Let's see;

Integer vita, scelerisque purus,

Non get Mauri jaculis, nec arcu.

Chi. O, 'tis a verse in Horace; I know it well:

I read it in the grammar long ago.

Aar. Ay, just!—A verse in Horace :-Right, you have it.

[Now, what a thing it is to be an ass!
Here's no sound jest! the old man hath found
their guilt;

And sends the weapons wrapp'd about with lines,
That wound, beyond their feeling, to the quick.
But were our witty empress well a-foot,
She would applaud Andronicus' conceit.
But let her rest in her unrest awhile.-Aside.]
And now, young lords, was't not a happy star
Led us to Rome, strangers, and, more than so,
Captives, to be advanced to this height?
It did me good, before the palace gate
To brave the tribune in his brother's hearing.
Dem. But me more good, to see so great a lord
Basely insinuate, and send us gifts.

Aar. Had he not reason, lord Demetrius?
Did you not use his daughter very friendly?
Dem. I would, we had a thousand Roman dames
At such a bay, by turn to serve our lust.

Chi. A charitable wish, and full of love.
Aar. Here lacks but your mother for to say amen.
Chi. And that would she for twenty thousand

more.

Dem. Come, let us go; and pray to all the gods For our beloved mother in her pains. Aar. Pray to the devils; the gods have given us o'er. [Aside.-Flourish. Dem. Why do the emperor's trumpets flourish thus?

Chi. Belike, for joy the emperor hath a son.
Dem, Soft; who comes here?

Chi. It shall not live.

Aar. It shall not die.

Nur. Aaron, it must: the mother wills it so. Aar. What, mast it, nurse? then let no man but I, Do execution on my flesh and blood.

Dem. I'll broach the tadpole on my rapier's point;

Nurse, give it me; my sword shall soon despatch it. Aar. Sooner this sword shall plough thy bowels up. [Takes the Child from the Nurse, and draus.

Stay, murderous villains! Will you kill your bro ther?

Now, by the burning tapers of the sky,
That shone so brightly when this boy was got,
He dies upon my scimitar's sharp point,
That touches this my first born son and heir!

I tell you, youngiings, not Enceladust,
With all his threat'ning band of Typhon's brood,
Nor great Alcides t, nor the god of war,
Shall seize this prey out of his father's hands.
What, what; ye sanguine, shallow-hearted boys!
Ye white-limed walls! ye alehouse painted signs!
Coal-black is better than another hue,

In that it scorns to bear another hue:
For all the water in the ocean

Can never turn a swan's black legs to white,
Although she lave them hourly in the flood.
Tell the empress from me, I am of age
To keep mine own; excuse it how she can.
Dem. Wilt thou betray thy noble mistress thus ?
Aar. My mistress is my mistress; this, myself;
The vigour, and the picture of my youth:
This, before all the world, do I prefer ;
This, maugre all the world, will I keep safe,
Or some of you shall smoke for it in Rome.
Dem. By this our mother is for ever shamed.
Chi. Rome will despise her for this foul escape.
Nur. The emperor, in his rage, will doom her

death.

Chi. I blush to think upon this ignomy ||.
Aar. Why, there's the privilege your beauty

bears:

Arms.

Nur. Good-morrow, lords:

O, tell me, did you see Aaron the Moor?

Aar. To whom?

Save thon the child, so we may all be safe:
Aar. Then sit we down, and let us all consult.
My son and I will have the wind of you :
Keep there: now talk at pleasure of your safety.
[They sit on the Ground.
Dem. How many women saw this child of his?
Aar. Why, so, brave lords; when we all join in
Jeague,

I am a lamb: but if you brave the Moor,
The chafed boar, the mountain honess,
The ocean swells not so as Aaron storms.--
But, say again, how many saw the child?
Nur. Cornelia the midwife, and myself,
And no one else, but the deliver'd empress.

