Nor age nor honour shall shape privilege f.
For this proud mock I'll be thy flaughter-man ;
Sly frantic wretch, that holp'ft to make me great,
In hope thyself should govern Rome and me.
Enter Emilius.
Sat. What news with thee, Æmilius?
Emil. Arm, arm, my Lords; Rome never had more caufe ;
The Goths have gather'd head, and with a power
Of high-refolved men, bent to the spoil,
They hither march amain, under the conduct
Of Lucius, fon to old Andronicus;
Who threats, in courfe of his revenge, to do
As much as ever Coriolanus did.
Sat. Is warlike Lucius General of the Goths?
Thefe tidings nip me, and I hang the head
As flowers with froft, or grafs beat down with ftorma
Ay, now begin our forrows to approach;
'Tis he the common people love so much :
Myfelf have often overheard them say,
(When I have walked like a private man),
That Lucius' banishment was wrongfully,
And they have wifh'd that Lucius were their Emperor.
Tam. Why fhould you fear? is not our city ftrong?
Sat. Ay, but the citizens favour Lucius,
And will revolt from me to fuccour him.
Tam. King, be thy thoughts imperions like thy name,
Is the fun dimm'd, that gnats do fly in it?
The eagle fuffers little birds to fing,
And is not careful what they mean thereby,
Knowing that with the fhadow of his wings.
He can at pleasure ftint their melody;
Ev'n fo may'ft thou the giddy men of Rome.
Then cheer thy fpirit; for know, thou Emperor,
I will inchant the old Andronicus
With words more fweet, and yet more dangerous,
Than baits to fish, or honey-ftalks to sheep,
When as the one is wounded with the bait,
The other rotted with delicious food.
Sat. But he will not intreat his fon for us.
ti.e. make or establish privilege.
Tam., If Tamora intreat him, then he will :
For I can fmooth, and fill his aged ear
With golden promifes; that were his heart
Alinot impregnable, his old ears deaf,
Yet fhould both ear and heart obey my tongue.
Go thou before as our ambassador;
Say, that the Emperor requests a parley
Of warlike Lucius, and appoint the meeting.
Sat. Æmilius, do this meffage honourably ;
And if he itand on hoftage for his fafety,
Bid him demand what pledge will please him best.
Emil. Your biding fhall I do effectually.
Tam. Now will I to that old Andronicus,
And temper him, with all the art I have,
To pluck proud Lucius from the warlike Goths,
And now, fweet Emperor, be blyth again,
And bury all thy fear in my devices.
Sat. Then go fuccefsfully, and plead to him.
A camp at a small diftance from Rome.
Enter Lucius with Goths, with drum and foldiers.
APPROVED warriors, and my faithful friends,
I have received letters from great Rome,
Which fenify what hey ah
wal hate liity hear incir Lip ror, And how defirous of our fight they are.
Therefore, great Lords, be, as your titles witnefs,
Imperious and impatient of your wrongs;
And wherein Rome hath done you any fcathe,
Let him make treble fatisfaction.
Goth. Brave flip, fprung from the great Andronicus, (Whose name was once our terror, now our comfort), Whofe high exploits and honourable deeds
Ungrateful Rome requites with foul contempt,
Be bold in us; we'll follow where thou lead'ft:
Like ftinging bees in hottest summer's day,
Led by their mafter to the flower'd fields,
And be aveng'd on curfed Tamora.
Omnes. And as he faith, so say we all with him.
Luc. I humbly thank him, and I think you all. But who comes here, led by a lufty Goth?
Enter a Goth leading Aaron, with his child in his arm:, Goth. Renowned Lucius, from our troops I ftray'd Το gaze upon a ruinous monastery: And as I earnestly did fix mine eye Upon the wafted building, fuddenly I heard a child cry underneath a wall; I made unto the noise, when foon I heard The crying babe controul'd with this difcourfe : Peace, twany flave, half me and half thy dam, Did not thy hue bewray whose brat thou art, Had Nature lent thee but thy mother's look, Villain, thou might'ft have been an Emperor: But where the bull and cow are both milk-white, They never do beget a coal-black calf.
Peace, villain, peace! (ev'n thus he rates the babe,)
For I must bear thee to a trufty Goth;
Who, when he knows thou art the Emprefs' babe,
Will hold thee dearly for thy mother's fake.
With this, my weapon drawn, I rush'd upon him,
Surpris'd him fuddenly, and brought him hither,
To ufe as you think needful of the man.
