 | The Tragedy of Tancred and Gismund |  |
Scæna 1.
Renu.Oh cruel fate, oh miserable chaunce
Oh dire aspect of hateful destinies,
Oh wo may not be told: suffic'd it not
That I should see and with these eyes behold
So foule, so bloody, and so base a deede:
Of my perplexed mind, must onelie I
Must I alone be made the messenger,
That must deliuer to her Princelie eares
Such dismall newes? as when I shal disclose
I know it cannot but abridge her daies.
As when the thunderer and three forked fire
Rent through the cloudes by Ioues almighty power
Breakes vp the bosom of our mother earth,
And burnes her heart before the heat be felt.
In this distresse whom should I most bewaile,
My woe, that must be made the messenger
Of these vnworthie and vnwelcome newes?
Or shall I mone thy death, O noble Earle?
Or shal I still lament the heauie hap
That yet, O Queene, attends thy funeral.
Cho. 1.
What mones be these? Renuchio is this Salerne I see?
Doth here king Tancred hold the awful crown?
Is this the place where ciuill people be?
Or do the sauage Scythians here abound
Cho. 2.
What mean these questiōs whether tend thes words?
Resolue vs maidens, & release our fears.
What euer newes thou bring'st, discouer them,
Deteine vs not in this suspicious dread,
“The thought whereof is greater then the woe.
Renu.
O whither may I cast my lookes? to heauen?
Blackpitchy clouds from thence rain down reuenge
The earth shal I behold? stainde with the gore
Of his heart bloud that dide most innocent.
Which way so ere I turn mine eyes, me thinks
His butchered corps stands staring in my face.
Cho. 3.
We humbly pray thee to forbear these words
“The dread of things vnknown breedes the suspect
“Of greater dread, vntil the worst be knowen.
Tel therfore what hath chaunst, and whereunto
This bloudy cup thou holdest in thy hand.
Renu.
Since so is your request that I shal doe,
Although my mind so sorrowful a thing
Repines to tell, and though my voice eschewes
To say what I haue seene: yet since your will
So fixed stands to heare for what I rue,
Your great desires I shall herein fulfill.
First by Salerne Citie, amids the plaine,
There stands a hil, whose bottom huge and round,
Throwen out in breadth, a large space doth contain
And gathering vp in height small from the grounde
Stil lesse and lesse it mounts; there sometime was
A goodly towre vpreard, that flowrde in fame
While fate and fortune seru'd, but time doth passe,
And with his sway suppresseth all the same:
For now the walles be euened with the plaine.
And all the rest so fowly lies defast:
As but the only shade doth there remaine
Of that which there was built in time forepast:
And yet that shewes what worthy work to fore
Hath there been reard: one parcel of that towre
Yet stands, which eating time could not deuoure:
A strong turret compact of stone and rock:
Hugie without, but horrible within:
To passe to which by force of handy stroke
A crooked straite is made, that enters in
And leades into this vgly loathsome place.
Within the which carued into the ground
Dreadful and darke, where neuer light is found:
Into this hollow caue, by cruel hest
Of king Tancred, were diuers seruants sent
To worke the horror of his furious brest,
Earst nourisht in his rage, and now sterne bent,
To haue the same performde: I woful man
Amongst the rest, was one to do the thing
That to our charge so straitly did belong,
In sort as was commanded by the king.
Within which dreadful prison when we came,
The noble Countie Palurin that there
Lay chain'd in giues, fast fettered in his bolts,
Out of the darke dungeon we did vpreare
And hal'd him thence into a brighter place,
That gaue vs light to worke our tyrannie.
But when I once beheld his manly face,
And saw his cheare, no more appauld with feare,
Of present death, then he whom neuer dread
Did once a mate: my heart abhorred then
To geue consent vnto so foul a deede,
That wretched death should reaue so worthy a man
On false fortune I cride with lowd complaint,
That in such sort ouerwhelmes nobilitie.
But he whom neuer griefe ne feare could taint,
With smiling cheare himselfe oft willeth me,
To leaue to plaine his case, or sorrow make,
For him, for he was far more glad a paide
Death to imbrace thus for his Ladies sake,
Then life, or all the ioyes of life he said.
For losse of life (quoth he) greeues me no more,
Then losse of that which I esteemed least,
Is all the cause of griefe within my brest.
He praid therfore that we would make report
To her of those his last words he would say:
That though he neuer could in any sort
Her gentlenes requite, nor neuer lay
Within his power to serue her as he would,
Yet she possest his heart with hand and might,
To doe her all the honor that he could.
