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And hid the gold within the letter mention'd,
Confederate with the queen, and her two sons;
And what not done, that thou hast cause to rue,
Wherein I had no stroke of mischief in it?
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 sons' heads;
Beheld his tears, and laugh'd so heartily,
That both mine eyes were rainy like to his;
And when I told the empress of this sport,
She swounded almost at my pleasing tale,
And, for my tidings, gave me twenty kisses. [blush?
Goth. What! canst thou say all this, and never
Aar. Ay, like a black dog, as the saying is.
Luc. Art thou not sorry for these heinous deeds?
Aar. Ay, that I had not done a thousand more.
Even now I curse the day (and yet, I think,
Few come within the compass of my curse),
Wherein I did not some notorious ill:
As, kill a man, or else devise his death;
Ravish a maid, or plot the way to do it;
Accuse some innocent, and forswear myself:
Set deadly enmity between two friends;
Make poor men's cattle break their necks;
Set fire on barns and hay-stacks in the night,
And bid the owners quench them with their tears.
Oft have I digg'd up dead men from their graves,
And set them upright at their dear friends' doors,
Even when their sorrows almost were forgot;
And on their skins, as on the bark of trees,
Have with my knife carved in Roman letters,
Let not your sorrow die, though I am dead.
Tut, I have done a thousand dreadful things,
As willingly as one would kill a fly;
And nothing grieves me heartily indeed,
But that I cannot do ten thousand more.

And say I am Revenge, sent from below,
To join with him, and right his heinous wrongs.
Knock at his study, where, they say, he keeps,
To ruminate strange plots of dire revenge;
Tell him, Revenge is come to join with him,
And work confusion on his enemies. [they knock.
Enter Titus, above.

Tit. Who doth molest my contemplation?
Is it your trick, to make me ope the door;
That so my sad decrees may fly away,
And all my study be to no effect?
You are deceiv'd: for what I mean to do,
See here, in bloody lines I have set down;
And what is written shall be executed.
Tam. Titus, I am come to talk with thee.
Tit. No; not a word.
How can I grace my
Wanting a hand to give it action;
Thou hast the odds of me, therefore no more.
Tam. If thou didst know me, thou would'st

talk with me.

[talk,

Tit. I am not mad; I know thee well enough:
Witness this wretched stump, these crimson lines;
Witness these trenches, made by grief and care;
Witness the tiring day, and heavy night;
Witness all sorrow, that I know thee well
For our proud empress, mighty Tamora:
Is not thy coming for my other hand?

Tam. Know, thou sad man, I am not Tamora:
She is thy enemy, and I thy friend :

I am Revenge; sent from the infernal kingdom,
To ease the gnawing vulture of thy mind,
By working wreakful vengeance on thy foes.
Come down, and welcome me to this world's light;
Confer with me of murder and of death:
There's not a hollow cave, nor lurking-place,
No vast obscurity, or misty vale,

Where bloody murder, or detested rape,
Can couch for fear, but I will find them out;

Luc. Bring down the devil; for he must not die And in their cars tell them my dreadful name,

So sweet a death, as hanging presently.

Aar. If there be devils, would I were a devil,
To live and burn in everlasting fire;

So I might have your company in hell,
But to torment you with my bitter tongue!
Luc. Sirs, stop his mouth, and let him speak

no more.

Enter a Goth.

Revenge, which makes the foul offender quake.
Tit. Art thou Revenge? and art thou sent to me,
To be a torment to mine enemies?

Tam. I am; therefore come down, and welcome
Tit. Do me some service, ere I come to thee. [me.
Lo, by thy side where Rape, and Murder stands;
Now give some 'surance that thou art Revenge,
Stab them, or tear them on thy chariot wheels;

Goth. My lord, there is a messenger from Rome, And then I'll come, and be thy waggoner,
Desires to be admitted to your presence.

Luc. Let him come near

Enter Emilius.

Welcome, Æmilius, what's the news from Rome?
Emil. Lord Lucius, and you princes of the
The Roman emperor greets you all by me: [Goths,
And, for he understands you are in arms,
He craves a parley at your father's house;
Willing you to demand your hostages,
And they shall be immediately deliver❜d.
1 Goth. What says our general?

