Upon a lonely island of the sea, far from the haunts of humanity, there
dwelt an old man and his beautiful daughter. She had been very young
when she was taken there, so young that she could not remember ever
having seen a human face, excepting the face of Prospero, her father.
[Illustration: WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE]
Their home was in a rocky cavern, which was divided into two or three
apartments, and in one of these the old man kept his books, which
treated of a strange art, much thought of in olden time. It was called
magic; and it is said that by this means Prospero had released many good
spirits which a bad witch named Sycorax had managed to confine in the
hollow trunks of large old trees, just because they would not do the
wicked things she commanded.
One of these released spirits had the pretty name of Ariel; a lively
little sprite, who, in gratitude to Prospero, was always ready to do his
will. But Ariel had a dislike to a monster called Caliban,--the son of
wicked Sycorax,--and took great pleasure in tormenting him.
Though Prospero found this ugly Caliban in the woods, and took him home
to his cavern, treating him with great
[Illustration: THE STORM]
kindness, it seemed impossible to teach him anything really useful; so
at length he was put to draw water and carry wood, while Ariel watched
to see how he executed these duties.
Ariel was such a delicate sprite that no mortal’s eye could perceive him
save the eye of Prospero; and thus, when Caliban was lazy, he was not
able to see that it was Ariel who would pinch him and tease him, or else
take some fantastic shape and tumble in his way, and so vex him, as a
punishment for not doing the will of Prospero.
Strange as it may seem, this old man of the island could get the spirits
to rouse the winds and the waves at his pleasure. Once, when a violent
storm was raging, he showed his daughter Miranda a ship quite full of
human beings, whose lives were in peril from the surging waves. “Oh,
dear father,” cried the maiden, “if indeed your power has raised this
storm, have pity on these poor creatures and calm the wind. If I could,
I would rather sink the sea beneath the earth, than have the ship and so
many lives destroyed.”
“No person on board the vessel shall be harmed,” said Prospero, soothing
her alarm. “I have done this for your sake, Miranda. You wonder--ah! you
know not who you are, or whence you came; in fact, you only know that I
am your father, and that this cavern is our home. You were scarce three
years old when I brought you here; you cannot then remember any previous
time?”
“Yes, my father, I can,” replied Miranda.
Then Prospero entreated her to say what remembrance she had of the days
of her infancy.
“It is but little,” said the maiden. “It seems indeed like unto a dream,
and yet surely there was a time when several women were in attendance on
me.”
“That is quite true,” replied Prospero. “How can you recall this?--can
it be possible that you remember our coming here?”
“No, I can recall nothing more than I have said, father.”
Upon this Prospero decided that the time had come when he should tell
his daughter the story of her life. “Twelve years ago, Miranda,” he
began, “I was duke of Milan, and you the heiress of my wealth and a
princess. I had a brother younger than myself, to whom I trusted the
management of my affairs, little dreaming of his unworthiness. Buried
among my books, I neglected all else, and Antonio used this opportunity
to gain an influence over my subjects; and then, with the aid of an
enemy of mine, the king of Naples, to make himself duke in my place.
“He feared to take our lives by violence, but having forced us on board
a vessel, Antonio put out to sea, and then removing us into a smaller
boat without sail or mast, left us to what he believed would prove a
certain death.
“A lord of my court, by name Gonzalo, had, however, felt some
presentiment of danger, and thus had, out of his love for me, taken the
precaution of putting food, apparel, and my highly valued books into the
boat.”
“Oh, father,” said Miranda, “what a care, what a trouble must I, a
little child, have been to you, then!”
“Nay, my child,” replied Prospero, passing his hand fondly over her
hair; “not a care, but a comforter, a consoler! I could hardly have
borne up under such misfortunes, but for your innocent face and baby
tongue. Our food lasted till the boat touched this island; and here my
great joy has been to watch over and instruct you.”
“But tell me, father, why this furious storm?” cried Miranda.
“By this storm my cruel brother and the king of Naples are cast ashore
upon this island.”
As he spoke these words Prospero touched his daughter with his magic
wand, and her eyes closed in sleep.
Just then Ariel came to his master to tell how he had treated the
company on board the ship, describing their great alarm, and how the
young Ferdinand, son of the king, had leaped into the sea, to the grief
of his father, who believed him lost. “But he is not lost,” said Ariel.
