Its false and true enchantments-art and nature,
Which swarm before my giddy eyes, that drank
The sight of beauty as the parch'd pilgrim's
On Arab sands the false mirage, which offers
A lucid lake to his eluded thirst,
Are gone.-Around me are the stars and waters—
Worlds mirror'd in the ocean, goodlier sight
Than torches glared back by a gaudy glass;
And the great element, which is to space
What ocean is to earth, spreads its blue depths,
Soften'd with the first breathings of the spring;
The high moon sails upon her beauteous way,
Serenely smoothing o'er the lofty walls
Of those tall piles and sea-girt palaces,
Whose porphyry pillars, and whose costly fronts,
Fraught with the orient spoil of many marbles,
Like altars ranged along the broad canal,
Seem each a trophy of some mighty deed
Rear'd up from out the waters, scarce less strangely
Than those more massy and mysterious giants
Of architecture, those Titanian fabrics,
Which point in Egypt's plains to times that have
No other record. All is gentle: nought
Stirs rudely; but, congenial with the night,
Whatever walks is gliding like a spirit.
The tinklings of some vigilant guitars
Of sleepless lovers to a wakeful mistress,
And cautious opening of the casement, showing
That he is not unheard; while her young hand,
Fair as the moonlight of which it seems a part,
So delicately white, it trembles in
The act of opening the forbidden lattice,
To let in love through music, makes his heart
Thrill like his lyre-strings at the sight;-the dash
Phosphorie of the oar, or rapid twinkle
Of the far lights of skimming gondolas,
And the responsive voices of the choir
Of boatmen answering back with verse for verse;
Some dusky shadow checkering the Rialto;
Some glimmering palace roof, or tapering spire,
Are all the sights and sounds which here pervade
The ocean-born and earth-commanding city-
How sweet and soothing is this hour of calm!
I thank thee, Night! for thou hast chased away
Those horrid bodements which, amidst the throng,
I could not dissipate; and with the blessing
Of thy benign and quiet influence,-
Now will I to my couch, although to rest
Is almost wronging such a night as this
[A knocking is heard from without. Hark! what is that? or who at such a moment?
I have no time to lose, nor thou-dismiss
This menial hence; I would be private with you.
Lioni. It seems the voice of Bertram-Go, Anto-
[Exit ANTONIO.
Now, stranger, what would you at such an hour?
Ber. (discovering himself.) A bocn, my noble
patron; you have granted
Many to your poor client, Bertram; add
This one, and make him happy.
Lioni.
Thou hast known me
From boyhood, ever ready to assist thee
In all fair objects of advancement, which
Beseem one of thy station; I would promise
Ere thy request was heard, but that the hour,
Thy bearing, and this strange and hurried mode
Of suing, gives me to suspect this visit
Hath some mysterious import-but say on-
What has occurred, some rash and sudden broil ?—
A cup too much, a scuffle, and a stab?—
Mere things of every day; so that thou hast not
Spilt noble blood, I guarantee thy safety;
But then thou must withdraw, for angry friends
And relatives, in the first burst of vengeance,
Are things in Venice deadlier than the laws.
Ber. My lord, I thank you; but―
Lioni.
But what? You have not
Raised a rash hand against one of our order?
If so, withdraw and fly, and own it not;
I would not slay-but then I must not save thee!
He who has shed patrician blood-
I come
Ant. My lord, a man without, on urgent business, Till I return! Implores to be admitted. Lioni.
Ant. His face is muffled in his cloak, but both
His voice and gestures seem'd familiar to me;
I craved his name, but this he seem'd reluctant
To trust, save to yourself; most earnestly
He sues to be permitted to approach you.
Lioni. 'Tis a strange hour, and a suspicious
bearing!
And yet there is slight peril: 'tis not in
Their houses noblemen are struck at; still,
Although I know not that I have a foe
In Venice, 'twill be wise to use some caution.
