Proud Tamburlaine, that, now in Asia,
Near Gihon's head doth set his conq'ring feet,
And means to fire Turkey as he goes.
'Gainst him, my lord, you must address your power.

URI. Besides, King Sigismund hath brought from
Christendom,

More than his camp of stout Hungarians,— Sclavonians, Almains, Rutters, Muffes, and Danes, That with the halberd, lance, and murd'ring axe, Will hazard that we might with safety hold.

ORC. Though from the shortest northern parallel, Vast Grantland, compass'd with the Frozen Sea, (Inhabited with tall and sturdy men, Giants as big as huge Polypheme,)

Millions of soldiers cut the arctick line,

Bringing the strength of Europe to these arms,
Our Turkey blades shall glide through all their throats,
And make this champaign'd mead a bloody fen.
Danubius' stream, that runs to Trebizond,*
Shall carry, wrapt within his scarlet waves,
As martial presents to our friends at home,
The slaughter'd bodies of these Christians.
The Tyrrhene main, wherein Danubius falls,
Shall, by this battle, be the bloody sea.
The wand'ring sailors of proud Italy

The geographical knowledge of the author, is by no means accurate. Poets do not in general write by the map, and it may be observed, once for all, that any attempt to reconcile all the geographical descriptions and allusions of this author, with the actual state of the globe, would be a fruitless task.

Shall meet those Christians, fleeting with the tide,
Beating in heaps against their Argosies,
And make fair Europe, mounted on her bull,
Trapp'd with the wealth and riches of the world,
Alight, and wear a woeful mourning weed.

GAZ. Yet, stout Orcanes, Prorex of the world, Since Tamburlaine hath muster'd all his men, Marching from Cairo northward with his camp, To Alexandria, and the frontier towns, Meaning to make a conquest of our land, "Tis requisite to parley for a peace With Sigismund, the king of Hungary, And save our forces for the hot assaults Proud Tamburlaine intends Natolia.

ORC. Viceroy of Byron, wisely hast thou said. My realm, the centre of our empery, Being lost, all Turkey would be overthrown, And for that cause the Christians shall have peace. Sclavonians, Almains, Rutters, Muffes, and Danes, Fear not Orcanes, but great Tamburlaine, Nor he, but fortune, that hath made him great. We have revolted Grecians, Albanees, Sicilians, Jews, Arabians, Turks, and Moors, Natolians, Syrians, black Egyptians.

GAZ. And we from Europe, to the same intent, Illyrians, Thracians, and Bithynians, Enough to swallow force!ess Sigismund, Yet scarce enough t' encounter Tamburlaine. He brings a world of people to the field, From Scythia to the oriental plage

Of India, where raging Lantchidol

Beats on the regions with his boist'rous blows,
That never seaman yet discovered.

All Asia is in arms with Tamburlaine,

Even from the midst of fiery Cancer's tropick,
To Amazonia, under Capricorn;

And thence as far as Archipelago,

All Afric is in arms with Tamburlaine;

Therefore, viceroy, the Christians must have peace.
Enter SIGISMUND, FREDERICK, BALDWIN, and
their Train, with Drums and Trumpets.
SIG. Orcanes, (as our legates promis'd thee)
We, with our peers, have cross'd Danubius' stream,
To treat of friendly peace or deadly war.

Take which thou wilt, for as the Romans us'd,

I here present thee with a naked sword;
Wilt thou have war, then shake this blade at me;
If peace, restore it to my hands again,
And I will sheathe it, to confirm the same.

ORC. Stay, Sigismund! forget'st thou I am he
That with the cannon shook Vienna's walls,
And made it dance upon the continent,
As when the massy substance of the earth
Quivers about the axle-tree of heaven?
Forget'st thou that I sent a show'r of darts,
Mingled with powder'd shot and feather'd steel,
So thick upon the blink-ey'd burghers' heads,
That thou thyself, then County Palatine,
The King of Boheme, and the Aust.ick Duke,
Sent heralds out, which basely on their knees,

In all your names desir'd a truce of me?
Forget'st thou, that to have me raise my siege,
Waggons of gold were set before my tents,
Stampt with the princely fowl, that in her wings,
Carries the fearful thunderbolts of Jove?
How canst thou think of this, and offer war?
SIG. Vienna was besieg'd, and I was there,
Then County Palatine, but now a king,
And what we did was in extremity.
But now, Orcanes, view my royal host,

That hides these plains, and seems as vast and wide,

As doth the desert of Arabia

To those that stand on Bagdad's lofty tower;

Or as the ocean, to the traveller

That rests upon the snowy Appenines;
And tell me whether I should stoop so low,
As treat of peace with the Natolian king.

GAZ. Kings of Natolia and of Hungary,
We came from Turkey to confirm a league,
And not to dare each other to the field.
A friendly parley might become you both.

FRED. And we from Europe, to the same intent,
Which if your general refuse or scorn,
Our tents are pitch'd, our men stand in array,
Ready to charge you ere you stir your feet.

ORC. So prest are we; but yet, if Sigismund
Speak as a friend, and stand not upon terms,
Here is his sword,-let peace be ratified
On these conditions, specified before,
Drawn with advice of our ambassadors.

VOL. I.

7

SIG. Then here I sheath it, and give thee my hand, Never to draw it out, or manage arms

Against thyself or thy confederates,

But whilst I live will be at truce with thee.

Now Sigismund, if any Christian king

Encroach upon the confines of thy realm,
Send word, Orcanes of Natolia

ORC. But, Sigismund, confirm it with an oath,
And swear in sight of heav'n and by thy Christ.
SIG. By Him that made the world and sav'd my
soul,

The Son of God and issue of a maid,
Sweet Jesus Christ, I solemnly protest
And vow to keep this peace inviolable.

ORC. By sacred Mahomet, the friend of God,
Whose holy alcoran remains with us,
Whose glorious body, when he left the world,
Clos'd in a coffin mounted up the air,
And hung on stately Mecca's temple-roof,
I swear to keep this truce inviolable;

Of whose condition and our solemn oaths,
Sign'd with our hands each shall retain a scroll
As memorable witness of our league.

Confirm'd this league beyond Danubius' stream,
And they will (trembling) sound a quick retreat ;
So am I fear'd among all nations.

SIG. If any heathen potentate or king
Invade Natolia, Sigismund will send

A hundred thousand horse train'd to the war,
And back'd by stout lancers of Germany,