No More Learning

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_Pierre. _ Jaffier!

_Jaf. _ (L. ) Who calls?

_Pierre. _ (R. C. ) A friend, that could have wished
T' have found thee otherwise employed. "What, hunt
A wife, on the dull soil! Sure, a stanch husband,
Of all hounds is the dullest. Wilt thou never,
Never be weaned from caudles and confections?
What feminine tales hast thou been listening to,
Of unaired shirts? catarrhs, and tooth-ache, got
By thin-soled shoes? Damnation! than a fellow,
Chosen to be a sharer in the destruction
Of a whole people, should sneak thus in corners,
To waste his time, and fool his mind with love!

_Jaf. _ (L. C. ) May not a man, then, trifle out an hour
With a kind woman, and not wrong his calling!

_Pierre. _ (R. ) Not in a cause like ours.

_Jaf. _ Then, friend, our cause
Is in a damned condition: for I'll tell thee,
That canker-worm, called lechery, has touched it;
'Tis tainted vilely. Wouldst thou think it? Renault,
(That mortified, old, withered, winter rogue,)
Loves simple fornication like a priest;
I've found him out at watering for my wife;
He visited her last night, like a kind guardian;
Faith, she has some temptations, that's the truth on't.

_Pierre. _ (R. C. ) He durst not wrong his trust!

_Jaf. _ 'Twas something late, though,
To take the freedom of a lady's chamber.

_Pierre. _ Was she in bed?

_Jaf. _ Yes, 'faith! in virgin sheets,
"White as her bosom, Pierre; dished neatly up,--
"Might tempt a weaker appetite to taste. "

_Pierre. _ Patience guide me!
He used no violence?

_Jaf. _ No, no: out on't, violence!
Played with her neck; brushed her with his grey beard;
Struggled and touzed; tickled her till she squeaked a little,
May be, or so--but not a jot of violence--

_Pierre. _ [Runs to R. D. ] Damn him!
_Jaf. _ Ay, so say I: but, hush, no more on't!
Sure it is near the hour
We all should meet for our concluding orders:
Will the ambassador be here in person?

_Pierre. _ (R. C. ) No, he has sent commission to that villain.

_Ren. _ To give the executing charge:
I'd have thee be a man, if possible,
And keep thy temper: for a brave revenge
Ne'er comes too late.

_Jaf. _ (C. ) Fear not; I'm cool as patience.

_Pierre. _ He's yonder, coming this way, through the hall:
His thoughts seem full.

_Jaf. _ Pr'ythee, retire, and leave me
With him alone; I'll put him to some trial;
See how his rotten part will bear the touching.

_Pierre. _ Be careful, then.

_Jaf. _ Nay, never doubt, but trust me.

_[Exit Pierre, R. U. E. _

What! be a devil, take a damning oath
For shedding native blood? Can there be sin,
In merciful repentance? Oh, this villain! _[Retires up, C. _

_Enter Renault, L. U. E. _

_Ren. _ (L. C. ) Perverse and peevish: What a slave is man,
To let his itching flesh thus get the better of him!
Despatch the tool, her husband--that were well. --
Who's there?

_Jaf. _ A man. _[Advancing_

_Ren. _ My friend, my near ally,
The hostage of your faith, my beauteous charge, is very
well.

_Jaf. _ (R. C. ) Sir, are you sure of that!
Stands she in perfect health? Beats her pulse even?
Neither too hot nor cold?

_Ren. _ What means that question!

_Jaf. _ Oh! women have fantastic constitutions,
Inconstant in their wishes, always wavering,
And never fixed. Was it not boldly done,
Ev'n at first sight, to trust the thing I loved
(A tempting treasure, too,) with youth so fierce
And vigorous as thine? but thou art honest.

_Ren. _ Who dares accuse me!

_Jaf. _ Cursed be he that doubts
Thy virtue! I have tried it, and declare,
Were I to choose a guardian of my honour,
I'd put it in thy keeping; for I know thee.

_Ren. _ Know me!

_Jaf. _ Ay, know thee. --There's no falsehood in thee;
Thou look's just as thou art. Let us embrace. --
Now, wouldst thou cut my throat, or I cut thine!

_Ren. _ You dare not do't!

_Jaf. _ You lie, sir!