“He is sitting now in a corner of the island, with not one hair of his
head injured; but he is grieving sadly, because he concludes that the
king, his father, has been drowned.”
“Bring the young prince hither, Ariel,” said Prospero. “Where is the
king, and where my brother Antonio?”
“Searching for Ferdinand,” replied the sprite. “Searching with a very
faint hope, for they believe they saw him perish. In fact, although all
the ship’s company is safe, each believes himself the only survivor;
and even the ship is invisible to them, though it lies in the harbor.”
“Thy duty has been well done,” said Prospero. “There is more work yet
for thee, Ariel.”
“More work!” cried the sprite. “But, master, you promised me my liberty;
and pray remember I have done you good service. I have made no mistakes,
told no lies, neither have I murmured at the commands laid upon me.”
“How now?” said Prospero. “Do you forget from what I freed you? Do you
forget Sycorax, the wicked witch? Where was she born? Tell me, Ariel.”
“Sir, she was born in Algiers.”
“Was she?” said Prospero. “Now let me remind you of something which
methinks you have forgotten. Sycorax was for her wicked witchcraft
banished from Algiers, and left upon this lonely island by some sailors;
and because you were not able to obey her commands, she shut you up in a
hollow tree. Do you forget that I found you howling there, and set you
free?”
Ariel was ashamed of having seemed ungrateful. “Pardon me, dear master,”
he said. “I will continue to obey your orders.”
“Do so, and then I shall set you free,” said Prospero; and having
received his directions, Ariel went off to where Ferdinand sat upon the
grass with a sad countenance.
“Come, young gentleman,” said the sprite. “Come, and let the lady
Miranda have a sight of you;” and he began to sing this song, which
gave Ferdinand news of his father, and roused him from his silent
grief:--
“Full fathom five thy father lies:
Of his bones are coral made;
Those are pearls that were his eyes:
Nothing of him that doth fade
But doth suffer a sea-change
Into something rich and strange.
Sea-nymphs hourly ring his knell:
Hark! now I hear them,--Ding-dong, bell.”
Following the sound of Ariel’s sweet voice, Ferdinand found himself in
the presence of Prospero and Miranda, who stood under the shade of a
large tree.
“O father,” cried the maiden, who had never before seen any human being
besides Prospero, “surely this must be a spirit coming towards us?”
“It is a young man who was one of the company in the ship,” said
Prospero. “He is in great grief, which somewhat lessens the beauty of
his features. Having lost his companions, he is wandering in search of
them.”
Ferdinand now saw with amazement and delight the beautiful Miranda, and
he began to address her as if she were the goddess of an enchanted
island.
She replied that she was but a simple maiden and no goddess, and would
have given an account of herself, had not Prospero interrupted her. He
foresaw that these two young people would become much attached to each
other, and therefore resolved to throw many difficulties in Ferdinand’s
way, that he might prove the strength and constancy of his affection.
“I will bind you hand and foot,” he cried. “Shell-fish, acorns, withered
roots shall be your food, and salt sea water your only drink.”
“No,” cried Ferdinand, drawing his sword; “I shall resist such
entertainment--at any rate until I am overcome by some more powerful
enemy than yourself.”
At this Prospero raised his magic wand, which completely fixed Ferdinand
to the spot, so that he could not move!
“O father, be not so unkind,” cried Miranda, clinging to the old man.
“Have some pity on him, for indeed it seems to me that he is good and
true.”
“Silence, girl. You think much of this youth because you have seen no
comelier form than mine: but I tell you there are others who in person
excel him as far as he excels in beauty the monster, Caliban.”
Then, turning to the prince, Prospero cried, “Come, young sir; you have
no power to disobey me.”
And Ferdinand found himself compelled to follow the old man into the
cavern, although he turned once and again to gaze upon Miranda. “In
truth this man’s threats would seem as nothing to me,” he sighed, “if
only I might from my prison behold this fair maid.”
Ferdinand was not confined very long; he was brought out and set to some
laborious task, while Prospero from his study watched both the young man
and Miranda.
The prince had been ordered to pile up some heavy logs of wood, and
soon the maiden saw him half-fainting beneath his burden. “Pray rest,”
she cried; “my father will for three hours be at his studies. I entreat
you not to work so hard.”
