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Aduise thee therefore, be not credulous:

This is deuised to endanger thee,

That thou, by this, Lorenzo shoulst accuse.

And he, for thy dishonour done, show draw

Thy life in question and thy name in hate.

Deare was the life of my beloved sonne,

And of his death behoues me to be aueng'd:

Then hazard not thine own, Hieronimo,

But liue t'effect thy resolution!

I therefore will by circumstances trie

What I can gather to confirme this writ,

And, [harken] neere the Duke of Castiles house,

Close if I can with Belimperia,

To listen more, but nothing to bewray.

Enter PEDRINGANO.

Now, Predringano!

PED.

Now, Hieronimo!

HIERO.

Wheres thy lady?

PED.

I know not; heers my lord.

Enter LORENZO.

LOR.

How now, whose this? Hieronimo?

HIERO.My lord.

PED.

He asketh me for my lady Bel-imperia.

LOR.

What to doo, Hieronimo? Vse me.

[Dialogue from the undated and the 'A' manuscript.]

HIERO.

Oh, no, my lord, I dare not, it must not be;

I humbly thank your lordship.

[End of insertion.]

[Dialogue from the 1618, 1623, and 1633 editions.]

HIERO.Who? You, my lord?

I reserue your favour for a greater honour;

This is a very toy, my lord, a toy.

LOR.

All's one, Hieronimo; acquaint me with it.

HIERO.

Y faith, my lord, tis an idle thing.

I must confesse I ha bin too slacke, too tardy,

To remisse vnto your Honour.

LOR.

How now, Hieronimo?

HIERO.

In troth, my lord, it is a thing of nothing:

The murder of a sonne or so, my lord,—

A thing of nothing.

[End of insertion.]

LOR.

Why then, farewell!

HIERO.

My griefe in hart, my thoughts no tung can tell.

Exit.

LOR.

Come hither, Pedringano; seest thou this?

PED.

My lord, I see it, and suspect it too.

LOR.

This is that damned villain Serberine,

That hath, I feare, reuealde Horatios death.

PED.

My lord, he could not; twas so lately done,

And since he hath not left my company.

LOR.

Admit he haue not; his conditions such

As feare or flattering words may make him false.

I know his humour, and there-with repent

That ere I vsde him in this enterprise.

But, Pedringano, to preuent the worst,

And cause I know thee secret as my soule,

Heere, for thy further satisfaction, take thou this!

Giues him more golde.

And harken to me; thus it is deuisde:

This night thou must—and prithee so resoule—

Meet Serberine at St. Luigis Parke,—

Thou knowest tis heere hard by behinde the house;

There take thy stand, and see thou strike him sure,

For dye he must, if we do meane to liue.

PED.

But how shall Serberine be there, my lord?

LOR.

Let me alone, Ile send him to meet

The prince and me where thou must doe this deed.

PED.

It shalbe done, my l[ord]; it shall be done;

And Ile goe arme my-selfe to meet him there.

LOR.

When things shall alter, as I hope they wil,

Then shalt thou mount for this, thou knowest my minde.

Exit PED[RINGANO].

Che le Ieron!

Enter PAGE.

PAGE.

My lord.

LOR.

Goe, sirra,

To Serberine, and bid him forthwith meet

The prince and me at S. Luigis Parke,

Behinde the house, this euening, boy.

PAGE.

I goe, my lord.

LOR.

But, sirra, let the houre be eight a-clocke.

Bid him not faile.

PAGE.

I flye, my lord.

Exit.

LOR.

Now to confirme the complot thou hast cast

Of all these practices, Ile spread the watch,

Vpon precise commandement from the king

Strongly to guard the place where Pedringano

This night shall murder haples Serberine.

Thus must we worke that will auoide distrust,

Thus must we practice to preuent mishap,

And thus one ill another must expulse.

This slie enquiry of Hieronimo

For Bel-imperia, breeds suspition;

And [thus] suspition boads a further ill.

As for my-selfe, I know my secret fault,

And so doe they, but I haue dealt for them.

They that for coine their soules endangered

To saue my life, for coyne shall venture theirs;

And better tis that base companions dye

Then by their life to hazard our good haps.

Nor shall they liue for me to feare their faith;

Ile trust my-selfe, my-selfe shall be my freend;

For dye they shall,—

Slaues