himt up,

Were wont to guide the seaman in the deep, Nor yet thyself, the anger of the Highest;
Being carried thither by the cannon's force, For, though thy cannon shook the city-walls,
Now fill the mouth of Limnasphaltis' lake, My heart did never quake, or courage faint.
And make a bridge unto the batter'd walls. Tamb. Well, now I'll make it quake.-Go draw
Where Belus, Ninus, and great Alexander
Have rode in triumph, triumphs Tamburlaine, Hang him in Ichains upon the city-walls,
Whose chariot-wheels have burst* th' Assyrians' And let my soldiers shoot the slave to death.
bones,

Gov. Vile monster, born of some infernal hag,
Drawn with these kings on heaps of carcasses. And sent from hell to tyrannize on earth,
Now in the place, where fair Semiramis,

Do all thy worst; nor death, nor Tamburlaine, Courted by kings and peers of Asia,

Torture, or pain, can daunt my dreadless mind. Hath trod the measures,+ do my soldiers march; Tamb. Up with him, then ! his body shall be And in the streets, where brave Assyrian dames

scar'd. Have rid in pomp like rich Saturnia,

Gov. But, Tamburlaine, in Limnasphaltis' lake
With furious words and frowning visages There lies more gold than Babylon is worth,
My horsemen brandish their unruly blades. Which, when the city was besieg'd, I hid:

Save but my life, and I will give it thee.
Re-enter THERIDAMAS and TECHELLES, bringing in the Tamb. Then, for all your valour, you would
GOVERNOR OF BABYLON.

save your life Who have ye there, my lords ?

Whereabout lies it ?
Ther. The sturdy governor of Babylon,

Gov. Under a hollow bank, right opposite
That made us all the labour for the town,

Against the western gate of Babylon. And us'd such slender reckoning off your majesty. Tamb. Go thither, some of you, and take his Tamb. Go, bind the villain; he shall hang in gold :

[Excunt some Attendants. chains

The rest forward with execution. Upon the ruins of this conquer'd town.

Away with him hence, let him speak no more. Sirrab, the view of our vermilion tents

I think I make your courage something quail(Which threaten'd more than if the region

(Exeunt Attendants with the GOVERNOR OF BABYLON. Next underneath the element of fire

When this is done, we'll march from Babylon, Were full of comets and of blazing stars,

And make our greatest haste to Persia Whose flaming trains should reach down to the These jades are broken-winded and half-tir'd; earth)

Unharness them, and let me have fresh horso. Could not affright you; no, nor I myself,

(Attendants unharness the KINGS OF TREBIZON and SORIA. The wrathful messenger of mighty Jove,

So; now their best is done to honour me, That with his sword hath quail'd all earthly Take them and hang them both up presently. kings,

K. of Treb. Vile || tyrant ! barbarous bloody Could not persuade you to submission,

Tamburlaine !
But still the ports were shut: villain, I say, Tamb. Take them away, Theridamas;
Should I but touch the rusty gates of hell,

despatch'd
The triple-headed Cerberus would howl,

Ther. I will, my lord. And makell black Jove to crouch and kneel to me;

[Excit with the Kings Or TREBIZON and BORIA, But I have sent volleys of shot to you, Yet could not enter till the breach was made.

* the city-walls) So the 8vo.—The 4to “the walla" Gov. Nor, if my body could have stopt the

him) so the 4to.-The 8vo "it." breach,

1 inOld eds. "vp in,-the "vp" having been the Shouldst thou have enter'd, cruel Tamburlaine.

peated by mistako from the preceding line. 'Tis not thy bloody tents can make me yield,

§ scar'd] So the 8vo; and, it would soem, rightly; Tamburlaine making an attempt at a bitter jeri, in reply

to what the Governor has just said.—The 4to "sear'd" stage-direction)“the two spare kings ", -"spare" mean Il Vile) The 8vo “Vild"; the 4to " Wild " (Both eds., ing-not then wanted to draw the chariot of Tamburlaine. a little before, have " Vile monster, born of some infernal * burst] i.e. broken, bruised.

hag", and, a few lines after, “ To vile and ignominious | the measures] i.e. the dance (properly, - solemn, servitude":-the fact is, our early writers (or rather, P. stately dances, with slow and measured steps).