Luc. Æmilius, let the emperor give his pledges
Unto my father and my uncle Marcus,
And we will come.- -March away. [exeunt.

SCENE II. ROME. BEFORE TITUS' HOUSE.

Enter Tamora, Chiron, and Demetrius, disguised.
Tam. Thus, in this strange and sad habiliment,
I will encounter with Andronicus;

And whirl along with thee about the globes.
Provide thee proper palfries, black as jet,
To hale thy vengeful waggon swift away,
And find out murderers in their guilty caves:
And, when thy car is loaden with their heads,
I will dismount, and by the waggon wheel
Trot, like a servile footman, all day long:
Even from Hyperion's rising in the cast,
Until his very downfal in the sea,

And day by day I'll do this heavy task,
So thou destroy Rapine and Murder there.
Tam. These are my ministers, and come with
[call'd?

me.

Tit. Are they thy ministers? what are they Tam. Rapine, and Murder; therefore called so, 'Cause they take vengeance of such kind of men.

Tit. Good lord, how like the empress' sons they And you the empress! But we worldly men [are!

Have miserable, mad, mistaking eyes.
O sweet Revenge, now do I come to thee:
And, if one arm's embracement will content thee,
I will embrace thee in it by and by.

[exit Titus, from above.
Tam. This closing with him fits his lunacy:
Whate'er I forge, to feed his brain-sick fits,
Do you uphold and maintain in your speeches.
For now he firmly takes me for Revenge,
And, being credulous in this mad thought,
I'll make him send for Lucius, his son;
And, whilst I at banquet hold him sure,
I'll find some cunning practice out of hand,
To scatter and disperse the giddy Goths,
Or, at the least, make them his enemies;
See, here he comes, and I must ply my theme.
Enter Titus.

Tit. Long have I been forlorn, and all for thee:
Welcome, dread fury, to my woful house;
Rapine, and Murder, you are welcome too :-
How like the empress and her sons you are!
Well had you fitted, had you but a Moor :-
Could not all hell afford you such a devil?—
For, well I wot, the empress never wags,
But in her company there is a Moor:
And, would you represent our queen aright,
It were convenient you had such a devil:
But welcome, as you are. What shall we do?
Tam. What would'st thou have us do, Andronicus?
Dem. Show me a murderer, I'll deal with him.
Chi. Show me a villain, that hath done a rape,
And I am sent to be reveng'd on him.

Bid him eucamp his soldiers where they are:
Tell him, the emperor and the empress too
Feast at my house: and he shall feast with them.
This do thou for my love; and so let him,
As he regards his aged father's life.

Mar. This will I do, and soon return again. [exit.
Tum. Now will I hence about thy business,
And take my ministers along with me.

Tit. Nay, nay, let Rape and Murder stay with
Or else I'll call my brother back again, [me;
And cleave to no revenge but Lucius.

Tam. What say you, boys? will you abide with
Whiles I go tell my lord the emperor, [him,
How I have govern'd our determin'd jest?
Yield to his humour, smooth and speak him fair,
[aside.

And tarry with him, till I come again.

Tit. I know them all, though they suppose me mad;
And will o'er-reach them in their own devices,
A pair of cursed hell-hounds, and their dam. [aside.
Dem. Madam, depart at pleasure, leave us here.
Tam. Farewell, Andronicus: Revenge now goes
To lay a complot to betray thy foes. [exit Tamora.
Tit. I know, thou dost; and, sweet Revenge,
farewell.

Chi. Tell us, old man, how shall we be employ'd?
Tit. Tut, I have work enough for you to do.—
Publius, come hither, Caius, and Valentine!
Enter Publius and others.
Pub. What's your will?
Tit. Know you these two?
Pub. The empress' sons,

Tam. Show me a thousand, that have done theo I take them, Chiron and Demetrius.

wrong,

And I will be reveng'd on them all.

.

