_Cal_. And on this testimony would he perish?
_Ben_. So your confession be detailed and full, 80 He will stand here in peril of his life.
_Cal_. Then look well to thy proud self, President!
For by the Eternity which yawns before me, I swear that _thou_, and only thou, shall be The traitor I denounce upon that rack, If I be stretched there for the second time.
_One of the Giunta_. Lord President,"twere best proceed to judgment; There is no more to be drawn from these men.[fc]
_Ben_. Unhappy men! prepare for instant death.
The nature of your crime--our law--and peril 90 The State now stands in, leave not an hour"s respite.
Guards! lead them forth, and upon the balcony Of the red columns, where, on festal Thursday,[450]
The Doge stands to behold the chase of bulls, Let them be justified: and leave exposed Their wavering relics, in the place of judgment, To the full view of the a.s.sembled people!
And Heaven have mercy on their souls!
_The Giunta_. Amen!
_I. Ber_. Signors, farewell! we shall not all again Meet in one place.
_Ben_. And lest they should essay 100 To stir up the distracted mult.i.tude-- Guards! let their mouths be gagged[451] even in the act Of execution. Lead them hence!
_Cal_. What! must we Not even say farewell to some fond friend, Nor leave a last word with our confessor?
_Ben_. A priest is waiting in the antechamber; But, for your friends, such interviews would be Painful to them, and useless all to you.
_Cal_. I knew that we were gagged in life; at least All those who had not heart to risk their lives 110 Upon their open thoughts; but still I deemed That in the last few moments, the same idle Freedom of speech accorded to the dying, Would not now be denied to us; but since----
_I. Ber_. Even let them have their way, brave Calendaro!
What matter a few syllables? let"s die Without the slightest show of favour from them; So shall our blood more readily arise To Heaven against them, and more testify To their atrocities, than could a volume 120 Spoken or written of our dying words!
They tremble at our voices--nay, they dread Our very silence--let them live in fear!
Leave them unto their thoughts, and let us now Address our own above!--Lead on; we are ready.
_Cal_. Israel, hadst thou but hearkened unto me It had not now been thus; and yon pale villain, The coward Bertram, would----
_I. Ber_. Peace, Calendaro!
What brooks it now to ponder upon this?
_Bert_. Alas! I fain you died in peace with me: 130 I did not seek this task; "twas forced upon me: Say, you forgive me, though I never can Retrieve my own forgiveness--frown not thus!
_I. Ber_. I die and pardon thee!
_Cal_. (_spitting at him_).[452] I die and scorn thee!
[_Exeunt_ ISRAEL BERTUCCIO _and_ PHILIP CALENDARO, _Guards, etc_.
_Ben_. Now that these criminals have been disposed of, "Tis time that we proceed to pa.s.s our sentence Upon the greatest traitor upon record In any annals, the Doge Faliero!
The proofs and process are complete; the time And crime require a quick procedure: shall 140 He now be called in to receive the award?
_The Giunta_. Aye, aye.
_Ben_. Avogadori, order that the Doge Be brought before the Council.
_One of the Giunta_. And the rest, When shall they be brought up?
_Ben_. When all the Chiefs Have been disposed of. Some have fled to Chiozza; But there are thousands in pursuit of them, And such precaution ta"en on terra firma, As well as in the islands, that we hope None will escape to utter in strange lands His libellous tale of treasons "gainst the Senate. 150
_Enter the_ DOGE _as Prisoner, with Guards, etc., etc._
_Ben_. Doge--for such still you are, and by the law Must be considered, till the hour shall come When you must doff the Ducal Bonnet from That head, which could not wear a crown more n.o.ble Than Empires can confer, in quiet honour, But it must plot to overthrow your peers, Who made you what you are, and quench in blood A City"s glory--we have laid already Before you in your chamber at full length, By the Avogadori, all the proofs 160 Which have appeared against you; and more ample Ne"er reared their sanguinary shadows to Confront a traitor. What have you to say In your defence?
_Doge_. What shall I say to ye, Since my defence must be your condemnation?
You are at once offenders and accusers, Judges and Executioners!--Proceed Upon your power.
_Ben_. Your chief accomplices Having confessed, there is no hope for you.
_Doge_. And who be they?
_Ben_. In number many; but 170 The first now stands before you in the court, Bertram of Bergamo,--would you question him?
_Doge_ (_looking at him contemptuously_). No.
_Ben_. And two others, Israel Bertuccio, And Philip Calendaro, have admitted Their fellowship in treason with the Doge!
_Doge_. And where are they?
_Ben_. Gone to their place, and now Answering to Heaven for what they did on earth.
_Doge_. Ah! the plebeian Brutus, is he gone?
And the quick Ca.s.sius of the a.r.s.enal?-- How did they meet their doom?
_Ben_. Think of your own: 180 It is approaching. You decline to plead, then?[fd]
_Doge_. I cannot plead to my inferiors, nor Can recognise your legal power to try me.
Show me the law!
_Ben_. On great emergencies, The law must be remodelled or amended: Our fathers had not fixed the punishment Of such a crime, as on the old Roman tables The sentence against parricide was left In pure forgetfulness; they could not render That penal, which had neither name nor thought 190 In their great bosoms; who would have foreseen That Nature could be filed to such a crime[453]
As sons "gainst sires, and princes "gainst their realms?
Your sin hath made us make a law which will Become a precedent "gainst such haught traitors, As would with treason mount to tyranny; Not even contented with a sceptre, till They can convert it to a two-edged sword!
Was not the place of Doge sufficient for ye?
What"s n.o.bler than the signory[454] of Venice? 200
_Doge_. The signory of Venice! You betrayed me-- _You--you_, who sit there, traitors as ye are!
From my equality with you in birth, And my superiority in action, You drew me from my honourable toils In distant lands--on flood, in field, in cities-- _You_ singled me out like a victim to Stand crowned, but bound and helpless, at the altar Where you alone could minister. I knew not, I sought not, wished not, dreamed not the election, 210 Which reached me first at Rome, and I obeyed; But found on my arrival, that, besides The jealous vigilance which always led you To mock and mar your Sovereign"s best intents, You had, even in the interregnum[455] of My journey to the capital, curtailed And mutilated the few privileges Yet left the Duke: all this I bore, and would Have borne, until my very hearth was stained By the pollution of your ribaldry, 220 And he, the ribald, whom I see amongst you-- Fit judge in such tribunal!----
_Ben_. (_interrupting him_). Michel Steno Is here in virtue of his office, as One of the Forty; "the Ten" having craved A Giunta of patricians from the Senate To aid our judgment in a trial arduous And novel as the present: he was set Free from the penalty p.r.o.nounced upon him, Because the Doge, who should protect the law, Seeking to abrogate all law, can claim 230 No punishment of others by the statutes Which he himself denies and violates!
_Doge_. _His_ punishment! I rather see him _there_, Where he now sits, to glut him with my death, Than in the mockery of castigation, Which your foul, outward, juggling show of justice Decreed as sentence! Base as was his crime, "Twas purity compared with your protection.
_Ben_. And can it be, that the great Doge of Venice, With three parts of a century of years 240 And honours on his head, could thus allow His fury, like an angry boy"s, to master All Feeling, Wisdom, Faith and Fear, on such A provocation as a young man"s petulance?