Around me are the stars and waters--
Worlds mirrored in the Ocean, goodlier sight[ee]
Than torches glared back by a gaudy glass; 70
And the great Element, which is to space
What Ocean is to Earth, spreads its blue depths,
Softened with the first breathings of the spring;
The high Moon sails upon her beauteous way,
Serenely smoothing o'er the lofty walls
Of those tall piles and sea-girt palaces,[ef]
Whose porphyry pillars, and whose costly fronts,
Fraught with the Orient spoil of many marbles,
Like altars ranged along the broad canal,
Seem each a trophy of some mighty deed 80
Reared up from out the waters, scarce less strangely
Than those more massy and mysterious giants
Of architecture, those Titanian fabrics,
Which point in Egypt's plains to times that have
No other record.
Worlds mirrored in the Ocean, goodlier sight[ee]
Than torches glared back by a gaudy glass; 70
And the great Element, which is to space
What Ocean is to Earth, spreads its blue depths,
Softened with the first breathings of the spring;
The high Moon sails upon her beauteous way,
Serenely smoothing o'er the lofty walls
Of those tall piles and sea-girt palaces,[ef]
Whose porphyry pillars, and whose costly fronts,
Fraught with the Orient spoil of many marbles,
Like altars ranged along the broad canal,
Seem each a trophy of some mighty deed 80
Reared up from out the waters, scarce less strangely
Than those more massy and mysterious giants
Of architecture, those Titanian fabrics,
Which point in Egypt's plains to times that have
No other record.
Byron
--I was General at Zara,
And Chief in Rhodes and Cyprus,[425] Prince in Venice:
I cannot stoop--that is, I am not fit 220
To lead a band of--patriots: when I lay
Aside the dignities which I have borne,
'Tis not to put on others, but to be
Mate to my fellows--but now to the point:
Israel has stated to me your whole plan--
'Tis bold, but feasible if I assist it,
And must be set in motion instantly.
_Cal_. E'en when thou wilt. Is it not so, my friends?
I have disposed all for a sudden blow;
When shall it be then?
_Doge_. At sunrise.
_Ber_. So soon? 230
_Doge_. So soon? --so late--each hour accumulates
Peril on peril, and the more so now
Since I have mingled with you;--know you not
The Council, and "the Ten? " the spies, the eyes
Of the patricians dubious of their slaves,
And now more dubious of the Prince they have made one?
I tell you, you must strike, and suddenly,
Full to the Hydra's heart--its heads will follow.
_Cal_. With all my soul and sword, I yield assent;
Our companies are ready, sixty each, 240
And all now under arms by Israel's order;
Each at their different place of rendezvous,
And vigilant, expectant of some blow;
Let each repair for action to his post!
And now, my Lord, the signal?
_Doge_. When you hear
The great bell of Saint Mark's, which may not be
Struck without special order of the Doge
(The last poor privilege they leave their Prince),
March on Saint Mark's!
_I. Ber_. And there? --
_Doge_. By different routes
Let your march be directed, every sixty 250
Entering a separate avenue, and still
Upon the way let your cry be of War
And of the Genoese Fleet, by the first dawn
Discerned before the port; form round the palace,
Within whose court will be drawn out in arms
My nephew and the clients of our house,
Many and martial; while the bell tolls on,
Shout ye, "Saint Mark! --the foe is on our waters! "
_Cal_. I see it now--but on, my noble Lord.
_Doge_. All the patricians flocking to the Council, 260
(Which they dare not refuse, at the dread signal
Pealing from out their Patron Saint's proud tower,)
Will then be gathered in unto the harvest,
And we will reap them with the sword for sickle.
If some few should be tardy or absent, them,
'Twill be but to be taken faint and single,
When the majority are put to rest.
_Cal_. Would that the hour were come! we will not scotch,[426]
But kill.
_Ber_. Once more, sir, with your pardon, I
Would now repeat the question which I asked 270
Before Bertuccio added to our cause
This great ally who renders it more sure,
And therefore safer, and as such admits
Some dawn of mercy to a portion of
Our victims--must all perish in this slaughter?
_Cal_. All who encounter me and mine--be sure,
The mercy they have shown, I show.
_Consp_. All! all!
Is this a time to talk of pity? when
Have they e'er shown, or felt, or feigned it?
_I. Ber_. Bertram,
This false compassion is a folly, and 280
Injustice to thy comrades and thy cause!
Dost thou not see, that if we single out
Some for escape, they live but to avenge
The fallen? and how distinguish now the innocent
From out the guilty? all their acts are one--
A single emanation from one body,
Together knit for our oppression! 'Tis
Much that we let their children live; I doubt
If all of these even should be set apart:
The hunter may reserve some single cub 290
From out the tiger's litter, but who e'er
Would seek to save the spotted sire or dam,
Unless to perish by their fangs? however,
I will abide by Doge Faliero's counsel:
Let him decide if any should be saved.
_Doge_. Ask me not--tempt me not with such a question--
Decide yourselves.
_I. Ber_. You know their private virtues
Far better than we can, to whom alone
Their public vices, and most foul oppression,
Have made them deadly; if there be amongst them 300
One who deserves to be repealed, pronounce.
_Doge_. Dolfino's father was my friend, and Lando
Fought by my side, and Marc Cornaro shared[dt][427]
My Genoese embassy: I saved the life[du]
Of Veniero--shall I save it twice?
Would that I could save them and Venice also!
All these men, or their fathers, were my friends
Till they became my subjects; then fell from me
As faithless leaves drop from the o'erblown flower,
And left me a lone blighted thorny stalk, 310
Which, in its solitude, can shelter nothing;
So, as they let me wither, let them perish!
_Cal_. They cannot co-exist with Venice' freedom!
_Doge_. Ye, though you know and feel our mutual mass
Of many wrongs, even ye are ignorant[dv]
What fatal poison to the springs of Life,
To human ties, and all that's good and dear,
Lurks in the present institutes of Venice:
All these men were my friends; I loved them, they
Requited honourably my regards; 320
We served and fought; we smiled and wept in concert;
We revelled or we sorrowed side by side;
We made alliances of blood and marriage;
We grew in years and honours fairly,--till
Their own desire, not my ambition, made
Them choose me for their Prince, and then farewell!
Farewell all social memory! all thoughts
In common! and sweet bonds which link old friendships,
When the survivors of long years and actions,
Which now belong to history, soothe the days 330
Which yet remain by treasuring each other,
And never meet, but each beholds the mirror
Of half a century on his brother's brow,
And sees a hundred beings, now in earth,
Flit round them whispering of the days gone by,
And seeming not all dead, as long as two
Of the brave, joyous, reckless, glorious band,
Which once were one and many, still retain
A breath to sigh for them, a tongue to speak
Of deeds that else were silent, save on marble---- 340
_Oime Oime! _[428]--and must I do this deed?
_I. Ber_. My Lord, you are much moved: it is not now
That such things must be dwelt upon.
_Doge_. Your patience
A moment--I recede not: mark with me
The gloomy vices of this government.
From the hour they made me Doge, the _Doge_ they _made_ me--
Farewell the past! I died to all that had been,
Or rather they to me: no friends, no kindness,
No privacy of life--all were cut off:
They came not near me--such approach gave umbrage; 350
They could not love me--such was not the law;
They thwarted me--'twas the state's policy;
They baffled me--'twas a patrician's duty;
They wronged me, for such was to right the state;
They could not right me--that would give suspicion;
So that I was a slave to my own subjects;
So that I was a foe to my own friends;
Begirt with spies for guards, with robes for power,
With pomp for freedom, gaolers for a council,
Inquisitors for friends, and Hell for life! 360
I had only one fount of quiet left,
And _that_ they poisoned! My pure household gods[429]
Were shivered on my hearth, and o'er their shrine
Sate grinning Ribaldry, and sneering Scorn. [dw]
_I. Ber_. You have been deeply wronged, and now shall be
Nobly avenged before another night.
