Pier. My friend, good morrow! How fares the honest partner of my heart? What, melancholy! not a word to spare me? Jaf. I'm thinking, Pierre, how that damn'd starving quality, Call'd honesty, got footing in the world.
Pier. Why, powerful villany first set it up, For its own ease and safety. Honest men Are the soft easy cushions on which knaves Repose and fatten. Were all mankind villains, They'd starve each other; lawyers would want practice,
Cut-throats rewards: each man would kill his brother
Himself; nene would be paid or hang'd for
Honesty! 'twas a cheat invented first
To bind the hands of bold deserving rogues, That fools and cowards might sit safe in power, And lord it uncontrol'd above their betters. Jaf. Then honesty is but a notion? Pier. Nothing else;
Like wit, much talk'd of, not to be defin'd: He that pretends to most, too, has least share in't. Tis a ragged virtue: Honesty! no more on't. Jaf. Sure thou art honest!
Pier. So, indeed, men think me;
But they're mistaken, Jaffier: I'm a rogue As well as they;
A fine, gay, bold-fac'd villain as thou seest me. I pay my debts, when they're con- tracted;
I steal from no man; would not cut a throat To gain admission to a great man's purse, Or a whore's bed; I'd not betray my friend get his place or fortune; I scorn to flatter A blown-up fool above me, or crush the wretch beneath me;
Yet, Jaffier, for all this I'm a villain. Jaf. A villain!
Pier. Yes, a most notorious villain; To see the sufferings of my fellow creatures, And own myself a man: to see our senators Cheat the deluded people with a show Of liberty, which yet they ne'er must taste of. They say, by them our hands are free from fetters;
Jaf. I think no safety can be here for virtue, And grieve, my friend, as much as thou, to live In such a wretched state as this of Venice, Where all agree to spoil the public good; And villains fatten with the brave man's labours.
Pier. We've neither safety, unity, nor peace, For the foundation's lost of common good; Justice is lame, as well as blind, amongst us; The laws (corrupted to their ends that make 'em) Serve but for instruments of some new tyranny, That every day starts up, t'enslave us deeper. Now could this glorious cause but find out friends To do it right, oh, Jaffier! then might'st thou Not wear these seals of woe upon thy face; The proud Priuli should be taught humanity, And learn to value such a son as thou art. I dare not speak, but my heart bleeds this moment. Jaf. Curs'd be the cause, though I thy friend be part on't:
Let me partake the troubles of thy bosom, For I am us'd to misery, and perhaps May find a way to sweeten't to thy spirit.
Pier. Too soon 'twill reach thy knowledge- Jaf. Then from thee
Let it proceed. There's virtue in thy friendship, Would make the saddest tale of sorrow pleasing, Strengthen my constancy and welcome ruin. Pier. Then thou art ruined!
Jaf. That I long since knew;
I and ill fortune have been long acquainted." Pier. I pass'd this very moment by thy doors, And found them guarded by a troop of villains; The sons of public rapine were destroying.. They told me, by the sentence of the law, They had commission to seize all thy fortune: Nay more, Priuli's cruel hand had sign'd it. Here stood a ruffian with a horrid face, Lording it o'er a pile of massy plate, Tumbled into a heap for public sale; There was another, making villanous jests At thy undoing: he had ta'en possession Of all thy ancient, most domestic ornaments, Rich hangings intermix'd and wrought with gold; The very bed, which on thy wedding-night Receiv'd thee to the arms of Belvidera, The scene of all thy joys, was violated By the coarse hands of filthy dungeon villains, And thrown amongst the common lumber, Jaf. Now thank heaven-
Pier. Thank heaven! for what? Juf. That I'm not worth a ducat. Pier. Curse thy dull stars, and the worse fate of Venice,
Where brothers, friends, and fathers, all are false;
Where there's no truth, no trust; where in
Stoops under vile oppression, and vice lords it. Hadst thou but seen, as I did, how at last Thy beauteous Belvidera, like a wretch That's doom'd to banishment,came weeping forth, Shining through tears, like April suns in showers,
That labour to o'ercome the cloud that loads 'em;
Whilst two young virgins, on whose arms she lean'd,
Yet whom they please they lay in basest bonds; Bring whom they please to infamy and sorrow; Drive us, like wrecks, down the rough tide Kindly look'd up, and at her grief grew sad, of power, As if they catch'd the sorrows that fell from her. Whilst no hold's left to save us from destruction. Ev'n the lewd rabble, that were gather'd round All that bear this are villains, and I one, To see the sight, stood mute when they beheld her; Not to rouse up at the great call of nature, Govern'd their roaring throats, and grumbled pity. And check the growth of these domestic spoilers, I could have hugg'd the greasy rogues: they That make us slaves, and tell us, 'tis our charter.
