t

Have past the army of the mighty Turk,
Bearing his privy signet and his hand
To safe conduct us thorough Africa.

Mag. And since we have arrived in
Scythia,

Besides rich presents from the puissant Cham, We have his highness' letters to command Aid and assistance, if we stand in need.

Tamb. But now you see these letters and commands

Are countermanded by a greater man;
And through my provinces you must expect
Letters of conduct from my mightiness,
If you intend to keep your treasure safe.
But since I love to live at liberty,

As easily may you get the soldan's crown
As any prizes out of my precinct;

For they are friends that heip to wean my state

'Till men and kingdoms help to strengthen it,

And must maintain my life exempt from servitude

But, tell me, madam, is your grace betrothed?

Zeno. I am-my lord--for so you do import.

Tamb. I am a lord, for so my deeds shall prove;

And yet

a shepherd by my parentage. But, la 'v this fair face and heavenly hue Must grave his bed that conquers Asia, And means to be a terror to the world, Measuring the limits of his empery

By east and west, as Phoebus doth his

course.

Lie here ye weeds that I disdain to wear!
This complete armour and this curtle axe
Are adjuncts more beseeming Tamburlaine.
And, madam, whatsoever you esteem
Of this success and loss unvalued,

Both may invest you empress of the East;
And these that seem but silly country swains
May have the leading of so great an host,
As with their weight shall make the moun-
tains quake,

Even as when windy exhalations
Fighting for passage, tilt within the earth.
Tech. As princely lions, when they rouse
themselves,

Stretching their paws, and threatening herds of beasts,

So in his armour looketh Tamburlaine. Methinks I see kings kneeling at his feet, And he with frowning brows and fiery looks, Spurning their crowns from off their captive heads.

Usum. And making thee and me, Techelles, kings,

That even to death will follow Tamburlaine. Tamb. Nobly resolved, sweet friends and followers!

These Lords, perhaps do scorn our esti

mates,

And think we prattle with distempered spirits;

But since they measure our deserts so mean,
That in conceit bear empires on our spears,
Affecting thoughts coequal with the clouds,
They shall be kept our forced followers,
Till with their eyes they view us emperors.
Zeno. The Gods, defenders of the inno-
cent,

Will never prosper your intended drifts,
That thus oppress poor friendless passengers.
Therefore at least admit us liberty,
Even as thou hopest to be eternized,
By living Asia's mighty emperor.

Agyd. I hope our ladies' treasures and

our own,

May serve for ransom to our liberties:
Return our mules and empty camels back,
That we may travel into Syria,
Where her betrothed lord Alcidamas,
Expects th' arrival of her highness' person.
Mag. And wheresoever we repose our-
selves,

We will report but well of Tamburlaine. Tamb. Disdains Zenocrate to live with me?

Or you, my lords, to be my followers? Think you I weigh this treasure more than you?

Not all the gold in India's wealthy arms
Shall buy the meanest soldier in my train.
Zenocrate, lovelier than the love of Jove,
Brighter than is the silver Rhodope,
Fairer than whitest snow on Scythian hills,-
Thy person is more worth to Tamburlaine,
Than the possession of the Persian crown,
Which gracious stars have promised at my
birth.

A hundred Tartars shall attend on thee,
Mounted on steeds swifter than Pegasus ;
Thy garments shall be made of Median
silk,

Enchased with precious jewels of mine own,
More rich and valurous than Zenocrate's.
With milk-white harts upon an ivory sled,
Thou shalt be drawn amidst the frozen
pools,

And scale the icy mountains' lofty tops,
Which with thy beauty will be soon resolved
My martial prizes with five hundred men,
Won on the fifty-headed Wolga's waves,
Shall we all offer to Zenocrate,-
And then myself to fair Zenocrate.
Tech. What now in love?

