The Dramatic Works of William Shakspeare

Gon. Holloa, holloa!

That eye that told you so, look'd but a-squint. *
Reg. Lady, I am not well; else I should answer
From a full-flowing stomach.-General,
Take thou my soldiers, prisoners, patrimony;
Dispose of them, of me; the walls are thine:
Witness the world, that I create thee here
My lord and master.

Gon. Mean you to enjoy him?

Alb. The let-alone + lies not in your good
will.

Edm. Nor in thine, lord.
Alb. Half-blooded fellow, yes.
Reg. Let the drum strike, and

thine.

prove my title [To EDMUND. Alb. Stay yet; hear reason:-Edmund, I arrest thee

On capital treason; and, in thy arrest,
This gilded serpent: [Pointing to GON.]-for
your claim, fair sister,

I bar it in the interest of my wife;
'Tis she is sub-contracted to this lord,

And I, her husband, contradict your bans.
If you will marry, make your love to me,
My lady is bespoke.

Gon. An interlude !

Alb. Thou art arm'd, Gloster:-Let trumpet sound:

Edg. What's he, that speaks for Edmund earl
of Gloster?

Edm. Himself;-What say'st thou to him?
Edg. Draw thy sword;

That, if my speech offend a noble heart,
Thy arm may do thee justice: here is mine.
Behold it is the privilege of mine honours,
My oath and my profession: I protest,-
Maugre thy strength, youth, place, and emi-
nence,

Despite thy victor sword, and fire-new fortune
Thy valour, and thy heart,-thou art a traitor :
False to thy gods, thy brother, and thy father;
Conspirant 'gainst this high illustrious prince;
And, from the extremest upward of thy head,
To the descent and dust beneath thy feet,
A most toad-spotted traitor. Say thou, No,
This sword, this arm, and my best spirits, are
bent

To prove upon thy heart, whereto I speak
Thou liest.

Edm. In wisdom I should ask thy name : +
But, since thy outside looks so fair and war-
like,
[breathes,
And that thy tongue some 'sayt of breeding
What safe and nicely I might well delay
the By rule of knighthood, I disdain and spurn:
Back do I toss these treasons to thy head;
With the hell-hated lie o'erwhelm thy heart;
Which, (for they yet glance by, and scarcely
bruise,)
[way,

If none appear to prove upon thy person,
Thy heinous, manifest, and many treasons,
There is my pledge; [Throwing down a Glove.]
I'll prove it on thy heart,

Ere I taste bread, thou art in nothing less
Than I have here proclaim'd thee.
Reg. Sick, O, sick!

[Aside.

Gon. If not, I'll ne'er trust poison.
Edm. There's my exchange: [Throwing down
a Glove.] what in the world he is

That names me traitor, villain-like he lies:
Call by thy trumpet: he that dares approach,
On him, on you, (who not ?) I will maintain
My truth and honour firmly.

Alb. A herald, ho!

Edm. A herald, ho, a herald !
Alb. Trust to thy single virtue!

This sword of mine shall give them instant
Where they shall rest for ever.-Trumpets,

An unknown opposite: thou art not vanquish'd,
But cozen'd and beguil'd.

Alb. Shut your mouth, dame,

Or with this paper shall I stop it :-Hold, Sir :-
Thou worse than any name, read thine own
evil :-

No tearing, lady; I perceive, you know it.
[Gives the Letter to EDMUND.
Gon. Say, if I do; the laws are mine, not
Who shall arraign me for't?

Alb. Most monstrous !

Know'st thou this paper?

Gon. Ask me not what I know.

[thine :

[Exit GONERIL. Alb. Go after her: she's desperate; govern her. [To an OFFICER, who goes out. Edm. What you have charg'd me with, that [out;

have I done; And more, much more: the time will bring it 'Tis past, and so am 1: But what art thou, That hast this fortune on me? If thou art noble, I do forgive thee.

Edg. Let's exchange charity.

I am no less in blood than thou art, Edmund ;
If more, the more thou hast wrong'd me.
My name is Edgar, and thy father's son.
The gods are just, and of our pleasant vices
Make instruments to scourge us:
The dark and vicious place where thee he got,
Cost him his eyes.

Edm. Thou hast spoken right, 'tis true;
The wheel is come full circle: I am here.

Alb. Methought, thy very gait did prophesy
A royal nobleness :-I must embrace thee;
Let sorrow split my heart, if ever 1
Did hate thee, or thy father!
Edg. Worthy prince,

I know it well.

Alb. Where have you hid yourself? [ther ? How have you known the miseries of your faEdg. By nursing them, my lord.-List | a brief tale ;

And, when 'tis told, O that my heart would | Speak, Edmund, where's the king? and where's

Durst!

The bloody proclamation to escape,

That follow'd me so near, (O our lives' sweet

ness!