Luc. O worthy Goth, this is th' incarnate devil
That robb'd Andronicus of his good hand;
This is the pearl that pleas'd your Emprefs' eye,
And here's the base fruit of his burning luft.
Say, wall-ey'd flave, whither would't thou convey
This growing image of thy fiend-like face?
Why doft not fpeak? what! deaf? no! not a word?
A halter, foldiers; hang him on this tree,
And by his fide his fruit of baftardy.
Aar. Touch not the boy, he is of royal blood. Luc. Too like the fire for ever being good. Firft, hang the child, that he may fee it fprawl; A fight to vex the father's foul withal.
Get me a ladder.
Aar. Lucius, fave the child,
And bear it from me to the Emperefs.
If thou do this, I'll fhew thee wondrous things,
That highly may advantage thee to hear;
If thou wilt not, befal what may befal,
I'll speak no more, but vengeance rot you
Luc. Say on; and if it please me which thou speak'ft, Thy child fhall live and I will fee it nourish'd.
Aar. An' if it pleafe thee? why, affure thee, Lucius, "Twill vex thy foul to hear what I shall speak: For I must talk of murthers, rapes, and massacres, Acts of black night, abominable deeds, Complots of mifchief, treafon, villanies,. Ruthful to hear, yet piteously perform'd : And this fhall all be buried by my death, Unless thou swear to me my child fhall live.
Luc. Tell on thy mind; I fay thy child shall live. Aar. Swear that he fhall, and then I will begin. Luc. Who fhould I swear by? thou believ't no God: That granted, how canft thou believe an oath?
Aar. What if I do not! as indeed I do not;
Yet, for I know thou art religious,
And haft a thing within thee called Confcience,
With twenty Popish tricks and ceremonies
Which I have feen thee careful to obferve:
Therefore I urge thy oath, (for that I know
An ideot holds his bauble for a god,
And keeps the oath which by that god he swears,
To that I'll urge him) ;- -therefore thou shalt vow
By that fame god, what god foe'er it be,
That thou ador'ft, and haft in reverence,
To fave my boy, nourish and bring him up;
Or elfe I will discover nought to thee.
Luc. Even by my God I fwear to thee I will.
Aar. First, know thou, I begot him on the Emprefs.
Luc. O moft infatiate, luxurious woman!
Aar. Tut, Lucius, this was but a deed of charity,
To that which thou fhalt hear of me anon.
'Twas her two fons that murder'd Baffianus;
They cut thy fifter's tongue, and ravish'd her,
And cut her hands, and trimm'd her as thou faw'ft.
Luc. Oh, deteftable villain! call'st thou that trimming?
Aar. Why, fhe was wafh'd, and cut and trimm'd;
And 'twas trim fport for them that had the doing of't.
Luc. Oh, barb'rous beaftly villains like thyfelf!
Aar. Indeed I was their tutor to inftruct them.
That codding spirit had they from their mother,
As fure a card as ever won the fet ;
That bloody mind, I think, they learn'd of me,
As true a dog as ever fought at head.-
Well; let my deeds be witness of
my worth.
I train'd thy brethren to that guileful hole,
Where the dead corpfe of Baffianus lay:
I wrote the letter that thy father found,
And hid the gold within the letter mention'd;
Confed'rate with the Queen and her two fons.
And what not done that thou hast cause to rue,
Wherein I had no ftroke of mischief in't!
I play'd the cheater for thy father's hand;
And when I had it, drew myself apart,
And almost broke my heart with extreme laughter.
I pry'd me through the crevice of a wall,
When for his hand he had his two fons' heads;
Beheld his tears, and laugh'd fo heartily,
That both mine eyes were rainy like to his.
And when I told the Emprefs of this fport,
She fwooned almoft at my pleafing tale,
And for my tidings gave me twenty kiffes.
Goth. What! canft thou fay all this, and never blush?
Aar. Ay, like a black dog, as the faying is.
Luc. Art thou not forry for thefe heinous deeds!
Aar. Ay, that I had not done a thousand more.
Ev'n now I curfe the day (and yet I think
Few come within the compass of my curfe)
Wherein I did not fome notorious ill;
As kill a man, or else devise his death;
Ravish a maid, or plot the way to do it;
Accufe fome innocent, and forfwear myself;
Set deedly enmity between two friends;
Make poor mens' cattle break their necks,
Set fire on barns and hay-ftacks in the night,
And bid the owners quench them with their tears.
Oft have I digg'd up dead men from their graves,
And fet them upright at their dear friends' doors,
Ev'n when their forrow almoft was forgot;
And on their fkins, as on the bark of trees,
VOL. VI.
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