The towers and cities of these hateful Turks,

And hunt that coward, faint-heart runaway,

With that accursèd1 traitor Almeda,

Till fire and sword have found them at a bay.

Usum. I long to pierce his 2 bowels with my sword, That hath betrayed my gracious sovereign,

That cursed and damnèd traitor Almeda.

Tamb. Then let us see if coward Callapine

Dare levy arms against our puissance,
That we may tread upon his captive neck,

And treble all his father's slaveries.

150

[Exeunt.

SCENE III.

Enter TECHELLES, THERIDAMAS, and their train.

Ther. Thus have we marched northward from Tam

burlaine,

Unto the frontier point 3 of Syria;

And this is Balsora, their chiefest hold,

Wherein is all the treasure of the land.

Tech. Then let us bring our light artillery,
Minions, falc'nets, and sakers, to the trench,
Filling the ditches with the walls' wide breach,
And enter in to seize upon the gold.
How say you, soldiers ? shall we [or] not?

1 So 4to.-8vo. "cursed."

2 So 4to.-8vo. "the."

3 So 8vo.

4to. "port."

Minions, &c., were pieces of small ordnance.

Sold. Yes, my lord, yes; come, let's about it.
Ther. But stay awhile; summon a parle, drum.
It may be they will yield it quietly,

Knowing two kings, the friends1 to Tamburlaine,
Stand at the walls with such a mighty power.

A parle sounded.-CAPTAIN appears on the walls, with OLYMPIA his Wife, and Son.

Capt. What require you, my masters ?

Ther. Captain, that thou yield up thy hold to us.
Capt. To you! Why, do you 2 think me weary of it?
Tech. Nay, captain, thou art weary of thy life,

If thou withstand the friends of Tamburlaine !
Ther. These pioners of Argier in Africa,
Even in the cannon's face, shall raise a hill
Of earth and faggots higher than the fort,
And over thy argins and covered ways
Shall play upon the bulwarks of thy hold
Volleys of ordnance, till the breach be made
That with his ruin fills up all the trench,

And when we enter in, not heaven itself

Shall ransom thee, thy wife, and family.

ΙΟ

20

Tech. Captain, these Moors shall cut the leaden pipes, That bring fresh water to thy men and thee,

And lie in trench before thy castle walls,

That no supply of victual shall come in,
Nor [any] issue forth but they shall die;
And, therefore, captain, yield it quietly.

1 So 4to.-8vo. "friend."
2 So 4to.-8vo. "thou."

30

Capt. Were you, that are the friends of Tamburlaine, Brothers to holy Mahomet himself,

I would not yield it; therefore do your worst:

Raise mounts, batter, intrench, and undermine,
Cut off the water, all convoys that can,1

Yet I am resolute, and so farewell.

40

[CAPTAIN, OLYMPIA, and their Son retire from the walls.

Ther. Pioners, away! and where I stuck the stake, Intrench with those dimensions I prescribed.

Cast up the earth towards the castle wall,

Which, till it may defend you, labour low,

[Exeunt Pioners.

And few or none shall perish by their shot.
Pio. We will, my lord.
Tech. A hundred horse shall scout about the plains
To spy what force comes to relieve the hold.
Both we, Theridamas, will entrench our men,
And with the Jacob's staff measure the height
And distance of the castle from the trench,
That we may know if our artillery
Will carry full point blank unto their walls.

Ther. Then see the bringing of our ordinance
Along the trench into the battery,

Where we will have gabions 2 of six foot broad

50

1 Dyce supposes this to mean "all convoys that can be cut off." The 1826 editor reads "come," and perhaps the correction is right.

2 Old copies "gallions." The correction was made by Cunningham (who had been anticipated by Broughton). He quotes from Kersey's dictionary :-" Gabions or cannon-baskets are great baskets, which, being filled with earth, are placed upon batteries."

To save our cannoniers from musket shot.
Betwixt which shall our ordnance thunder forth,
And with the breach's fall, smoke, fire, and dust,
The crack, the echo, and the soldier's cry,
Make deaf the ear and dim the crystal sky.

Tech. Trumpets and drums, alarum presently;
And, soldiers, play the men; the hold1 is yours.

60

[Exeunt.

SCENE IV.

Alarum within.-Enter the CAPTAIN, with OLYMPIA, and his Son.

Olymp. Come, good my lord, and let us haste from hence

Along the cave that leads beyond the foe;

No hope is left to save this conquered hold.
Capt. A deadly bullet, gliding through my side,
Lies heavy on my heart; I cannot live.

I feel my liver pierced, and all my veins,
That there begin and nourish every part,
Mangled and torn, and all my entrails bathed
In blood that straineth 2 from their orifex.
Farewell, sweet wife! sweet son, farewell! I die.

[He dies.

1 So 4to.-8vo. "holds."

2 So 4to.-8vo. "staineth." The confusion between stain and strain is constantly occurring. In Shelley's dirge, "Rough wind that moanest loud," we should surely read, "Bare woods whose branches strain."

Olym. Death, whither art thou gone, that both we live? Come back again, sweet Death, and strike us both! One minute end our days! and one sepulchre Contain our bodies! Death, why com'st thou not? Well, this must be the messenger for thee:

[Drawing a dagger.

Now, ugly Death, stretch out thy sable wings,
And carry both our souls where his remains.
Tell me, sweet boy, art thou content to die?
These barbarous Scythians, full of cruelty,
And Moors, in whom was never pity found,
Will hew us piecemeal, put us to the wheel,
Or else invent some torture worse than that;
Therefore die by thy loving mother's hand,
Who gently now will lance thy ivory throat,
And quickly rid thee both of pain and life.

Son. Mother, despatch me, or I'll kill myself;
For think you I can live and see him dead?
Give me your knife, good mother, or strike home:
The Scythians shall not tyrannize on me:
Sweet mother, strike, that I may see my father.

20

30

[She stabs him and he dies.

Olymp. Ah, sacred Mahomet, if this be sin,

Entreat a pardon of the God of heaven,

And purge my soul before it come to thee.

[She burns the bodies of her husband and son and then attempts to kill herself.

Enter THERIDAMAS, TECHELLES, and all their train. Ther. How now, madam, what are you doing?