I'll acquaint you, sir,
I now have lived here, 'tis some fourteen months
Within the first week of my landing here,
All took me for a citizen of Venice:
I knew the forms, so well--
PER [ASIDE.]: And nothing else.
SIR P: I had read Contarene, took me a house,
Dealt with my Jews to furnish it with moveables--
Well, if I could but find one man, one man
To mine own heart, whom I durst trust, I would--
PER: What, what, sir?
SIR P: Make him rich; make him a fortune:
He should not think again. I would command it.
PER: As how?
SIR P: With certain projects that I have;
Which I may not discover.
PER [ASIDE.]: If I had
But one to wager with, I would lay odds now,
He tells me instantly.
SIR P: One is, and that
I care not greatly who knows, to serve the state
Of Venice with red herrings for three years,
And at a certain rate, from Rotterdam,
Where I have correspendence. There's a letter,
Sent me from one of the states, and to that purpose:
He cannot write his name, but that's his mark.
PER: He's a chandler?
SIR P: No, a cheesemonger.
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