University of Virginia Library

ACT V.

SCENE I.

Skourlie's office; shelves round the walls, with deed-boxes and papers. A time-piece over the chimney.
Skourlie discovered alone.
Skour.
The sun slopes westward: (looking at the time piece)
—half past five: no more?
Well, one half hour: if, in that time, there pour not
Gold from the sky, to pay off Nigel's mortgage,
All his broad acres, arable, mead, and forest,
As Dunstan's bell tolls six, pass to Dalgarno.
The loss of those crown jewels, the sole means
To raise this mortgage money, must have left
Nigel without a hope; and yet, till six
Has struck, I'm ill at ease.—Time's old,—and charity
Bids us assist th'infirm: so, come, we'll speed him
Some steps upon his journey.
Puts the hand of the time-piece to “Six.” A knock is heard at the outer door.
Bless my soul,
What's that? (recovering)
a client; nothing more!—'Tis strange
How my hand trembles. That Whitefriars bus'ness
Has some how—Death! what matters it to me?
I did not pull the knot, nor hold the lantern,
And yet I scarce have nerve to crook my fingers.
Ah!—I must let no stranger find me thus:
Folks might suspect that—
Opens a closet.
Where's the cordial?

[Exit into closet.
Knocking.
Enter Clerk.
Clerk.
Coming!
A pretty clatter—gently—gently—coming!
Enter Heriot and Strappet followed by two porters, who bring a hand-barrow, laden with bags of money: these they unload from the barrow, under Strappet's direction, and place in rows upon a bench, or dresser.
Your pleasure?

Strap.
But a word, friend, with your master.

Clerk.
He'll strait return.

[Exit.
Strap.
(To Porters as they are unloading.)
Chink it along, brave boys.

Her.
So that, at last, the matter being sifted,
The fault is with the women more than Nigel.

Strap.
Well, I have made him what amends I could,
For my suspicion, in these jolly bags.
(The porters, having completed their unloading, go out; Strappet pays them.)
Little you thought that any of my kindred
Could pay a mortage for six thousand pounds
Down on the nail, my master! Does one good
Only to hear it ring.

(Turns up the stage with Heriot.)
Re-enter Skourlie, not perceiving them, with a flaggon and glass.
Skour.
Aye, that has strung
My nerves a little. Come, another pull— (Drinks.)

Now, I could face the devil!

Her.
(coming forward and startling him.)
If you're braced
To look on Satan, you may be less loath
To see his kinsman, Mammon.

Skour.
(much agitated.)
Sir, I know not—
Guess not, sir, what you mean.

Her.
But that we've brought you
The money, to discharge a certain mortgage
Upon Lord Nigel's lands, which, whether your's
Or your employer's, being in your name,
We call on you t'acquit.

Skour.
Sir, I incline
To think the time's expired. 'Tis now, you see,
Past six.

Her.
Yes, by your clock.

Skour.
A trusty time-piece,
From your own warehouse, Master Heriot.

Her.
'Twas
A trusty time-piece, when I sold it you:
But it should seem that even a clock may come
By keeping evil company, to lose
Its character.

Skour.
You should best know the hour.

Strap.
(pointing to the bags.)
All told and weigh'd.

Skour.
(calling at the side scene.)
Just run for Lord Dalgarno;
Nay, to make sure, I'll step myself and fetch him.

(Snatches up his hat, and runs towards the door.
Her.
(to Strappet.)
If thou'rt a man, keep fast the door. He seeks
But to put off the time.

Strap.
(placing his back against the door.)
We make the tender:
There's the gold, take or leave it.

Skour.
Gentlemen,
You think, perhaps, this makes Lord Nigel whole;
But you're deceived: he's charged with murder, sirs.

Her.
Thanks for your pleasant news; but we may save
That forfeit too, if you delay us not.

Strap.
Therefore, no shuffling, friend, lest your long ears
Be trimm'd a trifle shorter.

Skour.
O, you threaten?

Her.
No threat: a little kind advice, that's all.
Good man o'th'law, we know you: guess, perhaps,
Near what peculiar corner of Whitefriars
You were last night: therefore, the title-deeds!

