    With the money now in hand, Bassanio headed toward Belmont. He easily won the hand of Portia in marriage. She accepted his proposal.
    Soon afterward, a letter was received from Antonio. It read, "Dear Bassanio, I have news that all my ships had been lost at the sea. Shylock is pressing me to pay off the debt. It seems I must grant him the pound of flesh required in our contract for I am utterly unable to pay the debt this time. However I sincerely wish to see you once more before I die."
    Bassanio's face turned pale as he told Portia in detail about the loan contract. "We must be marry quickly," Portia suggested, then you will have legal power over my resources, then Bassanio and Gratiano returned to Venice with the money they needed. At that moment, Antonio was awaiting the court trial. He had pleaded with Shylock to show mercy. But Shylock insisted that the punishment should be carried out as written in the contract. Bassanio had hardly arrived in Venice when he went to Shylock pleading with him to relent, he offered to pay him several times the amount that was old. Still Shylock stuck to his plan of inhuman punishment. Bassanio could find no way out. He even thought that perhaps he could take the punishment for his friend, but Antonio refused. 
