Then raise your siege from fair Damascus' walls, And with my father take a friendly truce.

Tamb. Zenocrate, were Egypt Jove's own land, Yet would I with my sword make Jove to stoop.

I will confute those blind geographers
That make a triple region in the world,
Excluding regions which I mean to trace,
And with this pen* reduce them to a map,
Calling the provinces, cities, and towns,
After my name and thine, Zenocrate :
Here at Damascus will I make the point
That shall begin the perpendicular:

And wouldst thou have me buy thy father's love

With such a loss? tell me, Zenocrate.

Zeno. Honour still wait on happy Tamburlaine ! Yet give me leave to plead for him, my lord. Tamb. Content thyself: his person shall be safe,

And all the friends of fair Zenocrate,

If with their lives they will be pleas'd to yield,
Or may be forc'd to make me emperor;
For Egypt and Arabia must be mine.-
Feed, you slave; thou mayst think thyself
happy to be fed from my trencher.

Baj. My empty stomach, full of idle heat,
Draws bloody humours from my feeble parts,
Preserving life by hastening + cruel death.
My veins are pale; my sinews hard and dry;
My joints benumb'd; unless I eat, I die.

Zab. Eat, Bajazeth; let us live in spite of them, looking some happy power will pity and enlarge us.

Tamb. Here, Turk; wilt thou have a clean trencher?

Baj. Ay, tyrant, and more meat.

Tamb. Soft, sir! you must be dieted; too much eating will make you surfeit.

Ther. So it would, my lord, 'specially + having so small a walk and so little exercise.

A second course is brought in of crowns.

pen] i. e. his sword.

thastening] So the 4to.-The Svo "hasting." 'specially] So the 8vo.-The 4to "especially."

Tamb. Theridamas, Techelles, and Casane, here are the cates you desire to finger, are they not? Ther. Ay, my lord: but none save kings must feed with these.

Tech. 'Tis enough for us to see them, and for Tamburlaine only to enjoy them.

Tamb. Well; here is now to the Soldan of Egypt, the King of Arabia, and the Governor of Damascus. Now, take these three crowns, and pledge me, my contributory kings. I crown you here, Theridamas, king of Argier; Techelles, king of Fez; and Usumcasane, king of Morocco *. How say you to this, Turk? these are not your contributory kings.

Baj. Nor shall they long be thine, I warrant them.

Tamb. Kings of Argier, Morocco, and of Fez, You that have march'd with happy Tamburlaine As far as from the frozen plage + of heaven Unto the watery Morning's ruddy bower, And thence by land unto the torrid zone, Deserve these titles I endow you with By valour and by magnanimity. Your births shall be no blemish to your fame; For virtue is the fount whence honour aprings, And they are worthy she investeth kings.

Ther. And, since your highness hath so well

vouchsaf'd,

If we deserve them not with higher meeds
Than erst our states and actions have retain'd,
Take them away again,§ and make us slaves.
Tamb. Well said, Theridamas: when holy
Fates

Shall stablish me in strong Ægyptia,
We mean to travel to th' antarctic pole,
Conquering the people underneath our feet,
And be renowm'd || as never emperors were.—
Zenocrate, I will not crown thee yet,
Until with greater honours I be grac'd. [Exeunt.

* Morocco] Here and in the next speech the old eds. hav. "Morocus" and "Moroccus:" but see note 1, p. 22. † plage] i. e. region.-Old eds. "place." valour] Old eds. "value."

§ again] So the Svo.-Omitted in the 4to.

renowm'd] See note, p. 11. So the Svo.-The 4to "renown'd."

SCENE I.

Enter the GOVERNOR OF DAMASCUS with three or four Citizens, and four Virgins with branches of laurel in their hands.

