Shakespeare's play of the Merchant of Venice Part 20

_Bas_. No, by mine honour, madam, by my soul, No woman had it, but a civil doctor, Which did refuse three thousand ducats of me, And begg'd the ring; the which I did deny him, And suffer'd him to go displeas'd away; Even he that had held up the very life Of my dear friend. What should I say, sweet lady?

I was enforc'd to send it after him.

Had you been there, I think you would have begg'd The ring of me to give the worthy doctor.

_Por_. Let not that doctor e'er come near my house: Since he hath got the jewel that I lov'd, And that which you did swear to keep for me, I will become as liberal as you.

_Ant_. I am the unhappy subject of these quarrels.

_Por_. Sir, grieve not you; you are welcome notwithstanding.

_Bas_. Portia, forgive me this enforced wrong; And in the hearing of these many friends, I swear to thee, even by thine own fair eyes, I never more will break an oath with thee.

_Ant_. I once did lend my body for his wealth;[121]

Which, but for him that had your husband's ring,

[_To_ PORTIA.

Had quite miscarried: I dare be bound again, My soul upon the forfeit, that your lord Will never more break faith advisedly.

_Por_. Then you shall be his surety: give him this; And bid him keep it better than the other.

_Ant_. Here, lord Ba.s.sanio; swear to keep this ring.

_Bas_. By heaven it is the same I gave the doctor!

_Por_. I had it of him: pardon me, Ba.s.sanio.

_Ner_. And pardon me, my gentle Gratiano; For that same scrubbed boy, the doctor's clerk, Did give me this.

_Gra_. Why this is like the mending of highways In summer, when the ways are fair enough.

_Por_. You are all amaz'd: Here is a letter, read it at your leisure; It comes from Padua, from Bellario: There you shall find, that Portia was the doctor; Nerissa there, her clerk: Lorenzo here Shall witness, I set forth as soon as you, And but e'en now return'd; I have not yet Enter'd my house.--Antonio, you are welcome; And I have better news in store for you Than you expect: unseal this letter soon, There you shall find three of your argosies Are richly come to harbour suddenly: You shall not know by what strange accident I chanced on this letter.

_Bas_. Were you the doctor, and I knew you not?

_Gra_. Were you the clerk, and I knew you not?

_Ant_. Sweet lady, you have given me life, and living; For here I read for certain, that my s.h.i.+ps Are safely come to road.

_Por_. How now, Lorenzo?

My clerk has some good comforts too for you.

_Ner_. Ay, and I'll give them him without a fee.-- There do I give to you Jessica, From the rich Jew a special deed of gift, After his death, of all he dies possessed of.

_Lor_. Fair ladies, you drop manna in the way of starved people.

_Por_. It is almost morning, And yet I am sure you are not satisfied Of these events at full: Let us go in; And charge us there upon inter'gatories,[122]

And we will answer all things faithfully.

[_Exeunt_.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 114: _--patines of bright gold.;_. A patine is the small flat dish or plate used with the chalice in the service of the altar. In the time of popery, and probably in the following Age, it was commonly made of gold.]

[Footnote 115: Sung by Miss POOLE, Miss LEFFLEE, Mr. T. YOUNG, Mr. T.

COLLETT, and Mr. WALLWORTH.--From _As You Like It_, Act v., Scene 3.]

[Footnote 116: _Nothing is good, I see, without respect; Not absolutely good, but relatively good, as it is modified by circ.u.mstances.]

[Footnote 117: _--this breathing courtesy_.; This verbal complimentary form, made up only of breath, _i_._e_., words.]

[Footnote 118: _--like cutler's poetry_; Knives were formerly inscribed, by means of aqua fortis, with short sentences in distich.]

[Footnote 119: _--respective,_; Regardful.]

[Footnote 120: _--a little scrubbed boy,_; A stunted boy.]

[Footnote 121: _I once did lend my body for his wealth;_] _Id est_., for his advantage--to obtain his happiness; _wealth_ was, at that time, the term opposed to _adversity_ or _calamity_.]

[Footnote 122: _--inter'gatories,_; A contraction of interrogatories.]

THE END.

At a very early period, Venice had begun to trade with Constantinople and the Levant, and though subjected to formidable compet.i.tion from the Pisans and Genoese, succeeded in engrossing the far largest share of the traffic of the East. The Crusades now commenced, and giving lucrative employment to their s.h.i.+pping in the conveyance of troops, and the munitions of war, greatly increased both their wealth and power, and enabled them to make large additions to their territory. In early times, the Doges had been elected by the popular voice, and held their office by a very precarious tenure; for, in the case of any reverse or general dissatisfaction from any other cause, they were not only deposed, but often lost their lives, either by open violence, or a.s.sa.s.sination. The disorders thus occasioned rose to such a height in the 12th century, that a change in the form of government became necessary. For this purpose the city was divided into six districts, each of which nominated two delegates, or twelve in all; these twelve nominated 470 representatives, who concentrated in themselves all the powers which had been previously exercised by the popular a.s.semblies. At the same time, a senate was appointed, and the Doge was provided with a council of six, who were nominally to a.s.sist, but, if so disposed, could easily find means to thwart him. The 470 representatives formed the grand council, and receiving their appointments annually from 12 delegates chosen by the popular voice, continued, in fact, notwithstanding the change in form, to be dependent upon it. The next change, however, set them free.

After a severe struggle, the 470, in 1319, succeeded in making their office hereditary, and thus converted what had previously been a democracy into one of the most rigid forms of aristocracy. The evils of the system soon developed themselves. The 470, now hereditary n.o.bles, became as jealous of each other as they had formerly been of the people, and while appropriating all the great offices of the state, had recourse to various methods, many of them of the most despotic nature, to prevent anyone of the great families from acquiring a preponderating influence.

Among these arrangements was the inst.i.tution of a council of 10, selected from the grand council, and subsequently, in 1454, the selection of three state inquisitors from the council of 10. These inquisitors, in whom all the powers of the state were absolutely vested, justified the name which the cruel bigotry of the Romish Church has established. This rigid despotism had, however, the effect of giving a stern unity of purpose to the proceedings of government, and doubtless contributed in some degree to consolidate the various accessions of territory which had been made into one whole. At this period the Venetians were masters of the coast of Dalmatia, and the islands of Cyprus, Candia, and a great part of the Morea, and had almost monopolized the trade of Egypt and the East. The first great attempt to humble Venice was made in the beginning of the 16th century, when the famous league of Cambrai, of which Pope Julius the Second was the real author, though the Emperor of Germany, and the kings of France and Spain were parties to it, was framed for the avowed purpose of completely subduing her, and part.i.tioning her territories. Dissensions among the confederates more than her own valour saved her from destruction, but not before most of her possessions on the mainland had been wrested from her. A still heavier blow at her prosperity was struck, by the discovery of a new pa.s.sage to the East, which carried its rich traffic into new channels, and dried up one of the main sources of her wealth and strength. The work of destruction was all but completed by the Turks, who engaged her in an expensive and ruinous warfare, during which she lost the Morea, the islands of Cyprus and Candia, and with them the ascendancy which she had long possessed in the Levant. From all these causes her decline proved as rapid as her rise had been, and though her position can hardly fail to give her a considerable coasting trade, all her maritime greatness has departed, and apparently the highest destiny to which she can now aspire, is that of being a valuable dependency to some superior power.