Chapter XII: Act V: , Scene I

_Enter_ RODERIGO _and_ CHRISTOFERO, _two bare-headed before
them_; CARDINAL _alone_; ZARACK _and_ BALTHAZAR _bearing
the crown on a cushion_; ELEAZAR _next_; QUEEN-MOTHER
_after him; other Lords after her_; ALVERO, _sad, meets
them_.

CAR. Alvero, 'tis the pleasure of the king, Of the queen-mother, and these honoured states, To ease you of Philippo; there's a warrant Sent to remove him to a stronger guard.

ALV. I thank you; you shall rid me of much care.

ELE. Sit down, and take your place.

ALV. If I might have the place I like best, It should be my grave.

[_Sits down. The Moors stand aside with the crown_: ELEAZAR,
_rising, takes it_.

ELE. Stand in voice-reach, away!

BOTH MOORS. We are gone.

[_Exeunt._

ELE. Princes of Spain, if in this royal court There sit a man that, having laid his hold So fast on such a jewel, and dare wear it In the contempt of envy, as I dare, Yet uncompell'd (as freely as poor pilgrims Bestow their prayers) would give such wealth away; Let such a man step forth; what, do none rise? No, no, for kings indeed are deities; And who'd not (as the sun) in brightness shine? To be the greatest is to be divine. Who, among millions, would not be the mightiest, To sit in godlike state: to have all eyes Dazzled with admiration, and all tongues Shouting loud prayers: to rob every heart Of love: to have the strength of every arm: A sovereign's name? why, 'tis a sovereign charm This glory roundabout me hath thrown beams: I have stood upon the top of fortune's wheel, And backward turn'd the iron screw of fate. The destinies have spun a silken thread About my life; yet, noble Spaniards, see _Hoc tantum tanti_, thus I cast aside The shape of majesty, and on my knee

[_Kneels: the_ CARDINAL _fetches the crown, and sets it on
the chair_.

To this imperial state lowly resign This usurpation: wiping off your fears, Which stuck so hard upon me; let a hand, A right and royal hand, take up this wreath, And guard it; right is of itself most strong; No kingdom got by cunning can stand long.

CAR. Proceed to new election of a king.

ALL. Agreed.

ELE. Stay, peers of Spain: if young Philippo Be Philip's son, then is he Philip's heir; Then must his royal name be set in gold; Philip is then the diamond to that ring. But if he be a bastard, here's his seat, For baseness has no gall, till it grow great. First, therefore, let him blood, if he must bleed, Yet in what vein you strike him, best take heed; The Portugal's his friend; you saw he came, At holding up a finger, arm'd: this peace Rid hence his dangerous friendship; he's at home. But when he hears that Philip is tied up. Yet hears not why, he'll catch occasion's lock, And on that narrow bridge make shift to lead A scrambling army through the heart of Spain: Look to't; being in, he'll hardly out again. Therefore first prove and then proclaim him bastard.

ALV. How shall we prove it?

ELE. He that put him out to making, I am sure can tell; if not, Then she that shap'd him can: here's the queen-mother, Being prick'd in conscience, and preferring Spain Before her own respect, will name the man. If he be noble, and a Spaniard born, He'll hide th' apparent scars of their infamies With the white hand of marriage; that and time Will eat the blemish off: say, shall it?

ALL. No.

CAR. Spaniard or Moor, the saucy slave shall die.

HOR. Death is too easy for such villany.

ELE. Spaniard or Moor, the saucy slave shall die? I would he might; I know myself am clear, As is the new-born infant. Madam, stand forth. Be bold to speak: shame in the grave wants sense, Heaven with sin's greatest forfeits can dispense.

QUEEN-M. Would I were cover'd with the veil of night, You might not see red shame sit on my cheeks; But being Spain's common safety stands for truth, Hiding my weeping eyes, I blush and say, Philippo's father sits here.

ROD. Here! name him.

QUEEN-M. The Lord Mendoza did beget that son; O, let not this dishonour further run.

ALV. What, Cardinal Mendoza?

QUEEN-M. Yes, yes, even he.

ELE. Spaniard or Moor, the saucy slave shall die.

CAR. I Philip's father?

[_Comes down, the rest talk._

QUEEN-M. Nay, deny me not; Now may a kingdom and my love be got.

CAR. Those eyes and tongue bewitch me, shame lie here; That love has sweetest taste that is bought dear.

CHRIS. What answers Lord Mendoza to the queen?

