I WATCH. On to Hieronimos! helpe me heere
To bring the murdred body with vs too.
PED. Hieronimo? Carry me before whom you will;
What ere he be, Ile answere him and you.
And doe your worst, for I defie you all!
Exeunt.
[ACT III. SCENE 4.]
[The DUKE's castle]
Enter LORENZO and BALTHAZAR.
BAL. How now, my lord? what makes you rise so soone?
LOR. Feare of preuenting our mishaps too late.
BAL. What mischiefe is it that we not mistrust?
LOR. Our greatest ils we least mistrust, my lord,
And [unexpected] harmes do hurt vs most.
BAL. Why, tell me, Don Lorenz,--tell me, man,
If ought concernes our honor and your owne!
LOR. Nor you nor me, my lord, but both in one;
But I suspect--and the presumptions great--
That by those base confederates in our fault
Touching the death of Don Horatio
We are all betraide to olde Hieronimo.
BAL. Betraide, Lorenzo? tush! it cannot be.
LOR. A guiltie conscience vrged with the thought
Of former euils, easily cannot erre:
I am perswaded--and diswade me not--
That als reuealed to Hieronimo.
And therefore know that I haue cast it thus--
[Enter PAGE.]
But heeres the page. How now? what newes with thee?
PAGE. My lord, Serberine is slaine.
BAL. Who? Serberine, my man?
PAGE. Your Highnes man, my lord.
LOR. Speak, page: who murdered him?
PAGE. He that is apprehended for the fact.
LOR. Who?
PAGE. Pedringano.
BAL. Is Serberine slaine, that lou'd his lord so well?
Iniurious villaine! murderer of his freend!
LOR. Hath Pedringano murdered Serberine?
My lord, let me entreat you to take the paines
To exasperate and hasten his reuenge
With your complaints vnto my l[ord] the king.
This their dissention breeds a greater doubt.
BAL. Assure thee, Don Lorenzo, he shall dye,
Or els his Highnes hardly shall deny.
Meane-while, Ile haste the marshall sessions,
For die he shall for this damned deed.
Exit BALT[HAZAR].
LOR. [aside] Why, so! this fits our former pollicie;
And thus experience bids the wise and deale.
I lay the plot, he prosecutes the point;
I set the trap, he breakes the worthles twigs,
And sees not that wherewith the bird was limde.
Thus hopefull men, that means to holde their owne,
Must look, like fowlers, to their dearest freends.
He runnes to kill whome I haue hope to catch,
And no man knowes it was my reaching [fetch].
Tis hard to trust vnto a multitude,--
Or any one, in mine opinion,
When men themselues their secrets will reueale.
Enter a MESSENGER with a letter.
LOR. Boy.
PAGE. My lord.
LOR. Whats he?
MES. I haue a letter to your lordship.
LOR. From whence?
MES. From Pedringanos that's imprisoned.
LOR. So he is in prison then?
MES. I, my good lord.
LOR. What would he with vs?
[Reads the letter.]
He writes vs heere
To stand good l[ord] and help him in distres.
Tell him I haue his letters, know his minde;
And what we may, let him assure him of.
Fellow, be gone; my boy shall follow thee.
Exit MES[SENGER].
[Aside] This works like waxe! Yet once more try thy wits.--
Boy, goe conuay this purse to Pedringano,--
Thou knowest the prison,--closely giue it him,
And be aduisde that none here there-about.
Bid him be merry still, but secret;
And, though the marshall sessions be to-day,
Bid him not doubt of his deliuerie.
Tell him his pardon is already signde,
And thereon bid him boldely be resolued;
For, were he ready to be turned off,--
As tis my will the vttermost be tride,--
Thou with his pardon shalt attend him still.
Shew him this boxe, tell him his pardons int;
But opent not, and if thou louest thy life,
But let him wisely keepe his hopes vnknowne.
He shall not want while Don Lorenzo liues.
Away!
PAGE. I goe, my lord, I runne!
