SCENE III.—The Senate—Flourish—Doge and Senators seated—Orsino and Caliari prisoners. The Marquis de Monteno, Nobles, Guards, &c. Flourish.
Doge. Count Caliari and Orsino: You
Do stand accused of the black crime of murder,
And what doth make the deed more foully show,
Is that the hapless victim gone to death,
Was to all outward seeming a dear friend,
And one esteem'd in the republic's eye,
As a rare jewel in a monarch's crown,
Lending its brilliancy to deck his state;
Moreover his untimely fall hath driven
To cureless frenzy, a most lovely lady,
Near both by blood and marriage to ourself.
We have considered of the evidence
Produced before us, and with caution weigh'd
The slightest circumstance which hath appeared,
For, or against you in this dark affair.
Always inclining where we could to mercy.
What can you in your exculpation urge,
That sentence should not be pronounced upon you?
Count Caliari, let us hear your plea.
Cali. Most gracious Doge, and you, grave Senators
I know not aught that my poor tongue can utter,
To throw this horrid accusation off:
Which cruel accident hath thrust upon me,
If my known friendship for this murder'd lord,
If my fair fame which ne'er before was tainted,
Cannot hold back the law's uplifted sword,
It needs must fall, and Caliari suffer!
Doge. We would hear you, Orsino.
Orsi. Doge of Venice!
There be amongst this noble company,
Many who have with careful eye observ'd
My general conduct from my youth, 'till now.
And were they ask'd Orsino's character,
They would speak of me as a feather toss'd,
Hither and thither, as the gale might blow,
Light, careless, and inconstant, one who look'd
But to the sunshine of the present hour,
Nor thought of cloud, or rising storm beyond it;
A moth that flutter'd round the lamp of life
Indifferent if he singed his wings or not.
If you do think me guilty of the crime,
And spare me, life will be a load of shame;
If innocent,—'twere scarcely worth the saving,
Deprived of him who made it most a blessing.
Doge. Then, thus decide we. You, Count Caliari,
Since naught appears to fix this guilt upon you,
More than the being found in company
With Count Orsino, near the lifeless body,
We do restore to freedom on condition
That you recant the shallow story, (fram'd,
No doubt, to serve your friend) of how he gain'd
Possession of the domino and mask.
Cali. Your grace but bids me to commit a crime,
As great as that of which I stand accused.
I'd scorn a falsehood to preserve my life,
Much more so when the lie would kill my friend.
Doge. One fate awaits ye both, then; Caliari,
Since you refuse our mercy, and can bring
Naught to rebut the dreadful charge against you,
And since 'tis fully prov'd that you, Orsino,
Were found at dead of night, no cause assign'd,
Which in our judgment seemeth probable,
With the still bleeding body of the Marquis,
Possessing both his domino and mask,
Accounted for but by the single voice
Of one, supposed accomplice in the act;
According to the law, your doom is death;
But on the other hand, since naught doth prove
Your actual commission of the deed,
And the unsettled mind of our poor kinswoman
Deprives us of her weighty evidence,
We mitigate the penalty to exile,
Which we do here pronounce upon you both,
And claim the senate's sanction to our sentence. [The Senate bow.
Break up the court!—On forfeit of your lives,
Be not beyond two hours found in Venice.
[Trumpet. Exeunt Doge, Senators, &c., severally. Manent Monteno, Caliari, and Orsino.
Orsi. Why, how now, good Monteno,—why these tears?
Mon. I am the hapless cause of your disgrace,
Yet, I have said but what yourselves do know,
I did both hear and see—As I do live,
I think you both are guiltless of this deed,
And crave your pardons for whate'er my tongue
Hath utter'd in its duty to the state.
Orsi. Give me thy hand, now, Caliari, thine,
We three did love Serassi, and we three
Have in his timeless death received a blow,
Which hath so stunn'd and deaden'd every sense,
That other hurts do seem as scratches, merely
Compar'd with its great evil. Let us part,
Since part we must, like brothers and like friends,
Who bent on travel, thus dividing stray
As fortune or as fancy lead the way.
