Thy fons make pillage of her chastity,
And wash their hands in Bassianus' blood.
Seeft thou this letter, take it up, I pray thee,
And give the King this fatal-plotted fcrowl;
Now question me no more, we are espied;
Here comes a parcel of our hopeful booty,
Which dread not yet their lives' destruction.
Tam. Ah, my fweet Moor, fweeter to me than life.
Aar. No more, great Emprefs, Baffianus comes;
Be cross with him, and I'll go fetch thy fons
To back thy quarrels, whatfoe'er they be.

Enter Baffianus and Lavinia.

[Exit.

Baf. Whom have we here? Rome's royal Emperefs?
Unfurnish'd of her well-befeeming troops ?
Or is it Dian, habited like her,

Who hath abandoned her holy groves,
To see the general Hunting in this foreft?
Tam. Sawcy controuller of our private steps:
Had I the power, that, fome fay, Dian had,
Thy Temples fhould be planted presently
With horns, as was Acteon's; and the hounds
Should drive upon thy new-transformed limbs,
Unmannerly Intruder as thou art!

Lav. Under your patience, gentle Emperefs,
'Tis thought, you have a goodly gift in horning;
And to be doubted, that your Moor and you
Are fingled forth to try experiments :

Jove fhield your husband from his hounds to day!
"Tis pity, they should take him for a ftag.

Baf. Believe me, Queen, your fwarth Cimmerian

Doth make your honour of his body's hue,

Spotted, detefted, and abominable.

Why are you fequeftred from all your train ?
Difmounted from your fnow-white goodly fteed,
And wandred hither to an obfcure plot,
Accompanied with a barbarous Moor,
If foul defire had not conducted you?
Lav. And being intercepted in your sport,
Great reason, that my noble lord be rated

For

For faucinefs.

I pray you, let us hence. And let her joy her raven-colour'd love; This valley fits the purpofe paffing well.

Baf. The King my brother fhall have note of this. Lav. Ay, for thefe flips have made him noted long. Good King, to be fo mightily abused.

Tam. Why have I patience to endure all this?

Enter Chiron and Demetrius.

ther,

Dem. How now, dear Sovereign and our gracious Mo-
Why does your Highness look fo pale and wan?
Tam. Have I not reafon, think you, to look pale ?
These two have tic'd me hither to this place,
A barren and detefted vale, you fee, it is..
The trees, tho' fummer, yet forlorn and lean,
O'ercome with mofs, and baleful miffelto.
Here never fhines the fun; here nothing breeds,
Unless the nightly owl, or fatal.raven,
And when they fhew'd me this abhorred pit,
They told me, here at dead time of the night,
A thoufand fiends, a thoufand hiffing fnakes,
Ten thousand fwelling toads, as many urchins,
Would make fuch fearful and confused cries,
As any mortal body, hearing it,

Should ftraight fall mad, or elfe die fuddenly.
No fooner had they told this hellish tale,

But ftraight they told me, they would bind me here,
Unto the body of a difmal yew;

And leave me to this miferable death:

And then they call'd me foul adulteress,
Lafcivious Goth, and all the bittereft terms
That ever ear did hear to fuch effect.
And had you not by wondrous fortune come,
This vengeance on me had they executed :
Revenge it, as you love your Mother's life;
Or be ye not from henceforth call'd my children.
Dem. This is a witness that I am thy fon.

[Stabs Baffianus.

Chi. And this for me, Aruck home to fhew my

ftrength.

[Stabbing him likewife.

Lav. I, come, Semiramis ; —
Tamora; (7)

For no name fits thy nature but thy own.

nay, barbarous

Tam. Give me thy poniard; you fhall know, my boys, Your mother's hand fhall right your mother's wrong. Dem. Stay, Madam, here is more belongs to her; First, thrash the corn, then after burn the ftraw: This minion ftood upon her chastity,

Upon her nuptial vow, her loyalty,

And with that painted Hope the braves your mightiness;
And fhall fhe carry this unto her grave?

Chi. An if the do, I would I were an Eunuch.
Drag hence her husband to fome fecret hole,
And make his dead trunk pillow to our luft.

Tam. But when you have the honey you defire,
Let not this wafp out-live, us both to fting.
Chi. I warrant, Madam, we will make that fure;
Come, mistress, now perforce we will enjoy
That nice-preferved honelty of yours.

Lav. O Tamora, thou bear'ft a woman's face Tam. I will not hear her speak; away with her. Lav. Sweet Lords, intreat her hear me but a wordDem. Liften, fair Madam; let it be your glory To fee her tears; but be your heart to them, As unrelenting flints to drops of rain.

