Scene
II
Enter Ferneze, Martin del Bosco, and Knights.
Ferneze
Now, captain, tell us whither thou art bound?
Whence is thy ship that anchors in our road?
And why thou cam’st ashore without our leave?
Martin del Bosco
Governor of Malta, hither am I bound;
My ship, the Flying Dragon, is of Spain,
And so am I: Del Bosco is my name;
Vice-admiral unto the Catholic King.
First Knight
’Tis true, my lord, therefore entreat him well.
Martin del Bosco
Our fraught is Grecians, Turks, and Afric Moors.
For late upon the coast of Corsica,
Because we vailed not to the Turkish fleet,
Their creeping galleys had us in the chase:
But suddenly the wind began to rise,
And then we luffed and tacked, and fought at ease:
Some have we fired, and many have we sunk;
But one amongst the rest became our prize:
The captain’s slain; the rest remain our slaves,
Of whom we would make sale in Malta here.
Ferneze
Martin del Bosco, I have heard of thee;
Welcome to Malta, and to all of us;
But to admit a sale of these thy Turks
We may not, nay, we dare not give consent
By reason of a tributary league.
First Knight
Del Bosco, as thou lov’st and honour’st us,
Persuade our governor against the Turk;
This truce we have is but in hope of gold,
And with that sum he craves might we wage war.
Martin del Bosco
Will Knights of Malta be in league with Turks,
And buy it basely too for sums of gold?
My lord, remember that, to Europe’s shame,
The Christian Isle of Rhodes, from whence you came,
Was lately lost, and you were stated here
To be at deadly enmity with Turks.
Ferneze
Captain, we know it, but our force is small.
Martin del Bosco
What is the sum that Calymath requires?
Ferneze
A hundred thousand crowns.
Martin del Bosco
My lord and king hath title to this isle,
And he means quickly to expel you hence;
Therefore be ruled by me, and keep the gold:
I’ll write unto his majesty for aid,
And not depart until I see you free.
Ferneze
On this condition shall thy Turks be sold:
Go, officers, and set them straight in show.—
Exeunt Officers.
Bosco, thou shalt be Malta’s general;
We and our warlike Knights will follow thee
Against these barb’rous misbelieving Turks.
Martin del Bosco
So shall you imitate those you succeed:
For when their hideous force environed Rhodes,
Small though the number was that kept the town,
They fought it out, and not a man survived
To bring the hapless news to Christendom.
Ferneze
So will we fight it out: come, let’s away:
Proud daring Calymath, instead of gold,
We’ll send thee bullets wrapt in smoke and fire:
Claim tribute where thou wilt, we are resolved,
Honour is bought with blood, and not with gold.
Exeunt.