University of Virginia Library

SCÆ. 5.

Enter Lucretia alone in her night gowne vntired, bringing in a chaire, which she planteth vpon the Stage.
Luc.
Lucretia cast off all seruile feare,
Reuenge thy selfe vpon thy iealous husband
That hath be raid thine honor, wrong'd thy bed:
Feare not; with resolution act his death:
Let none of Borgias race in policies
Exceed thee Lucrece: now proue Cæsars Sister,
So deepe in bloudy stratagems as hee:
All sinnes haue found examples in all times.
If womanly thou melt then call to minde,
Impatient Medeas wrathfull furie,
And raging Clitemnestraes hideous fact:
Prognes strange murther of her onely sonne,
And Danaus fifty Daughters (all but one)
That in one night, their husbands sleeping slew.
My cause as iust as theirs, my heart as resolute,
My hands as ready. Gismond I come,
Haild on with furie to reuenge these wrongs
And loue impoison'd with thy iealousie,
I haue deuised such a curious snare,
As iealious Vulcan neuer yet deuis'd,
To graspe his armes vnable to resist,
Deaths instruments inclosed in these hands.
Shee kneeleth downe.
You griefly Daughters of grimme Erebus,
Which spit out vengeance from your viperous heires,
Infuse a three-fold vigor in these armes;
I marble more my strong indurate heart,
To consumate the plot of my reuenge.
Shee riseth and walketh passionately.
Enter Gismond di Viselli vntrussed in his Night-cap, tying his points.
Heere comes the subiect of my Tragedy.

Gis.
What my Lucretia walking alone?
These solitarie passions should bewray
Some discontentment, and those gracious eyes
Seeme to be moon'd with anger, not with loue:
Tell me Lucretia, may thy Gismond know?

Luc.
Demaundst thou the cause iniurious Gismond?
When like a recluse (shut vp from the world)
I liue close prisoner to thy iealousie?
The'Esperian Dragons kept not with more watch,
The golden fruit then thou my fatall beauty:
Thou wouldst exclude me from the sight of Sunne,
But that his beames breake through some creuisies
Thou wouldst debarre me from the common ayre,
But that against my will I suck it in,
And breath it out in scalding sighes againe:
Were I in Naxos where no noise is heard
But Neptunes rage, no sights but ruthelesse rocks.
Or in the Libian deserts or exchang'd
This Hemisphere of Rome forth' Antipodes,
Were not so grieuous as to dwell in Rome,
Banish'd from sight and conference of friends.

Gis.
Banist thou my iealousie? nay blame thy beauty,
And loue imprison'd in those amorous lookes:
I feare the Sunnes reflections on thy face,
Least he more wondring at thy precious eyes,
Then any Nimphes which he most honored,
Should beare thee to some other Paradice,
And rob me, silly man, of this worlds ioy.
I feare the windes least amorous Ioue in them,
(Enuying such pretious nature amongst men)
With extreame passion hence should hurry thee.
Oh loue is full of feare all things I feare,
By which I might be frustrate of thy loue.

Luc.
Scoffst thou mee Gismond with continuall taunts?
Oh God of heauens, shall I both suffer shame
And scorne, with such dispisd captiuitie.

Gis.
Here in the presence of the powers in Heauen,
I doe not speake in scorne, but in meere loue:
And further Lucrese, (of thy clemencie,
For loue, and beautie, both are riche in bountie)
Forgiue me what is past, and I will sweate,
Neuer to vex thee with more iealousie.

Luc.
Thou wilt forsweare thy selfe: Gismond come hither?
Sit downe and answer me this question.
Gismond sitteth downe in a Chaire, Lucretia on a stoole beside him.
When I bestowed on thee this diamond
A Iewell once held precious as my life;
And with it cast away my selfe on thee
Didst thou not promise to maintaine mine honour,
Neither in word nor deed to giue suspect
Of thy dislike; and hast thou not since then
In presence of my neerest Noble friends
Rebuk'd me like a Layis for my lightnesse?
And as a miser lockes his mony vp
So me restraind from speech and sight of them?

Gis.
When first thou didst bestow this Diamond,
It had a precious lustre in mine eye:
And was possest of vertue, when I vow'd
To maintaine that, which was impossible:
But since that time this stone hath had a slaw,
Broken within the ring, his foile growne dimme,
The vertue vanisht, and the luster lost.

She graspeth him in his chaire.
Luc.
I can no longer brooke these base rebukes.
These taunting riddles and close libellings

Gis.
Oh helpe I am strangled.

She stoppeth his mouth, pulleth out his dagger and offereth to gagge him.
Lu.
Peace wretched villaine, then reciue this quickly:
Or by the liuing powers of heauen ile kill thee.
She gaggeth him, and taketh a pape out of her boosome.
Take pen and incke: tis not to make thy will;
For if thou wilt subscribe, I will not kill.
Tis but to cleere those scandalls of my shame,
With which thy iealousie did me defame.
Gismonde subscribeth.
So now that part is playd, what followes now?
Thou Ribbauld, Cuckcold, Rascall, Libeller,
Pernicious Lecher voide of all performance;
Periurious Coxcombe, Foole, now for those wrongs
Which no great spirit could well tollerate
Come I, with mortall vengeance on thy soule.
Take this for sclandring of his Holinesse
My blessed father and my brother Cæsar
She stabbeth
With incest: this take for my brother Candy:
And this for Noble Sphorza whom thou wrongest;
And since the time is shorte I will be shorte:
For locking vp of me, calling me whore,
Setting espialls tending at my taile;
Take this, and this & this to make amends.
three stabs togither.
And put thee from thy paines;
She vnbindeth him, layeth him on the grownd, putteth the dagger in his hand, a paper on his knee, & taking certaine papers out of his pocket putteth in others in their steede: & cōuaieth away the chaire
Now will my father Alexander say
That I did take the best and safest way,
And Cæsar will approue it with his heart,
That Lucrece hath perform'd a cunning parte.
If others aske who Gismonde kild or why
It was himselfe repenting iealousie.
Exit Lucretia.

