Page:Titus Andronicus (1926) Yale.djvu/43

Titus Andronicus, II. iii

And wander'd hither to an obscure plot,

Accompanied but with a barbarous Moor,

If foul desire had not conducted you?

Lav. And, being intercepted in your sport,

Great reason that my noble lord be rated

For sauciness. I pray you, let us hence,

And let her joy her raven-colour'd love;

This valley fits the purpose passing well.

Bas. The king my brother shall have note of this.

Lav. Ay, for these slips have made him noted long:

Good king, to be so mightily abus'd!

Tam. Why have I patience to endure all this?

Dem. How now, dear sovereign, and our gracious mother!

Why doth your highness look so pale and wan?

Tam. Have I not reason, think you, to look pale?

These two have 'tic'd me hither to this place:

A barren detested vale, you see, it is;

The trees, though summer, yet forlorn and lean,

O'ercome with moss and baleful mistletoe:

Here never shines the sun; here nothing breeds,

Unless the nightly owl or fatal raven:

And when they show'd me this abhorred pit,

They told me, here, at dead time of the night,

A thousand fiends, a thousand hissing snakes,

Ten thousand swelling toads, as many urchins,

Would make such fearful and confused cries,

As any mortal body hearing it

Should straight fall mad, or else die suddenly.

No sooner had they told this hellish tale,

 83 joy; enjoy

86 slips: offences; cf. n.

87 abus'd: deceived

92 'tic'd: enticed

93 barren detested vale; cf. n.

97 fatal: evil-omened

101 urchins: hedgehogs

