Zenocrate, the daughter of the Soldan. addresses her as

"Zenocrate, the loveliest maid alive,

Fairer than rocks of pearl and precious stone,
The only paragon of Tamburlaine,

Whose eyes are brighter than the lamps of Heaven,
And speech more pleasant than sweet harmony!
That with thy looks canst clear the darkened sky,
And calm the rage of thundering Jupiter,
Sit down by her, adorned with my crown,
As if thou wert the Empress of the world.”

He

And all his honours, in true knightly style, he is ready to lay at her feet. The First Book ends with his speech to her, before their wedding, when he crowns her

"Queen of Persia

And all the kingdoms and dominions

That late the power of Tamburlaine subdued."

In the Second Book they are married, and there is a vivid picture given of them with their three little sons, and of the boys' talk, and their father's answers. Tamburlaine's heart seems to have undergone no softening through age or the growth of paternal emotions; he angrily upbraids one of the boys who shows a less martial spirit than his brothers, and when he wishes to encourage the youngest, who, according to his mother, seems

somewhat precociously valiant, his early punishment of his fallen foe Bajazeth returns to his mind, and he promises the boy,

"If thou wilt love the wars and follow me,
Thou shalt be made a king, and reign with me,
Keeping in iron cages emperors."

His wife seems somewhat weary of his martial prowess, and asks him :—

"Sweet Tamburlaine, when wilt thou leave these arms,
And save thy sacred person free from scathe,
And dangerous chances of the wrathful war?"

But he answers her, much as warlike husbands in all ages have answered peace-loving wives :—

"When Heaven shall cease to move on both the poles,
And when the ground, whereon my soldiers march,
Shall rise aloft and touch the hornèd moon,
And not before, my sweet Zenocrate."

And his inborn love of war makes his dearest wish for his sons that they shall carry on his deeds of valour :—

"When I am old" (he says), "and cannot manage arms, Be thou the scourge and terror of the world."

The most beautiful scene in the play is the death of Zenocrate, when Tamburlaine sits beside her bed, and the boys stand waiting with the

physicians, who can do no more to arrest the advance of the one foe against whom the mighty Scythian warrior is powerless.

His love for his dying wife seems to enable Tamburlaine to realise for one moment a higher bliss than that which he has hitherto craved; he seems to go a little way in spirit with her, and to see where "walk the angels on the walls of Heaven;" and as his passionate love follows her there, he cries to all the glories of that blessed land,

"The chrystal streams, whose taste illuminates

Refined eyes with an eternal sight,

Like tried silver, run through Paradise,

To entertain divine Zenocrate.

The cherubims and holy seraphims,

That sing and play before the King of Kings,
Use all their voices and their instruments

To entertain divine Zenocrate.

And in this sweet and curious harmony,

The God that tunes this music to our souls,
Holds out his hand in highest majesty
To entertain divine Zenocrate."

As a farewell to the dying it would be hard to surpass these lines in their wailing pathos and beauty. Zenocrate dies, and with her much of the interest of the play, which runs its course of savage war and bloodshed, until the conquering chief rejoins the wife whose body he has kept embalmed at his side, and he quits

the stage of life with the somewhat arrogant

words

"For Tamburlaine, the scourge of God, must die."

Marlowe's next dramatic work is perhaps his most popular.

"The Tragical History of Dr. Faustus" is founded on the old legend of the man who sells his soul to the Prince of Darkness. A certain Dr. Faustus, who studied at various German universities in the beginning of the sixteenth century, had dealt in necromancy, and the legend became gradually identified with him, so that Marlowe adopted his name for the hero of the new play.

The fascination of the subject, and the skill and power with which it was worked out, brought the play instant popularity on the stage. The part of Dr. Faustus was taken by Alleyn, the great tragic actor of the day, who had also played the part of Tamburlaine.

The scene opens with an explanatory chorus, and then Faustus appears alone in his study, and in a fine soliloquy mourns the limits of the knowledge to which he has been able to attain even after a life spent in intellectual labour.

And it is for "infinite knowledge" that he agrees

to sell his soul to Mephistopheles, servant of Lucifer, Prince of Darkness.

There is a magnificent piece of dialogue between Dr. Faustus and Mephistopheles, in which the lost spirit seems always trying to prevent another from suffering his own awful fate.

"Tell me," asks Faustus, "what is that Lucifer, thy lord?" Meph. Arch-regent and commander of all spirits.

Faust. Was not that Lucifer an angel once?

Meph. Yes, Faustus and most dearly loved of God.
Faust. How comes it then that he is Prince of devils?
Meph. O, by aspiring pride and insolence;

For which God threw him from the face of Heaven.

They talk awhile, then Faustus is left alone. Later on, Good and Evil Angels come to him, and each gives him counsel as to whether or no he should make the proposed bargain.

"Sweet Faustus, think of Heaven, and heavenly things,"

entreats the Good Angel, but at his ear the Evil Angel tempts him—

"No, Faustus, think of honour and of wealth."

The Evil Angel triumphs, Mephistopheles returns, and the agreement is made.

Faustus is to have twenty-four years of life, with infinite knowledge, and then he is to become the property, body and soul, of Lucifer, the Prince of Darkness.