Gov. Still doth this man, or rather god of war,

Batter our walls and beat our turrets down;
And to resist with longer stubbornness,
Or hope of rescue from the Soldan's power,
Were but to bring our wilful overthrow,
And make us desperate of our threaten'd lives.
We see his tents have now been altered
With terrors to the last and cruel'st hue;
His coal-black colours, every where advanc'd,
Threaten our city with a general spoil;
And, if we should with common rites of arms
Offer our safeties to his clemency,

I fear the custom proper to his sword,
Which he observes as parcel of his fame,
Intending so to terrify the world,
By any innovation or remorse +
Will never be dispens'd with till our deaths.
Therefore, for these our harmless virgins' sakes,
Whose honours and whose lives rely on him,
Let us have hope that their unspotted prayers,
Their blubber'd § cheeks, and hearty humble

moans,

Will melt his fury into some remorse,
And use us like a loving conqueror.||

First Virg. If humble suits or imprecations (Utter'd with tears of wretchedness and blood Shed from the heads and hearts of all our sex,

Gov. Well, lovely virgins, think our country's

care,

Our love of honour, loath to be enthrall'd
To foreign powers and rough imperious yokes,
Would not with too much cowardice or* fear,
Before all hope of rescue were denied,
Submit yourselves and us to servitude.
Therefore, in that your safeties and our own,
Your honours, liberties, and lives were weigh'd
In equal care and balance with our own,
Endure as we the malice of our stars,
The wrath of Tamburlaine and power + of wars;
Or be the means the overweighing heavens
Have kept to qualify these hot extremes,
And bring us pardon in your cheerful looks.

Sec. Virg. Then here, before the Majesty of
Heaven

And holy patrons of Ægyptia,

With knees and hearts submissive we entreat
Grace to our words and pity to our looks,
That this device may prove propitious,
And through the eyes and ears of Tamburlaine
Convey events of mercy to his heart;
Grant that these signs of victory we yield
May bind the temples of his conquering head,
To hide the folded furrows of his brows,
And shadow his displeasèd countenance
With happy looks of ruth and lenity.
Leave us, my lord, and loving countrymen:
What simple virgins may persuade, we will.
Gov. Farewell, sweet virgins, on whose safe
return

[Exeunt all except the Virgins.

**

as we.

• Damascus] Both the old eds. here "Damasco:" but in many other places they agree in reading" Damascus." remorse] i. e. pity.

sakes] So the 8vo.-The 4to. "sake."

blubber'd] That this word formerly conveyed no ludicrous idea, appears from many passages of our early writers.

And use us like a loving conqueror] "i. e. And that he will use us like, &c." Ed. 1826.

care] 8o the 4to.-The Svo "cares."

** helps] So the 8vo.-The 4to "help."

Enter TAMBURLAINE, all in black and very melancholy, TECHELLES, THERIDAMAS, USUMCASANE, with tiers. Tamb. What, are the turtles fray'd out of their

nests?

Alas, poor fools, must you be first shall feel
The sworn destruction of Damascus ?

They knew my custom; could they not as well
Have sent ye out when first my milk-white flags,
Through which sweet Mercy threw her gentle
beams,

*or] So the 8vo.-The 4to "for."

† power] So the Svo.-The 4to "powers." knew] So the Svo.-The 4to "know."

Reflexèd them on their + disdainful eyes,
As now when fury and incensed hate
Flings slaughtering terror from my coal-black
tents,§

And tells for truth submission || comes too late? First Vir. Most happy king and emperor of the earth,

Image of honour and nobility,

For whom the powers divine have made the world,

And on whose throne the holy Graces sit;
In whose sweet person is compris'd the sum
Of Nature's skill and heavenly majesty ;
Pity our plights! O, pity poor Damascus !
Pity old age, within whose silver hairs
Honour and reverence evermore have reign'd!
Pity the marriage-bed, where many a lord,
In prime and glory of his loving joy,
Embraceth now with tears of ruth and ¶ blood
The jealous body of his fearful wife,

Whose cheeks and hearts, so punish'd with conceit,**

To think thy puissant never-stayed arm
Will part their bodies, and prevent their souls
From heavens of comfort yet their age might
bear,

Now wax all pale and wither'd to the death,
As well for grief our ruthless governor
Hath ++ thus refus'd the mercy of thy hand,
(Whose sceptre angels kiss and Furies dread,)
As for their liberties, their loves, or lives!
O, then, for these, and such as we ourselves,
For us, for infants, and for all our bloods,
That never nourish'd ‡‡ thought against thy rule,
Pity, O, pity, sacred emperor,

The prostrate service of this wretched town;
And take in sign thereof this gilded wreath,
Whereto each man of rule hath given his hand,
And wish'd,§§ as worthy subjects, happy means
To be investers of thy royal brows
Even with the true Egyptian diadem!