Admit him and retire; but call up quickly
Some of thy fellows, who may wait without.-
Again, what does this mean? Ber. Again, I tell thee, ask not; but by all Thou holdest dear on earth or heaven-by all The souls of thy great fathers, and thy hope To emulate them, and to leave behind Descendants worthy both of them and theeBy all thou hast of blest in hope or memoryBy all thou hast to fear here or hereafterBy all the good deeds thou hast done to me, Good I would now repay with greater good, Remain within, trust to thy household gods, And to my word for safety, if thou dost As now I counsel-but if not, thou art lost!
Lioni. I am indeed already lost in wonder; Surely thou ravest! what have I to dread?
This is not thy own language nor own thoughts;
Some wretch has made thee drunk with disaffection:
But thou must not be lost so; thou wert good
And kind, and art not fit for such base acts
As vice and villany would put thee too:
Confess confide in me-thou know'st my nature-
What is it thou and thine are bound to do,
Which should prevent thy friend, the only son
Of him who was a friend unto thy father,
So that our good-will is a heritage
We should bequeath to our posterity
Such as ourselves received it, or augmented;
I say, what is it thou must do, that I
Should deem thee dangerous, and keep the house
Ber. Then Heaven have mercy on thy soul!-Like a sick girl?
Farewell!
[Going. Ber.
Lioni. Stay-there is more in this than my own I must be gone.-
Lioni.
Nay, question me no further.
Which makes me call thee back: we must not part Was it not thus thou said'st, my gentle Bertram? thus.
Bertram, I have known thee long.
Ber.
Ber. Who talks of murder? what said I of
murder?-
From childhood, signor, 'Tis false! I did not utter such a word.
Lioni. Thou didst not; but from out thy wolfish
You have been my protector; in the days
Of reckless infancy, when rank forgets,
Or, rather, is not yet taught to remember
Its cold prerogative, we play'd together;
So changed from what I knew it, there glares forth
The gladiator. If my life's thine object,
Our sports, our smiles, our tears, were mingled oft; Take it-I am unarm'd,—and then away!
My father was your father's client, I
His son's scarce less than foster-brother; years
Saw us together-happy, heart-full hours!
Oh God! the difference 'twixt those hours and this!
Lioni. Bertram, 'tis thou who hast forgotten them.
Ber. Nor now, nor ever; whatsoe'er betide,
I would have saved you: when to manhood's growth
We sprung, and you, devoted to the state,
As suits your station, the more humble Bertram
Was left unto the labors of the humble,
Still you forsook me not: and if my fortunes
Have not been towering. 'twas no fault of him
Who ofttimes rescued and supported me
When struggling with the tides of circumstance
Which bear away the weaker: noble blood
Ne'er mantled in a nobler heart than thine
Has proved to me, the poor plebeian Bertram.
Would that thy fellow senators were like thee?
Lioni. Why, what hast thou to say against the
senate?
Ber. Nothing.
Lioni.
I know that there are angry spirits
And turbulent mutterers of stifled treason,
Who lurk in narrow places, and walk out
Muffled to whisper curses to the night;
Disbanded soldiers, discontented ruffians,
And desperate libertines who brawl in taverns;
Thou herdest not with such; 'tis true, of late
I have lost sight of thee, but thou wert wont
To lead a temperate life, and break thy bread
With honest mates, and bear a cheerful aspect.
What hath come to thee? in thy hollow eye
And hueless cheek, and thine unquiet motions,
Sorrow and shame and conscience seem at war
To waste thee.
Ber.
Rather shame and sorrow light
On the accursed tyranny which rides
The very air in Venice, and makes men
Madden as in the last hours of the plague
Which sweeps the soul deliriously from life!
Lioni. Some villains have been tampering with
thee, Bertram:
I would not hold my breath on such a tenure
As the capricious mercy of such things
As thou and those who have set thee to thy task-
work.
Ber. Sooner than spill thy blood, I peril mine;
Sooner than harm a hair of thine, I place
In jeopardy a thousand heads, and some
As noble, nay, even nobler than thine own.
