Pro.
Now does my project gather to a head:
My charms crack not; my spirits obey; and time
Goes upright with his carriage^{4 note}
. How's the day?

Ari.
On the sixth hour; at which time, my lord,
You said our work should cease.

Pro.
I did say so,
When first I rais'd the tempest. Say, my spirit,
How fares the king and his followers^{5 note}
?

Ari.
Confin'd together
In the same fashion as you gave in charge;
Just as you left them, sir; all prisoners
In the lime-grove which weather-fends your cell;
They cannot budge till your release^{6 note}. The king,
His brother, and yours, abide all three distracted;
And the remainder mourning over them,
Brim-full of sorrow, and dismay; but chiefly
Him you term'd, sir, The good old lord, Gonzalo;
His tears run down his beard, like winter's drops
From eaves of reeds: your charm so strongly works them,

That if you now beheld them, your affections
Would become tender.

Pro.
Dost thou think so, spirit?

Ari.
Mine would, sir, were I human.

Pro.
And mine shall.
Hast thou, which art but air, a touch, a feeling^{7 note}

Ari.
I'll fetch them, sir. [Exit.

Pro.
Ye elves of hills, brooks, standing lakes, and groves^{9 note}

And ye, that on the sands with printless foot
Do chase the ebbing Neptune^{1 note}


, and do fly him,

When he comes back; you demy-puppets, that
By moon-shine do the green-sour ringlets make,
Whereof the ewe not bites; and you, whose pastime
Is to make midnight mushrooms; that rejoice
To hear the solemn curfew; by whose aid
(Weak masters though ye be^{2 note}

I here abjure: and, when I have requir'd
Some heavenly musick, (which even now I do,)
To work mine end upon their senses, that
This airy charm is for, I'll break my staff,
Bury it certain fathoms in the earth,
And, deeper than did ever plummet sound,
I'll drown my book. [Solemn musick. Re-enter Ariel: after him, Alonso, with a frantick gesture, attended by Gonzalo; Sebastian and 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^{4 note}

Begin to chase the ignorant fumes^{6 note} that mantle
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^{7 note}
,
You brother mine, that entertain'd ambition^{8 note},
Expell'd remorse and nature^{9 note}; 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.

Ariel re-enters, singing, and helps to attire Prospero.
Ari.
Where the bee sucks, there suck I;
In a cowslip's bell I lie^{2 note}

On the bat's back I do fly,
After summer, merrily^{4 note}

Merrily, merrily, shall I live now,
Under the blossom that hangs on the bough^{5 note}

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^{6 note}

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^{7 note}

Pro.
First, noble friend,
Let me embrace thine age; whose honour cannot
Be measur'd, or confin'd.

Gon.
Whether this be,
Or be not, I'll not swear.

Pro.
You do yet taste
Some subtilties o' the isle^{9 note}

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.
The devil speaks in him. [Aside.

Pro.
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^{1 note}

Pro.
I am woe for't, sir^{2 note}

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^{3 note}; and, portable^{4 note}

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^{5 note}
: 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 Ferdinand and Miranda playing at chess^{6 note}

Mira.
Sweet lord, you play me false.

Fer.
No, my dearest love,
I would not for the world.

Mira.
Yes, for a score of kingdoms^{7 note}

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. [Ferd. kneels to Alon.

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.
There, sir, stop;
Let us not burden our remembrances^{8 note}

Gon.
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 kings of Naples? O, rejoice
Beyond a common joy; and set it down
With gold on lasting pillars: In one voyage
Did Claribel her husband find at Tunis;
And Ferdinand, her brother, found a wife,
Where he himself was lost; Prospero his dukedom,

In a poor isle; and all of us, ourselves,
When no man was his own^{9 note}

Alon.
Give me your hands: [To Fer. and Mir.
Let grief and sorrow still embrace his heart,
That doth not wish you joy!

Gon.
Be't so! Amen! Re-enter Ariel, with the Master and Boatswain amazedly following.
O look, sir, look, sir; here are more of us!
I prophesied, if a gallows were on land,
This fellow could not drown:—Now, blasphemy,
That swear'st grace o'erboard, not an oath on shore?
Hast thou no mouth by land? What is the news?

Boats.
The best news is, that we have safely found
Our king, and company: the next our ship,—
Which, but three glasses since, we gave out split,—
Is tight, and yare, and bravely rigg'd, as when
We first put out to sea.

Ari. [Aside.]
Sir, all this service
Have I done since I went.

Pro. [Aside.]
My tricksy spirit^{1 note}

Alon.
These are not natural events; they strengthen,
From strange to stranger:—Say, how came you hither?

Boats.
If I did think, sir, I were well awake,
I'd strive to tell you. We were dead on sleep^{2 note}

Where, but even now, with strange and several noises
Of roaring, shrieking, howling, gingling chains,
And more diversity of sounds, all horrible,
We were awak'd; straitway, at liberty:
Where we, in all her trim, freshly beheld
Our royal, good, and gallant ship; our master
Capering to eye her: on a trice, so please you,
Even in a dream, were we divided from them,
And were brought moping hither.

Ari. [Aside.]
Was't well done?

Pro. [Aside.]
Bravely, my diligence. Thou shalt be free.

Alon.
This is as strange a maze as e'er men trod:
And there is in this business more than nature
Was ever conduct of^{3 note}

Pro.
Sir, my liege,
Do not infest your mind with beating on
The strangeness of this business^{4 note}

Which shall be shortly, single I'll resolve you
(Which to you shall seem probable^{5 note}