Well could I leave, our fport to fleep a while.
[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-shed blood, As fresh as morning-dew diftill'd on flowers ? 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. Why doft not comfort me, and help me out
From this unhallow'd and blood-stained 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 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,
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 loofe again,
"Till thou art here aloft, or I below.
Thou canst not come to me, I come to thee. [Falls in.
Enter the Emperor, and Aaron,
Sat. Along, with me ;-I'll see what hole is here,
And what he is, that now is leap'd into't.
Say, who art thou, that lately didft defcend
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 dost but jest: He and his lady both are at the lodge,
Upon the north-fide of this pleasant chase;
'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 pleasing smiles fuch murderous tyranny.
[She giveth Saturninus a letter.
Satur-
Saturninus reads the letter.
And if we miss to meet him handsomely,
Sweet huntfman, Baffianus 'tis we mean ;
Do thou fo much as dig the grave for him,
Thou know'ft our meaning: look for thy reward
Among the nettles at the elder-tree,
Which overfbades the mouth of that fame pit,
Where we decreed to bury Baffianus.
Do this, and purchase us thy lafting friends.
Oh, Tamora! was ever heard the like?
This is the pit, and this the elder-tree :
Look, Sirs, if you can find the huntsman out,
That should have murder'd Baffianus here.
Aar. My gracious Lord, here is the bag of gold. 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 prison, 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 shed,
That this fell fault of my 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 fhall be ready at your Highness' will,
To answer their fufpicion with their lives.
Sat. Thou shalt not bail them: fee, thou follow me:
Some bring the murder'd body, fome the murderers.
Let them not speak a word, the guilt is plain;
For, by my foul, were there worse end than death,
That end upon them should be executed.
Tam. Andronicus, I will entreat the King; Fear not thy fons, they fhall do well enough. Tit. Come, Lucius, come, ftay not to talk with them. [Exeunt feverally.
Enter Demetrius and Chiron, with Lavinia, ravish'd; her hands cut off, and her tongue cut out.
Dem. So, now go tell (an if thy tongue can fpeak) Who 'twas that cut thy tongue, and ravish'd thee. Chi. Write down thy mind, bewray thy meaning fo; And (if thy ftumps will let thee) play the fcribe. Dem. See, how with figns and tokens fhe can fcrowl. Chi. Go home, call for sweet water, wash thy hands. Dem. She has no tongue to call, or hands to wash; And fo let's leave her to her filent walks.
Chi. If 'twere my cafe, I fhould go hang myself. Dem. If thou hadft hands to help thee knit the cord. [Exeunt Dem. and Chiron.
Mar. Who's this, my Niece, that flies away fo fast? Coufin, a word; where is your husband?
If I do dream, 'would all my wealth would wake me!
If I do wake, fome planet ftrike ine down,
That I may flumber in eternal fleep!
Speak, gentle Niece, what ftern ungentle hands
Have lopp'd, and hew'd, and made thy body bare
Of her two branches, thofe fweet ornaments, (8)
Whofe circling shadows Kings have fought to fleep in?
And might not gain fo great a happiness,
As have thy love! why doft not speak to me?
Alas, a crimson river of warm blood,
Whofe circling Shadows King's have fought to fleep in,
And might not gain fo great an Happiness,
As half thy Love!] As balf her Love? But might they gain any part of her Love? Or would fhe not confent to embrace 'em fo much as with one Arin? The Poet had no fuch Stuff in his Thoughts. My Correction referes the true Meaning; that, tho' Princes languifhed to fleep in her Arms, they could not obtain their Suit, or bave her Love.
Like to a bubbling fountain ftirr'd with wind,
Doth rife and fall between thy rofy lips,
Coming and going with thy honey breath.
But, fure, fome Tereus hath defloured thee;
And, left thou shouldft detect him, cut thy tongue.
Ah, now thou turn'ft away thy face for fhame!
And, notwithstanding all this lofs of blood,
(As from a conduit with their iffuing spouts,)
Yet do thy cheeks look red as Titan's face,
Blufhing to be encountered with a cloud.-
Shall I fpeak for thee? fhall I fay, 'tis fo?
O, that I knew thy heart, and knew the beaft,
That I might rail at him to ease my
mind!
Sorrow concealed, like an oven ftopt,
Doth burn the heart to cinders where it is.
Fair Philomela, fhe but loft her tongue,
And in a tedious fampler few'd her mind.
But, lovely Niece, that mean is cut from thee;
A craftier Tereus haft thou met withal,
And he hath cut thofe pretty fingers off,
That could have better few'd than Philomel.
Oh, had the monster feen thofe lily hands
Tremble, like afpen leaves, upon a lute,
And make the filken ftrings delight to kifs them;
He would not then have touch'd them for his life.
Or had he heard the heav'nly harmony,
Which that sweet tongue hath made;
He would have dropt his knife, and fell asleep,
As Cerberus at the Thracian Poet's feet.
Come, let us go, and make thy father blind;
For fuch a fight will blind a father's eye.
One hour's ftorm will drown the fragrant meads,
What will whole months of tears thy father's eyes?
Do not draw back, for we will mourn with thee:
Oh, could our mourning eafe thy mifery!
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