Tamb. Virgins, in vain you labour to prevent That which mine honour swears shall be perform'd.

Behold my sword; what see you at the point?

* Reflexed] Old eds. "Reflexing."

their] Old eds. "your."

As] So the 8vo.-The 4to "And." Stents] So the 8vo.-The 4to "tent." submission] Old eds. "submissions."

of ruth and] So the 8vo.-The 4to "and ruth of."

** conceit] i. e. fancy, imagination.

+ Hath] So the 4to.-The 8vo "Haue."

It nourish'd] So the 8vo.-The 4to "nourish." wish'd] So the 8vo.-The 4to "wish."

First Virg. Nothing but fear and fatal steel, my lord.

Tamb. Your fearful minds are thick and misty,

then,

For there sits Death; there sits imperious* Death,
Keeping his circuit by the slicing edge.
But I am pleas'd you shall not see him there;
He now is seated on my horsemen's spears,
And on their points his fleshless body feeds.-
Techelles, straight go charge a few of them
To charge these dames, and shew my servant Death,
Sitting in scarlet on their armèd spears.

Virgins. O, pity us!

Tamb. Away with them, I say, and shew them Death!

[The Virgins are taken out by TECHELLES and others. I will not spare these proud Egyptians, Nor change my martial observations For all the wealth of Gihon's golden waves, Or for the love of Venus, would she leave The angry god of arms and lie with me. They have refus'd the offer of their lives, And know my customs are as peremptory As wrathful planets, death, or destiny.

Re-enter TECHELLES.

What, have your horsemen shown the virgins Death?

Tech. They have, my lord, and on Damascus' walls

Have hoisted up their slaughter'd carcasses.

Tamb. A sight as baneful to their souls, I think, As are Thessalian drugs or mithridate: But go, my lords, put the rest to the sword. [Exeunt all except TAMBURLAINE, Ah, fair Zenocrate !-divine Zenocrate! Fair is too foul an epithet for thee,That in thy passion + for thy country's love, And fear to see thy kingly father's harm, With hair dishevell'd wip'st thy watery cheeks; And, like to Flora in her morning's pride, Shaking her silver tresses in the air, Rain'st on the earth resolvèd‡ pearl in showers, And sprinklest sapphires on thy shining face, Where Beauty, mother to the Muses, sits, And comments volumes with her ivory pen, Taking instructions from thy flowing eyes; Eyes, when that Ebena steps to heaven,§

* imperious] So the 8vo.-The 4to "imprecious."

+ passion] i. e. sorrow.

resolved] i. e. dissolved.

§ Eyes, when that Ebena steps to heaven, &c.] Either the transcriber or the printer has made sad work with this

passage; nor am I able to suggest any probable emen. dation.

In silence of thy solemn evening's walk,
Making the mantle of the richest night,
The moon, the planets, and the meteors, light;
There angels in their crystal armours fight *
A doubtful battle with my tempted thoughts
For Egypt's freedom and the Soldan's life,
His life that so consumes Zenocrate;
Whose sorrows lay more siege unto my soul
Than all my army to Damascus' walls;
And neither Persia's + sovereign nor the Turk
Troubled my senses with conceit of foil
So much by much as doth Zenocrate.
What is beauty, saith my sufferings, then?
If all the pens that ever poets held
Had fed the feeling of their masters' thoughts,
And every sweetness that inspir'd their hearts,
Their minds, and muses on admired themes;
If all the heavenly quintessence they still
From their immortal flowers of poesy,
Wherein, as in a mirror, we perceive
The highest reaches of a human wit;

If these had made one poem's period,
And all combin'd in beauty's worthiness,
Yet should there hover in their restless heads

One thought, one grace, one wonder, at the least,

Which into words no virtue can digest.

