Yet wrung with wrongs, more than our backs

can bear:

Come on, you thick-lip'd flave, I bear you hence; But metal, Marcus, fteel to the very back f
For it is you that put us to our shifts:
I'll make you feed on berries, and on roots,
And feed on curds and whey, and fuck the goat,
And cabin in a cave; and bring you up
To be a warrior, and command a camp.

SCENE III.

A Street near the Palate.

[Exit.

Enter Titus, old Marcus, young Lucius, and ther Gentlemen with bows; and Titus bears the arrous with letters on the ends of them.

cus.

And fith there is no justice in earth nor hell,
We will folicit heaven; and move the gods,
To fend down juftice for to wreak our wrongs:
Come, to this gear. You are a good archer, Mar-
[He gives them the arrow..
Ad Jovem, that's for you :-Here, ad Apollinem:—
Ad Martem, that's for myfelf;—
Here, boy, to Pallas-Here to Mercury
To Saturn, and to Calus; not to Saturnme,-
You were as good to thout against the wind.---

Tit. Come, Marcus, come;-K infmen, this is To it, boy. Marcus, loofe when I bid:

the way:

Sir boy, now let me fee your archery ;

Look, ye draw home enough, and 'tis there ftraight:
Terras ilirea reliquit :- -be you remember'd,
Marcus.-

She's gone, fhe's fled.-Sirs, take you to your tools.
You, cousins, fhall go found the ocean,
And caft your nets; haply, you may find her in
the fea;

Yet there's as little juftice as at land :

No; Publius and Sempronius, you must do it ;
'Tis you must dig with mattock, and with fpade,
And pierce the inmoft centre of the earth;
Then, when you come to Pluto's region,
I pray you, deliver him this petition:
Tell him, it is for juftice, and for aid;
And that it comes from old Andronicus,
Shaken with forrows in ungrateful Rome.-

Ah, Rome -Well, well; I made thee miferable,
What time I threw the people's fuffrages
On him that thus doth tyrannize o'er me.—
Go, get you gone; and pray be careful all,
And leave you not a man of war unfearch'd;
This wicked emperor may have shipp'd her hence,
And, kinfmen, then we may go pipe for justice.
Mar. O, Publius, is not this a heavy cafe,
To fee thy noble uncle thus diftract?

O' my word, I have written to effect;
There's not a god left unfolicited.

[court:

Mar. Kin men, fhoot all your shafts into the
We will afflict the emperor in his pride.
Tit. Now, mafters, draw. [They boot.] 0, well
faid, Lucius!

Good boy, in Virgo's lap, give it to Pallas.

Mar. My lord, I am a mile beyond the moon; Your letter is with Jupiter by this.

Tit. Ha! Publius, Publius, what haft thou done? See, fee, thou haft shot off one of Taurus' horns. Mar. This was the fport, my lord; when Pub

Pub. Therefore, my lord, it highly us con- hath taken them down again, for the man muft

cerns,

By day and night to attend him carefully;
And feed his humour kindly as we may,
'Till time beget fome careful remedy,

Mar. Kintmen, his forrows are past remedy.
Join with the Goths; and with revengeful war
Take wreak on Rome for this ingratitude,
And vengeance on the traitor Saturnine.

[ters,

not be hang'd 'till the next week.

Tit. Tut, what fays Jupiter, I afk thee?
Clown. Alas, fir, I know not Jupiter; I never
drank with him in all my life.

Tit. Why, villain, art not thou the carrier?
Clown. Ay, of my pigeons, fir; nothing else.
Tit. Why, didft thou not come from heaven ?
Clown. From heaven? alas, fir, I never came

Tit. Publius, how now? how now, my maí- there: God forbid, I thould be fo bold to prefs to What, have you met with her? [word, heaven in my young days! Why, I am going with my pigeons to the tribunal plebs, to take up a matter of brawl betwixt my uncle and one of the emperial's men.

Pub. No, my good lord; but Pluto fends you
If you will have revenge from hell, you shail :
Marry, for Juttice, the is fo employ'd,

He thinks with Jove in heaven, or fomewhere elfe,
So that perforce you needs must stay a time.

