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, ftruck home to fhew my ftrength. [Stabbing him likewife. Lav. I come Semiramis ; —nay, barbarous Tamora ; For no name fits thy nature but thy own.

Tam. Give me thy poniard; you shall 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,

[tinefs;

* And with that painted Cope fhe braves your mighAnd fhall fhe carry this unto her grave?

Chi. An if he 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, miftrefs, now perforce we will enjoy.
That nice-preferved honefty of yours.

Lav. O Tamora, thou bear'ft a woman's face-
Tam. I will not hear her speak; away with her.

And with that painted Hope, &c,] Lavinia ftands upon her Chastity, and Nuptial Vows; and upon the Mérit of these braves the Queen.--We should read, And with this painted Cope. i. e. with this gay Covering

L 2

Lav.

Lav. Sweet Lords, intreat her hear me but
word-

Dem. Liften, fair Madam; let it be your glory
To see 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; fhe taught it thee;
The milk, thou fuck'dst from her did turn to marble;
Even at thy teat thou hadft thy tyranny.

Yet

every

mother breeds not fons alike; Do Thou intreat her, shew a woman pity. [To Chiron. Chi. What would't thou have me prove myself a baftard?

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 father's fake, my (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:

away

Therefore with her, and use 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.

Tam. What begg'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 sweet 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? ah beaftly creature!

The blot and enemy of our general name!

Confufion fall

Chi. Nay, then I'll ftop your mouth-bring thou

her husband:

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 let my heart know merry cheer 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. [Exit.

Aar.

SCENE

VI.

Enter Aaron, with Quintus and Marcus.

C

OME on, my lords, the better foot before; Strait will I bring you to the loathfome pit,

Where I efpied the Panther fast asleep.

Quin. My fight is very dull, whate'er it bodes. Mar. And mine, I promise you; were't not for

fhame,

Well could I leave our fport to fleep a while.

[Marcus falls into the pit.

L3

Quin.

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-thed blood,
As fresh as morning-dew diftill'd on flowers?

A

very fatal place it feems 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 guefs,

How these were they, that made away his Brother. [Exit Aaron.

Mar. W

HY doft not comfort me, and help me out
From this unhallow'd and blood-ftained

hole?

Quin. I am furprized 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 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,
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

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' mifty 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. [Falls in.

Sat.

Enter the Emperor, and Aaron.

LONG, with me-I'll fee what hole is here,

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 doft but jeft: He and his lady both are at the Lodge,

Upon the north-fide of this pleasant chase;

'Tis not an hour since I left him there.

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

Enter Tamora with Attendants; Andronicus, and Lucius. Tam. Where is my lord, the King?

[grief. Sat. Here, Tamora; though griev'd with killing