Skour.
I must submit: I trust, I have been civil.
I've done; here's your receipt; and there, the deeds
You claim.
Strappet takes up the bundle of title-deeds, to which Skourlie points.
A knock is heard at the street-door.
Dalgarno! O, too late! too late:
That way, an't please you, gentlemen: 'twere ill
(Pointing to the door in the side scene.)
If you should meet.

Her.
Why, look you, then, to spare
A bustle in your house, I'll go your way;
But, pray conceive me, sir; I do not shun
Th'encounter: I am old enough to know
The law is mightier than your Lord Dalgarno,
Or any lord in England.

[Exeunt Heriot and Strappet.
Skour.
(Bowing after them.)
I'm beholden—
Your grateful slave: now, an eternal curse
Light on you both!
Enter Dalgarno.
My lord, your servant ever!

Dalg.
'Tis on the stroke of six. Now, Nigel! 'Sdeath,
What ails thee, trembler?

Skour.
Me, my lord! I'm glad—
I'm sorry—

Dalg.
Glad and sorry! hot and cold!
It is the time, thou peddling, petty larceny—
A church clock (supposed to be St. Dunstan's) strikes six.
The hour of wealth and vengeance! Hark! it strikes:
One, two, three, four, five, six! Well bang'd, brave hammers,
The knell of Nigel! Every iron peal
Has swung a manor! Come, the deeds: I long
To greet my title.

Skour.
I—my lord—the deeds—
I have them not.

Dalg.
You have them not! take care,
Varlet! why point you to that pile of money?

Skour.
It is your own—it is—

Dalg.
Not the redemption money
Of Nigel's mortgage? dare not say it is,
Or I'll divorce thy petti-fogging soul
From its base shell o'th'instant—

Skour.
(remonstrating in an agony of terror)
I must call
For help—'twas the law's act—what could I do?

Dalg.
Do! dost thou ask? What! were thy tricks, thy lies,
Quirks, quibbles, shuffles, oaths, all spent? all gone?
Or hold you those too good to be laid out
For my behoof? But mark me well—thou know'st
I've that, will hang thee.

Skour.
All that art and law
Can manage, I will try.

Dalg.
Do, or be sure
Thy lease of life and lies shalt not have long
To run! the task is easy—recollect
The hour was past before the tender made—
And see that there be punctual witnesses
To prove that fact.

Skour.
(recovering)
I'll prove that Nigel's friends
Used threats, aye, force:—I'd not been so ungrateful
To let your lordship's interests suffer, else.

Dalg.
That strain does better.—Whence i'th'name of evil
Comes this accursed dross?

Skour.
'Twas Heriot brought it.

Dalg.
Plague blight him! But there's yet a way, Here, take
The jewels.

[Gives him the jewels.
Skour.
To what use? they're known too well
To be disposed of.

Dalg.
Therefore, honestly
Restore them to King James.

Skour.
And whence shall I
Be taken to have got them?

Dalg.
You will say
That Nigel sold them to you: sold them, mind,
To you, this morning, in the town of Greenwich;
That, seeing them among your wares, and knowing
They were the king's, I bade you take them straight,
As my most humble off'ring, to his highness,
Making myself your debtor for the price.
That fiction serves two ends: commends my zeal,
And fixes Nigel with the stolen jewels
Scarce two hours from the robb'ry.

Skour.
That may serve.

Dalg.
It shall!

Skour.
The time grows short though; 'tis the hour
The king assigned to hear Lord Nigel's plea.

Dalg.
Well, to Whitehall then.—Heriot, hey? coax'd doubtless
By fair niece, Margaret. Dainty Machiavel!
When she shall hear the close compacted facts
Of last night's murder—all the witnesses
Cent'ring on Nigel, and th'auxiliar charge
Of the crown-jewels rivetting his doom,
O, then, how fast her pretty eyes will flash,
And drown themselves in passionate grievous tears—
While I, on his attainder, build a bridge
May bring me, by the royal grant, once more
Into these fair and forfeit lands of his,
Which this vile step let go. (Going.)


Skour.
Most skilful!—but
My Lord!