This was to him of all the ioyes that might
Reuiue his heart, the chiefest ioy of al,
That, to declare the faithfull heart which he
Did beare to her, fortune so wel did fall,
That in her loue he should both liue and die.
After these words he staid, and spake no more,
But ioyfully beholding vs eachone,
His words and cheare amazed vs so sore
That stil we stoode: when forthwith thereupon
But why slack you (quoth he) to do the thing
For which you come? make speed and stay no more
Performe your masters will: now tel the king
He hath his life for which he long'd so sore:
And with those words himselfe with his own hand
Fastned the bands about his neck. The rest
Wondring at his stout heart, astonied stand
To see him offer thus himselfe to death.
What stony brest, or what hard heart of flint
Would not relent to see this dreery sight?
So goodly a man, whom death nor fortunes dint
Could once disarme, murdred with such despite.
And in such sort bereft amidst the flowers
Of his fresh yeares, that ruthfull was to seene:
“Yong men, or virgins, while their yeares be green.
Lo now our seruants seeing him take the bands
And on his neck himselfe to make them fast:
Without delay set to their cruel hands,
And sought to worke their fierce intent with hast,
They stretch the bloudy bands, and when the breth
Began to faile his brest, they slackt againe.
Thrise did they pull, and thrise they losed him,
So did their hands repine against their hearts:
And oft times losed to his greater paine.
“But date of death that fixed is so fast,
“Beyond his course there may no wight extend,
For strangled is this noble Earle at last,
Bereft of life, vnworthy such an end.
Chor.
O dāned deed.
Ren.
What deem you this to be
Al the sayd newes that I haue to vnfould?
Is here (think you) end of the crueltie
That I haue seen?
Chor.
Could any heauier woe
Be wrought to him, then to destroy him so?
Ren.
What, think you this outrage did end so well?
The horror of the fact, the greatest griefe,
The massaker, the terror is to tell.
Cho.
Alack what could be more? they threw percase
The dead body to be deuourd and torne
Of the wild beasts.
Renu.
Would God it had been cast a sauage praie
To beasts and birds: but lo, that dreadfull thing
Which euen the tyger would not work, but to
Suffice his hunger: that hath the tyrant king
Withouten ruth commaunded vs to doe,
Onely to please his wrathfull heart withal.
If birdes, or beasts had eaten vp his corps,
Yea heart and all: within this cup I bring,
And am constrained now vnto the face
Of his deare Ladie to present the same.
Chor.
What kind of crueltie is this you name?
Declare foorthwith, and wherunto doth tend
This farther plaint.
Ren.
After his breath was gone,
Forced perforce thus from his panting brest
Straight they dispoiled him, and not alone
Contented with his death, on the dead corps
Which rauenous beasts forbeare to lacerate,
Euen vpon this our villens fresh begunne
To shew new crueltie: foorthwith they pearce
His naked bellie, and vnript it so,
That out the bowels gusht: who can rehearse
Their tyrannie, wherwith my heart yet bleedes.
The warme entralles were torne out of his brest.
Within their hands trembling not fully dead,
His veines smok'd, his bowels all to recked
Ruthlesse were rent, and throwen about the place:
All clottered lay the bloud in lumps of gore,
Sprent on his corps, and on his paled face,
His trembling heart, yet leaping, out they tore,
And cruelly vpon a rapier
They fixt the same, and in this hateful wise
Vnto the king this heart they do present:
A sight longd for to feede his irefull eies.
The king perceiuing each thing to be wrought
As he had wilde, reioysing to behold
Vpon the bloudie sword the pearced heart,
He calles then for this massie cup of gold,
And reaching me the same, now go, quoth he,
Vnto my daughter, and with speedy hast
Present her this, and say to her from me,
Thy father hath here in this cup thee sent
That thing to ioy and comfort thee withal,
Which thou louedst best, euen as thou wert content
To comfort him with his chiefe ioy of all.
Cho.
O hateful fact! O passing crueltie!
O murder wrought with too much hard despit!e
O hainous deede, which no posteritie
Wil once beleeue!
Ren.
Thus was Earle Palurin
Strangled vnto the death, yea after death
His heart and bloud disboweled from his brest:
But what auaileth plaint? it is but breath
Forewasted all in vaine: why do I rest
Here in this place? why goe I not and doe
The hatefull message to my charge committed?
Oh were it not that I am forc'd thereto,
By a kings will, here would I stay my feet,
Ne one whit farder wade in this intent:
But I must yeeld me to my Princes hest,
Yet doth this somewhat comfort mine vnrest,
I am resolu'd her griefe not to behold,
But get me gone my message being told.
Where is the Princesse chamber?
Cho.
Lo where she comes
| The Tragedy of Tancred and Gismund | |