_Doge_. I had borne all--it hurt me, but I bore it--
Till this last running over of the cup
Of bitterness--until this last loud insult,
Not only unredressed, but sanctioned; then, 370
And thus, I cast all further feelings from me--
The feelings which they crushed for me, long, long[dx]
Before, even in their oath of false allegiance!
Even in that very hour and vow, they abjured
Their friend and made a Sovereign, as boys make
_Playthings_, to do their pleasure--and be broken! [dy]
I from that hour have seen but Senators
In dark suspicious conflict with the Doge,
Brooding with him in mutual hate and fear;
They dreading he should snatch the tyranny 380
From out their grasp, and he abhorring tyrants.
To me, then, these men have no _private_ life,
Nor claim to ties they have cut off from others;
As Senators for arbitrary acts
Amenable, I look on them--as such
Let them be dealt upon.
_Cal_. And now to action!
Hence, brethren, to our posts, and may this be
The last night of mere words: I'd fain be doing!
Saint Mark's great bell at dawn shall find me wakeful!
_I. Ber_. Disperse then to your posts: be firm and vigilant; 390
Think on the wrongs we bear, the rights we claim.
This day and night shall be the last of peril!
Watch for the signal, and then march. I go
To join my band; let each be prompt to marshal
His separate charge: the Doge will now return
To the palace to prepare all for the blow.
We part to meet in Freedom and in Glory!
_Cal_. Doge, when I greet you next, my homage to you
Shall be the head of Steno on this sword!
_Doge_. No; let him be reserved unto the last, 400
Nor turn aside to strike at such a prey,[dz]
Till nobler game is quarried: his offence
Was a mere ebullition of the vice,
The general corruption generated
By the foul Aristocracy: he could not--
He dared not in more honourable days
Have risked it. I have merged all private wrath
Against him in the thought of our great purpose.
A slave insults me--I require his punishment
From his proud master's hands; if he refuse it, 410
The offence grows his, and let him answer it.
_Cal_. Yet, as the immediate cause of the alliance
Which consecrates our undertaking more,
I owe him such deep gratitude, that fain
I would repay him as he merits; may I?
_Doge_. You would but lop the hand, and I the head;
You would but smite the scholar, I the master;
You would but punish Steno, I the Senate.
I cannot pause on individual hate,
In the absorbing, sweeping, whole revenge, 420
Which, like the sheeted fire from Heaven, must blast
Without distinction, as it fell of yore,
Where the Dead Sea hath quenched two Cities' ashes.
_I. Ber_. Away, then, to your posts! I but remain
A moment to accompany the Doge
To our late place of tryst, to see no spies
Have been upon the scout, and thence I hasten
To where my allotted band is under arms.
_Cal_. Farewell, then,--until dawn!
_I. Ber_. Success go with you!
_Consp_. We will not fail--Away! My Lord, farewell! 430
[_The Conspirators salute the_ DOGE _and_ ISRAEL BERTUCCIO,
_and retire, headed by_ PHILIP CALENDARO. _The_ DOGE _and_
ISRAEL BERTUCCIO _remain_.
_I. Ber_. We have them in the toil--it cannot fail!
Now thou'rt indeed a Sovereign, and wilt make
A name immortal greater than the greatest:
Free citizens have struck at Kings ere now;
Caesars have fallen, and even patrician hands
Have crushed dictators, as the popular steel
Has reached patricians: but, until this hour,
What Prince has plotted for his people's freedom?
Or risked a life to liberate his subjects?
For ever, and for ever, they conspire 440
Against the people, to abuse their hands
To chains, but laid aside to carry weapons
Against the fellow nations, so that yoke
On yoke, and slavery and death may whet,
_Not glut_, the never-gorged Leviathan!
Now, my Lord, to our enterprise;--'tis great,
And greater the reward; why stand you rapt?
A moment back, and you were all impatience!
_Doge_. And is it then decided! must they die?
_I. Ber_. Who?
_Doge_. My own friends by blood and courtesy, 450
And many deeds and days--the Senators?
_I. Ber_. You passed their sentence, and it is a just one.
_Doge_. Aye, so it seems, and so it is to _you_;
You are a patriot, a plebeian Gracchus--[ea]
The rebel's oracle, the people's tribune--
I blame you not--you act in your vocation;[430]
They smote you, and oppressed you, and despised you;
So they have _me_: but _you_ ne'er spake with them;
You never broke their bread, nor shared their salt;
You never had their wine-cup at your lips: 460
You grew not up with them, nor laughed, nor wept,
Nor held a revel in their company;
Ne'er smiled to see them smile, nor claimed their smile
In social interchange for yours, nor trusted
Nor wore them in your heart of hearts, as I have:
These hairs of mine are grey, and so are theirs,
The elders of the Council: I remember
When all our locks were like the raven's wing,
As we went forth to take our prey around
The isles wrung from the false Mahometan; 470
And can I see them dabbled o'er with blood?
Each stab to them will seem my suicide.
_I. Ber_. Doge! Doge! this vacillation is unworthy
A child; if you are not in second childhood,
Call back your nerves to your own purpose, nor
Thus shame yourself and me. By Heavens! I'd rather
Forego even now, or fail in our intent,
Than see the man I venerate subside
From high resolves into such shallow weakness!
You have seen blood in battle, shed it, both 480
Your own and that of others; can you shrink then
From a few drops from veins of hoary vampires,
Who but give back what they have drained from millions?
_Doge_. Bear with me! Step by step, and blow on blow,
I will divide with you; think not I waver:
Ah! no; it is the _certainty_ of all
Which I must do doth make me tremble thus.
But let these last and lingering thoughts have way,
To which you only and the night are conscious,
And both regardless; when the Hour arrives, 490
'Tis mine to sound the knell, and strike the blow,
Which shall unpeople many palaces,
And hew the highest genealogic trees
Down to the earth, strewed with their bleeding fruit,
And crush their blossoms into barrenness:
_This will_ I--must I--have I sworn to do,
Nor aught can turn me from my destiny;
But still I quiver to behold what I
Must be, and think what I have been! Bear with me.
_I. Ber_. Re-man your breast; I feel no such remorse, 500
I understand it not: why should you change?
You acted, and you act, on your free will.
_Doge_. Aye, there it is--_you_ feel not, nor do I,
Else I should stab thee on the spot, to save
A thousand lives--and killing, do no murder;
You _feel_ not--you go to this butcher-work
As if these high-born men were steers for shambles:
When all is over, you'll be free and merry,
And calmly wash those hands incarnadine;
But I, outgoing thee and all thy fellows 510
In this surpassing massacre, shall be,
Shall see and feel--oh God! oh God! 'tis true,
And thou dost well to answer that it was
"My own free will and act," and yet you err,
For I will do this! Doubt not--fear not; I
Will be your most unmerciful accomplice!
And yet I act no more on my free will,
Nor my own feelings--both compel me back;
But there is _Hell_ within me and around,
And like the Demon who believes and trembles 520
Must I abhor and do. Away! away!
Get thee unto thy fellows, I will hie me
To gather the retainers of our house.
Doubt not, St. Mark's great bell shall wake all Venice,
Except her slaughtered Senate: ere the Sun
Be broad upon the Adriatic there
Shall be a voice of weeping, which shall drown
The roar of waters in the cry of blood!
I am resolved--come on.
_I. Ber_. With all my soul!
Keep a firm rein upon these bursts of passion; 530
Remember what these men have dealt to thee,
And that this sacrifice will be succeeded
By ages of prosperity and freedom
To this unshackled city: a true tyrant[eb]
Would have depopulated empires, nor
Have felt the strange compunction which hath wrung you
To punish a few traitors to the people.
Trust me, such were a pity more misplaced
Than the late mercy of the state to Steno.
_Doge_. Man, thou hast struck upon the chord which jars 540
All nature from my heart. Hence to our task!
[_Exeunt_.
ACT IV.
SCENE I. --_Palazzo of the Patrician_ LIONI. [431] LIONI _laying
aside the mask and cloak which the Venetian Nobles wore in
public, attended by a Domestic_.
