you come to him, at the first approach, you must kneel; then kiss his foot; then deliver up your pigeons; and then look for your reward. I'll be at hand, sir; see you do it bravely.

Clo. I warrant you, sir; let me alone.

Tit. Sirrah, hast thou a knife? Come, let me see it Here, Marcus, fold it in the oration;

For thou hast made it like an humble suppliant :-
And when thou hast given it to the emperor,
Knock at my door, and tell me what he says.
Clo. God be with you, sir; I will.

Tit. Come, Marcus, let 's go:-Publius, follow me.

SCENE IV.

The same. Before the Palace.

[Exeunt.

Enter SATURNINUS, TAMORA, CHIRON, DEMETRIUS, Lords and Others: SATURNINUS with the Arrows in his Hand, that TITUS shot.

Sat. Why, lords, what wrongs are these? Was ever

seen

An emperor of Rome thus overborne,

Troubled, confronted thus; and, for the extent
Of egal justice, us'd in such contempt?

My lords, you know, as do the mightful gods,
However these disturbers of our peace

Buz in the people's ears, there nought hath pass'd,
But even with law, against the wilful sons

Of old Andronicus. And what an if

His sorrows have so overwhelm'd his wits,
Shall we be thus afflicted in his wreaks,
His fits, his frenzy, and his bitterness?

And now he writes to heaven for his redress:
See, here's to Jove, and this to Mercury;
This to Apollo; this to the god of war:

Sweet scrolls to fly about the streets of Rome!

6

as do] These two words were supplied by Mr. Rowe who also in the concluding lines of this speech substituted-if she sleep, &c. for, if he sleep, and-as she, for, as he. Malone. even with law,] Thus the second folio. The first, unmetrically, even with the law. Steevens.

7

What's this, but libelling against the senate,
And blazoning our injustice every where?
A goodly humour, is it not, my lords?
As who would say, in Rome no justice were.
But, if I live, his feigned ecstasies
Shall be no shelter to these outrages:
But he and his shall know, that justice lives
In Saturninus' health; whom, if she sleep,
He'll so awake, as she in fury shall
Cut off the proud'st conspirator that lives.

Tam. My gracious lord, my lovely Saturnine,
Lord of my life, commander of my thoughts,
Calm thee, and bear the faults of Titus' age,
The effects of sorrow for his valiant sons,

Whose loss hath pierc'd him deep, and scarr'd his heart;
And rather comfort his distressed plight,
Than prosecute the meanest, or the best,

For these contempts. Why, thus it shall become
High-witted Tamora to gloze with all:
But, Titus, I have touch'd thee to the quick,
Thy life-blood out: if Aaron now be wise,
Then is all safe, the anchor 's in the port.8-

Enter Clown.

[Aside.

How now, good fellow? would'st thou speak with us?
Clo. Yes, forsooth, an your mistership be imperial.
Tam. Empress I am, but yonder sits the emperor.
Clo. 'Tis he.-God, and saint Stephen, give you good
den: I have brought you a letter, and a couple of pigeons
[SAT. reads the Letter.
Sat. Go, take him away, and hang him presently.
Clo. How much money must I have?

here.

Tam. Come, sirrah, you must be hang'd.

Clo. Hang'd! By'r lady, then I have brought up a neck to a fair end.

[Exit, guarded

Sat. Despiteful and intolerable wrongs!
Shall I endure this monstrous villainy?

I know from whence this same device proceeds;
May this be borne?-as if his traitorous sons,
That died by law for murder of our brother,
Have by my means been butcher'd wrongfully.-

8

the anchor's in the port.] Edition 1600, reads--the anchor in the port. Todd.

Go, drag the villain hither by the hair;

Nor age, nor honour, shall shape privilege:-
For this proud mock, I 'll be thy slaughter-man;
Sly frantick wretch, that holp'st to make me great,
In hope thyself should govern Rome and me.

Enter EMILIUS.9

What news with thee, Æmilius?

Æmil. Arm, arm, my lords;1 Rome never had more cause!

The Goths have gather'd head; and with a power
Of high-resolved men, bent to the spoil,
They hither march amain, under condúct
Of Lucius, son to old Andronicus;

Who threats, in course of this revenge, to do
As much as ever Coriolanus did.

Sat. Is warlike Lucius general of the Goths?
These tidings nip me; and I hang the head
As flowers with frost, or grass beat down with storms,
Ay, now begin our sorrows to approach:

'Tis he, the common people love so much; Myself hath often over-heard them say,

9 Enter Æmilius.] [Old copy-Nuntius Æmilius.] In the author's manuscript, I presume, it was writ, Enter Nuntius; and they observing, that he is immediately called Æmilius, thought proper to give him his whole title, and so clapped in----Enter Nuntius Emilius.----Mr. Pope has very critically followed them; and ought, methinks, to have given this new-adopted citizen Nuntius, a place in the Dramatis Personæ. Theobald.

