The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, December 01, 1897, Image 6

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    THE BATTALION.
5
eminent when he first saw Miranda, for he was nearly pros
trated with grief at the supposed death of his father and the
rest of the King’s company, and he thought himself an only
surviver on a barren and desolate island, but to behold this
beautiful maiden was indeed Heavenly and her first words to
him were sweet words of compassion and sympathy, and they
affected him so that he almost instanty fell in love with her
and offered to make her the queen of Naples.
It was in truth the veriest case of “ love at first sight.”
Prospero is very much pleased of what he terms “ The fair
encounter of two most rare affections,” and proceeds to carry
out rapidly his other plans, leaving Ferdinand and Miranda
to themselves.
The story of the loves of Ferdinand and Miranda, told
in the few short scenes in which they appear, is very beautiful.
The open heart of the maiden in the first part shows her
innocence of the world and we can expect nothing else from
one who had lived on this uninhabited island all her life.
Miranda had never beheld one of her own sex, and there
fore there is nothing artificial or imitated in her actions, and
to my mind this simplicity combined with purity is the high
est grace a woman can have.
It seems Shakespeare has purposely refrained from
bringing any other female character into the play, that we
might thoroughly enjoy the beauties of Miranda without the
alloy or contamination of any other of her own sex.
Where we next see Ferdinand and Miranda, Ferdinand
is at work at the task which her father has required him to
do, and I suppose Ferdinand is working on the plan that
“ faint heart ne’er won fair lady ” as he seems to be conscien
tiously doing the work as required of him.
Miranda implores him t:> let her help him with his task,
but of course he says no.
So they sit and talk and she tells him in her innocent
way that “ I would not wish any companion in the world but
you” and he speaks to her in terms equally endearing and