But how unseemly is it for my sex,

My discipline of arms and chivalry,
My nature, and the terror of my name,

To harbour thoughts effeminate and faint!
Save only that in beauty's just applause,

With whose instinct the soul of man is touch'd;
And every warrior that is rapt with love
Of fame, of valour, and of victory,
Must needs have beauty beat on his conceits:

I thus conceiving,§ and subduing both,

* fight] So the 8vo.-The 4to "fights."

↑ Persia's] Old eds. "Perseans," and "Persians.”

t still i. e. distil.

§ I thus conceiving, and subduing both,

That which hath stoop'd the chiefest of the gods,
Even from the fiery-spangled veil of heaven,
To feel the lovely warmth of shepherds' flames,
And mask in cottages of strowed reeds, &c.] i. e.

I thus feeling, and also subduing, the power of Beauty, which has drawn down the chiefest of the gods even from, &c.

The 8vo has,

"I thus conceiving and subduing both.

That which hath stopt the tempest of the Gods, Buen from the fiery spangled vaile of heaven, To feele the lovely warmth of shepheards flames, And martch in cottages of strowed weeds," &c. The 4to has,

"I thus concieuing and subduing both,

That which hath stopt the tempest of the Gods, Buen from the spangled firie vaile of heauen,

That which hath stoop'd the chiefest of the gods,

Even from the fiery-spangled veil of heaven,
To feel the lovely warmth of shepherds' flames,
And mask in cottages of strowed reeds,
Shall give the world to note, for all my birth,
That virtue solely is the sum of glory,
And fashions men with true nobility.—
Who's within there ?

Enter Attendants.

Hath Bajazeth been fed to-day?
Attend. Ay, my lord.

Tamb. Bring him forth; and let us know if the town be ransacked. [Exeunt Attendants.

Enter TECHELLES, THERIDAMAS, USUMCASANE,

and others.

Tech. The town is ours, my lord, and fresh supply

Of conquest and of spoil is offer'd us.

Tamb. That's well, Techelles. What's the news?

Tech. The Soldan and the Arabian king together

March on us with † such eager violence
As if there were no way but one with us.‡

Tamb. No more there is not, I warrant thee,
Techelles.

Attendants bring in BAJAZETH in his cage, followed by ZABINA. Bxeunt Attendants.

Ther. We know the victory is ours, my lord;

To feele the lovely warmth of Shepheardes flames, And march in coatches of strowed weedes," &c. The alterations which I have made in this corrupted passage are supported by the following lines of the play;

"See now, ye slaves, my children stoop your pride [i. o. make your pride to stoop],

And lead your bodies sheep-like to the sword."

Part Second,-act iv. sc. 1. "The chiefest god, first mover of that sphere", &c. Part First,-act iv. sc. 2.

"Jove sometime masked in a shepherd's weed", &c. Part First,-act i. sc. 2. Perhaps in the third line of the present passage “fleryspangled" should be "fire-yspangled."

* Attend.] Old eds. "An." (a misprint probably), which the modern editors understand as "Anippe" (the waiting-maid of Zenocrate).

↑ March on us with] So the 4to.-The 8vo "Martcht on with vs with."

As if there were no way but one with us] i. e. as if we were to lose our lives. This phrase, which is common in our early writers, was not obsolete in Dryden's time: "for, if he heard the malicious trumpeter proclaiming his name before his betters, he knew there was but one way with him." Preface to All for Love.

D

But let us save the reverend Soldan's life
For fair Zenocrate that so laments his state.
Tamb. That will we chiefly see unto, Theri-
damas,

For sweet Zenocrate, whose worthiness
Deserves a conquest over every heart.—
And now, my footstool, if I lose the field,
You hope of liberty and restitution?—
Here let him stay, my masters, from the tents,
Till we have made us ready for the field.—
Pray for us, Bajazeth; we are going.