Aar. The emperess, the midwife, and yourself: Two may keep counsel, when the third's away: Go to the empress; tell her, this I said :

[Stabbing her. Weke, weke !-So cries a pig, prepared to the spit. Dem. What mean'st thou, Aaron? Wherefore didst thou this ?

Aar. O, lord, Sir, 'tis a deed of policy:
Shall she live to betray this guilt of ours?
A long tongued babbling gossip? No, lords, no
And now be it known to you my full intent.
Not far, one Muliteus lives, my country man,
His wife but yesternight was brought to bed;
His chuld is like to her, fair as you are:

Go pack with him, and give the mother gold,

A giant, the son of Titan and Terra.

• Spit. tliercules. i. e. Ignominy.

Contrive, bargain with.

In spite of

Complexion.

And tell them both the circumstance of all;
And how by this their child shall be advanced,
And be received for the emperor's heir,
And substituted in the place of mine,
To calm this tempest whirling it. the court;
And let the emperor dandle him for his own.
Hark ye, lords; ye see, that I have given her phy.
sic,
[Pointing to the Nurse.
And you mast needs bestow her funeral;
The fields are near, and you are gallant grooms:
This done, see that you take no longer days,
But send the midwife presently to ine.
The midwife, and the nurse, well made away,
Then let the ladies tattle what they please.

Chi. Aaron, I see, thou wilt not trust the air
With secrets.

Dem. For this care of Tamora.
Herself, and hers, are highly bound to thee.

[Exeunt Dem. and Chi, beuring off the Nurse.
Aar. Now to the Goths, as swift as swallow flies;
There to dispose this treasure in mine arms,
And secretly to greet the empress' friends.-
Come on, you thick-lipp'd slave, I'll bear you hence;
For it is you that puts us to our shifts:
I'll make you feed on berries, and on roots,
And feed on curds and whey, and suck the goat,
And cabin in a cave; and bring you up
To be a warrior, and command a camp.

[Exit.

SCENE III.-The same.-A public Place. Enter TITUS, bearing Arrows, with Letters at the ends of them; with him MARCUS, young LUCIUS, and other Gentlemen, with Bows.

Tit. Come Marcus, come ;-Kinsmen, this is the

way :

Sir boy, now let me see your archery;
Look ye draw home enough, and 'tis there straight:
Terras Astraa reliquit :

Be you remember'd, Marcus, she's gone, she's fled.
Sir, take you to your tools. You, cousins, shall
Go sound the ocean, and cast your nets;
Happily you may find her in the sea;

Yet there's as little justice as at land :-
No; Publius and Sempronius, you must do it;
Tis you must dig with mattock, and with spade,
And pierce the inmost center of the earth:
Then, when you come to Pluto's region,

I pray you, deliver him this petition:
Tell him, it is for justice, and for aid;
And that it comes from old Andronicus,
Shaken with sorrows in ungrateful Rome.-
Ah, Rome!-Well, well; I made thee miserable,
What time I threw the people's suffrages
On him that thus doth tyrannize o'er me.-
Go, get you gone; and pray be careful all,
And leave you not a man of war unsearch'd;
This wicked emperor may have shipp'd her hence,
And, kinsmen, then we may go pipe for justice.
Mar. O, Publius, is not this a heavy case,
To see thy noble uncle thus distract?"

Pub. Therefore, my lord, it highly us concerns,
By day and night to attend him carefully;
And feed his humour kindly as we may,
Till time beget some careful remedy.

Mar. Kinsmen, his sorrows are past remedy.
Join with the Goths; and with revengeful war
Take wreak on Rome for this ingratitude,
And vengeance on the traitor Saturnine.

Tit. Publius, how now? How now, my masters?
What,

Have you met with her?