“Dear lady, I dare not rest,” said Ferdinand; “I must finish my task.”
“Sit down and I shall carry the logs for a while,” said the maiden; but
Ferdinand would not have it so, and so she began to assist him, though
the business went on but slowly because they were talking together.
But Prospero was not among his books, as Miranda thought; he was quite
close to them, although invisible, and he smiled as he heard his
daughter tell her name, and smiled again as Ferdinand professed his
great love and admiration for her.
“I fear I am talking too freely. I have forgotten my father’s command,”
said Miranda, at last.
And here Prospero nodded his head, and said to himself, “My daughter
shall be queen of Naples.”
They had not talked long, before Miranda had promised to be the bride of
Ferdinand; and then her father no longer concealed his presence, but
made himself visible to the eyes of these young people. “Be not afraid,
daughter,” he said; “I have heard all that has passed, but I approve it.
As for you, Ferdinand, if I have been hard, it was but to try if you
were worthy of my child; and by giving her to you I make amends for it
all.”
Calling his attendant, Ariel, Prospero left them, saying he had
business to attend to; which business was to hear how the sprite had
been tormenting and frightening his master’s brother and the king of
Naples. When they were weary and well-nigh famished, he set a delicate
banquet before them; but only to appear again as a monster, who carried
the untasted food away. Then he spoke to them, still in the form of a
harpy, and reminded them of the shameful way in which they had treated
Prospero and his little child, adding that in punishment this shipwreck
had befallen them.
The king and Antonio were greatly distressed at this; and Ariel declared
that though he was but a sprite, he could not but pity them, their grief
seemed so sincere.
“Bring them here,” cried Prospero. “Bring them quickly, my good Ariel;
for if you feel for them, much more should I who am a human being, such
as they, take compassion on them in their misfortune, and freely forgive
the past.”
So Ariel brought the king and Prospero’s brother into his presence; and
with them came Gonzalo, who had proved his love for his master by
putting food and apparel into the boat in which he had been left to the
mercy of the winds and waves.
When Prospero spoke to Gonzalo, and called him the preserver of his
life, Antonio knew this old man must be his own much-injured brother,
and he began to implore his pardon with many tears; the king also asked
forgiveness for the part he had taken against him.
Prospero assured them that he freely forgave all; and, opening a door,
he showed them Ferdinand, who was engaged in a game of chess with
Miranda. What joy was this to the father and son, both of whom believed
the other had been lost in the storm!
The king of Naples was astonished at the beauty of Miranda. “Is this a
goddess” he asked, “who parted us that she might bring us together?”
“Not a goddess,” answered Ferdinand, smiling. “A fair maiden, whom I
have asked to be my bride. She is the daughter of the duke of Milan,
who, in giving her to me, has made himself my second father.”
“Then I must be her father,” said the king. “And, first, I must ask her
forgiveness.”
“Not so,” interrupted Prospero; “let us rather forget the past and think
only of the happy present.” And then, embracing his brother, he declared
that all his troubles had been overruled by Providence; as, but for
their meeting on the desert island, perhaps Ferdinand would never have
known and loved Miranda.
The ship was safe in harbor, the sailors were on board, and the whole
company intended to depart together in the morning; but for that last
evening they partook of some refreshments in the cavern, which was so
soon now to be deserted, while Prospero gave them the story of his
adventures.
Before he left the island he dismissed Ariel from his service, to the
joy of the active sprite, who loved liberty above all else. “But,
master, I shall attend your passage home, and get for you prosperous
winds; and then how merrily I’ll live.” And at this Ariel broke into a
sweet song, which went like this:--
“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.”
Prospero’s last act was to bury all his magical books and his wand; for
he meant to have nothing more to do with the art, but to spend the rest
of his life in his native land, watching over the welfare of his people,
and at peace with all the world.
As soon as the party reached Naples, the marriage of Ferdinand and
Miranda took place with much splendor, thus completing the happiness of
Prospero, now again duke of Milan, but whom we have learned to know as
the old man of the island.--MARY SEYMOUR.
_From “Tales from Shakespeare,” by Mary Seymour, published by
Thomas Nelson & Sons, Edinburgh._
* * * * *
Thanks to the human heart by which we live,
Thanks to its tenderness, its joys and fears;
To me the meanest flower that blows can give
Thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears.
--WORDSWORTH.