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Pro. Look, thou be true; do not give dalliance Too much the rein; the strongest oaths are ftraw To th' fire i'th' blood: be more abftemious, Or elfe, good-night, your vow!

Fer. I warrant you, Sir;

The white, cold, virgin-fnow upon my heart
Abates the ardour of my liver.

Pro. Well.

Now come, my Ariel; 5 bring a corollary,
Rather than want a fpirit; appear, and pertly-
No tongue; all eyes; be filent.

SCENE

[To Ferdinand. [Soft Mufick.

III.

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A MAS QU E. Enter Iris. Iris. Ceres, moft bounteous lady, thy rich leas Of wheat, rye, barley, fetches, oats, and pease; Thy turfy mountains, where live nibling sheep, And flat meads thatch'd with ftover, them to keep; Thy banks with pionied, and tulip'd brims, Which fpungy April at thy heft betrims,

To make cold nymphs chafte crowns; and thy (a) brown

groves,

Whose fhadow the difmiffed batchelor loves,
Being lafs-lorn; thy pale-clipt vineyard,
And thy fea-marge fteril, and rocky-hard,

Where

5 bring a corollary,] Corollarium fignifies what we call fupernumerary, or, what is more than just fufficient. The word has here a fingular propriety and elegance. For corollaria were, amongst the Romans, the little gifts given to the people when Plays were exhibited to them at their public feftivals; and corolla crowns given to those Actors who pleased more than ordinary.

6 Thy POLE CLIPT vineyard,

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And thy fea-marge fleril, and rocky-hard.] Gildon who has made what he calls a Gloffary on Shakespear, faysPole-clipt

clipt

[(a) brown groves, Oxford Edit. vulg. broom groves.]

Where thou thyself do'ft air; the Queen o' th' sky, Whose wat❜ry arch and meffenger am I,

Bids thee leave thefe; and with her Sov❜reign Grace,
Here on this grass-plot, in this very place,

To come and sport; her peacocks fly amain:
Approach, rich Ceres, her to entertain.

Enter Ceres.

Cer. Hail, many-colour'd meffenger, that ne'er
Doft disobey the wife of Jupiter:

Who, with thy faffron wings, upon my flowers
Diffuseft honey drops, refreshing showers;
And with each end of thy blue bow do'ft crown
My bosky acres, and my unfhrub'd down,
Rich scarf to my proud earth; why hath thy Queen
Summon'd me hither, to this fhort-grafs green
Iris. A contract of true love to celebrate,
And some donation freely to estate

On the blefs'd lovers.

Cer. Tell me, heavenly bow,

If Venus or her fon, as thou do'ft know,
Do not attend the Queen: fince they did plot
The means, that dusky Dis my daughter got,
Her and her blind boy's scandal'd company
I have forfworn.

Iris. Of her fociety

Be not afraid; I met her deity

clipt in the head. What he had in his head is not worth inquiring Clipt here fignifies embraced: but pole-clipt is a corrupt reading. It founded well, because vines are fupported by Poles, to fay pole clipt vineyard. And found was what the PlayerEditors only attended to. But a little fenfe might have taught them that vines could not be called pole-clipt, tho' Poles might be called vine-clipt. Shakespear wrote

Thy PALE-CLIPT Vineyard.

i. e. the vineyard inclofed or fenced with Pales, in oppofition to the wide and open fea-marge or coaft. Rocky bard fhould be read with an hyphen. It is one of the epithets to feaas hard as a rock.

marge.

Cutting

Cutting the clouds towards Paphos, and her fon
Dove-drawn with her; here thought they to have done
Some wanton charm upon this man and maid,
Whofe vows are, that no bed-right shall be paid
'Till Hymen's torch be lighted; but in vain
Mars's hot minion is return'd again;

Her wafpifh-headed fon has broke his arrows;
Swears, he will shoot no more, but play with fparrows,
And be a boy right-out.

Cer. High Queen of state,

Great Juno, comes; I know her by her gate.

