Be not afraid; I met her deity

Cutting the clouds towards Paphos; and her son
Dove-drawn with her: here thought they to have done
Some wanton charm upon this man and maid,
Whose vows are that no bed-rite shall be paid

Till Hymen's torch be lighted: but in vain;
Mars's hot minion is return'd again;

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.

Jun. How does my bounteous sister? Go with me,
To bless this twain, that they may prosperous be,
And honour'd in their issue.

Vines, with clust'ring bunches growing;
Plants with goodly burthen bowing;
Spring come to you, at the farthest,
In the very end of harvest!

Scarcity and want shall shun you;
Ceres' blessing so is on you.

Fer. This is a most majestic vision, and
Harmonious charmingly: May I be bold
To think these spirits?

[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 winderinga brooks, With your sedg'd crowns, and ever harmless looks,

Leave your crisp channels, and on this

green land
Answer your summons: Juno does command:
Come, temperate nymphs, and help to celebrate
A contract of true love; be not too late.

Enter certain Nymphs.

You sun-burn'd sicklemen, of August weary,
Come hither from the furrow, and be merry;
Make holiday: your rye-straw hats put on,
And these fresh nymphs encounter every one
In country footing.

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 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.
Pro. You do look, my son, in a mov'd sort,
As if you were dismay'd: be cheerful, sir:
Our revels now are ended: these our actors,
As I foretold you, were all spirits, and
Are melted into air, into thin air:

And, like the baseless fabric of this vision,

а

Windering. This reading of the original has been turned into wandering. The epithet, of course, has the meaning of winding.

The cloud-capp'd towers, the gorgeous palaces,
The solemn temples, the great globe itself,
Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve;
And, like this insubstantial pageant faded,
Leave not a rack a behind: We are such stuff
As dreams are made on, and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep.-Sir, I am vex'd;
Bear with my weakness; my old brain is troubled.
Be not disturb'd with my infirmity:

If you be pleas'd, retire into my cell,

And there repose; a turn or two I'll walk,

To still my beating mind.

Fer., Mira.

[Exeunt.

Pro. Come with a thought:-I thank thee:-Ariel, come.

We wish your peace.

Enter ARIEL.

Ari. Thy thoughts I cleave to: What's thy pleasure?

Pro.

We must prepare to meet with Caliban.

Ari. Ay, my commander; when I presented Ceres,
I thought to have told thee of it; but I fear'd
Lest I might anger thee.

Spirit,

a Rack. So the original. This word is now generally received as the true text. The rack, as explained by Bacon, means the highest clouds: "The winds, which wave the clouds above, which we call the rack, and are not perceived below, pass without noise." We may take then rack in the sense of the smallest feathery cloud, -the cirrus of modern science. Mr. Hunter has expressed his belief that the word rack is never used with the indefinite article; and he adds, "If it should turn out that to say a rack would be as improper as to say a welkin, we should be thrown back on the word wrack, which would not give a very bad sense, though, perhaps, one not so elegant as that which is afforded by the rarer word, rack." Tooke has not noticed this point; but the reading is otherwise fully discussed in the 'Diversions of Purley.'

b We have been asked the meaning of this passage, it being supposed that rounded was used in the sense of terminated; and that one sleep was the end of life. This was not Shakspere's philosophy; nor would he have introduced an idea totally disconnected with the preceding description. Rounded is used in the sense of encompassed. The "insubstantial pageant" had been presented; its actors had "melted into thin air;" it was an unreality. In the same way, life itself is but a dream. It is surrounded with the sleep which is the parent of dreams. Here we have the shadowing out of the doctrine of Berkeley; and we have no doubt that Shakspere, to whom all philosophical speculation was familiar, may have entertained the theory that our senses are impressed by the Creator with the images of things, which form our material world,—a world of ideas,-of dream-like unrealities.

Pro. Say again, where didst thou leave these varlets?
Ari. I told you, sir, they were red-hot with drinking:
So full of valour that they smote the air

For breathing in their faces; beat the ground
For kissing of their feet; yet always bending
Towards their project: Then I beat my tabor,
At which, like unback'd colts, they prick'd their ears,
Advanc'd their eyelids, lifted up their noses,
As they smelt music; so I charm'd their ears,
That, calf-like, they my lowing follow'd, through
Tooth'd briers, sharp furzes, pricking goss, and thorns,
Which enter'd their frail shins: at last I left them
I' the filthy mantled pool beyond your cell,
There dancing up to the chins, that the foul lake
O'erstunk their feet.

Pro.

This was well done, my bird;

Thy shape invisible retain thou still:

The trumpery in my house, go, bring it hither,
For stale to catch these thieves.

Pro. A devil, a born devil, on whose nature
Nurture can never stick; on whom my pains,
Humanely taken, all, all lost, quite lost:
And as, with age, his body uglier grows,
So his mind cankers: I will plague them all,

[Exit.

Re-enter ARIEL, loaden with glistering apparel, &c. Even to roaring:-Come, hang them on this line.1 PROSPERO and ARIEL remain invisible. Enter CALIBAN, STEPHANO, and TRINCULO, all wet.

Cal. Pray you, tread softly, that the blind mole may not 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 played 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.

Ste. I will fetch off my bottle, though I be o'er ears for my labour.

Cal. Prithee, my king, be quiet: See'st thou here,

This is the mouth o' the cell: no noise, and enter.

Do that good mischief, which may make this island
Thine own for ever, and I, thy Caliban,

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 alone,"

And do the murther first: if he awake,

From toe to crown he'll fill our skins with pinches ;
Make us strange stuff.

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.

a Let's alone. So the original. The ordinary reading is let it alone; which is good enough, and probable. Steevens has suggested that let's alone may mean"Let you and I only go to commit the murder, leaving Trinculo, who is so solicitous about the trash of dress, behind us."