_Ren. _ How!

_Jaf. _ No more. --
'Tis a base world, and must reform; that's all.

_Enter Spinosa, Elliot, Theodore, Durand,
and Mezzana. _

_Ren. _ Spinosa, Theodore, you are welcome.

_Spin. _ You are trembling, sir.

_Ren. _ 'Tis a cold night, indeed; and I am aged;
Full of decay, and natural infirmities.
We shall be warm, my friends, I hope, to-morrow.

_[Renault and Conspirators retire and confer. _

_Enter Pierre, r. _

_Pierre. _ _[To Jaffier. ]_ 'T was not well done; thou shouldst
have stroked him,
And not have galled him. _[Retires to the others_

_Jaf. _ (C. ) _[In front. ]_ Damn him, let him chew on't!
Heav'n! where am I? beset with cursed fiends,
That wait to damn me! What a devil's man,
When he forgets his nature! --hush, my heart.

_[Renault and the Conspirators advance_

_Ren. _ My friends, 'tis late: are we assembled all?

_Spin. _ All--all!

_Ren. _ (C. ) Oh! you're men, I find,
Fit to behold your fate, and meet her summons.
To-morrow's rising sun must see you all
Decked in your honours. Are the soldiers ready?

_Pierre. _ All--all!

_Ren. _ You, Durand, with your thousand, must possess
St. Mark's; you, Captain, know your charge already;
'Tis to secure the ducal palace:
Be all this done with the least tumult possible,
Till in each place you post sufficient guards;
Then sheathe your swords in every breast you meet.

_Jaf. _ (L. ) _[Aside. ]_ Oh, reverend cruelty! damned, bloody
villain!

_Ren. _ During this execution, Durand, you
Must in the midst keep your battalia fast:
And, Theodore, be sure to plant the cannon
That may command the streets;
This done, we'll give the general alarm,
Apply petards, and force the ars'nal gates;
Then fire the city round in several places,
Or with our cannon, if it dare resist,
Batter to ruin. But, above all, I charge you,
Shed blood enough; spare neither sex nor age,
Name nor condition: if there lives a senator
After to-morrow, though the dullest rogue
That e'er said nothing, we have lost our ends.
If possible, let's kill the very name
Of senator, and bury it in blood.

_Jaf. _ _[Aside to R. ]_ Merciless, horrid slave! Ay, blood
enough!
Shed blood enough, old Renault! how thou charm'st me!

_Ren. _ But one thing more, and then farewell, till fate
Join us again, or sep'rate us forever:
But let us all remember,
We wear no common cause upon our swords:
Let each man think, that on his single virtue,
Depends the good and fame of all the rest;
Eternal honour, or perpetual infamy.
You droop, sir. _[To Jaffier. _

_Jaf. _ (L. C. ) No: with most profound attention
I've heard it all, and wonder at thy virtue.

_Ren. _ Let's consider,
That we destroy oppression--avarice;
A people nursed up equally with vices
And loathsome lusts, which nature most abhors,
And such as, without shame, she cannot suffer.

_Jaf. _ (L. ) _[Aside,]_ Oh, Belvidera! take me to thy arms,
Ard show me where's my peace, for I have lost it.

_[Exit, L. D. _

_Ren. _ (L. C. ) Without the least remorse, then, let's resolve
With fire and sword t'exterminate these tyrants,
Under whose weight this wretched country labours.

_Pierre. _ (R. ) And may those Powers above, that are propitious
To gallant minds, record this cause, and bless it!

_Ren. _ (L.
) Thus happy, thus secure of all we wish for,
Should there, my friends, be found among us one
False to this glorious enterprise, what fate,
What vengeance, were enough for such a villain!

_Elliot. _ (R. C. ) Death here, without repentance--hell
hereafter!

_Ren. _ (C. ) Let that be my lot, if, as here I stand,
Listed by fate among her darling sons,
Tho' I had one only brother, dear by all
The strictest ties of nature,
Joined in this cause, and had but ground to fear
He meant foul play; may this right hand drop from me,
If I'd not hazard all my future peace,
And stab him to the heart before you! Who,
Who would do less! Would'st thou not, Pierre, the same?