The edition 1600 reads as in Theobald's old copy. Todd.

1

Arm, arm, my lords ;] The second arm is wanting in the old copies. Steevens.

Arm is here used as a dissyllable. Malone.

i. e. to those who can so pronounce it. I continue, for the sake of metre, to repeat the word----arm. May I add, that having seen very correct and harmonious lines of Mr. Malone's composition, I cannot suppose, if he had written a tale of persecuted love, he would have ended it with such a couplet as follows?— and yet, according to his present position, if arms be a dissyllable, it must certainly be allowed to rhyme with any word of corresponding sound;-for instance :

'Escaping thus aunt Tabby's larums,

They triumph'd in each other's arms." i. e. arums. But let the reader determine on the pretension of arms to rank as a dissyllable. Steevens.

2 Myself hath often over-heard -] Self was used formerly as

(When I have walked like a private man)

That Lucius' banishment was wrongfully,

And they have wish'd that Lucius were their emperor.
Tam. Why should you fear? is not your city strong?
Sat. Ay, but the citizens favour Lucius;
And will revolt from me, to succour him.

Tam. King, be thy thoughts imperious, like thy name:3
Is the sun dimm'd, that gnats do fly in it?
The eagle suffers little birds to sing,
And is not careful what they mean thereby;
Knowing, that with the shadow of his wings,
He can at pleasure stint their melody:4
Even so may'st thou the giddy men of Rome.
Then cheer thy spirit: for know, thou emperor,
I will enchant the old Andronicus,

With words more sweet, and yet more dangerous,
Than baits to fish, or honey-stalks to sheep;5
When as the one is wounded with the bait.

The other rotted with delicious feed.

Sat. But he will not entreat his son for us. Tam. If Tamora entreat him, then he will: For I can smooth, and fill his aged ear

a substantive, and written separately from the pronominal adjective: my self. The late editors, not attending to this, read, after Sir Thomas Hanmer,-have often.-Over, which is not in the old copies, was supplied by Mr. Theobald. Malone. Over is wanting in edition 1600. Todd.

3

imperious, like thy name.] Imperious was formerly used for imperial. See Cymbeline, Act IV, sc. ii:

"The imperious seas" &c. Malone.

Again, in Troilus and Cressida:

4

"I thank thee, most imperious Agamemnon."

Steevens.

stint their melody:] i. e. stop their melody. Malone. So, in Romeo and Juliet: " it stinted, and cried-ay."

5

Steevens.

honey-stalks to sheep;] Honey-stalks are clover-flowers, which contain a sweet juice. It is common for cattle to overcharge themselves with clover, and die. Johnson.

Clover has the effect that Johnson mentions, on black cattle, but not on sheep. Besides, these honey-stalks, whatever they may be, are described as rotting the sheep, not as bursting them; whereas clover is the wholesomest food you can give them. M. Mason.

Perhaps, the author was not so skilful a farmer as the commentator. Malone.

With golden promises; that were his heart
Almost impregnable, his old ears deaf,

[To EMIL.

Yet should both ear and heart obey my tongue.-
Go thou before, be our embassador:6
Say, that the emperor requests a parley
Of warlike Lucius, and appoint the meeting,
Even at his father's house, the old Andronicus.
Sat. Emilius, do this message honourably:
And if he stand on hostage for his safety,

Bid him demand what pledge will please him best.
Emil. Your bidding shall I do effectually. [Exit EMIL.
Tam. Now will I to that old Andronicus;

And temper him, with all the art I have,

To pluck proud Lucius from the warlike Goths.

And now, sweet emperor, be blithe again,

And bury all thy fear in my devices.

Sat. Then go successfully, and plead to him. [Exeunt.

ACT V..... SCENE I.

Plains near Rome.

Enter Lucius, and Goths, with Drum and Colours.

Luc. Approved warriors, and my faithful friends,
I have received letters from great Rome,

Which signify, what hate they bear their emperor,
And how desirous of our sight they are.

Therefore, great lords, be, as your titles witness,
Imperious, and impatient of your wrongs;

And, wherein Rome hath done you any scath,9

6 be our embassador:] The old copies read--to be &c. Corrected by Mr. Steevens. Malone.

7

on hostage-] Old copies--in hostage. Corrected by Mr. Rowe. Malone.

8 successfully,] The old copies read--successantly; a mere blunder of the press. Steevens.

Whether the author of this play had any authority for this word, I know not; but I suspect he had not. In the next Act he with equal licence uses rapine for rape. By successantly, I suppose, he meant successfully. Malone.