And making bonfires for my overthrow : Shall make me bonfires with their filthy bones; Tamb. Those walled garrisons will I subdue, Have fetch'd about the Indian continent, And thence unto the Straits of Jubaltèr; Keeping in awe the Bay of Portingale, I'll make the kings of India, ere I die, The Turkess let my love's maid lead away, [They bind them. Baj. Ah, villains, dare you touch my sacred arms? O Mahomet! O sleepy Mahomet! Zab. O curɛèd Mahomet, that mak'st us thus The slaves to Scythians rude and barbarous ! Tamb. Come, bring them in; and for this happy conquest Triumph, and solemnize a martial+ feast. [Exeunt. SCENE I. ACT IV. Enter the SOLDAN OF EGYPT, CAPOLIN, Lords, and a Sold. Awake, ye men of Memphis !+ hear the clang Of Scythian trumpets; hear the basilisks, see The frowning looks of fiery Tamburlaine, That with his terror and imperious eyes * pilling] i. e. plundering. ↑ Awake, ye men of Memphis!] These words are put into the mouth of Judas, in Fletcher's Bonduca, at the commencement of act ii.; and in Fletcher's Wit without Money, act v. sc. 2. we find "thou man of Memphis." basilisks] Pieces of ordnance 80 called. They were of immense size; see Douce's Illust. of Shakespeare, 1.425. Commands the hearts of his associates, Sold. Villain, I tell thee, were that Tamburlaine As monstrous‡ as Gorgon prince of hell, Mess. Mighty lord, Three hundred thousand men in armour clad, With wanton paces trampling on the ground; shot, Shaking their swords, their spears, and iron bills, Sold. Nay, could their numbers countervail the stars, Or ever-drizzling § drops of April showers, * British] So the 4to.-The 8vo "brightest." t martial] So the 8vo.-The 4to "materiall." monstrous] To be read as a trisyllable. § Or ever-drizzling] So the 4to.-The 8vo "Or drisling." So scatter and consume them in his rage, to sort Your fighting men, and raise your royal host; But Tamburlaine by expedition Advantage takes of your unreadiness, Sold. Let him take all th' advantages he can : This arm should send him down to Erebus, The first day when he pitcheth down his tents, But, when Aurora mounts the second time, As red as scarlet is his furniture; Baj. Ye holy priests of heavenly Mahomet, Enchas'd with thousands ever-shining lamps, Baj. First shalt thou rip my bowels with thy sword, And sacrifice my heart to death and hell, Tamb. Base villain, vassal, slave to Tambur laine, Unworthy to embrace or touch the ground That bears the honour of my royal weight; Then must his kindled wrath be quench'd with Stoop, villain, stoop! stoop; ¶ for so he bids blood, Not sparing any that can manage arms : His spear, his shield, his horse, his armour, plumes, And jetty feathers, menace death and hell; SCENE II. [Exeunt. Enter TAMBURLAINE, TECHELLES, THERIDAMAS, USUMCASANE, ZENOCRATE, ANIPPE, two Moors drawing BAJAZETH in a cage, and ZABINA following him. Tamb. Bring out my footstool. [They take BAJAZETH out of the cage. *should] So the 4to.-The 8vo "shal." the devil] So the 8vo.-The 4to "he the deuill." Arabian king] Scil. Aleidamus: see p. 10, 1. 9, sec. col. That may command thee piecemeal to be torn, Fiends, look on me! and thou, dread god of hell, With ebon sceptre strike this hateful earth, [TAMBURLAINE gets up on him into his chair. And dim the brightness of your** neighbour lamps; Disdain to borrow light of Cynthia ! For I, the chiefest lamp of all the earth, it] So the 4to.-Omitted in the 8vo. tit should] So the 4to.-The 8vo "should it." this] So the 8vo.-The 4to "it." $into] So the 4to.-The 8vo "vnto." heart] So the 4to.-The 8vo "soui." stoop) Qy. "stoop, stoop"? ** your] Old eds. "their."-Compare the teath line of the speech. My sword struck fire from his coat of steel, Wrapt in the bowels of a freezing cloud, Or leave Damascus and th' Egyptian fields, Then, when the sky shall wax as red as blood, To make me think of naught but blood and war. Tech. You must devise some torment worse, my lord, To make these captives rein their lavish tongues. Tamb. Zenocrate, look better to your slave. Zeno. She is my handmaid's slave, and she shall look That these abuses flow not from § her tongue.Chide her, Anippe. Anip. Let these be warnings, then, for you,|| my slave, How you abuse the person of the king; Or else I swear to have you whipt stark nak'd.¶ Baj. Great Tamburlaine, great in my overthrow, Ambitious pride shall make thee fall as low, Are fled from Bajazeth, and remain with me, That will maintain it 'gainst a world of kings.Put him in again. [They put him into the cage. Baj. Is this a place for mighty Bajazeth? Confusion light on him that helps thee thus ! Tamb. There, whiles* he lives, shall Bajazeth be kept; And, where I go, be thus in triumph drawn; And thou, his wife, shalt + feed him with the scraps My servitors shall bring thee from my board; The golden stature § of their feather'd bird,|| The men, the treasure, and the town are ¶ ours. shalt] So the 4to.-The 8vo "shal." ✰ grace] Olds eds. "grac'd." § stature] So the 8vo.