To be my queen and portly emperess.
If thou wilt stay with me, renowned man,
And lead thy thousand horse with my con-
dùct,

Besides thy share of this Egyptian prize, Those thousand horse shall sweat with martial spoil

Of conquered kingdoms and of cities sacked;
Both we will walk upon the lofty cliffs,
And Christian merchants that with Russian

stems

Plough up huge furrows in the Caspian sea, Shall vail to us, as lords of all the lake. Both we will reign as consuls of the earth, And mighty kings shall be our senators. Jove sometimes maskèd in a shepherd's weed,

And by those steps that he hath scaled the heavens

May we become immortal like the gods.
Join with me now in this my mean estate,
(I call it mean because being yet obscure,
The nations far removed admire me not,)
And when my name and honour shall be
spread

As far as Boreas claps his brazen wings,
Or fair Böötes sends his cheerful light,
Then shalt thou be competitor with me,
And sit with Tamburlaine in all his majesty.
Ther. Not Hermes, prolocutor to the
gods,

Could use persuasions more pathetical.
Tamb. Nor are Apollo's oracles more

true,

Than thou shalt find my vaunts substantial. Tech. We are his friends, and if the Persian king

Should offer present dukedoms to our state, We think loss to make exchange for that We are assured of by our friend's success.

Usum. And kingdoms at the least we all expect,

Besides the honour in assured conquests, When kings shall crouch unto our conquering swords

And hosts of soldiers stand amazed at us; When with their fearful tongues they shall

confess,

These are the men that all the world admires.

Ther. What strong enchantments tice my yielding soul

To these resolvèd, noble Scythians?
But shall I prove a traitor to my king?
Tamb. No, but the trusty friend of Tam-
burlaine.

Ther. Won with thy words, and conquered with thy looks,

I yield myself, my men, and horse to thee,

To be partaker of thy good or ill,
As long as life maintains Theridamas.
Tamb. Theridamas, my friend, take here
my hand,

Which is as much as if I swore by Heaven,
And call'd the gods to witness of my vow.
Thus shall my heart be still combined with
thine

Until our bodies turn to elements,
And both our souls aspire celestial thrones.
Techelles and Casane, welcome him!

Tech. Welcome, renownèd Persian to us all!

Usum. Long may Theridamas remain with us!

Tamb. These are my friends, in whom I more rejoice

Than doth the king of Persia in his crown,
And by the love of Pylades and Orestes,
Whose statues we adore in Scythia,

Thyself and them shall never part from me
Before I crown you kings in Asia.
Make much of them, gentle Theridamas,
And they will never leave thee till the death.
Ther. Nor thee nor them, thrice noble
Tamburlaine,

Shall want my heart to be with gladness pierced,

To do you honour and security.

Tamb. A thousand thanks, worthy Theridamas.

And now fair madam, and my noble lords,
If you will willingly remain with me
You shall have honours as your merits be;
Or else you shall be forced with slavery.

Agvd. We yield unto thee, happy Tamburlaine.

Tamb. For you then, madam, I am out of doubt.

Zeno. I must be pleased perforce. Wretched Zenocrate ! [Exeunt.

Like his desire lift upward and divine,

So large of limbs, his joints so strongly knit,

Such breadth of shoulders as might mainly bear

Old Atlas' burthen;-'twixt his manly pitch,

A pearl, more worth than all the world, is placed,

Wherein by curious sovereignty of art
Are fixed his piercing instruments of sight,
Whose fiery circles bear encompassèd
A heaven of heavenly bodies in their spheres,
That guides his steps and actions to the
throne,

Where honour sits invested royally :
Pale of complexion, wrought in him with
passion,

Thirsting with sovereignty and love of arms; His lofty brows in folds do figure death, And in their smoothness amity and life; About them hangs a knot of amber hair, Wrapped in curls, as fierce Achilles' was, On which the breath of Heaven delights to play,

Making it dance with wanton majesty.His arms and fingers, long, and sinewy, Betokening valour and excess of strength;In every part proportioned like the man Should make the world subdued to Tamburlaine.

Cos. Well hast thou pourtrayed in thy terms of life

The face and personage of a wondrous

man;

Nature doth strive with Fortune and his stars

To make him famous in accomplished worth;

And well his merits shew him to be made
His fortune's master and the king of men,
That could persuade at such a sudden pinch,
With reasons of his valour and his life,
A thousand sworn and overmatching foes.
Then, when our powers in points of swords
are joined

And closed in compass of the killing bullet, Though strait the passage and the port be made

That leads to palace of my brother's life,
Proud is his fortune if we pierce it not.
And when the princely Persian diadem
Shall overweigh his weary witless head,
And fall like mellowed fruit with shakes of
death,

In fäir Persia, noble Tamburlaine
Shall be my regent and remain as king.
Orty. In happy hour we have set the

crown

Upon your kingly head that seeks our honour,

In joining with the man ordained by Heaven, To further every action to the best.

