Antonio in like manner, attended by Adrian and Francisco: They all enter the circle which Prospero had made, and there stand charmed; which Prospero observing, speaks.

A solemn air, and the best comforter

To an unsettled fancy, cure thy brains,

Now useless, boil'd within thy skull! There stand, For you are spell-stopp'd.

Holy Gonzalo, honourable man,

Mine eyes, even sociable to the show of thine,
Fall fellowly drops. The charm dissolves apace;
And as the moruing steals upon the night,
Melting the darkness, so their rising senses
Begin to chase the ignorant fumes that inantle
Their clearer reason. O my good Gonzalo,
My true preserver, and a loyal sir
To him thou follow'st; I will pay thy graces
Home, both in word and deed-Most cruelly
Didst thou, Alonso, use me and my daughter:
Thy brother was a furtherer in the act;-
Thou'rt pinch'd for't now, Sebastian.-Flesh and

blood,

You brother mine, that entertain'd ambition,
Expell'd remorse* and nature; who, with Sebastian
(Whose inward pinches therefore are most strong),
Would here have kill'd your king; I do forgive thee,
Unnatural though thou art!-Their understanding
Begins to swell: and the approaching tide
Will shortly fill the reasonable shores,
That now lie foul and muddy. Not one of them,
That yet looks on me, or would know me:-Ariel,
Fetch me the hat and rapier in my cell;

[Exit Ariel.

I will dis-case me, and myself present,
As I was sometime Milan:-quickly, spirit;
Thou shalt ere long be free,

* Pity, or tenderness of heart.

Ariel re-enters, singing, and helps to attire

Prospero.

Ari. Where the bee sucks, there suck I;
In a cowslip's bell I lie :
There I couch when owls do cry.

On the bat's back I do fly,
After summer, merrily:
Merrily, merrily, shall I live now,
Under the blossom that hangs on the bough.

Pro. Why, that's my dainty Ariel; I shall miss thee'
But yet thou shalt have freedom: so, so, so.
To the king's ship, invisible as thou art:
There shalt thou find the mariners asleep
Under the hatches; the master, and the boatswain,
Being awake, enforce them to this place;

And presently, I pr'ythee.

Ari. I drink the air before me, and return

Or e'er your pulse twice beat.

[Exit Ariel.

Gon. All torment, trouble, wonder, and amazement Inhabits here: Some heavenly power guide us

Out of this fearful country!

Pro.

Behold, sir king,

The wronged duke of Milan, Prospero;

For more assurance that a living prince

Does now speak to thee, I embrace thy body;

And to thee, and thy company, I bid

A hearty welcome.

Alon.

Whe'r thou beest he, or no,

Or some enchanted trifle to abuse me,
As late I have been, I not know: thy pulse
Beats, as of flesh and blood; and, since I saw thee,
The affliction of my mind amends, with which,
I fear, a madness held me this must crave
(An if this be at all) a most strange story.
Thy dukedom I resign; and do entreat

* Whether.

Thou pardon me my wrongs:-But how should Pros

pero

Be living, and be here?
Pro.

First, noble friend,

Let me embrace thine age; whose honour cannot

Be measur'd, or confin'd.

Gon.

Or be not, I'll not swear.

Pro.

Whether this be,

You do yet taste

Some subtilties o' the isle, that will not let you Believe things certain :- Welcome, my friends all :But you, my brace of lords, were I so minded,

[Aside to Seb. and Ant.

I here could pluck his highness' frown upon you,
And justify you traitors; at this time

I'll tell no tales.

Seb.

Pro.

The devil speaks in him. [Aside.
No;-

For you, most wicked sir, whom to call brother
Would even infect my mouth, I do forgive

Thy rankest fault; all of them; and require
My dukedom of thee, which, perforce, I know,

Thou must restore.

Alon.

If thou beest Prospero,

Give us particulars of thy preservation;

How thou hast met us here, who three hours since

Were wreck'd upon this shore; where I have lost,

How sharp the point of this remembrance is!

My dear son Ferdinand.

Pro.

I am woe* for't, sir.

Alon. Irreparable is the loss; and Patience

Says, it is past her cure.

Pro.

I rather think

You have not sought her help; of whose soft grace,

For the like loss, I have her sovereign aid,

And rest myself content.

Alon.

You the like loss?

Pro. As great to me, as late; and, portablet

To make the dear loss, have I means much weaker Than you may call to comfort you; for I

Have lost my daughter.

Alon.

A daughter?

O heavens! that they were living both in Naples,
The king and queen there! that they were, I wish
Myself were mudded in that oozy bed
Where my son lies. When did you lose your daughter?

Pro. In this last tempest. I perceive, these lords
At this encounter do so much admire,
That they devour their reason; and scarce think
Their eyes do offices of truth, their words
Are natural breath; but, howsoe'er you have
Been justled from your senses, know for certain,
That I am Prospero, and that very duke
Which was thrust forth of Milan; who most strangely
Upon this shore, where you were wreck'd, was

landed,

To be the lord on't. No more yet of this;
For 'tis a chronicle of day by day,
Not a relation for a breakfast, nor

Befitting this first meeting. Welcome, sir;
This cell's my court: here have I few attendants,
And subjects none abroad: pray you, look in.
My dukedom since you have given me again,
I will requite you with as good a thing;
At least, bring forth a wonder, to content ye,
As much as me my dukedom.

The entrance of the cell opens, and discovers Ferdi. nand and Miranda playing at chess.

Mira. Sweet lord, you play me false.

Fer.

I would not for the world.

No, my dearest love,

Mira. Yes, for a score of kingdoms you should

wrangle,

And I would call it fair play.

Alon.

If this prove

A vision of the island, one dear son
Shall I twice lose.

Seb.

A most high miracle!

Fer. Though the seas threaten, they are merciful; I have curs'd them without cause.

Alon.

[Ferd. kneels to Alon. Now all the blessings

Of a glad father compass thee about!

Arise, and say how thou cam'st here.

Mira.

O! wonder!

How many goodly creatures are there here!
How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world,

That has such people in't!

Pro.

'Tis new to thee.

Alon. What is this maid, with whom thou wast

at play?

Your eld'st acquaintance cannot be three hours:
Is she the goddess that hath sever'd us,

And brought us thus together ?

Fer.

Sir, she's mortal;

But, by immortal Providence, she's mine;
I chose her, when I could not ask my father
For his advice; nor thought I had one: she
Is daughter to this famous duke of Milan,
Of whom so often I have heard renown,
But never saw before; of whom I have
Received a second life, and second father
This lady makes him to me.

Alon.

I am hers:

But O, how oddly will it sound, that I

Must ask my child forgiveness!

Pro.

Let us not burden our remembrances

With a heaviness that's gone.

Gon.

There, sir, stop:

I have inly wept,

Or should have spoke ere this. Look down, you gods,

And on this couple drop a blessed crown;

For it is you, that have chalk'd forth the way

Which brought us hither!

Alon.

I say, Amen, Gonzalo!

Gon. Was Milan thrust from Milan, that his issue Should become king of Naples? O, rejoice