Tit. He doth me wrong, to feed me with delays.
I'll dive into the burning lake below,
And pull her out of Acheron by the heels.--
Marcus, we are but shrubs, no cedars we;
No big-bond men, fram'd of the Cyclops' fize;

Mar. Why, fir, that is as fit as can be, to ferve for your oration; and let him deliver the pigeons to the emperor from you.

Tit. Tell me, can you deliver an oration to the emperor with a grace?

Clown. Nay, truly, fir, I could never say grace in all my life.

The Clown means to fay, to the tribune of the people.

TH.

Tit. Sirrah, come hither; make no more ado, Than profecute the meaneft, or the best,
But give your pigeons to the emperor :

By me thou shalt have juftice at his hands. [charges.
Hold, hold;-mean while, here's money for thy
Give me a pen and ink.-

For thefe contempts. Why, thus it shall become

High-witted Tamora to gloze with all:
But, Titus, I have touch'd thee to the quick,

Sirrah, can you with a grace deliver a fupplication? Thy life-blood out: if Aaron now be wife,
Then is all fafe, the anchor's in the port.-
Clown. Ay, fir.
And
Enter Clown.
Tit. Then here is a fupplication for you.
when you come to him, at the first approach, you How now, good fellow
muft kneel; then kifs his foot; then deliver up
your pigeons; and then look for your reward.
I'll be at hand, fir; fee you do it bravely.
Clown. I warrant you, fir: let me alone.

[it.

Tit. Sirrah, haft thou a knife? Come, let me fee
Here, Marcus, fold it in the oration;

For thou haft made it like an humble fuppliant :-
And when thou haft given it the emperor,
Knock at my door, and tell me what he fays.
I will.
Clown. God be with you, fir;
Tit. Come, Marcus, let us go :-Publius, follow

[Excunt.

Enter Emperor, and Emperefs, and her two fons; the Emperor brings the arrows in his hand, that Titus fhot.

Sat. Why, lords, what wrongs are these? Was

ever feen

An emperor of Rome thus over-borne,
Troubled, confronted thus; and, for the extent
Of egal juftice, us'd in fuch contempt ?
My lords, you know, as do the mightful gods,
However the difturbers of our peace
Buz in the people's ears, there nought háth past
But even with law, against the wifful fons
And what an if
Of old Andronicus.
His forrows have fo overwhelm'd his wits,
Shall we be thus afflicted in his wreaks 1,
His fits, his phrenzy, and his bitterness?
And now he writes to heaven for his redress:
See, here's to Jove, and this to Mercury ;
This to Apollo; this to the god of war:
Sweet fcrolls, to fly about the ftreets of Rome!
What's this, but libelling against the fenate,
And blazoning our injuftice every where ?
A goodly humour, is it not, my lords?
As who would fay, in Rome no juftice were.
But, if I live, his feigned ecftafies

Shall be no fheiter to thefe outrages:
But he and his fhall know, that juftice lives
In Saturninus' health; whom, if the fleep,
He'll fo awake, as the in fury fhall
Cut off the proud'it confpirator that lives.

Tam. My gracious lord, moft lovely Saturnine,
Lord of my life, commander of my thoughts,
Calm thee, and bear the faults of Titus' age,
The effects of forrow for his valiant fons,

wouldst thou speak with [perial. us? Clown. Yes, forfooth, an your mistership be emTam. Empereis I am, but yonder fits the em

peror.

Clown. 'Tis he.-God and faint Stephen, give you good den:

I have brought you a letter, and a couple of pi-
geons here. [The Emperor reads the letter.
Sat. Go, take him away, and hang him pre
fently.

Clown. How much money must I have?
Tam. Come, firrah, you must be hang'd.
Clown. Hang'd! By'r lady, then I have brought
up a neck to a fair end.

I

Sat. Defpightful and intolerable wrongs!
Shall I endure this monitrous villainy?