Barbarossa knocketh at a dore.
Bar.
Holla within there?
Why fellowes?

Seruingman.
Heere my Lord.

Bar.
What is my Lord Uiselli stirring yet?
My Lord the Pope expects him and the ambassadors
Of Naples craue his company.

Enter Bar. and Seruingman.
Ser.
My Lord I haue not seene him yet this morning.

Bar.
Is not your Lady Lucrce stirring yet?

Ser.

No my good Lord I thinke shee be not yet come from
her chamber, her custome is not to be seene so soone.

Bar.
Tis well, tis wel, let her take ease in gods name,
But make hast, call vp my Lord thy maister honest fellow.

Ser.
With patience of your Lordship I will speake:
For three daies space I did finde in my Lord
Passionate motions, and strange melancholie
'T may be his solitude hath drawne him forth,
I will first looke the garden and the galleries.

Bar.
Do my good friend I will expect thee in this parler here?
As Barbarossa goes on hee findeth Viselli murthered vpon the ground, and starteth.
Fellow come backe, come back, fellow come back:
Your Lord lies murthred here call vp your Lady;
Call in your fellow seruants. Deh Santa Croce.
This dagger grasped in his fatall hand
Reueales some violence, wrought on himselfe:
Could nature so much violate her selfe?
Was it not wrought by bloudy Borgines race?
I doubt in this the diuills hypochrisie,
Iustice of Heauens firme and inscrutable
Reueale it, oh reueale it in thy mercy.

Enter Lucrecia with Moticilla.
Luc.
Where is my Lord? my deare Lord?

Bar.
Tarry Lady.
Approch not neere this ruthfull spectacle;
Approch not neere this spectacle of bloud,
This ruthfull spectacle of bloud and death,
Least suddaine horror of these bleeding wounds
Wound thy distracted spirits to pale death.

Luc.
What horror or what mortall spectacle.
Vpon such suddaine hath astonished me?
Oh my deere Lord: Viselly speake to me:
Oh most disastrous accident and houre;
Ay me most wretched and vnfortunate,
My deerest Lord the treasure of my life,
The sweetest paradice of my best hopes,
Is murthred: seeke out the murtherers
Leaue not vnseartcht a corner nor a Crany:
Locke vp the dores there least that homicide
Escape vs in this passion—

Bar.
Haue patience Lady
Heauens will reueale the murther doubt it not.

Luc.
Ah Noble Barbarossa much I feare
Now with these eyes I see the murtherer,
Staind with the guilt of nature; oh my Lord
You little know that these weake womans hands
Twise rescued haue the violence of his
From killing of himselfe before this time:
Oh fie vpon the diuill, and melancholy;
Which leaue me desolate a forelorne widdow.

Mot.
Madam these papers will bewray some matter.

Luc.
Oh might I finde an other murtherer.

Bar.
These do containe some matter read them Lady.

Luc.
My heart swolne vp with sorrow, lends no light
Vnto mine eyes nor force vnto my tongue
To see one letter, or to reade one word,
I pray you reade it good Lord Barbarossa.
Barbarossa readeth.

I Gismond di Viselli through desperate griefe conceiued in iealousie
(which I bare against my Lady Lucrecia) hauing found
out by much triall, and examination her faithfulnesse and innocency,
make this my protestation as the last piacular oblation
to her for those wrongs that with mine own vnfortunate hands
I haue ended my life, desiring her and all others to forgiue me,
and pray for me, subscribed with mine owne hand, and sealed
with my seale.

Gismond de Viselli.

Il veleuo d'amore,
A me trafisse il cuore.

Mot.
Oh Lord of heauens haue pardon on his soule.

Luc.
This is his hand and seale, speake now my Lord:
Did not I soone disclose the murtherer?
Told I not that the murtherer was present?
Ah neuer neuer shall I liue to see.

she soundeth.
Bar.
Comfort you selfe deere Lady God will send succor
Your husband hath paied deerely for these wrongs.

Luc.
Giue me my Lord againe, death shall not haue him,
Come my deere Gismond, come againe my ioye:
Delay me not least I preuent thy loue
I cannot brooke delay's, Lucrece shall follow.

Lucrece offereth to stab her selfe Barbarossa preuenteth her.
Bar.
Tempt not Gods iustice Lady, fall to praier,
Helpe, in the take your Lord out of her sight.

Luc.
Oh my deare friends that see my miseries,
I you beseech in dearest tendernesse
Bring in the body of my dearest Lord;
That I before my death may (with these eyes)
Behold him honor'd in his obsequies.

Bar.
And I wil beare these papers to his Holines,
Whose sorrow wil exceed for Gismonds death.

Exeunt.
Enter Guicchiardin.
Cho.
Thus soule suspition, feare and iealousie
Of shame, dishonor, and his wiues hot lust,
Hath seaz'd vpon Viselli; whose reuenge,
Was to restraine Lucrece from Company-
But swelling pride, and lust, both limitles,
Answer'd his louing feare and shame with death.
Attend the sequell. Now successiuely
(After such warlike preparations,
So many firme hopes found in Italy)
King Charles with fifteene hundred men at armes,
Three thousand Archers, with six thousand Swisse.
French men, and Gascons twise as many more,
With martiall measures, ouer Piemont
Treads a long march after his drums and fife,
With Milans force, and now his trumpets hard,
Vnto the gates of Rome giue fresh allarms,
Vnto the Pope, who stirreth vp in armes,