No More Learning

C. ) Tell me why, good Heaven,
Thou mad'st me what I am, with all the spirit,
Aspiring thoughts, and elegant desires,
That fill the happiest man! Ah, rather, why
Didst thou not form me sordid as my fate,
Base-minded, doll, and fit to carry burdens!
Why have I sense to know the curse that's on me?
Is this just dealing, nature! Belvidera!
Poor Belvidera!

_Bel. _ _[ Without. ]_ Lead me, lead me, my virgins.
To that kind voice.

_Enter Belvidera, L. _

My lord, my love, my refuge! _[Leans on Jaffier, R. C. _
Happy my eyes when they behold thy face!
My heavy heart will leave its doleful beating
At sight of thee, and bound with sprightful joys.
Oh, smile! as when our loves were in their spring,
And cheer my fainting soul!

_Jaf. _ (R. C. ) As when our loves
Were in their spring! Has, then, my fortune changed thee?
Art thou not, Belvidera, still the same,
Kind, good, and tender, as my arms first found thee?
If thou art altered, where shall I have harbour?
Where ease my loaded heart? _[Part]_ Oh! where complain?

_Bel. _ (C. ) Does this appear like change, or love decaying,
When thus I throw myself Into thy bosom,
With all the resolution of strong truth!

_[Leans on Jaffier, R. C. _

I joy more in thee
Than did thy mother, when she hugged thee first,
And blessed the gods for all her travail past.

_Jaf. _ Can there in woman be such glorious faith?
Sure, all ill stories of thy sex are false! _[Part. _
Oh, woman! lovely woman! Nature made thee
To temper man: 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! _[Embrace. _

_Bel. _ If love be treasure, we'll be wondrous rich;
Oh! lead me to some desert, _[Part,]_ wide and wild,
Barren as our misfortunes, where my soul
May have its vent, where I may tell aloud
To the high heavens, and ev'ry list'ning planet,
With what a boundless stock my bosom's fraught.

_Jaf. _ _[Taking her hand. ]_ 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 these limbs,
Framed for the tender offices of love,
Endure the bitteer gripes of smarting poverty?
When banished by our miseries abroad,
(As suddenly we shall be) to seek, out,
In some far climate, where our names are strangers,
For charitable succour; wilt thou then,
When in a bed of straw we shrink together,
And the bleak winds shall whistle round our heads;
Wilt thou then talk thus to me? Wilt thou then
Hush my cares thus, and shelter me with love?

_Bel. _ Oh! I will love thee, even in madness love thee!
Though my distracted senses should forsake me,
I'd find some intervals when my poor heart
Should 'suage itself, and be let loose to thine.
Though the bare earth be all our resting place,
Its roots our food, some cliff our habitation,
I'll make this arm a pillow for thine head;
And, as thou sighing liest, and swelled with sorrow,
Creep to thy bosom, pour the balm of love
Into thy soul, and kiss thee to thy rest; _[Part. _
Then praise our God, and watch thee till the morning.

_Jaf. _ Hear this, you Heav'ns, and wonder how you made
her!
Reign, reign, ye monarchs, that divide the world;
Busy rebellion ne'er will let you know
Tranquillity and happiness like mine;
Like gaudy ships, the obsequious billows fall,
And rise again, to lift you in your pride;
They wait but for a storm, and then devour you:

_[Belvidera crosses, R. _
I, in my private bark already wrecked,
Like a poor merchant, driven to unknown land,
That had, by chance, picked up his choicest treasure,
In one dear casket, and saved only that,

_[Returns to Jaffier_

Since I must wander farther on the shore,
Thus _[Taking her arm,]_ hug my little, but my precious
store,
Resolved to scorn, and trust my fate no more. _[Exeunt, L. _

END OF ACT I.




ACT II.