Lioni. Ay, is it even so? Excuse me, Bertram;
I am not worthy to be singled out
From such exalted hecatombs-who are they
That are in danger, and that make the danger?
Ber. Venice, and all that she inherits, are
Divided like a house against itself,
And so will perish ere to-morrow's twilight!
Lioni. More mysteries, and awful ones! But
Or thou, or I, or both, it may be, are
Upon the verge of ruin; speak once out,
And thou art safe and glorious; for 'tis more
Glorious to save than slay, and slay i' the dark
Fie, Bertram! that was not a craft for thee!
How would it look to see upon a spear
The head of him whose heart was open to thee,
Borne by thy hand before the shuddering people?
And such may be my doom; for here I swear,
Whate'er the peril or the penalty
Of thy denunciation, I go forth,
Unless thou dost detail the cause, and show
The consequence of all which led thee here!
Ber. Is there no way to save thee? minutes fly,
And thou art lost! thou! my sole benefactor,
The only being who was constant to me
Through every change. Yet, make me not
traitor!
Let me save thee-but spare my honor!
Lioni.
Can lie the honor in a league of murder?
And who are traitors save unto the state?
Ber. A league is still a compact, and more binding
In honest hearts when words must stand for law;
And in my mind, there is no traitor like
Him whose domestic treason plants the poniard
Within the breast which trusted to his truth.
Lioni. And who will strike the steel to mine!
Ber.
Not I;
I could have wound my soul up to all things
Save this. Thou must not die! and think how dear
Thy life is, when I risk so many lives,
Nay, more, the life of lives, the liberty
Of future generations, not to be
The assassin thou miscall'st me;-once, once more
I do adjure thee, pass not o'er thy threshold!
Lioni. It is in vain-this moment I go forth.
Ber. Then perish Venice rather than my friend!
I will disclose ensnare-betray-destroy-
Oh, what a villain I become for thee!
The Ducal Palace-the Doge's Apartment.
The DooE and his nephew BERTUCCIO FALIERO.
Doge. Are all the people of our house in muster?
Ber. F. They are array'd and eager for the signal,
Within our palace precincts at San Polo.4
I come for your last orders.
Doge.
It had been
As well had there been time to have got together,
From my own fief, Val di Marino, more
Of our retainers-but it is too late.
Ber. F. Methinks, my lord, 'tis better as it is A sudden swelling of our retinue
Had waked suspicion; and, though fierce and trusty,
Lioni. Say, rather thy friend's savior and the The vassals of that district are too rude
Speak-pause not-all rewards, all pledges for
Thy safety and thy welfare; wealth such as
The state accords her worthiest servants; nay,
Nobility itself I guarantee thee,
So that thou art sincere and penitent.
And quick in quarrel to have long maintain'd
The secret discipline we need for such
A service, till our foes are dealt upon.
Doge. True; but when once the signal has been given,
These are the men for such an enterprise;
Ber. I have thought again: it must not be-I These city slaves have all their private bias,
Thou knowest it-that I stand here is the proof,
Not least though last; but having done my duty
By thee, I now must do it to my country!
Farewell-we meet no more in life!-farewell!
Lioni. What, ho!-Antonio-Pedro-to the door!
See that none pass-arrest this man !—————
Their prejudice against or for this noble,
Which may induce them to o'erdo or spare
Where mercy may be madness; the fierce peasants,
Serfs of my county of Val di Marino,
Would do the bidding of their lord without
Distinguishing for love or hate his foes;
Alike to them Marcello or Cornaro,
A Gradenigo or a Foscari;
Enter ANTONIO and other armed Domestics, who They are not used to start at those vain names,
He hath no harm; bring me my sword and cloak,
And man the gondola with four oars-quick-
[Exit ANTONIO.
We will unto Giovanni Gradenigo's,
And send for Marc Cornaro :-fear not, Bertram;
This needful violence is for thy safety,
No less than for the general weal.
