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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,
The cloud-capp'd towers, the gorgeous palaces,
The solemn teinples, the great globe itself,
Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve;
And, like this insubstantial pageant faded,
Leave not a rack behind: We are such stuff
As dreams are made of, 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. We wish your peace. [Exeunt.
Pro. Come with a thought: -I thank you :-
Ariel, come.

Enter ARIEL.

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

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.

Pro. Say again, where didst thou leave these varlets?
Ari. I told you, sir, they were red-hot with drink-
So full of valour, that they smote the air [ing:
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 eye-lids, lifted up their noses,
As they smelt music; so I charm'd their ears,
That, calf-like, they my lowing followed, 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.

Ari. I go, I go. [Exit. Pre. 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, Re-enter ARIEL loaden with glistering apparel, &c. Even to roaring:-Come, hang them on this line. PROSPERO and ARIEL remain invisible. Enter CALIBAN, STEPHANO, and TRINCULO, all wet. Cal. Pray you, tread softly, that the blind mole may Hear a foot fall: we now are near his cell. [not 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,Tria. Thou wert but a lost monster.

Cat Good my lord, give me thy favour still: the patient, for the prize I'll bring thee to Sall hood-wink this mischance: therefore speak All's hush'd as midnight yet. [softly, Tria. 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. Prythee, my king, be quiet: Seest 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.

[mean,

Cal. The dropsy drown this fool! what do you To doat 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 ; Make us strange stuff.

Ste. Be you quiet, monster.-Mistress line, is not this my jerkin? Now this is the jerkin under the line: now, jerkin, you are like to lose your hair, and prove a bald jerkin.

Trin. Do, do: We steal by line and level, an't like your grace.

Ste. I thank thee for that jest: here's a garment for 't: wit shall not go unrewarded, while I am king of this country: Steal by line and level, is an excellent pass of pate; there's another garment for 't.

Trin. Monster, come, put some lime upon your fingers, and away with the rest.

Cal. I will have none on 't: we shall lose our time, And all be turn'd to barnacles, or to apes With foreheads villainous low.

Ste. Monster, lay-to your fingers; help to bear this away, where my hogshead of wine is, or I'll turn you out of my kingdom: go to, carry this. Trin. And this.

Ste. Ay, and this.

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[hark!

Pro. Hey, Mountain, hey! Ari. Silver! there it goes, Silver! Pro. Fury, Fury! there, Tyrant, there! hark, [CAL. STE. and TRIN. are driven out. Go, charge my goblins that they grind their joints With dry convulsions; shorten up their sinews With aged cramps; and more pinch-spotted make Than pard, or cat o' mountain. Ari. Hark, they roar.

Pro. Let them be hunted soundly: At this hour Lie at my mercy all mine enemies: Shortly shall all my labours end, and thou Shalt have the air of freedom: for a little,

Follow, and do me service.

ACT V.

[Exeunt,

SCENE I.-Before the Cell of Prospero. Enter PROSPERO in his magic robes; and ARIEL. Pro. Now does my project gather to a head: My charms crack not; my spirits obey; and time

Goes upright with his carriage. 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?

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. 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, iike winter's drops
From eaves of reeds: your charm so strongly works
That if you now beheld them, your affections [them,
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
Of their afflictions? and shall not myself,
One of their kind, that relish all as sharply,
Passion as they, be kindlier mov'd than thou art?
Though with their high wrongs I am struck to the
Yet, with my nobler reason 'gainst my fury [quick,
Do I take part: the rarer action is

In virtue than in vengeance: they being penitent,
The sole drift of my purpose doth extend
Not a frown further: Go, release them, Ariel;
My charms I'll break, their senses I'll restore,
And they shall be themselves.

Ari.

I'll fetch them, sir. [Exit. Pro. Ye elves of hills, brooks, standing lakes, and And ye, that on the sands with printless foot [groves; Do chase the ebbing Neptune, and do fly him, When he comes back; you demi-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), I have be-dimm'd The noon-tide sun, call'd forth the mutinous winds, And 'twixt the green sea and the azur'd vault Set roaring war: to the dread rattling thunder Have I given fire, and rifted Jove's stout oak With his own bolt: the strong-bas'd promontory Have I made shake; and by the spurs pluck'd up The pine and cedar graves, at my command, Have waked their sleepers; oped, and let them forth | By my so potent art: But this rough magic I here abjure: and, when I have requir'd Some heavenly music, (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. Re-enter ARIEL: after him, ALONSO, with a frantic 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

[Solemn music.

To an unsettled fancy, cure thy brains,

Mine eyes, even sociable to the shew of thine,
Fall fellowly drops.-The charm dissolves apace;
And as the morning steals upon the night,
Melting the darkness, so their rising senses
Begin to chase the ignorant fumes 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; [blood,
Thou'rt pinch'd for't now, Sebastian.—Flesh and
You brother mine, that entertain'd ambition,
Expell'd remorse and nature; who, with Sebastian,
(Whose inward pinches therefore are most strong,)
Would 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 ;

There I couch when owls do cry.

