer.

Mira.

Shake it off; come on; slave, who never

"Tis a villain, sir,

But, as 'tis,

I do not love to look on.
Pro.
We cannot miss him: he does make our fire,
Fetch in our wood; and serves in offices
That profit us. What, ho! slave! Caliban!
Thou earth, thou! speak.

Cal. [Within.] There's wood enough within.
Pro. Come forth, I say; there's other business
for thee;
Come forth, thou tortoise! when?

Re-enter Ariel, like a water-nymph.
Fine apparition! My quaint Ariel,

Hark in thine ear.
Ari.
My lord, it shall be done. [Exit.
Pro. Thou poisonous slave, got by the devil
himself

Upon thy wicked dam, come forth!

Enter Caliban.

Cal. As wicked dew as e'er my mother brush'd With raven's feather from unwholesome fen, Drop on you both! a south-west blow on ye,

[blocks in formation]
[blocks in formation]

Could not abide to be with; therefore wast thou
Deservedly confin'd into this rock,

[blocks in formation]

Pro. No, wench; it eats and sleeps, and hath
such senses

As we have, such: this gallant which thou seest
Was in the wreck; and but he's something stain'd
With grief, that's beauty's canker, thou might'st
call him

A

goodly person: he hath lost his fellows, And strays about to find them.

Mira.

I might call him

Who hadst deserv'd more than a prison.
Cal. You taught me language; and my profit on't
Is, I know how to curse: the red plague rid you,
For learning me your language!
Pro.
Hag-seed, hence! A thing divine; for nothing natural
Fetch us in fuel; and be quick, thou were best, I ever saw so noble.
Tanswer other business. Shrug'st thou, malice?
If thou neglect'st, or dost unwillingly
What I command, I'll rack thee with old cramps;
Fill all thy bones with aches: make thee roar,
That beasts shall tremble at thy din.

Cal. No, 'pray thee!

[Aside.

I must obey: his art is of such power,
It would control my dam's god, Setebos,
And make a vassal of him.
So, slave; hence!

Pro.

[Exit Caliban.

Re-enter Ariel, invisible, playing and singing;
Ferdinand following him.

ARIEL'S SONG.

Come unto these yellow sands,

And then take hands:

Pro.

It goes on,

[Aside.
As my soul prompts it:-Spirit, fine spirit! I'll
free thee
Within two days for this.

Fer.
Most sure, the goddess
On whom these airs attend!-Vouchsafe my prayer
May know, if you remain upon this island;
And that you will some good instruction give,
How I may bear me here: my prime request,
Which I do last pronounce, is, O you wonder?
If you be maid, or no?

Mira.

But, certainly a maid.
Fer.

No wonder, sir;

My language? heavens !

How! the best?

I am the best of them that speak this speech,
Were I but where 'tis spoken.

Pro.

What wert thou, if the king of Naples heard thee?

(1) Fairies,

(2) Destrov.

(3) Still, silent.

(4) Owns.

[blocks in formation]

Fer. A single thing, as I am now, that wonders
To hear thee speak of Naples: he does hear me ;
And, that he does, I weep: myself am Naples;
Who with mine eyes, ne'er since at ebb, beheld
The king my father wreck'd.
Alack, for mercy!

Mira.

Pro.

Come on; obey:
[To Ferd.

Thy nerves are in their infancy again,
And have no vigour in them.
Fer.

So they are: My spirits, as in a dream, are all bound up. Fer. Yes, faith, and all his lords; the duke of My father's loss, the weakness which I feel, Milan

And his brave son, being twain.
The duke of Milan,
Pro.
And his more braver daughter, could control' thee,
If now it were fit to do 't. At the first sight

[Aside.

They have chang'd eyes :-Delicate Ariel,
I'll set thee free for this!-A word, good sir;
I fear, you have done yourself some wrong: a word.
Mira. Why speaks my father so ungently? This
Is the third man that ere I saw; the first
That ere I sigh'd for: pity move my father
To be inclin'd my way!
O, if a virgin,

Fer.