_Scene I. --The Rialto. _

_Enter Jaffier, L. _

_Jaf. _ (L. C. ) I'm here; and thus the shades of light
around me,
I look as if all hell 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 wandered out at this dead time of night,
To meet the foe of mankind in his walk.
Sure I'm so cursed, that, though of Heav'n forsaken,
No minister of darkness cares to tempt me.
Hell! hell! why sleep'st thou? _[Turns, L. _

_Enter Pierre, R. S. E. _

_Pierre. _ Sure I've staid too long: _[Coming forward. _
The clock has struck, and I may lose my proselyte.
Speak, [_Seeing Jaffier,]_ who goes there?

_Jaf. _ (L. ) A dog, that comes to howl
At yonder moon. What's he, that asks the question?

_Pierre. _ 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.

_[Advancing toward, R. C. ]_

Jaffier!

_Jaf. _ The same.

_Pierre. _ (R. C. ) Where's Belvidera?

_Jaf. _For a day or two,
I've lodged her privately, till I see farther
What fortune will do with me. Pry'thee, friend,
If thou wouldst have me fit to hear good counsel,
Speak not of Belvidera--

_Pierre. _ (C. ) Speak not of her?

_Jaf. _ Oh, no! nor name her?

_Pierre. _ May be, I wish her well.

_Jaf. _Whom well?

_Pierre. _ Thy wife; thy lovely Belvidera!
I hope a man may wish his friend's wife well,
And no harm done?

_Jaf. _ _[Retiring, L. ]_ You're merry, Pierre.

_Pierre. _ _[Following. ]_ I am so:
Thou shalt smile, too, and Belvidera smile:
We'll all rejoice, Here's something to buy pins;
Marriage is chargeable. _[Gives him a purse. _

_Jaf. _ (L. ) I but half wished
To see the devil, and he's here already! Well!
What must this buy? Rebellion, murder, treason?
Tell me _[Turning R. ]_ which way I must be damned for
this.

_Pierre. _ (L. C. ) When last we parted, we'd no qualms
like these,
But entertained each other's thoughts, like men
Whose souls were well acquainted. Is the world
Reformed since our last meeting? What new miracles
Have happened? Has Priuli's heart relented?
Can he be honest?

_Jaf. _ Kind Heaven, let heavy curses
Gall his old age, 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!

_Pierre. _ Nay, couldst thou not
As well, my friend, have stretched the curse to all
The senate round, as to one single villain?

_Jaf. _ But curses stick not; could I kill with cursing,
By Heaven, I know not thirty heads in Venice
Should not be blasted! Senators should rot,
Like dogs, on dunghills. Oh, for a curse
To kill with! _[Crosses, R. _

_Pierre. _ Daggers, daggers are much better.

_Jaf. _ (R. C. ) Ha!

_Pierre. _ Daggers.

_Jaf. _ But where are they?

_Pierre. _ Oh! a thousand
May be disposed, in honest hands, in Venice.

_Jaf. _ Thou talk'st in clouds.

_Pierre. _ But yet a heart, half wronged
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?

_Pierre. _ (C. )Yes, if I thought thou wert not to be cherished
To a nobler purpose, I would be that friend:

_[Lays his hand on Jaffier's arm_
But thou hast better friends; friends, whom thy wrongs
Have made thy friends; friends, worthy to be called so.
I'll trust thee with a secret. There are spies
This hour at work. But, as thou art a man,
Whom I have picked 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. _ (R. ) When thou wouldst bind me, is there need of oaths?
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 enterprize,
I know thy heart so well, I dare lay mine
Before thee, set it to what point thou wilt.

_Pierre. _ Nay, 'tis a cause thou wilt be fond of, Jaffier
For it is founded on the noblest basis;
Our liberties, our natural inheritance!
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.

_Jaf. _ For liberty!

_Pierre. _ For liberty, my friend. _[Jaffier crosses, L. _

Thou shalt be freed from base Priuli's tyranny,
And thy sequestered fortunes healed again;
I shall be free from those opprobrious wrongs
That press me now, and bend my spirit downward;
All Venice free, and every growing merit
Succeed to its just right; fools shall be pulled
From wisdom's seat; those baleful unclean birds,
Those lazy owls, who, perched near fortune's top,
Sit only watchful with their heavy wings
To cuff down new-fledged virtues, that would rise
To nobler heights, and make the grove harmonious.