_Lioni_. I will to rest, right weary of this revel,
The gayest we have held for many moons,
And yet--I know not why--it cheered me not;
There came a heaviness across my heart,
Which, in the lightest movement of the dance,
Though eye to eye, and hand in hand united
Even with the Lady of my Love, oppressed me,
And through my spirit chilled my blood, until
A damp like Death rose o'er my brow; I strove
To laugh the thought away, but 'twould not be; 10
Through all the music ringing in my ears[ec]
A knell was sounding as distinct and clear,
Though low and far, as e'er the Adrian wave
Rose o'er the City's murmur in the night,
Dashing against the outward Lido's bulwark:
So that I left the festival before
It reached its zenith, and will woo my pillow
For thoughts more tranquil, or forgetfulness.
Antonio, take my mask and cloak, and light
The lamp within my chamber.
_Ant_. Yes, my Lord: 20
Command you no refreshment?
_Lioni_. Nought, save sleep,
Which will not be commanded. Let me hope it,
[_Exit_ ANTONIO.
Though my breast feels too anxious; I will try
Whether the air will calm my spirits: 'tis
A goodly night; the cloudy wind which blew
From the Levant hath crept into its cave,
And the broad Moon hath brightened. What a stillness!
[_Goes to an open lattice_.
And what a contrast with the scene I left,
Where the tall torches' glare, and silver lamps'
More pallid gleam along the tapestried walls, 30
Spread over the reluctant gloom which haunts
Those vast and dimly-latticed galleries
A dazzling mass of artificial light,
Which showed all things, but nothing as they were.
There Age essaying to recall the past,
After long striving for the hues of Youth
At the sad labour of the toilet, and
Full many a glance at the too faithful mirror,
Pranked forth in all the pride of ornament,
Forgot itself, and trusting to the falsehood 40
Of the indulgent beams, which show, yet hide,
Believed itself forgotten, and was fooled.
There Youth, which needed not, nor thought of such
Vain adjuncts, lavished its true bloom, and health,
And bridal beauty, in the unwholesome press
Of flushed and crowded wassailers, and wasted
Its hours of rest in dreaming this was pleasure,
And so shall waste them till the sunrise streams
On sallow cheeks and sunken eyes, which should not
Have worn this aspect yet for many a year. [432] 50
The music, and the banquet, and the wine,
The garlands, the rose odours, and the flowers,
The sparkling eyes, and flashing ornaments,
The white arms and the raven hair, the braids
And bracelets; swanlike bosoms, and the necklace,
An India in itself, yet dazzling not
The eye like what it circled; the thin robes,
Floating like light clouds 'twixt our gaze and heaven;
The many-twinkling feet so small and sylphlike,
Suggesting the more secret symmetry[ed] 60
Of the fair forms which terminate so well--
All the delusion of the dizzy scene,
Its false and true enchantments--Art and Nature,
Which swam before my giddy eyes, that drank
The sight of beauty as the parched pilgrim's
On Arab sands the false mirage, which offers
A lucid lake to his eluded thirst,
Are gone.
Around me are the stars and waters--
Worlds mirrored in the Ocean, goodlier sight[ee]
Than torches glared back by a gaudy glass; 70
And the great Element, which is to space
What Ocean is to Earth, spreads its blue depths,
Softened with the first breathings of the spring;
The high Moon sails upon her beauteous way,
Serenely smoothing o'er the lofty walls
Of those tall piles and sea-girt palaces,[ef]
Whose porphyry pillars, and whose costly fronts,
Fraught with the Orient spoil of many marbles,
Like altars ranged along the broad canal,
Seem each a trophy of some mighty deed 80
Reared up from out the waters, scarce less strangely
Than those more massy and mysterious giants
Of architecture, those Titanian fabrics,
Which point in Egypt's plains to times that have
No other record. All is gentle: nought
Stirs rudely; but, congenial with the night,
Whatever walks is gliding like a spirit.
The tinklings of some vigilant guitars
Of sleepless lovers to a wakeful mistress,
And cautious opening of the casement, showing 90
That he is not unheard; while her young hand,
Fair as the moonlight of which it seems part,
So delicately white, it trembles in
The act of opening the forbidden lattice,[433]
To let in love through music, makes his heart
Thrill like his lyre-strings at the sight; the dash
Phosphoric of the oar, or rapid twinkle
Of the far lights of skimming gondolas,[434]
And the responsive voices of the choir
Of boatmen answering back with verse for verse; 100
Some dusky shadow checkering the Rialto;
Some glimmering palace roof, or tapering spire,[eg]
Are all the sights and sounds which here pervade
The ocean-born and earth-commanding City--
How sweet and soothing is this hour of calm!
I thank thee, Night! for thou hast chased away
Those horrid bodements which, amidst the throng,
I could not dissipate: and with the blessing
Of thy benign and quiet influence,
Now will I to my couch, although to rest 110
Is almost wronging such a night as this,----
[_A knocking is heard from without_.
Hark! what is that? or who at such a moment? [eh]
_Enter_ ANTONIO.
_Ant_. My Lord, a man without, on urgent business,
Implores to be admitted.
_Lioni_. Is he a stranger? [ei]
_Ant_. His face is muffled in his cloak, but both
His voice and gestures seem familiar to me;[ej]
I craved his name, but this he seemed reluctant
To trust, save to yourself; most earnestly
He sues to be permitted to approach you.
_Lioni_. 'Tis a strange hour, and a suspicious bearing! 120
And yet there is slight peril: 'tis not in
Their houses noble men are struck at; still,
Although I know not that I have a foe
In Venice, 'twill be wise to use some caution.
Admit him, and retire; but call up quickly
Some of thy fellows, who may wait without. --
Who can this man be? --
[_Exit_ ANTONIO, _and returns with_ BERTRAM _muffled_.
_Ber_. My good Lord Lioni,
I have no time to lose, nor thou,--dismiss
This menial hence; I would be private with you.
_Lioni_. It seems the voice of Bertram--Go, Antonio. 130
[_Exit_ ANTONIO.
Now, stranger, what would you at such an hour?
_Ber_. (_discovering himself_).
A boon, my noble patron; you have granted
Many to your poor client, Bertram; add
This one, and make him happy.
_Lioni_. Thou hast known me
From boyhood, ever ready to assist thee
In all fair objects of advancement, which
Beseem one of thy station; I would promise
Ere thy request was heard, but that the hour,
Thy bearing, and this strange and hurried mode
Of suing, gives me to suspect this visit 140
Hath some mysterious import--but say on--
What has occurred, some rash and sudden broil? --
A cup too much, a scuffle, and a stab?
Mere things of every day; so that thou hast not
Spilt noble blood, I guarantee thy safety;
But then thou must withdraw, for angry friends
And relatives, in the first burst of vengeance,
Are things in Venice deadlier than the laws.
_Ber_. My Lord, I thank you; but----
_Lioni_. But what? You have not
Raised a rash hand against one of our order? 150
If so--withdraw and fly--and own it not;[ek]
I would not slay--but then I must not save thee!
He who has shed patrician blood----
_Ber_. I come
To save patrician blood, and not to shed it!
And thereunto I must be speedy, for
Each minute lost may lose a life; since Time
Has changed his slow scythe for the two-edged sword,
And is about to take, instead of sand,
The dust from sepulchres to fill his hour-glass! --
Go not _thou_ forth to-morrow!
_Lioni_. Wherefore not? -- 160
What means this menace?
_Ber_. Do not seek its meaning,
But do as I implore thee;--stir not forth,
Whate'er be stirring; though the roar of crowds--
The cry of women, and the shrieks of babes--
The groans of men--the clash of arms--the sound
Of rolling drum, shrill trump, and hollow bell,
Peal in one wide alarum l--Go not forth,
Until the Tocsin's silent, nor even then
Till I return!
_Lioni_. Again, what does this mean?
_Ber_. Again, I tell thee, ask not; but by all 170
Thou holdest dear on earth or Heaven--by all
The Souls of thy great fathers, and thy hope
To emulate them, and to leave behind
Descendants worthy both of them and thee--
By all thou hast of blessed in hope or memory--
By all thou hast to fear here or hereafter--
By all the good deeds thou hast done to me,
Good I would now repay with greater good,[el]
Remain within--trust to thy household gods,[em]
And to my word for safety, if thou dost, 180
As I now counsel--but if not, thou art lost!
