I9 2 UNDER THE TREES. 



form. Prospero was a magician, but he was much 

 more and much greater than a wonder-worker ; not 

 Caliban, but Ferdinand and Miranda and Gonzalo, 

 are the true judges of his power. Prospero was the 

 master spirit of the world which moved about him. 

 He alone knew its secret and used its forces ; on 

 him alone rested the government of this marvelous 

 realm. His command had stirred the seas and sent 

 the winds abroad which brought Milan and Naples 

 within his hand ; at his bidding the isle was full of 

 sounds ; Ariel served him with tireless devotion ; 

 he read the sweet thought that flashed from Mir 

 anda to Ferdinand ; he unearthed the base con 

 spiracy of Caliban, Trinculo, and Stephano ; he 

 read the treacherous hearts of Antonio and Sebas 

 tian ; in his hand all these threads were gathered, 

 and upon all these lives his will was imposed. In 

 that majestic drama of human character and action, 

 powers of air and earth, the highest and the lowest 

 alike serving, it is a lofty soul and a noble mind 

 possessed by a great purpose, which control and tri 

 umph. The magical arts are simply the means by 

 which a great end is served ; when the work is ac 

 complished, the staff will be broken and the book 

 sunk beneath the sea, lower than any sounding of 

 plummet.&quot; 



&quot; Yes,&quot; said Rosalind impulsively, carrying the 

 thought another step forward, &quot; Prospero deals with 

 natural, substantial things for great, real ends, not 

 with magical powers for fantastic purposes. When 



