Tamb. So shall he have his life, and all the rest :
But, if he stay until the bloody flag
Be once advanc'd on my vermilion tent,
He dies, and those that kept us out so long;
And, when they see me march in black array,
With mournful streamers hanging down their
heads,

Were in that city all the world contain'd,
Not one should scape, but perish by our swords.
Zeno. Yet would you have some pity for my sake,
Because it is my country* and my father's.
Tamb. Not for the world, Zenocrate, if I have

sworn.

Come; bring in the Turk.

SCENE III.

Enter SOLDAN, KING OF ARABIA†, CAPOLIN, and Soldiers, with streaming colours.

Sold. Methinks we march as Meleager did,
Environed with brave Argolian knights,
To chase the savage Calydonian ‡ boar,
Or Cephalus, with lusty § Theban youths,
Against the wolf that angry Themis sent
To waste and spoil the sweet Aonian fields.
A monster of five hundred thousand heads,
Compact of rapine, piracy, and spoil,

The scum of men, the hate and scourge of God,
Raves in Ægyptia, and annoyeth us:
My lord, it is the bloody Tamburlaine,
A sturdy felon, and || a base-bred thief,
By murder raised to the Persian crown,
That dare control us in our territories.
To tame the pride of this presumptuous beast,
Join your Arabians with the Soldan's power;
Let us unite our royal bands in one,
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.

K. of Ar. Renowmèd ¶ Soldan, have you lately The overthrow of mighty Bajazeth

About the confines of Bithynia?

The slavery wherewith he persecutes

The noble Turk and his great emperess?

country] Old eds. "countries."

[heard

↑ King of Arabia] i.e. Alcidamus; see p. 10, 1. 9, sec. col.

Calydonian] So the Svo.-The 4to" Calcedonian."

§ lusty] So the 8vo.-Omitted in the 4to. [and] So the 4to.-Omitted in the 8vo.

¶ Renowmed] See note I, p. 11. So the Svo.-The 4to Renowned."

As concubine, I fear, to feed his lust.

K. of Ar. Let grief and fury hasten on revenge;

Let Tamburlaine for his offences feel
Such plagues as heaven and we can pour on him:
I long to break my spear upon his crest,
And prove the weight of his victorious arm;
For fame, I fear, hath been too prodigal
In sounding through the world his partial praise.
Sold. Capolin, hast thou survey'd our powers?
Capol. Great emperors of Egypt and Arabia,
The number of your hosts united is,

A hundred and fifty thousand horse,

Two hundred thousand foot, brave men-at-arms, Courageous and ‡ full of hardiness,

As frolic as the hunters in the chase

Of savage beasts amid the desert woods.

K. of Ar. My mind presageth fortunate success; And, Tamburlaine, my spirit doth foresee The utter ruin of thy men and thee.

Sold. Then rear your standards; let your

sounding drums

Direct our soldiers to Damascus' walls.-
Now, Tamburlaine, the mighty Soldan comes,
And leads with him the great Arabian king,
To dim thy baseness and § obscurity,
Famous for nothing but for theft and spoil;

* Ibis' holy name] The ibis has been already alluded to in the lines (p. 27, sec. col.),

"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). Com-
pare 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 substitut "Isis'" for "Ibis'."

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

tand] So the Svo.-Omitted in the 4to.

§ thy baseness and] So the Svo.-The 4to "the basnesse

of."

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.-

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;

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."

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 ‡, 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 I, 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,
Some made your wives, and some your children,)
Might have entreated your obdurate breasts
To entertain some care ¶ of our securities
Whiles only danger beat upon our walls,
These more than dangerous warrants of our death
Had never been erected as they be,

Nor you depend on such weak helps ** as we.

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

tsakes] 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
use us like, &c." Ed. 1826.

T care] So the 4to.-The 8vo "cares.'
E helps] So the 8vo.-The 4to "help."

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 displeased 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

Depends our city, liberty, and lives.

[Exeunt all except the Virgins.

Enter TAMBURLAINE, all in black and very melancholy,
TECHELLES, THERIDAMAS, USUMCASANE, with others.
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." tpower] So the 8vo.-The 4to "powers." knew] So the 8vo.-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,

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!

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."

§ tents] So the 8vo.-The 4to "tent."

submission] Old eds. "submissions."

¶ of ruth and] So the Svo.-The 4to "and ruth of."

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

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

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

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

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,§