CAR. I confess guilty, Philip is my son; Her majesty hath nam'd the time and place.

ALV. To you, but not to us; go forward, madam.

QUEEN-M. Within the circle of twice ten years since, Your deceas'd king made war in Barbary, Won Tunis, conquer'd Fez, and hand to hand Slew great Abdela, King of Fez, and father To that Barbarian prince.

ELE. I was but young, but now methinks I see my father's wounds: poor Barbaria! No more--

QUEEN-M. In absence of my lord, mourning his want, To me alone, being in my private walk-- I think at Salamanca:--yes, 'twas there; Enters Mendoza, under show of shrift,[69] Threatens my death if I denied his lust; In fine, by force he won me to his will: I wept, and cried for help, but all in vain. Mendoza there abus'd the bed of Spain.

ELE. Spaniard or Moor, that saucy slave shall die.

ALV. Why did you not complain of this vile act?

QUEEN-M. Alas! I was alone, young, full of fear, Bashful and doubtful of my own defame; Knowing King Philip rash and jealous, I hid his sins, thinking to hide my shame.

HOR. What says the cardinal?

CAR. Such a time there was; 'Tis pass'd: I'll make amends with marriage, And satisfy with trentals,[70] dirges, prayers, The offended spirit of the wronged king.

[QUEEN _and they talk_.

ELE. Spaniard or Moor, the saucy slave shall die. O, 'twould seem best it should be thus, Mendoza; She to accuse, I urge, and both conclude Your marriage, like a comic interlude. Lords, will you hear this hateful sin confess'd, And not impose upon the ravisher death, The due punishment? O, it must be so.

ALV. What does the queen desire?

QUEEN-M. Justice, revenge, On vile Mendoza for my ravishment. I kiss the cold earth with my humble knees, From whence I will not rise, till some just hand Cast to the ground the traitor cardinal.

ALL. Stand forth, Mendoza.

ELE. Swells your heart so high? Down, lecher; if you will not stand, then lie.

CAR. You have betray'd me by my too much trust; I never did this deed of rape and lust.

ROD. Your tongue confess'd it.

CAR. True, I was entic'd.

ELE. Entic'd! do you believe that?

QUEEN-M. Justice, lords; Sentence the cardinal for his hateful sin.

ALV. We will assemble all the states of Spain, And as they judge, so justice shall be done.

ELE. A guard! To prison with the cardinal.

_Enter_ ZARACK, BALTHAZAR, _and others_.

CAR. Damn'd slave, my tongue shall go at liberty To curse thee, ban that strumpet; dogs, keep off.

ELE. Hist, hist! on, on!

QUEEN-M. I cannot brook his sight.

ALV. You must to prison, and be patient.

CAR. Weep'st thou, Alvero? all struck dumb? My fears Are that those drops will change to bloody tears. This woman and this serpent----

QUEEN-M. Drag him hence.

CAR. Who dares lay hands upon me? Lords of Spain, Let your swords bail me: this false queen did lie.

ELE. Spaniard or Moor, the saucy slave shall die.

CAR. I'll fight thee, damned hellhound, for my life.

ELE. Spaniard or Moor, the saucy slave shall die.

CAR. I'll prove upon thy head----

ELE. The slave shall die.

CAR. Lords, stop this villain's throat.

ELE. Shall die, shall die.

CAR. Hear me but speak.

ELE. Away.

ALV. Words are ill-spent, Where wrong sits judge; you're arm'd, if innocent.

CAR. Well then, I must to prison: Moor, no more. Heavens, thou art just! Prince Philip I betray'd, And now myself fall; guile with guile is paid.

[_Exit._

QUEEN-M. Philip being prov'd a bastard, who shall sit Upon this empty throne?

ELE. Strumpet, not you.

QUEEN-M. Strumpet! and I not sit there, who [shall] then?

ELE. Down! Back! if she touch it, she'll bewitch the chair; This throne belongs to Isabel the fair. Bring forth the princess dress'd in royal robes, The true affecter of Alvero's son, Virtuous Hortenzo. Lords, behold your queen.

SCENE II.

_Enter_ ISABELLA _in royal robes, and_ HORTENZO.

QUEEN-M. Thou villain, what intend'st thou, savage slave?

ELE. To advance virtue thus, and thus to tread On lust, on murder, on adultery's head. Look, lords, upon your sovereign Isabel; Though all may doubt the fruits of such a womb, Is she not like King Philip? Let her rule.