On the bat's back I do fly,

After summer, merrily:

Merrily, merrily, shall I live now,

Under the blossom that hangs on the bough.

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 before me, and return Or e'er your pulse twice beat.

[Exit ARIEL. 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,
Or some enchanted trifle to abuse me,
As late I have been, I not know thy pulse
Beats, as of flesh and blood; and, since I saw thee,
The affliction of my mind amends, with which,
I fear, a madness held me: this must crave
(And if this be at all) a most strange story.
Thy dukedom I resign; and do entreat [Prospero
Be living, and be here?
Thou pardon me my wrongs:-But how should

Pro.

Let me embrace thine age; Be measur'd, or confin'd.

Gon.

Or be not, I'll not swear.

Pro.

whose honour cannot First, noble friend,

Whether this be,

You do yet taste Some subtilties o' the isle, that will not let you

Now useless, boil'd within thy skull! There stand, Believe things certain :-Welcome, my friends all :

For you are spell stopp'd..

Holy Gonzalo, honourable man,

But you, my brace of lords, were I so minded, [Aside to SEB. and ANT.

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You have not sought her help; of whose soft grace Let us not burden our remembrances
For the like loss, I have her sovereign aid,
With a heaviness that's gone.
Gon.

And rest myself content.

Alon.

You the like loss?

Pro. As great to me, as late; and, supportable
To make the dear loss, have I means much weaker
Than you may call to comfort you; for I
Have lost my daughter.

Alon.

A daughter?

O heavens! that they were living both in Naples,

There, sir, stop;

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

The king and queen there! that they were, I wish
| Beyond a common joy; and set it down
Myself were mudded in that oozy bed [ter?
Where my son lies. When did you lose your daugh-
Pre. 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: 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.

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.

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

The entrance of the Cell opens, and discovers FERDI-
NAND and MIRANDA playing at chess.
Mira. Sweet lord, you play me false,
Fer.

No, my dearest love,
I would not for the world.
[wrangle,
Mira. Yes, for a score of kingdoms you should
And I would call it fair play.
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.
Now all the blessings

Alon.
Of a glad father compass thee about!
Arise, and say how thou cam'st here.
Mira.
How many goodly creatures are there here!

O! wonder!

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.

Aside.

Ari.
Sir, all this service
Have I done since I went.
Pro.
My tricksy spirit! S
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 of sleep,
And (how, we know not) all clapp'd under hatches,
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. Was 't well done?

[free.

Pro. Bravely, my diligence. Thou shalt be

Aside.

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Do not infest your mind with beating on
The strangeness of this business: at pick'd leisure,
Which shall be shortly, single I'll resolve you
(Which to you shall seem probable), of every
These happen'd accidents; till when, be cheerful,
And think of each thing well.-Come hither, spirit ;
[Aside.
Set Caliban and his companions free : [cious sir?
Untie the spell. [Exit ARIEL.] How fares my gra-
There are yet missing of your company
Some few odd lads that you remember not.
Re-enter ARIEL, driving in CALIBAN, STEPHANO, and
TRINCULO, in their stolen Apparel.

Ste. Every man shift for all the rest, and let no man take care for himself; for all is but fortune:Coragio, bully-monster, Coragio!

Trin. If these be true spies which I wear in my head, here's a goodly sight.

Cal. O Setebos, these be brave spirits, indeed! How fine my master is! I am afraid

He will chastise me.

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What things are these, my lord Antonio !
Will money buy them?

Ant. Very like; one of them

Is a plain fish, and, no doubt, marketable.

Pro. Mark but the badges of these men, my lords,
Then say, if they be true:-This mis-shapen knave,
His mother was a witch; and one so strong
That could control the moon, make flows and ebbs,
And deal in her command, without her
power:
These three have robb'd me: and this demi-devil
(For he's a bastard one) had plotted with them
To take my life: two of these fellows you
Must know, and own; this thing of darkness I
Acknowledge mine.

Cal.
I shall be pinch'd to death.
Alon. Is not this Stephano, my drunken butler?
Seb. He is drunk now: where had he the wine?

Alon. And Trinculo is reeling ripe: Where should Find this grand liquor that hath gilded them?— [they How cam'st thou in this pickle?

Trin. I have been in such a pickle since I saw you last, that, I fear me, will never out of my bones: I shall not fear fly-blowing.

Seb. Why, how now, Stephano?

[cramp.

