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النشر الإلكتروني

No sleep can fasten on my watchful eyes,
Nor quiet enter my distempered thoughts,
Till I have answer of my Abigail.

Enter ABIGAIL above.

Abig. Now have I happily espied a time
To search the plank my father did appoint;
And here behold, unseen, where I have found
The gold, the pearls, and jewels, which he hid.

Bar. Now I remember those old women's words,
Who in my wealth' would tell me winter's tales,
And speak of spirits and ghosts that glide by night
About the place where treasure hath been hid: 2
And now methinks that I am one of those :
For whilst I live, here lives my soul's sole hope,
And, when I die, here shall my spirit walk.

Abig. Now that my father's fortune were so good

As but to be about this happy place;

'Tis not so happy: yet when we parted last,
He said he would attend me in the morn.
Then, gentle sleep, where'er his body rests,
Give charge to Morpheus that he may dream
A golden dream, and of the sudden wake,
Come and receive the treasure I have found.

Bar. Bueno para todos mi ganado no era:
As good go on as sit so sadly thus.

But stay, what star shines yonder in the east?3
The loadstar of my life, if Abigail.

Who's there?

1 Bullen suggests that this is a misprint for youth. 3 Cf. Romeo and Juliet, ii, 2:

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2 Cf. Hamlet, i. 1.

"But soft! what light through yonder window breaks!
It is the east, and Juliet is the sun!

Abig. Who's that?

Bar. Peace, Abigail, 'tis I.

Abig. Then, father, here receive thy happiness.

Bar. Hast thou't?

Abig. Here, (throws down the bags) hast thou't? There's more, and more, and more.

Bar. O my girl,

My gold, my fortune, my felicity!

Strength to my soul, death to mine enemy!
Welcome the first beginner of my bliss!
O Abigail, Abigail, that I had thee here too!
Then my desires were fully satisfied:
But I will practise thy enlargement thence :
O girl! O gold!1 O beauty! O my bliss!
Abig. Father, it draweth towards midnight now,
And 'bout this time the nuns begin to wake;
To shun suspicion, therefore, let us part.
Bar. Farewell, my joy, and by my fingers take
A kiss from him that sends it from his soul.

50

[Hugs the bags.

[Exit ABIGAIL above.

60

Now Phoebus ope the eyelids of the day,2
And for the raven wake the morning lark,

That I may hover with her in the air;

Singing o'er these, as she does o'er her young,
Hermoso placer de los dineros

[Exit.

1 Cf. Shylock's "My daughter! O my ducats! O my daughter!" Merchant of Venice, ii, 8.

2 Cf. Job xli, 18: "His eyes are like the eyelids of the morning;" and Milton, Lycidas: "Under the opening eyelids of the morn."

8 Spanish; "beautiful pleasure of money."

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Enter FERNEZE, MARTIN DEL Bosco, and Knights.

Fern. Now, captain, tell us whither thou art bound? Whence is thy ship that anchors in our road?

And why thou cam'st ashore without our leave?

Bosc. Governor of Malta, hither am I bound;
My ship, the Flying Dragon, is of Spain,
And so am I: Del Bosco is my name;

Vice-admiral unto the Catholic King.

1st Knight. 'Tis true, my lord, therefore entreat1 him well.

Bosc. Our fraught is Grecians, Turks, and Afric Moors. For late upon the coast of Corsica,

Because we vailed not to the Turkish fleet,

Their creeping galleys had us in the chase:

But suddenly the wind began to rise,

And then we luffed and tacked, and fought at ease:
Some have we fired, and many have we sunk;
But one amongst the rest became our prize :
The captain's slain, the rest remain our slaves,
Of whom we would make sale in Malta here.

Fern. Martin del Bosco, I have heard of thee ;

Welcome to Malta, and to all of us ;

But to admit a sale of these thy Turks

We may not, nay, we dare not give consent

By reason of a tributary league.

1st Knight. Del Bosco, as thou lov'st and honour'st us, Persuade our governor against the Turk ;

This truce we have is but in hope of gold,

1 Treat.

2 Lowered not our flags.

ΙΟ

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And with that sum he craves might we wage war.

Bosc. Will Knights of Malta be in league with Turks, And buy it basely too for sums of gold?

My lord, remember that, to Europe's shame,

The Christian Isle of Rhodes,1 from whence you came,
Was lately lost, and you were stated 2 here
To be at deadly enmity with Turks.

Fern. Captain, we know it, but our force is small.
Bosc. What is the sum that Calymath requires?
Fern. A hundred thousand crowns.

Bosc. My lord and king hath title to this isle,
And he means quickly to expel you hence;
Therefore be ruled by me, and keep the gold :
I'll write unto his majesty for aid,
And not depart until I see you free.

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[Exeunt Off.

Fern. On this condition shall thy Turks be sold:
Go, officers, and set them straight in show.
Bosco, thou shalt be Malta's general;
We and our warlike Knights will follow thee
Against these barb'rous misbelieving Turks.

Bosc. So shall you imitate those you succeed:
For when their hideous force environed Rhodes,
Small though the number was that kept the town,
They fought it out and not a man survived
To bring the hapless news to Christendom.

3

Fern. So will we fight it out; come, let's away :
Proud daring Calymath, instead of gold,
We'll send thee bullets wrapt in smoke and fire:
Claim tribute where thou wilt, we are resolved,
Honour is bought with blood and not with gold.

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[Exeunt.

1 Rhodes was wrested from the Knights of St. John by Solyman II, in

1522.

2 Established.

3 Cf. King John, i, 2.

SCENE III. The Market-place.

Enter Officers with ITHAMORE and other Slaves.

1st Off. This is the market-place, here let 'em stand: Fear not their sale, for they'll be quickly bought.

2d Off. Every one's price is written on his back,

And so much must they yield or not be sold.

1st Off. Here comes the Jew; had not his goods been seized,

He'd given us present money for them all.

Enter BARABAS.

Bar. In spite of these swine-eating Christians,
Unchosen nation, never circumcised,

Such as (poor villains!) were ne'er thought upon
Till Titus and Vespasian conquered us, ·
Am I become as wealthy as I was:

They hoped my daughter would ha' been a nun ;
But she's at home, and I have bought a house

As great and fair as is the governor's;

And there in spite of Malta will I dwell,
Having Ferneze's hand, whose heart I'll have;
Ay, and his son's too, or it shall go hard.

I am not of the tribe of Levi, I,
That can so soon forget an injury.

We Jews can fawn like spaniels when we please:
And when we grin we bite, yet are our looks
As innocent and harmless as a lamb's.

I learned in Florence how to kiss my hand,

Heave up my shoulders when they call me dog,1

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1 Cf. this passage with Shylock's speeches with Antonio; Merchant of Venice, i, 3.

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