QUEEN-M. She rule!

ELE. She rule: ay, she.

QUEEN-M. A child To sway an empire? I am her protectress; I'll pour black curses on thy damned head If thou wrong'st me. Lords, lords!

ELE. Princes of Spain, Be deaf, be blind; hear not, behold her not; She kill'd my virtuous wife.

QUEEN-M. He kill'd your king.

ELE. 'Twas in my just wrath.

QUEEN-M. 'Twas to get his crown.

ELE. His crown! why, here 'tis: thou slew'st my Maria, To have access to my unstained bed.

QUEEN-M. O heaven!

ELE. 'Tis true: how often have I stopp'd Thy unchaste songs from passing through mine ears. How oft, when thy luxurious arms have twin'd About my jetty neck, have I cried out: Away, those scalding veins burn me--'tis true.

QUEEN-M. Devil, 'tis a lie!

ELE. Thou slew'st my sweet Maria; Alvero, 'twas thy daughter, 'twas; Hortenzo, She was thy sister; justice, Isabella; This serpent poison'd thy dear father's bed, Setting large horns on his imperial head.

QUEEN-M. Hear me!

ELE. Ha, why?

ALV. Madam, you shall be heard Before the courts, before the courts of Spain.

ELE. A guard! a guard!

_Enter two Moors and others._

QUEEN-M. A guard! for what? for whom?

HOR. To wait on you; So many great sins must not wait with few.

QUEEN-M. Keep me in prison! dare you, lords?

ALV. O no! Were your cause strong, we would not arm you so; But honour fainting needeth many hands; Kingdoms stand safe when mischief lies in bands. You must to prison.

[_Exeunt._

QUEEN-M. Must I! must I! Slave, I'll damn thee, ere thou triumph'st o'er my grave.

[_Exit with a guard._

SCENE III.

_Manet_ ELEAZAR.

ELE. Do, do, my jocund spleen It does, it will, it shall. I have at one throw Rifled away the diadem of Spain; 'Tis gone, and there's no more to set but this At all. Then, at this last cast, I'll sweep up My former petty losses, or lose all, Like to a desperate gamester.

_Enter_ ZARACK.

Ha, how? fast?

ZAR. Except their bodies turn to airy spirits, And fly through windows, they are safe, my lord: If they can eat through locks and bars of iron, They may escape; if not, then not.

ELE. O Zarack! Wit is a thief; there's picklock policy, To whom all doors fly open; therefore go; In our name charge the keeper to resign His office; and if he have tricks of cruelty, Let him bequeath 'em at his death--for kill him. Turn all thy body into eyes, And watch them; let those eyes, like fiery comets, Sparkle out nothing but the death of kings. And ah! now thus: thou know'st I did invent A torturing iron chain.

ZAR. O, for necks, my lord?

ELE. Ay; that, that, that; away, and yoke them. Stay,

_Enter_ BALTHAZAR.

Here's Balthazar: go both, teach them to preach Through an iron pillory. I'll spread a net To catch Alvero; O, he is old and wise; They are unfit to live that have sharp eyes. Hortenzo, Roderigo, to't to't: all They have supple knees, sleek'd brows, but hearts of gall; The bitterness shall be wash'd off with blood: Tyrants swim safest in a crimson flood.

BAL. I come to tell your grace that Isabella Is with Hortenzo arm in arm at hand; Zarack and I may kill them now with ease. Is't done? and then 'tis done.

ZAR. Murther thou the man, And I'll stab her.

ELE. No, I'll speed[71] her myself. Arm in arm? so, so; look upon this ring; Whoever brings this token to your hands, Regard not for what purpose, seize on them, And chain them to the rest: they come--away! Murder, be proud; and, tragedy, laugh on, I'll seek a stage for thee to jet[72] upon.

_Enter_ ISABELLA _and_ HORTENZO; _seeing the Moor, they turn
back_.

ELE. My lord, my Lord Hortenzo.

HOR. Ah, is't you? Trust me, I saw you not.

ELE. What makes your grace so sad?

HOR. She grieves for the imprison'd queen her mother And for Philippo; in the sandy heap That wait upon an hour, there are not found So many little bodies, as those sighs And tears which she hath every minute spent, Since her lov'd brother felt imprisonment.

ELE. Pity, great pity; would it lay in me To give him liberty.

ISA. It does.