_Lioni_. I am indeed already lost in wonder;
Surely thou ravest! what have _I_ to dread?
Who are my foes? or if there be such, _why_
Art _thou_ leagued with them? --_thou! _ or, if so leagued,
Why comest thou to tell me at this hour,
And not before?
_Ber_. I cannot answer this.
Wilt thou go forth despite of this true warning?
_Lioni_. I was not born to shrink from idle threats,
The cause of which I know not: at the hour 190
Of council, be it soon or late, I shall not
Be found among the absent.
_Ber_. Say not so!
Once more, art thou determined to go forth?
_Lioni_. I am. Nor is there aught which shall impede me!
_Ber_. Then, Heaven have mercy on thy soul! --Farewell!
[_Going_.
_Lioni_. Stay--there is more in this than my own safety
Which makes me call thee back; we must not part thus:
Bertram, I have known thee long.
_Ber_. From childhood, Signor,
You have been my protector: in the days
Of reckless infancy, when rank forgets, 200
Or, rather, is not yet taught to remember
Its cold prerogative, we played together;
Our sports, our smiles, our tears, were mingled oft;
My father was your father's client, I
His son's scarce less than foster-brother; years
Saw us together--happy, heart-full hours!
Oh God! the difference 'twixt those hours and this!
_Lioni_. Bertram, 'tis thou who hast forgotten them.
_Ber_. Nor now, nor ever; whatsoe'er betide,
I would have saved you: when to Manhood's growth 210
We sprung, and you, devoted to the state,
As suits your station, the more humble Bertram
Was left unto the labours of the humble,
Still you forsook me not; and if my fortunes
Have not been towering, 'twas no fault of him
Who ofttimes rescued and supported me,
When struggling with the tides of Circumstance,
Which bear away the weaker: noble blood
Ne'er mantled in a nobler heart than thine
Has proved to me, the poor plebeian Bertram. 220
Would that thy fellow Senators were like thee!
_Lioni_. Why, what hast thou to say against the Senate? [en]
_Ber_. Nothing.
_Lioni_. I know that there are angry spirits
And turbulent mutterers of stifled treason,
Who lurk in narrow places, and walk out
Muffled to whisper curses to the night;
Disbanded soldiers, discontented ruffians,
And desperate libertines who brawl in taverns;
_Thou_ herdest not with such: 'tis true, of late
I have lost sight of thee, but thou wert wont 230
To lead a temperate life, and break thy bread
With honest mates, and bear a cheerful aspect.
What hath come to thee? in thy hollow eye
And hueless cheek, and thine unquiet motions,
Sorrow and Shame and Conscience seem at war
To waste thee.
_Ber_. Rather Shame and Sorrow light
On the accursed tyranny which rides[eo]
The very air in Venice, and makes men
Madden as in the last hours of the plague
Which sweeps the soul deliriously from life! 240
_Lioni_. Some villains have been tampering with thee, Bertram;
This is not thy old language, nor own thoughts;
Some wretch has made thee drunk with disaffection:
But thou must not be lost so; thou _wert_ good
And kind, and art not fit for such base acts
As Vice and Villany would put thee to:
Confess--confide in me--thou know'st my nature.
What is it thou and thine are bound to do,
Which should prevent thy friend, the only son
Of him who was a friend unto thy father, 250
So that our good-will is a heritage
We should bequeath to our posterity
Such as ourselves received it, or augmented;
I say, what is it thou must do, that I
Should deem thee dangerous, and keep the house
Like a sick girl?
_Ber_. Nay, question me no further:
I must be gone. ----
_Lioni_. And I be murdered! --say,
Was it not thus thou said'st, my gentle Bertram?
_Ber_. Who talks of murder? what said I of murder?
Tis false! I did not utter such a word. 260
_Lioni_. Thou didst not; but from out thy wolfish eye,
So changed from what I knew it, there glares forth
The gladiator. If _my_ life's thine object,
Take it--I am unarmed,--and then away!
I would not hold my breath on such a tenure[ep]
As the capricious mercy of such things
As thou and those who have set thee to thy task-work.
_Ber_. Sooner than spill thy blood, I peril mine;
Sooner than harm a hair of thine, I place
In jeopardy a thousand heads, and some 270
As noble, nay, even nobler than thine own.
_Lioni_. Aye, is it even so? Excuse me, Bertram;
I am not worthy to be singled out
From such exalted hecatombs--who are they
That _are_ in danger, and that _make_ the danger?
_Ber_. Venice, and all that she inherits, are
Divided like a house against itself,
And so will perish ere to-morrow's twilight!
_Lioni_. More mysteries, and awful ones! But now,
Or thou, or I, or both, it may be, are 280
Upon the verge of ruin; speak once out,
And thou art safe and glorious: for 'tis more
Glorious to save than slay, and slay i' the dark too--
Fie, Bertram! that was not a craft for thee!
How would it look to see upon a spear
The head of him whose heart was open to thee!
Borne by thy hand before the shuddering people?
And such may be my doom; for here I swear,
Whate'er the peril or the penalty
Of thy denunciation, I go forth, 290
Unless thou dost detail the cause, and show
The consequence of all which led thee here!
_Ber_. Is there no way to save thee? minutes fly,
And thou art lost! --_thou_! my sole benefactor,
The only being who was constant to me
Through every change. Yet, make me not a traitor!
Let me save thee--but spare my honour!
_Lioni_. Where
Can lie the honour in a league of murder?
And who are traitors save unto the State?
_Ber_. A league is still a compact, and more binding 300
In honest hearts when words must stand for law;
And in my mind, there is no traitor like
He whose domestic treason plants the poniard[435]
Within the breast which trusted to his truth.
Lioni. And who will strike the steel to mine?
_Ber_. Not I;
I could have wound my soul up to all things
Save this. _Thou_ must not die! and think how dear
Thy life is, when I risk so many lives,
Nay, more, the Life of lives, the liberty
Of future generations, _not_ to be 310
The assassin thou miscall'st me:--once, once more
I do adjure thee, pass not o'er thy threshold!
_Lioni_. It is in vain--this moment I go forth.
_Ber_. Then perish Venice rather than my friend!
I will disclose--ensnare--betray--destroy--
Oh, what a villain I become for thee!
_Lioni_. Say, rather thy friend's saviour and the State's! --
Speak--pause not--all rewards, all pledges for
Thy safety and thy welfare; wealth such as
The State accords her worthiest servants; nay, 330
Nobility itself I guarantee thee,
So that thou art sincere and penitent.
_Ber_. I have thought again: it must not be--I love thee--
Thou knowest it--that I stand here is the proof,
Not least though last; but having done my duty
By thee, I now must do it by my country!
Farewell--we meet no more in life! --farewell!
_Lioni_. What, ho! --Antonio--Pedro--to the door!
See that none pass--arrest this man! ----
_Enter_ ANTONIO _and other armed Domestics, who seize_ BERTRAM.
_Lioni_ (_continues_). Take care
He hath no harm; bring me my sword and cloak, 330
And man the gondola with four oars--quick--
[_Exit_ ANTONIO.
We will unto Giovanni Gradenigo's,
And send for Marc Cornaro:--fear not, Bertram;
This needful violence is for thy safety,
No less than for the general weal.
_Ber_. Where wouldst thou
Bear me a prisoner?
_Lioni_. Firstly to "the Ten;"
Next to the Doge.
_Ber_. To the Doge?
_Lioni_. Assuredly:
Is he not Chief of the State?
_Ber_. Perhaps at sunrise--
_Lioni_. What mean you? --but we'll know anon.
_Ber_. Art sure?
_Lioni_. Sure as all gentle means can make; and if 340
They fail, you know "the Ten" and their tribunal,
And that St. Mark's has dungeons, and the dungeons
A rack.
_Ber_. Apply it then before the dawn
Now hastening into heaven. --One more such word,
And you shall perish piecemeal, by the death
You think to doom to me.
