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Who leads tow'rds Rome a band of warlike Goths,
And bid him come and banquet at thy house.
When he is here, even at thy folemn feast,
I will bring in the Empress and her Sons,
The Emperor himself, and all thy foes;
And at thy mercy fhall they stoop and kneel,
And on them fhalt thou ease thy angry heart:
What fays Andronicus to this device?

Tit. Marcus, my brother! -- 'tis fad Titus calls:

Enter Marcus.

;

Go, gentle Marcus, to thy nephew Lucius
Thou shalt enquire him out among the Goths:
Bid him repair to me: and bring with him
Some of the chiefeft Princes of the Goths;
Bid him encamp his Soldiers where they are;
Tell him, the Emperor and the Empress too
Feaft at my house, and he shall feaft with them;
This do thou for my love, and fo let him,
As he regards his aged father's life.

Mar. This will I do, and foon return again.
Tam. Now will I hence about thy bufinefs,

And take my minifters along with me.

[Exit.

Tit. Nay, nay, let Rape and Murder stay with me; Or elfe I'll call my brother back again,

And cleave to no revenge but Lucius.

Tam. What fay you, boys, will you abide with him, Whiles I go tell my lord, the Emperor,

How I have govern'd our determin'd jeft?
Yield to his humour, smooth and speak him fair,
And tarry with him 'till I come again.

Tit. I know them all, tho' they suppose me mad;
And will o'er-reach them in their own devices:
A pair of curfed hell-hounds and their dam.
Dem. Madam, depart at pleasure, leave us here.
Tam. Farewel, Andronicus; Revenge now goes

To lay a complot to betray thy foes.

[Afide.

[Exit Tamora. Tit. I know, thou doft; and, fweet Revenge, farewel. Chi, Tell us, old man, how shall we be employ'd? Tit. Tut, I have work enough for you to do.

Publius,

Publius, come hither, Caius, and Valentine!

Enter Publius and Servants.

Pub. What is your will?

Tit. Know ye these two?
Pub. The Emprefs' fons,

I take them, Chiron, and Demetrius.

Tit. Fie, Publius, fie! thou art too much deceiv'd,
The one is Murder, Rape is th' other's name;
And therefore bind them, gentle Publius;
Caius and Valentine, lay hands on them;
Oft have you heard me wish for such an hour,
And now I find it, therefore bind them sure.

[Exit Titus.

Chi. Villains, forbear; we are the Emprefs' Sons. Pub. And therefore do we what we are commanded. Stop close their mouths; let them not speak a word. Is he fure bound? look, that ye bind them fast.

Enter Titus Andronicus with a Knife, and Lavinia with a Bafon.

Tit. Come, come, Lavinia; look, thy foes are bound; Sirs, stop their mouths, let them not speak to me, But let them hear what fearful words I utter.

Oh, villains Chiron and Demetrius!

Here ftands the spring whom you have ftain'd with mud,
This goodly fummer with your winter mixt:

You kill'd her husband, and for that vile fault
Two of her brothers were condemn'd to death;
My hand cut off, and made a merry jeft;

Both her sweet hands, her tongue, and That more dear
Than hands or tongue, her spotless Chastity,
Inhuman traitors, you conftrain'd and forc❜d.
What would ye fay, if I fhould let you speak?
Villains!-for fhame you could not beg for grace.
Hark, wretches, how I mean to martyr you.
This one hand yet is left to cut your throats,
Whilft that Lavinia 'twixt her ftumps doth hold
The bason, that receives your guilty blood.
You, know, your mother means to feast with me,

And calls her felf Revenge, and thinks me mad-
Hark, villains, I will grind your bones to duft,
And with your blood and it I'll make a paste ;
And of the paste a coffin will I rear,

And make two pafties of your shameful heads;
And bid that ftrumpet, your unhallow'd dam,
Like to the earth, fwallow her own increase.
This is the feaft that I have bid her to,
And this the banquet fhe fhall furfeit on;
For worse than Philomel you us'd my daughter,
And worse than Procne I will be reveng'd.
And now prepare your throats: Lavinia, come,
Receive the blood; and, when that they are dead,
Let me go grind their bones to powder small,
And with this hateful liquor temper it;
And in that pafte let their vile heads be bak'd.
Come, come, be every one officious

To make this banquet, which I wish might prove
More ftern and bloody than the Centaurs feaft.

[He cuts their throats. So, now bring them in, for I'll play the cook, And fee them ready 'gainst the Mother comes.