ELE. In me! Free him, your mother-queen and cardinal too. In me? alas! not me; no, no, in you! Yet, for I'll have my conscience white and pure, Here, madam, take this ring; and if my name Can break down castle-walls and open gates, Take it, and do't; fetch them all forth,--and yet 'Tis unfit you should go.

HOR. That happy office I'll execute myself.

ELE. Will you? Would I Stood gracious in their sight! Well, go: Do what you will: Hortenzo, if this charm Unbinds them, here 'tis: lady, you and I Aloof will follow him, and when we meet, Speak for me, for I'll kiss Philippo's feet.

HOR. I shall be proud to see all reconcil'd.

[_Exit._

ELE. Alas, my lord! why, true; go, go.

ISA. Make haste, dear love.

ELE. Hortenzo is a man Compos'd of sweet proportion; has a foot, A leg, a hand, a face, an eye, a wit-- The best, Hortenzo, in the Spanish court. O, he's the nonpareil.

ISA. Your tongue had wont To be more sparing in Hortenzo's praise.

ELE. Ah! I may curse his praises, rather ban Mine own nativity: why did this colour Dart in my flesh so far! O, would my face Were of Hortenzo's fashion; else would yours Were as black as mine is.

ISA. Mine like yours? why?

ELE. Hark, I love you; yes, faith, I said this--I love you. I do--leave him.

ISA. Damnation! vanish from me.

ELE. Coy! Were you as hard as flint, O, you should yield Like soften'd wax; were you as pure as fire, I'd touch you; yes, I'll taint you: see you this? I'll bring you to this lure.

ISA. If I want hands To kill myself, before thou dost it, do.

ELE. I'll cut away your hands. Well, my desire Is raging as the sea, and mad as fire. Will you?

ISA. Torment me not, good devil.

ELE. Will you.

ISA. I'll tear mine eyes out, if they tempt thy lust.

ELE. Do.

ISA. Touch me not; these knives----

ELE. Ha, ha! kill yourself, Because I jest with you! I wrong Hortenzo. Settle your thoughts, 'twas but a trick to try That which few women have, true constancy.

ISA. If then my speeches taste of gall----

ELE. Nay, faith, You are not bitter; no; you should have rail'd, Have spit upon me, spurn'd me; you're not bitter: Why, do you think that I would nurse a thought, To hurt your honour? If that thought had brains, I'd beat them out. But come; by this Hortenzo Is fast.

ISA. Ha! fast?

ELE. Ay, fast--in Philip's arms; Wrestling together for the prize of love; By this they're on the way: I'll be your guard; Come, follow me; I'll lead you in the van, Where [_Aside_] thou shalt see four chins upon one chain.

[_Exeunt._

SCENE IV.

HORTENZO, QUEEN-MOTHER, CARDINAL, _and_ PHILIP, _chained by
the necks_. ZARACK _and_ BALTHAZAR _busy about fastening_
HORTENZO.

HOR. You damned ministers of villany, Sworn to damnation by the book of hell; You maps of night, you element of devils, Why do you yoke my neck with iron chains?

BAL. Many do borrow chains, but you have this Gratis for nothing.

CAR. Slaves, unbind us.

BOTH. No.

[_Exeunt the two Moors._

PHIL. I am impatient; veins, why crack you not, And tilt your blood into the face of heaven, To make red clouds, like ensigns in the sky, Displaying a damn'd tyrant's cruelty! Yet can I laugh in my extremest pangs Of blood and spirit to see the cardinal Keep rank with me, and my vile mother-queen, To see herself where she would have me seen. Good fellowship, i' faith!

HOR. And I can tell, True misery loves a companion well.

PHIL. Thou left'st me to the mercy of a Moor That hath damnation dyed upon his flesh; 'Twas well; thou, mother, didst unmotherly Betray thy true son to false bastardy; Thou left'st me then: now thou art found and staid, And thou, who didst betray me, art betray'd. A plague upon you all!

CAR. Thou cursest them Whom I may curse: first, may I curse myself, Too credulous of loyalty and love; Next may I curse the Moor, more than a devil; And last thy mother, mother of all evil.

QUEEN-M. All curses and all crosses light on thee! What need I curse myself, when all curse me? I have been deadly impious, I confess: Forgive me, and my sin will seem the less. This heavy chain, which now my neck assaults, Weighs ten times lighter than my heavy faults.

PHIL. Hortenzo, I commend myself to thee; Thou that are near'st, stand'st furthest off from me.

HOR. That mould of hell, that Moor, has chain'd me here; 'Tis not myself, but Isabel I fear.