transcribers), with their usual inconsistency of spelling, her of ] So the 8v0.- The 4to“ for."

give now the one form, and now the other : compare the aims $ ports) i.e. gates.

folio Shakespeare, 1628, where we sometimes find vild" Il make) So the 4to.-The 8vo" wake.”

and sometimes " vile.")

see them

Tamb. Come, Asian viceroys; to your tasks a Tamb. Now, Casane, where's the Turkish Alwhile,

coran, And take such fortune as your fellows felt. And all the heaps of superstitious books Orc. First let thy Scythian horse tear both our Found in the temples of that Mahomet limbs,

Whom I have thought a god ? they shall be Rather than we should draw thy chariot,

burnt. And, like base slaves, abject our princely minds Usum. Here they are, my lord. To vile and ignominious servitude.

Tamb. Well said !* let there be a fire presently. K. of Jer. Rather lend me thy weapon, Tam.

(They light a fire. burlaine,

In vain, I see, men worship Mahomet: That I may sheathe it in this breast of mine. My sword hath sent millions of Turks to hell, A thousand deaths could not torment our hearts Slew all his priests, his kinsmen, and his friends, More than the thought of this doth vex our souls. And yet I live untouch'd by Mahomet. Amy. They will talk still, my lord, if you do There is a God, full of revenging wrath, not bridle them.

From whom the thunder and the lightning breaks, Tamb. Bridle them, and let me to my coach. Whose scourge I am, and him will I + obey. (Attendants bridle ORCANES king of Natolia, and So, Casane ; fing them in the fire.the KING OF JERUSALEM, and harness them to

[They burn the books. the chariot. - The GOVERNOR OF BABYLON

Now, Mahomet, if thou have any power,
appears hanging in chains on the walls.-Re-
Enter THEKIDAMAS.

Come down thyself and work a miracle : Amy. See, now, my lord, how brave the captain Thou art not worthy to be worshipped bangs!

That suffer'st I flames of fire to burn the writ Tamb. "T'is braveindeed, my boy:-well done!- Wherein the sum of thy religion rests : Shoot first, my lord, and then the rest shall follow. Why send’st thou not a furious whirlwind Ther. Then have at him, to begin withal.

down, [THERIDAMAS shoots at the GOVERNOR. To blow thy Alcoran up to thy throne, Gov. Yet save my life, and let this wound ap Where men report thou sitt'st || by God himpease

self? The mortal fury of great Tamburlaine !

Or vengeance on the head of Tamburlaine Tamb. No, though Asphaltis' lake were liquid That shakes his sword against thy majesty, gold,

And spurns the abstracts of thy foolish laws ?And offer'd me as ransoin for thy life,

Well, soldiers, Mahomet remains in hell; Yet shouldst thou die.-Shoot at him all at once. He cannot hear the voice of Tamburlaine :

(They shoot. Seek out another godhead to adore ; So, now he hangs like Bagdet's * governor,

The God that sits in heaven, if any god, Having as many bullets in his flesh

For he is God alone, and none but he. As there be breaches in her batter'd wall.

Re-enter TECHELLES. Go now, and bind the burghers hand and foot,

Tech. I have fulfilld your highness' will, my And cast them headlong in the city's lake.

lord : Tartars and Persians shall inbabit there;

Thousands of men, drown'd in Asphaltis' lake, And, to command the city, I will build

Have made the water swell above the banks, A citadel,t that all Africa,

And fishes, fed ** by human carcasses, Which hath been subject to the Persian king,

Amaz'd, swim up and down upon +t the waves, Shall pay me tribute for in Babylon. Tech. What shall be done with their wives and

* Well said] Equivalent to-Well done! as appears children, my lord ?

from innumerable passages of our early writers : see, for Tamb. Techelles, drown them all, man, woman, instances, my ed. of Beaumont and Fletcher's Works, and child;

vol. i. 328, vol. ii. 445, vol. viii. 254.

t will ŋ So the 8vo.—Tho 4to "I will." Leave not a Babylonian in the town.

I suffer'st] Old eds. "suffers” : but see the two follow. Tech. I will about it straight.-Come, soldiers. ing notes.