[Exit.

know from whence this fame device proceeds:
May this be borne ?-as if his traiterous fons,
That dy'd by law for murder of our brother,
Have by my means been butcher'd wrongfully ?--
Go, drag the villain hither by the hair;
Nor age, nor honour, fhall shape privilege
For this proud mock, I'll be thy flaughter-man;
Sly frantick wretch, that holp'ft to make me great,
In hope thyfelf should govern Rome and me.
Enter Emilius.

Sat. What news with thee, Æmilius ?
Emil. Arm, arm, my lords; Rome never had
more caufe!

The Goths have gather'd head; and with a power
Of high-refolved men, bent to the fpoil,
They hither march amain, under conduct
Of Lucius, fon to old Andronicus;
Who threats, in courfe of his revenge, to do
As much as ever Coriolanus did.

Sat. Is warlike Lucius general of the Goths?
Thefe tidings nip me; and I hang the head
As flowers with froft, or grafs beat down with
ftorms.

Ay, now begin our forrows to approach:
'Tis he, the common people love fo much;
Myfelf have often over-heard them fay,
(When I have walked like a private man)
That Lucius' banishment was wrongfully,
And they have with'd that Lucius were their empe-
Tam. Why should you fear? is not our city

Strong?

[ror.

Sat. Ay, but the citizens favour Lucius ;
And will revolt from me, to fuccour him. [name.
Tam. King, be thy thoughts imperious, like thy

Whofe lofs hath pierc'd him deep and fcarr'd his Is the fun dimm'd, that gnats do fly in it?

heart;

And rather comfort bis diftreffed plight,

The eagle fuffers little birds to fing,
And is not careful what they mean thereby ;-

ACT V.

APPROVED warriors, and my faithful Who when he day thou art the emperers' babe,

Goth. Renowned Lucius, from our troops I
To gaze upon a ruinous monaftery; [ftray'd
And as I earneftly did fix mine eye
Upon the wafted building, fuddenly
I heard a child cry underneath a wall:

I made unto the noife; when foon I heard
The crying babe controul'd with this difcourfe:
"Peace, tawny flave; half me, and half thy dam!
"Did not thy hue bewray whofe brat thou art,
"Had nature lent thee but thy mother's look,
"Villain, thou might it have been an emperor:
"But where the bull and cow are both milk-white,

1 Honey-ftalks are clover-flowers, which contain a sweet juice. It is common for cattle to overcharge themfelves with clover, and die. 2 Get me a ladder, may mean, hang me.

Ruthful to hear, yet piteously perform'd:
And this fhall all be buried by my death,
Unless thou fwear to me, my child shall live.

Luc. Tell on thy mind; I fay, thy child fhall live.
dar. Swear that he shall, and then I will begin.
Luc. Who fhould I fwear by? thou believ'ft no
ged;

That granted, how canft thou believe an oath ?
Aar. What if I do not? as, indeed, I do not:
Yet, for I know thou art religious,

And haft a thing within thee, called confcience;
With twenty popish tricks and ceremonies,
Which I have feen thee careful to obferve,-
Therefore I urge thy oath ;-For that, I know,
An ideot holds his bauble for a god,

And keeps the oath, which by that god he swears;
To that I'll urge him :-Therefore thou shalt vow
By that fame god, what god foe'er it be,
That thou ador'ft and haft in reverence,-
To save my boy, nourish, and bring him up;
Or elfe I will difcover nought to thee.

Luc. Even by my god, I fwear to thee, I will.
Aar. First, know thou, I begot him on the
emperefs.

Luc. O moft infatiate, luxurious woman!

Aar. Tut, Lucius! this was but a deed of charity, To that which thou shalt hear of me anon. 'Twas her two fons, that murder'd Baffianus: They cut thy fifter's tongue, and ravish'd her, And cut her hands off; and trimm'd her as thou fa w'it.

[ming?

Luc. O, deteftable villain! call'st thou that trimAar. Why, the was wash'd, and cut, and trimm'd; and 'twas

Trim fport for them that had the doing of it.