SCENE V.

_Enter_ ELEAZAR, ISABELLA, ZARACK, _and_ BALTHAZAR.

ELE. It's strange! Will not Prince Philip come with Hortenzo?

ZAR. He swears he'll live and die there.

ELE. Marry, and shall.

[_Aside_.

I pray, persuade him, you, to leave the place. A prison! why, it's hell. 'Las, here they be! Ha! they are they, i' faith; see, see, see, see.

ALL. Moor, devil, toad, serpent!

ELE. O sweet airs, sweet voices!

ISA. O my Hortenzo!

ELE. Do not these birds sing sweetly, Isabella? O, how their spirits would leap aloft and spring, Had they their throats at liberty to sing!

PHIL. Damnation dog thee!

CAR. Furies follow thee!

QUEEN-M. Comets confound thee!

HOR. And hell swallow thee!

ELE. Sweeter and sweeter still. O harmony! Why, there's no music like to misery.

ISA. Hast thou betrayed me thus?

ELE. Not I, not I.

PHIL. Sirrah hedgehog.

ELE. Ha! I'll hear thee presently.

ISA. Hear me then, hellhound; slaves, unchain my love, Or by----

ELE. By what? Is't not rare walking here? Methinks this stage shows like a tennis-court; Does it not, Isabel? I'll show thee how-- Suppose that iron chain to be the line, The prison-doors the hazard, and their heads, Scarce peeping o'er the line, suppose the balls! Had I a racket now of burnish'd steel, How smoothly could I bandy every ball Over this globe of earth, win set, and all.

PHIL. How brisk the villain jets in villany!

ELE. Prating! he's proud because he wears a chain: Take it off, Balthazar, and take him hence.

[_They unbind him._

PHIL. And whither then, you dog?

ISA. Pity my brother.

ELE. Pity him! no; away!

PHIL. Ay, come, do come.[73] I pray thee kill me: come.

ELE. I hope to see Thy own hands do that office. Down with him!

PHIL. Is there another hell?

TWO MOORS. Try, try; he's gone.

ELE. So him next, he next, and next him; and then----

ALL. Worse than damnation! fiend, monster of men!

ELE. Why, when! Down, down!

CAR. Slave, as thou thrust me down Into this dungeon, so sink thou to hell.

QUEEN-M. Amen, amen.

ELE. Together so; and you--

ISA. O, pity my Hortenzo!

HOR. Farewell, my Isabel; my life, adieu.

ALL. Mischief and horror let the Moor pursue!

ELE. A concert! that amain;[74] play that amain; Amain, amain. No; so soon fallen asleep! Nay, I'll not lose this music; sirrah, sirrah, Take thou a drum, a trumpet thou; and hark, Mad them with villanous sounds.

ZAR. Rare sport; let's go.

[_Exeunt_ ZARACK _and_ BALTHAZAR.

ELE. About it: music will do well in woe. How like you this?

ISA. Set my Hortenzo free, And I'll like anything.

ELE. A fool, a fool. Hortenzo free! why, look you, he free! no; Then must he marry you; you must be queen, He in a manner king; these dignities, Like poison, make men swell; this ratsbane honour, O, 'tis so sweet! they'll lick it, till all burst: He will be proud; and pride, you know, must fall. Come, come, he shall not; no, no, 'tis more meet To keep him down safe standing on his feet.

ISA. Eleazar!

ELE. Mark, the imperial chair of Spain Is now as empty as a miser's alms: Be wise, I yet dare sit in't; it's for you, If you will be for me; there's room for two. Do--meditate--muse on't: its best for thee To love me, live with me, and lie with me.

ISA. Thou know'st I'll first lie in the arms of death. My meditations are how to revenge Thy bloody tyrannies. I fear thee not, Inhuman slave, but to thy face defy Thy lust, thy love, thy barbarous villany.

ELE. Zarack.

_Enter_ ZARACK.

ZAR. My lord.

ELE. Where's Balthazar?

ZAR. A-drumming.

ELE. I have made them rave and curse, and so guard her. Your court shall be this prison; guard her, slaves, With open eyes: defy me! see my veins Struck't out, being overheated with my blood, Boiling in wrath; I'll tame you.

ISA. Do, do.