Dalg.
Well, Sirrah?

Skour.
You forgot to name
The price I am to have for giving up
These jewels to the king,

Dalg.
Make the work clear,
(Taking two of the bags and tossing them to Skourlie.
And take your wages.
(Exit Dalgarno.

Skour.
(Alone, looking after him.)
Aye, my lord, I will—
And then dissolve our firm. So now, to seek
The accomplice Peppercole; and, if I know
Aught of the way a bargain should be driven,
The large disclosures I can make, shall purchase
Justice on you, a pardon to myself,
And, haply, your coy Margaret for my wife.

[Exit.

SCENE II.

The southern exterior of Whitehall Palace, forms the scene on the left of the spectators. At the back, right and left, is the Thames, with the Surry hills. The nearer part of the stage represents the garden of the palace, reaching to to the River.
King James, Buckingham, Nigel, Sir Geoffry, Jin. Vin. Margaret, in her proper dress, Bridget, Lords, and attendants, officers, and crowd.
James.
And this is she! were we not right, my lord, (to Buckingham)

When we opined that this most comely boy
Was in good truth a girl? Perhaps ye thought
That our's was not a hawk's eye for such gear;
But old as ye may deem us, yet we know
As much of sic-like toys, as may beseem
A decent gravity.

Sir Geoff.
With shame she owns,
And craves forgiveness of her vain disguise.

Marg.
(Archly)
Then vainest, when against that royal wit
Which none may hope to baffle.

James.
Deftly spoken:
Heriot has taught the wench betimes to flatter.
But here is darker matter to be dealt with;
Robb'ry alledged, and murder— (To Nigel)
Now, my lord,
You've heard the charge. Are you prepared to bring
The woman forward? or through other means
Wipe off the strange suspicions cast on you,
Both by her father's death, and by her absence?

Nigel.
My liege, I know not of her. When we landed,
I bore her comp'ny through the dangerous alleys
That wind about Paul's wharf; and having seen her
Into the open street, there left her,—going
She said, to some of her own kin, with whom
She could have shelter. Since that time the woman
Has not been seen by me.

Hild.
I fear, by none.

Nigel.
She said she should attend her father's inquest.

Hild.
But never came.

James.
You've read the depositions
Of our Whitefriars Cor'ner, and the boatman.

Nigel.
I have, and do allow them.

Buck.
Fortune send
Your Majesty may find those jewels safe
Wherewith you trusted him— (aside)
which, had I known it,
You should have scarcely done.

James.
Doubtless you've raised
The money on them, and redeem'd your lands
As we gave warrant.

Enter Dalgarno, Skourlie, and Peppercole.
Nigel.
So, my Liege, I should,
Save for this old man's murder; but the jewels
Having been lodged with him to find a lender.—

James.
Are gone! I see! Stol'n in this burglary!

Nigel.
I do beseech your Majesty—

James.
(To Nigel)
Young Lord,
You've tax'd our patience far! Our jewels gone,
The lustre of our crown: we would have lost
A colony rather!

Dalg.
He that slew the us'rer
No doubt bore off the jewels; but, that Nigel,
My valued friend here, needy as he was,
Should have committed—

Nigel.
Only the respect (looking towards Dalgarno)

I owe your majesty, reins in the rage
Of my o'ergoaded spirit, when I see
Each act and passage of my life thus foully
Wrung to my ruin! How this plot was hatch'd,
I cannot fathom; but by whom 'twas spawn'd,
That I can guess at, and may punish yet.

James.
Were there a plot, think you our scent so dull,
We should not have unearth'd it? We have guess'd
At things as deep, I ween. Minion, resolve us,
Where are the jewels? Silent!

Dalg.
(To Skourlie.)
Now's the time!

Skour.
If it might please your majesty, forgive
My innocent part herein, I have some knowledge
Touching this matter.

James.
By my soul, thou hast
Our favour: speak!

Skour.
I am, so please your grace,
A scrivener by my trade, and versed in gold
And precious stones, no less than in the drift
Of honest usance. Comes to me this morning
That noble gentleman (pointing to Nigel)
with jewels, which
He said had been his father's; offering them
Below their value, to discharge some debts
Which play had drawn upon him.