_Pierre. _ You've singled me, sir, out for this hard question,
As if 'twere started only for my sake:
Am I the thing you fear? Here, here's my bosom;
Search it with all your swords. Am I a traitor?

_Ren. _ No: but I fear your late commended friend
Is little less. Come, sirs, 'tis now no time
To trifle with our safety. Where's this Jaffier?

_Spin. _ (R. C. ) He left the room just now, in strange disorder.

_Ren. _ Nay, there is danger in him: I observed him;
During the time I took for explanation,
He was transported from most deep attention
To a confusion, which he could not smother.
What's requisite for safety, must be done
With speedy execution; he remains
Yet in our power; I, for my own part, wear
A dagger--

_Pierre. _ Well? _[Goes to Renault_

_Ren. _ And I could wish it--

_Pierre. _ Where?

_Ren. _ Buried in his heart.

_Pierre. _ Away! we're yet all friends. --
No more of this; 'twill breed ill blood among us.

_Spin. _ Let us all draw our swords, and search the house;
Pull him from the dark hole, where he sits brooding
O'er his cold fears, and each man kill his share of him.

_Pierre. _ (L. ) Who talks of killing] Who's he'll shed
the blood,
That's dear to me? I'st you, or you, or you, sir?

_[Passing from L. to R. _

What! not one speak? how you stand gaping all
On your grave oracle, your wooden god there!
Yet not a word? Then, sir, I'll tell you a secret;
Suspicion's but at best a coward's virtue. _[To Renault. _

_Ren. _ (C. ) A coward! _[Handles his sword. _

_Pierre. _ (R. ) Put---Put up thy sword, old man;
Thy hand shakes at it. Come, let's heal this breach;
I am too hot: we yet may all live friends.

_Spin. _ Till we are safe, our friendship cannot be so.

_Pierre. _ Again! Who's that?

_Spin. _ 'Twas I.

_Theo. _ And I.

_Ren. _ And I.

_Spin. _ And all.
Let's die like men, and not be sold like slaves.

_Pierre. _ (C. ) One such word more, by Heaven, I'll to the
senate,
And hang ye all, like dogs, in clusters.
Why peep your coward swords half out their sheaths?
Why do you not all brandish them like mine?
You fear to die, and yet dare talk of killing. _[Going, L. _

_Ren. _ (R. C. ) Go to the senate, and betray us--haste!
Secure thy wretched life; we fear to die
Less than thou dar'st be honest.

_Pierre. _ That's rank falsehood.
Fear'st thou not death? Fie, there's a knavish itch
In that salt blood, an utter foe to smarting!
Had Jaffier's wife proved kind, he'd still been true.
Faugh--how that stinks!

_[Exit Renault, R. _

"Thou die? thou kill my friend?
"Or thou? with that lean, withered, wretched face! "
Away, disperse all to your several charges,
And meet to-morrow, where your honour calls you.

_[Retiring to M. D. _

I'll bring that man whose blood you so much thirst for,
And you shall see him venture for you fairly--
Hence, hence, I say!

_Spin. _ I fear we've been to blame,
And done too much.

_Theo. _ 'Twas too far urged against the man you love

_Elliot. _ Forgive us, gallant friend.

_Pierre. _ _[Advancing. ]_ Nay, now you've found
The way to melt, and cast me as you will.
I 'll fetch this friend, and give him to your mercy;
Nay, he shall die, if you will take him from me;
For your repose, I'll quit my heart's best jewel;
But would not have him torn away by villains,
And spiteful villainy.

_Spin. _ _[And other Conspirators stand, R. ]_ No; may ye both
Forever live, and fill the world with fame!

_Pierre. _ Now, you're too kind. Whence arose all this discord?
Oh! what a dangerous precipice have we 'scaped!
How near a fall was all we'd long been building!
What an eternal blot had stained our glories,
If one, the bravest and the best of men,
Had fall'n a sacrifice to rash suspicion,
Butchered by those, whose cause he came to cherish!
Oh, could you know him all, as I have known him,
How good he is, how just, how true, how brave,
You would not leave this place, till you had seen him,
And gained remission for the worst of follies.
Come but to-morrow, all your doubts shall end,
And to your loves, me better recommend,
That I've preserved your fame, and saved my friend.

_[Exeunt Conspirators, R. , Pierre L_

END OF ACT III.




