Bast.
Some Officers take them away; good Guard,
Until their greater pleasures first be known
That are to censure them.

Cor.
We are not the first,
Who with best meaning have incurr'd the worst:
For thee, oppressed King, I am cast down,
My self could else out-frown false Fortune's frown.
Shall we not see these Daughters, and these Sisters?

Lear.
No, no, no, no; come let's away to Prison;
We two alone will sing like Birds i'th' Cage:
When thou do'st ask me blessing, I'll kneel down
And ask of thee forgiveness: So we'll live,
And Pray, and Sing, and tell old tales, and laugh
At gilded Butterflies: and hear poor Rogues

Talk of Court News, and we'll talk with them too,
Who loses, and who wins; who's in, who's out:
And take upon's the mystery of things,
As if we were God's spies. And we'll wear out
In a wall'd Prison, packs and sects of great ones
That ebb and flow by th' Moon.

Bast.
Take them away.

Lear.
Upon such sacrifices, my Cordelia,
The Gods themselves throw incense. Have I caught thee?
He that parts us, shall bring a Brand from Heav'n,
And fire us hence, like Foxes; wipe thine Eye,
The good Years shall devour them, flesh and fell,
E'er they shall make us weep?
We'll see 'em starv'd first: Come. [Exit.

Bast.
Come hither Captain, hark. [Whispering.
Take thou this Note, go follow them to Prison,
One step I have advanc'd thee, if thou dost
As this instructs thee, thou dost make thy way
To noble Fortunes; know thou this, that Men
Are as the time is; to be tender minded
Do's not become a Sword; thy great Imployment
Will not bear question; either say thou'lt do't,
Or thrive by other means,

Capt.
I'll do't, my Lord.

Bast.
About it, and write happy, when thou'st done.
Mark, I say,—instantly, and carry it so
As I have set it down. [Exit Captain. Enter Albany, Gonerill, Regan, and Soldiers.

Alb.
Sir, you have shew'd to day your valiant strain
And fortune led you well: You have the Captives
Who were the opposites of this Day's strife:
I do require them of you, so to use them,
As we shall find their Merits, and our safety
May equally determine.

Bast.
Sir, I thought it fit,
To send the old and miserable King to some retention;
Whose Age had Charms in it, whose Title more,
To pluck the common Bosom on this side,
And turn our imprest Launces in our Eyes
Which do command them. With him I sent the Queen

My reason all the same, and they are ready
To morrow, or at further space, t'appear
Where you shall hold your Session.

Alb.
Sir, by your Patience.
I hold you but a Subject of this War,
Not as a Brother.

Reg.
That's as we list to grace him.
Methinks our pleasure might have been demanded
E'er you had spoke so far. He led our Powers,
Bore the Commission of my Place and Person,
The which immediacy may well stand up,
And call it self your Brother.

Gon.
Not so hot:
In his own grace he doth exalt himself,
More than in your Addition.

Reg.
In my Rights,
By me invested, he compeers the best.

Alb.
That were the most, if he should Husband you.

Reg.
Jesters do oft prove Prophets.

Gon.
Holla, holla,
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 lett alone lyes not in your good Will.

Bast.
Nor in thine, Lord.

Alb.
Half-blooded Fellow, yes.

Reg.
Let the Drum strike, and prove my Title thine.

Alb.
Stay yet, hear reason: Edmund, I arrest thee
On capital Treason; and in thy arrest,
This gilded Serpent: For your claim, fair Sister,
I bare it in the interest of my Wife,
'Tis she is sub-contracted to this Lord,
And I her Husband contradict your Banes.
If you will marry, make your loves to me,
My Lady is bespoke.

Gon.
An Enterlude.

Alb.
Thou art armed, Gloster, let the Trumpet sound:
If none appear to prove upon thy Person,
Thy heinous, manifest, and many Treasons,
There is my Pledge: I'll make it on thy Heart
E'er I taste Bread, thou art in nothing less
Than I have here proclaim'd thee.

Reg.
Sick, O sick—

Gon.
If not, I'll ne'er trust Medicine. [Aside.

Bast.
There's my exchange, what in the World he is
That names me Traitor, Villain-like he lies,
Call by the Trumpet; he that dares approach;
On him, on you, who not, I will maintain
My truth and honour firmly. Enter a Herald.

