A masque. Enter IRIS. Iris. Ceres, most bounteous lady, thy rich leas To make cold nymphs chaste crowns; and thy broom groves, Whose shadow the dismissed bachelor loves, Being lass-lorn; thy pole-clipt vineyard; Where thou thyself dost air: The queen o' th' sky, Bids thee leave these; and with her sovereign grace, Enter CERES. Cer. Hail, many-colour'd messenger, that ne'er Who, with thy saffron wings, upon my flowers And some donation freely to estate On the bless'd lovers. Cer. Tell me, heavenly bow, If Venus, or her son, as thou dost know, Iris. Of her society Be not afraid; I met her deity Cutting the clouds towards Paphos; and her son [1] Bosky-woody. Bosky acres are fields divided from each other by hedgeBoscus is middle Latin for wood. Bosquet, Fr. STEEV. rows. Whose vows are, that no bed-rite shall be paid Her waspish-headed son has broke his arrows, Swears he will shoot no more, but play with sparrows, And be a boy right out. Cer. Highest queen of state, Great Juno comes; I know her by her gait. Enter JUNO. Juno. How does my bounteous sister? Go with me, SONG. Juno. Honour, riches, marriage-blessing, Cer. Earth's increase, and foison plenty, Scarcity, and want, shall shun you ; Fer. This is a most majestic vision, and Pro. Spirits, which by mine art I have from their confines call'd to enact My present fancies. Fer. Let me live here ever; So rare a wonder'd father, and a wife, Make this place Paradise. [JUNO and CERES whisper, and send IRIS on employment. Pro. Sweet now, silence; Juno and Ceres whisper seriously; There's something else to do: hush, and be mute, Or else our spell is marr'd. Iris. You nymphs, call'd Naiads, of the wand'ring brooks, With your sedg'd crowns, and ever-harmless looks, Leave your crisp channels, and on this green land You sun-burn'd sicklemen, of August weary, Enter certain Reapers, properly habited: they join with the Nymphs in a graceful dance; towards the end whereof PROSPERO starts suddenly, and speaks; after which, to a strange, hollow, and confused noise, they heavily vanish Pro. [Aside.] I had forgot that foul conspiracy Of the beast Caliban, and his confederates, Against my life; the minute of their plot Is almost come.-[To the Spirits.] Well done ;-avoid; -no more. Fer. This is most strange : your father's in some passion That works him strongly. Mira. Never till this day, : saw I him touch'd with anger so distemper'd. And, like the baseless fabric of this vision, Is rounded with a sleep.-Sir, I am vex'd; Bear with my weakness; my old brain is troubled. If you be pleas'd, retire into my cell, 6) Rack-the last fleeting vestige of the highest clouds, scarce perceptible on Recount of their distance and tenuity. What was anciently called the rack, is now termed by sailors--the scud. STEEV. And there repose; a turn or two I'll walk, Fer. Mira. We wish your peace. [Exeunt. Pro. Come with a thought :-I thank you :- Ariel, come. Omita Enter ARIEL. Ari. Thy thoughts I cleave to: What's thy pleasure? We must prepare to meet with Caliban. Ari. Ay, my commander: when I presented Ceres, Lest I might anger thee. Pro. Say again, where didst thou leave these, varlets? For breathing in their faces; beat the ground Pro. This was well done, my bird: Thy shape invisible retain thou still : The trumpery in my house, go, bring it hither, Ari. I go, I go. Pro. A devil, a born devil, on whose nature [Exit. Enter CALIBAN, STEPHANO, and TRINCULO, all wet. [7] State is a word in fowling, and means a bait or decoy. STEEV. Hear a foot fall: we now are near his cell. Ste. Monster, your fairy, which, you say, is a harmless fairy, has done little better than play'd the Jack with us. Trin. Monster, I do smell all horse-piss; at which my nose is in great indignation. Ste. So is mine. Do you hear, monster? If I should take a displeasure against you; look you, Trin. Thou wert but a lost monster. Cal. Good my lord, give me thy favour still: Be patient, for the prize I'll bring thee to Shall hoodwink this mischance: therefore, speak softly, All's hush'd as midnight yet. Trin. Ay, but to lose our bottles in the pool, Ste. There is not only disgrace and dishonour in that, monster, but an infinite loss. Trin. That's more to me than my wetting: yet this is your harmless fairy, monster. for Ste. I will fetch off my bottle, though I be o'er ears my labour. Cal. Prythee, my king, be quiet: Seest thou here, For aye thy foot-licker. Ste. Give me thy hand: I do begin to have bloody thoughts. Trin. O king Stephano! O peer! O worthy Stephano! Look, what a wardrobe here is for thee ! Cal. Let it alone, thou fool; it is but trash. Trin. O ho, monster; we know what belongs to a frippery :-O king Stephano! Ste. Put off that gown, Trinculo; by this hand, I'll have that gown. Trin. Thy grace shall have it. Cal. The dropsy drown this fool! what do you mean, To dote thus on such luggage? Let's along, And do the murder first: if he awake, From toe to crown he'll fill our skins with pinches ; Ste. Be you quiet, monster.-Mistress line, is not this my jerkin? Now is the jerkin under the line: now, jerkin, you are like to lose your hair, and prove a bald jerkin. [8] The humour of these lines consists in their being an allusion to an old celebrated ballad, which begins thus: King Stephen was a worthy peer-and celebrates that king's parsimony with regard to his wardrobe. WARB. |