Jaf. Ithank thee for this story, from my soul; | Were in their spring! Has then our fortune Since now I know the worst that can befal me.
Ah, Pierre! I have a heart that could have borne Art thou not Belvideră, still the same, The roughest wrong my fortune could have Kind, good, and tender, as my arms first found
But when I think what Belvidera feels, The bitterness her tender spirit tastes of, I own myself a coward: bear my weakness: If throwing thus my arms about thy neck, I play the boy, and blubber in thy bosom. Oh! I shall drown thee with my sorrows. Pier. Burn,
First, burn and level Venice to thy ruin. What! starve, like beggars' brats, in frosty weather,
If thou art alter'd, where shall I have harbour? Where ease my loaded heart? Oh! where complain?
Bel. Does this appear like change, or love decaying, When thus I throw myself into thy bosom, With all the resolution of strong truth! Beats not my heart, as 'twould alarum thine To a new charge of bliss?—I joy more in thee, Than did thy mother, when she hugg'd thee first, And bless'd the gods for all her travail past. Jaf. Can there in woman be such glorious faith?
Under a hedge, and whine ourselves to death! Thou or thy cause shall never want assistance, Whilst I have blood or fortune fit to serve thee: Command my heart, thou'rt every way its master. Sure all ill stories of thy sex are false ! Jaf. No, there's a secret pride in bravely dying. Oh woman! lovely woman! nature made thee Pier. Rats die in holes and corners, dogs Totemperman: we had been brutes without you! Angels are painted fair to look like you: There's in you all that we believe of heaven; Amazing brightness, purity, and truth, Eternal joy, and everlasting love.
Man knows a braver remedy for sorrow: Revenge, the attribute of gods; they stamp'd it, With their great image, on our natures. Die! Consider well the cause, that calls upon thee: Bel. lflove be treasure, we'll be wondrous rich; And, if thou'rt base enough, die then. Remember, I have so much, my heart will surely break with't: Thy Belvidera suffers; Belvidera! Vows can't express it. When I would declare Die damn first-What! be decently interr'd How great's my joy, I'm dumb with the big In a church-yard, and mingle thy brave dust VWith stinking rogues, that rot in winding-sheets, I swell, and sigh, and labour with my longing. Surfeit-slain fools, the common dung o'th' soil! O! lead me to some desert wide and wild, Jaf. Oh! Barren as our misfortunes, where my soul Pier. Well said, out with't, swear a little-May have its vent, where I may tell aloud Jaf. Swear! By sea and air; by earth, by To the high heavens, and ev'ry list'ning planet heav'n, and hell, With what a boundless stock my bosom
I will revenge my Belvidera's tears. Hark thee, my friend-Priuli-is-a senator.
Pier. A dog.
Jaf. Agreed.
Pier. Shoot him.
Jaf. With all my heart.
No more; where shall we meet at night? Pier. I'll tell thee;
On the Rialto, every night at twelve, I take my evening's walk of meditation; There we two will meet, and talk of precious
Mischief
Jaf. Farewell.
Pier. At twelve.
Where I may throw my eager arms about thee Give loose to love, with kisses kindling joy, And let off all the fire that's in my heart.