[Exeunt all except BAJAZETH and ZABINA.
Baj, Go, never to return with victory!
Millions of men encompass thee about,
And gore thy body with as many wounds!
Sharp forked arrows light upon thy horse!
Furies from the black Cocytus' lake,
Break up the earth, and with their fire-brands
Enforce thee run upon the baneful pikes!
Vollies of shot pierce through thy charmed
skin,

And every bullet dipt in poison'd drugs!
Or roaring cannons sever all thy joints,
Making thee mount as high as eagles soar!
Zab. Let all the swords and lances in the
field

Stick in his breast as in their proper rooms!
At every pore* let blood come dropping forth,
That lingering pains may massacre his heart,
And madness send his damnèd soul to hell!

Baj. Ah, fair Zabina! we may curse his power, The heavens may frown, the earth for anger quake;

But such a star hath influence in† his sword
As rules the skies and countermands the gods
More than Cimmerian Styx or Destiny:
And then shall we in this detested guise,
With shame, with hunger, and with horror stay,
Griping our bowels with retorquèd § thoughts,
And have no hope to end our ecstasies.

Zab. Then is there left no Mahomet, no God,
No fiend, no fortune, nor no hope of end
To our infamous, monstrous slaveries.
Gape, earth, and let the fiends infernal view
A hell as hopeless and as full of fear
As are the blasted banks of Erebus,
Where shaking ghosts with ever-howling groans
Hover about the ugly ferryman,

pore] So the 8vo.-The 4to "dore."

tin] i. e. on.

stay] Old eds. "aie" and "aye."

§ retorqued] i. e. bent back in reflections on our former happiness. So the 8vo.-The 4to "retortued."

4] Old eds. "As."

Why should we live-0, wretches, beggars,
Why live we, Bajazeth, and build up nests

So high within the region of the air,
By living long in this oppression,
That all the world will see and laugh to scorn
The former triumphs of our mightiness
In this obscure infernal servitude?

Baj. O life, more loathsome to my vexèd
thoughts +

Than noisome parbreak of the Stygian snakes,
Which fills the nooks of hell with standing air,
Infecting all the ghosts with cureless griefs!
O dreary engines of my loathed sight,
That see my crown, my honour, and my name
Thrust under yoke and thraldom of a thief,
Why feed ye still on day's accursed beams,
And sink not quite into my tortur'd soul?
You see my wife, my queen, and emperess,
Brought up and propped by the hand of Fame,
Queen of fifteen contributory queens,
Now thrown to rooms of black abjection,§
Smeared with blots of basest drudgery,
And villainess || to shame, disdain, and misery.
Accursed Bajazeth, whose words of ruth,¶
That would with pity cheer Zabina's heart,
And make our souls resolve** in ceaseless tears,
Sharp hunger bites upon and gripes the root
From whence the issues of my thoughts do

break!

O poor Zabina! O my queen, my queen!
Fetch me some water for my burning breast,
To cool and comfort me with longer date,
That, in the shorten'd sequel of my life,
I may pour forth my soul into thine arms
With words of love, whose moaning intercourse
Hath hitherto been stay'd with wrath and hate
Of our expressless bann'd ++ inflictions.

Zab. Sweet Bajazeth, I will prolong thy life
As long as any blood or spark of breath
Can quench or cool the torments of my grief.

[Brit.

Baj. Now, Bajazeth, abridge thy baneful days, And beat the‡‡ brains out of thy conquer'd head, Since other means are all forbidden me, That may be ministers of my decay.

*Elysium] Old eds. "Elisian."

† thoughts] So the 8vo.-The 4to "thought."

t parbreak] i. e. vomit.

abjection] Old eds. "obiection."

villainess] i. e. servant, slave,

Truth] So the 8vo.-The 4to "truth."

** resolve] i. e. dissolve.

tt bann'd] i. e. cursed.

It the] So the 4to.-The 8vo "thy."