Tit. Fie, Publius, fie! thou art too much deceiv'd;

Tit. Look round about the wicked streets of The one is Murder, Rape is the other's name:

Rome;

And when thou find'st a man that's like thyself,
Good Murder, stab him; he's a murderer.-
Go thou with him: and, when it is thy hap
To find another that is like to thee,
Good Rapine, stab him; he is a ravisher.
Go thou with them; and in the emperor's court
There is a queen, attended by a Moor;
Well may'st thou know her by thy own proportion,
For up and down she doth resemble thee;

I

pray thee, do on them some violent death, They have been violent to me and mine.

Tam. Well hast thou lesson'd us; this shall we
But would it please thee, good Andronicus, [do.
To send for Lucius, thy thrice valiant son,
Who leads towards Rome a band of warlike Goths,
And bid him come and banquet at thy house:
When he is here, even at thy solemn feast,
I will bring in the empress, and her sons,
The emperor himself, and all thy foes;

And at thy mercy shall they stoop and kneel,
And on them shalt thou ease thy angry heart.
What says Andronicus to this device?

Tit. Marcus, my brother!-'tis sad Titus calls.
Enter Marcus.

Go, gentle Marcus, to thy nephew Lucius:
Thou shalt inquire him out among the Goths:
Bid him repair to me, and bring with him
Some of the chiefest princes of the Goths;

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;
And stop their mouths, if they begin to cry.

[exit Titus.-Publius, &c. lay hold on Chiron
and Demetrius.

Chi. Villains, forbear; we are the empress' sons.
Pub. And therefore do we what we are coin-
manded.

Stop close their mouths, let them not speak a word;
Is he sure bound? look, that you bind them fast.
Re-enter Titus Andronicus, with Lavinia; she
bearing a bason, and he a knife.

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.-
O villains, Chiron and Demetrius! [with mud;
Here stands the spring whom you have stain'd
This goodly summer with your winter mix'd.
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 jest:
Both her sweet hands, her tongue, and that, mure
Than hands or tongue, her spotless chastity, [dear
Inhuman traitors, you constrain'd and forc'd.
What would you say, if I should let you speak?
Villains, for shame you could not beg for grace.

Hark, wretches, how I mean to martyr you.
This one hand yet is left to cut your throats;
Whilst that Lavinia 'tween her stumps doth hold
The bason, that receives your guilty blood.
You know, your mother means to feast with me,
And calls herself, Revenge, and thinks me mad.-
Hark, villains; I will grind your bones to dust,
And with your blood and it, I'll make a paste;
And of the paste a coffin I will rear,
And make two pasties of your shameful heads;
And bid that strumpet, your unhallow'd dam,
Like to the earth, swallow her own increase.
This is the feast that I have bid her to,
And this the banquet she shall surfeit on;
For worse than Philomel you' us'd my daughter,
And worse than Progne I will be reveng'd:
And now prepare your throats.-Lavinia, come,
The cuts their throats.
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 paste let their vile heads be bak'd.
Come, come, be every one officious

To make this banquet; which I wish may prove
More stern and bloody than the Centaurs' feast.
So, now bring them in, for I will play the cook,
And see them ready 'gainst their mother comes.
[exeunt, bearing the dead bodies.
SCENE III. THE SAME. A PAVILION, TABLES, &C.
Enter Lucius, Marcus, and Goths, with Aaron,
prisoner.

Luc. Uncle Marcus, since 'tis my father's mind, That I repair to Rome, I am content.

1 Goth. And ours, with thine, befall what fortune will. [Moor, Luc. Good uncle, take you in this barbarous This ravenous tiger, this accursed devil: Let him receive no sustenance, fetter him, Till he be brought unto the empress' face For testimony of her foul proceedings: And see the ambush of our friends be strong : I fear the emperor means no good to us.

Aar. Some devil whisper curses in mine ear, And prompt me, that my tongue may utter forth The venomous malice of my swelling heart!

Luc. Away, inhuman dog! unhallow'd slave!— Sirs, help our uncle to convey him.

[exeunt Goths, with Aaron. Flourish. The trumpets show the emperor is at hand. Enter Saturninus and Tamora, with Tribunes, Senators, and others.