ELE. Ha, I will! and once more fill a kingdom's throne. Spain, I'll new-mould thee: I will have a chair Made all of dead men's bones; and the ascents Shall be the heads of Spaniards set in ranks: I will have Philip's head, Hortenzo's head, Mendoza's head, thy mother's head, and this-- This head, that is so cross, I'll have't. The scene wants actors; I'll fetch more, and clothe it In rich cothurnal pomp: a tragedy Ought to be grave: graves this shall beautify. Moor, execute to th' life my dread commands; Vengeance, awake, thou hast much work in hand.

[_Exit._

ZAR. I am weary of this office and this life; It is too thirsty, and I would your blood Might 'scape the filling out. By heaven, I swear, I scorn these blows and his rebukes to bear.

ISA. O Zarack, pity me; I love thee well; Love deserves pity; pity Isabel.

ZAR. What would you have me do?

ISA. To kill this Moor.

ZAR. I'll cast an eye of death upon my face; I'll be no more his slave. Swear to advance me, And, by yon setting sun, this hand and this Shall rid you of a tyrant.

ISA. By my birth, No Spaniard's honour'd place shall equal thine.

ZAR. I'll kill him then.

ISA. And Balthazar?

ZAR. And he.

ISA. I pray thee, first fetch Philip and Hortenzo Out of that hell; they two will be most glad To aid thee in this execution.

ZAR. My Lord Philippo and Hortenzo, rise. Your hands; so, talk to her: at my return This sword shall reek with blood of Balthazar.

[_Exit._

PHIL. Three curses (like three commendations To their souls) I send: thy tortured brother; Does curse the cardinal, the Moor, thy mother.

ISA. Curse not at all! dear souls, revenge is hot, And boils in Zarack's brains; the plot is cast Into the mould of hell: you freemen are: Zarack will kill the Moor and Balthazar.

HOR. How can that relish?

ISA. I'll tell you how: I did profess, ay, and protested too, I lov'd him well; what will not sorrow do! Then he profess'd, ay, and protested too, To kill them both; what will not devils do!

PHIL. Then I profess, ay, and protest it too, That here's for him; what will not Philip do!

HOR. See where he comes.

_Enter the two Moors._

BAL. Zarack, what do I see? Hortenzo and Philippo? who did this?

ZAR. I, Balthazar.

BAL. Thou art half-damn'd for it;[75] I'll to my lord.

ZAR. I'll stop you on your way; Lie there, thy tongue shall tell no tales to-day.

[_Stabs him._

PHIL. Nor thine to-morrow: this revenge was well.

[_Stabs him._

By this time both the slaves shake hands in hell.

ISA. Philippo and Hortenzo, stand you still? What, doat you both? Cannot you see your play? Well fare a woman then to lead the way. Once rob the dead; put the Moors' habits on, And paint your faces with the oil of hell: So, waiting on the tyrant----

PHIL. Come, no more, 'Tis here and here: room there below; stand wide, Bury them well, since they so godly died.

HOR. Away then, fate: now let revenge be plac'd.

PHIL. Here.

HOR. And here; a tyrant's blood doth sweetly taste.

[_Exeunt._

SCENE VI.

_Enter_ ELEAZAR, ALVERO, RODERIGO, CHRISTOFERO, _and other
Lords_.

ELE. What, I imprison! Who?

ALL. Philip and Hortenzo.

ELE. Philip and Hortenzo! ha, ha, ha!

ROD. Why laughs the Moor?

ELE. I laugh, because you jest: Laugh at a jest. Who, I imprison them? I prize their lives with weights, their necks with chains, Their hands with manacles! do I all this? Because my face is in night's colour dyed, Think you my conscience and my soul is so? Black faces may have hearts as white as snow; And 'tis a general rule in moral schools,[76] The whitest faces have the blackest souls.

ALV. But touching my Hortenzo----

ELE. Good old man, I never touch'd him; do not touch me then With thy Hortenzo.

CHRIS. Where's Philip too?

ELE. And where is Philip too? I pray, I pray, is Philip a tame Spaniard? What, can I Philip him hither, hither make him fly? First, where's Hortenzo? Where's Philip too?

ROD. And where is Isabel? She was with you.

ELE. And where is Isabel? She was with me!

_Enter_ PHILIP _and_ HORTENZO, _like Moors_.

And so are you; yet are you well, you see: But in good time, see where their keepers come. Come hither, Zarack; Balthazar, come hither: Zarack, old Lord Alvero asks of thee Where young Hortenzo is.

HOR. My lord, set free.

ELE. O, is he so? Come hither, Balthazar: Lord Christofero here would ask of thee Where Prince Philippo is.

