- all the gods, this dagger which I hold pile for these chaste relics, that shall send Her soul amongst the stars. On! Brutus leads you! [Exeunt, the Mob shouting, R. END OF ACT III. ACT IV. SCENE I.-A Court belonging to Tarquin's Palace. In the front, a Grand Entrance, with Folding Gates closed. Enter TULLIA, R. Tul. [Alone.] Gods! whither shall a frantic mother fly? Accursed seige of Ardea! Tarquin, Tarquin, Where art thou? Save thy wife, thy son, thy city! Enter TITUS, R. Tit. Where is the prince? where's Sextus? His madness hath undone us! Where is Sextus? [Going, Horatius meets and stops him. Hor. Turn, noble Roman, turn; Set not your life upon a desperate stake! Hark! they are at thy gates! Tul. Does my son live! Hor. Furious he sprang upon the rebel throng, And hewed his desperate passage: but the time Admits no further question-Save yourself! Tu. Who leads them on? Shout. [Shout. Hor. Your new-named fool, your Brutus. Tul. Brutus in arms! Oh, Sibyl! Oh, my fate! farewell to greatness! I've heard my doom. Tit. Earth, earth, enclose me! [Shouts are heard. Hor. Ha! nearer yet! Now be propitious, Mars! Now nerve my arm with more than mortal fury, Till the dissembler sink beneath its vengeance. [Exit. Tul. Fly! save my child-save my-save your Tarqui nia! Tit. Or die defending. [Exit. [The shouts and tumult become very violent, and the battering at the gate and wall commences. Tul. Ah! if amidst my legions I might fall, Death were not then inglorious; but to perish By the vile scum of Rome-hunted by dogsBaited to death by brawling, base mechanicsShame insupportable! [Shouts heard-the Gate and Wall are shattered down, the Palaces behind are in flames—the Soldiers and Populace rush over the Ruins-Brutus appears in the midst of them, and advances to the front. Bru. Seize the parricide! [They advance and surround her. Tul. Avaunt! I am your queen. Bru. Tarquins! we cast you from us. Tul. Give me a sword, and let me fall like Tullia. And with the wreck of empire mix my ashes. Tul. Ye gods! My father's sepulchre !-I'll not approach it! Bru. 'Twill furnish wholesome recollection. Hence! Tul. Not to that fatal place! Send me not thither! Bru 'Tis fixed. Tul. Choose the most loathsome dungeon-the e con. fine me, give me death instead. ainst that temple. My heart recoils Bru. There, and only there, - your dead father's tomb, you must abide he judgment of the state. Tul. Then, by the gods, hom, for the last time, 1 invoke,— no means else f ready death present themselves, o particle of food shall pass these lips, [Exit Tullia guarded, R. Enter TITUS, L., who meets Brutus as he is going off, R. Tit. Turn, oh, my father, And look upon thy son! Bru. What would'st thou ? speak Tit. If thou hast reason, oh, have mercy also! When he breaks down the toils that tyrant craft Think not we will suffer These monsters to profane the air of Heaven. Banish this folly!-Have a care! I know thee- Which leaves but half a soul for Rome and me! And like a son glory in such a father! Yet hear me through.-Nay, do not frown, but hear mo. — When Tarquin's freed-man, in a saucy mood, Bru. Why, 'twas well done, The knave was saucy, and you slew him -On! She with the tongue of interceding pity, And tears that streamed in concert with her suit, Bru. 'Tis well. Behold, I give her life for life : Thou art no son of mine, thou art no Roman! [Exit, R. Tar. Save, save me, Titus! oh, amid the crash Will the son of Brutus Now take me to his pity and protection, Whom this dire night hath murdered! Tit. Who are murdered? Whom hath the sword of Brutus slain? Not one Tar. Say'st thou ? Lives my mother? Tit. She lives-and Sextus,-even he escapes The storm which he has raised, and flies to Ardea. Tar. Speed him, ye gods, with eagle swiftness thither! And may those thunders which now shake the walls Of tottering Ardea, like a whirlwind burst On this devoted city, 'whelm its towers, And crush the traitorous hive beneath their ruins. [Crosses, R. w, Titus, where is now thy promised faith? st thou not swear no dangers should divide us? Tit. I did; and, constant to my oath, behold me y faithful guardian in this night of terrors. Tar. Be still my guardian; snatch me from these terrors, ar me to Ardea, be the friend of nature, Tit. Despair! Distraction! Whither shall I turn me? Tar. Why do you waver? Cast away this weakness; e glorious in your cruelty, and leave me. y all the demons who prepare the heart o rush upon the self-destroying steel, The same dire moment which gives thee to Brutus, ives me to death! Tit. Horror! Tarquinia, hold! Tur. Lo! I am armed. I have loved you, Farewell! [Crosses, L.] How My death shall witness-how you have deceived me, Go, teach those fiends what perjury can do, And show your hands bathed in Tarquinia's blood Let me lose, Tit. Take, take me hence forever! All claims of nature, every sense but love! Tar. The gods that guard the majesty of Rome, And that sweet power, whose influence turns thy heart To pity and compliance, shall reward And bless thee for the deed! Tit. Can he be blest, On whom a father's direful curse shall fall? Be a man. Tit. Oh, while thy love upholds me, I can stand Against the world's contempt; remember, only, For whose dear sake I am undone ; remember, |