_Jaf. _ What can I do? _[Crosses to R. D. _

_Pierre.
_ Canst thou not kill a senator?

_Jaf. _ By all my wrongs, thou talk'st as if revenge
Were to be had! and the brave story warms me.

_[Crosses, L. _

_Pierre. _ Swear, then!

_Jaf. _ I do, _[Kneels, L. C. ]_ by all those glittering stars,
And yon great ruling planet of the night!
By all good spirits above, and ill below!
By love and friendship, dearer than my life,
No power, nor death, shall make me false to thee!

_Pierre. _ Here we embrace, and I'll unlock my heart.
A council's held hard by, where the destruction
Of this 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 tis wildest.

_Jaf. _ I give thee thanks
For this kind warning. Yes, I'll be a man;
And charge thee, Pierre, whene'er thou see'st 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! _[Going, R. _

_Pierre. _ And liberty!

_Jaf. _ Revenge! revenge! _[Exeunt, r_


_Scene II. --A Room in the House of Aquilina. _
_Enter Renault, L. S. E. _

_Ren. _ (C. ) Why was my choice ambition
The worst ground
A wretch can build on! 'tis, indeed, at distance,
A goodly prospect, tempting to the view;
The height delights us, and the mountain top
Looks beautiful, because 'tis nigh to heaven;
But we ne'er think how sandy's the foundation,
What storm will batter, and what tempest shake us.
Who's there ]

_Enter Spinosa, L. _

_Spin. _ (L. C. ) Renault, good morrow, for by this time,
I think, the scale of night has turned the balance,
And weighs up morning. Has the clock struck twelve?

_Ren. _ (R. ) 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 mixed, like mine,
With giddy tempers, souls but half resolved.

_Spin. _ (L. ) Hell seize that soul amongst us it can frighten!

_Ren. _ (C. ) What's then the cause that I am here alone?
Why are we not together?

_Enter Elliot, L. _

Oh, sir, welcome!
You are an Englishman: when treason's hatching,
One might have thought you'd not have been behind hand.

_Elliot. _ Frenchman, you are saucy.

_Ren. _ (L. C. ) How? _[Puts his hand to his sword. _

_Enter Bedamar, Mezzana, Durand, and Theodore, L. --
Mezzana, Durand, and Theodore stand back, L. _

_Beda. _ [Crossing, C. ] 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 smiled on;
Should you, like boys, wrangle for trifles?

_Ren. _ (R. C. ) Boys!

_Beda. _ (C. ) 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.

_Beda. _ Elliot, thou once hadst virtue. I have seen
Thy stubborn temper bend with godlike goodness,
Not half thus courted. 'Tis thy nation's glory
To hug the foe that offers brave alliance.
Once more, embrace, my friends--
United thus, we are the mighty engine,
Must twist this rooted empire from its basis.
Totters it not already?

_Elliot. _ (L. ) 'Would 'twere tumbling!

_Beda. _ Nay, it shall down: this night we seal its ruin.

_Enter Pierre, L. D. _
Oh, Pierre! thou art welcome.
Come to my breast; for, by its hopes, thou look'st
Lovelily dreadful; and the fate of Venice
Seems on thy sword already. Oh, my Mars!
The poets that first feigned a god of war,
Surely prophesied of thee!

_Pierre. _ (L. ) Friends, was not Brutus
(I mean that Brutus, who, in open senate,
Stabbed the first Caesar that usurped the world),
A gallant man?

_Ren. _ (R. C. ) Yes, and Catiline too;
Though story wrong his fame; for he conspired
To prop the reeling glory of his country,
His cause was good.

_Beda. _ (L. C. ) And ours as much above it,
As, Renault, thou'rt superior to Cethegus,
Or Pierre to Cassius.

_Pierre. _ Then to what we aim at!
When do we start? Or must we talk forever?

_Beda. _ (C. ) 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,
But what is firm and ready.

_Elliot. _ (L. C. ) All.
We'll die with Bedamar.