_Re-enter_ ANTONIO.
_Ant_. The bark is ready,
My Lord, and all prepared.
_Lioni_. Look to the prisoner.
Bertram, I'll reason with thee as we go
To the Magnifico's, sage Gradenigo. [_Exeunt_.
SCENE II. --_The Ducal Palace_--_The Doge's Apartment_.
_The_ DOGE _and his Nephew_ BERTUCCIO FALIERO.
_Doge_. Are all the people of our house in muster?
_Ber. F. _ They are arrayed, and eager for the signal,
Within our palace precincts at San Polo:[436]
I come for your last orders.
_Doge_. It had been
As well had there been time to have got together,
From my own fief, Val di Marino, more
Of our retainers--but it is too late.
And Chief in Rhodes and Cyprus,[425] Prince in Venice:
I cannot stoop--that is, I am not fit 220
To lead a band of--patriots: when I lay
Aside the dignities which I have borne,
'Tis not to put on others, but to be
Mate to my fellows--but now to the point:
Israel has stated to me your whole plan--
'Tis bold, but feasible if I assist it,
And must be set in motion instantly.
_Cal_. E'en when thou wilt. Is it not so, my friends?
I have disposed all for a sudden blow;
When shall it be then?
_Doge_. At sunrise.
_Ber_. So soon? 230
_Doge_. So soon? --so late--each hour accumulates
Peril on peril, and the more so now
Since I have mingled with you;--know you not
The Council, and "the Ten? " the spies, the eyes
Of the patricians dubious of their slaves,
And now more dubious of the Prince they have made one?
I tell you, you must strike, and suddenly,
Full to the Hydra's heart--its heads will follow.
_Cal_. With all my soul and sword, I yield assent;
Our companies are ready, sixty each, 240
And all now under arms by Israel's order;
Each at their different place of rendezvous,
And vigilant, expectant of some blow;
Let each repair for action to his post!
And now, my Lord, the signal?
_Doge_. When you hear
The great bell of Saint Mark's, which may not be
Struck without special order of the Doge
(The last poor privilege they leave their Prince),
March on Saint Mark's!
_I. Ber_. And there? --
_Doge_. By different routes
Let your march be directed, every sixty 250
Entering a separate avenue, and still
Upon the way let your cry be of War
And of the Genoese Fleet, by the first dawn
Discerned before the port; form round the palace,
Within whose court will be drawn out in arms
My nephew and the clients of our house,
Many and martial; while the bell tolls on,
Shout ye, "Saint Mark! --the foe is on our waters! "
_Cal_. I see it now--but on, my noble Lord.
_Doge_. All the patricians flocking to the Council, 260
(Which they dare not refuse, at the dread signal
Pealing from out their Patron Saint's proud tower,)
Will then be gathered in unto the harvest,
And we will reap them with the sword for sickle.
If some few should be tardy or absent, them,
'Twill be but to be taken faint and single,
When the majority are put to rest.
_Cal_. Would that the hour were come! we will not scotch,[426]
But kill.
_Ber_. Once more, sir, with your pardon, I
Would now repeat the question which I asked 270
Before Bertuccio added to our cause
This great ally who renders it more sure,
And therefore safer, and as such admits
Some dawn of mercy to a portion of
Our victims--must all perish in this slaughter?
_Cal_. All who encounter me and mine--be sure,
The mercy they have shown, I show.
_Consp_. All! all!
Is this a time to talk of pity? when
Have they e'er shown, or felt, or feigned it?
_I. Ber_. Bertram,
This false compassion is a folly, and 280
Injustice to thy comrades and thy cause!
Dost thou not see, that if we single out
Some for escape, they live but to avenge
The fallen? and how distinguish now the innocent
From out the guilty? all their acts are one--
A single emanation from one body,
Together knit for our oppression! 'Tis
Much that we let their children live; I doubt
If all of these even should be set apart:
The hunter may reserve some single cub 290
From out the tiger's litter, but who e'er
Would seek to save the spotted sire or dam,
Unless to perish by their fangs? however,
I will abide by Doge Faliero's counsel:
Let him decide if any should be saved.
_Doge_. Ask me not--tempt me not with such a question--
Decide yourselves.
_I. Ber_. You know their private virtues
Far better than we can, to whom alone
Their public vices, and most foul oppression,
Have made them deadly; if there be amongst them 300
One who deserves to be repealed, pronounce.
_Doge_. Dolfino's father was my friend, and Lando
Fought by my side, and Marc Cornaro shared[dt][427]
My Genoese embassy: I saved the life[du]
Of Veniero--shall I save it twice?
Would that I could save them and Venice also!
All these men, or their fathers, were my friends
Till they became my subjects; then fell from me
As faithless leaves drop from the o'erblown flower,
And left me a lone blighted thorny stalk, 310
Which, in its solitude, can shelter nothing;
So, as they let me wither, let them perish!
_Cal_. They cannot co-exist with Venice' freedom!
_Doge_. Ye, though you know and feel our mutual mass
Of many wrongs, even ye are ignorant[dv]
What fatal poison to the springs of Life,
To human ties, and all that's good and dear,
Lurks in the present institutes of Venice:
All these men were my friends; I loved them, they
Requited honourably my regards; 320
We served and fought; we smiled and wept in concert;
We revelled or we sorrowed side by side;
We made alliances of blood and marriage;
We grew in years and honours fairly,--till
Their own desire, not my ambition, made
Them choose me for their Prince, and then farewell!
Farewell all social memory! all thoughts
In common! and sweet bonds which link old friendships,
When the survivors of long years and actions,
Which now belong to history, soothe the days 330
Which yet remain by treasuring each other,
And never meet, but each beholds the mirror
Of half a century on his brother's brow,
And sees a hundred beings, now in earth,
Flit round them whispering of the days gone by,
And seeming not all dead, as long as two
Of the brave, joyous, reckless, glorious band,
Which once were one and many, still retain
A breath to sigh for them, a tongue to speak
Of deeds that else were silent, save on marble---- 340
_Oime Oime! _[428]--and must I do this deed?
_I. Ber_. My Lord, you are much moved: it is not now
That such things must be dwelt upon.
_Doge_. Your patience
A moment--I recede not: mark with me
The gloomy vices of this government.
From the hour they made me Doge, the _Doge_ they _made_ me--
Farewell the past! I died to all that had been,
Or rather they to me: no friends, no kindness,
No privacy of life--all were cut off:
They came not near me--such approach gave umbrage; 350
They could not love me--such was not the law;
They thwarted me--'twas the state's policy;
They baffled me--'twas a patrician's duty;
They wronged me, for such was to right the state;
They could not right me--that would give suspicion;
So that I was a slave to my own subjects;
So that I was a foe to my own friends;
Begirt with spies for guards, with robes for power,
With pomp for freedom, gaolers for a council,
Inquisitors for friends, and Hell for life! 360
I had only one fount of quiet left,
And _that_ they poisoned! My pure household gods[429]
Were shivered on my hearth, and o'er their shrine
Sate grinning Ribaldry, and sneering Scorn. [dw]
_I. Ber_. You have been deeply wronged, and now shall be
Nobly avenged before another night.
_Doge_. I had borne all--it hurt me, but I bore it--
Till this last running over of the cup
Of bitterness--until this last loud insult,
Not only unredressed, but sanctioned; then, 370
And thus, I cast all further feelings from me--
The feelings which they crushed for me, long, long[dx]
Before, even in their oath of false allegiance!
Even in that very hour and vow, they abjured
Their friend and made a Sovereign, as boys make
_Playthings_, to do their pleasure--and be broken! [dy]
I from that hour have seen but Senators
In dark suspicious conflict with the Doge,
Brooding with him in mutual hate and fear;
They dreading he should snatch the tyranny 380
From out their grasp, and he abhorring tyrants.
To me, then, these men have no _private_ life,
Nor claim to ties they have cut off from others;
As Senators for arbitrary acts
Amenable, I look on them--as such
Let them be dealt upon.
_Cal_. And now to action!