PHIL. My lord, set free.

ELE. O, is he so? Roderigo asketh me for Isabel.

PHIL. I say, my lord, she's free.

ELE. O, is she so?

PHIL. Believe me, lords.

HOR. And me.

PHIL. I set Philippo----

HOR. I, Hortenzo free.

ELE. My lords, because you shall believe me too, Go to the castle: I will follow you.

ALV. Thanks to the mighty Moor; and, for his fame, Be more in honour than thou art in name: But let me wish the other prisoners well, The queen and cardinal: let all have right, Let law absolve them, or dissolve them quite.

ELE. Grave man, thy grey hairs paint out gravity, Thy counsels wisdom, thy wit policy. There let us meet, and with a general brain Erect the peace of spirit and of Spain.

ALV. Then will Spain flourish.

ELE. Ay, when it is mine.

ROD. O heavenly meeting!

ELE. We must part in hell.

[_Aside._

CHRIS. True peace of joy.

[_Exeunt._

_Manent_ ELEAZAR, PHILIP, _and_ HORTENZO.

ELE. 'Tis a dissembling knell; Farewell, my lords; meet there; so, ha, ha, ha!

[_Draws his rapier._

Now, tragedy, thou minion of the night, Rhamnusia's[77] pew-fellow, to thee I'll sing Upon a harp made of dead Spanish bones, The proudest instrument the world affords; When thou in crimson jollity shalt bathe Thy limbs, as black as mine, in springs of blood Still gushing from the conduit-head of Spain. To thee, that never blushest, though thy cheeks Are full of blood--O Saint Revenge, to thee I consecrate my murders, all my stabs, My bloody labours, tortures, stratagems, The volume of all wounds that wound from me; Mine is the stage, thine is the tragedy. Where am I now? O, at the prison; true. Zarack and Balthazar, come hither; see, Survey my library. I study, ha, Whilst you two sleep; marry, 'tis villany. Here's a good book, Zarack, behold it well, It's deeply written, for 'twas made in hell: Now, Balthazar, a better book for thee; But for myself, this, this, the best of all; And therefore do I claim it every day, For fear the readers steal the art away. Where thou stand'st now, there must Hortenzo hang, Like Tantalus in a maw-eating pang. There, Balthazar, must Prince Philip stand, Like damn'd Prometheus; and to act his part, Shall have a dagger sticking at his heart. But in my room I'll set the cardinal, And he shall preach repentance to them all. Ha, ha, ha!

PHIL. Damnation tickles him; he laughs again. Philip must stand there, and bleed to death. Well, villain, I only laugh to see That we shall live to outlaugh him and thee.

ELE. O, fit, fit, fit! stay, a rare jest, rare jest! Zarack, suppose thou art Hortenzo now; I pray thee stand in passion of a pang, To see, by thee, how quaintly he would hang.

HOR. I am Hortenzo; tut, tut, fear not, man; Thou lookest like Zarack.

[_Aside._

ELE. Ay, Hortenzo, He shall hang here, i' faith; come, Zarack, come, And, Balthazar, take thou Philippo's room: First let me see you plac'd.

PHIL. We're plac'd.

ELE. Slaves; ha, ha, ha! You are but players, that[78] must end the play; How like Hortenzo and Philippo! ha! Stand my two slaves, were they as black as you. Well, Zarack, I'll unfix thee first of all, Thou shalt help me to play the cardinal: This iron engine on his head I'll clap, Like a pope's mitre or a cardinal's cap; Then manacle his hands, as thou dost mine; So, so, I pray thee, Zarack, set him free, That both of you may stand and laugh at me.

PHIL. 'Tis fine, i' faith; call in more company; Alvero, Roderigo, and the rest: Who will not laugh at Eleazar's jest?

ELE. What? Zarack, Balthazar!

PHIL. Ah! anon, anon; We have not laugh'd enough: it's but begun.

[_Knocking._

Who knocks?

ELE. Unmanacle my hands, I say.

PHIL. Then shall we mar our mirth, and spoil the play.

[_Knocking again._

Who knocks?

ALV. [_Within._] Alvero.

PHIL. Let Alvero in.

ELE. And let me out.

_Enter all below._

PHIL. I thank you for that flout,[79] To let Alvero in, and let you out.

ELE. Villains! slaves! am not I your lord, the Moor? And Eleazar?

QUEEN-M. And the devil of hell; And more than that, and Eleazar too.

