Sat. Come on then, horse and chariots let us have, Mar. I have dogs, my lord, Will rouse the proudest panther in the chase, [TO TAMORA. Tit. And I have horse will follow where the game Makes way, and run like swallows o'er the plain. Dem. Chiron, we hunt not, with horse nor hound, But hope to pluck a dainty doe to ground. SCENE III. [Exeunt. A desert Part of the Forest. Enter AARON, with a bag of gold. Aar. He, that had wit, would think that I had none, To bury so much gold under a tree, And never after to inherit it. Let him, that thinks of me so abjectly, Know, that this gold must coin a stratagem; And so repose, sweet gold, for their unrest," [Hides the gold. That have their alms out of the empress' chest." Enter TAMORA. Tam. My lovely Aaron, wherefore look'st thou sad, The snake lies rolled in the cheerful sun; As if a double hunt were heard at once,- [6] Unrest, for disquiet, is a word frequently used by the old writers. STEEV. This is obscure. It seems to mean only, that they who are to come at this gold of the empress are to suffer by it. JOHNSON. Our pastimes done, possess a golden slumber; Whiles hounds, and horns, and sweet melodious birds, Of lullaby, to bring her babe asleep.9 Aar. Madam, though Venus govern your desires, What signifies my deadly-standing eye, No, madam, these are no venereal signs ; Which never hopes more heaven than rests in thee, - Tam. Ah, my sweet Moor, sweeter to me than life! To back thy quarrels, whatsoe'er they be. Enter BASSIANUS and LAVINIA. [Exit. Bas. Who have we here? Rome's royal emperess, Unfurnish'd of her well-beseeming troop? Or is it Dian, habited like her; Who hath abandoned her holy groves, [8] Dr. Johnson in his Dictionary, says, 'it is observable that nurses call sleep by by: lullaby is therefore lull to sleep. But to lull originally signified to sleep. To compose to sleep by a pleasing sound is a secondary sense retained after its primitive import became obsolete. The verbs to loll and lollop evidently spring from the same root. And by meant house; go to by, is go to house or cradle. The compliment at parting, good by, is good house; may your house prosper; and Selby, the archbishop of York's palace, is great house. So that lullaby implies literally sleep in house, i. e. WHITE. the cradle. [9] There is much poetical beauty in this speech of Tamora. It appears to me to be the only one in the play that is in the style of Shakespeare. MASON. [1] The meaning of this may be illustrated by the astronomical description of Saturn, by Greene, 1585: "The star of Saturn is especially cooling, and somewhat drie," &c. Again, in the Sea Voyage, by Beaumoni and Fletcher:" 66- the sullen Saturn had predominance At your nativity, a malignant planet!" COLLINS. To see the general hunting in this forest ! Lav. Under your patience, gentle emperess, Jove shield your husband from his hounds to-day! 'Tis pity, they should take him for a stag. Bas. Believe me, queen, your swarth Cimmerian' Why are you sequester'd from all your train? Lav. And, being intercepted in your sport, Bas. The king, my brother, shall have note of this. Tam. Why have I patience to endure all this? Enter CHIRON and DEMETRIUS,. Dem. How now, dear sovereign, and our gracious mother, Why doth your highness look so pale and wan? Tam. Have I not reason, think you, to look pale ? These two have 'tic'd me hither to this place, A barren detested vale, you see, it is: The trees, though summer, yet forlorn and lean, And, when they show'd me this abhorred pit, [2] Swarth is black. The Moor is called Cimmerian, from the affinity of blacknese to darkness. JOHNSON. They told me, here, at dead time of the night, Should straight fall mad, or else die suddenly.* But straight they told me, they would bind me here And leave me to this miserable death. Tam. Give me thy poniard; you shall know, my boys, Upon her nuptial vow, her loyalty, And with that painted hope hraves your mightiness; Chi. An if she do, I would I were an eunuch. Drag hence her husband to some secret hole, And make his dead trunk pillow to our lust. Tam. But when you have the honey you desire, Let not this wasp outlive, us both to sting. Cha. I warrant you, madam; we will make that sure.Come, mistress, now perforce we will enjoy That nice-preserved honesty of yours. Lav. O Tamora! thou bear'st a woman's face,- [4] This is said in fabulous physiology, of those that hear the groan of the mandrake torn up. JOHNSON. [5] Painted hope is only specious bope, or ground of confidence more plausible than solid. JOHNSON. Lav. Sweet lords, entreat her hear me but a word. Lav. When did the tiger's young ones teach the dam? O, do not learn her wrath; she taught it thee: The milk, thou suck'st from her, did turn to marble; Yet every mother breeds not sons alike; [To CHIRON. Chi. What! wouldst thou have me prove myself a bastard? Lav. 'Tis true; the raven doth not hatch a lark : Yet I have heard, (O could I find it now!) The lion mov'd with pity, did endure To have his princely paws par'd all away. Tam. I know not what it means; away with her. Tam. Had thou in person ne'er offended me, Even for his sake am I pitiless :— Remember, boys, I pour'd forth tears in vain, To save your brother from the sacrifice; But fierce Andronicus would not relent: Therefore away with her, and use her as you will; Lav. O Tamora, be call'd a gentle queen, And with thine own hands kill me in this place : Poor I was slain, when Bassianus died. Tam. What begg'st thou then? fond woman, let me go. Lav. 'Tis present death I beg; and one thing more, That womanhood denies my tongue to tell : O, keep me from their worse than killing lust, And tumble me into some loathsome pit; Where never man's eye may behold my body: Tam. So should I rob my sweet sons of their fee: |