8

Trin. I have been in such a pickle, since I saw you last, that, I fear me, will never out of my bones: I shall not fear fly-blowing. 8

SEB. Why, how now, Stephano ?
STE. O, touch me not; I am not Stephano, but

à cramp.
Pro. You'd be king of the ifle, firrah?
Ste. I fliould have been a fore one then.'
Alon. This is as strange a thing as e'er I look'd

[Pointing to CALIBAN. Pro. He is as disproportion'd in his manners, As in his shape :-Go, firrah, to my cell; Take with

you your companions; as you look To have my pardon, trim it handsomely.

CAL. Ay, that I will; and I'll be wise hereafter, And seek for grace: What a thrice-double als Was I, to take this drunkard for a god, And worship this dull fool? PRO.

Go to; away!

3 on,

8

9

fly-blowing.] This pickle alludes to their plunge into the stinking pool; pickling preserves meat from fly-blowing.

STEEVENS. but a cramp. ] i. e. I am all over a cramp. Prospero had ordered Ariel to shorten up their sinews with aged cramps. Touch me not alludes to the foreness occafioned by them. In his next speech Stephano confirms this meaning by a quibble on the word sore.

STEEVENS. · I should have been a fore one then. The fame quibble occurs afterwards in the Second Part of K. Henry VI: · Mass, 'twill be fore law then, for he was thruft in the mouth with a spear, and 'tis not whole yet.” Stephano also alludes to the fores about him.

STEEVENS. 3. This is as strange a thing as c'er I look'd on.] The old copy, disregarding metre, reads

" This is a strange thing as e'er I look'd on." For the repetition of the conjun&ion-as, &c. I am answerable

STEEYENS.

Alon. Hence, and bestow your luggage where

you found it.

your train,

SEB. Or stole it, rather.

[Exeunt Cal. STE. TRIN.
PRO. Sir, I invite your highness, and
To my poor cell: where you shall take your reft
For this one night;, which (part of it) I'll waste
With such discourse, as, I not doubt, shall make it
Go quick away: the story of my life,
And the particular accidents, gone by,
Since I came to this ifle : And in the morn,
l'll bring you to your ship, and so to Naples;
Where I have hope to see the nuptial
Of thefe our dear-beloved solemniz'd;
And thence retire me to my Milan, where
Every third thought shall be my grave.

ALON.
To hear the story of your life, which must
Take the ear strangely.
PRO.

I'll deliver all;
And promise you calm feas, auspicious gales,
And sail so expeditious, that shall catch
Your royal fleet far off.-My Ariel ;-chick,
That is thy charge; then to the elements
Be free, and fare thou well!--[Afide.] Please you,
draw near.

[Exeunt.

I long

1

Vol. IV.

M

E P I L OG UE.

E.

SPOKEN BY PROSPER O.

NOW my charms are all o'erthrown,
And what strength I have's mine own;
Which is most faint: now, 'tis true,
I must be here confin'd by you,
Or sent to Naples : Let me not,
Since I have my dukedom got,
And pardon'd the deceiver, dwell
In this bare island, by your spell;
But release me from my bands,
With the help of your good hands.'
Gentle breath of yours my fails
Must fill, or else my project fails,
Which was to please: Now I want
Spirits to enforce, art to enchant ;
And my ending is despair,
Unless I be reliev'd by prayer ;4

3 With the help of your good hands.] By your applause, by clapping hands.

JOHNSON. Noise was supposed to disolve a spell. So twice before in this play:

" No tongue ; all eyes; be filent." Again :

- hush! be mute ; 6. Or else our spell is mari'd." Again, in Macbeth, Act IV. sc. I:

u Hear his speech but say thou nought." Again, ibid.

" Listen, but speak noi to't." STEEVENS. 4 And my ending is despair,

Unlefs I be reliev'd by prayer ; ] This alludes to the old stories told of the despair of necromancers in their last moments, and of the efficacy of the prayers of their friends for them. WARBURTON,

Which pierces so, that it afaults
Mercy itself, and frees all faults.

As you from crimes would pardon'd be,
Let your indulgence set me free."

But,

s It is observed of The Tempeft, that its plan is regular; this the author of The Revisal thinks, what I think too, an accidental effea of the story, not intended or regarded by our author. whatever might be Shakspeare's intention in forming or adopting the plot, he has made it instrumental to the produđion of many chara&ers, , diversified with boundless invention, and preserved with profound skill in nature, extensive kvowledge of opinions, and accurate observation of life. In a single drama are here exhibited princes, courtiers, and sailors, all speaking in their real charaders. There is the agency of airy spirits, and of an earthly goblin. The operations of magick, the tumults of a storm, the adventures of a desert island, the native effusion of untaught affe&ion, the punishment of guilt, and the final happiness of the . pair for whom our passions and reason are equally interested.

JOHNSON.

M 2