The Complete Plays (47 page)

Wherein the Turk hath yoked your land and you?

What will you give me if I render you

80    The life of Calymath, surprise his men,

And in an
outhouse
of the city shut

His soldiers till I have consumed 'em all with fire?

What will you give him that procureth this?

FERNEZE

Do but bring this to pass which thou
pretendest
,

Deal truly with us as thou intimatest,

And I will send amongst the citizens

And by my letters privately procure

Great sums of money for thy recompense.

Nay, more; do this, and live thou governor still.

BARABAS

90    Nay, do thou this, Ferneze, and be free.

Governor, I enlarge thee. Live with me,

Go walk about the city, see thy friends.

Tush, send not letters to 'em, go thyself,

And let me see what money thou canst make.

Here is my hand that I'll set Malta free.

And thus we
cast it
: to a solemn feast

I will invite young Selim Calymath,

Where be thou present only to perform

One stratagem that I'll impart to thee,

100           Wherein no danger shall betide thy life,

And I will warrant Malta free for ever.

FERNEZE

Here is my hand. Believe me, Barabas,

I will be there and do as thou desirest.

When is the time?

BARABAS
        Governor, presently.

For Calymath, when he hath viewed the town,

Will take his leave and sail toward
Ottoman
.

FERNEZE

Then will I, Barabas,
about this coin
,

And bring it with me to thee in the evening.

BARABAS

Do so, but fail not. Now farewell, Ferneze.

[
Exit
FERNEZE.
]

And thus far roundly goes the business.

110   Thus, loving neither, will I live with both,

Making a profit of
my policy;

And he from whom my most advantage comes

Shall be my friend.

This is the life we Jews are used to lead,

And reason, too, for Christians do the like.

Well, now about effecting this device:

First, to surprise great Selim's soldiers,

And then to make provision for the feast,

That at one instant all things may be done.

120   My policy detests prevention.

To what event my secret purpose drives,

I know, and they shall witness with their lives.

Exit.

Enter
CALYMATH
[
and
]
BASHAWS.

CALYMATH

Thus have we viewed the city, seen the sack,

And caused the ruins to be new repaired,

Which with our bombards' shot and basilisks

We rent in sunder at our entry.

And, now I see the situation,

And how secure this conquered island stands

Environed with the Mediterranean Sea,

Strong
countermured
with other petty isles,

And,
toward Calabria
, backed by Sicily

(
Where
Syracusian
Dionysius
reigned),

10    
Two lofty turrets
that command the town –

I wonder how it could be conquered thus.

Enter a
MESSENGER.

MESSENGER

From Barabas, Malta's governor, I bring

A message unto mighty Calymath.

Hearing his sovereign was bound for sea

To sail to Turkey, to
great Ottoman
,

He humbly would entreat your majesty

To come and see his homely citadel

And banquet with him ere thou leav'st the isle.

CALYMATH

20    To banquet with him in his citadel?

I fear me, messenger, to feast my train

Within a town of war so lately pillaged

Will be too costly and too troublesome.

Yet would I gladly visit Barabas,

For well has Barabas deserved of us.

MESSENGER

Selim, for that, thus saith the governor:

That he hath in store a pearl so big,

So precious, and withal so orient,

As, be it valued but indifferently,

30    The price thereof will serve to entertain

Selim and all his soldiers for a month.

Therefore he humbly would entreat your highness

Not to depart till he has feasted you.

CALYMATH

I cannot feast my men in Malta walls,

Except he place his tables in the streets.

MESSENGER

Know, Selim, that there is a monastery

Which standeth as an outhouse to the town.

There will he banquet them, but thee at home,

With all thy bashaws and brave followers.

CALYMATH

40    Well, tell the governor we grant his suit.

We'll in this summer evening feast with him.

MESSENGER
I shall, my lord.

Exit
[
MESSENGER
].

CALYMATH

And now, bold bashaws, let us to our tents,

And meditate how we may grace us best

To solemnize our governor's great feast.

Exeunt
.

Enter
FERNEZE
,
KNIGHTS
, [
and
MARTIN
]
DEL BOSCO
.

FERNEZE

In this, my countrymen, be ruled by me:

Have special care that no man sally forth

Till you shall hear a
culverin
discharged

By him that bears the linstock, kindled thus;

Then issue out and come to rescue me,

For happily I shall be in distress,

Or you releasèd of this servitude.

FIRST KNIGHT

Rather than thus to live as Turkish thralls,

What will we not
adventure
?

FERNEZE

On then, begone.

10     
FIRST KNIGHT
                        Farewell, grave governor.

[
Exeunt
.]

Enter
[
BARABAS
]
with a hammer above, very busy
, [
and
CARPENTERS
].

BARABAS

How stand the cords? How hang these hinges, fast?

Are all the cranes and pulleys sure?

CARPENTER
                     All fast.

BARABAS

Leave nothing loose, all
levelled
to my mind.

Why, now I see that you have art indeed.

[
He gives money
.]

There, carpenters, divide that gold amongst you.

