Chapter II: PORT. Doubtles this man is passing lunaticke,

Or imperfection of his age doth make him dote.
Come, lets away to seek my lord the duke.

[Exeunt.]

[ACT III. SCENE 12.]

[The Spanish court.]

Enter HIERONIMO with a ponyard in one hand,
and a rope in the other.

HIERO. Now, sir, perhaps I come to see the king,
The king sees me, and faine would heare my sute:
Why, is this not a strange and seld-seene thing
That standers by with toyes should strike me mute?
Go too, I see their shifts, and say no more;
Hieronimo, tis time for thee to trudge!
Downe by the dale that flowes with purple gore
Standeth a firie tower; there sits a iudge
Vpon a seat of steele and molten brasse,
And twixt his teeth he holdes afire-brand,
That leades vnto the lake where he doth stand.
Away, Hieronimo; to him be gone:
Heele doe thee iustice for Horatios death.
Turne down this path, thou shalt be with him straite;
Or this, and then thou needst not take thy breth.
This way, or that way? Soft and faire, not so!
For, if I hang or kill my-selfe, lets know
Who will reuenge Horatios murther then!
No, no; fie, no! pardon me, ile none of that:

He flings away the dagger & halter.

This way Ile take; and this way comes the king,

He takes them up againe.

And heere Ile haue a fling at him, thats flat!
And, Balthazar, Ile be with thee to bring;
And thee, Lorenzo! Heeres the king; nay, stay!
And heere,--I, heere,--there goes the hare away!

Enter KING, EMBASSADOR, CASTILLE, and
LORENZO.

KING. Now shew, embassadour, what our viceroy saith:
Hath hee receiu'd the articles we sent?

HIERO. Iustice! O, iustice to Hieronimo!

LOR. Back! seest thou not the king is busie?

HIERO. O! is he so?

KING. Who is he that interrupts our busines?

HIERO. Not I! [aside] Hieronimo, beware! goe by, goe
by!

EMBAS. Renowned king, he hath receiued and read
thy kingly proffers and thy promist league,
And, as a man exreamely ouer-ioyd
To heare his sonne so princely entertainde,
Whose death he had so solemnely bewailde,
This, for thy further satisfaction
And kingly loue, he kindely lets thee know:
First, for the marriage of his princely sonne
With Bel-imperia, thy beloued neece,
The newes are more delightfull to his soule
Then myrrh or incense to the offended Heauens.
In person, therefore, will be come himselfe
To see the marriage rites solemnized
And in the presence of the court of Spaine
To knit a sure [inextricable] band
Of kingly loue and euerlasting league
Betwixt the crownes of Spaine and Portingale.
There will he giue his crowne to Balthazar,
And make a queene of Bel-imperia.

KING. Brother, how like you this our vice-roies loue?

CAST. No doubt, my lord, it is an argument
Of honorable care to keepe his freend
And wondrous zeale to Balthazar, his sonne.
Nor am I least indebted to his Grace,
That bends his liking to my daughter thus.

EM. Now last, dread lord, heere hath his Highnes sent--
Although he send not that his sonne returne--
His ransome doe to Don Horatio.

HIERO. Horatio? who cals Horatio?

KING. And well remembred, thank his Maiestie!
Heere, see it giuen to Horatio.

HIERO. Iustice! O iustice! iustice, gentle king!

KING. Who is that? Hieronimo?

HIERO. Iustice! O iustice! O my sonne! my sonne!
My sonne, whom naught can ransome or redeeme!

LOR. Hieronimo, you are not well aduisde.

HIERO. Away, Lorenzo! hinder me no more,
For thou hast made me bankrupt of my blisse!
Giue me my sonne! You shall not ransome him!
Away! Ile rip the bowels of the earth,

He diggeth with his dagger.

And ferrie ouer th' Elizian plaines
And bring my sonne to shew his deadly wounds.
Stand from about me! Ile make a pickaxe of my poniard,
And heere surrender vp my marshalship;
For Ile goe marshall vp the feends in hell,
To be auenged on you all for this.

KING. What means this outrage?
Will none of you restraine his fury?

HIERO. Nay, soft and faire; you shall not need to striue!
Needs must he goe that the diuels driue.

Exit.

KING. What accident hath hapt [to] Hieronimo?
I haue not seene him to demeane him so.

