Chi. What! would'ft 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, though thy hard heart fay 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, ufe her as you The worse to her, the better lov'd of me. Lav. [Laying hold on Tamora.] O Tamora, be call'd a gentle queen,

will;

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. 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 fweet fons of their fee.

No; let them fatisfy their luft on thee.

Dem. Away! for thou haft ftaid us here too long,

VOL. VIII.

Ff

Lay.

Lav. No grace? no womanhood? ah beaf J

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. Farewell, my fons. See, that you make her

fure.

Ne'er let my heart know merry chear indeed,
Till all the Andronici be made away.

Now will I hence to feek my lovely Moor,

And let my spleenful fons this trull deflow'r. [Exit.

SCENE IV.

Enter Aaron, with Quintus and Marcus.

Aar. Come on, my lords, the better foot before; Strait will I bring you to the loathsome pit, Where I efpied the panther faft afleep.

Quin. My fight is very dull, whate'er it bodes. Mar. And mine, I promife you; wer't not for fhame, Well could I leave our fport to sleep awhile.

[Marcus falls into the pit. Quin. What, art thou fallen? 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 dismallest object
That ever eye, with fight, made heart lament.
Aar. [Afide.] Now will I fetch the king to find
them here;

That

That he thereby may have a likely guefs,
How these were they, that made away his brother.
[Exit Aarons
Mar. Why 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;
Mine 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 compaflionate 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 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,

4 A precions ring,] There is fuppofed to be a gem called a carbuncle, which emits not reflected but native light. Mr. Boyle believes the reality of its existence.

Ff2

JOHNSON.

I may

I

may be pluck'd into the swallowing womb Of this deep pit, poor Baffianus' grave,

-I have no ftrength to pluck thee to the brink. Mar. And I no strength to climb without thy help. Quin. Thy hand once more; I will not lose 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 leap'd into it.
Say, who art thou, that lately didst descend
Into this gaping hollow of the earth?

Mar. The 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 jest, He and his lady both are at the lodge,

Upon the north fide of this pleasant chafe;

"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 Tamora, with Attendants; Andronicus, and Lucius.

Tam. Where is my lord, the king?

Sat. 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 fmiles fuch murderous tyranny.

[She giveth Saturninus a letter.
Satur-

Saturninus reads the letter.

And if we mifs to meet him handsomely,
Sweet buntsman-Baffianus 'tis we mean';
Do thou fo much as dig the grave for him.
Thou know'ft our meaning. Look for thy rewar
Among the nettles at the elder tree,

Which over-fhades the mouth of that fame pit,
Where we decreed to bury Baffianus.

Do this, and purchafe us thy lafting friends.
Oh, Tamora! was ever heard the like?
This is the pit, and this the elder tree:
Look, firs, if you can find the huntsman out,
That fhould have murder'd Baffianus' here.

Aar. My gracious lord, here is the bag of gold.

[Shewing it. 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 difcovered?

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

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 shall be ready at your highness' will,
To answer their fufpicion with their lives.

Ff3

Sat