Go swill in bowls of sack and muscadine;

Down to the cellar, taste of all my wines.

CARPENTER

We shall, my lord, and thank you.

Exeunt
[
CARPENTERS
].

BARABAS

And if you like them, drink your fill and
die;

10    For,
so
I live, perish may all the world.

Now, Selim Calymath, return me word

That thou wilt come, and I am satisfied.

Enter
MESSENGER
.

Now, sirrah, what, will he come?

MESSENGER

He will, and has commanded all his men

To come ashore and march through Malta streets,

That thou mayst feast them in thy citadel.

[
Exit
MESSENGER
.]

BARABAS

Then now are all things as my wish would have 'em.

There wanteth nothing but the governor's pelf –

Enter
FERNEZE
[
to
BARABAS
,
with a bag of money
],

And see, he brings it. Now, governor, the sum?

FERNEZE

20    With free consent, a hundred thousand pounds.

BARABAS

Pounds, say'st thou, governor? Well, since it is no more,

I'll satisfy myself with that; nay, keep it still,

For if I keep not promise, trust not me.

And, governor, now partake my policy:

First, for his army, they are sent before,

Entered the monastery, and underneath

In several places are field-pieces pitched,

Bombards, whole barrels full of gunpowder,

That on the sudden shall dissever it,

And batter all the stones about their ears,

30    Whence none can possibly escape alive.

Now, as for Calymath and his consorts,

Here have I made a dainty gallery,

The floor whereof, this cable being cut,

Doth fall asunder, so that it doth sink

Into a deep pit past recovery.

[
He gives
FERNEZE
a knife
.]

Here, hold that knife, and when thou seest he comes,

And with his bashaws shall be
blithely set
,

A
warning-piece
shall be shot off from the tower

To give thee knowledge when to cut the cord

40    And fire the house. Say, will not this be brave?

FERNEZE

O, excellent! [
He offers the bag of money
.]

Here, hold thee, Barabas.

I trust thy word. Take what I promised thee.

BARABAS

No, governor, I'll satisfy thee first.

Thou shalt not live in doubt of anything.

Stand close, for here they come. [
FERNEZE
hides himself
.]

Why, is not this

A kingly kind of trade, to purchase towns

By treachery and sell 'em by deceit?

Now tell me, worldlings
, underneath the sun

If greater falsehood ever has been done.

50         
Enter
CALYMATH
and
BASHAWS
.

CALYMATH

Come, my companion bashaws, see, I pray,

How busy Barabas is there above

To entertain us in his gallery.

Let us salute him. Save thee, Barabas!

BARABAS

Welcome, great Calymath.

FERNEZE
[
aside
]

How the slave jeers at him!

BARABAS

Will't please thee, mighty Selim Calymath,

To ascend our homely stairs?

CALYMATH
                     Ay, Barabas.

Come, bashaws, attend.

FERNEZE
[
coming forward
]

Stay, Calymath!

60    For I will show thee greater courtesy

Than Barabas would have afforded thee.

FIRST KNIGHT
[
within
]

Sound a
charge
there!

A charge
[
sounded
],
the cable cut, a cauldron discovered

[
into which
BARABAS
falls
].

[
Enter
MARTIN DEL BOSCO
and
KNIGHTS
.]

CALYMATH

How now, what means this?

BARABAS

Help, help me, Christians, help!

FERNEZE

See, Calymath, this was devised for thee.

CALYMATH

Treason, treason! Bashaws, fly!

FERNEZE

No, Selim, do not fly.

See his end first, and fly then if thou canst.

BARABAS

O, help me, Selim, help me, Christians!

70    Governor, why stand you all so pitiless?

FERNEZE

Should I, in pity of thy plaints or thee,

Accursèd Barabas, base Jew, relent?

No, thus I'll see thy treachery repaid,

But wish thou hadst behaved thee otherwise.

BARABAS

You will not help me, then?

FERNEZE
                     No, villain, no.

BARABAS

And, villains, know you cannot help me now.

Then, Barabas,
breathe forth
thy latest fate,

And in the fury of thy torments strive

To end thy life with resolution.

Know, governor, 'twas I that slew thy son;

80    I framed the challenge that did make them meet.

Know, Calymath, I aimed thy overthrow,

And had I but escaped this stratagem,

I would have brought confusion on you all,

Damned Christians, dogs, and Turkish infidels!

But now begins the extremity of heat

To pinch me with intolerable pangs.

Die, life! Fly, soul! Tongue, curse thy fill and die!

[
He dies
.]

CALYMATH

Tell me, you Christians, what doth this portend?

FERNEZE

This
train
he laid to have entrapped thy life.

90    Now, Selim, note the unhallowed deeds of Jews:

Thus he determined to have handled thee,

But I have rather chose to save thy life.

CALYMATH

Was this the banquet he prepared for us?

Let's hence, lest further mischief be pretended.

FERNEZE

Nay, Selim, stay, for since we have thee here,

We will not let thee part so suddenly.

Besides, if we should let thee go,
all's one
,

For with thy galleys couldst thou not get hence