Jaf. Oh, Belvidera! doubly I'm a beggar: Undone by fortune, and in debt to thee. Want, worldly want, that hungry, meagre fiend Is at my heels, and chases me in view. Canst thou bear cold and hunger? Can thes limbs,
Fram'd for the tender offices of love, Endure the bitter gripes of smarting poverty When banish'd by our miseries abroad (As suddenly we shall be) to seek out In some far climate, where our names ar strangers,
For charitable succour; wilt thou then, When in a bed of straw we shrink togethe And the bleak winds shall whistle round ot heads;
Wilt thou then talk thus to me? Wilt thou the Hush my cares thus, and shelter me with love Bel. Oh! I will love thee, even in madne
SCENE I.-The Rialto. Enter JAFFIER.
Jaf. I'm here; and thus, the shades of night around me,
I look as if all bell were in my heart, And I in hell. Nay surely 'tis so with me!- For every step I tread, methinks some fiend Knocks at my breast, and bids me not be quiet. I've heard how desperate wretches, like myself, Have wander'd out at this dead time of night, To meet the foe of mankind in his walk. Sure I'm so curs'd that, though of heaven! forsaken,
No minister of darkness cares to tempt me. Hell, hell! why sleep'st thou?
Pier. Sure I've staid too long:
The clock has struck, and I may lose my proselyte. Speak, who goes there?
Jaf. A dog, that comes to how! At yonder moon. What's he that asks the question?
Pier. A friend to dogs, for they are honest creatures,
And ne'er betray their masters: never fawn On any that they love not. Well met, friend: Jather!
Jaf. The same.
Pier. Where's Belvidera?—
Jaf. For a day or two
fre lodg'd her privately, till I see further What fortune will do for me. Pr'ythee, friend, If thou wouldst have me fit to hear good counsel, peak not of Belvidera
Pier. Not of her! Jaf. Oh, no!
Per. Not name her! May be I wish her well. Jaf. Whom well?
Pier. Thy wife; thy lovely Belvidera. I hope a man may wish his friend's wife well, And no harm done?
Jaf. Y are merry, Pierre. Pier. I am so:
Thou shalt smile too, and Belvidera smile: Well all rejoice. Here's something to buy pins;
age is chargeable. [Gives him a Purse. Jef. I but half wish'd
Te the devil, and he's here already. Well! What must this buy? Rebellion, murder,
Have happen'd? Has Priuli's heart relented? Can he be honest?
Jaf, Kind heav'n, let heavy curses Gall his old age; cramps, aches, rack his bones, And bitterest disquiet wring his heart. Oh! let him live, till life become his burden: Let him groan under't long, linger an age In the worst agonies and pangs of death, And find its ease but late.
Pier. Nay, couldst thou not
As well, my friend, have stretch'd the curse to all The senate round, as to one single villain? Jaf. But curses stick not: could I kill with
May be dispos'd of, in honest hands, in Venice. Jaf. Thou talk'st in clouds.
Pier. But yet a heart, half wrong'd As thine has been, would find the meaning, Jaffier.
Jaf. A thousand daggers, all in honest hands! And have not I a friend will stick one here! Pier. Yes, if I thought thou wert not cherish'd T' a nobler purpose, I would be thy friend; But thou hast better friends; friends whom thy wrongs
Have made thy friends; friends worthy to be call'd so.
I'll trust thee with a secret: There are spirits This hour at work.-But as thou art a man, Whom I have pick'd and chosen from the world, Swear that thou wilt be true to what I utter; And when I've told thee that which only gods, And men like gods, are privy to, then swear No chance or change shall wrest it from thy bosom.
Jaf. When thou wouldst bind me, is there need of oaths?
For thou'rt so near my heart, that thou may'st see Its bottom, sound its strength and firmness to thee. Is coward, fool, or villain in my face? If I seem none of these, I dare believe Thou wouldst not use me in a little cause, For I am fit for honour's toughest task, Nor ever yet found fooling was my province; And for a villainous, inglorious enterprise, I know thy heart so well, I dare lay mine Before thee, set it to what point thou wilt. Pier. Nay, 'tis a cause thou wilt be fond of, Jaffier;
For it is founded on the noblest basis; Our liberties, our natural inheritance. There's no religion, no hypocrisy in't; We'll do the business, and ne'er fast and pray for't;
Openly act a deed the world shall gaze With wonder at, and envy when 'tis done.
which way I must be damn'd for this. Jaf. For liberty!