Pub. No, my good lord; but Pluto sends you word,

If you will have revenge from hell, you shall:
Marry, for Justice, she is so employ'd,

He thinks, with Jove in heaven, or somewhere else,
So that perforce you must needs stay a time.
Tit. He doth me wrong, to feed me with delays.
I'll dive into the burning lake below,
And pull her out of Acheron by the heels.-
Marcus, we are but shrubs, no cedars we;
No big-boned men, framed of the Cyclops' size:
But metal, Marcus; steel to the very back;

Yet wrung with wrongs, more than our backs can bear:

And sith there is no justice in earth nor hell, We will solicit heaven; and move the gods, To send down justice for to wreak our wrongs: • Strained. + Since.

Revenge.

Come, to this gear. You are a good archer,
Marcus.
[He gives them the Arrows.
Ad Jovem, that's for you:-Here, ad Apollinem :-
Ad Martem, that's for myself;-
Here, boy, to Pallas:-Here, to Mercury:
To Saturn, Caius, not to Saturnine,-
You were as good to shoot against the wind.
To it, boy. Marcas, loose when I bid :
O' my word, I have written to effect;
There's not a god left unsolicited.

Mar. Kinsmen, shoot all your shafts into the court:

We will afflict the emperor in his pride.

Tit. Now, masters, draw. [They shoot.] O, well said, Lucius !

Good boy, in Virgo's lap; give it Pallas.
Mur. My lord, I aim a mile beyond the moon;
Your letter is with Jupiter by this.

Tit. Ha! Publius, Publius, what hast thou done? See, see, thou hast shot off one of Taurus' horns. Mar. This was the sport, my lord; when Publius

shot,

The bull being gall'd, gave Aries such a knock That down fell both the ram's horns in the court; And who should find them but the empress' villain? She laugh'd, and told the Moor, he should not choose

But give them to his master for a present. Tit. Why, there it goes: God give your lordship joy.

Enter a CLOWN, with a Basket and two Pigeons. News, news from heaven! Marcus, the post is Sirrah, what tidings? Have you any letters? Shall I have justice? What says Jupiter?

come.

Clo. Ho! the gibbet-maker? he says, that he hath taken them down again, for the man must not be hang'd till the next week.

Tit. But what says Jupiter, I ask thee? Clo. Alas, Sir, I know not Jupiter; I never drank with him in all my life.

Tit. Why, villain, art not thou the carrier? Clo. Ay, of my pigeons, Sir; nothing else. Tit. Why, didst thou not come from heaven? Clo. From heaven? alas, Sir, I never came there: God forbid, I should be so bold to press to heaven in my young days. Why, I am going with iny pl geons to the tribunal plebs t, to take up a matter of brawl betwixt my uncle and one of the emperial's men.

Mar. Why, Sir, that is as fit as can be, to serve for your oration; and let him deliver the pigeons to the emperor from you.

Tit. Tell me, can you deliver an oration to the emperor with a grace?

Clo. Nay, truly, Sir, I could never say grace in all my life.

Tit. Sirrah, come hither: make no more ado, But give your pigeons to the emperor:

By me thou shalt have justice at his hands.
Hold, hold ;-Mean while, here's money for thy

charges.

Give me a pen and ink.

Sirrah, can you with a grace deliver a supplication? Clo. Ay, Sir.

Tit. Then here is a supplication for you. And when you come to him, at the first approach, you must kneel; then kiss his foot; then deliver up your pigeons; and then look for your reward, I'll be at hand, Sir: see you do it bravely.

Clo. I warrant you, Sir; let me alone.

Tit. Sirral, hast thou a knife? Come, let me

see it.

Here, Marcus, fold it in the oration;

For thou hast made it like au humble suppliant:-
And when thou hast given it to the emperor,
Knock at my door, and tell me what he says.
Clo. God be with you, Sir; I will.
Tit. Come, Marcus, let's go:-Publius, follow me.
[Exeunt.

SCENE IV.-The same.-Before the Palace. Enter SATURNINUS, TAHORA, CHIRON, DEMETRIUS, Lords, and others; SATURNINUS, with the Ar rows in his Hund, that Titus shot.

