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He is somewhat altered by grief, or you might call him a handsome person. He has lost his companions, and is wandering about to find them.

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Miranda, who thought all men had grave faces and gray beards like her father, was delighted with the appearance of this beautiful young prince; and Ferdinand, seeing such a lovely lady in this desert place, and from the strange sounds he had heard, expecting nothing but wonders, thought he was upon an enchanted island, and that Miranda was the goddess of the place, and as such he began to address her.

She timidly answered, she was no goddess, but a simple maid, and was going to give him an account of herself, when Prospero interrupted her. He was well pleased to find they admired each other, for he plainly perceived they had (as we say) fallen in love at first sight but to try Ferdinand's constancy, he resolved to throw some difficulties in their way therefore advancing forward, he addressed the prince with a stern air, telling him, he came to the island as a spy, to take it from him who was the lord of it. "Follow

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me,” said he, “I will tie you neck and feet together. You shall drink sea-water; shellfish, withered roots, and husks of acorns shall be your food." No," said Ferdinand, “I will resist such entertainment till I see a more powerful enemy," and drew his sword; but Prospero, waving his magic wand, fixed him to the spot where he stood, so that he had no power to move.

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Miranda hung upon her father saying, Why are you so ungentle? Have pity, sir; I will be his surety. This is the second man I ever saw, and to me he seems a true one.

There's nothing ill can dwell in such a temple:
If the ill spirit have so fair a house,
Good things will strive to dwell with't."

Silence," said the father; "one word more will make me chide you, girl! What! an advocate for an impostor ! You think there are no more such fine men, having seen only him and Caliban. I tell you, foolish girl, most men as far excel this, as he does Caliban." This he said to prove his daughter's constancy; and she replied, "My affections

are most humble. I have no wish to see a goodlier man."

"Come on, young man," said Prospero to the prince, “you have no power to disobey

me.

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"I have not, indeed," answered Ferdinand; and not knowing that it was by magic he was deprived of all power of resistance, he was astonished to find himself so strangely compelled to follow Prospero: looking back on Miranda as long as he could see her, he said, as he went after Prospero into the cave :—

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'My spirits, as in a dream, are all bound up, My father's loss, the weakness which I feel, The wreck of all my friends, nor 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' th' earth
Let liberty make use of; space enough
Have I in such a prison."

Prospero kept Ferdinand not long confined within the cell: he soon brought out his prisoner, and set him a severe task to perform,

taking care to let his daughter know the hard labour he had imposed on him, and then pretending to go into his study, he secretly watched them both.

Ferdinand's task was heavy, but his love for Miranda sweetened the toil:

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There be some sports are painful, and their labour

Delight in them sets off: some kinds of base

ness

Are nobly undergone; and most poor matters Point to rich ends. This my mean task would be

As heavy to me as 'tis odious, but

The mistress which I serve quickens what's dead,

And makes my labours pleasures: O, she is Ten times more gentle than her father's crabbed,

And he's composed of harshness.

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PROSPERO had commanded Ferdinand to pile up some heavy logs of wood. Kings' sons not being much used to laborious work, Miranda soon after found her lover almost dying with fatigue. "Alas!" said she, "do not work so hard; my father is at his studies, he is safe for these three hours: pray rest yourself."

"O my dear lady," said Ferdinand, "I dare not. I must finish my task before I take my rest."

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"If you will sit down," said Miranda, “I will carry your logs the while.' But this Ferdinand would by no means agree to. Instead of a help Miranda became a hindrance, for they began a long conversation, so that the business of log-carrying went on very slowly.

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