Sat. What, hath the firmament more suns than

[blocks in formation]

Tit. Welcome, my gracious lord: welcony, dread queen;

Welcome, ye warlike Goths; welcome, Lucius; And welcome, all: although the cheer be poor 'Twill fill your stomachs; please you eat of it.

Sat. Why art thou thus attir'd, Andronicus? Tit. Because I would be sure to have all well, To entertain your highness, and your empress. Tam. We are beholden to you, good Andronicus. Tit. An if your highness knew my heart, you My lord the emperor, resolve me this; [were. Was it well done of rash Virginius,

To slay his daughter with his own right hand, Because she was enforc'd, stain'd, and deflower'd? Sat. It was, Andronicus.

Tit. Your reason, mighty lord?

[shame,

Sat. Because the girl should not survive her. And by her presence still renew his sorrows.

Tit. A reason mighty, strong, and effectual; A pattern, precedent, and lively warrant, For me, most wretched, to perform the like:Die, die, Lavinia, and thy shame with thee;

[he kills Lavinia.

And, with thy shame, thy father's sorrow die! Sat. What hast thou done, unnatural, and unkind? [me blind:

Tit. Kill'd her, for whom my tears have made 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 she.ravish'd? tell, who did the [highness, feed?

deed.

Tit. Will't please you eat; will't please your Tam. Why hast thou slain thine only daughter Tit. Not I; 'twas Chiron and Demetrius: [thus? 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, bak'd in that Whereof their mother daintily hath fed, [pye; Eating the flesh that she herself hath bred. 'Tis true, 'tis true; witness my knife's sharp point. [killing Tamora.

Sat. Die, frantic wretch, for this accursed deed.

[killing Titus. Luc. Can the son's eye behold his father bleed? There's meed for meed, death for a deadly deed. [kills Saturninus. A great tumult. The people in confusion disperse. Marcus, Lucius, and their partisans, ascend the steps before Titus' house. Mar. You sad-fac'd men, people and sons of By uproar sever'd, like a flight of fowl [Rome, Scatter'd by winds and high tempestuous gusts; O, let me teach you how to knit again This scatter'd corn into one mutual sheaf, These broken limbs again into one body.

Sen. Lest Rome herself be bane unto herself; And she, whom mighty kingdoms court'sy to, Like a forlorn and desperate cast-away, Do shameful execution on herself. But if my frosty signs and chaps of age, Grave witnesses of true experience, Cannot induce you to attend my words,Speak, Rome's dear friend; [to Lucius] as erst

our ancestor

When with his solemn tongue he did discourse,

To love-sick Dido's sad attending ear,
The story of that baleful burning night,
When subtle Greeks surpris'd king Priam's Troy;
Tell us, what Sinon hath bewitch'd our ears,
Or who hath brought the fatal engine in,
That gives our Troy, our Rome, the civil wound.-
My heart is not compact of flint, nor steel;
Nor can I utter all our bitter grief,

But floods of tears will drown my oratory,
And break my very utterance; even i'the time
When it should move you to attend me most,
Lending your kind commiseration :
Here is a captain, let him tell the tale; [speak.
Your hearts will throb and weep to hear him
Luc. Then, noble auditory, be it known to you,
That cursed Chiron and Demetrius

Were they that murdered our emperor's brother;
And they it were that ravished our sister:
For their fell faults our brothers were beheaded;
Our father's tears despis'd; and basely cozen'd
Of that true hand, that fought Rome's quarrel out,
And sent her enemies unto the grave.
Lastly, myself unkindly banished,