Sut. Why, lords, what wrongs are these? Was • Dress, furniture.

+ The Clown means to say plebeian, tribune; i. e. tribune of the people.

An emperor of Rome thus overborne,
Troubled, confronted thus: and, for the extent
Of egal justice, used in such contempt?
My lords, you know, as do the mightful gods,
However these disturbers of our peace

Buz in the people's ears, there nought hath pass'd,
But even with law, against the wilful sons
Of old Andronicus. And what an if
His sorrows have so overwhelm'd his wits,
Shall we be thus afflicted in his wreaks,
His fits, his phrenzy, and his bitterness?
And now he writes to heaven for his redress:
See, here's to Jove, and this to Mercury;
This to Apollo; this to the god of war:
Sweet scrolls to fly about the streets of Rome!
What's this, but libelling against the senate,
And blazoning our injustice every where?
A goodly humour, is it not, my lords?

As who would say, in Rome no justice were.
But, if I live, his feigned ecstasies
Shall be no shelter to these outrages:

But he and his shall know, that justice lives.
In Saturninus' health; whom, if she sleep,
He'll so awake, as she in fury shall
Cut off the proud'st conspirator that lives.

Tam. My gracious lord, my lovely Saturnine,
Lord of my life, commander of my thoughts,
Calm thee, and bear the faults of Titus' age,
The effects of sorrow for his valiant sons,
Whose loss hath pierced him deep, and scarr'd his
heart;

[Aside.

And rather comfort his distressed plight,
Than prosecute the meanest, or the best,
For these contempts. Why, thus it shall become
High-witted Tamora to glozet with all:
But, Titus, I have touch'd thee to the quick,
Thy life-blood out: if Aaron now be wise,
Then is all safe, the anchor's in the port.-
Enter CLOWN.

How now, good fellow? Wouldst thou speak with

us ?

Clo. Yes, forsooth, an your mistership be impe

rial.

Tum. Empress I am, but yonder sits the emperor. Clo. 'Tis he.-God, and saint Stephen, give you good den:-I have brought you a letter, and a cou ple of pigeons here. [Saturninus reads the Letter. Sat. Go, take him away, and hang him presently. Clo. How much money must I have?

Tam. Come, sirrah, you must be hang'd. Clo. Hang'd! By'r lady, then I have brought up a neck to a fair end. [Exit, guarded. Sat. Despiteful and intolerable wrongs! Shall I endure this monstrous villainy? I know from whence this same device proceeds; May this be borne-As if his traitorous sons, That died by law for murder of our brother, Have by my means been butcher'd wrongfully.Go, drag the villain hither by the hair; Nor age, nor honour, shall shape privilege:For this proud mock, I'll be thy slaughter-man; Sly frantic wretch, that holp'st to make me great, In hope thyself should govern Rome and me.

Tam. King, be thy thoughts Imperious, like thy st

name.

Is the sun dimm'd, that gnats do fly in it?
The eagle suffers little birds to sing,
And is not careful what they mean thereby ;
Knowing that with the shadow of his wings,
He can at pleasure stint + their melody:
Even so may'st thou the giddy men of Rome.
Then cheer thy spirit: for know, thou emperor,
I will enchant the old Andronicus,

With words more sweet, and yet more dangerous,
Than baits to fish, or honey-stalks to sheep;
When as the one is wounded with the bait,
The other rotted with delicious feed.

Sat. But he will not entreat his son for us.
Tum. If Tamora entreat him, then he will:
For I can smooth, and fill his aged ear
With golden promises; that, were his heart
Almost impregnable, his old ears deaf,

Yet should both ear and heart obey my tongue.-
Go thou before, be our embassador; [To Emilius.
Say, that the einperor requests a parley

Of warlike Lucius, and appoint the meeting,
Even at his father's house, the old Andronicus.
Sat. Æmilius, do this message honourably:
And if he stand on hostage for his safety,
Bid him demand what pledge will please him
best.