Hence, brethren, to our posts, and may this be
The last night of mere words: I'd fain be doing!
Saint Mark's great bell at dawn shall find me wakeful!
_I. Ber_. Disperse then to your posts: be firm and vigilant; 390
Think on the wrongs we bear, the rights we claim.
This day and night shall be the last of peril!
Watch for the signal, and then march. I go
To join my band; let each be prompt to marshal
His separate charge: the Doge will now return
To the palace to prepare all for the blow.
We part to meet in Freedom and in Glory!
_Cal_. Doge, when I greet you next, my homage to you
Shall be the head of Steno on this sword!
_Doge_. No; let him be reserved unto the last, 400
Nor turn aside to strike at such a prey,[dz]
Till nobler game is quarried: his offence
Was a mere ebullition of the vice,
The general corruption generated
By the foul Aristocracy: he could not--
He dared not in more honourable days
Have risked it. I have merged all private wrath
Against him in the thought of our great purpose.
A slave insults me--I require his punishment
From his proud master's hands; if he refuse it, 410
The offence grows his, and let him answer it.
_Cal_. Yet, as the immediate cause of the alliance
Which consecrates our undertaking more,
I owe him such deep gratitude, that fain
I would repay him as he merits; may I?
_Doge_. You would but lop the hand, and I the head;
You would but smite the scholar, I the master;
You would but punish Steno, I the Senate.
I cannot pause on individual hate,
In the absorbing, sweeping, whole revenge, 420
Which, like the sheeted fire from Heaven, must blast
Without distinction, as it fell of yore,
Where the Dead Sea hath quenched two Cities' ashes.
_I. Ber_. Away, then, to your posts! I but remain
A moment to accompany the Doge
To our late place of tryst, to see no spies
Have been upon the scout, and thence I hasten
To where my allotted band is under arms.
_Cal_. Farewell, then,--until dawn!
_I. Ber_. Success go with you!
_Consp_. We will not fail--Away! My Lord, farewell! 430
[_The Conspirators salute the_ DOGE _and_ ISRAEL BERTUCCIO,
_and retire, headed by_ PHILIP CALENDARO. _The_ DOGE _and_
ISRAEL BERTUCCIO _remain_.
_I. Ber_. We have them in the toil--it cannot fail!
Now thou'rt indeed a Sovereign, and wilt make
A name immortal greater than the greatest:
Free citizens have struck at Kings ere now;
Caesars have fallen, and even patrician hands
Have crushed dictators, as the popular steel
Has reached patricians: but, until this hour,
What Prince has plotted for his people's freedom?
Or risked a life to liberate his subjects?
For ever, and for ever, they conspire 440
Against the people, to abuse their hands
To chains, but laid aside to carry weapons
Against the fellow nations, so that yoke
On yoke, and slavery and death may whet,
_Not glut_, the never-gorged Leviathan!
Now, my Lord, to our enterprise;--'tis great,
And greater the reward; why stand you rapt?
A moment back, and you were all impatience!
_Doge_. And is it then decided! must they die?
_I. Ber_. Who?
_Doge_. My own friends by blood and courtesy, 450
And many deeds and days--the Senators?
_I. Ber_. You passed their sentence, and it is a just one.
_Doge_. Aye, so it seems, and so it is to _you_;
You are a patriot, a plebeian Gracchus--[ea]
The rebel's oracle, the people's tribune--
I blame you not--you act in your vocation;[430]
They smote you, and oppressed you, and despised you;
So they have _me_: but _you_ ne'er spake with them;
You never broke their bread, nor shared their salt;
You never had their wine-cup at your lips: 460
You grew not up with them, nor laughed, nor wept,
Nor held a revel in their company;
Ne'er smiled to see them smile, nor claimed their smile
In social interchange for yours, nor trusted
Nor wore them in your heart of hearts, as I have:
These hairs of mine are grey, and so are theirs,
The elders of the Council: I remember
When all our locks were like the raven's wing,
As we went forth to take our prey around
The isles wrung from the false Mahometan; 470
And can I see them dabbled o'er with blood?
Each stab to them will seem my suicide.
_I. Ber_. Doge! Doge! this vacillation is unworthy
A child; if you are not in second childhood,
Call back your nerves to your own purpose, nor
Thus shame yourself and me. By Heavens! I'd rather
Forego even now, or fail in our intent,
Than see the man I venerate subside
From high resolves into such shallow weakness!
You have seen blood in battle, shed it, both 480
Your own and that of others; can you shrink then
From a few drops from veins of hoary vampires,
Who but give back what they have drained from millions?
_Doge_. Bear with me! Step by step, and blow on blow,
I will divide with you; think not I waver:
Ah! no; it is the _certainty_ of all
Which I must do doth make me tremble thus.
But let these last and lingering thoughts have way,
To which you only and the night are conscious,
And both regardless; when the Hour arrives, 490
'Tis mine to sound the knell, and strike the blow,
Which shall unpeople many palaces,
And hew the highest genealogic trees
Down to the earth, strewed with their bleeding fruit,
And crush their blossoms into barrenness:
_This will_ I--must I--have I sworn to do,
Nor aught can turn me from my destiny;
But still I quiver to behold what I
Must be, and think what I have been! Bear with me.
_I. Ber_. Re-man your breast; I feel no such remorse, 500
I understand it not: why should you change?
You acted, and you act, on your free will.
_Doge_. Aye, there it is--_you_ feel not, nor do I,
Else I should stab thee on the spot, to save
A thousand lives--and killing, do no murder;
You _feel_ not--you go to this butcher-work
As if these high-born men were steers for shambles:
When all is over, you'll be free and merry,
And calmly wash those hands incarnadine;
But I, outgoing thee and all thy fellows 510
In this surpassing massacre, shall be,
Shall see and feel--oh God! oh God! 'tis true,
And thou dost well to answer that it was
"My own free will and act," and yet you err,
For I will do this! Doubt not--fear not; I
Will be your most unmerciful accomplice!
And yet I act no more on my free will,
Nor my own feelings--both compel me back;
But there is _Hell_ within me and around,
And like the Demon who believes and trembles 520
Must I abhor and do. Away! away!
Get thee unto thy fellows, I will hie me
To gather the retainers of our house.
Doubt not, St. Mark's great bell shall wake all Venice,
Except her slaughtered Senate: ere the Sun
Be broad upon the Adriatic there
Shall be a voice of weeping, which shall drown
The roar of waters in the cry of blood!
I am resolved--come on.
_I. Ber_. With all my soul!
Keep a firm rein upon these bursts of passion; 530
Remember what these men have dealt to thee,
And that this sacrifice will be succeeded
By ages of prosperity and freedom
To this unshackled city: a true tyrant[eb]
Would have depopulated empires, nor
Have felt the strange compunction which hath wrung you
To punish a few traitors to the people.
Trust me, such were a pity more misplaced
Than the late mercy of the state to Steno.
_Doge_. Man, thou hast struck upon the chord which jars 540
All nature from my heart. Hence to our task!
[_Exeunt_.
ACT IV.
SCENE I. --_Palazzo of the Patrician_ LIONI. [431] LIONI _laying
aside the mask and cloak which the Venetian Nobles wore in
public, attended by a Domestic_.
_Lioni_. I will to rest, right weary of this revel,
The gayest we have held for many moons,
And yet--I know not why--it cheered me not;
There came a heaviness across my heart,
Which, in the lightest movement of the dance,
Though eye to eye, and hand in hand united
Even with the Lady of my Love, oppressed me,
And through my spirit chilled my blood, until
A damp like Death rose o'er my brow; I strove
To laugh the thought away, but 'twould not be; 10
Through all the music ringing in my ears[ec]
A knell was sounding as distinct and clear,
Though low and far, as e'er the Adrian wave
Rose o'er the City's murmur in the night,
Dashing against the outward Lido's bulwark:
So that I left the festival before
It reached its zenith, and will woo my pillow
For thoughts more tranquil, or forgetfulness.
Antonio, take my mask and cloak, and light
The lamp within my chamber.
_Ant_. Yes, my Lord: 20
Command you no refreshment?
