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 accurséd 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.
_Ber. F._ Methinks, my Lord,'tis better as it is: A sudden swelling of our retinue Had waked suspicion; and, though fierce and trusty, 10 The vassals of that district are too rude And quick in quarrel to have long maintained The secret discipline we need for such A service, till our foes are dealt upon.
_Doge_. True; but when once the signal has been given, _These_ are the men for such an enterprise; These city slaves have all their private bias, Their prejudice _against_ or _for_ this noble, Which may induce them to o'erdo or spare Where mercy may be madness; the fierce peasants, 20 Serfs of my county of Val di Marino, Would do the bidding of their lord without Distinguishing for love or hate his foes; Alike to them Marcello or Cornaro, A Gradenigo or a Foscari;[eq] They are not used to start at those vain names, Nor bow the knee before a civic Senate; A chief in armour is their Suzerain, And not a thing in robes.
_Ber. F._ We are enough; And for the dispositions of our clients 30 Against the Senate I will answer.
_Doge_. Well, The die is thrown; but for a warlike service, Done in the field, commend me to my peasants: They made the sun shine through the host of Huns When sallow burghers slunk back to their tents, And cowered to hear their own victorious trumpet. If there be small resistance, you will find These Citizens all Lions, like their Standard;[437] But if there's much to do, you'll wish, with me, A band of iron rustics at our backs. 40
_Ber_. Thus thinking, I must marvel you resolve To strike the blow so suddenly.
_Doge_. Such blows Must be struck suddenly or never. When I had o'ermastered the weak false remorse Which yearned about my heart, too fondly yielding A moment to the feelings of old days, I was most fain to strike; and, firstly, that I might not yield again to such emotions; And, secondly, because of all these men, Save Israel and Philip Calendaro, 50 I know not well the courage or the faith: To-day might find 'mongst them a traitor to us, As yesterday a thousand to the Senate; But once in, with their hilts hot in their hands, They must _on_ for their own sakes; one stroke struck, And the mere instinct of the first-born Cain, Which ever lurks somewhere in human hearts, Though Circumstance may keep it in abeyance, Will urge the rest on like to wolves; the sight Of blood to crowds begets the thirst of more, 60 As the first wine-cup leads to the long revel; And you will find a harder task to quell Than urge them when they _have_ commenced, but _till_ That moment, a mere voice, a straw, a shadow, Are capable of turning them aside.-- How goes the night?
_Ber. F._ Almost upon the dawn.
_Doge_. Then it is time to strike upon the bell. Are the men posted?
_Ber. F._ By this time they are; But they have orders not to strike, until They have command from you through me in person. 70
_Doge_. 'Tis well.--Will the morn never put to rest These stars which twinkle yet o'er all the heavens? I am settled and bound up, and being so, The very effort which it cost me to Resolve to cleanse this Commonwealth with fire, Now leaves my mind more steady. I have wept, And trembled at the thought of this dread duty; But now I have put down all idle passion, And look the growing tempest in the face, As doth the pilot of an Admiral Galley:[438] 80 Yet (wouldst thou think it, kinsman?) it hath been A greater struggle to me, than when nations Beheld their fate merged in the approaching fight, Where I was leader of a phalanx, where Thousands were sure to perish--Yes, to spill The rank polluted current from the veins Of a few bloated despots needed more To steel me to a purpose such as made Timoleon immortal,[439] than to face The toils and dangers of a life of war. 90
_Ber. F._ It gladdens me to see your former wisdom Subdue the furies which so wrung you ere You were decided.
_Doge_. It was ever thus With me; the hour of agitation came In the first glimmerings of a purpose, when Passion had too much room to sway; but in The hour of action I have stood as calm As were the dead who lay around me: this They knew who made me what I am, and trusted To the subduing power which I preserved 100 Over my mood, when its first burst was spent. But they were not aware that there are things Which make revenge a virtue by reflection, And not an impulse of mere anger; though The laws sleep, Justice wakes, and injured souls Oft do a public right with private wrong, And justify their deeds unto themselves.-- Methinks the day breaks--is it not so? look, Thine eyes are clear with youth;--the air puts on A morning freshness, and, at least to me, 110 The sea looks greyer through the lattice.
_Ber. F._ True, The morn is dappling in the sky.[er][440]
_Doge_. Away then! See that they strike without delay, and with The first toll from St. Mark's, march on the palace With all our House's strength; here I will meet you; The Sixteen and their companies will move In separate columns at the self-same moment: Be sure you post yourself at the great Gate: I would not trust "the Ten" except to us-- The rest, the rabble of patricians, may 120 Glut the more careless swords of those leagued with us. Remember that the cry is still "Saint Mark! The Genoese are come--ho! to the rescue! Saint Mark and Liberty!"--Now--now to action![es]
_Ber. F._ Farewell then, noble Uncle! we will meet In freedom and true sovereignty, or never!