_Beda. _ Oh, men,
Matchless, as will your glory be hereafter:
The game is for a matchless prize, if won;
If lost, disgraceful ruin.

_Pierre. _ 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 starved them in its service;
And, by your bounty quickened, they're resolved
To serve your glory, and revenge their own:
They've all their different quarters in this city,
Watch for the alarm, and grumble 'tis so tardy.

_Beda. _ I doubt not, friend, but thy unwearied diligence
Has still kept waking, and it shall have ease;
After this night, it is resolved, we meet
No more, till Venice owns us for her lords.

_Pierre. _ How lovelily the Adriatic, then,
Dressed in her flames, will shine! Devouring flames!
Such as shall burn her to the watery bottom,
And hiss in her foundation!

_Beda. _ Now, if any
Amongst us here, that own this glorious cause,
Have friends or int'rest he would wish to save,
Let it be told--the general doom is sealed;
But I'd forego the hopes of a world's empire,
Rather than wound the bowels of my friend.

_Pierre. _ I must confess, you there have touched my
weakness.
I have a friend--hear it; and such a friend!
My heart was ne'er shut to him. Nay, I'll tell you,
He knows the very business of this hour; _[All start_
But he rejoices in the cause, and loves it:
We've changed a vow to live and die together,
And he's at hand, to ratify it here.

_Ren. _ How! all betrayed!

_Pierre. _ (C. ) No; I've dealt nobly with you.
I've brought my all into the public stock:
I'd but one friend, and him I'll share amongst you:
Receive, and cherish him; or if, when seen
And searched, you find him worthless--as my tongue
Has lodged this secret in his faithful breast,
To ease your fears, I wear a dagger here,
Shall rip it out again, and give you rest,
Come forth, thou only good I e'er could boast of.

_Enter Jaffier, with a Dagger in his hand. L. D. _

_Beda. _ (C. ) His presence bears the show of manly virtue!

_Jaf. _ (L. ) I know you'll wonder all, that, thus uncalled
I dare approach this place of fatal councils;
But I'm amongst you, and, by Heaven, it glads me
To see so many virtues thus united
To restore justice, and dethrone oppression.
Command this steel, if you would have it quiet,
Into this breast; but, if you think it worthy
To cut the throats of reverend rogues in robes,
Send me into the cursed assembled Senate:
It shrinks not, though I meet a father there.
Would you behold the city flaming? here's
A hand, shall bear a lighted torch at noon
To th' arsenal, and set its gates on fire!

_Ren. _ (C. ) You talk this well, sir.

_Jaf. _ Nay, by Heaven, I'll do this!
Come, come, I read distrust in all your faces!
You fear me villain, and, indeed, 'tis 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 counsels.
I hate this senate--am a foe to Venice;
A friend to none but men resolved like me
To push on mischief Oh, did you but know me,
I need not talk thus!

_Beda. _ Pierre, I must embrace him;
My heart beats to this man, as if it knew him.

_Ren. _ I never loved these huggers.

_Jaf. _ Still, I see
The cause delights me not. Your friends survey me,
As I were dangerous. But I come armed
Against all doubts, and to your trusts will give
A pledge, worth more than all the world can pay for.
My Belvidera! Hoa! my Belvidera! _[Calls at L. _

_Beda. _ (L. C. ) What wonder next?

_Jaf. _ Let me entreat you, sirs,
As I have henceforth hope to call you friends,
That all but the ambassador, and this
Grave guide of councils, with my friend, that owns me,
Withdraw awhile, to spare a woman's blushes.

_[Exeunt all but Bedamar, Renault, Jqffier, and Pierre
who stand back on L. _

_Beda. _ Pierre, whither will this ceremony lead us?

_Jaf. _ My Belvidera! Belvidera! _[ Calling_

_Bel. _ _[ Within, L. D. ]_ Who,
Who calls so loud, at this late peaceful hour?
That voice was wont to come in gentle whispers,
And fill my ears with the soft breath of love.

_Enter Belvidera, L. _

Thou hourly image of my thoughts, where art thou?

_Jaf. _ Indeed, 'tis late.

_Bel. _ Alas! where am I?