The gates shut on me, and turn'd weeping out,
To beg relief among Rome's enemies;
Who drown'd their enmity in my true tears,
And op'd their arms to embrace me as a friend:
And I am the turn'd-forth, be it known to you,
That have preserv'd her welfare in my blood;
And from her bosom took the enemy's point,
Sheathing the steel in my advent'rous body.
Alas! you know, I am no vaunter, I;
My scars can witness, dumb although they are,
That my report is just, and full of truth.
But, soft; methinks, I do digress too much,
Citing my worthless praise; O, pardon me;
For when no friends are by, men praise themselves.
Mar. Now is my turn to speak; behold this child,
[pointing to the child in the arms of an Attendant.
Of this was Tamora delivered;
The issue of an irreligious Moor,
Chief architect and plotter of these woes;
The villain is alive in Titus' house,
Damn'd as he is, to witness this is true.
Now judge, what cause had Titus to revenge
These wrongs, unspeakable, past patience,
Or more than any living man could bear. [mans?
Now you have heard the truth, what say you, Ro-
Have we done aught amiss? Show us wherein,
And from the place where you behold us now,
The poor remainder of Andronici

Will, hand in hand, all headlong cast us down,
And on the ragged stones beat forth our brains,
And make a mutual closure of our house.
speak, Romans, speak; and, if you say, we shall,
Lo, hand in hand, Lucius and I will fall.

Emil. Come, come, thou reverend man of Rome,
And bring our emperor gently in thy hand,
Lucius our emperor; for, well I know,
The common voice do cry, it shall be so.
Rom. [several speak.] Lucius, all hail; Rome's
royal emperor!

Lucius, &c. descend. Mar. Go, go into old Titus' sorrowful house; [to an Attendant.

And hither hale that misbelieving Moor,

To be adjudged some direful slaughtering death,
As punishment for his most wicked life.
Rom. [several speak.] Lucius, all hail; Rome's

gracious governor!

Luc. Thanks, gentle Romans; may I govern so, To heal Rome's harms; and wipe away her woe! But, gentle people, give me aim awhile,— For nature puts me to a heavy task:Stand all aloof:-but, uncle, draw you near To shed obsequious tears upon this trunk:O, take this warm kiss on thy pale cold lips, [hisses Titus. These sorrowful drops upon thy blood-staiu'd face, The last true duties of thy noble son!

[well:

Mar. Tear for tear, and loving kiss for kiss, Thy brother Marcus tenders on thy lips: O, were the sum of these that I should pay Countless and infinite, yet would I pay them! Luc. Come hither, boy; come, come, and learn of us To melt in showers: thy grandsire lov'd thee Many a time he danc'd thee on his knee, Sung thee asleep, his loving breast thy pillow; Many a matter hath he told to thee, Meet, and agreeing with thine infancy; In that respect then, like a loving child, Shed yet some small drops from thy tender spring, Because kind nature doth require it so: Friends should associate friends in grief and woe: Bid him farewell; commit him to the grave; Do him that kindness, and take leave of him. Boy. O grandsire, grandsire! even with all my Would I were dead, so you did live again! O lord, I cannot speak to him for weeping; My tears will choke me, if I ope my mouth. Enter Attendants, with Aaron.

[heart

1 Rom. You sad Andronici, have done with Give sentence on this execrable wretch, [woes; That hath been breeder of these dire events. Luc. Set him breast-deep in earth, and famish him;

There let him stand, and rave and cry for food:
If any one relieves or pities him,

For the offence he dies. This is our doom:
Some stay, to see him fasten'd in the earth.

Aar. O, why should wrath be mute, and fury
I am no baby, I, that, with base prayers, [dumb?"
I should repent the evils I have done;
Ten thousand, worse than ever yet I did,
Would I perform, if I might have my will';
If one good deed in all my life I did,
I do repent it from my very soul.

[hence,

Luc. Some loving friends convey the emperor
And give him burial in his father's grave:
My father, and Lavinia, shall forthwith
Be closed in our household's monument.
As for that heinous tiger, Tamora,

No funeral rite, nor man in mournful weeds,
No mournful bell shall ring her burial;
But throw her forth to beasts, and birds of prey:
Her life was beast-like, and devoid of pity;
And, being so, shall have like want of pity.
See justice done on Aaron, that damn'd Moor,
From whom our heavy haps had their beginning,
Then, afterwards, to order well the state;
That like events may ne'er it ruinate. ¡exeunt

[blocks in formation]

Petruchio, a Gentleman of Verona, a suitor to Katharina.

Gremio, Suitors to Bianca.

Hortensio,

Servants to Petruchio.

