Chapter: [Portugal:  the VICEROY'S palace.]

                Enter VICEROY, ALEXANDRO, VILLUPPO.

  VICE.  Is our ambassador dispatch'd for Spain?

  ALEX.  Two days, my liege, are past since his depart.

  VICE.  And tribute payment gone along with him?

  ALEX.  Aye, my good lord.

  VICE.  Then rest we here a-while in our unrest;
    And feed our sorrows with inward sighs,
    For deepest cares break never into tears.
    But wherefore sit I in a regal throne?
    This better fits a wretch's endless moan.
    Yet this is higher then my fortunes reach,
    And therefore better than my state deserves.

                  Falls to the ground.

    Aye, aye, this earth, image of melancholy,
    Seeks him whom fates adjudge to misery!
    Here let me lie!  Now am I at the lowest!
    Qui jacet in terra non habet unde cadat.
    In me consumpsit vires fortuna nocendo,
    Nil superest ut jam possit obesse magis.
    Yes, Fortune may bereave me of my crown--
    Here, take it now; let Fortune do her worst,
    She shall not rob me of this sable weed.
    O, no, she envies none but pleasant things.
    Such is the folly of despiteful chance,
    Fortune is blind and sees not my deserts,
    So is she deaf and hears not my laments;
    And, could she hear, yet is she willful mad,
    And therefore will not pity my distress.
    Suppose that she could pity me, what then?
    What help can be expected at her hands
    Whose foot is standing on a rolling stone
    And mind more mutable then fickle winds?
    Why wail I, then, where's hope of no redress?
    O, yes, complaining makes my grief seem less.
    My late ambition hath distain'd my faith,
    My breach of faith occasion'd bloody wars,
    Those bloody wars have spent my treasury,
    And with my treasury my people's blood,
    And with the blood my joy and best belov'd,--
    My best belov'd, my sweet and only son!
    O, wherefore went I not to war myself?
    The cause was mine; I might have died for both.
    My years were mellow, but his young and green:
    My death were natural, but his was forc'd.

  ALEX.  No doubt, my liege, but still the prince survives.

  VICE.  Survives!  Ay, where?

  ALEX.  In Spain, a prisoner by mischance of war.

  VICE.  Then they have slain him for his father's fault.

  ALEX.  That were a breach to common law of arms.

  VICE.  They reck no laws that meditate revenge.

  ALEX.  His ransom's worth will stay from foul revenge.

  VICE.  No; if he liv'd, the news would soon be here.

  VILLUP.  My sovereign, pardon the author of ill news,
    And I'll bewray the fortune of thy son.

  VICE.  Speak on; I'll guerdon thee, whate'er it be.
    Mine ear is ready to receive ill news,
    My heart grown hard 'gainst mischief's battery;
    Stand up, I say, and tell thy tale at large.

  VILLUP.  Then hear that truth which these mine eyes have seen:
    When both the armies were in battle join'd.
    Don Balthazar amidst the thickest troops,
    To win renown, did wondrous feats of arms;
    Amongst the rest I saw him hand-to-hand
    In single fight with their lord general.
    Till Alexandro, that here counterfeits
    Under the colour of a duteous friend,
    Discharg'd a pistol at the princes back,
    As though he would have slain their general,
    But therewithal Don Balthazar fell down;
    And when he fell, then we began to fly;
    But, had he liv'd, the day had sure been ours.

  ALEX.  O wicked forgery!  O trait'rous miscreant!

  VICE.  Hold thou thy peace!  But now, Villuppo, say:
    Where then became the carcass of my son?

  VILLUP.  I saw them drag it to the Spanish tents.

  VICE.  Aye, aye, my nightly dreams have told me this!
    Thou false, unkind, unthankful, traitorous beast!
    Wherein had Balthazar offended thee,
    That thou should betray him to our foes?
    Was't Spanish gold that bleared so thine eyes
    That thou couldst see no part of our deserts?
    Perchance, because thou art Terserae's lord,
    Thou hadst some hope to wear this diadem
    If first my son and then myself were slain;
    But thy ambitious thought shall break thy neck.
    Aye, this was it that made thee spill his blood!

                  Takes the crown and puts it on again.

    But I'll now wear it till thy blood be spilt.

  ALEX.  Vouchsafe, dread sovereign, to hear me speak!

  VICE.  Away with him!  his sight is second hell!
    Keep him till we determine his death.
    If Balthazar be dead, he shall not live.

                 [They take him out.]

    Villuppo, follow us for thy reward.

                 Exit VICE[ROY].

  VILLUP.  Thus have I with an envious forged tale
    Deceiv'd the king, betray'd mine enemy,
    And hope for guerdon of my villainy.

 The scene opens with the Spanish king, a general, the Duke of Castile, and Hieronimo discussing the outcome of the deciding battle in the war between Spain and Portugal. The general tells everyone that Spain has won the war. In the process, he gives some great detail on a bunch of bloody limbs that were all over the ground and who fought most valiantly in the war. Thanks for the visual. The general tells the king and his courtiers that Andrea was super bad in the war, but that he unfortunately died in the process . Apparently, Andrea had courageously beaten the Portuguese forces back, causing them to retreat and regroup. Nevertheless, Balthazar manages to rally the Portuguese army to attack Andrea again. Next, the general tells the Spanish king that Balthazar killed Andrea. But he leaves out the details of how it all went down . The general then relays that Don Horatio, Andrea's best buddy, furiously confronted Balthazar, beat him off his horse, and took him as a prisoner. After Prince Balthazar is captured, the rest of the Portuguese army runs away and Spain wins the war. Bravo zulu. The king is super pleased about winning the war. He then turns to Hieronimo to thank him for having such an awesome son. The Spanish king promises Hieronimo's family great rewards for their special war effort as trumpets sound the arrival of the victorious war party. Horatio and Lorenzo then march into the scene with Balthazar between them. Balthazar is in pretty high spirits for a prisoner. Why? Mainly because he knows his baller status will make sure his captors treat him right. But for now, his captors are already squabbling, because Horatio and Lorenzo both want credit for beating down the prince. Lorenzo's like, "hey, I grabbed his horse!" But Horatio responds with something like, "yeah, after I did all the hard work." Lorenzo's a hard guy to trust. Hieronimo is about to get all protective dad, but the king cuts him off saying something like, "fine, let Lorenzo have Balthazar's horse and give Horatio the ransom money as reward." The King says that Lorenzo will also have the honor of housing his prisoner since he has the bigger estate. Did we mention that being a royal prisoner of war was a pretty cushy gig?