_Lioni_. Nought, save sleep,
Which will not be commanded. Let me hope it,
[_Exit_ ANTONIO.
Though my breast feels too anxious; I will try
Whether the air will calm my spirits: 'tis
A goodly night; the cloudy wind which blew
From the Levant hath crept into its cave,
And the broad Moon hath brightened. What a stillness!
[_Goes to an open lattice_.
And what a contrast with the scene I left,
Where the tall torches' glare, and silver lamps'
More pallid gleam along the tapestried walls, 30
Spread over the reluctant gloom which haunts
Those vast and dimly-latticed galleries
A dazzling mass of artificial light,
Which showed all things, but nothing as they were.
There Age essaying to recall the past,
After long striving for the hues of Youth
At the sad labour of the toilet, and
Full many a glance at the too faithful mirror,
Pranked forth in all the pride of ornament,
Forgot itself, and trusting to the falsehood 40
Of the indulgent beams, which show, yet hide,
Believed itself forgotten, and was fooled.
There Youth, which needed not, nor thought of such
Vain adjuncts, lavished its true bloom, and health,
And bridal beauty, in the unwholesome press
Of flushed and crowded wassailers, and wasted
Its hours of rest in dreaming this was pleasure,
And so shall waste them till the sunrise streams
On sallow cheeks and sunken eyes, which should not
Have worn this aspect yet for many a year. [432] 50
The music, and the banquet, and the wine,
The garlands, the rose odours, and the flowers,
The sparkling eyes, and flashing ornaments,
The white arms and the raven hair, the braids
And bracelets; swanlike bosoms, and the necklace,
An India in itself, yet dazzling not
The eye like what it circled; the thin robes,
Floating like light clouds 'twixt our gaze and heaven;
The many-twinkling feet so small and sylphlike,
Suggesting the more secret symmetry[ed] 60
Of the fair forms which terminate so well--
All the delusion of the dizzy scene,
Its false and true enchantments--Art and Nature,
Which swam before my giddy eyes, that drank
The sight of beauty as the parched pilgrim's
On Arab sands the false mirage, which offers
A lucid lake to his eluded thirst,
Are gone.
Around me are the stars and waters--
Worlds mirrored in the Ocean, goodlier sight[ee]
Than torches glared back by a gaudy glass; 70
And the great Element, which is to space
What Ocean is to Earth, spreads its blue depths,
Softened with the first breathings of the spring;
The high Moon sails upon her beauteous way,
Serenely smoothing o'er the lofty walls
Of those tall piles and sea-girt palaces,[ef]
Whose porphyry pillars, and whose costly fronts,
Fraught with the Orient spoil of many marbles,
Like altars ranged along the broad canal,
Seem each a trophy of some mighty deed 80
Reared up from out the waters, scarce less strangely
Than those more massy and mysterious giants
Of architecture, those Titanian fabrics,
Which point in Egypt's plains to times that have
No other record. All is gentle: nought
Stirs rudely; but, congenial with the night,
Whatever walks is gliding like a spirit.
The tinklings of some vigilant guitars
Of sleepless lovers to a wakeful mistress,
And cautious opening of the casement, showing 90
That he is not unheard; while her young hand,
Fair as the moonlight of which it seems part,
So delicately white, it trembles in
The act of opening the forbidden lattice,[433]
To let in love through music, makes his heart
Thrill like his lyre-strings at the sight; the dash
Phosphoric of the oar, or rapid twinkle
Of the far lights of skimming gondolas,[434]
And the responsive voices of the choir
Of boatmen answering back with verse for verse; 100
Some dusky shadow checkering the Rialto;
Some glimmering palace roof, or tapering spire,[eg]
Are all the sights and sounds which here pervade
The ocean-born and earth-commanding City--
How sweet and soothing is this hour of calm!
I thank thee, Night! for thou hast chased away
Those horrid bodements which, amidst the throng,
I could not dissipate: and with the blessing
Of thy benign and quiet influence,
Now will I to my couch, although to rest 110
Is almost wronging such a night as this,----
[_A knocking is heard from without_.
Hark! what is that? or who at such a moment? [eh]
_Enter_ ANTONIO.
_Ant_. My Lord, a man without, on urgent business,
Implores to be admitted.
_Lioni_. Is he a stranger? [ei]
_Ant_. His face is muffled in his cloak, but both
His voice and gestures seem familiar to me;[ej]
I craved his name, but this he seemed reluctant
To trust, save to yourself; most earnestly
He sues to be permitted to approach you.
_Lioni_. 'Tis a strange hour, and a suspicious bearing! 120
And yet there is slight peril: 'tis not in
Their houses noble men are struck at; still,
Although I know not that I have a foe
In Venice, 'twill be wise to use some caution.
Admit him, and retire; but call up quickly
Some of thy fellows, who may wait without. --
Who can this man be? --
[_Exit_ ANTONIO, _and returns with_ BERTRAM _muffled_.
_Ber_. My good Lord Lioni,
I have no time to lose, nor thou,--dismiss
This menial hence; I would be private with you.
_Lioni_. It seems the voice of Bertram--Go, Antonio. 130
[_Exit_ ANTONIO.
Now, stranger, what would you at such an hour?
_Ber_. (_discovering himself_).
A boon, my noble patron; you have granted
Many to your poor client, Bertram; add
This one, and make him happy.
_Lioni_. Thou hast known me
From boyhood, ever ready to assist thee
In all fair objects of advancement, which
Beseem one of thy station; I would promise
Ere thy request was heard, but that the hour,
Thy bearing, and this strange and hurried mode
Of suing, gives me to suspect this visit 140
Hath some mysterious import--but say on--
What has occurred, some rash and sudden broil? --
A cup too much, a scuffle, and a stab?
Mere things of every day; so that thou hast not
Spilt noble blood, I guarantee thy safety;
But then thou must withdraw, for angry friends
And relatives, in the first burst of vengeance,
Are things in Venice deadlier than the laws.
_Ber_. My Lord, I thank you; but----
_Lioni_. But what? You have not
Raised a rash hand against one of our order? 150
If so--withdraw and fly--and own it not;[ek]
I would not slay--but then I must not save thee!
He who has shed patrician blood----
_Ber_. I come
To save patrician blood, and not to shed it!
And thereunto I must be speedy, for
Each minute lost may lose a life; since Time
Has changed his slow scythe for the two-edged sword,
And is about to take, instead of sand,
The dust from sepulchres to fill his hour-glass! --
Go not _thou_ forth to-morrow!
_Lioni_. Wherefore not? -- 160
What means this menace?
_Ber_. Do not seek its meaning,
But do as I implore thee;--stir not forth,
Whate'er be stirring; though the roar of crowds--
The cry of women, and the shrieks of babes--
The groans of men--the clash of arms--the sound
Of rolling drum, shrill trump, and hollow bell,
Peal in one wide alarum l--Go not forth,
Until the Tocsin's silent, nor even then
Till I return!
_Lioni_. Again, what does this mean?
_Ber_. Again, I tell thee, ask not; but by all 170
Thou holdest dear on earth or Heaven--by all
The Souls of thy great fathers, and thy hope
To emulate them, and to leave behind
Descendants worthy both of them and thee--
By all thou hast of blessed in hope or memory--
By all thou hast to fear here or hereafter--
By all the good deeds thou hast done to me,
Good I would now repay with greater good,[el]
Remain within--trust to thy household gods,[em]
And to my word for safety, if thou dost, 180
As I now counsel--but if not, thou art lost!
_Lioni_. I am indeed already lost in wonder;
Surely thou ravest! what have _I_ to dread?
Who are my foes? or if there be such, _why_
Art _thou_ leagued with them? --_thou! _ or, if so leagued,
Why comest thou to tell me at this hour,
And not before?
_Ber_. I cannot answer this.
Wilt thou go forth despite of this true warning?
_Lioni_. I was not born to shrink from idle threats,
The cause of which I know not: at the hour 190
Of council, be it soon or late, I shall not
Be found among the absent.
_Ber_. Say not so!
Once more, art thou determined to go forth?