Ste. O, touch me not; I am not Stephano, but a Pro. You'd be king of the isle, sirrah? Ste. I should have been a sore one then. Alon. This is as strange a thing as e'er I look'd on. [Pointing to CALIBAN. Pro. He is as disproportion'd in his manners, As in his shape :-Go, sirrah, to my cell; Take with you your companions; as you look To have my pardon, trim it handsomely.

Cal. Ay, that I will; and I'll be wise hereafter, And seek for grace: What a thrice-double ass Was I, to take this drunkard for a god, And worship this dull fool? Pro. Go to; away! [found it. Alon. Hence, and bestow your luggage where you Seb. Or stole it, rather. [Exeunt CAL. STE. and TRIN. Pro. Sir, I invite your highness, and your train, To my poor cell where you shall take your rest For this one night; which (part of it) I'll waste With such discourse, as, I not doubt, shall make it Go quick away: the story of my life, And the particular accidents, gone by, Since I came to this isle: And in the morn, I'll bring you to your ship, and so to Naples, Where I have hope to see the nuptial Of these our dear-beloved solemniz'd; And thence retire me to my Milan, where Every third thought shall be my grave.

Alon.

I long To hear the story of your life, which must Take the ear strangely. I'll deliver all;

Pro.

And promise you calm seas, auspicious gales,
And sail so expeditious, that shall catch
Your royal fleet far off.-My Ariel ;—chick,—
That is thy charge; then to the elements

Be free, and fare thou well!-[aside.] Please you
draw near.
[Exeunt.

EPILOGUE.-Spoken

Now my charms are all o'erthrown,
And what strength I have's mine own;
Which is most faint: now 'tis true,
I must be here confin'd by you,
Or sent to Naples: Let me not,
Since I have my dukedom got,
And pardon'd the deceiver, dwell
In this bare island, by your spell;
But release me from iny bands,
With the help of your good hands.

It is observed of The Tempest, that its plan is regular; this the author of The Revisal thinks, what I think too, an accidental effect of the story, not intended or regarded by our author. But, whatever might be Shakspeare's intention in forming or adopting the plot, he has made it instrumental to the production of many characters, diversified with boundless invention, and preserved with profound skill in nature, extensive knowledge of opinions, and accurate observation of life. In a single drama are here exhibited princes, courtiers, and sailors, all speaking in their real characters. There is the agency of airy spirits, and of an earthly goblin. The operations of magic, the tumults of a storm, the adventures of a desert island, the native effusion

of untaught affection, the punishment of guilt, and the final happiness of the pair for whom our passions and reason are equally interested.-JOHNSON.

The unity of time is strictly observed in this play. The fable scarcely takes up a greater number of hours than are employed in the representation: and from the very particular care which our author takes to point out this circumstance in so many passages, it should seem that it was not accidental, but designed to shew the cavillers of the time, that he too could write a play within all the strictest laws of regularity, when he chose to load

by PROspero.

Gentle breath of yours my sails
Must fill, or else my project fails,
Which was to please: Now I want
Spirits to enforce, art to enchant;
And my ending is despair,
Unless I be reliev'd by prayer;
Which pierces so, that it assaults
Mercy itself, and frees all faults.
As you from crimes would pardon'd be,
Let your indulgence set me free.

himself with the critic's fetters.-Alonso says,
If thou beest Prospero,
Give us particulars of thy preservation:
How thou hast met us here, who three hours since
Were wreck'd upon this shore."-

The boatswain marks the progress of the day again;
"Which but three glasses since,"-&c.
At the beginning of the fifth act the duration of the time em-
ployed on the stage is particularly ascertained;
"Pro. How's the day!

Ari. On the sixth hour."

And they again refer to a passage in the first act :

"Pro. What is the time of the day?

Ari. Past the mid season, at least two glasses."-STEEVENS. It may be farther added to the above observation of Steevens, that the unities of action and of place are as exactly observed as the unity of time. "In this play," says Dr. Warton, Adventurer, Number 97," the action is one, great, and entire the restoration of Prospero to his dukedom; this business is transacted in the compass of a small island, and in or near the cave of Prospero."

THERE was no edition of this play, till that of the year 1623;| but it must have been written much earlier, as it is mentioned by Meres, in his Wit's Treasury, which was published in 1598. -Mr. Malone considers this play as Shakspeare's first production. The internal evidence is against such a supposition. It has neither the beauties or the faults-the exuberance or the inequalities-that generally distinguish the inexperienced efforts of a rich and original genius.-The general tone of the comedy, though occasionally relieved by passages of much grace and sweetness, is that of smooth, elegant, dull mediocrity. It is rejected as entirely spurious by Hanmer and Upton: and though the quibbles of Speed, the folly of Launce, and some delightful lines scattered here and there in the serious scenes of the play, are so perfectly in the manner of Shakspeare, as to convince the reader that it had undergone his revision and improvement, I cannot help believing it impossible that our great Dramatist could have been the author of a work, in which the characters are so entirely devoid of individuality, the dialogue so elaborately heavy, so smoothly tame, and so little varied with the changes of situation. Dr. John

son thinks differently, and says, " When I read this play I cannot but think that I find, both in the serious and ludicrous scenes, the language and sentiments of Shakspeare. It is not, indeed, one of his most powerful effusions; it has neither many diversities of character, nor striking delineations of life; but it abounds in yvwua beyond most of his plays, and few have more lines or passages, which, singly considered, are eminently beautiful. I am yet inclined to believe that it was not very successful, and suspect that it has escaped corruption, only because, being seldom played, it was less exposed to the hazards of transcription.