Pier. For liberty, my friend.
Spin. Hell seize that soul amongst us it can frighten.
Thou shalt be freed from base Priuli's tyranny, And thy sequester'd fortunes heal'd again: I shall be free from those opprobrious wrongs That press me now, and bend my spirit Why are we not together?
Ren. What's then the cause that I am here alone?
All Venice free, and every growing merit Succeed to its just right: fools shall be pull'd O, sir, welcome!
From wisdom's seat: those baleful, unclean birds, You are an Englishman: when treason's hatching, Those lazy owls, who, perch'd near fortune's top, One might have thought you'd not have been Sit only watchful with their heavy wings behind-hand. To cuff down new-fledg'd virtues, that would rise To nobler heights, and make the grove har-
Jaf. What can I do?
Pier. Canst thou not kill a senator?
Jaf. Were there one wise or honest, I could kill him,
For herding with that nest of fools and knaves. By all my wrongs, thou talk'st as if revenge Were to be had; and the brave story warms me. Pier. Swear then!
Jaf. I do, by all those glittering stars, And yon great ruling planet of the night; By all good pow'rs above, and ill below; By love and friendship, dearer than my life, No pow'r or death shall make me false to thee. Pier. Here we embrace, and l'il unlock my heart.
A council's held hard by, where the destruction Ofthis great empire's hatching: there I'll lead thee. But be a man! for thou'rt to mix with men Fit to disturb the peace of all the world, And rule it when it's wildest-
Jaf. I give thee thanks
For this kind warning. Yes, I'll be a man; And charge thee, Pierre, whene'er thou seest my fears
Betray me less, to rip this heart of mine Out of my breast, and show it for a coward's. Come, let's be gone, for from this hour I chase All little thoughts, all tender human follies Out of my bosom: Vengeance shall have room: Revenge!
Pier. And liberty!
Jaf. Revenge-revenge
SCENE II.-AQUILINA'S House. Enter RENAULT.
Ren. Why was my choice ambition? the worst ground A wretch can build on! It's, indeed, at distance, A goodly prospect, tempting to the view; The height delights us, and the, mountain top Looks beautiful, because it's nigh to heav'n. But we ne'er think how sandy's the foundation, What storm will batter, and what tempest shake us.
Spin. Renault, good morrow, for by this time I think the scale of night has turn'd the balance, And weighs up morning! Has the clock struck twelve?
Ren. Yes! clocks will go as they are set;
but man, Irregular man's ne'er constant, never certain: I've spent at least three precious hours of darkness In waiting dull attendance: 'tis the curse Of diligent virtue to be mix'd, like mine, With giddy tempers, souls but half resolv'd.
In what whore's lap have you been lolling? Give but an Englishman his whore and ease, Beef, and a sea-coal fire, he's yours for ever. Ell. Frenchman, you are saucy. Ren. How!
Enter BEDAMAR, the Ambassador; THEO- DORE, BRAMVEIL, DURAND, BRABE, REVIL- LIDO, MEZZANA, TERNON, and RETROSI, Conspirators.
Bed. At difference; fie!
Is this a time for quarrels? Thieves and rogues Fall out and brawl: should men of your high calling,
Men separated by the choice of Providence From the gross heap of mankind, and set here In this assembly as in one great jewel, T' adorn the bravest purpose it e'er smil'd on; Should you, like boys, wrangle for trifles? Ren. Boys!
Bed. Renault, thy hand.
Ren. I thought I'd given my heart Long since to every man that mingles here; But grieve to find it trusted with such tempers, That can't forgive my froward age its weakness.
Bed. Elliot, thou once hadst virtue. I have seen Thy stubborn temper bent with godlike goodness, Not half thus courted: Tis thy nation's glory To hug the foe that offers brave alliance. One more embrace, my friends - we'll all
Pier. Friend, was not Brutus (I mean that Brutus, who in open senate Stabb'd the first Caesar that usurp'd the world), A gallant man?