Nigel.
Villain! dar'st thou—

James.
Who interrupts our business? You shall have
Your timely season.

Skour.
I entreat protection
While I rehearse the truth: you know you said so,
This very day, at Greenwich. Well, unknowing
From what high source they came, I bought the jewels,
And should have shipp'd them—

Dalg.
(Interrupting Skourlie and addressing the king.)
Sir, they're yours.

James.
(To Skourlie.)
Nay, speak—

Skour.
But that my Lord Dalgarno bought them of me,
To lay before your grace's feet.

Skourlie delivers the jewels to Dalgarno, who, kneeling, presents them to the king.
James.
True friend!
Avis rarissima, in courts, they say—
Of other princes,—Welcome, welcome, sparklers!
Ye bright and bonny boys, thrice welcome back!

Nigel.
Most gracious prince, this fellow's every word
Contains a perjury.—For his employer,
[Glancing towards Dalgarno.
Whose end in this suborning, is as plain
As the dev'l's mark can make it, all I ask
Is but to have my sland'rer stand before me
Within the strait, and stinted liberty
Of a fair ten-foot ring, my sword my own,
And five short minutes to decide our strife,
And if within that time and space, this hand
Pluck not the mystr'y forth—

James.
Have you no words
Fitter for royal ears, than such as breathe
Of lawless bloodshed?

Dalg.
I am silenced, sir,
Else, I could clamour in as high a strain,
And dare, and haply too, perform, as much
As this loud sir.

James.
(to Nigel)
Would you speak ought, my lord
In your defence, touching the usurer's death,
Or disappearance of his daughter?

Nigel.
Nothing.

James.
(to Hildebrod.)
Then bailiff, make your warrant of committal
Upon the charge of murder.

[Hildebrod writes: James counts the jewels.
Skour.
(aside to Margaret.)
Margaret!

Marg.
Wretch!

Skour.
I have kept my word thus far, and brought him
Close to the precipice: The power I had
To sink, I have to save him.

Marg.
Use this power,
And I will worship thee!

Skour.
You know the terms;—
Be mine, and Nigel lives.

Marg.
Horrible choice!

Skour.
You still refuse? then let the warrant go,
And Nigel perish.

Marg.
Oh, no more, no more!
Save him, at any price.

Skour.
The price I fix'd?

Marg.
(faintly.)
Ev'n so.

Skour.
(to James.)
A pardon, sir, has been proclaim'd
For any accessary, who shall bring
Conviction home, on those that did the murder;
Has that the sanction of your royal word?

James.
Aye, willingly.

Skour.
Come hither, Captain.

Pep.
Fear not;
I will stand to it.

Skour.
(To James)
Sir, I'm one, who long
Have trod in slipp'ry courses, gath'ring wealth,
Which fear forbade me to enjoy; but henceforth,
I mean to live more safely, and defy
The knaves that might betray me. Here is one.
(Taking Margaret by the hand.)
Who will sustain my good resolves: and straight,
For a reward she gives, I will impeach—

Dalg.
(aside to Skourlie, with much fierceness.)
Take care

Skour.
I shall! The real murd'rers—

Her.
(without)
Room!
Make room there!

Enter Heriot and Strappet, making way for Martha.
James.
What unsightly fair is this?

Nigel.
Kind heav'n, the old man's daughter!

Martha.
(arriving on the spot)
Do I come
In time?

Dalg.
Some new imposture, royal sir.
Dost thou affect to be the usurer's daughter?

Martha.
Dost thou affect to have forgotten me?
My memory, thou shalt find, is not so frail.

Hild.
Why, this is she, indeed.

James.
But wherefore cam'st not
Unto our inquest on thy father? How
Hast pass'd this day?

Martha.
As it was meet to pass
The first day of that life which Nigel saved,
In Nigel's service: in collecting means
To free (which with my kinsman's help's accomplish'd)
(Pointing to Strappet)
My benefactor's lands, pledged for a tithe
Of their true value. But the price to clear them
Could not be found 'twixt morning's dawn and six
This afternoon, ev'n by “the us'rer's daughter,”
Without some diligence,—and (seeing, too,
Whose politics th'attempt must clash withal,
My lord will apprehend)— (looking at Dalg.)
some secrecy.
For such cause only did I shroud myself
From observation, and avoid that inquest,
(Sighing.)
Where yet my heart was present.