Alb.
A Herald, ho.
Trust to thy single Virtues, for thy Soldiers,
All levied in my Name, have in my Name
Took their discharge.

Reg.
My Sickness grows upon me.

Alb.
She is not well, convey her to my Tent. [Exit Reg.
Come hither, Herald, let the Trumpet sound,
And read out this. [A Trumpet sounds. Herald reads.

If any Man of quality or degree within the Lists of the Army, will maintain upon Edmund supposed Earl of Gloster, that he is a manifold Traitor, let him appear by the third sound of the Trumpet: He is bold in his defence.

Her.

Again.

Her.

Again.

Alb.
Ask him his purposes, why he appears
Upon this Call o'th' Trumpet.

Her.
What are you?
Your Name, your Quality, and why you answer
This present Summons?

Edg.
Know, my Name is lost
By Treasons Tooth: Bare-gnawn, and Canker-bit,

Yet am I noble as the Adversary
I come to cope.

Alb.
Which is that Adversary?

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

Bast.
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 my Privilege,
The Privilege of mine Honours,
My Oath, and my Profession. I protest,
Maugre thy strength, place, youth, and eminence,
Despight 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 th' extreamest upward of thy Head,
To the descent and dust below thy foot,
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 lyest.

Bast.
In wisdom I should ask thy name,
But since thy Out-side looks so fair and warlike,
And that thy Tongue, some say, of breeding breaths,
What safe, and nicely I might well delay,
By rule of Knight-hood, 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,
This Sword of mine shall give them instant way,
Where they shall rest for ever. Trumpets speak.

Alb.
Save him, save him. [Alarum. Fight.

Gon.
This is practice, Gloster,
By th' Law of War, thou wast not bound to answer
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.

Gon.
Say if I do, the Laws are mine, not thine,
Who can arraign me for't? [Exit.

Alb.
Most monstrous! O, know'st thou this Paper?

Bast.
Ask me not what I know.

Alb.
Go after her, she's desperate, govern her.

Bast.
What you have charg'd me with, that have I done,
And more, much more; the time will bring it out.
'Tis past, and so am I: But what art thou
That hast this Fortune on me? If thou'rt 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'st wrong'd me.
My name is Edgar, and thy Father's Son,
The Gods are just, and of our pleasant Vices
Make Instruments to plague us:
The dark and vitious Place, where thee he got,
Cost him his Eyes.

Bast.
Thou'st spoken right, 'tis true,
The Wheel is come full Circle, I am here.

Alb.
Methought thy very Gate did prophesie
A Royal Nobleness; I must embrace thee,
Let Sorrow split my Heart, if ever I
Did hate thee, or thy Father.

Edg.
Worthy Prince, I know't.

Alb.
Where have you hid your self?
How have you known the miseries of your Father?

Edg.
By nursing them, my Lord. List a brief tale,
And when 'tis told, O that my Heart would burst.
The bloody Proclamation to escape
That follow'd me so near, (O our lives sweetness!
That we the pain of Death would hourly die,
Rather than die at once,) taught me to shift
Into a Mad-man's rags, t'assume a semblance
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,
Led him, beg'd for him, sav'd him from despair,
Never, (O fault,) reveal'd my self 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 our Pilgrimage. But his flaw'd Heart
Alack, too weak the conflict to support,
'Twixt two extreams of Passion, Joy and Grief,
Burst smilingly.

Bast.
This Speech of yours hath mov'd me,
And shall perchance do good, but speak you on,
You look as you had something more to say.

Alb.
If there be more, more woful, hold it in,
For I am almost ready to dissolve,
Hearing of this. Enter a Gentleman.

Gent.
Help, Help! O help!—

Edg.
What kind of help?

Alb.
Speak Man.

Edg.
What means this bloody Knife?

Gent.
'Tis hot, it smoaks, it came even from the Heart
Of—O she's dead.

Alb.
Who's dead? Speak Man.

Gent.
Your Lady, Sir, your Lady; and her Sister
By her is poison'd; she confesses it.

Bast.
I was contracted to them both, all three
Now marry in an instant.

Edg.
Here comes Kent. Enter Kent.