Emil. Your bidding shall I do effectually.
[Exit Emilius.
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, sweet emperor, be blithe again,
And bury all thy fear in my devices.
Sat. Then go successfully, and plead to him.
[Exeunt.

ACT V.

SCENE I-Plains near Rome.

Enter Lucius, and GоTHS, with Drum and Colours.
Luc. Approved warriors, and my faithful friends,
I have received letters from great Rome,
Which signify, what hate they bear their emperor,
And how desirous of our sight they are.
Therefore, great lords, be, as your titles witness,
Imperious, and impatient of your wrongs;
And, wherein Rome hath done you any scath‡,
Let him make treble satisfaction.

1 Goth. Brave slip, sprung from the great Andronicus,

Whose name was once our terror, now our comfort;
Whose high exploits, and honourable deeds,
Ingrateful Rome requites with foul contempt,
Be bold in us: we'll follow where thou lead'st,-
Like stinging bees in hottest summer's day,
Led by their master to the flower'd fields,-
And be avenged on cursed Tamora.

Goths. And, as he saith, so say we all with him. Luc I humbly thank him, and I thank you`ail. But who comes here, led by a lusty Goth?

Enter a Goru, leading AARON, with his Child in his Arms.

2 Goth. Renowned Lucius, from our troops I stray'd,

To gaze upon a ruinous monastery;
And as I earnestly did fix mine eye
Upon the wasted building, suddenly

I heard a child ery underneath a wall:

I made unto the noise; when soon I heard
The crying babe control'd with this discourse:
Peace, tawny stare; half me, and half thy dam!
Did not thy hue beuray whose brat thou art,
Had nature lent ther but thy mother's took,
Villain, thon might'st have been an emperor;
Put where the bull and com are both milk-white,
They never do beget a coul-black calf.

Peace, villain, peace-Even this he rates the

babe,

For I must bear thee to a trusty Goth;

it ho, when he knows thou art the empress' babe,
Will hold thee dearly for thy mother's ruke.
With this my weapon drawn), I rush'd upon him,
Surprized him suddenly; and brought hur hither,
To use as you think needful of the man.

Late. O worthy Goth! this is the incarnate devil, That robb'd Andronicus of ins good hand!

This is the pearl that pleased your empress' eye *}
And here's the base fruit of his burning lust.-
Say, wall-eyed slave, whither wouldst thou convey
This growing image of thy fiend-like face!
Why dost not speak? What! deaf? No; not a
word?

A halter, soldiers; hang him on this tree,
And by his side bis fruit of bastardy.

Aar. Touch not the boy, he is of royal blood.
Luc. Too like the sire for ever being good.-
First, hang the child, that he may see it sprawl;
A sight to vex the father's soul withal.
Get me a ladder.

[A Ladder brought, which Aaron is obliged to ascend.

Aar. Lucius, save the child;

And bear it from me to the emperess.

If thou do this, I'll shew thee wond'rous things,
That highly may advantage thee to hear:
If thou wilt not, befall what may befall,
I'll speak no more; but vengeance rot you all!
Luc. Say on; and, if it please me which thou
speak'st,

Thy child shall live, and I will see it nourish'd.
Aar. An if it please thee? Why, assure thee,
Lucius,

Twill vex thy soul to hear what I shall speak:
For I must talk of murders, rapes, and massacres,
Acts of black night, abominable deeds,
Complots of mischief, treason; villainies
Ruthful to hear, yet piteously perform'd:
And this shall all be buried by my death,
Unless thou swear to me, my child shall live.
Luc. Tell on thy mind; I say, thy child shall

live.