-The 4to "statue: " but again, in the Second Part of this play, act ii. sc. 4, we have, according to the 8vo "And here will I set up her stature." and, among many passages that might be cited from our early authors, compare the following; "The Statures huge, of Porphyrie and costlier matters made." Warner's Albions England, p. 303. ed. 1596. "By them shal Isis stature gently stand." Chapman's Blind Begger of Alexandria, 1598, sig. A 3. "Was not Anubis with his long nose of gold preferred before Neptune, whose stature was but brasse?" Lyly's Midas, sig. A 2. ed. 1592. bird] i. e. the ibis. Tare] Old eds. "is," Tamb. So shall he have his life, and all the rest : Be once advanc'd on my vermilion tent, Were in that city all the world contain'd, sworn. Come; bring in the Turk. SCENE III. Sold. I have, and sorrow for his bad success; But, noble lord of great Arabia, Be so persuaded that the Soldan is No more dismay'd with tidings of his fall, That Tamburlaine shall rue the day, the + hour, K. of Ar. Let grief and fury hasten on revenge; Such plagues as heaven and we can pour on him: Entr SOLDAN, KING OF ARABIA, CAPOLIN, and Soldiers, I long to break my spear upon his crest, with streaming colours. Sold. Methinks we march as Meleager did, The scum of men, the hate and scourge of God, And hasten to remove Damascus' siege. It is a blemish to the majesty And high estate of mighty emperors, That such a base usurping vagabond Should brave a king, or wear a princely crown. And prove the weight of his victorious arm; A hundred and fifty thousand horse, Two hundred thousand foot, brave men-at-arms, As frolic as the hunters in the chase Of savage beasts amid the desert woods. K. of Ar. My mind presageth fortunate success; Sold. Then rear your standards; let your Direct our soldiers to Damascus' walls.- * Ibis' holy name] The ibis has been already alluded to K. of Ar. Renowmèd¶ Soldan, have you lately in the lines (p. 27, sec. col.),— The overthrow of mighty Bajazeth [heard King of Arabia] i.e. Alcidamus; see p. 10, 1. 9, sec. Calydonian] So the 8vo.-The 4to" Calcedonian." § lusty] So the 8vo.-Omitted in the 4to. and] So the 4to.-Omitted in the 870. Renowmed] See note II, p. 11. So the 810.-The 4to "Renowned." "The golden stature of their feather'd bird, That spreads her wings upon the city-walls"; and it is well known to have been a sacred bird among the Egyptians (see Cicero De Nat. Deorum, I. 36). Compare the old play of The Taming of a Shrew; "Father, I sweare by Ibis' golden beake, More faire and radiente is my bonie Kate Then siluer Zanthus," &c. p. 22. ed. Shakespeare Soc. In the passage of our text the modern editors substitute "Isis'" for "Ibis'." ↑ the] So the 8vo.-The 4to "and." § thy baseness and] So the Svo.-The 4to "the basess of." A banquet set out; and to it come TAMBURLAINE all in Tamb. Now hang our bloody colours by Reflexing hues of blood upon their heads, Tamb. Nay, thine own is easier to come by: pluck out that; and 'twill serve thee and thy wife. Well, Zenocrate, Techelles, and the rest, fall to your victuals. Tamb. Sirrah, why fall you not to? are you so daintily brought up, you cannot eat your own flesh? Baj. First, legions of devils shall tear thee in pieces. Usum. Villain, knowest thou to whom thou speakest ? Tamb. O, let him alone.-Here;* eat, sir; take it from + my sword's point, or I'll thrust it to thy heart. [BAJAZETH takes the food, and stamps upon it. Ther. He stamps it under his feet, my lord. Tamb. Take it up, villain, and eat it; or I will make thee slice ‡ the brawns of thy arms into carbonadoes and eat them. Usum. Nay, 'twere better he killed his wife, and then she shall be sure not to be starved, and he be provided for a month's victual beforehand. Tamb. Here is my dagger: despatch her while she is fat; for, if she live but a while longer, she will fall § into a consumption with fretting, and then she will not be worth the eating. Ther. Dost thou think that Mahomet will suffer this? Tech. 'Tis like he will, when he cannot let it. Tamb. Go to; fall to your meat. What, not a bit!-Belike he hath not been watered to-day : [They give BAJAZETH water to drink, and he flings it on the ground. Fast, and welcome, sir, while ¶ hunger make you eat.-How now, Zenocrate! doth not the Turk and his wife make a goodly show at a banquet? Zeno. Yes, my lord. Baj. Fall to, and never may your meat digest! give him some drink. Zeno. My lord,+ how can you suffer these Ther. Methinks 'tis a great deal better than a consort ** of music. Tamb. Yet music would do well to cheer up Zenocrate. Pray thee, tell why art thou so sad? if thou wilt have a song, the Turk shall strain his voice but why is it? Zeno. My lord, to see my father's town besieg'd, The country wasted where myself was born, How can it but afflict my very soul? Tech. I pray you, give them leave, madam; this If any love remain in you, my lord, speech is a goodly refreshing for them.‡ Or if my love unto your majesty Ther. But, if his highness would let them be May merit favour at your highness' hands, fed, it would do them more good. * Here] So the 8vo.-The 4to "there." t it from] So the 8vo.-The 4to "it vp from." § will fall] So the 8vo.-The 4to "will not fall." while] i. e. until. ** consort] i. e. band. |