Ber.
Nor bow the knee before a civic senate;
A chief in armor is their Suzerain,
And not a thing in robes.
Ber. F.
We are enough;
And for the dispositions of our clients
Against the senate I will answer.
The die is thrown; but for a warlike service,
Done in the field, commend me to my peasants;
Where wouldst thou They made the sun shine through the host of Huns
When sallow burghers slunk back to their tents,
And cower'd to hear their own victorious trumpet.
If there be small resistance, you will find
These citizens all lions, like their standard;
But if there's much to do, you'll wish with me,
A band of iron rustics at our backs.
Assuredly:
Ber.
Perhaps at sunrise-
Lioni. What mean you?-but we'll know anon.
Ber.
Art sure?
Lioni. Sure as all gentle means can make; and if
They fail, you know "the Ten" and their tribunal,
And that Saint Mark's has dungeons, and the
dungeons
Is he not chief of the state?
Ber F. Thus thinking, I must marvel you resolve
To strike the blow so suddenly.
Doge.
Such blows
Must be struck suddenly or never. When
I had o'ermaster'd the weak false remorse
Which yearn'd about my heart too fondly yielding
A moment to the feelings of old days,
I was most fain to strike; and, firstly, that
I might not yield again to such emotions;
Save Israel and Philip Calendaro,
And, secondly, because of all these men,
I knew not well the courage or the faith:
To-day might find 'mong them a traitor to us,
As yesterday a thousand to the senate;
But once in, with their hilts hot in their hands,
They must on for their own sakes; one stroke struck
And the mere instinct of the first-born Cain,
Which ever lurks somewhere in human hearts,
Though circumstance may keep it in abeyance,
[Exeunt. 'Will urge the rest on like to wolves; the sight
The bark is ready,
My lord, and all prepared.
Lioni.
Look to the prisoner.
Bertram, I'll reason with thee as we go
To the Magnifico's, sage Gradenigo.
Of blood to crowds begets the thirst of more, As the first wine-cup leads to the long revel; And you will find a harder task to quell
Glut the more careless swords of those leagued with us.
Remember that the cry is still "Saint Mark!
Than urge them when they have commenced, but The Genoese are come-ho! to the rescue! till
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By this time they are;
But they have orders not to strike, until
They have command from you through me in person.
Doge. 'Tis well.-Will the morn never put to rest
These stars which twinkle yet o'er all the heavens?
I am settled and bound up, and being so,
The very effort which it cost me to
Resolve to cleanse this commonwealth with fire,
Now leaves my mind more steady. I have wept,
And trembled at the thought of this dread duty,
But now I have put down all idle passion,
And look the growing tempest in the face,
As doth the pilot of an admiral galley:
Yet (wouldst thou think it, kinsman ?) it hath been
A greater struggle to me, than when nations
Beheld their fate merged in the approaching fight
Where I was leader of a phalanx, where
Thousands were sure to perish-Yes, to spill
The rank polluted current from the veins
Of a few bloated despots needed more
To steel me to a purpose such as made
Timoleon immortal, than to face
The toils and dangers of a life of war.
Saint Mark and liberty!"-Now-now to action! Ber. F. Farewell then, noble uncle! we will meet In freedom and true sovereignty, or never!
Doge. Come hither, my Bertuccio-one embrace→→ Speed, for the day grows broader-Send me soon A messenger to tell me how all goes
When you rejoin our troops, and then soundsound
The storm-bell from Saint Mark's!
[Exit BERTUCCIO FALIERO.
He is gone,
And on each footstep moves a life.-"Tis done.
Now the destroying Angel hovers o'er
Venice, and pauses ere he pours the vial,
Even as the eagle overlooks his prey,
And for a moment, poised in middle air,
Suspends the motion of his mighty wings,
Then swoops with his unerring beak.-Thou day!