Luc. O, barbarous beaftly villains, like thyself!
Aar. Indeed, I was the tutor to inftruct them:
That codding spirit had they from their mother,
As fure a card as ever won the fet;
That bloody mind, I think, they learn'd of me,
As true a dog as ever fought at head.--
Well, let my deeds be witnefs of my worth.
I train'd thy brethren to that guileful hole,
Where the dead corps of Baflianus lay :
I wrote the letter that thy father found,
And hid the gold within the letter mention'd,
Confederate with the queen, and her two fons :
And what not done, that thou hast cause to rue,
Wherein I had no ftroke of mifchief in it?
I play'd the cheater for thy father's hand;
And, when I had it, drew myself apart,
And almost broke my heart with extreme laughter.
I pry'd me through the crevice of a wall,
When, for his hand, he had his two fons' heads;
Beheld his tears, and laugh'd fo heartily,
That both mine eyes were rainy like to his;
And when I told the emperefs of this fport,
She fwooned almost at my pleasing tale,
And, for my tidings, gave me twenty kiffes.
Goth. What! canft thou fay all this, and never
blush?

Aar. Ay, like a black dog, as the faying is.
Luc. Art thou not forry for these heinous deeds?
Aar. Ay, that I had not done a thousand more.
Even now I curfe the day, (and yet, I think,
Few come within the compafs of my curfe)
Wherein I did not fome notorious ill :
As kill a man, or elfe devife his death;
Ravish a maid, or plot the way to do it;
Accufe fome innocent, and forfwear myself;
Set deadly enmity between two friends;
Make poor men's cattle break their necks;
Set fire on barns and hay-stacks in the night,
And bid the owners quench them with their tears.
Oft have I digg'd up dead men from their graves,
And fet them upright at their dear friends' doors,
Even when the forrow almost was forgot;
| And on their skins, as on the bark of trees,
Have with my knife carved in Roman letters,
Let not your forrow die, though I am dead.
Tut, I have done a thousand dreadful things,
As willingly as one would kill a fly;
And nothing grieves me heartily indeed,
But that I cannot do ten thousand more.
Luc. Bring down the devil 2; for he must not die
So fweet a death, as hanging presently.

Aar. If there be devils, 'would I were a devil,
To live and burn in everlasting fire;

So I might have your company in hell,
But to torment you with my bitter tongue!
Luc. Sirs, ftop his mouth, and let him speak

2 Mr. Stee

Ii. e. that love of bed-fports. Cod is a word ftill ufed in Yourkshire for a pillow. vens here obferves, that it appears, from these words, that the audience were entertained with part of the apparatus of an execution, and that Aaron was mounted on a ladder, as ready to be turned off.

Tit.

Tit. Who doth moleft my contemplation?
Is it your trick to make me ope the door;
That fo my fad decrees may fly away,
And all my study be to no effect?

You are deceiv'd: for what I mean to do,
See here, in bloody lines I have fet down;
And what is written fhall be executed.

Tam. Titus, I am come to talk with thee.
Tit. No; not a word: How can I grace my talk,
Wanting a hand to give it that accord?
Thou haft the odds of me, therefore no more.
Tam. If thou did't know me, thou would't
talk with me.

Tit. I am not mad: I know thee well enough:|
Witness this wretched ftump, thefe crimfon lines;
Witnefs thefe trenches, made by grief and care;
Witness the tiring day, and heavy night;
Witness all forrow, that I know thee well
For our proud emperefs, mighty Tamora:
Is not thy coming for my other hand?
Tam. Know thou, fad man, I am not Tamora;
She is thy enemy, and I thy friend :
I am Revenge; fent from the infernal kingdom,
To eafe the gnawing vulture of thy mind,
By working wreakful vengeance on thy foes.
Come down, and welcome me to this world's light;
Confer with me of murder, and of death:
There's not a hollow cave, nor lurking-place,
No vaft obfcurity, or mifty vale,
Where bloody murder, or detefted rape,
Can couch for fear, but I will find them out;
And in their ears tell them my dreadful name,
Revenge, which makes the foul offenders quake.
Tit. Art thou Revenge? and art thou fent to me,

To be a torment to mine enemies?

