[Spain: near the DUKE's castle.]

Enter HIERONIMO.

HIERO. Oh eies! no eies but fountains fraught with teares;
Oh life! no life, but liuely fourme of death;
Oh world! no world, but masse of publique wrongs,
Confusde and filde with murder and misdeeds;
Oh sacred heauens, if this vnhallowed deed,
If this inhumane and barberous attempt,
If this incomparable murder thus
Of mine, but now no more my sonne
Shall pass vnreueald and vnreuenged passe,
How should we tearme your dealings to be iust,
If you vniustly deale with those that in your iustice trust?
The night, sad secretary to my mones,
With direfull visions wake my vexed soule,
And with the wounds of my distresfull sonne
Solicite me for notice of his death;
The ougly feends do sally forth of hell,
And frame my hart with fierce inflamed thoughts;
The cloudie day my discontents records,
Early begins to regester my dreames
And driue me forth to seeke the murtherer.
Eies, life, world, heauens, hel, night and day,
See, search, show, send, some man, some meane, that may!

A letter falleth.

Whats heere? a letter? Tush, it is not so!
A letter for Hieronimo.
[Reads] "For want of incke receiue this bloudie writ.
Me hath my haples brother hid from thee.
Reuenge thy-selfe on Balthazar and him,
For these were they that murdered thy sonne.
Hieronimo, reuenge Horatios death,
And better fare then Bel-imperia doth!"—
What meanes this vnexpected miracle?
My sonne slaine by Lorenzo and the prince?
What cause had they Horatio to maligne?
Or what might mooue thee, Bel-imperia,
To accuse they brother, had he beene the meane?
Hieronimo, beware! thou art betraide,
And to intrap they life this traine is laide.
Aduise thee therefore, be not credulous:
This is deuised to endanger thee,
That thou, by this, Lorenzo shoulst accuse.
And he, for thy dishonour done, show draw
Thy life in question and thy name in hate.
Deare was the life of my beloved sonne,
And of his death behoues me to be aueng'd:
Then hazard not thine own, Hieronimo,
But liue t'effect thy resolution!
I therefore will by circumstances trie
What I can gather to confirme this writ,
And, [harken] neere the Duke of Castiles house,
Close if I can with Belimperia,
To listen more, but nothing to bewray.

Enter PEDRINGANO.

Now, Predringano!

PED. Now, Hieronimo!

HIERO. Wheres thy lady?

PED. I know not; heers my lord.

Enter LORENZO.

LOR. How now, whose this? Hieronimo?

HIERO. My lord.

PED. He asketh me for my lady Bel-imperia.

LOR. What to doo, Hieronimo? Vse me.

HIERO. Oh, no, my lord, I dare not, it must not be;
I humbly thank your lordship.

HIERO. Who? You, my lord?
I reserue your favour for a greater honour;
This is a very toy, my lord, a toy.

LOR. All's one, Hieronimo; acquaint me with it.

HIERO. Y faith, my lord, tis an idle thing.
I must confesse I ha bin too slacke, too tardy,
To remisse vnto your Honour.

LOR. How now, Hieronimo?

HIERO. In troth, my lord, it is a thing of nothing:
The murder of a sonne or so, my lord,—
A thing of nothing.

LOR. Why then, farewell!

HIERO. My griefe in hart, my thoughts no tung can tell.

Exit.

LOR. Come hither, Pedringano; seest thou this?

PED. My lord, I see it, and suspect it too.

LOR. This is that damned villain Serberine,
That hath, I feare, reuealde Horatios death.

PED. My lord, he could not; twas so lately done,
And since he hath not left my company.

LOR. Admit he haue not; his conditions such
As feare or flattering words may make him false.
I know his humour, and there-with repent
That ere I vsde him in this enterprise.
But, Pedringano, to preuent the worst,
And cause I know thee secret as my soule,
Heere, for thy further satisfaction, take thou this!

Giues him more golde.

And harken to me; thus it is deuisde:
This night thou must—and prithee so resoule—
Meet Serberine at St. Luigis Parke,—
Thou knowest tis heere hard by behinde the house;
There take thy stand, and see thou strike him sure,
For dye he must, if we do meane to liue.

PED. But how shall Serberine be there, my lord?

LOR. Let me alone, Ile send him to meet
The prince and me where thou must doe this deed.

PED. It shalbe done, my l[ord]; it shall be done;
And Ile goe arme my-selfe to meet him there.

LOR. When things shall alter, as I hope they wil,
Then shalt thou mount for this, thou knowest my minde.

Exit PED[RINGANO].

Che le Ieron!

Enter PAGE.

PAGE. My lord.

LOR. Goe, sirra,
To Serberine, and bid him forthwith meet
The prince and me at S. Luigis Parke,
Behinde the house, this euening, boy.

PAGE. I goe, my lord.

LOR. But, sirra, let the houre be eight a-clocke.
Bid him not faile.

PAGE. I flye, my lord.

Exit.

LOR. Now to confirme the complot thou hast cast
Of all these practices, Ile spread the watch,
Vpon precise commandement from the king
Strongly to guard the place where Pedringano
This night shall murder haples Serberine.
Thus must we worke that will auoide distrust,
Thus must we practice to preuent mishap,
And thus one ill another must expulse.
This slie enquiry of Hieronimo
For Bel-imperia, breeds suspition;
And [thus] suspition boads a further ill.
As for my-selfe, I know my secret fault,
And so doe they, but I haue dealt for them.
They that for coine their soules endangered
To saue my life, for coyne shall venture theirs;
And better tis that base companions dye
Then by their life to hazard our good haps.
Nor shall they liue for me to feare their faith;
Ile trust my-selfe, my-selfe shall be my freend;
For dye they shall,—
Slaues are ordein[e]d to no other end.

Exit.