[Exeunt.

Enter Lucius, Marcus, and Goths with Aaron Prisoner.
Luc. Uncle Marcus, fince 'tis my father's mind
That I repair to Rome, I am content.

Goth. And ours with thine, befall what fortune will.
Luc. Good uncle, take you in this barbarous Moor,
This ravenous tiger, this accurfed devil;
Let him receive no fuftenance, fetter him,
'Till he be brought unto the Emp'ror's face,
For teftimony of these foul proceedings;
And fee, the ambush of our friends be strong;
I fear, the Emperor means no good to us.

Aar. Some devil whisper curfes in my ear,
And prompt me, that my tongue may utter forth
The venomous malice of my fwelling heart!
Luc. Away, inhuman dog, unhallow'd slave,
[Exeunt Goths with Aaron.

Sirs, help our uncle to convey him in.

[Flourish.

The

The trumpets fhew the Emperor is at hand.

Sound trumpets. Enter Emperor and Empress, with Tribunes and others.

Sat. What, hath the firmament more Suns than one?
Luc. What boots it thee to call thy felf a Sun?
Mar. Rome's Emperor, and Nephew, break the parley;
These quarrels must be quietly debated:

The feaft is ready, which the careful Titus
Hath ordain'd to an honourable end,

For peace, for love, for league, and good to Rome:
Please you therefore draw nigh and take your places.
Sat. Marcus, we will.
[Hautboys.

A Table brought in. Enter Titus like a Cook, placing the
meat on the Table, and Lavinia with a veil over her face.
Tit. Welcome, my gracious lord; welcome dread
Queen,

Welcome, ye warlike Goths, welcome Lucius,
And welcome all; although the cheer be poor,
'Twill fill your ftomachs, please you eat of it.
Sat. Why art thou thus attir'd, Andronicus ?
Tit. Because I would be fure to have all well,
To entertain your Highness, and your Emprefs.
Tam. We are beholden to you, good Andronicus.
Tit. And if your Highnefs knew my heart, you were.
My lord the Emperor, refolve me this;

Was it well done of rafh Virginius,

To flay his daughter with his own right-hand,
Because she was enforc'd, ftain'd, and deflour'd?
Sat. It was, Andronicus.

Tit. Your reafon, mighty lord?

Sat. Because the girl fhould not furvive her shame,
And by her presence ftill renew his forrows.
Tit. A reafon mighty, ftrong, and effectual,
A pattern, precedent, and lively warrant,
For me, moft wretched, to perform the like:
Die, die, Lavinia, and thy fhame with thee,
And with thy fhame thy father's forrow die!

[He kills her.

Sat.

Sat. What haft thou done, unnatural and unkind?

Tit. Kill'd her, for whom my tears have made me blind. I am as woful as Virginius was,

And have a thousand times more cause than he

To do this outrage. And it is now done.

Sat. What, was fhe ravifh'd? tell, who did the deed? Tit. Will't please you eat, will't please your Highness feed?

Tam. Why haft thou flain thine only daughter thus ?
Tit. Not I, 'twas Chiron and Demetrius.

They ravish'd her, and cut away her tongue,
And they, 'twas they, that did her all this wrong.
Sat. Go, fetch them hither to us presently.

Tit. Why, there they are both, baked in that pye, Whereof their mother daintily hath fed; Eating the flesh, that she her felf hath bred. 'Tis true, 'tis true; witness, my knife's fharp point. [He ftabs the Empress. Sat. Die, frantick wretch, for this accurfed deed.

[He ftabs Titus. Luc. Can the fon's eye behold his father bleed? There's meed for meed, death for a deadly deed.

[Lucius ftabs the Emperor. Mar. You fad-fac'd men, people and fons of Rome,

By uprore fever'd, like a flight of fowl
Scatter'd by winds and high tempeftuous gufts,
Oh, let me teach you how to knit again
This fcatter'd corn into one mutual fheaf,
These broken limbs again into one body.

Goth. Let Rome her felf be Bane unto her felf;
And fhe, whom mighty Kingdoms curtfie to,
Like a forlorn and defperate caft-away,
Do fhameful execution on her felf.

Mar. But if my frofty figns and chaps of age,
Grave witneffes of true experience,
Cannot induce you to attend my words,
Speak, Rome's dear friend; as erft our Ancestor,

When with his folemn tongue he did discourse
To love-fick Dido's fad attending ear,

[To Lucius.

The

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