(Exit with Soldiers. $ send'et) So the 8vo.—The 4to "senda."

|| sit'st) So the 8vo.-The 4to "sits." • Bagdet's] So the 850.—The 4to "Badgets."

I head] So the 8vo.—The 4to“ blood." # A citadel, &c.) Something has dropt out from this ** fed] Old eds. "feede." line.

it upon) So the 8vo.--Omitted in tte 4to.

As when they swallow assafætida,

The fowls shall eat; for never sepulchre Which makes them fleet * aloft and gapet for Shall grace this * base-born tyrant Tamburlaine. air.

Call. When I record + my parents' slavish Tamb. Well, then, my friendly lords, what now life, remains,

Their cruel death, mine own captivity, But that we leave sufficient garrison,

My viceroys' bondage under Tamburlaine, And presently depart to Persia,

Methinks I could sustain a thousand deaths, To triumph after all our victories !

To be reveng'd of all his villany.-
Ther. Ay, good my lord, let us in I baste to Ab, sacred Mahomet, thou that hast seen
Persia;

Millions of Turks perish by Tamburlaine,
And let this captain be remov'd the walls Kingdoms made waste, brave cities sack'd and
To some high hill about the city here.

burnt, Tamb. Let it be so ;-about it, soldiers ;

And but one host is left to honour thee, But stay; I feel myself distemper'd suddenly.

Aid I thy obedient servant Callapine, Tech. What is it daros distemper Tamburlaine?

And make him, after all these overthrows, Tamb. Something, Techelles; but I know not To triumph over cursèd Tamburlaine ! what.

K. of Ama. Fear not, my lord; I see great But, forth, ye vassals $ ! whatsoe'er || it be,

Mahomet, Sickness or death can never conquer me.

Clothed in purple clouds, and on his head
(Breunt.

A chaplet brighter than Apollo's crown,
Marching about the air with armed men,
To join with you against this Tamburlaine.

Capt. Renowmèd & general, mighty Callapine,

Though God himself and holy Mahomet
SCENE II.

Should come in person to resist your power,

Yet might your mighty host encounter all, Bnte: CALLAPINE, KING OF AMASIA, a Captain, and train,

And pull proud Tamburlaine upon his knees with drums and trumpets.

To sue for mercy at your highness' feet. Call. King of Amasia, now our mighty host

Call. Captain, the force of Tamburlaine is Marcheth in Asia Major, where the streams

great, Of Euphrates T and Tigris swiftly run ;

His fortune greater, and the victories And here may we

** behold great Babylon, Wherewith he hath so sore dismay'd the world Circled about with Limnasphaltis' lake,

Are greatest to discourage all our drifts; Where Tamburlaine with all his army lies,

Yet, when the pride of Cynthia is at full, Which being faint and weary with the siege,

She wanes again; and so shall his, I hope; We may lie ready to encounter him

For we have here the chief selected men Before his host be full from Babylon,

Of twenty several kingdoms at the least; And so revenge our latest grievous loss,

Nor ploughman, priest, nor merchant, stays at If God or Mabomet send any aid.

home; K. of Ama. Doubt not, my lord, but we shall

All Turkey is in arms with Callapine;
conquer him:

And never will we sunder camps and arms
The monster that hath drunk a sea of blood, Before himself or his be conquered :
And yet gapes still for more to quench his This is the time that must eternize me
thirst,

For conquering the tyrant of the world.
Our Turkish swords shall headlong send to

Come, soldiers, let us lie in wait for him,

And, if we find him absent from his camp, And that vile carcass, drawn by warlike kings,

Or that it be rejoin'd again at full,

Assail it, and be sure of victory. (Exeunt. * fleet] i.e. float. + gape) So the 850.- The 4to "gaspe."

*this) So the 8vo.-The 4to "that " (but in the next 1 in) So the 8vo.-Omitted in the 4to.

speech of the same person it has " this Tamburlaine"). & forth, ye vassals] Spoken, of course, to the two kings record] i.e. call to mind. who draw his chariot.

I Aid) So the 8vo.-The 4to “And." 11 whatsoe'er] So the 850.-The 4to "whatsoouer."