The wreck of all my friends, or this man's threats,
To whom I am subdued, are but light to me,
Might I but through my prison, once a day,
Behold this maid: all corners else o' the earth
Let liberty make use of; space enough
Have I in such a prison.

Pro.

It works:-Come on.

Thou hast done well, fine Ariel!-Follow me.-
[To Ferd. and Mira.
[To Ariel.
Be of comfort,

Hark, what thou else shalt do me.
Mira.

My father's of a better nature, sir, Than he appears by speech; this is unwonted, Which now came from him. Pro. Thou shalt be as free As mountain winds: but then exactly do Soft, sir; one word more.-All points of my command. Ari. To the syllable. They are both in either's powers: but this swift Pro. Come, follow: speak not for him. [Exeunt. business

And your affection not gone forth, I'll make you
The queen of Naples.
Pro.

I must uneasy make, lest too light winning [Aside.
Make the prize light.-One word more; I charge

thee,

That thou attend me: thou dost here usurp
The name thou ow'st not: and hast put thyself
Upon this island, as a spy, to win it

From me, the lord on't."

No, as I am a man.

Fer.
Mira. There's nothing ill can dwell in such
temple:

a

If the ill spirit have so fair a house,
Good things will strive to dwell with 't.
Follow me.
[To Ferd.
Pro.
Speak not you for him; he's a traitor.-Come,
I'll manacle thy neck and feet together:
Sea-water shalt thou drink, thy food shall be
The fresh-brook muscles, wither'd roots, and husks,
Wherein the acorn eradled. Follow.

[blocks in formation]

No;

[He draws.
Mira.
O dear father,
Make not too rash a trial of him, for
He's gentle, and not fearful.2

What, I say,
Pro.
My foot my tutor!-Put thy sword up, traitor;
Who mak'st a show, but dar'st not strike, thy

conscience

Is so possess'd with guilt: come from thy ward;3
For I can here disarm thee with this stick,
And make thy weapon drop.

Mira.

Beseech you, father!
Pro. Hence; hang not on my garments.
Mira.

I'll be his surety.

Sir, have pity;
Silence: one word more

Pro.
Shall make me chide thee, if not hate thee. What!
An advocate for an impostor? hush!

Thou think'st, there are no more such shapes as he,
Having seen but him and Caliban: foolish wench!
To the most of men this is a Caliban,

And they to him are angels.

Mira.

My affections

Are then most humble; I have no ambition
To see a goodlier man.

[blocks in formation]

ACT II.

SCENE I.-Another part of the island. Enter
Alonso, Sebastian, Antonio, Gonzalo, Adrian,
Francisco, and others.

Gon. 'Beseech you, sir, be merry: you have

cause

(So have we all) of joy; for our escape
Is much beyond our loss: our hint of wo
Is common; every day, some sailor's wife,
The masters of some merchant, and the merchant,
Have just our theme of wo: but for the miracle,
I mean our preservation, few in millions
Can speak like us: then wisely, good sir, weigh
Our sorrow with our comfort.

Alon.
Pr'ythee, peace.
Seb. He receives comfort like cold porridge.
Ant. The visitor will not give him o'er so.
Seb. Look, he's winding up the watch of his wit;
by and by it will strike.

[blocks in formation]

Seb. The old cock.

Ant. The cockrel.

Seb. Done: the wager?

Ant. A laughter.

Seb. A match.

Adr. Though this island seem to be desert,

Alon. You cram these words into mine ears, against

Seb. Ha, ha, ha!

Ant. So, you've pay'd.

Seb. Yet,

Adr. Yet

Adr. Uninhabitable, and almost inaccessible, The stomach of my sense: 'would I had never

Ant. He could not miss it.

Married my daughter there! for, coming thence, My son is lost; and, in my rate, she too,

Who is so far from Italy remov'd,

Adr. It must needs be of subtle, tender, and I ne'er again shall see her. O thou mine heir Of Naples and of Milan, what strange fish Hath made his meal on thee!

delicate temperance.1

Ant. Temperance was a delicate wench.

Seb. Ay, and a subtle; as he most learnedly delivered.

Adr. The air breathes upon us here most sweetly.
Seb. As if it had lungs, and rotten ones.
Ant. Or, as 'twere perfumed by a fen.

