Pro. Mark his condition, and th'event; then tell me, If this might be a brother.

Mira. I thould fin, (7)

To think but nobly of my grand mother;
Good wombs have bore bad fons. (8)
Pro. Now the condition:

This King of Naples, being an enemy
To me inveterate, hearks my brother's fuit;
Which was, that he in lieu o'th' premises,
Of homage, and I know not how much tribute,
Should prefently extirpate me and mine
Out of the dukedom; and confer fair Milan,
With all the honours, on my brother. Whereon
A treacherous army levy'd, one mid-night
Fated to th' purpofe, did Anthonio open

The gates of Milan; and, i' th' dead of darkness,
The minifters for th' purpose hurry'd thence
Me, and thy crying self.

Mira. Alack, for pity!

(7

Ifhould fin,

To think not nebly of my grandmother ;] This is Mr. Pope's reading; from no authority, I prefume: All the copies that I have feen, have it; to think but nobly-i. e. otherwife than nobly; according to our Author's ufage. So, in Much Ado about Nothing;

I know not; if they speak but truth of her,

Thefe hands fhall tear her.

And fo in Timon;

I to bear this,

That never knew but better, is fome burden.
&c. &c.

(8) Good wombs bave bore bad fons.

Pro. Now, the condition:] Thus have all the editions divided these fpeeches; but, tho' I have not attempted to regulate them otherwise, I have great fufpicion, that our Author plac'd them thus;

Pro. Good wombs have bore bad fons.-Now, the condition: How could Miranda, that came into this defart iflard an infant that had never seen any other creatures of the world, but her father and Caliban, with any propriety be furnish'd to make fuch an obfervation from life, that the iffue has often degenerated from the parent? But it comes very properly from Profpero, as a fhort document, by the by, to his daughter; implying, "that the did very well to think with "honour of her anceftor; for that it was common in life, for good " people to have bad children."

I,

I, not rememb'ring how I cry'd out then,
Will cry it o'er again; it is a hint,

That wrings mine eyes to't.

Pro. Hear a little further,

And then I'll bring thee to the prefent bufinefs,
Which now's upon's, without the which this story
Were moft impertinent.

Mira. Why did they not

That hour destroy us?

Pra. Well demanded, wench; My tale provokes that queftion. Dear, they durft not (So dear the love my people bore me;) fet A mark fo bloody on the bufinefs; but With colours fairer painted their foul ends. In few, they hurry'd us aboard a bark; Bore us fome leagues to fea; where they prepar'd A rotten carcass of a boat, not rigg'd, Nor tackle, fail, nor maft; the very rats Inftinctively had quit it: there they hoift us To cry to th' fea, that roar'd to us; to figh To th' winds, whose pity, fighing back again, Did us but loving wrong.

Mira. Alack! what trouble

Was I then to you?

Pro. O a cherubim

Thou waft, that did preferve me: Thou didst smile,
Infused with a fortitude from heav'n,

(When I have deck'd the fea with drops full-falt;
Under my burden groan'd ;) which rais'd in me
An undergoing ftomach, to bear up

Against what should enfue.

Mira. How came we a-fhore?

Pro. By providence divine.

Some food we had, and fome fresh water, that

A noble Neapolitan, Gonzalo,

Out of his charity (being then appointed
Mafter of this defign) did give us, with

Rich garments, linnens, ftaffs, and neceffaries,

Which fince have fteeded much. So of his gentleness, Knowing I lov'd my books, he furnish'd me

From

From my own library, with volumes that
I prize above my Dukedom.
Mira. Would I might

But ever fee that man!

Pro. Now, I arise:

Sit ftill, and hear the laft of our fea-forrow.
Here in this island we arriv'd, and here

Have I, thy fchool-master, made thee more profit
T'han other Princes can, that have more time
For vainer hours, and tutors not fo careful.

Mir. Heav'ns thank you fort't! And now I pray you, Sir, (For till 'tis beating in my mind) your reafon For raising this fea-ftorm?

Pro. Know thus far forth;

By accident most strange, bountiful fortune
(Now my dear Lady) hath mine enemies
Brought to this fhore: and, by my prefcience,
I find my Zenith doth depend upon

A moft aufpicious ftar; whofe influence
If now I court not, but omit, my fortunes
Will ever after droop.- Here ceafe more questions;
Thou art inclin'd to fleep. 'Tis a good dulnefs,
And give it way; I know, thou canst not chufe.-

[Miranda fleeps. Come away, fervant, come; I'm ready now :

Approach, my Ariel.