Ren, Yes, and Cataline too; Though story wrong his fame: for he conspir'd To prop the reeling glory of his country: His cause was good.
Bed. And ours as much above it, As, Renault, thou'rt superior to Cethegus,
Or Pierre to Cassius.
Pier. Then to what we aim at. When do we start? or must we talk for ever? Bed. No, Pierre, the deed's near birth; fate seems to have set The business up, and given it to our care;
I hope there's not a heart or hand amongst us, Come, come, I read distrust in all your faces;
Matchless! as will your glory be hereafter: The game is for a matchless prize, if won; If lost, disgraceful ruin.
Pier. Ten thousand men are armed at your nod, Commanded all by leaders fit to guide A battle for the freedom of the world: This wretched state has starv'd them in its service;
You fear me villain, and, indeed, it's odd To hear a stranger talk thus, at first meeting, Of matters that have been so well debated; But I come ripe with wrongs, as you with councils.
I hate this senate, am a foe to Venice; A friend to none, but men resolv'd like me To push on mischief. Oh! did you but know me, I need not talk thus!
Bed. Pierre, I must embrace him. My heart beats to this man, as if it knew him. Ren. I never lov'd these huggers. Jaf. Still I see
And, by your bounty quicken'd, they're resolved To serve your glory, and revenge their own: The cause delights ye not. Your friends survey me They're all their different quarters in this city, As I were dangerous-But I come arm'd Watch for th' alarm, and grumble 'tis so tardy. Against all doubts, and to your trust will give Bed. I doubt not, friend, but thy unwearied A pledge, worth more than all the world can
Has still kept waking, and it shall have ease; After this night it is resolv'd we meet No more, till Venice owns us for her lords. Pier. How lovelily the Adriatic whore, Dress'd in her flames, will shine! Devouring flames!
Such as shall burn her to the watery bottom, And hiss in her foundation.
Amongst us, that owns this glorious cause, Have friends or interest he'd wish to save, Let it be told: the general doom is seal'd; But I'd forego the hopes of a world's empire, Kather than wound the bowels of my friend. Pier. I must confess, you there have touch'd my weakness,
I have a friend; hear it! such a friend, My heart was ne'er shut to him. Nay, I'll tell you: He knows the very business of this hour; But he rejoices in the cause, and loves it; We've chang`d a vow to live and die together, And he's at hand to ratify it here.
Ren. How! all betray'd!
Pier. No-I've nobly dealt with you; I've brought my all into the public stock: I've but one friend, and him I'll share amongst
fas lodg'd this secret in his faithful breast, To ease your fears, I wear a dagger here Sual rip it out again, and give you rest, Come forth, thou only good l e'er could boast of.
Enter JAFFIER, with a Dagger. Bed. His presence bears the show of manly virtue.
Jaf. I know you'll wonder all, that thus uncall'd, 14ire approach this place of fatal councils; I'm amongst you, and by heav'n it glads me are so many virtues thus united restore justice, and dethrone oppression. mand this sword, if you would have it quiet, tatis breast; but, if you think it worthy cut the throats of reverend rogues in robes, had me into the curs'd assembled serrate:
rinks not, though I meet a father there. d you behold this city flaming? here's had shall bear a lighted torch at noon arsenal, and set its gates on fire. Ken. You talk this well, sir. f. Nay-by heaven I'll do this.
My Belvidera. Hoa; my Belvidera! Bed. What wonder's next?
Jaf. Let me entreat you,
As I have henceforth hopes to call you friends, That all but the ambassador, and this Grave guide of councils, with my friend that
Bel. Alas! where am I? whither is't you lead me?
Methinks I read distraction in your face, Something less gentle than the fate you tell me. You shake and tremble too! your blood runs cold!
Heav'ns guard my love, and bless his heart with patience.
Jaf. That I have patience, let our fate bear witness,
Who has ordain'd it so, that thou and I (Thou, the divinest good man e'er possess'd, And I, the wretched'st of the race of man) This very hour, without one tear, must part. Bel. Part! must we part? Oh, am I then
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