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Do thou intreat her, fhew a woman pity.

[baftard?

Chi. What! would'st thou have me prove myself a
Lav. 'Tis true, the raven doth not hatch a lark;
Yet have I heard, (O, 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 famith 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 facrifice;
But fierce Andronicus would not relent;

Therefore away with her, and ufe her as you will;
The worfe 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.

Fam. What beg'ft 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 loathfome pit;
Where never man's eye may behold my body:
Do this, and be a charitable murderer.

Tam. So fhould I rob my fweet fons of their fee,
No; let them fatisfy their luft on thee.

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

, Confufion fall

Chi. Nay,, then I'll ftop your mouth-bring thou [Dragging off Lavinia.

her husband:

This is the hole, where Aaron bid us hide him. [Exeunt.

Tam Farewel, my fons; fee, that you make her fure. Neler 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 spleenful fons this Trull deflour.

Enter Aaron, with Quintus and Marcus.

[Exit.

Aar. Come on, my Lords, the better foot before; Strait will I bring you to the loathfom pit,

- Where I efpied the panther faft afleep.

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 fport to fleep a while.

[Marcus falls into the pit.

Quin. What, art thou fall'n ? what fubtle hole is this,
Whose 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-ftained hole?

Quin. I am furprised with an uncouth fear;
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 see 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 furmise;
O, tell me how it is; for ne'er till now
Was I a child, to fear I know not what.

Mar.

Mar. Lord Baffianus lies embrewed here,
All on a heap, like to a flaughter'd lamb,
In this detefted, dark, blood-drinking pit.
Quin. If it be dark, how doft thou know 'tis he?
Mar. Upon his bloody finger he doth wear
A precious ring, that lightens all the hole:
Which, like a taper in fome monument,
Doth fhine upon the dead man's earthy cheeks;
And fhews the ragged entrails of this pit.
So pale did fhine the moon on Pyramus,
When he by night lay bath'd in maiden blood.
O brother, help me with thy fainting hand,
(If fear hath made thee faint, as me it hath)
Out of this fell devouring receptacle,

As hateful as Cocytus' misty mouth.

Quin. Reach me thy hand, that I may help thee out, Or, wanting ftrength to do thee fo much good,

I may be pluck'd into the fwallowing womb

Of this deep pit, poor Baffianus' grave.

I have no ftrength to pluck thee to the brink:

Mar. And I no ftrength to climb without thy help. Quin. Thy hand once more; I will not loose again, 'Till thou art here aloft, or I below.

Thou canst not come to me, I come to thee.

Enter the Emperor, and Aaron.

[Falls in.

Sat. Along, with me ;-I'll fee what hole is here, And what he is that now is leapt into't.

Say, who art thou, that lately didst descend

Into this gaping hollow of the earth?

Mar. Th' unhappy fon of old Andronicus,
Brought hither in a moft unlucky hour,
To find thy brother Baffianus dead.

Sat. My brother dead? I know thou dost but jeft:
He and his Lady both are at the lodge,
Upon the north fide of this pleafant chace;
'Tis not an hour fince I left him there.

Mar. We know not where you left him all alive,
But out, alas! here have we found him dead.

Enter

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Enter Tamora with Attendants; Andronicus, and Lucius.

Tam. Where is my Lord the King?

Saf. Here, Tamora; though griev'd with killing grief. Tam. Where is thy brother Baffianus ?

Sat. Now to the bottom doft thou fearch my wound; Poor Baffianus here lies murdered.

Tam. Then all too late I bring this fatal writ,
The complot of this timeless tragedy;

And wonder greatly that man's face can fold
In pleafing fimiles fuch murderous tyranny.

[She gives Saturninus a letter.

Saturninus reads the letter.

And if we miss to meet him handfomely,
Sweet huntfman, Bafianus 'tis we mean :
Do thou fo much as dig the grave for him,
Thou know'st our meaning: look for thy reward
Among the nettles of the elder tree,

Which overfhades the mouth of that same pit,
Where we decreed to bury Baffianus.

Do this, and purchase us thy lafting friends.

·Oh, Tamora! was ever heard the like?
This is the pit, and this the elder tree:
Look, Sirs, if you can find the huntsman out,
That should have murder'd Baffianus here.

Aar. My gracious lord, here is the bag of gold.
Sat. Two of thy whelps, fell curs of bloody kind,
Have here bereft my brother of his life. [To Titus.
Sirs, drag them from the pit unto the prifon,

. There let them bide, until we have devis'd

Some never-heard-of torturing pain for them.

Tam. What, are they in this pit? oh wond'rous thing! How eafily murder is discovered?

Tit. High Emperor, upon my feeble knee
I beg this boon, with tears not lightly shed,
That this fell fault of my accurfed fons,
(Accurfed, if the fault be prov'd in them--)

Sat.

Sat. If it be prov'd? you fee, it is apparent.
Who found this letter, Tamora, was it you?
Tam. Andronicus himself did take it up.
Tit. I did, my lord: yet let me be their bail.
For by my father's reverend tomb, I vow,
They fhall be ready at your Highness' will,
To answer their fufpicion with their lives.

Sat. Thou shalt not bail them: fee thou follow me: Some bring the murdered body, fome the murderers. Let them not fpeak a word, the guilt is plain; For by my foul, were there worse end than death, That end upon them fhould be executed.

Tam. Andronicus, I will intreat the King; Fear not thy fons, they fhall do well enough.

Tit. Come, Lucius, come, ftay not to talk with them.

[Exeunt feverally.

Enter Demetrius and Chiron, with Lavinia, ravis'd; her hands cut off, and her tongue cut out.

Dem. So, now go tell (an if thy tongue can speak) Who 'twas that cut thy tongue, and ravish'd thee. Chi. Write down thy mind, bewray thy meaning fo; And (if thy ftumps will let thee) play the fcribe..

Dem. See, how with figns and tokens fhe can fèrowle. Chi. Go home, call for fweet water, wash thy hands. Dem. She has no tongue to call, nor hands to wash; And fo let's leave her to her filent walks.

Chi. If 'twere my cafe, I fhould go hang myself. Dem. If thou hadit hands to help thee knit the cord. [Exeunt Dem. and Chiron.

Enter Marcus to Lavinia.

Mar. Who's this, my niece, that flies away so fast ? Coufin, a word; where is your husband ?

If I do dream, would all my wealth would wake me!
If I do wake, fome planet ftrike me down,
That I may flumber in eternal fleep!

Speak, gentle niece, what ftern ungentle hands
Have lopp'd, and hew'd, and made thy body bare

Of

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