From the Fire (6 page)

I-6

CODA

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

Confined by you …

~

… But release me from my bands

With the help of your good hands:

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 relieved 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.

~

—Prospero in
The Tempest

(Epilogue, 1-20), by William Shakespeare

(The survival story of Sophie St.-Germain continues, when she rises and finds herself no longer to be alone in  
FROM THE FIRE, EPISODE II: THE CAGE
, also available from Wonderland Imprints and the Kindle Store on Amazon.com.)