I will embrace thee in it by and by.

Tam. I am; therefore come down, and wel

come me.

[Exit Titus from above,

Tam. This clofing with him fits his lunacy :
Whate'er I forge, to feed his brain-fick fits,
Do you uphold and maintain in your fpeeches.
For now he firmly takes me for Revenge;
And, being credulous in this mad thought,
I'll make him fend for Lucius, his fon;
And, whilft I at a banquet hold him fure,
I'll find fome cunning practice out of hand,
To fcatter and difperfe the giddy Goths,
Or, at the leaft, make them his enemies.
See, here he comes, and I must ply my theme.
Enter Titus.

Tit. Do me fome fervice, ere I come to thee.
Lo, by thy fide where Rape, and Murder, ftands;
Now give fome 'furance that thou art Revenge,
Stab them, or tear them on thy chariot wheels;
And then I'll come, and be thy waggoner,
And whirl along with thee about the globes.
Provide two proper palfries, black as jet,
To hale thy vengeful waggon fwift away,
And find out murderers in their guilty caves:
And, when thy car is loaden with their heads,
I will difmount, and by the waggon wheel
Trot, like a fervile footman, all day long;
Even from Hyperion's rifing in the eaft,
Until his very downfal in the fea.
And day by day I'll do this heavy task,
So thou deftroy Rapine and Murder there.
Tam. Thote are my minifters, and come with me.
Tit. Are they thy minifters what are they
call'd?

Tam. Rapine, and Murder: therefore called fo, 'Cause they take vengeance on fuch kind of men. Tit. Good lord, how like the emperets' fons

they are!

And you, the emperefs! But we worldly men
Have miferable, mad, miftaking eyes.
Ofweet Revenge, now do I come to thee:
And, if one arm's embracement will content thee,

Welcome, dread fury, to my woeful house;—
Tit. Long have I been forlorn, and all for thee:
Rapine, and Murder, you are welcome too :—
How like the emperefs and her fons you are!
Well are you fitted, had you but a Moor :-
For, well I wot, the emperefs never wags,
Could not all hell afford you fuch a devil?-
And, would you reprefent our queen aright,
But in her company there is a Moor;
It were convenient you had fuch a devil:
But welcome, as you are. What shall we do?
Tam. What wouldft thou have us do, Andronicus!
Dem. Shew me a murderer, I'll deal with him.
Chi. Shew me a villain, that hath done a rape,
And I am fent to be reveng'd on him. [wrong,
Tam. Shew me a thoufand, that have done thee
And I will be revenged on them all. [Rome;

Tit. Look round about the wicked ftreets of
Good Murder, ftab him; he's a murderer.—
And when thou find'ft a man that's like thyfelf,
Go thou with him, and, when it is thy hap
To find another that is like to thee,
Good Rapine, ftab him; he is a ravisher.-
There is a queen, attended by a Moor ;
Go thou with them; and in the emperor's court
Well may't thou know her by thy own proportion,
For up and down the doth resemble thee;
I pray thee, do on them fome violent death,
They have been violent to me and mine.

[do.

Tam. Well haft thou leffon'd us; this fhall we
But would it pleafe thee, good Andronicus,
To fend for Lucius, thy thrice valiant fon,
Who leads towards Rome a band of warlike Goths,
And bid him come and banquet at thy houfe:
When he is here, even at thy folemn feast,
I will bring in the emperefs and her fons,
The emperor himfelf, and all thy foes;
And at thy mercy fhall they loop and kneel,
What fays Andronicus to this device?
And on them fhalt thou eafe thy angry heart.

Tit. Marcus, my brother !-'tis fad Titus calls.
Enter Marcus.

Go, gentle Marcus, to thy nephew Lucius;
Thou shalt enquire him out among the Goths:
Bid him repair to me, and bring with him
Some of the chiefeft princes of the Goths;
Bid him encamp his foldiers where they are:
Tell him, the emperor and the empere's too
Feaft at my houfe; and he thall feast with them.