Far off, yet not forgotten, tho' apart,
Dwelling together in each others heart!
[Exeunt Monteno, r.; Caliari and Orsino, l.
Do stand accused of the black crime of murder,
And what doth make the deed more foully show,
Is that the hapless victim gone to death,
Was to all outward seeming a dear friend,
And one esteem'd in the republic's eye,
As a rare jewel in a monarch's crown,
Lending its brilliancy to deck his state;
Moreover his untimely fall hath driven
To cureless frenzy, a most lovely lady,
Near both by blood and marriage to ourself.
We have considered of the evidence
Produced before us, and with caution weigh'd
The slightest circumstance which hath appeared,
For, or against you in this dark affair.
Always inclining where we could to mercy.
What can you in your exculpation urge,
That sentence should not be pronounced upon you?
Count Caliari, let us hear your plea.
Cali. Most gracious Doge, and you, grave Senators
I know not aught that my poor tongue can utter,
To throw this horrid accusation off:
Which cruel accident hath thrust upon me,
If my known friendship for this murder'd lord,
If my fair fame which ne'er before was tainted,
Cannot hold back the law's uplifted sword,
It needs must fall, and Caliari suffer!
Doge. We would hear you, Orsino.
Orsi. Doge of Venice!
There be amongst this noble company,
Many who have with careful eye observ'd
My general conduct from my youth, 'till now.
And were they ask'd Orsino's character,
They would speak of me as a feather toss'd,
Hither and thither, as the gale might blow,
Light, careless, and inconstant, one who look'd
But to the sunshine of the present hour,
Nor thought of cloud, or rising storm beyond it;
A moth that flutter'd round the lamp of life
Indifferent if he singed his wings or not.
If you do think me guilty of the crime,
And spare me, life will be a load of shame;
If innocent,—'twere scarcely worth the saving,
Deprived of him who made it most a blessing.
Doge. Then, thus decide we. You, Count Caliari,
Since naught appears to fix this guilt upon you,
More than the being found in company
With Count Orsino, near the lifeless body,
We do restore to freedom on condition
That you recant the shallow story, (fram'd,
No doubt, to serve your friend) of how he gain'd
Possession of the domino and mask.
Cali. Your grace but bids me to commit a crime,
As great as that of which I stand accused.
I'd scorn a falsehood to preserve my life,
Much more so when the lie would kill my friend.
Doge. One fate awaits ye both, then; Caliari,
Since you refuse our mercy, and can bring
Naught to rebut the dreadful charge against you,
And since 'tis fully prov'd that you, Orsino,
Were found at dead of night, no cause assign'd,
Which in our judgment seemeth probable,
With the still bleeding body of the Marquis,
Possessing both his domino and mask,
Accounted for but by the single voice
Of one, supposed accomplice in the act;
According to the law, your doom is death;
But on the other hand, since naught doth prove
Your actual commission of the deed,
And the unsettled mind of our poor kinswoman
Deprives us of her weighty evidence,
We mitigate the penalty to exile,
Which we do here pronounce upon you both,
And claim the senate's sanction to our sentence. [The Senate bow.
Break up the court!—On forfeit of your lives,
Be not beyond two hours found in Venice.
[Trumpet. Exeunt Doge, Senators, &c., severally. Manent Monteno, Caliari, and Orsino.
Orsi. Why, how now, good Monteno,—why these tears?
Mon. I am the hapless cause of your disgrace,
Yet, I have said but what yourselves do know,
I did both hear and see—As I do live,
I think you both are guiltless of this deed,
And crave your pardons for whate'er my tongue
Hath utter'd in its duty to the state.
Orsi. Give me thy hand, now, Caliari, thine,
We three did love Serassi, and we three
Have in his timeless death received a blow,
Which hath so stunn'd and deaden'd every sense,
That other hurts do seem as scratches, merely
Compar'd with its great evil. Let us part,
Since part we must, like brothers and like friends,
Who bent on travel, thus dividing stray
As fortune or as fancy lead the way.
Far off, yet not forgotten, tho' apart,
Dwelling together in each others heart!
[Exeunt Monteno, r.; Caliari and Orsino, l.