AMBa.s.s. Stay! hold a-while!

And here, with pardon of his Majesty, Lay hands upon Villuppo!

VICE. Amba.s.sador, What news hath urg'd this sudden enterance?

AMBa.s.s. Know, sovereign lord, that Balthazar doth live.

VICE. What say'st thou? liveth Balthazar, our son?

AMBa.s.s. Your Highness' son, Lord Balthazar doth live, And, well entreated in the court of Spain, Humbly commends him to your Majesty.

These eyes beheld; and these my followers, With these, the letters of the king's commends,

Gives him letters.

Are happy witnesses of his Highness' health.

The KING looks on the letters, and proceeds.

VICE. [reads] "Thy son doth live; your tribute is receiv'd; Thy peace is made, and we are satisfied.

The rest resolve upon as things propos'd For both our honours and thy benefit."

AMBa.s.s. These are his Highness' farther articles.

He gives him more letters.

VICE. Accursed wretch to intimate these ills Against the life and reputation Of n.o.ble Alexandro! come, my lord, unbind him!

[To ALEXANDRO] Let him unbind thee that is bound to death, To make acquittal for thy discontent.

They unbind him.

ALEX. Dread lord, in kindness you could do no less, Upon report of such a d.a.m.ned fact; But thus we see our innocence hath sav'd The hopeless life which thou, Villuppo, sought By thy suggestions to have ma.s.sacred.

VICE. Say, false Villuppo, wherefore didst thou thus Falsely betray Lord Alexandro's life?

Him whom thou know'st that no unkindness else But even the slaughter of our dearest son Could once have mov'd us to have misconceiv'd.

ALEX. Say, treacherous Villuppo; tell the King!

Or wherein hath Alexandro us'd thee ill?

VIL. Rent with remembrance of so foul a deed, My guilty soul submits me to thy doom, For, not for Alexandro's injuries, But for reward and hope to be prefer'd, Thus have I shamelessly hazarded his life.

VICE. Which, villain, shall be ransom'd with thy death, And not so mean a torment as we here Devis'd for him who thou said'st slew our son, But with the bitterest torments and extremes That may be yet invented for thine end.

ALEXANDRO seems to entreat.

Entreat me not! Go, take the traitor hence!

Exit VILLUPPO.

And, Alexandro, let us honour thee With public notice of thy loyalty.

To end those things articulated here By our great lord, the mighty king of Spain, We with our council will deliberate.

Come, Alexandro, keep us company.

Exeunt.

[ACT III. SCENE 2.]

[Spain: near the DUKE's castle.]

Enter HIERONIMO.

HIERO. Oh eyes! no eyes but fountains fraught with tears; Oh life! no life, but lively form of death; Oh world! no world, but ma.s.s of public wrongs, Confus'd and fill'd with murder and misdeeds; Oh sacred heav'ns, if this unhallow'd deed, If this inhuman and barbarous attempt, If this incomparable murder thus Of mine, but now no more my son shall pa.s.s, Unreveal'd and unrevenged pa.s.s, How should we term your dealings to be just, If you unjustly deal with those that in your justice trust?

The night, sad secretary to my moans, With direful visions wake my vexed soul, And with the wounds of my distressful son Solicit me for notice of his death; The ugly fiends do sally forth of h.e.l.l, And frame my heart with fierce inflamed thoughts; The cloudy day my discontents records, Early begins to register my dreams And drive me forth to seek the murderer.

Eyes, life, world, heav'ns, h.e.l.l, night and day, See, search, show, send, some man, some mean, that may--

A letter falleth.

What's here? a letter? Tush, it is not so!

A letter for Hieronimo.

[Reads] "For want of ink receive this b.l.o.o.d.y writ.

Me hath my hapless brother hid from thee.

Revenge thyself on Balthazar and him, For these were they that murdered thy son.

Hieronimo, revenge Horatio's death, And better fare then Bel-imperia doth!"-- What means this unexpected miracle?

My son slain by Lorenzo and the prince?

What cause had they Horatio to malign?

Or what might move thee, Bel-imperia, To accuse thy brother, had he been the mean?

Hieronimo, beware! thou art betray'd, And to entrap thy life this train is laid.

Advise thee therefore, be not credulous: This is devised to endanger thee, That thou, by this, Lorenzo should'st accuse.

And he, for thy dishonour done, should draw Thy life in question and thy name in hate.

Dear was the life of my beloved son, And of his death behooves me be aveng'd: Then hazard not thine own, Hieronimo, But live t'effect thy resolution!

I therefore will by circ.u.mstances try What I can gather to confirm this writ, And, harken near the Duke of Castile's house, Close if I can with Bel-imperia, To listen more, but nothing to bewray.

Enter PEDRINGANO.

Now, Pedringano!

PED. Now, Hieronimo!

HIERO. Where's thy lady?

PED. I know not; here's my lord.

Enter LORENZO.

LOR. How now, who's this? Hieronimo?

HIERO. My lord.

PED. He asketh for my lady Bel-imperia.