[Juno defcends, and enters. Jun. How does my bounteous fifter? go with me To bless this twain, that they may profp❜rous be, And honour'd in their iffue.

Jun. Honour, riches, marriage-bleffing,
Long continuance and encreafing,
Hourly joys be ftill upon you!
Juno fings her bleffings on you:

Cer. Earth's increafe, and foyfon-plenty,
Barns and garners never empty,
Vines, with cluftring bunches growing,
Plants, with goodly burthen bowing,
Spring come to you, at the fartheft,
In the very end of harvest!
Scarcity and want shall shun you;
Ceres' bleffing fò is on you.

Fer. This is a most majestick vifion, and
Harmonious charming Lays: may I be bold

To think these spirits?

7 This is a moft majeflick vifion, and

Pro

Harmonious CHARMINGLY.] What was intended to be here commended was, r. The vifion of the Goddeffes. 2. Their Songs. The vifion is commended in thefe Words, This is a meft majeftic vifion. But for the fongs,we are put off with this nonfenfe

VOL. I.

F

Pro. Spirits, which by mine art

I have from their confines call'd to enact
My prefent fancies.

Fer. Let me live here ever;

So rare a wonder'd father, and a wife,
Make this place paradise.

Pro. Sweet now, filence:
Juno and Ceres whisper feriously;

There's fomething elfe to do; hufh, and be mute, Or else our spell is marr❜d.

Juno and Ceres whisper, and fend Iris on imployment. Iris. You nymphs, call'd Nayads, of the winding brooks,

With your fedg'd crowns, and ever-harmlefs looks,
Leave your crifp channels, and on this green land
Answer your fummons, Juno does command:
Come, temperate nymphs, and help to celebrate
A contract of true love; be not too late.

Enter certain Nymphs.

You fun-burn'd ficklemen, of Auguft weary,
Come hither from the furrow, and be merry;
Make holy-day; your rye-ftraw hats put on,
And these fresh nymphs encounter every one
In country footing.

nonfenfe and harmonious Charmingly. To reftore Senfe, and the other part of the commendation, we muft needs read

and

Harmonious charming LAY S,

And then both the vifions and the fongs will have their due praifes. The word charming cannot with propriety be applied to any thing bat mufic and poetry, because these were fuppofed to operate, as charms. In our Author's time the word was generally fo applied, tho' it be now ufed ridiculously on every object of pleasure.

SCENE

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Enter certain reapers, properly habited; they join with the nymphs in a graceful dance; towards the end whereof, Profpero ftarts fuddenly, and speaks; after which, to a strange, hollow and confused noise, they vanish heavily.

Pro. I had forgot that foul confpiracy

Of the beaft Caliban, and his confed' rates,
Against my life; the minute of their plot
Is almoft come.

Well done, avoid; no more. Fer. This is most strange; your father's in fome paffion

That works him ftrongly.

Mir. Never 'till this day

Saw I him touch'd with anger fo diftemper❜d.
Pro. You look, my fon, in a mov'd sort,
As if you were dismay'd; be chearful, Sir:
Our revels now are ended: these our actors,
As I foretold you, were all fpirits, and

Thefe our Actors,

As I foretold you, were all spirits, and
Are melted into Air, into thin Air;

And like the bafelefs Fabric of THEIR VISION,
The cloud-capt Towers, the gorgeous Palaces,
The folemn Temples, the great Globe it felf,
Yea all which it inherit, fhall diffolve;
And like this unfubftantial Pageant faded,

• Are

Leave not a Rack behind-] In this reading, all fublunary things, on account of their fleeting existence, are compared to the mask of fpirits, which, at the beck of Profper, vanished fuddenly away. But then there is a wretched tautology in the lines, And like the bafelefs Fabric &c.

And like this unfubftantial Pageant &c.

Not to mention the aukward expreffion of [their Vifion], which Mr. Theobald, upon what Authority I know not, hath changed into [this Vifion]. I fuppofe to make the expreffion a little more natural. I would read,

And like the bafelefs Fabric of TH' AIR VISIONS.

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