Lav. When did the tyger's young ones teach the dam ? O, do not teach her wrath; he taught it thee; The milk, thou fuck'dst from her, did turn to marble; Even at thy teat thou hadst thy tyranny.

Yet every mother breeds not fons alike;

Do Thou intreat her, fhew a woman pity. [To Chiron. Chi. What! would't thou have me prove my self a baftard?

(7) I come, Semiramis, nay barbarous Tamora,]

By an Inaccuracy of the Pointing, the Editors have all along made Nonfenfe of this Paffage. But the Poet's Meaning is this; Lavinia, seeing her Husband ftabb'd by the Queen's two Sons, expects and invites the Queen to ferve her in the fame kind, and put an end to her Miferies. Ay, is very frequently writ, 4, in Editions of our Author's Time,

Lav. 'Tis true, the raven doth not hatch the lark : Yet have I heard, (Oh, could I find it now!) The lion, mov'd with pity, did endure To have his princely paws par'd all away. Some fay, that ravens fofter forlorn children, The whilft their own birds famish in their nefts: Oh, be to me, tho' thy hard heart say, no, Nothing fo kind, but fomething pitiful.

Tam. I know not what it means: away with her. Lav. Oh, let me teach thee: for my father's fake, (That gave thee life, when well he might have flain thee) Be not obdurate, open thy deaf ears.

Tam. Hadft thou in perfon ne'er offended me,
Even for his fake am I now pitiless :

Remember, boys, I pour'd forth tears in vain,
To fave your brother from the sacrifice ;
But fierce Andronicus would not relent:
Therefore away with her, and ufe her as you will
The worse to her, the better lov'd of me.

Lav. O Tamora, be call'd a gentle Queen,
And with thine own hands kill me in this place;
For 'tis not life, that I have begg'd fo long;
Poor I was flain, when Baffianus dy'd.

Tam. What begg'it thou then? fond woman, let me go, Lav. 'Tis prefent death I beg; and one thing more, That womanhood denies my tongue to tell :

O, keep me from their worse-than-killing luft,
And tumble me into fome loathsome pit;
Where never man's eye may behold my body:
Do this, and be a charitable murderer.

Tam. So fhould I rob my sweet sons of their fee,

No; let them fatisfie their luft on thee.

Dem. Away! For thou haft ftaid us here too long. Lav. No grace? no woman-hood? ah beaftly creature! The blot and enemy of our general name !

Confufion fall

Chi. Nay, then I'll stop your mouth

her husband:

bring thou [Dragging off Lavinia.

This is the hole, where Aaron bid us hide him. [Exeunt. Tam. Farewel, my fons; fee, that you make her fure.

Ne'er

Ne'er let my heart know merry chear indeed,
'Till all th' Andronici be made away.

Now will I hence to feek my lovely Moor,
And let my fpleenful fons this Trull deflour.

[Exit.

Enter Aaron, with Quintus and Marcus.
Aar. Come on, my lords, the better foot before
Strait will I bring you to the loathfom pit,
Where I efpied the Panther fast asleep.

Quin. My fight is very dull, whate'er it bodes. Mar. And mine, I promise you; wer't not for shame, Well could I leave our sport to fleep a while.

[Marcus falls into the pit.

Quin. What, art thou fallen? what fubtle hole is this,
Whofe mouth is cover'd with rude-growing briars,
Upon whofe leaves are drops of new-fhed blood,
As fresh as morning-dew diftill'd on flowers?
A very fatal place it seems to me :

Speak, brother, haft thou hurt thee with the fall?
Mar. O brother, with the difmallest object
That ever eye, with fight, made heart lament.

Aar. Now will I fetch the King to find them here;
That he thereby may have a likely guess,
How these were they, that made away his Brother.
[Exit Aaron.
Mar. Why doft not comfort me, and help me out
From this unhallow'd and blood-stained hole?

Quin. I am furprized with an uncouth foar;
A chilling fweat o'er-runs my trembling joints;
My heart fufpects, more than mine eye can fee.
Mar. To prove thou haft a true-divining heart,
Aaron and thou, look down into the den,

And fee a fearful fight of blood and death.

Quin. Aaron is gone; and my compaffionate heart Will not permit my eyes once to behold The thing, whereat it trembles by furmife: O, tell me how it is; for ne'er till now Was I a child, to fear I know not what. Mar: Lord Baffianus lies embrewed here, All on a heap, like to a flaughter'd lamb, VOL. VI. K

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