That slowly walk'st the waters! march-march on-
I would not smite i' the dark, but rather see
That no stroke errs. And you, ye blue sea-waves!
I have seen you dyed ere now, and deeply too,
With Genoese, Saracen, and Hunnish gore,
While that of Venice flow'd too, but victorious:
Now thou must wear an unmix'd crimson; no
Barbaric blood can reconcile us now
Unto that horrible incarnadine,
But friend or foe will roll in civic slaughter.
And have I lived to fourscore years for this?
I, who was named Preserver of the City?
Ber. F. It gladdens me to see your former wis-I, at whose name the million's caps were flung
Subdue the furies which so wrung you ere You were decided.
Doge.
With me; the hour of agitation came
In the first glimmerings of a purpose, when
Passion had too much room to sway; but in
The hour of action I have stood as calm
As were the dead who lay around me: this
They knew who made me what I am, and trusted
To the subduing power which I preserved
Over my mood, when its first burst was spent.
But they were not aware that there are things
Which make revenge a virtue by reflection,
And not an impulse of mere anger; though
The laws sleep, justice wakes, and injured souls
Oft do a public right with private wrong,
And justify their deeds unto themselves.-
Methinks the day breaks-is it not so ? look,
Thine eyes are clear with youth;-the air puts on
A morning freshness, and, at least to me,
The sea looks grayer through the lattice.
Ber. F.
The morn is dappling in the sky.
Doge.
Away then!
See that they strike without delay, and with
The first toll from St. Mark's, march on the palace
With all our house's strength; here I will meet
you-
The Sixteen and their companies will move
In separate columns at the self-same moment-
Be sure you post yourself by the great gate;
I would not trust "the Ten" except to us-
The rest, the rabble of patricians, may
Into the air, and cries from tens of thousands
Rose up, imploring Heaven to send me blessings,
And fame, and length of days-to see this day?
But this day, black within the calendar,
Shall be succeeded by a bright millennium.
Doge Dandolo survived to ninety summers
To vanquish empires, and refuse their crown.
I will resign a crown, and make the state
Renew its freedom-but oh! by what means?
The noble end must justify them-What
Are a few drops of human blood? 'tis false,
The blood of tyrants is not human; they,
Like to incarnate Molochs, feed on ours,
Until 'tis time to give them to the tombs
Which they have made so populous.-Oh world!
Oh men! what are ye, and our best designs,
That we must work by crime to punish crime?
And slay as if Death had but this one gate,
When a few years would make the sword super-
fluous ?
And I, upon the verge of th' unknown realm,
Yet send so many heralds on before me?—
I must not ponder this.
[A pause.
Hark! was there not
A murmur as of distant voices, and
The tramp of feet in martial unison?
What phantoms even of sound our wishes raiseꞌ
It cannot be the signal hath not rung-
Why pauses it? My nephew's messenger
Should be upon his way to me, and he
Himself perhaps even now draws grating back
Upon its ponderous hinge the steep tower portal,
Where swings the sullen huge oracular bell,
Which never knells but for a princely death,
Dr for a state in peril, pealing forth
Tremendous bodements; let it do its office,
And be this peal its awfullest and last.
Sound till the strong tower rock!-What! silent
still?
I would go forth, but that my post is here,
To be the centre of reunion to
The oft discordant elements which form
Leagues of this nature, and to keep compact
The wavering of the weak, in case of conflict;
For if they should do battle, 'twill be here,
Within the palace, that the strife will thicken;
Then here must be my station, as becomes
The master-mover.-Hark! he comes-he comes,
My nephew, brave Bertuccio's messenger.-
What tidings? Is he marching? hath he sped?—
They here! all's lost-yet will I make an effort.
Enter a SIGNOR OF THE NIGHT, with Guards, &c., &c.
Sig. Doge, I arrest thee of high treason!
Doge.
Me!
Thy prince, of treason?-Who are they that dare
Cloak their own treason under such an order?
Sig. (showing his order.) Behold my order from
the assembled Ten.