LOR. But, sirra, see that this be cleanely done.
Exit PAGE.
Now stands our fortune on a tickle point,
And now or neuer ends Lorenzos doubts.
One only thing is vneffected yet,
And thats to see the executioner,--
But to what end? I list not trust the aire
With vtterance of our pretence therein,
For feare the priuie whispring of the winde
Conuay our words amongst vnfreendly eares,
That lye too open to aduantages.
Et quel che voglio io, nessun lo sa,
Intendo io quel [che] mi bastera.
Exit.
[ACT III. SCENE 5.]
[A street.]
Enter BOY with the boxe.
[BOY.] My maister hath forbidden me to look in this box, and, by
my troth, tis likely, if he had not warned me, I should not haue had so
much idle time; for wee [men-kinde] in our minoritie are like women in
their vncertaintie; that they are most forbidden, they wil soonest
attempt; so I now. By my bare honesty, heeres nothing but the bare
emptie box! Were it not sin against secrecie, I would say it were a
peece of gentlemanlike knauery. I must goe to Pedringano and tell him
his pardon is in this boxe! Nay, I would haue sworne it, had I not
seene the contrary. I cannot choose but smile to thinke how the villain
wil flout the gallowes, scorne the audience, and descant on the hangman,
and all presuming of his pardon from hence. Wilt not be an odde iest,
for me to stand and grace euery iest he makes, pointing my figner at
this boxe, as who [should] say: "Mock on, heers thy warrant!" Ist not
a scuruie iest that a man should iest himselfe to death? Alas, poor
Pedringano! I am in a sorte sorie for thee, but, if I should be hanged
with thee, I [could not] weep.
Exit.
[ACT III. SCENE 6.]
[The court of justice.]
Enter HIERONIMO and the DEPUTIE.
HIERO. Thus must we toyle in others mens extreames
That know not how to rememdie our owne,
And doe them iusties, when vniustly we
For all our wrongs can compasse no redrese.
But shall I neuer liue to see the day
That I may come by iustice to the Heauens
To know the cause that may my cares allay?
This toyles my body, this consumeth age,
That onley I to all men iust must be,
And neither gods nor men be iust to me!
DEP. Worthy Hieronimo, your office askes
A care to punish such as doe transgresse.
HIERO. So ist my duety to regarde his death
Who when he liued deserued my dearest blood.
But come; for that we came for, lets begin;
For heere lyes that which bids me to be gone.
Enter OFFICERS, BOY, & PEDRINGANO with a letter
in his hand, bound.
DEPU. Bring forth the prisoner for the court is set.
PED. Gramercy, boy! but it was time to come,
For I had written to my lord anew
A neerer matter that concerneth him,
For feare his lordship had forgotten me;
But, sith he hath rememberd me so well,
Come, come, come on! when shall we to this geere?
HIERO. Stand forth, thou monster, murderer of men,
And heere, for satisfaction of the world,
Confesse thy folly and repent thy fault,
For ther's thy place of execution.
PED. This is short worke! Well, to your martiallship
First I confesse, nor feare I death therefore,
I am the man,--twas I slew Serberine.
But, sir, then you think this shalbe the place
Where we shall satisfie you for this geare?
DEPU. I, Pedrigano.
PED. No I think not so.
HEIRO. Peace, impudent! for thou shalt finde it so;
For blood with blood shall, while I sit as iudge,
Be satisfied, and the law dischargde.
And, though my-selfe cannot receiue the like,
Yet will I see that others haue their right.
Dispatch! the fault approued and confest,
And by our law he is condemned to die.
HANG. Come on, sir! are you ready?
PED. To do what, my fine officious knaue?
HANG. To goe to this geere.
PED. O, sir, you are to forward; thou woulst faine
furnish me with a halter, to disfurnish me of my habit.
So should I goe out of this geere, my raiment, into that
geere, the rope. But, hangman, now I spy your knauery, Ile
not change without boot; thats flat.
HANG. Come, sir.
