Alb. Stay hear my reafon: Edmund, I arreft thee
On capital treason, and in thy arreft,

This gilded ferpent: for your claim, fair fifter,
I bar it in the interest of my wife;
'Tis fhe is fub-contracted to this Lord,
And I her husband contradict your banes.
marry, make your

If

you will

My Lady is befpoke.

Gon. An enterlude !

loves to me,

Alb. Thou art arm'd, Glo'fter, let the trumpet found: If none appear to prove upon thy perfon

Thy heinous, manifeft, and many treasons,

There is my pledge: I'll prove it on thy heart,

Ere I tafe bread, thou art in nothing less
Than I have here proclaim'd thee.

Reg. Sick, O fick —

Gon. If not, I'll ne'er truft poison.

[Afide.

Baft. 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, (whom not?) I will maintain
My truth and honour firmly.

Alb. A herald, ho!

Truft to thy fingle virtues; for thy foldiers,
All levied in my name, have in my name
Took their difcharge.

Reg. My fickness grows upon me.

Alb. She is not well, convey her to my tent.

1

[Exit Regan

SCENE VII. Enter a Herald. Come hither, herald, let the trumpet found, And read out this.

Herald reads.

[A trumpet founds.

If any man of quality or degree within the lifts of the army, will maintain upon Edmund fuppofed Earl of Glo'fter, that he is a manifold traitor, let him appear by the third found of the trumpet: be is bold in his defence.

Her. Again,
Her. Again.

I trumpet.

Enter Edgar armed.

Alb. Afk 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 prefent fummons?

Edg. Know, my name is loft,

By treafon's tooth bare-gnawn and canker-bit ;
Yet am I noble as the adverfary

I come to cope.

Alb. Which is that adverfary?

Edg. What's he that speaks for Edmund Earl of Glo'fter Baft. Himfelf; what say it thou to him?

That if my speech offend a noble heart,
Thy arm may do thee juftice; here is mine:
Behold, it is the privilege of mine honours,
My oath, and my profeffion. I protest,
Maugre 'thy ftrength, place, youth, and eminente,
Spight of thy victor-fword, and fire-new fortune,
Thy valour, and thy heart, thou art a traitor;
Falfe to thy Gods, thy brother, and thy father,
Confpirant 'gainst this high illuftrious Prince,
And from th extreameft upward of thy head,
To the descent and duft below thy foot,
A moft toad-fpotted traitor. Say thou no,
This fword, this arm, and my beft fpirits are bent
To prove upon thy heart, whereto I fpeak,
Thou lieft.

Baft. In wisdom I should afk, thy name';
But fince thy out-fide looks fo fair and warlike,
And that thy tongue fome 'fay of breeding breathes,
What fafe and nicely I might well delay

By rule of Knight-hood, I difdain and spurn:
Back do I tofs these treafons to thy head,
With the hell-hated lie o'er-whelm thy heart,
To which, (for they yet glance by, fcarcely bruifing)
This fword of mine fhall give them instant way,

Say for Elay; fome fhew or probability.

Q 2

Where

Where they shall reft for ever. Trumpets, fpeak. [Alarum,
Fight. Baftard falls.
Gon. Save him, O fave him; this is practice, Glofter:
By th' law of war, thou waft not bound to answer
An unknown oppofite; thou art not vanquish'd,
But cozen'd and beguil'd.

Alb. Shut your mouth, dame,
Or with this paper shall I ftop it

Thou worse than any thing, 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?

Alb. Monfter, know'st thou

This paper?

Gon. Afk me not what I do know.

[Exit Gon.

Alb. Go after her, fhe's defperate, govern her.

SCENE VIII.

Baft. What you have charg'd me with, that I have done,

And more, much more; the time will bring it out.

'Tis paft, and fo am I: but what art thou

That haft this fortune on me? If thou'rt noble,
I do forgive thee.

Edg. Let's exchange our charity:

I am no less in blood than thou art, Edmund;
If more, the more thou'ft wrong'd me.
My name is Edgar, and thy father's fon.
The Gods are juft, and of our pleasant vices
Make inftruments to plague and punish us;
The dark and vicious place, where thee he got,
Coft him his eyes.

Baft. Thou'ft fpoken right, 'tis true,

The wheel is come full circle, I am here.

Alb. Methought thy very gate did prophefie [To Edgar.

A royal nobleness; I must embrace thee:

Let forrow fplit my heart, if ever I

Did hate thee or thy father,

Edg. Worthy Prince,

I know it well.

Alb. Where have you hid your felf?

How have you known the mileries of your father?

Edg.

Edg. By purfing them, my Lord. Lift a brief tale,
And when 'tis told, O that my heart would burft!
The bloody proclamation to escape

That follow'd me fo near, (O our lives fweetness!
That we the pain of death would hourly bear
Rather than die at once) taught me to fhift
Into a mad-man's rags, t'affume a femblance
The very dogs difdain'd: and in this habit
Met I my father with his bleeding rings,
Their precious gems new loft; became his guide,
Led him, beg'd for him, fav'd him from despair,
Never (O fault) reveal'd my self unto him,
Until fome half hour past, when I was arm'd,
Not fure though hoping of this good fuccefs,
I afk'd his bleffing, and from firft to laft
Told him my pilgrimage. But his flaw'd heart,
Alack, too weak the conflict to fupport,
'Twixt too extreams of paffion, joy and grief,
Burft fmilingly.

Baft. This fpeech of yours hath mov'd me,
And fhall perchance do good; but speak you on,
You look as you had fomething more to say.

Alb. If there be more, more woful, hold it in, For I am almost ready to diffolve,

Hearing of this.

SCENE IX.

Gent. Help, help!

Edg. What kind of help?

Alb. Speak, man.

Enter a Gentleman

Edg. What means this bloody knife?

Gent. 'Tis hot, it smoaks, it came even from the heart

Of

O! fhe's dead.

Alb. Who's dead? fpeak, man.

Gent. Your Lady, Sir, your Lady; and her sister

By her is poifon'd; the confeffes it.

Baft. 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,
-O! is this He?

Touches us not with pity.

The time will not allow the compliment

Which very manners urge.

Kent, Sir, I am come

To bid my King and Mafter aye good night;

Is he not here?

Alh. Great thing of us forgot!

[To Kent.

Speak, Edmund, where's the King? and where's Cordelia? See'ft thou this object, Kent? [Pointing to the dead bodies. Kent. Alack, why thus ?

Baft. Yet Edmund was belov'd:

The one the other poifon'd for my fake,

And after flew her felf.

Alb. Even fo; cover their faces.

Baft. I pant for life; fome good I mean to do, Defpight of mine own nature. Quickly fend (Be brief) into the castle; for my

Is on the life of Lear and Cordelia:

Nay, fend in time.

writ

Alb. Run, run, O run, make hafte.

Edg. To whom, my Lord? who has the office? fend

Thy token of reprieve.

Baft. Well thought on, take my fword,

Give it the captain

Edg. Hafte thee for thy life.

[Ex. Meffenger.

Baft. He hath commiffion from thy wife and me

To hang Cordelia in the prifon, and

To lay the blame upon her own defpair.

Alb. The Gods defend her! bear him hence a while.

SCENE X.

[Baftard is born off.

Enter Lear with Cordelia dead in bis arms.

Lear. Howl, howl, howl, howl,-O, you are men of ftone, Had I your tongues and eyes, I'd use them fo,

That heaven's vault fhould crack; fhe's gone for ever!
I know when one is dead, and when one lives ;

She's