158 TEMPEST ACT III Ant. Let it be to-night; For, now they are oppress'd with travel, they As when they are fresh. Seb. I say, to-night: no more. Solemn and strange music; and PROSPERO above, invisible. Enter several strange Shapes, bringing in a banquet, they dance about it with gentle actions of salutation; and, inviting the king, &c. to eat, they depart. Alon. What harmony is this? my good friends, hark! Gon. Marvellous sweet music! Alon. Give us kind keepers, heavens! What were these? Seb. A living drollery: Now I will believe, That there are unicorns; that, in Arabia There is one tree, the phoenix' throne; one phoenix At this hour reigning there. Ant. I'll believe both;" And what does else want credit, come to me, And I'll be sworn 'tis true: Travellers ne'er did lie, Gon. If in Naples I should report this now, would they believe me? (For, certes, these are people of the island,) Who, though they are of monstrous shape, yet, note, Our human generation you shall find Many, nay, almost any. Pro. Honest lord, Thou hast said well; for some of you there present, Are worse than devils. Alon. I cannot too much muse, [Aside Such shapes, such gesture, and such sound, expressing (Although they want the use of tongue) a kind Of excellent dumb discourse. Pro. Praise in departing. [Aside Fran. They vanish'd strangely. Seb. No matter, since [3] Shows, called drolleries, were in Shakespeare's time performed by puppets only. From these our modern drolls, exhibited at fairs, &cook their name. STEEVENS They have left their viands behind; for we have sto machs. Will't please you taste of what is here? Alon. Not I. Gon. Faith, sir, you need not fear: When we were boys, Whose heads stood in their breasts ? which now we find, Alon. I will stand to, and feed, Although my last: no matter, since I feel The best is past :-Brother, my lord the duke, Thunder and lightning. Enter ARIEL like a harpy; claps his wings upon the table, and, with a quaint device, the banquet vanishes. Ari. You are three men of sin, whom destiny [Seeing ALON. SEB. &c. draw their swords. Of whom your swords are temper'd, may as well One dowle that's in my plume ; my fellow ministers [4] Whoever is curious to know the particulars relative to these mountaineers, may consult Maundeville's Travels, printed in 1503, by Wynken de Worde; but it is yet a known truth that the inhabitants of the Alps have been long accustomed to such excrescences or tumours. Quis tumidum guttur miratur in Alpibus? STEEV. [5] Our author might have had this intelligence likewise from the translation of Pliny, B. V. chap. 8: "The Blemmyi, by report, have no heads, but mouth and eyes both in their breasts." STEEV. Or he might have had it from Hackluyt's Voyages, 1598: "On that branch which is called Caora are a nation of people, whose heads appear not above their shoulders They are reported to have their eyes in their shoulders, and their mouths in the middle of their breasts. MALONE. [6] Dowle is a feather, or rather the single particles of the down. STEEV Your swords are now too massy for your strengths, You, and your ways; whose wraths to guard you from He vanishes in thunder: then, to soft music, enter the carry out the table. Pro. [Aside.] Bravely the figure of this harpy hast thou Perform'd, my Ariel; a grace it had, devouring: Of my instruction hast thou nothing 'bated, In what thou hadst to say: so, with good life, And observation strange, my meaner ministers Their several kinds have done my high charms work, In their distractions: they now are in my power ; Young Ferdinand, (whom they suppose is drown'd,) [Exit PRO. from above Gon. I' th' name of something holy, sir, why stand you In this strange stare? Alon. O, it is monstrous! monstrous ! Seb. But one fiend at a time, I'll fight their legions o'er. Ant. I'll be thy second. [Exit. [Exe. SEB. and ANT. Gon. All three of them are desperate; their great guilt, Like poison given to work a great time after, Now 'gins to bite the spirits :-I do beseech you That are of suppler joints, follow them swiftly, And hinder them from what this ecstacy May now provoke them to. Adr. Follow, I pray you. ACT IV. SCENE I.-Before PROSPERO's Cell. [Exeunt. Enter PROSPERO FERDINAND, and MIRANDA. Prospero. IF I have too austerely punish'd you, Your compensation makes amends; for I Fer. I do believe it, Against an oracle. Pro. Then, as my gift, and thine own acquisition With full and holy rite be minister'd, Fer. As I hope For quiet days, fair issue, and long life, [7] The natives of Africa have been supposed to be possessed of the secret how to temper poisons with such art as not to operate till several years after they were administered. Their drugs were then as certain in their effect, as subtle in their preparation. STEEV. 11 VOL. I. With such love as 'tis now; the murkiest den, Mine honour into lust; to take away The edge of that day's celebration, When I shall think or Phoebus' steeds are founder'd, Pro. Fairly spoke : Sit then, and talk with her, she is thine own.- Ari. What would my potent master? here I am. O'er whom I give thee power, here, to this place : Bestow upon the eyes of this young couple Some vanity of mine art; it is my promise, And they expect it from me. Ari. Presently? Pro. Ay, with a twink. Ari. Before you can say, Come, and go, And breathe twice; and cry, so, so ; Each one, tripping on his toe, Will be here with mop and mowe : Do you love me, master? no. Pro. Dearly, my delicate Ariel: Do not approach, Till thou dost hear me call. Ari. Well I conceive. Pro. Look thou be true; do not give dalliance Fer. I warrant you, sir ; The white-cold virgin snow upon my Abates the ardour of my liver. Pro. Well. heart Now come, my Ariel; bring a corollary, 8 Rather than want a spirit; appear, and pertly. [Exit [Soft music. [8] Corollary-surplus. Bring more than are sufficient, rather than fail for want of numbers. STEEV [9] Those who are present at incantations are obliged to be strictly silent alse" as we are afterwards told, "the spell is marred." JOHNSON, |