Gon. Here is every thing advantageous to life.
Int. True; save means to live.

Seb. Of that there's none, or little.

Fran.

Sir, he may live; I saw him beat the surges under him, And ride upon their backs; he trod the water, Whose enmity he flung aside, and breasted The surge most swoln that met him: his bolu

head

'Bove the contentious waves he kept, and oar'd Himself with his good arms in lusty stroke

Gon. How lush and lusty the grass looks! how To the shore, that o'er his wave-worn basis bow'd

green!

Ant. The ground, indeed, is tawny.

Seb. With an eye of green in't.

Ant. He misses not much.

Seb. No; he doth but mistake the truth totally.

As stooping to relieve him. I not doubt, He came alive to land.

Alon.

No, no, he's gone. Seb. Sir, you may thank yourself for this great loss;

Gon. But the rarity of it is (which is, indeed, al-That would not bless our Europe with your daugh most beyond credit-)

Seb. As many vouch'd rarities are.

Gon. That our garments, being, as they were, renched in the sea, hold, notwithstanding, their freshness, and glosses; being rather new dy'd, than stain'd with salt water.

Int. If but one of his pockets could speak, would it not say, He lies?

Seb. Ay, or very falsely pocket up his report. Gon. Methinks, our garments are now as fresh as when we put them on first in Afric, at the marrage of the king's fair daughter Claribel to the king

[blocks in formation]

Gon. Sir, we were talking, that our garments seem now as fresh, as when we were at Tunis, at the marriage of your daughter, who is now queen. Ant. And the rarest that e'er came there. Seb. 'Bate, I beseech you, widow Dido. Ant. O, widow Dido; ay, widow Dido.

[blocks in formation]

Alon. So is the dearest of the loss. My lord Sebastian, The truth you speak doth lack some gentleness, And time to speak it in: you rub the sore, When you should bring the plaster. Seb. Ant. And most chirurgeonly. Gon. It is foul weather in us all, good sir, When you are cloudy.

Seb.

Very well.

Foul weather? Ant. Very foul. Gon. Had I a plantation of this isle, my lord,Ant. He'd sow it with nettle-seed. Seb. Or docks, or mallows. Gon. And were the king of it, What would I do? Seb. 'Scape being drunk, for want of wine. Gon. I' the commonwealth I would by contraries Execute all things: for no kind of traffic Would I admit; no name of magistrate; Letters should not be known; no use of service, Of riches or of poverty; no contracts, Successions; bound of land, tilth, vineyard, none: No use of metal, corn, or wine, or oil: No occupation; all men idle, all; And women too; but innocent and pure: No sovereignty:Seb. And yet he would be king on't. Ant. The latter end of his commonwealth for

Gon. Is not, sir, my doublet as fresh as the first gets the beginning. day I wore it? I mean, in a sort.4

Ant. That sort was well fish'd for.

Gon. When I wore it at your daughter's marriage?

(1) Temperature. (2) Rank. (3) Shade of colour.

Gon. All things in common nature should produce Without sweat or endeavour: treason, felony, Sword, pike, knife, gun, or need of any engine,

(4) Degree or quality. (5) The rack.

5

Seb.

Would I not have; but nature should bring forth, Whiles thou art waking.
Of its own kind, all foizon,' all abundance,
To feed my innocent people.

Seb. No marrying 'mong his subjects?

Ant. None, man; all idle; whores and knaves. Gon. I would with such perfection govern, sir, To excel the golden age.

Seb.

'Save his majesty!

Ant. Long live Gonzalo!
Gon.

Thou dost snore distinctly;
There's meaning in thy snores.

Ant. I am more serious than my custom: you
Must be so too, Wheed me; which to do,
Trebles thee o'er.

Seb.

Well; I am standing water.
Ant. I'll teach you how to flow.
Seb.

