Lav. O Tamora, thou bear'ft a woman's face Tam. I will not hear her speak; away with her! Lav. Sweet Lords, intreat her hear me but a word Dem. Liften, fair Madam, let it be your glory To fee her tears; but be your heart to them, As unrelenting flints to drops of rain.

Lav. When did the tyger's young ones teach the dam? O do not teach her wrath, she taught it thee.

The milk thou fuck'dit from her did turn to marble;
Even at thy teat thou hadst thy tyranny.

Yet every mother breeds not fons alike;

Do thou intreat her, fhew a woman pity.

Chi. What! would't thou have me prove my self a baftard? Lav. 'Tis true, the raven doth not hatch a lark: Yet have I heard, (O 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, 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. Hadft 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 and ufe her as you will,
The worfe to her, the better lov'd 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 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 lust,

And

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 fatisfie their luft on thee.

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

Lav. No grace? no womanhood? ah beaftly creature! The blot and enemy of our general name!

Confufion fall

Chi. Nay, then I'll ftop your mouth

husband:

bring thou her [Dragging off Lavinia.

This is the hole where Aaron bid us hide him. [Exeunt. Tam. Farewel, my fons; fee that ye make her fure.

Ne'er let my heart know merry cheer indeed,

'Till all th' Andronici be made away.

Now will I hence to seek my lovely Moor,

And let my fpleenful fons this trull deflour.

[Exit.

SCENE VI.

Enter Aaron with Quintus and Marcus.

Aar. Come on, my Lords, the better foot before Strait will I bring you to the loathfome pit,

Where I efpied the Panther faft afleep.

Quin. My fight is very dull, whate'er it bodes.

Mar. And mine, I promise you; were't not for shame, Well could I leave our fport to flcep a while.

[Marcus falls into the pit.

Quin. What, art thou fall'n? what fubtle hole is this,

Whofe 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. 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.

SCENE VII.

[Exit Aaron.

Mar. Why doft not comfort me, and help me out

From

From this unhallow'd and blood-ftained hole?
Quin. I am furprized with an uncouth fear;
A killing sweat 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 mine 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 lyes 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 intrails 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 lose again,
'Till thou art here aloft, or I below.

Thou canst not come to me, I come to thee.
[Falls in.
SCENE VIII. 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 did 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, bere have we found him dead.

Enter Tamora, 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 search my wound ; Poor Baffianus here lyes murthered,

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,

Saturninus reads the letter.

An if we miss to meet bim bandfomely,
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 fame pit,
Where we decreed to bury Baffianus.

Do this, and purchase us thy lafting friends.

Sat. 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 murther'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

[To Titus.

Some

Some never heard-of torturing pain for them.

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 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 himfelf 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 murther'd body, fome the murtherers.
Let them not speak a word, the guilt

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 shall do well enough.

Tit. Come, Lucius, come, ftay not to talk with them.

SCENE IX.

[Exeunt.

Enter Demetrius and Chiron, with Lavinia, ber bands
cut off, and ber tongue cut out, and ravish'd.
Dem. So now go tell (an if thy tongue can speak
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 the can scrowle.
Chi. Go home, call for fweet water, wash thy hands.
Dem. She hath no tongue to call, nor hands to wash;
And fo let's leave her to her filent walks.

Chi. If 'twere my cafe, I fhould go hang my self. Dem. If thou hadft hands to help thee knit the cord. [Exeunt SCENE X. Enter Marcus to Lavinia. Mar. Who's this, my niece, that flies away fo faft? Coufin, a word; where is your husband ? say:

If