ACT V.

Enter FERNEZE, KNIGHTS, MARTIN DEL BOSCO, and Officers.

Fern. Now, gentlemen, betake you to your arms, And see that Malta be well fortified;

And it behoves you to be resolute;

For Calymath, having hover'd here so long,
Will win the town, or die before the walls.

First Knight. And die he shall; for we will never yield.

Enter Bellamira and Pilia-Borza.

Bell. Oh, bring us to the governor!

Fern. Away with her! she is a courtezan.
Bell. Whate'er I am, yet, governor, hear me

speak :

I bring thee news by whom thy son was slain :
Mathias did it not; it was the Jew.

Pilia. Who, besides the slaughter of these gen

tlemen,

Poisonèd his own daughter and the nuns,

Strangled a friar, and I know not what

Mischief beside.

Fern. Had we but proof of this——

* Enter Ferneze, &c.] Scene, the interior of the Councilhouse.

BELL. Strong proof, my lord: his man's now at

my lodging,

That was his agent; he'll confess it all.

Fern. Go fetch him straight [Exeunt Officers]. I always fear'd that Jew.

Re-enter Officers with Barabas and Ithamore.

Bara. I'll go alone; dogs, do not hale me thus. Itha. Nor me neither; I cannot out-run you, constable.—Oh, my belly!

Bara. One dram of powder more had made all

sure:

What a damn'd slave was I!

[Aside. Fern. Make fires, heat irons, let the rack be

fetch'd.

First Knight. Nay, stay, my lord; 't may be he will confess.

Bara. Confess! what mean you, lords? who should confess?

Fern. Thou and thy Turk; 'twas you that slew my son.

Itha. Guilty, my lord, I confess. Your son and Mathias were both contracted unto Abigail: [he] forged a counterfeit challenge.

Bara. Who carried that challenge?

Itha. I carried it, I confess; but who writ it? marry, even he that strangled Barnardine, poisoned the nuns and his own daughter.

Fern. Away with him! his sight is death to me.

BARA. For what, you men of Malta? hear me

speak.

She is a courtezan, and he a thief,

And he my bondman: let me have law;

For none of this can prejudice my

life.

Fern. Once more, away with him!—You shall have law.

Bara. Devils, do your worst!—I['ll] live in spite

of you.—

[Aside. As these have spoke, so be it to their souls!—

I hope the poison'd flowers will work anon. [Aside. [Exeunt Officers with Barabas; Ithamore, Bellamira, and Pilia-Borza.

Enter Katherine.

Kath. Was my Mathias murder'd by the Jew? Ferneze, 'twas thy son that murder'd him.

Fern. Be patient, gentle madam: it was he; He forg'd the daring challenge made them fight. Kath. Where is the Jew? where is that murderer ? Fern. In prison, till the law has pass'd on him.

Re-enter First Officer.

First Off. My lord, the courtezan and her man are dead;

So is the Turk and Barabas the Jew.

Fern. Dead!

First Off. Dead, my lord, and here they bring

his body.

Bosco. This sudden death of his is very strange.

Re-enter Officers carrying Barabas as dead.

Fern. Wonder not at it, sir; the Heavens are just; Their deaths were like their lives; then think not of 'em.—

Since they are dead, let them be buried:

For the Jew's body, throw that o'er the walls,
To be a prey for vultures and wild beasts.—

So, now away and fortify the town.

[Exeunt all, leaving Barabas on the floor⁕. Bara. [rising] What, all alone! well fare, sleepy drink!

I'll be reveng'd on this accursèd town;

For by my means Calymath shall enter in :
I'll help to slay their children and their wives,
To fire the churches, pull their houses down,
Take my goods too, and seize upon my lands.
I hope to see the governor a slave,

And, rowing in a galley, whipt to death.

Enter CALYMATH, BASSOES †, and Turks. Caly. Whom have we there? a spy?

Bara. Yes, my good lord, one that can spy a place Where you may enter, and surprize the town:

* Exeunt all, leaving Barabas on the floor] Here the audience were to suppose that Barabas had been thrown over the walls, and that the stage now represented the outside of the city.

+ Bassoes] Here old ed. " Bashawes". See note, p. 299.

My name is Barabas; I am a Jew.

Caly. Art thou that Jew whose goods we heard were sold

For tribute-money?

Bara. The very same, my lord :

And since that time they have hir'd a slave, my man,
To accuse me of a thousand villanies:

I was imprisonèd, but scap'd their hands.
Caly. Didst break prison?

Bara. No, no:

I drank of poppy and cold mandrake juice;
And being asleep, belike they thought me dead,
And threw me o'er the walls: so, or how else,
The Jew is here, and rests at your command.

Caly. 'Twas bravely done: but tell me, Barabas, Canst thou, as thou report'st, make Malta ours? Bara. Fear not, my lord; for here, against the trench⁕,

The rock is hollow, and of purpose digg'd,
To make a passage for the running streams
And common channels of the city.

Now, whilst you give assault unto the walls,
I'll lead five hundred soldiers through the vault,
And rise with them i' the middle of the town,
Open the gates for you to enter in ;

And by this means the city is your own.

truce'

trench] Old ed. "Truce."—" Query sluice"? seems unintelligible." Collier (apud Dodsley's O. P.).— proposes turret or "tower."

The Rev. J. Mitford