ELEAZ. Nearer; so, silence!

Hang both your greedy ears upon my lips;
Let them devour my speech, suck in my breath,
And in, who lets it break prison, here's his death:
This night the card'nal shall be murder'd.

BOTH. Where?

ELEAZ. And to fill up a grave, Philip dies.
BоTH. Where?

ELEAZ. Here.

BOTH. By whom?

ELEAZ. By thee; and, slave, by thee.

Have you hearts and hands to execute?

ВоTH. Here's both.

1 MOOR. He dies, were he

ELEAZ. Ho, away!

my

father.

Stay; go, go; stay; see me no more till night,

Your cheeks are black, let not your souls look white.

BOTH. Till night?

ELEAZ. Till night: a word; the Mother Queen

Is trying if she can, with fire of gold,

Warp the green consciences of two covetous friars, To preach abroad Philip's bastardy.

1 MOOR. His bastardy! who was his father?
ELEAZ. Who?

Search for these friars, hire them to work with you;
Their holy callings will approve the fact,
Most good and meritorious: sin shines clear,
When her black face religion's mask doth wear.
Here comes the queen, good ;-and the friars.

Enter two FRIARS, CRAB and COLE, and the
QUEEN MOTHER.

COLE. Your son a bastard? say we do;

But how then shall we deal with you?
I tell you, as I said before,

His being a bastard, you're so poor
In honour and in name, that time

Can never take away the crime.

Q. Mo. I grant that, friar; yet rather I'll endure The wound of infamy to kill my name,

Than to see Spain bleeding with civil swords.

The boy is proud, ambitious, he woos greatness;
He takes up Spanish hearts on trust, to pay them
When he shall finger Castile's crown.

Oh! then,

Were it not better my disgrace were known,
Than such a base aspirer fill the throne?

COLE. Ha! brother Crab, what think you?
CRAB. As you, dear brother Cole.
COLE. Then we agree;

Cole's judgment is as Crab's you see.

Lady, we swear to speak and write

What you please, so all go right.

Q. Mo. Then, as we gave directions, spread abroad

In Cadiz, Madrid, Granada, and Medina,

And all the royal cities of the realm,

Th' ambitious hopes of that proud bastard Philip:

And sometimes, as you see occasion,

Tickle the ears of the rude multitude

With Eleazar's praise; gild his virtues,
Naples recovery, and his victories

Achiev'd against the Turkish Ottoman.
Will you do this for us?

ELEAZ. Say, will you?

Воти. Ауе.

ELEAZ. Why start you back and stare?

Ha! are you afraid?

COLE. Oh! no, sir, no! but truth to tell,

Seeing your face we thought of hell.

ELEAZ. Hell is a dream.

COLE. But none do dream in hell.

ELEAZ. Friars, stand to her and me; and by your

sin,

I'll shoulder out Mendoza from his seat,

And of two friars create you cardinals.

Oh! how would cardinals' hats on their heads sit. COLE. This face would look most goodly under it. Friars Crab and Cole do swear,

In those circles still to appear,

In which she or you do charge us rise;

For you our lives we'll sacrifice.

Valete, Guadete:

Si pereamus, flete;

Orate pro nobis,

Oramus pro vobis.

Cole will be burnt, and Crab be press'd,

Ere they prove knaves; thus are you cross'd and

bless'd.

[Exeunt Friars.

ELEAZ. Away! you know. Now, madam, none

shall throw

Their leaden envy in an opposite scale,

To weigh down our true golden happiness.

Q. Mo. Yes, there is one.

ELEAZ. One! who? give me his name, and I will Turn it to a magic spell,

To bind him here, here; who?

Q. Mo. Your wife, Maria.

ELEAZ. Hah! my Maria!

Q. Mo. She's the Hellespont divides my love and

me:

She, being cut off

ELEAZ. Stay, stay; cut off! let's think upon't; my wife!

Humph! kill her too!

Q. Mo. Does her love make thee cold?

ELEAZ. Had I a thousand wives, down go they all, She dies; I'll cut her off: now-Baltazar! Enter BALTAZAR.

BALT. Madam, the king entreats your company. Q. Mo. His pleasure be obey'd. Dear love, farewell;

Remember your Maria.

[Exit.

ELEAZ. Here, [pointing to his dagger] adieu;
With this I'll guard her, whilst it stabs at you.

BALT. My lord, the friars are won to join with us.
ELEAZ. Be prosperous! about it Baltazar.

BALT. The watch-word?

ELEAZ. Oh, the word; let it be Treason;

When we cry Treason, break ope chamber doors, Kill Philip and the cardinal. Hence!

BALT. I fly.

[Erit.

ELEAZ. Murder, now ride in triumph! darkness! horror!

Thus I invoke your aid; your act begin;

Night is a glorious robe for th' ugliest sin.

SCENE III.

[Exit.

Enter COLE and CRAB in trousers; the CARDINAL in one of their weeds, and PHILIP putting on the other.

FRIARS. Put on, my lord, and fly, or else you die. PHIL. I will not, I will die first; cardinal, Prithee good cardinal, pluck off; friars! slave! Murder us two! he shall not, by this sword.

CARD. My lord, you will endanger both our lives. PHIL. I care not; I'll kill some before I die. Away! s'heart take your rags! Moor! devil! come! FRIARS. My lord, put on, or else— PHIL. God's foot! come help.

CARD. Ambitious villain! Philip, let us fly

Into the chamber of the Mother Queen.

PHIL. Thunder beat down the lodgings.

CARD. Else let's break into the chamber of the

king.

PHIL. Agreed;

A pox upon these lousy gabardines.