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 nests: Oh, be to me, tho' 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. Hadit thou in perfon ne'er offended me,
Even for his fake am I now pitilefs:

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, and ufe her as you will;
The worse to her, the better lov'd of me.

Lav. O Tamera, 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 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 1 beg; and one thing more,
That womanhood denies
my tongue to tell :
O, keep me from their worfe-than-killing luff,
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 satisfie their luft on thee.

Dem. Away! For thou haft ftaid us here too long. Lav. No grace? no woman-hood? ah beaftly creature! The blot and enemy of our general name!

Confufion fall

Chi. Nay, then I'll ftop your mouth

her husband:

- bring thou [Dragging off Lavinia. This is the hole, where Aaron bid us hide him. [Exeunt. Tam. Farewel, my fons ; fee, that you make her fure.

Ne'er

Ne'er let my heart know merry chear indeed,
"Till all th' Andronici be made away.
Now will I hence to feek my lovely Moor,

And let my spleenful fons this Trull deflour.

[Exit.

Enter Aaron, with Quintus and Marcus.

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

Quin. My fight is very dull, whate'er it bodes.
Mar. And mine, I promise you; wer't not for fhame,
Well could I leave our sport to fleep a while.

[Marcus falls into the pit.
Quin. What, art thou fallen? what fubtle hole is this,
Whofe 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?
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. 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 Aaron.

Mar. Why deft 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; 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 compaffionate heart Will not permit my eyes once to behold The thing, whereat it trembles by furmise : 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, VOL. VI.

K

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 shine 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 swallowing 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 loose 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 fee what hole is here, And what he is, that now is leap'd into't.

Say, who art thou, that lately didst descend
Into this gaping hollow of the earth?

Mar. Th' unhappy fon of old Andronicus,
Brought hither in a most unlucky hour,
To find thy brother Bafianus dead.

Sat. My brother dead? I know, thou doft but jeft: 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

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 dost thou fearch my wound; Poor Bafianus 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.

Saturninus reads the letter.

And if we mifs to meet him handfomly,
Sweet buntfman, 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 over-fhades the mouth of that same 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, 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.
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.

[To Titus.

Tam. What, are they in this pit ? oh wondrous thing! How eafily murder is discovered?

Tit. High Emperor, upon my feeble knee I beg this boon, with tears not lightly fhed, That this fell fault of my accursed fons,

K 2

(Accurfed

(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 murderer s
Let them not speak a word, the guilt is plain;
For, by my foul, were there worse end than death,
That end upon them fhould be executed.

Tam. Andronicus, I will entreat the King; Fear not thy fons, they fhall do well enough.

Tit. Come, Lucius, come, fay not to talk with them. [Exeunt feverally.

Enter Demétrius 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 speak) Who 'twas that cut thy tongue, and ravifh'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 fcrowle. Chi. Go home, call for fweet 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.

felf.

Chi. If 'twere my cafe, I should go hang my Dem. If thou hadft hands to help thee knit the cord. [Exeunt Dem. and Chiron,

Enter Marcus to Lavinia.

Mar. Who's this, my Neice, that flies away fo faft? 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 me down,
That I may flumber in eternal fleep!

Speak, gentle Neice, what ftern ungentle hands
Have lopp'd, and hew'd, and made thy body bare

Of