I. Ber. Late, but the atmosphere is thick and dusky,570
'Tis a sirocco.
Doge. At the midnight hour, then,
Near to the church where sleep my sires;[399] the same,
Twin-named from the apostles John and Paul;
A gondola,[400] with one oar only, will
Lurk in the narrow channel which glides by.
Be there.
I. Ber. I will not fail.
Doge. And now retire——
I. Ber. In the full hope your Highness will not falter
In your great purpose. Prince, I take my leave.
[Exit Isreal Bertuccio.
Doge (solus). At midnight, by the church Saints John and Paul,
Where sleep my noble fathers, I repair—580
To what? to hold a council in the dark
With common ruffians leagued to ruin states!
And will not my great sires leap from the vault,
Where lie two Doges who preceded me,
And pluck me down amongst them? Would they could!
For I should rest in honour with the honoured.
Alas! I must not think of them, but those
Who have made me thus unworthy of a name
Noble and brave as aught of consular
On Roman marbles; but I will redeem it590
Back to its antique lustre in our annals,
By sweet revenge on all that's base in Venice,
And freedom to the rest, or leave it black
To all the growing calumnies of Time,
Which never spare the fame of him who fails,
But try the Cæsar, or the Catiline,
By the true touchstone of desert—Success.[401]
ACT II.
Scene I.—An Apartment in the Ducal Palace.
Angiolina[402] (wife of the Doge) and Marianna.