_Lioni_. I am. Nor is there aught which shall impede me!
_Ber_. Then, Heaven have mercy on thy soul! --Farewell!
[_Going_.
_Lioni_. Stay--there is more in this than my own safety
Which makes me call thee back; we must not part thus:
Bertram, I have known thee long.
_Ber_. From childhood, Signor,
You have been my protector: in the days
Of reckless infancy, when rank forgets, 200
Or, rather, is not yet taught to remember
Its cold prerogative, we played together;
Our sports, our smiles, our tears, were mingled oft;
My father was your father's client, I
His son's scarce less than foster-brother; years
Saw us together--happy, heart-full hours!
Oh God! the difference 'twixt those hours and this!
_Lioni_. Bertram, 'tis thou who hast forgotten them.
_Ber_. Nor now, nor ever; whatsoe'er betide,
I would have saved you: when to Manhood's growth 210
We sprung, and you, devoted to the state,
As suits your station, the more humble Bertram
Was left unto the labours of the humble,
Still you forsook me not; and if my fortunes
Have not been towering, 'twas no fault of him
Who ofttimes rescued and supported me,
When struggling with the tides of Circumstance,
Which bear away the weaker: noble blood
Ne'er mantled in a nobler heart than thine
Has proved to me, the poor plebeian Bertram. 220
Would that thy fellow Senators were like thee!
_Lioni_. Why, what hast thou to say against the Senate? [en]
_Ber_. Nothing.
_Lioni_. I know that there are angry spirits
And turbulent mutterers of stifled treason,
Who lurk in narrow places, and walk out
Muffled to whisper curses to the night;
Disbanded soldiers, discontented ruffians,
And desperate libertines who brawl in taverns;
_Thou_ herdest not with such: 'tis true, of late
I have lost sight of thee, but thou wert wont 230
To lead a temperate life, and break thy bread
With honest mates, and bear a cheerful aspect.
What hath come to thee? in thy hollow eye
And hueless cheek, and thine unquiet motions,
Sorrow and Shame and Conscience seem at war
To waste thee.
_Ber_. Rather Shame and Sorrow light
On the accursed tyranny which rides[eo]
The very air in Venice, and makes men
Madden as in the last hours of the plague
Which sweeps the soul deliriously from life! 240
_Lioni_. Some villains have been tampering with thee, Bertram;
This is not thy old language, nor own thoughts;
Some wretch has made thee drunk with disaffection:
But thou must not be lost so; thou _wert_ good
And kind, and art not fit for such base acts
As Vice and Villany would put thee to:
Confess--confide in me--thou know'st my nature.
What is it thou and thine are bound to do,
Which should prevent thy friend, the only son
Of him who was a friend unto thy father, 250
So that our good-will is a heritage
We should bequeath to our posterity
Such as ourselves received it, or augmented;
I say, what is it thou must do, that I
Should deem thee dangerous, and keep the house
Like a sick girl?
_Ber_. Nay, question me no further:
I must be gone. ----
_Lioni_. And I be murdered! --say,
Was it not thus thou said'st, my gentle Bertram?
_Ber_. Who talks of murder? what said I of murder?
Tis false! I did not utter such a word. 260
_Lioni_. Thou didst not; but from out thy wolfish eye,
So changed from what I knew it, there glares forth
The gladiator. If _my_ life's thine object,
Take it--I am unarmed,--and then away!
I would not hold my breath on such a tenure[ep]
As the capricious mercy of such things
As thou and those who have set thee to thy task-work.
_Ber_. Sooner than spill thy blood, I peril mine;
Sooner than harm a hair of thine, I place
In jeopardy a thousand heads, and some 270
As noble, nay, even nobler than thine own.
_Lioni_. Aye, is it even so? Excuse me, Bertram;
I am not worthy to be singled out
From such exalted hecatombs--who are they
That _are_ in danger, and that _make_ the danger?
_Ber_. Venice, and all that she inherits, are
Divided like a house against itself,
And so will perish ere to-morrow's twilight!
_Lioni_. More mysteries, and awful ones! But now,
Or thou, or I, or both, it may be, are 280
Upon the verge of ruin; speak once out,
And thou art safe and glorious: for 'tis more
Glorious to save than slay, and slay i' the dark too--
Fie, Bertram! that was not a craft for thee!
How would it look to see upon a spear
The head of him whose heart was open to thee!
Borne by thy hand before the shuddering people?
And such may be my doom; for here I swear,
Whate'er the peril or the penalty
Of thy denunciation, I go forth, 290
Unless thou dost detail the cause, and show
The consequence of all which led thee here!
_Ber_. Is there no way to save thee? minutes fly,
And thou art lost! --_thou_! my sole benefactor,
The only being who was constant to me
Through every change. Yet, make me not a traitor!
Let me save thee--but spare my honour!
_Lioni_. Where
Can lie the honour in a league of murder?
And who are traitors save unto the State?
_Ber_. A league is still a compact, and more binding 300
In honest hearts when words must stand for law;
And in my mind, there is no traitor like
He whose domestic treason plants the poniard[435]
Within the breast which trusted to his truth.
Lioni. And who will strike the steel to mine?
_Ber_. Not I;
I could have wound my soul up to all things
Save this. _Thou_ must not die! and think how dear
Thy life is, when I risk so many lives,
Nay, more, the Life of lives, the liberty
Of future generations, _not_ to be 310
The assassin thou miscall'st me:--once, once more
I do adjure thee, pass not o'er thy threshold!
_Lioni_. It is in vain--this moment I go forth.
_Ber_. Then perish Venice rather than my friend!
I will disclose--ensnare--betray--destroy--
Oh, what a villain I become for thee!
_Lioni_. Say, rather thy friend's saviour and the State's! --
Speak--pause not--all rewards, all pledges for
Thy safety and thy welfare; wealth such as
The State accords her worthiest servants; nay, 330
Nobility itself I guarantee thee,
So that thou art sincere and penitent.
_Ber_. I have thought again: it must not be--I love thee--
Thou knowest it--that I stand here is the proof,
Not least though last; but having done my duty
By thee, I now must do it by my country!
Farewell--we meet no more in life! --farewell!
_Lioni_. What, ho! --Antonio--Pedro--to the door!
See that none pass--arrest this man! ----
_Enter_ ANTONIO _and other armed Domestics, who seize_ BERTRAM.
_Lioni_ (_continues_). Take care
He hath no harm; bring me my sword and cloak, 330
And man the gondola with four oars--quick--
[_Exit_ ANTONIO.
We will unto Giovanni Gradenigo's,
And send for Marc Cornaro:--fear not, Bertram;
This needful violence is for thy safety,
No less than for the general weal.
_Ber_. Where wouldst thou
Bear me a prisoner?
_Lioni_. Firstly to "the Ten;"
Next to the Doge.
_Ber_. To the Doge?
_Lioni_. Assuredly:
Is he not Chief of the State?
_Ber_. Perhaps at sunrise--
_Lioni_. What mean you? --but we'll know anon.
_Ber_. Art sure?
_Lioni_. Sure as all gentle means can make; and if 340
They fail, you know "the Ten" and their tribunal,
And that St. Mark's has dungeons, and the dungeons
A rack.
_Ber_. Apply it then before the dawn
Now hastening into heaven. --One more such word,
And you shall perish piecemeal, by the death
You think to doom to me.
_Re-enter_ ANTONIO.
_Ant_. The bark is ready,
My Lord, and all prepared.
_Lioni_. Look to the prisoner.
Bertram, I'll reason with thee as we go
To the Magnifico's, sage Gradenigo. [_Exeunt_.
SCENE II. --_The Ducal Palace_--_The Doge's Apartment_.
_The_ DOGE _and his Nephew_ BERTUCCIO FALIERO.
_Doge_. Are all the people of our house in muster?
_Ber. F. _ They are arrayed, and eager for the signal,
Within our palace precincts at San Polo:[436]
I come for your last orders.
_Doge_. It had been
As well had there been time to have got together,
From my own fief, Val di Marino, more
Of our retainers--but it is too late.