Aar. Swear, that he shall, and then I will begin. Luc. Who should I swear by ? Thou believest no god;

That granted, how canst thou believe an oath?
Aar. What if I do not? As, indeed, I do not:
Yet, for I know thou art religious,

And hast a thing within thee, called conscience;
With twenty popish tricks and ceremonies,
Which I have seen thee careful to observe,-
Therefore I urge thy oath ;-For that, I know,
An idiot 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 same god, what god soe'er it be,
That thou adorest and hast in reverence,-
To save my boy, to nourish, and bring him up;
Or else I will discover nought to thee,

Luc. Even by my god, I swear to thee, I will. Aur. First, know thou, I begot him on the empress.

Luc. O most insatiate, luxurious woman!
Aar. Tut, Lucius! this was but a deed of charity,

To that which thou shalt hear of me' anon.
'Twas her two sons that murder'd Bassianus:
They cut thy sister's tongue, and ravish'd her,
And cut her bands; and trimm'd her as thou

saw'st.

Luc. O, detestable villain! call'st thou that trim. ming?

Aar. Why, she was wash'd, and cut, and trimm'd;

and 'twas

Trim sport for them that had the doing of it.

Luc. O, barbarous, beastly villains, like thyself!
Aar. Indeed, I was their tator to instruct them;
That codding spirit had they from their mother,
As sure a card as ever won the set;

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.
1 trai'd thy brethren to that guileful hole,
Where the dead corpse of Bassianus lay:
I wrote the letter that thy father found,
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 son's 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.
Goth. What! canst thou say all this, and never
blush?

Aar. Av, like a black dog, as the saying is.
Laic. 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.

Luc. Bring down the devil; for he must not die 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

SCENE II-Rome.-Before Titus's House.

Enter TAMORA, CHIRON, and DEMETRIUS, disguised.
Tam. Thus, in this strange and sad habiliment,
I will encounter with Andronicus;
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 deceived: for what I mean to do,
See here, in bloody Imes 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 talk,
Wanting a hand to give it action?

Thou bast the odds of me, therefore no more.
Tum. If thou didst know me, thou wouldst talk

with me.

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; Winess 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, or lurking-place,
No vast obscurity, or misty vale,
Where bloody murder, or detested rape,

Can couch for fear, but I will find them out;
And in their ears tell them my dreadful name,
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

me.

Tit. Do me some service, ere I come to thee. 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; And then I'll come, and be thy waggoner, 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 east, 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 me. Tit. Are they thy ministers? What are they call'd?

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

are !

And you, the empress! But we worldly men
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 a 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 coines, and I must ply my theme.
Enter TITUS.

Tit. Long have I been forlorn, and all for thee. Welcome, dread fury, to my woeful house ;Rapine, and Murder, you are welcome too :How like the empress and her sons you are! Well are 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 wouldst thou have us do, Andronicus? Dem. Shew me a murderer, I'll deal with him. Chi. Shew me a villain, that hath done a rape, And I am sent to be revenged on him.

Tam. Shew me a thousand, that hath done thee' wrong,

And I will be revenged on them all.

Tit. Look round about the wicked streets of
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.

the ake

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 thon ease thy angry heart.
What says Andronicus to this device?
Tit. Marcus, my brother!-Tis sad Titus calls.he
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;
Bid him encamp 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

d th

Tam. Now will I hence about thy business,"
And take my ministers along with me.
Tit. Nay, nay, let Rape and Murder stay with
me;

Or else I'll call my brother back again,
And cleave to no revenge but Lucius.
Tam. What say you, boys? Will you abide with
him,

Aside.

Whiles I go tell my lord the emperor,
How I have govern'd our determined jest?
Yield to his humour, smooth and speak him fair,
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 herė. 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 du.Publius, come hither, Caius, and Valentine!

Enter PUBLIUS, and others,

Pub. What's your will?

Tit. Know you these two?

Pub. Th' empress' sons,

I take them, Chiron and Demetrius.

Tit. Fie, Publius, fie! thou art too much de

ceived;

The one is Murder, Rape is the 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 ;
And stop their mouths, if they begin to cry.

e

de

20

201

[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 com

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.