The story of Proteus and Julia, has been resembled to a story in the Diana of George of Montemayor, which, according to Mrs. Lenox, was translated in Shakspeare's time.-The incident of Valentine's joining the robbers is also supposed to be taken from the Arcadia of Sir Philip Sidney, book 1. chap. 6. where Pyrocles consents to head the Helots.-Both these adventures are common in tale and history, and, if not already prepared to the author's hand, might have been invented without any great stretch of imagination.

PERSONS REPRESENTED.

DUKE OF MILAN, father to Silvia.
VALENTINE, PROTEUS, Gentlemen of Verona.
ANTONIO, father to Proteus.

THURIO, a foolish rival to Valentine.

EGLAMOUR, agent for Silvia, in her escape.
SPEED, a clownish servant to Valentine.
LAUNCE, servant to Proteus.

PANTHINO, servant to Antonio.
Host, where Julia lodges in Milan.
Out-lews.

JULIA, a lady of Verona, beloved by Proteus.
SILVIA, the duke's daughter, beloved by Valentine.
LUCETTA, waiting-woman to Julia.

Servants, Musicians.

SCENE, sometimes in VERONA; sometimes in MILAN; and on the Frontiers of MANTUA.

ACT I.

SCENE I.-An open place in Verona.

Enter VALENTINE and PROTEUS.

Val. Cease to persuade, my loving Proteus; Home-keeping youth have ever homely wits; Weret not, affection chains thy tender days To the sweet glances of thy honour'd love, I rather would entreat thy company, To see the wonders of the world abroad, Than living dully sluggardiz'd at home, Wear out thy youth with shapeless idleness. But, since thou lov'st, love still, and thrive therein, Even as I would, when I to love begin.

Pro. Wilt thou be gone? Sweet Valentine, adieu! Think on thy Proteus, when thou, haply, seest Some rare note-worthy object in thy travel: Wish me partaker in thy happiness,

When thou dost meet good hap: and, in thy danger,
If ever danger do environ thee,

Commend thy grievance to my holy prayers,
For I will be thy bead's-man, Valentine.

Val. And on a love-book pray for my success. Pro. Upon some book I love, I'll pray for thec. Val. That's on some shallow story of deep love, How young Leander cross'd the Hellespont.

Pro. That's a deep story of a deeper love; For he was more than over shoes in love.

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In love, where scorn is bought with groans; coy looks,
With heart-sore sighs; one fading moment's mirth,
With twenty watchful, weary, tedious nights:

If haply won, perhaps, a hapless gain;
If lost, why then a grievous labour won;
However, but a folly bought with wit,
Or else a wit by folly vanquished.

Pro. So, by your circumstance, you call me fool.
Val. So, by your circumstance, I fear, you'll prove.
Pro. 'Tis love you cavil at; I am not love.
Val. Love is your master, for he masters you:
And he that is so yoked by a foc',
Methinks should not be chronicled for wise.

Pro. Yet writers say, As in the sweetest bud The eating canker dwells, so eating love Inhabits in the finest wits of all.

Val. And writers say, As the most forward bud
Is eaten by the canker ere it blow,
Even so by love the young and tender wit
Is turn'd to folly; blasting in the bud,
Losing his verdure even in the prime,
And all the fair effects of future hopes.
But wherefore waste I time to counsel thee,
That art a votary to fond desire?

Once more adieu: my father at the road
Expects my coming, there to see me shipp'd.

Pro. And thither will I bring thee, Valentine.
Val. Sweet Proteus, no; now let us take our leave.
At Milan, let me hear from thee by letters,
Of thy success in love, and what news else
Betideth here in absence of thy friend;
And I likewise will visit thee with mine.

Pro. All happiness bechance to thee in Milan! Val. As much to you at home! and so, farewell. [Exit VALENTINE.

Pro. He after honour hunts, I after love : He leaves his friends to dignify them more; I leave myself, my friends, and all for love. Thou, Julia, thou hast metamorphos'd me; Made me neglect my studies, lose my time, War with good counsel, set the world at nought; Made wit with musing weak, heart sick with thought.

Enter SPEED.

Speed. Sir Proteus, save you: Saw you my master?

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