That with the pain of death we'd hourly die,
Rather than die at once!) taught me to shift
Into a madman's rags; to assume a sem-
blance

That very dogs disdain'd: and in this habit
Met I my father with his bleeding rings,
Their precious stones new lost; became his
guide,
[despair:
Led him, begg'd for him, sav'd him from
Never (O fault!) reveal'd myself unto him,
Until some half hour past, when I was arm'd,
Not sure, though hoping, of this good success,
I ask'd his blessing, and from first to last
Told him my pilgrimage: But his flaw'd
heart,

(Alack, too weak the conflict to support!) Twixt two extremes of passion, joy and grief, Burst smilingly.

Edm. This speech of your's hath mov'd me, And shall, perchance, do good: but speak

you on;

You look as you had something more to say.

Cordelia ?

See'st thou this object, Kent?

[The Bodies of GONERIL and REGAN are brought in.

Kent. Alack, why thus ?

Edm. Yet Edmund was belov'd:
The one the other poison'd for my sake,
And after slew herself.

Alb. Even so.-Cover their faces.

Edm. I pant for life :-Some good I mean to do,

Despite of mine own nature. Quickly send,-
Be brief in it,-to the castle; for my writ
Is on the life of Lear, and on Cordelia ;-
Nay, send in time.

Alb. Run, run, O run

Edg. To who, my lord ?-Who has the oflice ? send

Thy token of reprieve.

Edm. Well thought on; take my sword,
Give it the captain.

Alb. Haste thee, for thy life. [Exit EDGAR.
Edm. He hath commission from thy wife
and me

To hang Cordelia in the prison, and
To lay the blame upon her own despair,

Alb. If there be more, more woeful, hold it That she fordid herself.

in;

For I am almost ready to dissolve,
Hearing of this.

Edg. This would have seem'd a period
To such as love not sorrow; but another,
To amplify too much, would make much more,
And top extremity.

[man, Whilst I was big in clamour, came there a Who having seen me in my worst estate, Shunn'd my abhorr'd society: but then, finding Who 'twas that so endur'd, with his strong

arms

He fasten'd on my neck, and bellow'd out
As he'd burst heaven; threw him on my fa-
ther ;

Told the most piteous tale of Lear and him,
That ever ear receiv'd: which in recounting
His grief grew puissant, and the strings of life
Began to crack: Twice then the trumpet
sounded,

And there I left him tranc'd.

Alb. But who was this?

Edg. Kent, Sir, the banish'd Kent: who in disguise

Follow'd his enemy king, and did him service Improper for a slave.

awhile.

Alb. The gods defend her! Bear him hence [EDMUND is borne off. Enter LEAR, with CORDELIA dead in his Arms; EDGAR, OFFICER, and others. Lear. Howl, howl, howl, howl!-O you are men of stones;

Had I your tongues and eyes, I'd use them so That heaven's vault should crack:-O she is gone for ever!

I know when one is dead, and when one lives;
She's dead as earth;-Lend me a looking-glass;
If that her breath will mist or stain the stone,
Why, then she lives.

Kent. Is this the promis'd end?†
Edg. Or image of that horror?
Alb. Fall, and cease!

Lear. This feather stirs : she lives! if it be so,
It is a chance that does redeem all sorrows
That ever I have felt.

Kent. O my good master!

Lear. Pr'ythee, away..

Edg. 'Tis noble Kent, your friend.

[Kneeling.

Lear. A plague upon you, murderers, traitors

all!

[ever !

I might have sav'd her; now she's gone for Cordelia, Cordelia, stay a little. Ha!

Enter a GENTLEMAN hastily, with a bloody What is't thou say'st?-Her voice was ever

Knife.

soft,

[man :

Gentle, and low; an excellent thing in wo-
I kill'd the slave that was a hanging thee.
Of. 'Tis true, my lords, he did.
Lear. Did I not, fellow?

[chion

Kent. Nor no man else, all's cheerless, dark, | And thou no breath at all! O thou wilt com and deadly.

no more,

Your eldest daughters have fore-doom'd them-Never, never, never, never, never!—

Enter an OFFICER.

Off. Edmund is dead, my lord.

Alb. That's but a trifle here.

[it is

You lords, and noble friends, know our intent. What comfort to this great decay + may come, Shall be applied: For us, we will resign, During the life of this old majesty,

To him our absolute power:-You, to your
rights;
[To EDGAR and KENT.
With boot, and such addition as your honours
Have more than merited. All friends shall
taste

The wages of their virtue, and all foes
The cup of their deservings.-O see, see!
Lear. And my poor fool is hang'd! No, no,
no life:

Why should a dog, a horse, a rat, have life,

That would upon the rack of this tough world Stretch him out longer.

Edg. O he is gone, indeed.

Kent. The wonder is, he hath endur'd so long: He but usurp'd his life.

Alb. Bear them from hence.-Our present business

Is general woe. Friends of my soul, you twain [To KENT and EDGAR. Rule in this realm, and the gor'd state sustain. Kent. I have a journey, Sir, shortly to go; My master calls, and I must not say, no.

Alb. The weight of this sad time we must obey; Speak what we feel, not what we ought to say. The oldest hath borne most: we, that are young, Shall never see so much, nor live so long. [Exeunt, with a dead March. • Dic.

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The Dramatic Works of William Shakspeare: With Glossarial Notes, a Sketch of ...