LOR. My gratious lord, he is with extreame pride
Conceiued of yong Horatio, his sonne,
And couetous of hauing himselfe
The ransome of the yong prince, Balthazar,
Distract, and in a manner lunatick.

KING. Beleeue me, nephew, we are sorie for 't;
This is the loue that fathers beare their sonnes.
But, gentle brother, goe giue to him this golde,
The princes raunsome; let him haue his due;
For what he hath, Horatio shall not want.
Happily Hieronimo hath need thereof.

LOR. But if he be thus helpelesly distract,
Tis requisite his office be resignde
And giuen to one of more discretion.

KING. We shall encrease his melanchollie so.
Tis best that we see further in it first;
Till when, our-selfe will exempt the place.
And, brother, now bring in the embassadour,
That he may be a witnes of the match
Twixt Balthazar and Bel-imperia,
And that we may prefixe a certaine time
Wherein the marriage shalbe solemnized,
That we may haue thy lord the vice-roy heere.

EM. Therein your Highnes highly shall content
His maiestie, that longs to heare from hence.

KING. On then, and heare you, lord embassadour.

Exeunt.

[ACT III. SCENE 13.]

[HIERONIMO's house.]

Enter HIERONIMO with a book in his hand.

[HIERO.] Vindicta mihi.
I, heauen will be reuenged of euery ill,
Nor will they suffer murder vnrepaide!
Then stay, Hieronimo, attend their will;
For mortall men may not appoint their time.
Per scelus semper tutum est sceleribus iter:
Strike, and strike home, where wrong is offred thee;
For euils vnto ils conductors be,
And death's the worst of resultion.
For he that thinks with patience to contend
To quiet life, his life shall easily end.
Fata si miseros iuuant, habes selutem;
Fata si vitam negant, habes sepulchrum:
If destinie thy miseries doe ease,
Then hast thou health, and happie shalt thou be;
If destinie denie thee life, Hieronimo,
Yet shalt thou be assured of a tombe;
If neither, yet let this thy comfort be:
Heauen couereth him that hath no buriall.
And, to conclude, I will reuenge his death!
But how? Not as the vulgare wits of men,
With open, but ineuitable ils;
As by a secret, yet a certaine meane,
Which vnder kindeship wilbe cloked best.
Wise men will take their opportunitie,
Closely and safely fitting things to time;
But in extreames aduantage hath no time;
And therefore all times fit not for reuenge.
Thus, therefore, will I rest me in unrest,
Dissembling quiet in vnquietnes,
Not seeming that I know their villanies,
That my simplicitie may make them think
That ignorantly I will let all slip;
For ignorance, I wot, and well they know,
Remedium malorum iners est.
Nor ought auailes it me to menace them.
Who, as a wintrie storme vpon a plaine,
Will beare me downe with their nobilitie.
No, no, Hieronimo, thou must enioyne
Thine eies to obseruation, and thy tung
To milder speeches then thy spirit affoords,
Thy hart to patience, and thy hands to rest,
Thy cappe to curtesie, and they knee to bow,
Till to reuenge thou know when, where and how.
How now? what noise, what coile is that you keepe?

A noise within.

Enter a SERVANT.

SER. Heere are a sort of poore petitioners
That are importunate, and it shall please you, sir,
That you should plead their cases to the king.

HIERO. That I should plead their seuerall actions?
Why, let them enter, and let me see them.

Enter three CITIZENS and an OLDE MAN
[DON BAZULTO].

I CIT. So I tell you this: for learning and for law
There is not any aduocate in Spaine
That can preuaile or will take halfe the paine
That he will in pursuite of equitie.

HIERO. Come neere, you men, that thus importune me!
[Aside] Now must I beare a face of grauitie,
For thus I vsde, before my marshalship,
To pleide the causes as corrigedor.--
Come on, sirs, whats the matter?

II CIT. Sir, an action.

HIERO. Of batterie?

I CIT. Mine of debt.

HIERO. Giue place.

II CIT. No, sir, mine is an action of the case.

III CIT. Mine an eiectionae firmae by a lease.

HIERO. Content you, sirs; are you determined
That I should plead your seuerall actions?

I CIT. I, sir; and heeres my declaration.

II CIT. And heere is my band.