And never had the Turkish emperor
So great a foil by any foreign foe.

Now will the Christian miscreants be glad,
Ringing with joy their superstitious bells,
And making bonfires for my overthrow :
But, ere I die, those foul idolaters

Shall make me bonfires with their filthy bones;
For, though the glory of this day be lost,
Afric and Greece have garrisons enough
To make me sovereign of the earth again.
TAMB. Those walled garrisons will I subdue,
And write myself great lord of Africa:
So from the East unto the furthest West
Shall Tamburlaine extend his puissant arm.
The galleys and those pilling* brigandines,
That yearly sail to the Venetian gulf,
And hover in the Straits for Christians' wrack,
Shall lie at anchor in the isle Asant,
Until the Persian fleet and men-of-war,

Sailing along the oriental sea,

Have fetch'd about the Indian continent,

Even from Persepolis to Mexico,

And thence unto the Straits of Gibraltar +;

Where they shall meet and join their force in one, Keeping in awe the Bay of Portingale,

And all the ocean by the British ‡ shore;

* pilling] i. e. plundering.

+ Gibraltar] Here the old eds. "Jubalter: " but in the Sec. Part of this play, act i. sc. 3, they have " Gibralter."

British] So the 4to.-The 8vo "brightest."

And by this means I'll win the world at last.
BAJ. Yet set a ransom on me, Tamburlaine.

TAMB. What, think'st thou, Tamburlaine esteems thy gold?

I'll make the kings of India, ere I die,

Offer their mines, to sue for peace, to me,

And dig for treasure to appease my wrath.

Come, bind them both, and one lead in the Turk ; The Turkess let my love's maid lead away.

[They bind them. BAJ. Ah, villains, dare you touch my sacred arms?

O Mahomet! O sleepy Mahomet!

ZAB. O cursed Mahomet, that mak'st us thus The slaves to Scythians rude and barbarous ! TAMB. Come, bring them in; and for this happy

conquest

Triumph, and solemnize a martial* feast. [Exeunt.

ACT IV.

SCENE I.

Enter the SOLDAN of EGYPT, Capolin, Lords, and a MESSENGER.

SOLD. Awake, ye men of Memphis! hear the clang Of Scythian trumpets; hear the basilisks †,

That, roaring, shake Damascus' turrets down!

martial] So the 8vo.-The 4to "materiall."

↑ basilisks] Pieces of ordnance so called. They were of immense size; see Douce's Illust. of Shakespeare, i. 425.

The rogue of Volga holds Zenocrate,
The Soldan's daughter, for his concubine,
And, with a troop of thieves and vagabonds,
Hath spread his colours to our high disgrace,
While you, faint-hearted base Egyptians,
Lie slumbering on the flowery banks of Nile,
As crocodiles that unaffrighted rest,

While thundering cannons rattle on their skins.
MESS. Nay, mighty Soldan, did your greatness see
The frowning looks of fiery Tamburlaine,
That with his terror and imperious eyes
Commands the hearts of his associates,
It might amaze your royal majesty.

SOLD. Villain, I tell thee, were that Tamburlaine As monstrous as Gorgon prince of hell,

*

The Soldan would not start a foot from him.

But speak, what power hath he?

MESS. Mighty lord,

Three hundred thousand men in armour clad,
Upon their prancing steeds, disdainfully
With wanton paces trampling on the ground;
Five hundred thousand footmen threatening shot,
Shaking their swords, their spears, and iron bills,
Environing their standard round, that stood
As bristle-pointed as a thorny wood;
Their warlike engines and munition

Exceed the forces of their martial men.

SOLD. Nay, could their numbers countervail the stars,

monstrous] To be read as a trisyllable.

*

Or ever-drizzling drops of April showers,

Or wither'd leaves that Autumn shaketh down,
Yet would the Soldan by his conquering power
So scatter and consume them in his rage,

That not a man should + live to rue their fall.

CAPO. So might your highness, had you time to sort Your fighting men, and raise your royal host; But Tamburlaine by expedition

Advantage takes of your unreadiness.

SOLD. Let him take all th' advantages he can : Were all the world conspir'd to fight for him, Nay, were he devil †, as he is no man,

Yet in revenge of fair Zenocrate,
Whom he detaineth in despite of us,

This arm should send him down to Erebus,
To shroud his shame in darkness of the night.

MESS. Pleaseth your mightiness to understand,
His resolution far exceedeth all.

The first day when he pitcheth down his tents,
White is their hue, and on his silver crest
A snowy feather spangled white he bears,
To signify the mildness of his mind,
That, satiate with spoil, refuseth blood:
But, when Aurora mounts the second time,

As red as scarlet is his furniture;

Then must his kindled wrath be quench'd with blood,

Not sparing any that can manage arms:

* Or ever-drizzling] So the 4to.-The 8vo “ Or drisling."

+ should] So the 4to.-The 8vo "shal."

the devil] So the 8vo.-The 4to "he the deuill."

But, if these threats move not submission,
Black are his colours, black pavilion ;

His spear, his shield, his horse, his armour, plumes,
And jetty feathers, menace death and hell;
Without respect of sex, degree, or age,

He razeth all his foes with fire and sword.
SOLD. Merciless villain, peasant, ignorant
Of lawful arms or martial discipline!
Pillage and murder are his usual trades:
The slave usurps the glorious name of war.
See, Capolin, the fair Arabian king*,
That hath been disappointed by this slave
Of my fair daughter and his princely love,
May have fresh warning to go war with us,
And be reveng'd for her disparagement.

SCENE II.

[Exeunt.

Enter TAMBURLAINE, TECHELLES, THERIDAMAS, USUMCASANE, ZENOCRATE, ANIPPE, two Moors drawing BAJAZETH in a cage, and ZABINA following him.

[They take Bajazeth out of the cage. BAJ. Ye holy priests of heavenly Mahomet, That, sacrificing, slice and cut your flesh, Staining his altars with your purple blood, Make Heaven to frown, and every fixèd star

* Arabian king] Scil. Alcidamus; see p. 22, 1. 18.