And left me to a bootlefs inquifition; Pro. The hour's now come. The very minute bids thee ope thine ear; I do not think, thou canft; for then thou waft not Mira. Certainly, Sir, I can. Pro. By what? by any other house, or perfon? Mira. 'Tis far off; And rather like a dream, than an affurance Four, or five, women once, that tended me? "Pro. Thou hadft, and more, Miranda: but how is it, That this lives in thy mind? what feeft thou elfe Mira. But that I do not. Pro. 'Tis twelve years fince, Miranda; twelve years fince, Thy father was the Duke of Milan, and A Prince of Pow'r. Mira. Sir, are not you my father? Pro. Thy mother was a piece of virtue, and She faid, thou waft my daughter; and thy father Was Duke of Milan, and his only heir A Princefs, no worfe iffu'd. Mira. O the heav'ns! What foul play had we, that we came from thence ? Or bleffed was't, we did? Pro. Both, both, my girl: By foul play (as thou fay'st) were we heav'd thence; But bleffedly help'd hither. Mira. O, my heart bleeds To think o'th' teene that I have turn'd you to, Which is from my remembrance. Please you, farther. Pro. My brother, and thy uncle, call'd Anthonio---thee, mark me; (that a brother should I pray Of all the world I lov'd, and to him put Without a parallel; thofe being all my study :) And to my ftate grew ftranger; being tranfported, Mira. Sir, moft heedfully. Pro. Being once perfected how to grant fuits, How to deny them; whom t'advance, and whom 5 To trash for over-topping; new-created The creatures, that were mine; I fay, or chang'd 'em, [not. And fuckt my verdure out on't. Thou attend'st Mira. Good Sir, I do. Pro. I pray thee, mark me then. I thus neglecting worldly ends, all dedicated 5 To trash] fignifies to cut away the trafh or fuperfluities; as, to top, fignifies, to cut off the top. The Oxford Editor alters it to plah, not confidering that to plab fignifies to bind and complicate branches together, and fo is only used to fignify the dreffing and pleating of an Hedge. Awak'd Awak'd an evil nature; and my truft, As my truft was; which had, indeed, no limit, To credit his own lie, he did believe He was, indeed, the Duke; from substitution, With all prerogative. Hence his ambition growing- Mira. Your tale, Sir, would cure deafness. Pro. To have no screen between this part he plaid, And him he plaid it for, he needs will be Abfolute Milan. Me, poor man!—my library Was Dukedom large enough; of temporal royalties He thinks me now incapable: confederates (So dry he was for fway) wi' th' King of Naples 6 like one Who having INTO truth by telling of it, Made fuch a Sinner of his memory, To credit his own lie.] The corrupted reading of the Second line has rendered this beautiful Similitude quite unintelligible. For what is [having into truth]? or what doth [it] refer to? not to [truth], becaufe if he told truth he could never credit a lie. yet there is no other correlative to which [it] can belong. I read and point it thus, like one Who having, UNTO truth, by telling OFT, To credit his own lie, And i. e. by often repeating the fame Story, made his memory fuch a Sinner unto truth as to give credit to his own lie. A miferable delufion to which Story-tellers are frequently fubject. The Oxford Editor having, by this Correction, been let into the Senfe of the Paffage, gives us this Sense in his own Words, Who loving an untruth, and telling't oft, Το To give him annual tribute, do him homage; The Dukedom, yet unbow'd, (alas, poor Milan!) Mira. O the heav'ns! Pro. Mark his condition, and th' event; then tell me, If this might be a Brother? Mira. I fhould fin, To think but nobly of my grand-mother; 7 Good wombs have bore bad fons. Pro. Now the condition: This King of Naples, being an enemy The gates of Milan; and, i'th' dead of darkness, Mira. Alack, for pity! I, not remembring how I cry'd out then, That wrings mine eyes to't. Pro. Hear a little further, And then I'll bring thee to the prefent business, Which now's upon's; without the which this story Were most impertinent. 7 Good wombs have bore bad fons ] Mr. Theobald would give these words to Profpero, because Miranda, bred up in the defart Iland from her infancy, could not be fuppos'd to be furnished with fuch an obfervation from life. An idle reafon. Profpero tells us, he had educated her more carefully than ufual. Would he then fuffer her to be ignorant of the most common cafes in human life? Yet the Oxford Editor follows Mr. Theobald. Mira. Why did they not That hour destroy us? Pro. Well demanded, wench; My tale provokes that queftion. Dear, they durft not Mira. Alack! what trouble Was I then to you? Pro. O! a cherubim Thou waft, that did preferve me: Thou didst fmile, Infused with a fortitude from heav'n, 8 (When I have mock'd the fea with drops full-falt Under my burthen groan'd ;) which rais'd in me An undergoing ftomach, to bear up Against what fhould enfue. Mira. How came we a-fhore? Pro. By providence divine. Some food we had, and some fresh water, that Out of his charity (being then appointed Rich garments, linnens, ftuffs, and neceffaries, ; 8 When I have DECK'D the fea] i. e. honour'd. But this is a poor thought. The Oxford Editor reads brack'd, which is ftill poorer. I imagine that Shakespear wrote мOCK'D, i. e. lent the Sea this trifling addition of falt-water: For when any thing is given or added, the effect of which is not felt or perceived, it was in the language of that time properly called mocking. Knowing |