_Doge_. Come hither, my Bertuccio--one embrace; Speed, for the day grows broader; send me soon A messenger to tell me how all goes When you rejoin our troops, and then sound--sound 130 The storm-bell from St. Mark's![et] [_Exit_ BERTUCCIO FALIERO.
_Doge_ (_solus_). He is gone, And on each footstep moves a life. 'Tis done.[441] Now the destroying Angel hovers o'er Venice, and pauses ere he pours the vial, Even as the eagle overlooks his prey, And for a moment, poised in middle air, Suspends the motion of his mighty wings, Then swoops with his unerring beak.[442] Thou Day! That slowly walk'st the waters! march--march on-- I would not smite i' the dark, but rather see 140 That no stroke errs. And you, ye blue sea waves! I have seen you dyed ere now, and deeply too, With Genoese, Saracen, and Hunnish gore, While that of Venice flowed too, but victorious: Now thou must wear an unmixed crimson; no Barbaric blood can reconcile us now Unto that horrible incarnadine, But friend or foe will roll in civic slaughter. And have I lived to fourscore years[443] for this? I, who was named Preserver of the City? 150 I, at whose name the million's caps were flung[eu] Into the air, and cries from tens of thousands Rose up, imploring Heaven to send me blessings, And fame, and length of days--to see this day? But this day, black within the calendar, Shall be succeeded by a bright millennium. Doge Dandolo survived to ninety summers To vanquish empires, and refuse their crown;[444] I will resign a crown, and make the State Renew its freedom--but oh! by what means? 160 The noble end must justify them. What Are a few drops of human blood? 'tis false, The blood of tyrants is not human; they, Like to incarnate Molochs, feed on ours, Until 'tis time to give them to the tombs Which they have made so populous.--Oh World! Oh Men! what are ye, and our best designs, That we must work by crime to punish crime? And slay as if Death had but this one gate, When a few years would make the sword superfluous? 170 And I, upon the verge of th' unknown realm, Yet send so many heralds on before me?-- I must not ponder this. [_A pause._ Hark! was there not A murmur as of distant voices, and The tramp of feet in martial unison? What phantoms even of sound our wishes raise! It cannot be--the signal hath not rung-- Why pauses it? My nephew's messenger Should be upon his way to me, and he Himself perhaps even now draws grating back 180 Upon its ponderous hinge the steep tower portal, Where swings the sullen huge oracular bell,[ev] Which never knells but for a princely death, Or for a state in peril, pealing forth Tremendous bodements; let it do its office, And be this peal its awfullest and last Sound till the strong tower rock!--What! silent still? I would go forth, but that my post is here, To be the centre of re-union to The oft discordant elements which form 190 Leagues of this nature, and to keep compact The wavering of the weak, in case of conflict; For if they should do battle,'twill be here, Within the palace, that the strife will thicken: Then here must be my station, as becomes The master-mover.--Hark! he comes--he comes, My nephew, brave Bertuccio's messenger.-- What tidings? Is he marching? hath he sped? _They_ here!-all's lost-yet will I make an effort.
_Enter a_ SIGNOR OF THE NIGHT,[445] _with Guards, etc., etc._
_Sig_. Doge, I arrest thee of high treason!
_Doge_. Me! 200 Thy Prince, of treason?--Who are they that dare Cloak their own treason under such an order?
_Sig_. (_showing his order_). Behold my order from the assembled Ten.
_Doge_. And _where_ are they, and _why_ assembled? no Such Council can be lawful, till the Prince Preside there, and that duty's mine:[446] on thine I charge thee, give me way, or marshal me To the Council chamber.
_Sig_. Duke! it may not be: Nor are they in the wonted Hall of Council, But sitting in the convent of Saint Saviour's. 210
_Doge_. You dare to disobey me, then?
_Sig_. I serve The State, and needs must serve it faithfully; My warrant is the will of those who rule it.
_Doge_. And till that warrant has my signature It is illegal, and, as _now_ applied, Rebellious. Hast thou weighed well thy life's worth, That thus you dare assume a lawless function?[ew]
_Sig_. 'Tis not my office to reply, but act-- I am placed here as guard upon thy person, And not as judge to hear or to decide. 220
_Doge_ (_aside_). I must gain time. So that the storm-bell sound,[ex][447] All may be well yet. Kinsman, speed--speed--speed!-- Our fate is trembling in the balance, and Woe to the vanquished! be they Prince and people, Or slaves and Senate-- [_The great bell of St. Mark's tolls._ Lo! it sounds--it tolls!