Doge. And where are they, and why assembled? no
Such council can be lawful, till the prince
Preside there, and that duty's mine: on thine
I charge thee, give me way, or marshal me
To the council chamber.
Sig.
Duke! it may not be ;
Nor are they in the wonted Hall of Council,
But sitting in the convent of Saint Saviour's.
Doge. You dare to disobey me then?
Sig.
The state, and needs must serve it faithfully;
My warrant is the will of those who rule it.
Doge. And till that warrant has my signature
It is illegal, and, as now applied,
Rebellious-Hast thou weigh'd well thy life's worth,
That thus you dare assume a lawless function?
Sig. "Tis not my office to reply, but act-
I am placed here as guard upon thy person,
And not as judge to hear or to decide.
Doge, (aside.) I must gain time-So that the storm-bell sound
All may be well yet.-Kinsman, speed-speedspeed!
Our fate is trembling in the balance, and
Wo to the vanquish'd! be they prince and people, Or slaves and senate
[The great bell of St. Mark's tolls. Lo! it sounds-it tolls. Doge, (aloud.) Hark, Signor of the Night! and you, ye hirelings,
Who wield your mercenary staves in fear,
It is your knell Swell on, thou lusty peal!
Now, knaves, what ransom for your lives?
Sig.
Stand to your arms, and guard the door-all's lost
Unless that fearful bell be silenced soon.
The officer hath miss'd his path or purpose,
Or met some unforseen and hideous obstacle.
Anselmo, with thy company proceed
Straight to the tower; the rest remain with me.
[Exit a part of the Guard.
Doge. Wretch! if thou wouldst have thy vile life,
implore it;
It is not now a lease of sixty seconds. Ay, send thy miserable ruffians forth; They never shall return.
Sig. So let it be! They die then in their duty, as will I.
Doge. Fool! the high eagle flies at nobler game
Than thou and thy base myrmidons,-live on,
So thou provok'st not peril by resistance,
And learn (if souls so much obscured can bear
To gaze upon the sunbeams) to be free.
Sig. And learn thou to be captive-It hath ceased,
[The bell ceases to toll.
The traitorous signal, which was to have set
The bloodhound mob on their patrician prey-
The knell hath rung, but it is not the senate's!
Doge, (after a pause.) All's silent, and all's lost!
Sig.
Now, Doge, denounce me
As rebel slave of a revolted council!
Have I not done my duty?
Doge.
Peace, thou thing!
Thou hast done a worthy deed, and earn'd the price
Of blood, and they who use thee will reward thee.
But thou wert sent to watch, and not to prate,
As thou said'st even now-then do thine office,
But let it be in silence, as behoves thee,
Since, though thy prisoner, I am thy prince.
Sig. I did not mean to fail in the respect
Due to your rank in this I shall obey you.
Doge, (aside.) There now is nothing left me save
to die ;
And yet how near success! I would have fallen,
And proudly, in the hour of triumph, but
To miss it thus!-
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Are all in chains, and some even now on trial-
Their followers are dispersed, and many taken.
Ber. F. Uncle !
Doge.
It is in vain to war with Fortune;
The glory hath departed from our house.
Ber. F. Who would have deem'd it?-Ah! one
moment sooner!
Doge. That moment would have changed the face of ages;
This gives us to eternity-We'll meet it
As men whose triumph is not in success,
But who can make their own minds all in all,
Equal to every fortune. Droop not, 'tis
But a brief passage-I would go alone,
Yet if they send us, as 'tis like, together,
Let us go worthy of our sires and selves.
Ber. F. I shall not shame you, uncle.
1st. Sig.
Lords, our orders
Are to keep guard on both in separate chambers,
Until the council call ye to your trial.
Doge. Our trial! will they keep their mockery up,
Even to the last? but let them deal upon us,
As we had dealt on them, but with less pomp.
'Tis but a game of mutual homicides,
Who have cast lots for the first death, and they
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