ACT IV.

_Scene I. --A Street. _

_Enter Belvidera and Jaffier, L. _

_Jaf. _ (L. C. ) Where dost thou lead me? Ev'ry step I move,
Methinks I tread upon some mangled limb
Of a racked friend. Oh, my dear, charming ruin!
Whare are we wandering?

_Bel. _ (R. C. ) To eternal honour!
To do a deed, shall chronicle thy name
Among the glorious legends of those few
That have saved sinking nations. Every street
Shall be adorned with statues to thy honour:
And, at thy feet, this great inscription written--
"Remember him, thai propped the fall of Venice! "

_Jaf. _ Rather, remember him, who, after all
The sacred bonds of oaths, and holier friendship,
In fond compassion to a woman's tears,
Forgot his manhood, virtue, truth, and honour,
To sacrifice the bosom that relieved him.
Why wilt thou damn me?

_Bel. _ Oh, inconstant man!
How will you promise! how will you deceive!
Do, return back, replace me in my bondage,
Tell all thy friends how dangerously thou lov'st me,
And let thy dagger do its bloody office.
Or, if thou think'st it nobler, let me live,
Till I'm a victim to the hateful will
Of that infernal devil!
Last night, my love--

_Jaf. _ Name, name it not again:
Destruction, swift destruction,
Fall on my coward head, if
I forgive him!

_Bel. _ Delay no longer, then, but to the senate,
And tell the dismal'st story ever uttered;
Tell them what bloodshed, rapines, desolations,
Have been prepared;--how near's the fatal hour.
Save thy poor country, save the rev'rend blood
Of all its nobles, which to-morrow's dawn
Must else see shed!

_Jaf. _ Oh!

_Bel. _ Think what then may prove
My lot: the ravisher may then come safe,
And, 'midst the terror of the public ruin,
Do a damned deed.

_Jaf. _ By all Heav'n's powers, prophetic truth dwells in thee!
For every word thou speak'st, strikes through my heart,
Like a new light, and shows it how't has wandered--
Just what thou'st made me, take me, Belvidera,
And lead me to the place, where I'm to say
This bitter lesson; where I must betray
My truth, my virtue, constancy, and friends.
Must I betray my friends? Ah! take me quickly,
Secure me well before that thought's renewed;
If I relapse once more, all's lost forever.

_Bel. _ Hast thou a friend more dear than Belvidera?

_Jaf. _ No: Thou'rt my soul itself; wealth, friendship,
honour!
All present joys, and earnest of all future,
Are summed in thee. _[Going, R. _

_Enter Captain and Guards, R. S. E. _

_Capt. _ Stand! who goes there?

_Bel. _ Friends.

_Capt. _ But what friends are you?

_Bel. _ Friends to the senate, and the state of Venice.

_Capt. _ My orders are, to seize on all I find
At this late hour, and bring them to the council,
Who are now sitting.

_Jaf. _ Sir, you shall be obeyed.
Now the lot's cast, and, fate, do what thou wilt.

_[Exeunt Jaffier and Belvidera, guarded. _


_Scene II. --The Senate House. _

_The Duke of Venice, Priuli, and other Senators
discovered, sitting. _

_Duke. _ Antony, Priuli, senators of Venice,
Speak--Why are we assembled here this night?
What have you to inform us of, concerns
The state of Venice' honour, or its safety?

_Priuli. _ (R. ) Could words express the story I've to tell you,
Fathers, these tears were useless, these sad tears
That fall from my old eyes; but there is cause
We all should weep, tear off these purple robes,
And wrap ourselves, in sackcloth, sitting down
On the sad earth, and cry aloud to heaven:
Heav'n knows, if yet there be an hour to come,
Ere Venice be no more.

_Duke. _ How!

_Priuli. _ Nay, we stand
Upon the very brink of gaping ruin.
Within this city's formed a dark conspiracy
To massacre us all, our wives and children,
Kindred and friends; our palaces and temples
To lay in ashes: nay, the hour, too, fixed;
The swords, for aught I know, drawn ev'n this moment,
And the wild waste begun. From unknown hands
I had this warning: but, if we are men,
Let's not be tamely butchered, but do something
That may inform the world in after ages,
Our virtue was not ruined, though we were.