_Doge_ (_aloud_). Hark, Signor of the Night! and you, ye hirelings, Who wield your mercenary staves in fear, It is your knell.--Swell on, thou lusty peal! Now, knaves, what ransom for your lives?
_Sig_. Confusion! Stand to your arms, and guard the door--all's lost 230 Unless that fearful bell be silenced soon. The officer hath missed his path or purpose, Or met some unforeseen and hideous obstacle,[ey] Anselmo, with thy company proceed Straight to the tower; the rest remain with me. [_Exit part of the Guard._
_Doge_. Wretch! if thou wouldst have thy vile life, implore it; It is not now a lease of sixty seconds. Aye, send thy miserable ruffians forth; They never shall return.
_Sig_. So let it be! They die then in their duty, as will I. 240
_Doge_. Fool! the high eagle flies at nobler game Than thou and thy base myrmidons,--live on, So thou provok'st not peril by resistance, And learn (if souls so much obscured can bear To gaze upon the sunbeams) to be free.
_Sig_. And learn thou to be captive. It hath ceased, [_The bell ceases to toll_. The traitorous signal, which was to have set The bloodhound mob on their patrician prey-- The knell hath rung, but it is not the Senate's!
_Doge_ (_after a pause_). All's silent, and all's lost!
_Sig_. Now, Doge, denounce me 250 As rebel slave of a revolted Council! Have I not done my duty?
_Doge_. Peace, thou thing! Thou hast done a worthy deed, and earned the price Of blood, and they who use thee will reward thee. But thou wert sent to watch, and not to prate, As thou said'st even now--then do thine office, But let it be in silence, as behoves thee, Since, though thy prisoner, I am thy Prince.
_Sig_. I did not mean to fail in the respect Due to your rank: in this I shall obey you. 260
_Doge_ (_aside_). There now is nothing left me save to die; And yet how near success! I would have fallen, And proudly, in the hour of triumph, but To miss it thus!----
_Enter other_ SIGNORS OF THE NIGHT, _with_ BERTUCCIO FALIERO _prisoner_.
_2nd Sig_. We took him in the act Of issuing from the tower, where, at his order, As delegated from the Doge, the signal Had thus begun to sound.
_1st Sig_. Are all the passes Which lead up to the palace well secured?
_2nd Sig_. They are--besides, it matters not; the Chiefs Are all in chains, and some even now on trial-- 270 Their followers are dispersed, and many taken.
_Ber. F._ Uncle!
_Doge_. It is in vain to war with Fortune; The glory hath departed from our house.
_Ber. F._ Who would have deemed it?--Ah! one moment sooner!
_Doge_. That moment would have changed the face of ages; _This_ gives us to Eternity--We'll meet it As men whose triumph is not in success, But who can make their own minds all in all, Equal to every fortune. Droop not,'tis But a brief passage--I would go alone, 280 Yet if they send us, as 'tis like, together, Let us go worthy of our sires and selves.
_Ber. F._ I shall not shame you, Uncle.
_1st Sig_. Lords, our orders Are to keep guard on both in separate chambers, Until the Council call ye to your trial.
_Doge_. Our trial! will they keep their mockery up Even to the last? but let them deal upon us, As we had dealt on them, but with less pomp. 'Tis but a game of mutual homicides, Who have cast lots for the first death, and they 290 Have won with false dice.--Who hath been our Judas?
_1st Sig_. I am not warranted to answer that.
_Ber. F._ I'll answer for thee--'tis a certain Bertram, Even now deposing to the secret Giunta.
_Doge_. Bertram, the Bergamask! With what vile tools[448] We operate to slay or save! This creature, Black with a double treason, now will earn Rewards and honours, and be stamped in story With the geese in the Capitol, which gabbled Till Rome awoke, and had an annual triumph, 300 While Manlius, who hurled down the Gauls, was cast[ez] From the Tarpeian.
_1st Sig_. He aspired to treason, And sought to rule the State.
_Doge_. He saved the State, And sought but to reform what he revived-- But this is idle--Come, sirs, do your work.
_1st Sig_. Noble Bertuccio, we must now remove you Into an inner chamber.
_Ber. F._ Farewell, Uncle! If we shall meet again in life I know not, But they perhaps will let our ashes mingle.
_Doge_. Yes, and our spirits, which shall yet go forth, 310 And do what our frail clay, thus clogged, hath failed in! They cannot quench the memory of those Who would have hurled them from their guilty thrones, And such examples will find heirs, though distant.