§ Renowomèd] See note ll. p. 11. So the 8vo.-The 4to | Euphrates) See note $, p. 36.

“Renowned.”—The prefix to this speech is wanting in may we] So the 8vo.-The 4to "we may."

the old eds.

hell;

SCENE III.

Enter TAMBURLAINE", drawn in his chariot (as before) by

ORCANES king of Natolia, and the KING OF JERUSALEM, Enter THERIDAMAS, TECH ELLES, and USUMCASANE.

AMYRAS, CELEBINUS, and Physicians. Ther. Weep, heavens, and vanish into liquid Tamb. What daring god torments my body tears!

thus, Fall, stars that govern his nativity,

And seeks to conquer mighty Tamburlaine ? And summon all the shining lamps of heaven Shall sickness prove me now to be a man, To cast their bootless fires to the earth,

That have been term'd the terror of the world ! And shed their feeble influence in the air; Techelles and the rest, come, take your swords, Muffle your beauties with eternal clouds; And threaten him whose hand afflicts my soul : For Hell and Darkness pitch their pitchy tents, Come, let us march against the powers of heaven, And Death, with armies of Cimmerian spirits, And set black streamers in the firmament, Gives battle 'gainst the heart of Tamburlaine ! To signify the slaughter of the gods. Now, in defiance of that wonted love

Ah, friends, what shall I do? I cannot stand. Your sacred virtues pour'd upon his throne, Come, carry me to war against the gods, And made his state an honour to the heavens, That thus envỳ the health of Tamburlaine. These cowards in visibly * assail his soul,

Ther. Ah, good my lord, leave these impatient And threaten conquest on our sovereign ;

words, But, if he die, your glories are disgrac'd,

Which add much danger to your malady! Earth droops, and says that hell in heaven is Tamb. Why, shall I sit and languish in this plac'd!

pain ? Tech. O, then, ye powers that sway eternal No, strike the drums, and, in revenge of this, seats,

Come, let us charge our spears, and pierce his And guide this massy substance of the earth,

breast If you retain desert of•holiness,

Whose shoulders bear the axis of the world, As your supreme estates instruct our thoughts, That, if I perish, heaven and earth may fade. Be not inconstant, careless of your fame,

Theridamas, haste to the court of Jove; Bear not the burden of your enemies' joys, Will him to send Apollo hither straight, Triumphing in his fall whom you advanc'd; To cure me, or I'll fetch him down myself. But, as his birth, life, health, and majesty

Tech. Sit still, my gracious lord; this grief will Were strangely blest and governed by heaven,

cease t, So honour, heaven, (till heaven dissolved be,) And cannot last, it is so violent. His birth, his life, his health, and majesty!

Tamb. Not last, Techelles ! no, for I shall die. Usum. Blush, heaven, to lose the honour of See, where my slave, the ugly monster Deatb, thy name,

Shaking and quivering, pale and wan for fear, To see thy footstool set upon thy head;

Stands aiming at me with his murdering dart, And let no baseness in thy haughty breast Who flies away at every glance I give, Sustain a shame of such inexcellence +,

And, when I look away, comes stealing on! To see the devils mount in angels' thrones, Villain, away, and hie thee to the field ! And angels dive into the pools of hell!

I and mine army come to load thy back And, though they think their painful date is With souls of thousand mangled carcasses.out,

Look, where he goes! but, see, he comes again, And that their power is puissant as Jove's, Because I stay! Techelles, let us march, Which makes them manage arms against thy And weary Death with bearing souls to hell. state,

First Phy. Pleaseth your majesty to drink this Yet make them feel the strength of Tamburlaine potion, (Thy instrument and note of majesty)

Which will abate the fury of your fit, Is greater far than they can thus subdue ;

And cause some milder spirits govern you. For, if he die, thy glory is disgrac'd, Earth droops, and says that hell in heaven is * Enter Tamburlaine, &c.] Here the old eds. havo no plac'd!

stage-direction; and perhaps the poet intended that Tamburlaino should enter at the commencement of this

That he is drawn in his chariot by the two

captive kings, appears from his exclamation at p. 72, • invisibly) So the 4to.-The Svo "inuincible."

first col. “Draw, you slaves!" + inexcellence] So the 4to.-The 8vo "inexcellencie." t cease] So the 8vo.-The 4to“

scene.

case."