0,

Do so: to ebb,

And, do you mark me, sir?-Hereditary sloth instructs me. Ant. Alon. Pr'ythee, no more: Thou dost talk nothing to me. If you but knew, how you the purpose cherish, Gon. I do well believe your highness; and did Whiles thus you mock it! how, in stripping it, it to minister occasion to these gentlemen, who are You more invest it! Ebbing men, indeed, of such sensible and nimble lungs, that they always Most often do so near the bottom run, use to laugh at nothing. By their own fear, or sloth. Seb.

Ant. 'Twas you we laugh'd at. Gon. Who, in this kind of merry fooling, am nothing to you; so you may continue, and laugh at nothing still.

Ant. What a blow was there given: Seb. An it had not fallen flat-long. Gon. You are gentlemen of brave mettle; you would lift the moon out of her sphere, if she would continue in it five weeks without changing.

Enter Ariel, invisible, playing solemn music. Seb. We would so, and then go a bat-fowling. Ant. Nay, good my lord, be not angry. Gon. No, I warrant you: I will not adventure my discretion so weakly. Will you laugh me asleep, for I am very heavy?

Ant. Go sleep, and hear us.

All sleep but Alon. Seb. and Ant. 7. What, all so soon asleep! I wish mine eyes aid, with themselves, shut up my thoughts: I find, They are inclined to do so.

Seb.

Please you, sir,
Do not omit the heavy offer of it:
It seldom visits sorrow; when it doth,
It is a comforter.

We two, my lord,

Ant.
Will guard your person, while you take your rest,
And watch your safety.
Alon.
Thank you: wondrous heavy.
[Alonso sleeps. Exit Ariel.
Seb. What a strange drowsiness possesses them!
Ant. It is the quality o' the climate.
Seb.
Why
Doth it not then our eye-lids sink? I find not
Myself dispos'd to sleep.
Ant.
Nor I; my spirits are nimble.
They fell together all, as by consent;
They dropp'd, as by a thunder-stroke. What might,
Worthy Sebastian?-O, what might?-No more:-
And yet methinks, I see it in thy face,
What thou should'st be: the occasion speaks thee;
and

My strong imagination sees a crown
Dropping upon thy head.

Seb.

What, art thou waking?
Ant. Do you not hear me speak?
Seb.
I do; and, surely,
It is a sleepy language; and thou speak'st
Out of thy sleep: what is it thou didst say?
This is a strange repose, to be asleep
With eyes wide open; standing, speaking, moving,
And vet so fast asleep.

Noble Sebastian,

Ant.
Thou let'st thy fortune sicep-die rather; wink'st

Pr'ythec, say on: The setting of thine eye, and cheek, proclaim A matter from thee; and a birth, indeed, Which throes thee much to yield.

Ant.

Thus, sir:
Although this lord of weak remembrance, this
(Who shall be of as little memory,
When he is earth'd,) hath here almost persuaded
(For he's a spirit of persuasion only,)
The king, his son's alive; 'tis as impossible
That he's undrown'd, as he that sleeps here swins.
Seb. I have no hope
That he's undrown'd.

Ant.

O, out of that no hope,
What great hope have you! no hope, that way, is
Another way so high a hope, that even
Ambition cannot pierce a wink beyond,
But doubts discovery there.

me,
That Ferdinand is drown'd?
Seb.
Ant.

Will you grant, with

He's gone.

Then, tell me,

Claribel.

Who's the next heir of Naples?
Seb.
Ant. She that is queen of Tunis; she that dwells
Ten leagues beyond man's life; she that from Naples
Can have no note, unless the sun were post,
(The man i' the moon's too slow,) till new-born chins
Be rough and razorable: she, from whom
We were all sea-swallowed, though some cast again;
And, by that, destin'd to perform an act,
Whereof what's past is prologue; what to come,
In yours and my discharge.

Seb.
What stuff is this?-How say you?
"Tis true, my brother's daughter's queen of Tunis;
So is she heir of Naples; 'twixt which regions
There is some space.

Ant.
A space whose every cubit
Seems to cry out, How shall that Claribel
Measure us back to Naples ?-Keep in Tunis,
And let Sebastian wake!-Say, this were death
That now hath seiz'd them; why, they were no

[blocks in formation]

(1) Plenty,

(2) A bird of the jack-daw kind.

« ZurückWeiter »