Alb.
Produce the Bodies, be they live or dead. [Gonerill and Regan's Bodies brought out.
This judgment of the Heav'ns, that makes us tremble,
Touches us not with pity. O! is this she?
The time will not allow the complement
Which very manners urge.

Kent.
I am come
To bid my King and Master aye good Night,
Is he not here?

Alb.
Great thing of us forgot,
Speak Edmund, where's the King? and where's Cordelia?
Seest thou this Object, Kent?

Kent.
Alack, why thus?

Bast.
Yet Edmund was belov'd:

The one the other poison'd for my sake,
And after, slew her self.

Alb.
Even so; cover their Faces.

Bast.
I pant for life; some good I mean to do
Despight of mine own Nature. Quickly send,
Be brief in it, to th' Castle, for my Writ
Is on the life of Lear, and Cordelia:
Nay, send in time.

Alb.
Run, run, O run—

Edg.
To whom, my Lord? who has the Office?
Send thy token of reprieve.

Bast.
Well thought on, take my Sword,
Give it the Captain—

Edg.
Haste thee for thy Life.

Bast.
He hath Commission from thy Wife and me,
To hang Cordelia in the Prison, and
To lay the blame upon her own despair,
That she fore-did her self.

Alb.
The Gods defend her, bear him hence a while. Enter Lear with Cordelia dead in his Arms.

Lear.
Howl, howl, howl—O you are Men of Stones,
Had I your Tongues and Eyes, I'd use them so,
That Heav'ns Vault should crack; she's 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 which do's redeem all sorrows
That ever I have felt.

Kent.
Oh my good Master.

Lear.
Prethee away—

Edg.
'Tis noble Kent your Friend.

Lear.
A plague upon you Murtherers, Traitors all,
I might have sav'd her, now she's gone for ever:
Cordelia, Cordelia, stay a little. Ha!—
What is't thou say'st? her Voice was ever soft,
Gentle, and low, an excellent thing in Woman.

I kill'd the Slave that was a hanging thee.

Gent.
'Tis true, my Lords, he did.

Lear.
Did I not, Fellow?
I have seen the day, with my good biting Faulchion
I would have made him skip: I am old now
And these same crosses spoil me. Who are you?
Mine Eyes are none o'th'best, I'll tell you straight.

Kent.
If Fortune brag of two, she lov'd and hated,
One of them we behold.

Lear.
This is a dull sight, are you not Kent?

Kent.
The same; your Servant Kent,
Where is your Servant Caius?

Lear.
He's a good Fellow, I can tell you that,
He'll strike, and quickly too, he's dead and rotten.

Kent.
No, my good Lord, I am the very Man.

Lear.
I'll see that straight.

Kent.
That from your first of difference and decay,
Have follow'd your sad steps—

Lear.
You are welcome hither.

Kent.
Nor no Man else; all's cheerless, dark, and deadly:
Your eldest Daughters have fore-done themselves,
And desperately are dead.

Lear.
Ay, so I think.

Alb.
He knows not what he says, and vain is it
That we present us to him. Enter a Messenger.

Edg.
Very bootless.

Mes.
Edmund is dead, my Lord.

Alb.
That's but a trifle here:
You Lords and noble Friends know our intent,
What comfort to this great decay may come,
Shall be apply'd. For us, we will resign,
During the life of this old Majesty,
To him our absolute Power; you to your Rights, [To Edg.
With boot, and such addition as your Honours
Have more than merited. All Friends shall
Taste the wages of their Virtue, and all Foes
To 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,

And thou no breath at all? Thou'lt come no more,
Never, never, never, never, never—
Pray you undo this Button. Thank you, Sir,
Do you see this? look on her, look on her Lips,
Look there, look there. [He dies.

Edg.
He faints, my Lord.

Kent.
Break Heart, I prethee break.

Edg.
Look to my Lord.

Kent.
Vex not his Ghost, O let him pass; he hates him,
That would upon the rack of this tough World
Stretch him out longer.

Edg.
He is gone indeed.

Kent.
The wonder is, he hath endur'd so long,
He but usurpt his Life.

Alb.
Bear them from hence, our present Business
Is general woe: Friends of my Soul, you 'twain,
Rule in this Realm, and the gor'd State sustain.

Kent.
I have a Journey, Sir, shortly to go,
My Master calls me, I must not say no. [Dies.

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

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