ELE. And, devil's dam, what do I here with you?

QUEEN-M. My tongue shall torture thee.

ELE. I know thee then; All women's tongues are tortures unto men.

QUEEN-M. Spaniards, this was the villain; this is he Who, through enticements of alluring lust And glory, which makes silly women proud And men malicious, did incense my spirit Beyond the limits of a woman's mind To wrong myself and that lord cardinal; And (that which sticks more near unto my blood), He that was nearest to my blood, my son, To dispossess him of his right by wrong: O, that I might embrace him on this breast, Which did enclose him, when he first was born: No greater happiness can heav'n show'r upon Me than to circle in these arms of mine That son, whose royal blood I did defame, To crown with honour an ambitious Moor.

PHIL. Thus then thy happiness is complete;

[_Embraces her._

Behold thy Philip ransom'd from that prison, In which the Moor had cloistered him.

HOR. And here's Hortenzo.

ELE. Then am I betrayed and cosen'd in My own designs: I did contrive Their ruin; but their subtle policy Hath blasted my ambitious thoughts. Villains! Where's Zarack? Where's Balthazar? What have you done with them?

PHIL. They're gone to Pluto's kingdom, to provide A place for thee, and to attend thee there. But, lest they should be tired with too long Expecting hopes, come, brave spirits of Spain, This is the Moor, the actor of these evils; Thus thrust him down to act among the devils.

[_Stabs him._

ELE. And am I thus despatch'd! Had I but breath'd the space of one hour longer, I would have fully acted my revenge: But O, now pallid death bids me prepare, And haste to Charon for to be his fare. I come, I come: but ere my glass is run, I'll curse you all, and, cursing, end my life. May'st thou, lascivious queen, whose damned charms Bewitch'd me to the circle of thy arms, Unpiti'd die, consum'd with loathed lust, Which thy venereous mind hath basely nurs'd: And for you, Philip, may your days be long, But clouded with perpetual misery: May thou, Hortenzo, and thy Isabel Be fetch'd alive by furies into hell, There to be damn'd for ever. O, I faint; Devils, come claim your right, and when I am Confin'd within your kingdom, then shall I Outact you all in perfect villany.

[_Dies._

PHIL. Take down his body, while his blood streams forth; His acts are pass'd, and our last act is done. Now do I challenge my hereditary right To the roy'l Spanish throne, usurp'd by him, In which, in all your sights, I thus do plant myself. Lord Cardinal, and you the queen my mother, I pardon all those crimes you have committed.

QUEEN-M. I'll now repose myself in peaceful rest, And fly unto some solitary residence, Where I'll spin out the remnant of my life In true contrition for my pass'd offences.

PHIL. And now, Hortenzo, to close up your wound, I here contract my sister unto thee, With comic joy to end a tragedy. And, for the barbarous Moor and his black train, Let all the Moors be banished from Spain.

* * * * *

ANDROMANA

OR

THE MERCHANT'S WIFE.

_EDITION._

_Andromana; or, The Merchant's Wife. The Scene Iberia. By J. S.
London: Printed for John Bellinger; and are to be sold at his
shop, in Clifford's Inn Lane, in Fleet-street. 1660. 4^o._

This play was printed in the year 1660, and has the letters J. S. in the title-page. Chetwood, in his "British Theatre," p. 47, says that it was revived in 1671, when a prologue was spoken before it, in which were the following lines--

"'Twas Shirley's muse that labour'd for its birth,
Though now the sire rests in the silent earth."

[But there is in fact no authority whatever for believing it to be from Shirley's pen; nor is it included in Gifford and Dyce's edition of that writer.[80]]

The plot is taken from the story of Plangus, in Sir Philip Sydney's "Arcadia." The same subject had before been made use of by Beaumont and Fletcher in their play of "Cupid's Revenge."

DRAMATIS PERSONÃ.

EPHORBAS, _King of Iberia_. PLANGUS, _his son_. EUBULUS, } ANAMEDES, } _three lords, and councillors to the king_. RINATUS, } INOPHILUS, _son to Rinatus, and friend to the prince_. ZOPIRO, } NICETES, } _captains_. ARAMNES, } ARTESIO, _an informing courtier_. ANDROMANA, _a merchant's wife_. LIBACER, _her servant_. _Messenger._ _Captains and Soldiers._

_Scene, Iberia._

ANDROMANA

OR

THE FATAL AND DESERVED END OF DISLOYALTY AND AMBITION.