Nigel.
There will come
A time for thanks.

James.
'Tis well you're living, woman;
But, the old man,—can you say aught that touches
Your father's murd'rer?

Martha.
(Pointing to Dalgarno.)
I impeach him, there.

Dalg.
She raves. This fearful issue has diseased
Her brain.

Martha.
My liege, if there be not a wound
On his left arm, like that Lord Nigel's fire
Dealt to th'assassin from whose grasp he saved me,
Then is my brain diseased, and I have wrong'd
A guiltless nobleman.

James.
(To Dalg.)
My lord! how say you
To this? Nay, strip your sleeve.

Dalg.
Some groom has told her
Of a late fall in hunting, where my wrist
Was grazed.

Martha.
(To Hildebrod.)
Speak, bailiff, do you know this scarf?

Hild.
The same, I fancy, which the murd'rer left
About your father's throat.

Martha.
Thou say'st it.

Dalg.
Haply
Left by the ill starr'd Nigel, in his haste
To quit the chamber.

Martha.
Left by Nigel? pray you,
How came Dalgarno's scarf to Nigel's hands?

James.
Dalgarno's scarf!

Martha.
My liege, I say the scarf
Of Lord Dalgarno: and a web, indeed,
Of no mean value; for, if I mistake not,
It was the gift of majesty.

James.
Indeed!

Dalg.
Where is the light'ning's bolt, that should strike dumb
This most audacious slander?

Martha.
May it please
Your grace inspect the piece; the letters shew
“Given to Dalgarno by the king.”

James.
(Putting the torn pieces together)
It is—
By our right royal word, it is the truth!

Marg.
(Breaking from Skourlie)
Stand off, detested man! the King has said it,
Nigel is innocent, and I am free!

Jin.
Then, at his choice, Jin. Vin. may hang or drown.

Bridg.
(Taking Strappet's arm:—archly to Jin. Vin.)
What, fly to death, because you're saved from marriage?

Skour.
(savagely)
Am I forestall'd, then, in discovery? and robb'd
Of this my prize?

Pep.
(much frightened, to the King)
Your grace will not recall
The pardon?

James.
We shall judge how far 'tis earn'd.

Skour.
I will tell all—spare but my life and money,
There's not a friend I have but I will give
Into the hand o'th'law. O, mercy, mercy!

[Exeunt Skourlie and Peppercole, guarded.
Dalg.
My Lord of Buckingham!

Buck.
Nay, not through me.

James.
(turning up the stage)
What can they hope, but that just punishment
Follow the guilty?

Dalg.
Punishment and justice!
Who'll give the word? Your grace— (To Buckingham.)
there may be secrets
Best left untold; nay, if, as men presume,
You have your master's ear, you may most humbly
Whisper the question, how his royal justice
Has follow'd Overbury's murd'rers? Aye,
Bid the sage prince beware: for I may raise (turning to James.)

A flame which, being kindled, will burn on,
Ev'n though the hearts' blood of his inmost minions
Should spout to quench it!

[Exit.
Buck.
Follow, and arrest him!

James.
'Twas well we took the hearing of your cause.
No mystery baffles us.

Nigel.
I know not where
I owe most gratitude: or to your grace,
Or to this gen'rous woman (looking at Martha)
—or to her (taking Margaret's hand.)

Whom nothing, less than all my life, can show
How much I love!

James.
Why, then, take all thy life
To show it: and for you, young mistress, (to Margaret)
—mind
When you put on the wife, leave off the breeches.
Now for your masque: I doubt though if 'twill yield us
A plot more pregnant than your fortunes, Nigel;
Themselves, perhaps, no unmeet argument
To ground a play hereafter. May it find
All favour and applause: provided always
Our royal part therein be bodied forth
With fitting rev'rence.—Come, the masque! the masque!