Pedant, an old fellow, set up to personate Vincentia

Katharina, the Shrew, Daughters to Baptista.

Bianca, her sister,

Widow.

Tailor, Haberdasher, and Servants attending on Baptista and Petruchio.

SCENE.-Sometimes in Padua ; and sometimes in Petruchio's house in the country.

INDUCTION.

SCENE I. BEFORE AN ALE-HOUSE ON A HEATH.

Enter Hostess and Sly.

Sly. I'LL pheese you, in faith.
Host. A pair of stocks, you rogue!

Sly. Y'are a baggage; the Slies are no rogues : Look in the chronicles, we came in with Richard Conqueror. Therefore, paucas pallabris; let the world slide: Sessa!

Host. You will not pay for the glasses you have burst?

Sly. No, not a denier: Go by, says Jeronimy;Go to thy cold bed, and warn thee.

Host. I know my remedy, I must go fetch the third-borough. [exit. Sly. Third, or fourth, or fifth borough, I'll answer him by law; I'll not budge an inch, boy; let him come, and kindly. [lies down on the ground and falls asleep. Wind horns. Enter a Lord from hunting, with Huntsmen and Servants.

Lord. Huntsman, I charge thee, tender well my hounds:

Brach Merriman,-the poor cur is emboss'd
And couple Clowder with the deep mouth'd brach.
Saw'st thou not, boy, how Silver made it good
At the hedge corner, in the coldest fault?
I would not lose the dog for twenty pound.
1 Hun. Why, Belman is as good as he, my lord;
He cried upon it at the merest loss,
And twice to-day pick'd out the dullest scent:
Trust me, I take him for the better dog.

Lord. Thou art a fool; if Echo were as fleet,
I would esteem him worth a dozen such.
But sup them well, and look unto them all;
To-morrow I intend to hunt again.

1 Hun. I will, my lord. Lord. What's here? one dead, or drunk? See, doth he breathe? [warm'd with ale, 2 Hun. He breathes, my lord: Were he not This were a bed but cold to sleep so soundly. [lies! Lord. O monstrous beast! how like a swine he Grim death, how foul and loathsome is thine image! Sirs, I will practise on this drunken man.What think you, if he were convey'd to bed, [ers, Wrapp'd in sweet clothes, rings put upon his fingA most delicious banquet by his bed,

And brave attendants near him when he wakes, Would not the beggar then forget himself?

1 Hun. Believe me, lord, I think he cannot choose. [he wak'd. 2 Hun. It would seem strange unto him when Lord. Even as a flattering dream, or worthless

fancy.

Then take him up, and manage well the jest :-
Carry him gently to my fairest chamber,
And hang it round with all my wanton pictures:
Balm his foul head with warm distilled waters,
And burn sweet wood to make the lodging sweet:
Procure me music ready when he wakes,
To make a dulcet and a heavenly sound;
And if he chance to speak, be ready straight,
And, with a low submissive reverence,
Say,-what is it your honour will command
Let one attend him with a silver basin,
Full of rose-water, and bestrew'd with flowers;
Another bear the ewer, the third a diaper, [hands?
Aud say,- -Will't please your lordship cool your
Some one be ready with a costly suit,
And ask him what apparel he will wear;
Another tell him of his hounds and horse,
And that his lady mourns at his disease:
Persuade him that he hath been a lunatic;
And when he says he is-, say, that he dreams,
For he is nothing but a mighty lord.
This do, and do it kindly, gentle sirs;
It will be pastime passing excellent,
If it be husbanded with modesty.

[part,

1 Hun. My lord, I warrant you, we'll play our As he shall think, by our true diligence, He is no less than what we say he is. Lord. Take him up gently, and to bed with him; And each one to his office when he wakes

[some bear out Sly; a trumpet sounds. Sirrah, go see what trumpet 'tis that sounds: [exit Servant.

Belike, some noble gentleman: that means, Travelling some journey, to repose him here.— Re-enter a Servant.

How now? who is it?

Serv. An it please your honour, Players, that offer service to your lordship. Lord. Bid them come near:

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