PED. So then I must vp?
HANG. No remedie.
PED. Yes, but there shalbe for my comming downe.
HANG. Indeed heers a remedie for that.
PED. How? be turnd off?
HANG. I, truly. Come, are you ready?
I pray [you], sir, dispatch, the day goes away.
PED. What, doe you hang by the howre? If you doo, I
may chance to break your olde custome.
HANG. Faith, you haue [no] reason, for I am like to break
your yong neck.
PED. Dost thou mock me, hangman? Pray God I be not
preserued to break your knaues-pate for this!
HANG. Alas, sir, you are a foot too low to reach it, and I
hope you will neuer grow so high while I am in office.
PED. Sirra, dost see yonder boy with the box in his
hand?
HANG. What, he that points to it with his finger?
PED. I, that companion.
HANG. I know him not; but what of him?
PED. Doost thou think to liue till his olde doublet will
make thee a new truss?
HANG. I, and many a faire yeere after, to trusse vp many
an honester man then either thou or he.
PED. What hath he in his boxe, as thou thinkst?
HANG. Faith, I cannot tell, nor I care not greatly.
Me thinks you should rather hearken to your soules health.
PED. Why, sirra hangman, I take it that that is good for
the body is likewise good for the soule: and it may be in
that box is balme for both.
HANG. Wel, thou art euen the meriest peece of mans
flesh that ere gronde at my office-doore.
PED. Is your roaguery become an office, with a knaues
name?
HANG. I, and that shall all they witnes that see you seale
it with a theeues name.
PED. I prithee, request this good company to pray [for]
me.
HANG. I, mary, sir, this is a good motion! My maisters,
you see heers a good fellow.
PED. Nay, nay, now I remember me, let them alone till
some other time; for now I haue no great need.
HIERO. I haue not seen a wretch so impudent.
O monstrous times where murders are so light,
And where the soule that should be shrinde in heauen
Solelie delights in interdicted things,
Still wandring in the thornie passages
That intercepts it-selfe of hapines!
Murder? O bloudy monster! God forbid
A fault so foule should scape vnpunished!
Dispatch and see this execution done;
This makes me to remember thee, my sonne.
Exit HIERO[NIMO].
PED. Nay, soft! no hast!
DEPU. Why, wherefore stay you? haue you hope of life?
PED. Why, I?
HANG. As how?
PED. Why, rascall, by my pardon from the king.
HANG. Stand you on that? then you shall off with this.
He turnes him off.
DEPU. So, executioner, conuey him hence;
But let his body be vnburied.
Let not the earth be chokt or infect
What that which Heauens contemnes and men neglect.
Exeunt.
[ACT III. SCENE 7.]
[HIERONIMO's house.]
Enter HIERONIMO.
HIER. Where shall I run to breath abroad my woes,--
My woes whose weight hath wearied the earth,
Or mine exclaimes that haue surcharged the aire
With ceasles plaints for my deceased sonne?
The blustring winds, conspiring with my words,
At my lament haue moued to leaueless trees,
Disroabde the medowes of their flowred greene,
Made mountains marsh with spring-tides of my teares,
And broken through the brazen gates of hell;
Yet still tormented is my tortured soule
With broken sighes and restles passions,
That, winged, mount, and houering in the aire,
Beat at the windowes of the brightest heauens,
Soliciting for iustice and reuenge.
But they are plac't in those imperiall heights,
Where, countermurde with walles of diamond,
I finde the place impregnable, and they
Resist my woes and giue my words no way.
Enter HANGMAN with a letter.
HANG. O Lord, sir! God blesse you, sir! The man, sir,--
Petergade, sir: he that was so full of merie conceits--
HIER. Wel, what of him?
HANG. O Lord, sir! he went the wrong way; the fellow
had a faire commission to the contrary. Sir, heere is his
pasport, I pray you, sir; we haue done him wrong.
HIERO. I warrant thee; giue it me.
HANG. You will stand between the gallowes and me?