Come.

Enter Ariel.

Ari. All hail, great mafter! grave Sir, hail! I come To answer thy beft pleasure: Be't to fly;

To fwim; to dive into the fire; to ride

On the curl'd clouds: to thy ftrong bidding task
Ariel, and all his qualities.

Pro. Haft thou, fpirit,

Perform'd to point the tempeft that I bade thee?
Ari. To every article.

I boarded the King's fhip: now on the beak,
Now in the wafte, the deck, in every cabin,
I fram'd amazement. Sometimes, I'd divide,
--And burn in many places; on the top maft,

The

The yards, and bolt-fprit, would I flame diftinctly; Then meet and join. Jove's lightnings, the precurfers Of dreadful thunder-claps, more momentary

And fight out-running were not; the fire and cracks Of fulphurous roaring the moft mighty Neptune Seem'd to befiege, and make his bold waves tremble; Yea, his dread trident shake.

Pro. My brave, brave spirit!

Who was fo firm, fo conftant, that this coyl
Would not infect his reafon ?

Ari. Not a foul

But felt a fever of the mind, and play'd
Some tricks of defperation: all, but mariners,
Plung'd in the foaming brine, and quit the veffel,
Then all a-fire with me: the King's fon Ferdinand
With hair up-ftaring (then like reeds, not hair)
Was the first man, that leap'd; cry'd,
"hell is empty;
"And all the devils are here."

Pro. Why, that's my fpirit!

But was not this nigh shore ?
Ari. Close by, my master.
Pro. But are they, Ariel, fafe?

Ari. Not a hair perish'd:

On their fuftaining garments not a blemish,
But fresher than before. And as thou badst me,
In troops I have difpers'd them 'bout the isle
The King's fon have I landed by himself,
Whom I left cooling of the air with fighs,
In an odd angle of the isle, and fitting,
His arms in this fad knot.

Pro. Of the King's ship.

The mariners, fay how thou haft difpos'd,
And all the rest o' th' fleet?

Ari. Safely in harbour

Is the King's fhip; in the deep nook, where once
Thou call'dft me up at midnight, to fetch dew
From the ftill-vext Bermudas, there she's hid: (9)

The

(9) From the fill-vext Bermoothes] So this word has hitherto been mistakenly written in all the books. There are about 400

inlands

The mariners all under hatches ftow'd,

Who, with a charm join'd to their suffer'd labour,
I've left afleep; and for the reft o' th' fleet
(Which I difpers'd) they all have met again,
And are upon the Mediterranean flote,
Bound fadly home for Naples;

Suppofing that they faw the King's fhip wreckt,
And his great perfon perish.

Pro. Ariel, thy charge

Exactly is perform'd; but there's more work:
What is the time o' th' day?

Ari. Paft the mid feason."

Pro. At least two glasses; the time 'twixt fix and now Muft by us both be spent most preciously.

Ari. Is there more toil? fince thou doft give me pains, Let me remember thee what thou haft promis'd, Which is not yet perform'd me.

Pro. How now ? moody!

What is't thou canft demand?

Ari. My liberty.

Pro. Before the time be out? no more.

Ari. I pr'ythee,

Remember, I have done thee worthy fervice;
Told thee no lies, made no mistakings, serv'd
Without grudge, or grumblings; thou didst promise
To bate me a full year.

༢་

inlands in North America, the principal of which was call'd Bermuda from a Spaniard of that name who firft difcover'd them. They are likewife called fummer iflands, from Sir George Summers, who in 1609 made that voyage; and viewing them, probably, first brought the English acquainted with them, and invited them afterwards to fettle a plantation there.-But why, ftill ext Bermudas? The foil is celebrated for its beauty and fruitfulness; and the air is fo very temperate and ferene, that people lived there to a great age, and are feldom troubled with fickness. But, then, on the other hand, these islands are fo furrounded with rocks on all fides, that without a perfe& knowledge of the paffage, a fmall veffel cannot be brought to haven. Again, we are told, that they are fubject to violent ftorms, fometimes with terrible clattering of thunder, and difmal flashing of lightning. And befides, Sir George Summers, when he made the discovery, was actually thipwreck'd on the coaft. This, I take it, might be a fufficient foundation for our Author's ufing the epithet ftill-vext.

.3

Pro.