Page images
PDF
EPUB

Lav. O let me teach thee! For my father's

sake,

That gave thee life when well he might have slain thee,

Be not obdúrate, open thy deaf ears.

Tam. Hadst thou in person ne'er offended

me,

Even for his sake am I pitiless.—

Remember, boys, I pour'd forth tears in vain,
To save your brother from the sacrifice ;
But fierce Andronicus would not relent:
Therefore, away with her, and use her as you
will;

The worse to her, the better loved of me.

Lav. O, Tamora, be call'd a gentle queen, And with thine own hands kill me in this place: For 'tis not life that I have begg'd so long; Poor I was slain when Bassianus died.

Tam. What begg'st thou then? fond woman, let me go.

Lav. 'Tis present death I beg; and one thing
more,

That womanhood denies my tongue to tell :
O, keep me from their worse than killing lust,
And tumble me into some loathsome pit,
Where never man's eye may behold my body;-
Do this, and be a charitable murderer.

Tam. So should I rob my sweet sons of their
fee.

No, let them satisfy their lust on thee.

Demet. Away, for thou hast stay'd us here too long.

Lav. No grace!-no womanhood! Ah, beastly
creature,

The blot and enemy to our general name!
Confusion fall-

Chi. Nay, then I'll stop your mouth ;-bring thou her husband: [Dragging off LAVINIA. This is the hole where Aaron bid us hide him. Tam. Farewell, my sons; see that you make her sure:

Ne'er let my heart know merry cheer indeed,
Till all the Andronici be made away.—
Now will I hence to seek my lovely Moor,
And let my spleenful sons this trull deflour.

[Exit.

SCENE IV.—The Forest.

Enter AARON, with QUINTUS and MARTIUS. Aaron. Come on, my lords, the better foot before:

Straight will I bring you to the loathsome pit, Where I espied the panther fast asleep.

Quint. My sight is very dull, whate'er it bodes. Mart. And mine, I promise you; were't not for shame,

Well could I leave our sport to sleep awhile. [MARTIUS falls into the pit. Quint. What, art thou fallen? What subtle

hole is this,

Whose mouth is cover'd with rude growing briers,

Upon whose leaves are drops of new-shed blood, As fresh as morning's dew distill'd on flowers? A very fatal place it seems to me :

Speak, brother, hast thou hurt thee with the fall?

Mart. O brother, with the dismall'st object hurt

That ever eye with sight made heart lament.

Aaron. [aside.] Now will I fetch the king to
find them here,

That he thereby may have a likely guess,
How these were they that made away his brother.
[Exit.
Mart. Why dost not comfort me and help me

out

From this unhallow'd and blood-stained hole?

Quint. I am surprised with an uncouth fear
A chilling sweat o'erruns my trembling joints;
My heart suspects more than mine eye can see.
Mart. To prove thou hast a true-divining heart,
Aaron and thou look down into this den,
And see a fearful sight of blood and death.
Quint. Aaron is gone, and my compassionate
heart

Will not permit mine eyes once to behold
The thing whereat it trembles by surmise:
O, tell me how it is, for ne'er till now
Was I a child, to fear I know not what.

Mart. Lord Bassianus lies embruèd here,
All on a heap, like to a slaughter'd lamb,
Is this detested, dark, blood-drinking pit.
Quint. If it be dark, how dost thou know 'tis
he?

Mart. Upon his bloody finger he doth wear A precious ring, that lightens all the hole : Which, like a taper in some monument, Doth shine upon the dead man's earthy cheeks, And shows the ragged entrails of this pit : So pale did shine the moon on Pyramus, When he by night lay bathed 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' misty mouth.

Quint. Reach me thy hand, that I may help thee out;

Or, wanting strength to do thee so much good,
I may be pluck'd into the swallowing womb
Of this deep pit, poor Bassianus' grave.-
I have no strength to pluck thee to the brink.
Mart. Nor I no strength to climb without thy
help.

Quint. Thy hand once more; I will not loose again,

Till thou art here aloft, or I below:

Thou canst not come to me,-I come to thee.

Enter SATURNINUS and AARON.

[Falls.

Sat. Along with me:-I'll see 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?

Mart. The unhappy son of old Andronicus,
Brought hither in a most unlucky hour,
To find thy brother Bassianus dead.

Sat. My brother dead? I know thou dost but jest:

He and his lady both are at the lodge,

Upon the north side of this pleasant chase; 'Tis not an hour since I left him there.

Mart. We know not where you left him all alive,

But out, alas! here have we found him dead.

Enter TAMORA, ANDRONICUS, and Lucius.

Tam. Where is my lord the king?

Sat. Here, Tamora, though grieved with killing grief.

Tam. Where is thy brother Bassianus ? Sat. Now to the bottom dost thou search my wound;

Poor Bassianus here lies murdered.

Tam. Then all too late I bring this fatal writ, [Giving SATURNINUS a letter.

The complot of this timeless tragedy;
And wonder greatly that man's face can fold
In pleasing smiles such murderous tyranny.
Sat. [reads.]

An if we miss to meet him handsomely,-
Sweet huntsman, Bassianus 'tis we mean,-
Do thou so much as dig the grave for him;
Thou know'st our meaning. Look for thy reward
Among the nettles at the elder-tree,

Which overshades the mouth of that same pit,
Where we decreed to bury Bassianus.

Do this, and purchase us thy lasting friends.
O, 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 Bassianus here.
Aaron. My gracious lord, here is the bag of
gold.

Sat. [to Titus.] Two of thy whelps, fell curs of bloody kind,

Have here bereft my brother of his life.-
Sirs, drag them from the pit unto the prison;
There let them bide until we have devised
Some never-heard-of torturing pain for them.
Tam. What, are they in this pit? oh won-
drous thing!

How easily murder is discovered!

Tit. High emperor, upon my feeble knee, I beg this boon, with tears not lightly shed, That this fell fault of my accursèd sons,Accursed, if the fault be proved in them,

« PreviousContinue »