Tamb. Tell me what think you of my sickness Like summer's vapours vanish'd by the sun; now?

And, could I but a while pursue the field, First Phy. I view'd your urine, and the hypos- That Callapine should be my slave again. tasis, *

But I perceive my martial strength is spent : Thick and obscure, doth make your danger great: In vain I strive and rail against those powers Your veins are full of accidental heat,

That mean t' invest me in a higher throne,
Whereby the moisture of your blood is dried : As much too high for this disdainful earth.
The humidum and calor, which some hold Give me a map; then let me see how much
Is not a parcel of the elements,

Is left for me to conquer all the world,
But of a substance more divine and pure, That these, my boys, may finish all my wants.
Is almost clean extinguished and spent;

[One brings a inap.
Which, being the cause of life, imports your Here I began to march towards Persia,
death:

Along Armenia and the Caspian Sea,
Besides, my lord, this day is critical,

And thence unto * Bithynia, where I took
Dangerous to those whose crisis is as yours : The Turk and his great empress prisoners.
Your artiers t, which alongst the veins convey Then warch'd I into Egypt and Arabia ;
The lively spirits which the heart eugenders, And here, not far from Alexandria,
Are parch'd and void of spirit, that the soul, Whereast the Terrene and the Red Sea meet,
Wanting those organons by which it moves, Being distant less than full a hundred leagues,
Cannot endure, by argument of art.

I meant to cut a channel to them both,
Yet, if your majesty may escape this day, That men might quickly sail to India.
No doubt but you shall soon recover all.

From thence to Nubia near Borno-lake,
Tamb. Then will I comfort all my vital parts, And so along the Æthiopian sea,
And live, in spite of death, above a day.

Cutting the tropic line of Capricorn,
(Alarms within.

I conquer'd all as far as Zanzibar,
Enter a Messenger.

Then, by the northern part of Africa,
Me. My lord, young Callapine, that lately filed

I came at last to Græcia, and from thence from your majesty, hath now gathered a fresh

To Asia, where I stay against my will; army, and, hearing your absence in the field,

Which is from Scythia, where I first began, offers to set upon I us presently.

Backward(s) and forwards near five thousand Tamb. See, my physicians, now, how Jove hath

leagues. sent

Look here, my boys; see, what a world of ground A present medicine to recure my pain !

Lies westward from the midst of Cancer's line My looks shall make them fly; and, might I Unto the rising of this|| earthly globe, follow,

Whereas the sun, declining from our sight, There should not one of all the villain's power

Begins the day with our Antipodes ! Live to give offer of another fight.

And shall I die, and this unconquered ? Usum. I joy, my lord, your bighness is so

Lo, here, my sons, are all the golden mines, strong,

Inestimable drugs and precious stones, That can endure so well your royal presence,

More worth than Asia and the world beside; Which only will dismay the enemy.

And from th' Antarctic Pole eastward behold Tamb. I know it will, Casane.—Draw, you

As much more land, which never was descried, slaves!

Wherein are rocks of pearl that shine as bright In spite of death, I will go shew my face.

As all the lamps that beautify the sky ! [Alarms. Brit TAMBURLAINE with all the rest (except And shall I die, and this unconquered ? the Physicians), and re-enter presently.

Here, lovely boys; what death forbids my life, Tamb. Thus are the villain cowards & fied for That let your lives command in spite of death. fear,

Amy. Alas, my lord, how should our bleeding

hearts, hypostasis) Old eds. "Hipostates."

artiers) See note*, p. 18. 1 upon) So the 4to.-The 850 "on."

* unto) So the 8to.—The 4to "to." § villain cowards] Old eds. " villaines, covards" (which

† Whereas) i.e. Where. is not to be defended by "Villains, cowards, traitors to

Terrene] i.e. Mediterranean, our state", p. 67, sec. col.). Compare “ But where's this

$ began) So the 8vo. —Tbe 4to " begun." couard villain," &c., p. 61 sec. co..

|| this) So the 8vo.-The 4to "the."