Cen. He that with shepherds and a little spoil

Durst in disdain of wrong and tyranny, Defend his freedom 'gainst a monarchy, What will he do supported by a king, Leading a troop of gentlemen and lords, And stuffed with treasure for his highest thoughts!

Cos. And such shall wait on worthy Tamburlaine.

Our army will be forty thousand strong,
When Tamburlaine and brave Theridamas
Have met us by the river Araris ;
And all conjoined to meet the witless king,
That now is marching near to Parthia,
And with unwilling soldiers faintly armed,
To seek revenge on me and Tamburlaine,
To whom, sweet Menaphon, direct me
straight,
[Exeunt.

Men. I will, my lord.

SCENE II.

Enter Mycetes, Meander, with other Lords; and Soldiers.

Myc. Come, my Meander, let us to this gear.

I tell you true, my heart is swoln with wrath On this same thievish villain, Tamburlaine, And, on that false Cosroe, my traitorous brother.

Would it not grieve a king to be so abused And have a thousand horsemen ta'en away?

And, which is worse, to have his diadem Sought for by such scald knaves as love him not?

I think it would; well then, by Heavens I

They gather strength by power of fresh supplies.

This country swarms with vile outrageous

men

That live by rapine and by lawless spoil,
Fit soldiers for the wicked Tamburlaine;
And he that could with gifts and promises
Inveigle him that led a thousand horse,
And make him false his faith unto his king,
Will quickly win such as be like himself.
Therefore cheer up your minds; prepare to
fight;

He that can take or slaughter Tamburlaine,
Shall rule the province of Albania:
Who brings that traitor's head, Theridamas,
Shall have a government in Media,
Beside the spoil of him and all his train :
But if Cosroe, (as our spials say,
And as we know) remains with Tambur-
laine,

His Highness' pleasure is that he should live,
And be reclaimed with princely lenity.

A Spy. A hundred horsemen of my company

Scouting abroad upon these champion plains Have viewed the army of the Scythians, Which make report it far exceeds the king's.

Meand. Suppose they be in number in-
finite,

Yet being void of martial discipline,
All running headlong after greedy spoils,
And more regarding gain than victory,
Like to the cruel brothers of the earth,
Sprung of the teeth of dragons venomous,
Their careless swords shall lance their
fellows' throats,

And make us triumph in their overthrow.
Myc. Was there such brethren, sweet
Meander, say,

That sprung of teeth of dragons venomous? Meand. So poets say, my lord.

Myc. And 'tis a pretty toy to be a poet. Well, well, Meander, thou art deeply read, And having thee, I have a jewel sure. Go on, my Lord, and give your charge, I say;

Thy wit will make us conquerors to-day.

Meand. Then, noble soldiers, to entrap

these thieves,

That live confounded in disordered troops,
If wealth or riches may prevail with them,
We have our camels laden all with gold,
Which you that be but common soldiers
Shall fling in every corner of the field;
And while the base-born Tartars take it up,
You, fighting more for honour than for gold,
Shall massacre those greedy-minded slaves;
And when their scattered army is subdued,

And you march on their slaughtered car

casses,

Share equally the gold that bought their lives,

And live like gentlemen in Persia. Strike up the drum! and march courageously!

Fortune herself doth sit upon our crests.

Myc. He tells you true, my masters: so he does.

Drums, why sound ye not, when Meander speaks? [Exeunt, drums sounding.

SCENE III.

Enter Cosroe, Tamburlaine, Theridamas, Techelles, Usumcasane and Ortygius, with others.

Cos. Now, worthy Tamburlaine, have I reposed

In thy approved fortunes all my hope.
What think'st thou, man, shall come of our
attempts?

For even as from assured oracle,
I take thy doom for satisfaction.

Tamb. And so mistake you not a whit, my Lord;

For fates and oraclès [of] Heaven have

Sworn

To royalize the deeds of Tamburlaine,

And make them blest that share in his attempts.

And doubt you not but, if you favour me,
And let my fortunes and my valour sway
To some direction in your martial deeds,
The world will strive with hosts of men at
arms,

To swarm unto the ensign I support:
The host of Xerxes, which by fame is said
To have drank the mighty Parthian Araris,
Was but a handful to that we will have.
Our quivering lances, shaking in the air,
And bullets, like Jove's dreadful thunder-
bolts,

Enrolled in flames and fiery smouldering mists,

Shall threat the gods more than Cyclopian