Alack, when mischief doth it knows not what, What shall we say to mischief? ISABELLA his wife enters. Isa. Dear Hieronimo, come in a doors; And when our hot Spain could not let it grow, At last it grew and grew, and bore and bore: Till at length it grew a gallows, and did bear our son. Hier. Bid him come in, and paint some comfort, The Painter enters. Pain. God bless you, sir. Hier. Wherefore? why, thou scornful villain? How, where, or by what means should I be blest? Isa. What wouldst thou have, good fellow? Pain. Justice, madam. Hier. O ambitious beggar, wouldst thou have that That lives not in the world? Why, all the undelved mines cannot buy An ounce of justice, 'tis a jewel so inestimable. I tell thee, God hath engross'd all justice in his hands, And there is none but what comes from him. Pain. O then I see that God must right me for my murder'd son. Hier. How, was thy son murder'd? Pain. Ay, sir, no man did hold a son so dear. A thousand of thy sons, and he was murder'd. Hier. Nor I, nor I; but this same one of mine Pedro, Jaques, go in a-doors, Isabella, go, And this good fellow here, and I, Will range this hideous orchard up and down, Go in a-doors I say. Come let's talk wisely now. Was thy son murder'd? Pain. Ay, sir. Hier. So was mine. [Exeunt. (The Painter and he sit down.) How dost thou take it? art thou not sometime mad? Hier. Art a painter? canst paint me a tear, a wound? Hier. Bazardo! 'fore God an excellent fellow. Look you, sir. Do you see? I'd have you paint me in my gallery, in your oil colours matted, and draw me five years younger than I am: do you see, sir? let five years go, let them go,-my wife Isabella standing by me, with a speaking look to my son Horatio, which should intend to this, or some such like purpose; God bless thee, my sweet son; and my hand leaning upon his head thus, sir, do you see? may it be done? Pain. Very well, sir. Hier. Nay, I pray mark me, sir: Then, sir, would I have you paint me this tree, this very tree: Pain. Seemingly, sir. Hier. Nay, it should cry; but all is one. Well, sir, paint me a youth run thro' and thro' with villains' swords hanging upon this tree. Canst thou draw a murd'rer? Pain. I'll warrant you, sir; I have the pattern of the most notorious villains that ever lived in all Spain. Hier. O, let them be worse, worse: stretch thine art, And let their eyebrows jut over: in any case observe that; Bring me forth in my shirt and my gown under my arm, with my torch in my hand, and my sword rear'd up thus, And with these words; What noise is this? who calls Hieronimo? May it be done? Pain. Yea, sir. Hier. Well, sir, then bring me forth, bring me thro' alley and alley, still with a distracted countenance going along, and let my hair heave up my night-cap. Let the clouds scowl, make the moon dark, the stars extinct, the winds blowing, the bells tolling, the owls shrieking, the toads croaking, the minutes jarring, and the clock striking twelve. And then at last, sir, starting, behold a man hanging, and tott'ring, and tott'ring, as you know the wind will wave a man, and I with a trice to cut him down. And looking upon him by the advantage of my torch, find it to be my son Horatio. There you may shew a passion, there you may shew a passion. Draw me like old Priam of Troy, crying, The house is a fire, the house is a fire; and the torch over my head; make me curse, make .me rave, make me cry, make me mad, make me well again, make me curse hell, invocate, and in the end leave me in a trance, and so forth. Pain. And is this the end? Hier. O no, there is no end: the end is death and madness; And I am never better than when I am mad; Then methinks I am a brave fellow; Then I do wonders; but reason abuseth me; At last, sir, bring me to one of the murderers; Thus would I tear and drag him up and down. (He beats the Painter in.) [Act iii., Sc. 12a, whole scene.] These scenes, which are the very salt of the old play (which without them is but a caput mortuum, such another piece of flatness as Locrine), Hawkins, in his republication of this tragedy, has thrust out of the text into the notes; as omitted in the Second Edition [1594], “printed for Ed. Allde, amended of such gross blunders as passed in the first:" and thinks them to have been foisted in by the players.—A late discovery at Dulwich College has ascertained that two sundry payments were made to Ben Jonson by the Theatre for furnishing additions to Hieronimo. See last edition of Shakspeare by Reed. There is nothing in the undoubted plays of Jonson which would authorise us to suppose that he could have supplied the scenes in ques Webster might tion. I should suspect the agency of some "more potent spirit." have furnished them. They are full of that wild solemn preternatural cast of grief which bewilders us in the Duchess of Malfy. THE LOVE OF KING DAVID AND FAIR BETHSABE, WITH THE TRAGEDY OF ABSALOM [FIRST PRINTED IN 1599]. BY GEORGE PEELE [1558?-1597 ?] 1 Bethsabe, with her maid, bathing. She sings: and David sits above, viewing her. The song. Hot sun, cool fire, temper'd with sweet air, Inflame unstaid desire, Nor pierce any bright eye That wandereth lightly. Bethsabe. Come, gentle Zephyr, trick'd with those perfumes That erst in Eden sweetned Adam's love, And stroke my bosom with the silken fan: This shade (sun-proof) is yet no proof for thee, And on thy wings bring delicate perfumes, To play the wantons with us through the leaves. David. What tunes, what words, what looks, what wonders pierce My soul, incensed with a sudden fire! What tree, what shade, what spring, what paradise, Enjoys the beauty of so fair a dame! [The play is in fifteen Scenes. See Peele's Works, ed. Bullen, 1888, vol. ii.] The sun's rays. Fair Eva, plac'd in perfect happiness, Lending her praise-notes to the liberal heavens, Wrought not more pleasure to her husband's thoughts, That precious fount bear sand of purest gold; Enter CUSAY. See, Cusay, see the flower of Israel, Brighter than inside bark of new-hewn cedar, David. Go now and bring her quickly to the King; Cusay. I will, my Lord. David. Bright Bethsabe shall wash in David's bower In water mix'd with purest almond flower, [Exit 1[Two lines omitted.] [Twenty-one lines omitted.] |